Category: News

Ed. Sec. Mumin Records Audiobook at the Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians (October 13, 2024)

On October 11, 2024, PA Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin visited the Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians (LAMP) to tour the library and record a narration of It Fell From the Sky by The Fan Brothers. Secretary Muminā€™s recording will be entered into the Library of Congressā€™ National Library Service Catalog.

LAMP is funded through the Pennsylvania Department of Educationā€™s Office of Commonwealth Libraries and administered throughout the state of Pennsylvania by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

The library provides people with disabilities access to free materials shipped to them in accessible formats like braille, audio, described movies, and large print, as well as digital access to downloadable audio or braille to hundreds of thousands of titles. The library also hosts a state-of-the-art recording studio that has added more than 700 audio books to the National Library Service Catalog. Since the early 1970ā€™s, the libraryā€™s three accessible sound booths and full digital array of equipment and support systems offer a unique and accessible service that adds locally themed books to the collection.

LAMPā€™s services are available to eligible Pennsylvania residents who have difficulty using standard print materials because of a visual, physical, or reading disability. To access services, users must submit an application form certified by a health professional or public or welfare agency authority (e.g., social worker, counselor, rehabilitation teacher, certified reading specialist, or superintendent). Professional librarians or anyone approved by the Library of Congress may also certify eligibility for patrons.

In addition, Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2024-25 budget secured more than $2.5 million in funding for LAMP, $3 million for Library Access, $70 million for the Public Library Subsidy, and more than $2.6 million for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education,Ā please visit the website.

One-third of Teenager Students Report Experiencing Racism in School (October 13, 2024)

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) results of a 2023 nationwide Youth Risk Behavior Survey released on October 8, 2024, Asian, multiracial, and Black students were the most likely to report having ever experienced racism in school. In fact,more than half of Asian students (57%) and nearly half of multiracial (49%) and Black (46%) students reported experiencing racism sometimes in their schooling. Non-White students reported experiencing racism in school at a rate two to three times higher than the 17% reported by White students.

In addition, poor mental health, suicide risk and substance use consistently ranked higher among students who reported ever experiencing racism in school when compared to students who said they had never faced a racist environment.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

Helping Students Learn to Resolve Conflict and Move Forward October 12, 2024)

Nationally, about 19% of students between the ages of 12 and 18 reported they were bullied in the 2021-22 school year. Topping the list includes being the subject of rumors, being called names or insulted, and physically being shoved, pushed or spat on, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Human development expert Suzanne Freedman says that working to understand other peopleā€™s behavior and extend forgiveness are keys to resolving student conflict and move forward. Citing the childrenā€™s book Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun that teaches about forgiveness,

Freedman is concerned that people think anger and sadness are negative emotions. However, allowing students to explore their anger is the first phase of the forgiveness process. Thus, to help students accept that anger is normal, she encourages educators to refer to these feelings as ā€œuncomfortable emotions.ā€ She has concerns that by calling these emotions negative, students begin to think that feeling sad or angry or having anxiety is not normal, which can create other issues.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

CDC Study Focuses on Transgender High School Students and Those Questioning Gender Identity (October 12, 2024)

On October 8, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of its first nationally representative survey data on transgender students, which showed that transgender students also had higher rates of bullying and poor mental health. In fact, CDC found that approximately 3% of the nationā€™s high school students are transgender, and another 2.2% say they are questioning their gender. In addition, slightly over a quarter of transgender students and the same portion of questioning students skipped school in 2023 because they felt unsafe, compared to just 8.5% of cisgender male students. About the same level also said they attempted suicide within the last year, as opposed to 5% of their cisgender male peers. Transgender and questioning students also had higher rates of bullying and poor mental health and the lowest rates of school connectedness when compared to their cisgender male and female peers.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

AAP Cautions Schools Regarding School Exclusionary Discipline (October 12, 2024)

According an October 1, 2024 statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), research shows that students from marginalized communities, including students with disabilities and LGBTQ+ students, are disproportionately impacted by exclusionary school discipline policies. In addition, research over the past 20 years shows that suspensions and expulsions donā€™t necessarily deter misbehavior and, during the 2020-21 school year 28% of students were suspended more than once.

The nonprofit pediatric organization also cautions that suspending or expelling a student is one of the most severe punishments schools can issue, and those actions can have lifelong, harmful consequences, according to an updated policy statement issued Oct. 1 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. As a result, AAP recommends schools reduce the use of exclusionary discipline through trauma-informed practices, as well as collect and analyze discipline data to identify areas for improvement.Ā 

AAP also suggests students be monitored for chronic absenteeism and screened for developmental disabilities ā€” both of which can make school more challenging for students.Ā 

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.