http://www.edutopia.org/social-emotional-learning-across-curriculum

Creating a Safe Place: Lessons on Managing Emotions Pay Off

Integrating social and emotional learning across the curriculum helps make a secure learning environment.

http://www.healthinschools.org/News-Room/Grant-Alerts/Grants-for-Underserved-Youth-Tiger-Woods.aspx

The Tiger Woods Foundation is accepting applications for grants through its underserved youth grant program to support projects that provide education and youth development to underserved youth ages 5-17, particularly those that focus on youth in urban American cities.

Award amounts vary; average amounts are $2,500-$25,000. Eligible applicants are organizations that have been in existence for at least one year, have been determined to be tax exempt under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and are not private foundations as defined in Section 509(a) of the Code.

Deadline: May 1, 2008 (Second quarter awards)

Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid is a comprehensive resource on student financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education. Grants, loans, and work-study are the three major forms of aid available through the Department's Federal Student Aid office. Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid tells students about the programs and how to apply for them.

For a copy of the 2008-09 Guide in English and Spanish versions, please visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide/index.htm

April 24-25, 2008
Orlando

Florida's 3rd Annual Bullying Prevention Conference, sponsored by the Florida Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, will be held April 24-25, 2008, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, to raise awareness and provide prevention information and tools about bullying.

Prevention specialists, school guidance counselors, teachers, principals, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Coordinators, school health educators, school psychologists/social workers, School Resource Officers (SROs)/law enforcement, staff development directors, etc., are encouraged to attend. To register, please visit https://www.aceofflorida.org/Register/Register01.cfm?lngEventDateID=238&lngEvent=132.

Department of Education TV Broadcast: The U.S. Department of Education's monthly TV show, "Education News Parents Can Use," recently aired, "Dropout Prevention: Helping All Students Get on Track for Success." In addition to a greeting from Margaret Spellings, education secretary, the show featured a cast of experts in the areas of dropout prevention and youth counseling. This episode of "Education News" examined dropout prevention strategies that work, including adolescent reading interventions, intensive tutoring and remediation techniques and alternative high school programs, such as career academies, middle colleges and community college dual-enrollment programs that provide support, encouragement and direction for at-risk youth and struggling students. View this episode of "Education News."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/apa-ps021408.php

Public release date: 18-Feb-2008

Contact: Kim Mills
kmills@apa.org
202-336-6048
American Psychological Association

'Internet predator' stereotypes debunked in new study

Internet offenders target teens, not young children -- rarely use force, abduction or deception

WASHINGTON— Contrary to stereotype, most Internet sex offenders are not adults who target young children by posing as another youth, luring children to meetings, and then abducting or forcibly raping them, according to researchers who have studied the nature of Internet-initiated sex crimes.

Rather, most online sex offenders are adults who target teens and seduce victims into sexual relationships. They take time to develop the trust and confidence of victims, so that the youth see these relationships as romances or sexual adventures. The youth most vulnerable to online sex offenders have histories of sexual or physical abuse, family problems, and tendencies to take risks both on- and offline, the researchers say.

In short, the researchers draw a clearer picture about adults who troll the Internet for sex with minors in the study, “Online ‘Predators’ and Their Victims: Myths, Realities and Implications for Prevention,” published in the February/March issue of American Psychologist. The journal is published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

The study was based on three surveys—two comprising telephone interviews of a combined 3,000 Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17; first in 2000 and again in 2005; and one involving 612 interviews with federal, state and local law enforcement officials in the United States between October 2001 and July 2002. These studies were conducted by the authors, Janis Wolak, JD, David Finkelhor, PhD, Kimberly Mitchell, PhD and Michele Ybarra, PhD, at the Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire.

“To prevent these crimes, we need accurate information about their true dynamics,” said Janis Wolak, lead author of the study. “The things that we hear and fear and the things that actually occur may not be the same. The newness of the environment makes it hard to see where the danger is.”

For example, in spite of public concern, the authors found that adolescents’ use of popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook do not appear to increase their risk of being victimized by online predators. Rather, it is risky online interactions such as talking online about sex to unknown people that increases vulnerability, according to the researchers.

“Most Internet-initiated sex crimes involve adult men who are open about their interest in sex,” Wolak said. “The offenders use instant messages, e-mail and chat rooms to meet and develop intimate relationships with their victims. In most of the cases, the victims are aware that they are talking online with adults.”

