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Safety and Social Capital

compiled by education new york online

Scroll down to read entries organized by topic alphabetically OR use the topic links at the right to jump to categories of interest.

Updated Sunday June 17, 2007 10:41 AM

After-School Programs

The Virtual Y: A Ray of Sunshine for Urban Public Elementary School Children
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 02:51 PM
(See page 30 of document for chart of factors impacting attendance). The National Center for Schools and Communities at Fordham University report presenting the results of seven years of evaluation for the YMCA of Greater New York’s Virtual Y after school program finding, "Third and fourth grade Virtual Y participants outperformed the comparison group in school attendance. We controlled for students’ gender, race, age, and prior school attendance in our analyses. • The average school attendance of third grade children (94.4 percent) and fourth grade children (94.9 percent) participating in the Virtual Y exceeded the average attendance of children in the comparison group (93.9 percent and 94.2 percent respectively) taking into account initial differences in student attendance and demographic background. • The difference between the mean school attendance of second grade Virtual Y students (93.7 percent) and comparison group students (93.4 percent) was positive but not significant.

Attendance

Anti-truancy efforts begin to pay off for Rockford
Date CapturedTuesday June 12, 2007 09:41 AM
Rockford Register opines, "Truancy court may seem harsh, but it is not nearly as harsh as life without a good education. Kids who go to school regularly get better grades. Students who enjoy success at school are more likely to graduate. Teens who graduate are more likely to get better jobs and earn more money to support themselves and their families. Truant students are three times more likely to turn to crime than those who attend school regularly. We have a new jail for those students, but would rather see them turn their lives around than become guests at the criminal justice complex."

Engagement

School completion and student engagement: Information and strategies for educators
Date CapturedTuesday March 27, 2007 02:25 PM
Anderson, A. R., Christenson, S. L., & Lehr, C. A. (2004). School completion and student engagement: Information and strategies for educators. In A. S. Canter, L. Z. Paige, M. D. Roth, I. Romero, & S. A. Carroll (Eds.), Helping children at home and at school II: Handouts for families and educators (pp. S2-65–S2-68). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Higher Education

Pilot program helps students overcome absenteeism
Date CapturedSunday May 13, 2007 08:25 AM
Kalamazoo Gazette reports, "The student had been chronically absent through the fall semester, and the official reason was illness. But when a social work student from Western Michigan University dug deeper, the real issue was uncovered."

Information Policy

Forum Guide to Protecting the Privacy of Student Information
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 10:31 PM
See page 80 of document for opt form. See section II F for disclosure -- The Forum Guide to Protecting the Privacy of Student Information gives a general overview of privacy laws and professional practices that apply to the information collected for, and kept in, student records.
STUDENT RECORDS -- NYSSBA Sample Policy 5500
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 02:12 PM
Privacy and the Handling of Student Information in the Electronic Networked Environments of Colleges and Universities (ID: PUB3102)
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 01:41 PM
This paper authored by CAUSE Task Force identifies the privacy challenges and opportunities of technology advances, presents a set of primary principles that underlie fair information practices, and recommends a process whereby a full spectrum of campus constituencies can be involved in discussions that will lead to a better understanding of campus culture and values with regard to these principles. Included in the principles discussion are related issues that arise in a networked environment, as well as examples of practices that represent lesser and greater application of the principles. Many helpful appendices are included. The paper was developed in cooperation with AACRAO.
A Blueprint for Handling Sensitive Data: Security, Privacy, and Other Considerations (ID: ESEM071)
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 01:35 PM
Link to powerpoint presentation by H. Morrow Long and Krizi Trivisani -- Information security risks at colleges and universities present challenging legal, policy, technical, and operational issues. According to a recent study by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR), security incidents have resulted in compromises of personal information which have led to bad publicity and the potential for identity theft. Among the steps to protect sensitive data include an information security risk management program, data classification policies, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, awareness programs, and technology solutions among other interventions. This seminar presentation outlines a blueprint for protecting sensitive data according to the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Security Task Force.

