Coordinating a summer school program can be a very tedious process. Everyone involved, from the support staff to the teachers to the administrators can become overwhelmed with the politics and population enrolled in one's summer program. However, with full understanding of its student population and resources, schools are then prepared to initiate…

On March 15, 2007, Santa Barbara residents were shocked when a baby-faced 15-year-old high school student was stabbed to death in the heart of the city's fashionable State Street shopping district. His assailant, just 14, was a member of a rival street gang and a student at the local junior high. "It was a wakeup call for the entire…

In his book "A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future," Daniel Pink uses the traditionally held beliefs about the cognitive functioning of the left and right hemispheres of the brain (left: logical, sequential, mathematical, etc., and right: intuition, creative, artistic, etc.) as a metaphor to postulate that a new era is emerging…

When English language learners (ELLs) don't speak in class or make friends outside their language group, teachers often attribute the problem in the student's cultural background. It's possible, however, that the method of teaching ELLs is part of the problem. A growing number of schools are trying to roll back that problem by launching…

Name-calling is a pervasive practice, particularly in middle schools. According to students, parents, teachers, counselors, and other school staff who see its effects, it doesn't just go away. Instead, rampant name-calling can create a climate where children become disheartened, lose self-confidence, and dread coming to school. Efforts to…

In this paper, the author discusses an approach that can show today's students how to become more comfortable with a racial or ethnic group different from one's own. "Mix It Up at Lunch" Day calls for students to swap seats in their school cafeterias, break out of their comfort zones, and meet new people. The program originated in 2002 as a way in…

Discusses a South Dakota federal court case challenging a school board policy on holiday observances in the public schools. Condensed from "Illinois School Board Journal," July-August 1981, p22-24. (Editor/SJL)

Public schools routinely require permission or release forms for field trips and other activities of potential liability. The legal status of such forms varies, but they are generally considered neither rock-solid protection nor legally valueless in terms of immunity. This article presents a case involving a student who sustained bicycle injuries…