“A majority of the offenders are charged with crimes such as statutory rape, that involve non-forcible sexual activity with adolescent victims who are too young to consent to sexual intercourse with adults,” she added.

Current educational efforts that are focused on discouraging children from giving out or posting personal information, warning about deception online, and urging parents to monitor their children may not be effective, according to the authors.

Wolak and her colleagues say more effort should be directed at helping teens appreciate the drawbacks and inappropriateness of romantic relationships with adults. These efforts should include frank discussions of the dynamics of Internet-initiated sex crimes. Since many of the victims do not have good relationships with parents, ways to reach vulnerable teens directly, through sources they find credible, need to be found.

Among the study’s other findings:

·        Internet offenders pretended to be teenagers in only 5 percent of the crimes studied by researchers.

·        Nearly 75 percent of victims who met offenders face-to-face did so more than once.

·        Online sex offenders are seldom violent, and cases involving stalking or abduction are very rare.

·        Youth who engaged in four or more risky online behaviors were much more likely to report receiving online sexual solicitations. The online risky behaviors included maintaining buddy lists that included strangers, discussing sex online with people they did not know in person and being rude or nasty online.

·        Boys who are gay or are questioning their sexuality may be more susceptible to Internet-initiated sex crimes than other populations. Researchers found boys were the victims in nearly one-quarter of criminal cases, and most cases included facts that suggested victims were gay or questioning their sexuality.

###

STUDY: Online “Predators” and Their Victims: Myths, Realities, and Implications for Prevention and Treatment, Janis Wolak, PhD, David Finkelhor, PhD and Kimberley J. Mitchell, PhD Crimes Against Children Center at the University of New Hampshire and Michelle L. Ybarra, PhD, Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc., American Psychologist, Vol. 63, No.2 .

Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs office or at http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/amp632111.pdf

Janis Wolak, Research Assistant Professor, can be reached at (603) 285-5841 or by email at janis.wolak@unh.edu

Co-author David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes against Children Research Center, can be reached at (603)767-1010 or by email at david.finkelhor@unh.edu

Co-author Kimberly Mitchell, Research Assistant Professor can be reached at 603-862-4533 or by email at kimberly.mitchell@unh.edu

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/uod-uod022108.php

Public release date: 21-Feb-2008

Contact: Dave Brendsel
dbrendse@du.edu
303-871-2775
University of Denver

University of Denver bullying victimization study

DENVER-A University of Denver study shows a curriculum-based bullying prevention program reduced incidents of bullying by 20 percent, twice as much as in the study control group.

Jeffrey M. Jenson and William A. Dieterich of the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work studied more than 1,100 students in 28 elementary schools in Denver public schools. One group was exposed to a bullying prevention program called “Youth Matters” (YM). A second “control” group of students was not.

Self-reported bully victimization among students taking the “Youth Matters” curriculum decreased at 20 percent compared to a 10 percent drop from students in the control group.

“By the end of the study bully victimization was significantly lower in the YM group relative to the control group,” Jenson reports. “This outcome is encouraging because the curriculum modules tested in the study focused on teaching the social and emotional skills necessary to avoid becoming a bully victim.”

The results are detailed in a paper, “Effects of a Skills-based Prevention Program on Bullying and Bully Victimization among Elementary School Children,” published in the December 2007 issue of Prevention Science by the Society for Prevention Research.

Previous research has shown that about 25 percent of elementary students either bully or are victims of bullying. Studies also suggest that both bullies and victims are at risk for later mental health problems and involvement in anti-social activities. Educators have focused attention on bullying in the wake of school shootings over the last decade. In some of those cases there were indications that the shooters had themselves been bullied as young children.

Students in the Jenson-Dieterich study who participated in the “Youth Matters” curriculum received training in four 10-week modules over the course of two academic years. The curriculum focused on two themes: issues and skills related to bullying and other forms of early aggression.

In skills instruction, students learned how to use social and interpersonal skills to decrease the likelihood of being bullied by classmates. They also were taught ways to stand up for themselves and others, and instruction in asking for help when confronted by a bully. The goal of the training was to teach students how to use these skills to stay out of trouble, build positive relationships, make good decisions, and avoid anti-social behavior.

“Understanding the consequences of bullying from both a bully and a victim perspective is emphasized in training sessions,” Jenson reports. “Our findings point to the importance of social and emotional skills in reducing bullying.”