Legislation

Forum Guide to Protecting the Privacy of Student Information
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 10:31 PM
See page 80 of document for opt form. See section II F for disclosure -- The Forum Guide to Protecting the Privacy of Student Information gives a general overview of privacy laws and professional practices that apply to the information collected for, and kept in, student records.
New York State Technology Law § 208
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 07:33 PM
"Private information" does not include publicly available information that is lawfully made available to the general public from federal, state, or local government records.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW
Date CapturedThursday May 10, 2007 09:34 AM
PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, ARTICLE 6 -- SECTIONS 84-90 -- FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW

News

We can stem truancy with community effort
Date CapturedWednesday April 25, 2007 09:53 AM
Indianapolis Star opines, "Gaylon Nettles, the state [Indiana] Department of Education's chief attendance officer, is right in noting that neither parents nor schools can stem truancy on their own. It will take a strong community effort to keep children on the path to improving their educational and economic destinies.
Poor need housing, not handouts
Date CapturedThursday April 12, 2007 06:50 PM
NY Daily News reports, "The program, 'Opportunity NYC,' will pay 2,500 families up to $5,000 a year each in stipends ranging from $50 to $300 for everything from exemplary attendance in elementary school, to scoring high on a crucial exam, to keeping a doctor's appointment for a checkup."
Getting to school can become a crisis
Date CapturedSunday May 21, 2006 09:17 AM
Times Union reports, "The team, led by Sal Villa, a former high school administrator, was visiting the home of a fifth-grader who hadn't been showing up at School 19. The apartment contained almost no furniture, save a set of shelves with a small TV and video game setup. Dishes were piled high in the sink and on the floor was a box of Arctic Pops, which were supposed to be in the freezer."

Parent Involvement

Auburn schools fight poor attendance
Date CapturedSaturday June 02, 2007 10:35 AM
Post-Standard reports, "He [Auburn schools Superintendent John Plume] addressed the problem in this month's district newsletter and said the district will take these steps in 2007-08: *Attempt to list attendance records on student transcripts that are reviewed by colleges and businesses. *Make more calls to parents and dole out more consequences for unexcused tardiness and absences. *Give students with the best attendance first crack at taking driving classes in the summer. 'However, little will change unless students want to be in school and parents and community members help boost the importance of improved attendance,' he said in the newsletter."
Re-Engaging Youth in School: Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project
Date CapturedSaturday May 12, 2007 05:46 PM
National Center for School Engagement, August 10, 2006. "The following data reflect all seven demonstration sites in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Truancy Prevention project. These sites are located in Suffolk County, New York; Contra Costa, California: Tacoma and Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Jacksonville, Florida. The purpose of collecting these data was to identify the intervention population and track truant students’ progress. The first set of tables is the aggregate of these seven sites from the projects inception to July 21, 2006. Following these data are the individual site reports. This report includes the following information: • Students Served • Ethnicity of Students • Grades of Students • Age of Students • Gender of Students • IEP status • Discipline Problems • Involvement with Juvenile Justice • Primary Care Giver • Income Eligibility Status • Students who live in home with only one adult • Students who have no working adult in the home • Average Number of children in the home • Unexcused Absences over Time • Excused Absences over Time • Tardies over Time • Days of In-School Suspensions • Days of Out-of-School Suspensions • Overall Academic Performance (over time)" "The overarching goal of truancy prevention is obviously to improve attendance and this effort was successful. In general, while excused daily absences did not change appreciably, unexcused daily absences fell dramatically and tardies declined. Period absences did not change linearly and therefore a meaningful trend isn’t apparent. Of the sites that reported enough update data, the most successful sites were Jacksonville and Honolulu. These sites primarily targeted parents because the target student population were elementary students. All sites had less information for students across time. One reason for this may be that students who no longer needed intervention were no longer tracked. Thus, reported improvements may actually be smaller than what actually occurred." " In general, the elementary-level truancy issues may be easier to deal with because the children are not 'deep-end' yet and the parents are the primary focus. Older truants are likely to have more challenges and thus may require more intensive services."

