Does this mother deserve 20 years in prison for trying to get a quality education for her son? When is the criminal justice system going to stop being so hard on African Americans mothers? This is the second African American mother arrested in weeks for the same charge.
Mother Arrested for Stealing Education for Her Son
Police said an 8-year-old boy brought this gun to his Queens school on Thursday and sold it to another boy for $3.
Gun Brought to School by 8-Year-Old Had 3 Live Rounds
The schools chancellor says it’s something that “can’t be tolerated.”
By Jonathan Dienst and Shimon Prokupecz
The gun that an 8-year-old Queens boy brought to school and sold to a classmate for $3 had three live rounds in it, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Friday.
The boy and his father are both facing gun charges in the shocking near-miss at a Flushing school.
Kelly told reporters that the boy’s father kept the Taurus 9 mm handgun on top of a refrigerator, and had scratched off its serial number.
“The father has made statements that he purchased the gun for self-protection,” Kelly said.
The weapon was discovered when the second boy brought the gun home and showed it to his mother, police said. The mom rushed to PS 107 in Flushing to report it, and school officials called police.
Both the father, a 56-year-old Queens man, and his 8-year-old son will be charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
The boy who bought the gun for $3 is not being charged. Investigators believe the boy thought he was buying a toy gun, according to a source.
The 8-year-old busted on the gun charge will have his case heard in family court. The father is in custody.
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said the loaded gun winding up in school was a “sad situation.”
“That’s something that can’t be tolerated,” he said.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/8-Year-Old-Brings-Gun-Sells-it-at-Queens-School-120901834.html
Report: Early education investment saves on crime, school costs
Officials point to study as reason to support reauthorization of federal programs
By Christopher Cadelago, UNION-TRIBUNE
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 3:40 p.m.
EL CAJON — Local officials on Tuesday used a new law enforcement study on the relationship between better schooling and lower crime rates to call renewed attention to federal investment in early childhood education programs.
Regional results of a statewide analysis by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California were unveiled by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Sheriff Bill Gore, San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne and El Cajon Chief Pat Sprecco at the Grossmont College Child Development Center.
The report says investment in early education saves much more down the line in reduced criminal justice and education costs. Specifically, the report says investment in programs such as preschool could reduce special education costs by 10 percent.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a bipartisan anti-crime organization of more than 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, attorneys general and violence survivors. The organization is imploring policymakers to support provisions in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization that encourage states to incorporate early learning into the educational structure.
Hunter said it was his job to ensure that educators and local law enforcement receive the resources they need to perform their jobs.
“And I am convinced that early childhood education plays the biggest role and provides the biggest benefit — the biggest bang for that buck — that we’re looking for right now with this economy for American citizens,” he said.
“We have to catch kids young, and I would say No. 1 this is a parent’s responsibility. But in this age that we live in, in this world that we live in, things are different now: You have single-parent households, more now than we’ve probably ever had in our nation’s history. You have households where both parents work, sometimes multiple jobs. And that leaves our education system as kind of the last bastion, the last guardian for our nation’s children growing up.”
If preschool funding is cut, state and local schools would have to spend more on special education services and other K-12 costs, said Dumanis, who served five years on the juvenile court bench.
The report, Dumanis said, shows what she’s observed intuitively and anecdotally: at-risk children were 43% less likely to be placed in special education during their K-12 schooling if they received early training.
“By investing more in early learning, there are some very real taxpayer savings to be had in the area of public safety,” she said.
In San Diego County, more than $800 million is spent on special education services, but only $83 million went toward state and federally funded preschool that served 4-year-olds in 2010–11, according to the report. Total K-12 savings could reach $160 million annually because preschool can reduce grade retention and improve learning environments.
Just 26 percent of 4-year-olds and 15 percent of 3-year-olds were served by publicly funded preschool and Head Start. In nearly ever local budget statewide the largest line item is for public safety, Gore said. It costs the state about $50,000 a year to incarcerate an inmate, $35,000 in the county.
“This report shows that investment in very professional, well-targeted early education programs pays off in the long run, especially in the criminal justice system,” Gore said. “By the time kids reach kindergarten, they should be ready to learn. They should have those socialization skills, the literacy skills so they can hit the ground running.”
christopher.cadelago@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1334
CaseClosed2: I thought early education was nationwide. Years ago it was called preschool, and Headstart. Children who didn’t have parents to teach them at home, or even if they did, went to preschool and headstart and were given a head start to learning and when they entered kindergarten they were more advanced than if they had not attended preschool and headstart.
Experts say pregnant women should read to their unborn children, so if reading to them in the womb is necessary and gives unborn children an advantage, why stop there? Preschool also gives children a necessary advantage.
