Noah Klein assigned his Iroquois (Kent.) High School English class a paper exploring the themes of "The Catcher in the Rye," and said "One of the amazing things about this book is that the struggles of being an adolescent are universal." Klein says the book can be an eye-opener for troubled teens. [Source: The Courier-Journal]

Labels: literature, perceptions, schools

"Our study shows that poor mental health in children and teenagers has a large impact on the length of time they will stay in school," says Dr. Lehrer. He notes a large number of school-based programs have recently been introduced to prevent childhood obesity through lifestyle changes, but suggests the net should be cast more widely. ...

The findings provide strong evidence that inattentive symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in childhood and depression in adolescents are linked to the number of years of completed schooling.

Dr. Lehrer says this points to potentially large benefits from childhood and adolescent health interventions that have not yet been identified. "We focus on the link between health and education because unraveling the mechanisms linking the two will have important implications for policy design."

Labels: mental_health, schools, students

"Mental illness, even in moderate cases, can affect a child's relationships with family and friends, their physical health and their school performance," says Jonathan Teghtmeyer, an executive staff officer with the ATA.

Teachers see many students suffering from stress, depression, eating disorders, self-abuse, and even thoughts of suicide, Teghtmeyer says. "While such problems are family and health issues, they're also educational concerns because they affect a child's ability to learn. Teachers play an important role because they'll often notice a student's mental health situation before the child's parents or medical practitioners."

The objective of the ATA campaign is to increase awareness of mental health concerns and to raise funds to support the work of the CMHA.

It's also hoped that the project will help teachers recognize the symptoms of mental illness in their students and learn how best to handle situations that arise in the classroom due to mental illness. Several ATA locals are already involved in activities to support the work of the CMHA.

Labels: awareness, mental_health, schools, students

The ambitious plan will offer mentoring, counseling and jobs to high-risk students. To determine who they are, Mr. Huberman analyzed the cases of more than 500 young people who were killed or wounded in gun violence over the last two years. The analysis suggests that nearly 10,000 of the city’s 113,000 high school students are at risk of becoming victims of gun violence and need help.

Their lives follow a clear pattern. They are absent from school more than 40 percent of the time, on average. They have fallen behind and are more likely to be enrolled in special education. And they generally attend 38 of the city’s nearly 140 public high schools. …

The plan … deserves full and enthusiastic support from the city, community groups and from the business community, which could play an essential role by providing the young participants with jobs.

Labels: at_risk, chicago, schools, violence

The decision to close the centre has been condemned by Stonebridge ward Councillor, Colum Maloney, who said, "In my opinion these vulnerable kids have been completely abandoned. Some of them face massive disruption at vital times of their education and no one seems to want to take any responsibility."

Labels: england, schools

The highly competitive Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative attracted 422 grant applications nationally.

Under the initiative, school districts, in partnership with local public mental-health agencies, law-enforcement and juvenile justice entities, must implement a comprehensive, community-wide plan that focuses on the following elements:

• Safe school environments and violence prevention activities
• Alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention activities
• Student behavioral, social and emotional supports
• Mental-health services
• Early childhood social and emotional learning programs.

Labels: schools

A 2008 study by America's Promise Alliance, a group founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, concluded that only 52 percent of students in the nation's 50 largest school systems graduate in four years.

About 57 percent of Hispanic and 53 percent of African-American students graduate with a regular diploma in four years, according to the study, which puts the national graduation rate at 70 percent.

"Finishing high school is absolutely basic to being a success at any place in our society. We can't afford this," Powell said.

"If we lose these youngsters from our educational system, it doesn't mean they're all going to jail," Powell said. "It just means they're not going to have the same earning potential as they would if they finished school. And ultimately that will affect them, and it will affect the nation."

Labels: dropouts, prevention, schools

"As estimated 62 percent of 'tweens' (ages 11 to 14) who have been in a relationship say they know friends who have been verbally abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend, and one in three teenagers reports knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped or choked by their partner..."

Labels: dating, schools, violence

Labels: eyesight, reading, schools

"Parents can help pave the way to teenagerhood by maintaining communications with their children, being warm and nurturing, and knowing where their kids are and who their friends are..."

Labels: parental_involvement, schools, social_pressures

"The kids that attended Saturday's program at the La Plata Campus of the College of Southern Maryland came from different situations. While some are known to skip school regularly, others are go-getters who took the opportunity to attend the various workshops."

Labels: education, prevention, schools

"The report shows a decline in the rates of single-victim school-associated homicides, while multiple-victim homicide rates, which were much fewer in number, remained stable... 'The decline in episodes of school-associated violence is promising and encouraging,' said Dr. Ileana Arias, Director of the CDC's Injury Center."

Labels: schools, violence

Labels: myspace, schools, social_networking

Labels: psychiatric_illness, schools, testing

"I think it makes people nervous to think middle school students are having sex," Michael McCarthy, principal of King Middle School, said in defense of the decision. "Frankly, it makes me nervous. But there's a small population out there that needs protection."

Labels: birth_control, schools, sex

"The girls are required to re-enroll in school. Mentors stay in touch with them through weekly phone calls, e-mail or instant messages... The mentors and students meet twice a month to hear speakers discuss domestic violence, birth control, crime prevention and other topics."

Labels: girls, mentoring, schools

"According to the center, the PEP program is a dropout prevention program for pregnant and parenting teens... The program offers help during the academic year to anyone enrolled in a Henderson County school and actively attending."

Labels: prevention, schools, teen_pregnancy

"The program targets middle and high school aged youth exposed to problems including domestic violence, bullying, rebellion, peer pressure and early substance abuse."

Labels: family, schools, therapy

"'The whole curriculum was based on the arts,' Rolle says. 'So if you were studying American history, you did it through playwriting... We created a play, but to create the play we had to get the information. So we didn't even realize we were learning American history because we were focused on doing this thing that we actually liked.'"

Labels: arts, role_models, schools

"The LifeSavers Training Corporation trains selected high school students to be caring, compassionate, confidential listeners for their peers in specialized ways that can help troubled students figure out their own best solutions before teenage stresses and problems turn into a crisis."

Labels: peers, schools, support

Labels: influences, peers, schools

"The violence is worst at a handful of schools, and is caused by a small percentage of the district's 90,000 students. But their actions are taking a tool on staff, teachers, taxpayers and students who want to learn."

Labels: police, schools, violence

Labels: depression, schools, therapy