Privacy

Forum Guide to Protecting the Privacy of Student Information
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 10:31 PM
See page 80 of document for opt form. See section II F for disclosure -- The Forum Guide to Protecting the Privacy of Student Information gives a general overview of privacy laws and professional practices that apply to the information collected for, and kept in, student records.
STUDENT RECORDS -- NYSSBA Sample Policy 5500
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 02:12 PM
Privacy and the Handling of Student Information in the Electronic Networked Environments of Colleges and Universities (ID: PUB3102)
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 01:41 PM
This paper authored by CAUSE Task Force identifies the privacy challenges and opportunities of technology advances, presents a set of primary principles that underlie fair information practices, and recommends a process whereby a full spectrum of campus constituencies can be involved in discussions that will lead to a better understanding of campus culture and values with regard to these principles. Included in the principles discussion are related issues that arise in a networked environment, as well as examples of practices that represent lesser and greater application of the principles. Many helpful appendices are included. The paper was developed in cooperation with AACRAO.
A Blueprint for Handling Sensitive Data: Security, Privacy, and Other Considerations (ID: ESEM071)
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 01:35 PM
Link to powerpoint presentation by H. Morrow Long and Krizi Trivisani -- Information security risks at colleges and universities present challenging legal, policy, technical, and operational issues. According to a recent study by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR), security incidents have resulted in compromises of personal information which have led to bad publicity and the potential for identity theft. Among the steps to protect sensitive data include an information security risk management program, data classification policies, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, awareness programs, and technology solutions among other interventions. This seminar presentation outlines a blueprint for protecting sensitive data according to the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Security Task Force.
EDUCAUSE
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 01:11 PM
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
UWF student records possibly compromised
Date CapturedSaturday May 12, 2007 10:03 PM
FOX News reports, "He [ Associate Vice President of Information Technology Michael Dieckmann] says because the account is a student's, who is also an employee, the breach opened up access to thousands of student records. 'We can tell exactly what was viewed and the potential and around 120, 130 students records were potentially compromised,' Dieckmann went on to say."
Ohio judge flunks moms of truant children
Date CapturedWednesday March 21, 2007 09:46 AM
Times-Reporter reports, "[Judge]Kate said poor attendance by children often is a symptom of a larger problem in the home. She noted her courtroom is the last stop in the process of school officials trying to work with parents throughout the school year and seeing no improvement."

Resource Links

National Dropout Prevention Centers
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 07:40 PM
The mission of the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network is to serve as a research center and resource network for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to reshape school and community environments to meet the needs of youth in at-risk situations so these students receive the quality education and services necessary to succeed academically and graduate from high school.
EDUCAUSE
Date CapturedMonday May 14, 2007 01:11 PM
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.

Social and Human Capital

As Studies Stress Link to Scores, Districts Get Tough on Attendance
Date CapturedSaturday May 12, 2007 12:20 PM
Education Week reports, "Student attendance also has been a big focus in Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y. When officials of the 37,000-student Rochester district looked at attendance and achievement patterns, researchers found that students who had scored between 85 and 100 on the state English tests had attended school an average of 93 percent of the time. Students who scored below the 54th percentile had an 85 percent attendance rate. The district is now phasing in new minimum attendance requirements, shooting to hit 93 percent districtwide by 2004. Students are now required to attend school 85 percent of the time, or 153 days a year. The new policy would add the equivalent of 14 days of school. Rochester also is getting the community to help with its efforts. Attendance information is shared with community organizations such as the YMCA, city recreation programs, and churches so that they can help reinforce the commitment to school attendance. In addition, the city has coordinated a summer-jobs program for students who maintain at least C averages and who attend school at least 90 percent of the time. 'We must deconstruct the policies that encourage kids to miss or leave school, and construct the incentives to get them to stay,' said Clifford B. Janey, the superintendent of the Rochester schools. 'Attendance should be linked to achievement.' Meanwhile, Buffalo is already seeing gains that officials attribute to relatively simple adjustments in the district's attendance policy this fall. By stating a new minimum attendance rate—85 percent—and making it clear, for the first time, that students who fall short cannot take final exams, the district seems to be raising attendance. In report covering the first five weeks of the school year, one Buffalo high school's attendance rate went from 81 percent in the same period last year to 88 percent. The yearlong average-attendance rate for the school last year was 76 percent, which mean that one in every four students was absent. The 47,000-student Buffalo district is providing home visits for students who have health problems, and automated phone calls to homes for every absence. 'Children and families are making better choices,' said Susan Doyle, the principal of the Buffalo Traditional School and the chairwoman of the district's attendance committee. 'They're changing doctor's appointments, and students are coming to see me before and after school, not during classes.'"
Should teen mothers be held to truancy standards?
Date CapturedSaturday April 14, 2007 08:49 PM
A Shrewdness of Apes blog: "Well, here's an interesting dilemma: Well, here's an interesting dilemma: A 16-year-old student who claims in a lawsuit that her school district discriminated against her because she is a teen mother has missed 211 days of school over the last four years, according to officials in the Harrisburg area school district. A 16-year-old student who claims in a lawsuit that her school district discriminated against her because she is a teen mother has missed 211 days of school over the last four years, according to officials in the Harrisburg area school district."