###

The University of Denver (www.du.edu), the oldest private university in the Rocky Mountain region, enrolls approximately 11,117 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Denver as a Research University with high research activity. The Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) is the oldest school of social work in the Rocky Mountain region. Its Master of Social Work (MSW) program is ranked in the top quarter of all accredited graduate social work programs by U.S. News & World Report.

ASCA’s professional recognition awards program to recognize individuals for professional contributions as counselor educators and counseling director/coordinators at the district or state level is now available online at www.schoolcounselor.org/stateleaders. The deadline to receive the applications is March 20, 2008.

Award recipients will be recognized at the 2008 ASCA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, June 28-July 1, 2008.

http://www.ed.gov/programs/dvpsafeschools/applicant.html

Register today for the 2008 Bullying Prevention Conference, April 24-25 in Orlando at the Rosen Centre Hotel. This two-day conference focuses on "creating a culture of positive behavior".

The Bullying Prevention Conference will offer presentations and important information on:

• Effective bullying prevention programs and strategies
• Cyberbullying and Internet Safety
• Changing school culture/climate to address bullying
• Bullying and athletics
• Brain research and bullying
• Bullying and Florida law
• Bullying and students with disabilities
• Relationship between gangs and bullying
• School bullying: minimizing risk of harm and liability
• And more!

If you're looking to strengthen fundamental understanding of bullying and related issues, the sample courses listed below are only a few of the offerings at this conference:

    202/302 – “EmpathyThe Missing Link”
    208/308 – The Relationship between School Connectedness and Bullying
    503        – The Power of Positive Action
    504        – “It Takes a School to Stop a Bully”
    704/804 – Dissecting the Bully and the Bullied Brain: Impact of Bullying and Learning
    707/807 – Community-Level Prevention of Bullying
    708/808 – Welcome to the New Frontier: Cyberbullying Characteristics and Preventative Strategies

Hurry! Catch the early bird rate to lock in your spot at the conference for a discounted rate of only $175*. Click here to register NOW for the conference! <http://mcsv.net/cgi-bin/redir?MCid=fOoVMOFadsJSm88Zniuu>  

*All registration forms must be postmarked no later than April 10.

Accommodations:
Rosen Centre Hotel
$125.00 per night
Reservation Code:
Bullying Prevention Conference
9840 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819-8122
(407) 996-9840 or (800) 204-7234
 www.RosenCentre.com <http://mcsv.net/cgi-bin/redir?MCid=6FmcyaNYZ6JSm88Zniuu>

For More Information
Office of Safe Schools
325 West Gaines Street, Room 554
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
Phone: 850.245.0416
Fax: 850.245.9978

Participants represent multiple disciplines and professions including:
Children and Family Mental Health Counselors
Community Agencies
Community Coalition Leaders
Deans of Discipline
Department of Children and Families
Department of Health
Department of Juvenile Justice
Exceptional Student Education
Extended Day/After School Staff
Parents
Prevention Specialists
Principals/APs
PTA/PTO
Safe and Drug-Free Schools Coordinators
SAFE Coordinators
School Advisory Council Members
School Board Members
School Guidance Counselors
School Health Educators
School Nurses
School Psychologist and Social Workers
School Resource Officers
Law Enforcement
Staff Development Directors
Student Services Directors
Students
Teachers

Sponsored by:
Florida Department of Education
Office of Safe Schools
Safe and Drug-Free Schools Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free Schools Project
Florida Institute of Education
University of North Florida

Peer Reviewers Needed for ESSCP: The Department of Education is seeking peer reviewers for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program competition. The panel reviews for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program are scheduled to take place March 6-April 25. The calls for Round One are planned for March 11, 17 and 20. Round Two Calls are planned for March 25, 31 and April 3. Round Three Calls are planned for April 8, 14 and 17. Calls will be held in the afternoon (ET). Reviewers are expected to read approximately 11 applications, and possibly up to 12, per round. If you would like to be considered for this year's counseling peer review, send your updated resume to osdfs@fbs-dc.com immediately. Please note your interest in this program (84.215E).

