There are national education grants for school systems to improve student success.  There are national neighborhood grants for districts to improve families’ economic success.  There are national county and multi-county grants to improve people’s health conditions.  At times these efforts stumble over each other as they try to put together collaborations of the same handful of local institutions – but each effort has the potential to make a big difference and each requires agreement by those leading entities.  If we don’t change the way we work, we will get the same results we have always g

How does anyone manage to survive middle school years?  Problems loom large. Changes are traumatic.  Perception is EVERYTHING!

A children’s garden – such a sweet notion for such a big step for 5 year olds into the world of education!
 

Checking out kindergarten blogs and chats, the ones I found were by kindergarten teachers – I was looking for one by parents.  I had a recent conversation with a dad whose daughter is starting school this year. My kids are past that stage, but I remember some very significant parts of entering the school system.  And I’m sure parents have lots of thoughts about that first big step into an Institution.
 

The attached link to a Frontline program on middle school is worth the few minutes it takes to view it.  Before you watch it, consider this story of one young girl in New York City as translatable to a young girl in Buncombe County NC.  Imagine a young girl living  sometimes in a local shelter, other times with different relatives, trying to figure out how to get back to her school each day even though she is in a different part of the of county, walking, figuring out the city bus schedule, and in general having a chaotic home life. 

Summer learning loss.

It's the new buzz term for kids’ brain hibernation over the summer vacation. It happens a little bit to all students, but most significantly to those who have few opportunities to exercise their minds.

Can One Passing Comment To a Child Really Make a Difference?

In previous blogs I wrote about our community’s role in education for our youth, opportunities to be involved with young people in a positive way, and listening to the opinions of young people.  During the summer months as kids are interacting with lots of different adults, let’s consider the power of adult influences on a young person’s life.