Truancy

State toughens its penalties for school truancy
Date CapturedSunday June 17, 2007 10:41 AM
Mainetoday.com reports, "Parents of [Maine] elementary schoolchildren will face larger fines and more intervention from the state if their children miss a lot of school, under a bill passed by the House and Senate this week."
Anti-truancy efforts begin to pay off for Rockford
Date CapturedTuesday June 12, 2007 09:41 AM
Rockford Register opines, "Truancy court may seem harsh, but it is not nearly as harsh as life without a good education. Kids who go to school regularly get better grades. Students who enjoy success at school are more likely to graduate. Teens who graduate are more likely to get better jobs and earn more money to support themselves and their families. Truant students are three times more likely to turn to crime than those who attend school regularly. We have a new jail for those students, but would rather see them turn their lives around than become guests at the criminal justice complex."
Truancy Reduction: Keeping Children in School
Date CapturedSunday May 13, 2007 05:47 PM
By Myriam L. Baker, Jane Nady Sigmon, and M. Elaine Nugent.
Habitual Truancy: Examples of State Definitions
Date CapturedSunday May 13, 2007 09:01 AM
For the most part, compulsory attendance laws do not specify the number of times a student must be truant before sanctions (also part of the compulsory attendance laws) are enforced. This ECS StateNote provides examples of states where truancy and habitual truancy are defined at the state level. (Kyle Zinth, Education Commission of the States, April 2005)
Truancy News and Reports Archives
Date CapturedSaturday May 12, 2007 06:17 PM
Education New York online "truancy" news and reports archives.
Re-Engaging Youth in School: Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project
Date CapturedSaturday May 12, 2007 05:46 PM
National Center for School Engagement, August 10, 2006. "The following data reflect all seven demonstration sites in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Truancy Prevention project. These sites are located in Suffolk County, New York; Contra Costa, California: Tacoma and Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Jacksonville, Florida. The purpose of collecting these data was to identify the intervention population and track truant students’ progress. The first set of tables is the aggregate of these seven sites from the projects inception to July 21, 2006. Following these data are the individual site reports. This report includes the following information: • Students Served • Ethnicity of Students • Grades of Students • Age of Students • Gender of Students • IEP status • Discipline Problems • Involvement with Juvenile Justice • Primary Care Giver • Income Eligibility Status • Students who live in home with only one adult • Students who have no working adult in the home • Average Number of children in the home • Unexcused Absences over Time • Excused Absences over Time • Tardies over Time • Days of In-School Suspensions • Days of Out-of-School Suspensions • Overall Academic Performance (over time)" "The overarching goal of truancy prevention is obviously to improve attendance and this effort was successful. In general, while excused daily absences did not change appreciably, unexcused daily absences fell dramatically and tardies declined. Period absences did not change linearly and therefore a meaningful trend isn’t apparent. Of the sites that reported enough update data, the most successful sites were Jacksonville and Honolulu. These sites primarily targeted parents because the target student population were elementary students. All sites had less information for students across time. One reason for this may be that students who no longer needed intervention were no longer tracked. Thus, reported improvements may actually be smaller than what actually occurred." " In general, the elementary-level truancy issues may be easier to deal with because the children are not 'deep-end' yet and the parents are the primary focus. Older truants are likely to have more challenges and thus may require more intensive services."
Truancy Intervention Project (TIP)
Date CapturedSaturday May 12, 2007 05:41 PM
The Truancy Intervention Project ("TIP") was developed in 1991 by former Fulton County Juvenile Court Chief Judge Glenda Hatchett and Terry Walsh, then President of the Atlanta Bar Association. Its objective is to provide an early, positive intervention with children reported as truants. Recognizing the need for a private sector partner to further provide for the children in the Project, Kids In Need of Dreams, Inc. was formed in 1993 to coordinate the efforts of the Truancy Intervention Project by recruiting and training attorney and non-attorney volunteers and facilitating utilization of community resources. After 14 years, in October 2005, this founding identity was dropped and the organization adopted the name Truancy Intervention Project Georgia.
Education reform meets truancy head on
Date CapturedThursday May 10, 2007 09:42 AM
On Board Online • Volume 6 • No. 17 • October 10, 2005. "While truancy is an age-old problem, the number of students cutting school increased 61 percent between 1989 and 1998, according to the Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. And truancy is blamed for high juvenile crime rates. In cities with aggressive truancy programs, juvenile crime rates have dropped considerably, 68 percent in Minneapolis alone."
New York City Schools Truancy Letter
Date CapturedWednesday March 07, 2007 01:10 PM
As the 2006-2007 school year begins we would like to wish all of our students a successful and productive year. We would also like to take this opportunity to provide important information about our continuing truancy reduction effort, which begins on the end of September 2006. The truancy program, known as TRACK in Brooklyn and Staten Island and PACT in Queens and Manhattan, is a cooperative venture among the New York City District Attorneys’ Offices, the New York City Police Department, the New York City Department of Education and the Police Athletic League. The purpose of the program is to reduce truancy and to keep students safe and in school during regular school hours.

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