Free Resource for Parents of Teens: ParentingTeensOnline is a monthly publication that offers cutting-edge information on all topics you discuss with parents, from risk-taking behaviors to family relationships and more. Sign up to get free issues to distribute to parents. More info at http://www.parentingteensonline.com/user/landingPage/type/ASCA

Promote Safe Schools for All Students: A coalition of 13 national organizations, including ASCA, recently released "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators, and School Personnel." The publication serves as a guide for employees who confront sensitive issues involving gay, lesbian and bisexual students. It is intended to help school administrators foster safe and healthy school environments, in which all students can achieve to the best of their ability. Download the document at http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.pdf.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/uoo-pib021308.php

Public release date: 15-Feb-2008

Contact: Jim Barlow
jebarlow@uoregon.edu
541-346-3481
University of Oregon

Parental intervention boosts education of kids at high risk of failure

University of Oregon neuroscientists are using basic research findings to address real world problems

BOSTON -- An eight-week-long intervention program aimed at parents from low socioeconomic backgrounds reaped significant educational benefits in their preschool-aged children, a University of Oregon research fellow reported today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In a news briefing (9 a.m. EST, “Poverty and the Brain”) and scientific session later in the day, Courtney Stevens, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Brain Development Lab of UO neuroscientist Helen J. Neville, described preliminary results of a parent-intervention portion of a larger study that also includes other approaches aimed at the children in a federal Head Start program in Oregon. The parent training program was developed by UO doctoral student Jessica Fanning, who recently completed her dissertation.

At the end of the intervention effort, participating parents reported dramatic reductions in family stress, including reduced behavioral problems, compared to parents in the control group. The UO researchers also documented, through testing and brain-wave scans, improvements in the children's language-acquisition skills, memory and cognitive abilities.

The experimental group included 14 children between 3 and 5 years old and their parents. The children underwent brain scans before and after the research period. The parents attended weekly 2.5-hour sessions in which they were coached on improved communication skills and strategies to use with their children to help control their behavior. At the end of testing, they were compared with results from a control group of 14 children who were tested and had brain scans at the beginning and end of the study period, but whose parents did not receive an intervention protocol.

Several other intervention strategies, including the use of music and attention training with small groups of children, were part of the project, but only data from the parental intervention were shared during a AAAS session on "Poverty and Brain Development: Correlations, Mechanisms, and Societal Implications" scheduled for 1:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m. EST.

"Our findings are important because they suggest that kids who are at high risk for school failure can be helped through these interventions," said Stevens, who earned master's and doctoral degrees at the UO and is currently a visiting faculty member at New York's Sarah Lawrence College. "Even with these small numbers of children, the parent training appears very promising.

"We are continuing to assess the parent training program," she added. "We are looking at the effects of the training on children's brain organization, using event-related brain potentials. We are following these children for the next few years to see whether the improvements we see after training persist and generalize to the school environment."

The intervention strategies, being tested with funding from the Institute of Education Science, were created after 30 years of basic research by Neville on the changeability of the human brain, supported primarily by the National Institutes of Health. Neville has studied children and adults with a variety of experiences, including deafness and blindness, to see impacts in the brain. She had found that the auditory cortex and areas of the brain associated with visual abilities -- for years thought to be genetically determined at birth -- rewire and adapt for other helpful uses.

Neville, who initially was scheduled to present the new findings, did not attend the AAAS meeting. She described her early work in an interview at the UO.

"We've identified different neuroplasticity profiles," Neville said. "Within vision, within hearing, within attention and within language some systems in the brain don't seem to change very much when experiences are very different, and others change remarkably. As we looked more into basic development and developmental disorders, these same systems that were enhanced in the deaf and blind were the same ones that appear to be most vulnerable and deficient in disorders such as dyslexia and specific language impairments.

"We've learned that plasticity is a double-edged sword," she said. "A system that is changeable can be enhanced, but it can also be very vulnerable to deficits if it doesn’t get the appropriate help at the right time."

Catching children while they are young is the right time, Neville said. Targeting children from families with low socioeconomic status makes sense, she said, because research in the United States, United Kingdom and several other countries has repeatedly shown a correlation between children's educational achievement and their parents' education and income levels.

"Knowing the plasticity profiles and learning which are most changeable provides us with an opportunity to help in the real world," she said. A societal payoff for such interventions is economic, she added. "The research is not just good for the children; it is good for the economy. "Economists say that investment in early education returns $18 for every dollar spent."