Donna Gialanella/The Star-Ledger Parents wait in line outside the Ann Street Elementary School in Newark this morning in hopes of landing a spot for their child.
Newark parents wait in line for hours to land children coveted place in Ann Street school
Published: Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 10:41 AM Updated: Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 9:40 PM
By Eunice Lee/The Star-Ledger
NEWARK — Over 120 parents waited in line for hours — many overnight — in hopes of landing a spot for their child at Ann Street Elementary School in Newark.
Tatiana Mani was determined to get her 5-year-old daughter, Brianna, into one of the coveted spots and told her boss she’d be coming into work late today.
“They thought that I was crazy. They had a hard time believing what I had to do to get my child registered,” said Mani while standing by the school’s steps this morning. She landed the first spot in line by tag-teaming with her husband Juan, who arrived at 9 a.m. Tuesday, together waiting nearly 24 hours.
“He slept. I didn’t. We ordered pizza,” she said.
The school has limited slots – only openings for 85 kindergartners, according to Principal Linda Richardson.
“It’s a very frustrating situation to be in,” Richardson said standing outside the school among the crowd. “It’s all about the space that’s available.”
At 8:55 a.m. this morning, the line lurched forward and security staff admitted parents one by one, handing roughly the first half of the line a blue numbered card and directing them to the auditorium. The second half of the line got yellow cards and were directed to the cafeteria.
Fabiana Isaia, who was No. 40, came prepared with a lawn chair, blankets, food and “two jackets just in case.”
“This school has a Blue Ribbon so everyone wants to put their kid here. That’s the biggest problem.” said Isaia, who has a 5-year-old son. “Every year it’s a nightmare to put your kid here.”
nj.com
Philadelphia Providing 11-Year-Olds With Free Condoms
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA– Children as young as 11-years-old can now pick up or order free condoms from the Philadelphia Public Health Department through a program called Take Control Philly.
A recent survey of sixth-graders in West Philly showed that 25 percent of the 11-year-olds had already had sex. The Take Control Philly program strives to prevent STD’s and unplanned pregnancy.
The program offers information about STD’s, contraception, and even a graphic cartoon video on how to use a female or male condom.
“If you live in Philadelphia and you are between the ages of 11 and 19, all you have to do is fill out the form below and we’ll put together a package for you,” the site states.
While some parents are worried about the message this program may convey to children,the Health Commission says that many students in the schools are exposed to sex at a young age.
“Clearly, we don’t think it’s OK for 11-year-olds to be having sex,” says City Health Commissioner Donald Schwarz. “But we don’t have the infrastructure in place to fix [that] problem fast. We can, however, make condoms available fairly quickly to whoever needs them.”
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/City-Gives-Condoms-to-11-Year-Olds-119769714.html
CaseClosed2: Children should remain children for as long as possible and shouldn’t be having sex in the first place. Eleven is far too young to be doing what adults do and they definitely shouldn’t have willing participants, so parents get your girls in check.
Kids whose parents don’t have a lot of money to spend on school clothes can simply buy a few school uniforms in schools where uniforms are a must, the playing field would be equal. Now it’s not about your designer threads, it’s about your brain and mind . Read what a student has to say on the subject of school uniforms…
Uniforms are a form of discipline
To the editor:
Kristin Ethridge’s response to the article about “Perry Heights Middle School stifling the creativity of students because of considering uniforms”, was the best article I have read in the letters to the Courier & Press.
This is one reason why private and parochial school systems are far ahead of the public school system in social and academic ratings for primary and secondary education.
Uniforms emphasize the point that how you dress does not make you a better person. Students should respect each other no matter if some are less talented mentally, physically or less popular due to their parents’ social or monetary success.
A lesson learned should be applied for all school systems.
Uniforms would enhance the ability of public school teachers to teach children without the caste system which exists now due to the lack of a realistic dress policy.
If you doubt my reasoning, just observe the students’ dress at public schools compared to parochial schools.
Jerome Schapker
Evansville
New Reach 10 For Education To Launch
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Save Duval Schools Inc. is joining with public education advocates from around the state in launching Reach 10 for Education; a bold new multi-media public awareness campaign aimed at spurring immediate action from those who care about the future of public education in Florida.
The campaign is in response to the recent proposed spending cuts. The campaign includes news media appearances, paid media advertising as well as internet and social media components.
A news conference will be held Monday at 10:30 to announce the new campaign.
