College students with later classes drink more, study less

Although a class schedule with later start times allows college students to get more sleep, it also gives them more time to stay out drinking at night, according to a research abstract presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).

Results show that later class start times were associated with a delayed sleep schedule, which led to poorer sleep, more daytime sleepiness, and a lower grade-point average.  Students with later class start times also consumed more alcohol and reported more binge drinking.  Students who were “night owls” with a natural preference to stay up later were more likely than “morning types” to have a delayed sleep schedule and to consume more alcohol. Read the rest of this entry »

Fairfax County school board posts recordings of work sessions

The Fairfax County Public Schools’ website has posted audio recordings of the school board work sessions held June 13. This is a big help to people who are interested in the activities of the school board. Thanks very much for this helpful addition to the website! [I have corrected my earlier post which said that previously the School Board posted video recordings of regular school board sessions, but not the work sessions.  Actually the school board has been posting work sessions that included votes for a while. So far the school board has not decided to record all work sessions. That would be worth doing in the future.]

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/Public

Two-thirds of Head Start students in Fairfax County are overweight

At their work session held June 8, Fairfax County school board members focused on the problem of the increasing percentages of young children who are overweight or obese. Karen Spencer, the early childhood program manager, said that 67 percent of Head Start students in Fairfax County were overweight or obese.

Daneane (Dee) Robinson, the chairperson of the Policy Committee Executive Board for Early Head Start (EHS) / Family and Early Childhood Education Program (FECEP)/ Head Start (HS), said that in 2010-2011 Head Start focused on health and nutrition. Family breakfasts provided families the opportunity to join their child at school for breakfast and to receive nutrition handouts with a short nutrition message and a healthy recipe they could make at home. Robinson said that children and parents were interested and excited by grocery store tours. These tours provided families with “an interactive, lane by lane opportunity to learn about healthy and affordable food options.”.. Healthy cooking demonstrations, a joint effort with Virginia Cooperative Extension, were held in the evenings and provided families with an additional method to learn about nutrition and healthy eating habits. Robinson said her children like to recite the message, “When I eat my fruit, my heart says thanks, Bump, bump, bump, my heart says thanks.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Many principals cut positions for art teachers in New York City

The New York Times reports that in 2009-2010, there were 135 fewer arts teachers in New York City Schools than in the previous school year, according to a report to be released by the Center for Arts Education on Thursday.

“The situation is likely to worsen next year if the city goes through with its plans to layoff 4,100 teachers to save $269 million. Estimates released in February project that 350 of those let go will be arts teachers, which would be a 15 percent drop in art, music and performing arts teachers.”

Cuts will also be made in the percentages of librarians, physical education teachers, career teachers and technology.

Source: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/even-before-layoffs-schools-lost-135-arts-teachers/

More physical education could be added with a longer school week in Fairfax

Tonight the School Health Advisory Committee will recommend to the Fairfax County School Board that the minimum amount of physical education time for elementary school students  should be increased from 60 minutes to 90 minutes per week. This is easy to do without taking time away from other subjects–students should be allowed to stay in school for a full day on Mondays.

Bethlehem middle schools cutting teachers’ team time

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will schedule middle school teachers to teach an extra period next year.  Steve Esack, of the Morning Call, reports that budget cuts caused the elemination of teacm teaching at middle schools, “a highly lauded, decades-old philosophy in which middle school teachers across disciplines meet during the day to integrate curriculums and address academic, social and family needs of students.”

“But Bethlehem is disbanding teams next school year because it can’t sustain them after it lays off more than a dozen teachers at Nitschmann, East Hills, Northeast and Broughal middle schools,” according to the Morning Call.

Source: Bethlehem middle schools cutting teachers’ team time.

Loudoun school board seeks advice on spending $8.5 million surplus

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is anticipating an end-of-year surplus of $8.5 million for the fiscal year ending June 30th.

This represents 1.19 percent of the Fiscal Year 2011 school operating budget of $710,345,662. This savings has been accumulated through fuel economy, not filling vacant positions and other cost-cutting measures.

LCPS Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III will propose to the School Board that $4.018 million of this undesignated money be used to alleviate an instructional inequity in elementary schools by completing the installation of interactive white boards. Read the rest of this entry »