###

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Sources: Courtney Stevens, UO research fellow and visiting faculty member at Sarah Lawrence College, courtney@uoregon.edu; Helen Neville, professor of psychology and neuroscience, 541-346-4260, neville@uoregon.edu

Links: Stevens Web page: http://uoregon.edu/~courtney/; Neville faculty page: http://bdl.uoregon.edu/Personnel/people.html?helen; UO Brain Development Lab: http://bdl.uoregon.edu/mainindex.html; department of psychology: http://psychweb.uoregon.edu/

According to a national report issued by the College Board, more than one-fifth of Florida's 2007 public high school graduates passed an Advanced Placement (AP) exam, ranking Florida fourth in the nation. In addition, Florida once again had the second greatest increase in the total number of public school students earning a passing score (3 or above) on an AP exam when compared to all other states from 2006 to 2007.

According to the College Board, Florida has been recognized for:

• A record number of students taking AP exams in high school and nearly double the number of students taking AP exams five years ago.
• Increasing the overall number of students taking AP exams by more than 9 percent over the previous year.
• Increasing the number of African-American and Hispanic students taking AP exams over the previous year (15.6 and 10.7 percent increases respectively).
• The greatest number of African-American and Hispanic students passing AP exams when compared to all other states.
• Eliminating the achievement gap for Hispanic students - the percentage of Florida Hispanic students passing AP exams in 2007 is greater than the percentage of Hispanic students in that graduating class.

For more information on both the student essay and educator award contests, visit http://www.fldoe.org/evaluation/.

Anxiety and worry are two ailments that we all suffer from time to time. Just like every condition, the symptoms of and degree to which we experience each differs from person to person. Some people cope easily with their anxieties while others can become consumed by worries and let them ruin their life.

The Teen Health Centre writes that “anxiety is why humans are still around today. It is an evolutionary and biological process that tells us when we can stay where we are and when we need to either protect ourselves or move to a safer place - also known as the fight or flight response” (http://www.teenhealthcentre.com/articles/publish).

This “fight or flight response,” as reported by kidshealth.org, can cause many physical sensations such as a faster heartbeat and breathing, tense muscles, sweaty palms, a queasy stomach, and trembling hands or legs. The symptoms are caused by a rush of adrenaline and other chemicals that prepare the body to make a quick getaway from danger (www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/anxiety.html).

The physical responses are instantly triggered when we sense any sort of threat to our physical well-being. However, although it takes a few more seconds, our bodies don’t just physically react to stresses, the thinking part of our brain (the cortex) will also be triggered to “process the situation and evaluate whether the threat is real, and if so, how to handle it. If the cortex sends the all-clear signal, the fight-flight response is deactivated and the nervous system can relax” (www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/anxiety.html).

However, in many people, especially teens, the Teen Health Center reports that people can get stuck in “sympathetic mode.” Also known as the mode in which our bodies stay tense, alert and physically responsive to the surrounding stresses (www.teenhealthcentre.com/aritcles/publish). The Centre compares this situation to that of a CD with a scratch in it. “As much as the laser should (and tries) to move forward to play the next part of a song, it is stuck in the groove of the scratch and cannot seem to get out. So too do our brains become stuck in the survival mode, and our Parasympathetic Nervous System never receives the okay from our brain to start doing its work.

KidsHealth.org admits that it is perfectly natural for “new, unfamiliar, or challenging situations to prompt feelings of anxiety or nervousness” (www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/anxiety.html).

Facing an important test, a big date, or a major class presentation can trigger normal anxiety. It may seem weird since these situations don’t actually threaten a person’s safety, but in today’s world the thought of being potentially embarrassed, making a mistake, fitting in and/or being rejected can cause just as strong of physical reaction (www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/anxiety.html).

As KidsHealth.org reports, since “anxiety makes a person alert, focused, and ready to head off potential problems, a little anxiety can help us do our best in situations that involve performance. But anxiety that's too strong can interfere with doing our best.

Information from:
www.kidshealth.org
The Teen Health Centre
www.teenhealthcentre.com

The goal of this statewide campaign is to have 100% of students at participating high schools accepted by a postsecondary institution before graduation. This year all 28 community colleges are participating and they are targeting over 170 high schools. College sponsored events will be held February - April 2008 to help seniors set career goals, apply to community colleges using the online application at FACTS.org, and learn about and apply for financial aid.

http://files.facts.usf.edu/GoHigher/go_high.htm

Judy White

Director of Communications

Florida Center for Advising & Academic Support-FACTS.org

Florida Department of Education

850-245-9538

On Feb. 7, the House passed HR 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, by a wide, bipartisan margin -- 354-58. This bill would reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA), a feat that has not been accomplished since 1998 and is five years overdue. The House and Senate must now meet to negotiate a compromise version of their two bills before final enactment. The Senate passed its bill, S. 1642, last summer by a vote of 95-0. Both bills are hundreds of pages in length and make thousands of changes to current law, but it is hoped that the House and Senate can pass a compromise bill and present it to President Bush by March 31, the date the current HEA "extender" expires.