Bullying hits parents, too
When a child is bullied, parents may also feel victimized
By Stephanie Pappas
LiveScience
updated 4/24/2011 11:43:39 AM ET 2011-04-24T15:43:39
One evening two weeks ago, Nancy Anderson Dolan’s 13-year-old son opened his laptop and yelled like he’d been struck. Dolan rushed to his side and saw what had appalled her child: An expletive-filled message from a child her son has known for years, threatening to hurt him.
Moments later, her son’s phone lit up with text messages from another child: More threats, more cruel insults.
“It was an odd experience, like kind of a home invasion, actually, because it was just so sudden and unexpected,” Dolan, a counselor in Calgary, Alberta, told LiveScience. “It was freakish. You just couldn’t wrap your mind around something like this happening.”
Even now, after involving her son’s school and helping him recover from the cyberbullying incident, Dolan finds herself on edge.
“We are having a pretty optimal response, but still that sense of not being able to keep my child safe is so pervasive,” she said. “It strips away any facade you might have that you think you are able to protect your children.”
Most research on bullying has focused on its effect on children, for the good reason that children bear the brunt of the suffering. But parent reports suggest that Dolan’s emotional reaction isn’t unusual. When a kid is bullied, many parents say they feel angry, frustrated and helpless. Their relationships with other adults in the community may crack as parents choose sides. In some cases, bullying strains the whole family, making it harder for parents to help end their child’s torment. [The History of Human Aggression]
“What I always encourage parents to do is to have a measured, calm approach to the situation,” Susan Swearer, a bullying expert and psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told LiveScience. “That’s difficult to do, because it’s upsetting, obviously, when your son or daughter comes home and they’re upset.”
Fear and worry
One reason kids bully each other is perceived differences, Swearer said, ranging from clothes to body shape to intelligence. Seven-year-old Samantha Shaw recently got cosmetic surgery to correct a minor ear deformity that her mother, Cami Roselle, worried could lead to her being bullied.
“The fact is, we are all different in some way from each other. That’s one thing that makes humans so interesting,” Swearer said. “Since kids bully others for a variety of reasons, I suspect that having plastic surgery will not stop the bullying.”
A bully’s choice of victimscan come out of nowhere for parents. For Dolan, the bullying incident shook her perception of her tight community and her son’s small private school. It saddened her younger son, who had previously looked up to one of the boys who’d sent the messages. And it raised the specter of her child getting physically harmed, either by the children who’d threatened him or by his own hand.
“A teacher who is a client came in that week and talked about a student of hers who committed suicide from bullying,” Dolan said. “It really impacted me to have that come up during the same time.”
Continue reading…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42721657/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/?GT1=43001#
More debate, less involvement
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Suburban Trends
More debate, less involvement
Dear editor:
My entire academic career has so far taken place in the West Milford Public School System. Currently, I am a junior at the town’s public high school, and although it would be untrue to say I am at an age where I have reached full maturity (If such an age exists), I have become more aware of the political action and events in town that take place due to the school system.
Evidently, the vote on the budget, along with the Board of Education candidates has become progressively more polarizing for the town over the past many years, and has contributed no solutions for the schools.
I want to make one thing clear if anyone is reading this article: I am not trying to influence residents to vote yes or no for this year’s proposed budget.
I am simply giving my input concerning the school system and local politics. Frankly, I am tired of a lot of the hostility this new political debate is having on West Milford’s education.
Rather than encouraging the increased involvement in community, and education of civics, many are just demonizing those of the opposite opinion. This empty political rhetoric is infiltrating and overshadowing the students’ education.
For example, look at the debate surrounding last year’s budget cuts. It seemed like every issue of local newspapers had a picture of parents using their young children to hold signs containing slogans like, “Board of Dread” and “Do I look like a tax dollar?”
I personally find the exploitation of children who are at an age where they are not fully exposed to all affecting factors of the town budget to be horrifying.
I admire the concern of these parents for their children’s education, yet I feel using them as a piece of political protest seems wrong.
In the same way, I am just as sick of this negative attitude many voters display toward teachers. I understand that the salary and benefits of teachers are political issues, and do affect taxpayers, however that is no excuse to demonize one of the most noble professions in the town.
Perhaps the most saddening part of all this is that the increased debate has not increased involvement. Many citizens, especially young adults, are not exercising their right to vote on these matters, and rather than hosting mature discussions on what kind of compromises can be made to address these difficulties, residents are depicting their fellow citizens as monsters.
So I can only hope this year, that maybe when voters witness the vicious debates at Board of Education meetings, they realize that they themselves are just as responsible for this chaos.
I am unhappy with the many excuses, this is a democracy after all, and if West Milford is going to be confident enough to expect solutions, it needs to be humble enough to be responsible and compromise.
Joe Barry,
West Milford High School junior,
West Milford
Our Children Deserve A Good Education 