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Tag: school success tips

A good start at learning pays dividends toward graduation

A good start at learning pays dividends toward graduation

January 14, 2014 | Posted in: Early Learners

It’s a serious problem. Every year, nearly one-third of high school students across the nation will not graduate – that’s more than 1.2 million students a year. In New York State, the numbers are better, with 74 percent of students graduating. But those numbers aren’t nearly good enough, not for the children whose opportunities are […]

A dropout risk in first grade?

A dropout risk in first grade?

January 14, 2014 | Posted in: Elementary

It’s a serious problem. Every year, nearly one-third of high school students across the nation will not graduate – that’s more than 1.2 million students a year. In New York State, the numbers are better, with 74 percent of students graduating. But those numbers aren’t nearly good enough, not for the children whose opportunities are […]

Rescuing the at-risk middle school student

Rescuing the at-risk middle school student

January 14, 2014 | Posted in: Middle Years

It’s a serious problem. Every year, nearly one-third of high school students across the nation will not graduate – that’s more than 1.2 million students a year. In New York State, the numbers are better, with 74 percent of students graduating. But those numbers aren’t nearly good enough, not for the children whose opportunities are […]

Da da da da da, squeak, squeak, squeak squeak

December 19, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

The squeaking sounds rang through the house, and we silently cringed. The girls did their homework behind closed bedroom doors, an attempt to buffer the sound of their brother’s clarinet “playing.” Even the dogs seemed to be scarce for the 30 minutes of daily practice. It was week 1 on this new instrument for our […]

Calming ‘Core’ anxiety of stressed-out students

Calming ‘Core’ anxiety of stressed-out students

October 10, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

The release of student test scores has added fuel to the arguments of an increasing number of parents disturbed by the effects new Common Core Learning Standards and standardized tests are having on their children. Some say their children are coming home from school stressed and frustrated about difficult schoolwork and demoralized by lower-than-expected state […]

Why I want my children to fail

October 2, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

My instinct as a mom is to shield my children from disappointment. I’d like to be able to guarantee them lives free from worry and stress. That, of course, is unrealistic. Disappointment is inevitable: Things do not go the way we would like all the time. So, I’ve decided on this approach: I want my […]

Preparing for the first day of school is about more than buying supplies

August 23, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

The first day of school is less than two weeks away, and we are not ready. We have not yet bought our pencils, notebooks, erasers, markers and box of tissues. We haven’t even thought about the first day of school outfit (which seems to be less of an issue for my fourth grade son than […]

Embrace learning in the final weeks of summer

August 23, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary

If your child is heading to school for the first time – or moving to a new school to start kindergarten – you may have some anxiety about whether they can “keep up” academically, socially and emotionally with the other kids. Use these final weeks of summer to reinforce, and even enhance, the skills they […]

Occasional ‘sick’ days have negative side effects on your child’s education

March 28, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

If you think it’s OK for your child to occasionally miss school “just because,” you might want to consider the following statistics: Students who are chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are less likely to read proficiently in 3rd grade As early as 6th grade, missing 18 or more days of school in a […]

Open children’s eyes to the fun of science

March 6, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

“Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.” ~Edwin Powell Hubble, The Nature of Science, 1954 Several weeks back, my high school junior and my third grader quizzed each other as they studied for tests. The elder was studying photosynthesis for an AP biology test; her younger […]