As is often the case with such a large legislative effort, a number of education groups, and members of Congress, took issue with certain provisions of the bill, although few found these provisions odious enough to provoke opposition to the larger bill. Debate of the bill pointed to familiar issues in higher education policy, including rules governing the practice of student lending, efforts to control increasing tuition rates, programs to help members of the Armed Services and their families in the pursuit of postsecondary education, steps to ease the financial aid application process and initiatives addressing textbook expenses, among others.

Broadly, the bill's supporters portray it as an effort to control college costs and make it easier for more people to attend college. It would increase the authorized maximum Pell Grant award to $9,000 from the current level of $5,800 and creates a number of new initiatives that would ostensibly bring transparency to college costs and value.

One amendment of particular interest to the higher education community came from Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and would require annual reporting by colleges and universities on how much of their endowment is paid out each year for the purpose of containing college costs. There has been much attention paid to the surprisingly large endowments of certain colleges and universities in recent weeks - wealth that many question as escalating tuition rates that put many of these institutions out of reach for the middle and even upper middle classes.

In a press release related to the bill's passage, George Miller (D-Calif.), House Education and Labor Committee chairman, said, "Last year, by enacting a $20 billion increase in federal student aid, the largest increase since the G.I. Bill of 1944, this Congress took an historic step to help American families pay for college. Now we are redoubling our commitment to college students and parents by reining in skyrocketing tuition prices and making our whole system of higher education far more consumer-friendly."

More info

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel020708hea.html

On February 7, President Bush signed an Executive Order establishing the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, a coalition of Federal agencies that will help support communities and organizations working on behalf of our nation's youth.

The order builds on the success of Helping America's Youth, a three-year interagency initiative announced by President Bush in his 2005 State of the Union address. The President asked Mrs. Bush to lead this nationwide effort to raise awareness about the challenges facing our youth, particularly at-risk boys, and to motivate caring adults to connect with youth in three key areas: family, school, and community. As the leader of this Initiative, Mrs. Bush has hosted one national conference and five regional conferences, and participated in 125 other Helping America's Youth activities in 24 states and the District of Columbia to promote the efforts of youth-serving organizations.

In her remarks during the signing ceremony, Mrs. Bush commended the Community Guide to Helping America's Youth as "a terrific online resource" that "allows caring adults to use the Internet to learn more about the challenges facing children."

Resources:

For access the President's Executive Order, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080207-15.html.

For additional information about the Helping America's Youth Initiative, visit http://www.helpingamericasyouth.gov/.

         The Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Florida Department of Education and the

Florida Association of District School Superintendents have recently formed a partnership to better

assist you in educating your students about staying safe on the internet.  As part of this partnership,

we issued a statewide CyberSafety Challenge that calls on Florida’s middle and high school

principals to sign their schools up for the Attorney General’s CyberSafety Education presentations.

         Two challenge winners will be announced in May – the first district to sign up the largest

total number of schools for presentations and the first district to sign up the highest percentage of its

schools for presentations.  The winners of the CyberSafety Challenge will receive special

CyberSafety presentations hosted in person by Attorney General McCollum and Education

Commissioner Eric Smith.

  The concept is simple and fun, but the underlying message is one of the most important lessons

we can teach our young people - how to protect themselves from internet child predators.  By

challenging you to sign up your students to receive a 50-minute CyberSafety Education

presentation before the school year ends, we hope to ensure as many children as possible have the

tools they need to stay safe online.

  Please log onto the specially-designed website at http://www.safeflorida.net/safeschools to

register your schools to receive the Attorney General’s cybersafety presentation, and then sign up

for presentations at a time that works with your schedule.    Good luck to your school district as you

participate in the CyberSafety Challenge!

Dear Education Partners,

The following announcement has just been released by Federal Student Aid (FSA) regarding their new public service campaign, "My Story".

The PSA's can be viewed at the following link: http://www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov/clcf/NT4CMPSA.html

NT4CM is proud to include the Federal Student Aid Public Service Announcement (PSA) Campaign "My Story" as part of the NT4CM curriculum. The "My Story" campaign launched nationally in January 2008 and was designed to reach students across America by telling the stories of real students in a very real way.
Federal Student Aid tested the "My Story" campaign by showing it to students and parents from low-income households and the feedback was very positive. Students especially liked that the stories were real people with real barriers. The barriers are those they face every day. Overall, the messages resonated loudly and clearly.
The main goals of the "My Story" campaign are to increase awareness of programs administered by Federal Student Aid, and to promote equal access to the tools and materials that help students and parents make informed decisions about financing postsecondary education.
To achieve these goals, Federal Student Aid truly will need the help of counselors and mentors. By showing the PSAs to your students and encouraging recent high school grads to submit their own stories, you can help Federal Student Aid find the "My Story" stars of the future.
Soon Federal Student Aid will provide promotional posters and flyers and will keep you informed via e-mail and postings to this site. Federal Student Aid will also notify you when the "My Story" Web site, currently in development, has launched. The Web site will initially feature the "My Story" PSAs but will soon thereafter provide a mechanism for students to submit their own stories. In the meantime, the PSAs are conveniently posted below for your presentation needs.
If you have any questions or would like more information on the PSAs, please contact your NT4CM State Coordinator or e-mail ask.aidawareness@ed.gov

The Department of Education (DOE), in partnership with the Attorney General's Office and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, has issued the following communication regarding a statewide CyberSafety Challenge.

The memorandum may be viewed at:

http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-4862/cybersafety.pdf

http://www.edutopia.org/resolving-conflict-ofarrell-middle-school

Resolving Conflict: O'Farrell Middle School

At this school in San Diego, California, school leaders place equal emphasis on the social, intellectual, psychological, and physical needs of their students.

http://www.spcollege.edu/central/ossd/

April 10-11 , 2008
Safety Harbor Resort and Spa
105 N. Bayshore Dr.
Safety Harbor, FL

Conference Agenda:

Wednesday, April 9

Noon-5 p.m.
Pre-conference held off-site at Pinellas
Technical Education Center:
Transitioning from Secondary to Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities (open to Florida educators)

Thursday, April 10

7:30 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Registration and Information Table open

7:30-8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

8:30- 9:30 a.m.
Opening General Session
Keynote Address by Celeste Jonson

9:30-9:40 a.m.
Break

9:45 -10:45 a.m.
Breakout Session I

10:45 -11 a.m.
Break (refreshments in Palm Lobby)

11 a.m.- noon
Breakout Session II

Noon-1:15 p.m.
Lunch (tickets required)
Tribute to our Wounded Veterans

1:20-2:20 p.m.
Breakout Session III

2:25 -3:25 p.m.
Breakout Session IV

3:25 -3:40 p.m.
Break (refreshments available in Palm Lobby)

3:45 - 4:45 p.m.
Breakout Session V
Florida Community Colleges Disability Service Providers and FL-AHEAD meeting

Friday, April 11

7:30 a.m.- noon
Registration and Information Desk open, Palm Lobby

7:30-8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

8:30-9:30 a.m.
Breakout Session VI

9:40-10:40 a.m.
Breakout Session VII

10:40-10:55 a.m.
Break

11 a.m.-noon
Closing General Session
Keynote address by John Register

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/NEWS02/801310396/1004

By MEGAN HAWKINS • Register Staff Writer • January 31, 2008

Read more …

http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=550

Florida 21st Century Community Learning Centers - 2008 Spring Conference
March 25-28, 2008
Daytona Beach

The western-themed 2008 Spring Conference is open to anyone wishing to develop, enhance, or research outstanding after-school programs for students between kindergarten and 12th grade. All educators, school administrators, community-based organizations, and other interested individuals from around the world are welcome to participate.

Attendees will experience Florida's after-school programs through seminars, workshops and videos prepared and presented by educators from across the state; navigate the complexities of financial policies and fiscal management; enhance abilities in data collection and evaluation; learn the art of writing external grants for after-school funding and simplify the task of writing continuation applications for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) grants.

In addition, specialized sessions have been developed to guide CCLC providers and stakeholders through some of the unique challenges associated with operating CCLC programs.

Go to http://www.fldoe.org/curriculum/21century/21events.asp to learn more or register today.