Cover Story: Summer in New York City
Golf, The Park, and Other Things by Tom Kertes
There are a multitude of ways for children (of all ages) to have major fun in the sun in Central Park this summer. But few programs can match the scope and imagination of the tennis and golf programs run by the City Parks Foundation, the private, non-profit branch of the New York City Parks and Recreation Department. (more)

Almost 300,000 Attend Summer School by Sarah Elzas
Nearly one third of all students in the New York City Board of Education will be attending summer school this year, according to the Board’s pre-registration statistics. In grades 3-8, 72,074 students are mandated to attend summer school, up from 62,537 last year, and almost 152,000 high school students are pre-registered for Summer School 2001. (more)

Summer Events in City Parks (more)

Edison Schools Enter NYC Market by Sarah Elzas
Chris Whittle is not unfamiliar with controversy over the role of commercial interests in education. (more)

Bard College Launches New High School: Apply Now! by Sarah Elzas
“The high school may be an outdated model,” suggests Dr. Leon Botstein, President of the private Bard College, who has launched an ambitious project with the New York City Board of Education (BOE). (more)

Mills & Regents Close the Gap by M.C. Cohen
“New York City is chock full of talent and we have to figure out how to engage this talent,” said State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills. (more)

From Accused to Redeemed: How a Teacher Fought Back Cheating Allegations by Anita Patil
There was a time when 30-year-old Rebecca Ballantine was shy about saying she wanted to be a teacher. (more)

German Delegation at Bank Street’s Liberty Partnership Program by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
“Hugs”? The word was unfamiliar to The Hon. Angela Merkel, Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union Party and Member of the German Parliament. (more)

Welcoming a New Group of Fellows by Sarah Elzas
“Teachers are the most important people in the world,” said Dr. Thelma Baxter, Superintendent of District 5 in New York, addressing a new cohort of Teaching Fellows at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. (more)

Thanks to PENCIL, Brooklyn School Has a Logo
Thanks to fourth-grader Alina Mishchenko, PS 197 in Brooklyn has a new logo, “Put Your Hands Together and Explore.” (more)

July in History compiled by Chris Rowan (more)

Fascinating NYC Maritime History Provides Lessons for Teachers by Sybil Maimin
From the beginning, New York City has been shaped by its proximity to the sea. (more)

City Tech Students score 100 on Teacher Certification Exam
Students in New York City Technical College’s teacher education programs posted pass rates of 100 percent on the 1999-00 liberal arts and sciences test. (more)

New Report Finds Major Improvements at CUNY
In June of 1999, the Mayor’s Task Force on the City University of New York, led by Benno Schmidt, released a study that criticized CUNY for high levels of remediation and low college graduation rates. Now, in June of 2001, a new report finds vast improvements in these areas. (more)

New PSAT Advice Available
According to the College Board, high school students who will take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) this fall will be the first to receive detailed, personalized feedback on how to improve their skills through the recently introduced Score Report Plus. (more)

Downstate’s Dean Eugene Feigelson: Professionalism in a New Curriculum by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
As the Dean of the College of Medicine, one of the five major divisions of The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, known simply as Downstate, Dr. Eugene B. Feigelson holds an understandably responsible position: Downstate is the borough’s only academic medical center. (more)

The Healing Power of Laughter by Tom Kertes
Helping sick children feel better is no joke. But for the over 300 third-grade kids at Manhattan’s PS 128, learning that they can help others feel better through humor has been serious business. (more)

Mt. Sinai ‘Graduates’ High School Students by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
“This is unique, there’s nothing else like it,” beamed Dr. Nathan Kase, Dean Emeritus of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM), captivated by the graduation of the latest group of youngsters from the Secondary Education Through Health (SETH) program and the Bioscience Studies Institute. (more)

Make Summertime a Learning Time by Dr. Lorraine McCune
Educators often bemoan the loss of learning in their students over the two-month summer break in the school year. (more)

A Teacher's Journey to Understanding War Play by Judi Gentry
Every year, the children in my preschool classes have engaged in some kind of war play. (more)

A Visit To Washington by Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs
A few years ago, Syosset Schools received a visit by then US Secretary of Education Richard Riley, who wanted to see a successful public school district in action. (more)

Variations on a Blue Guitar: The Lincoln Center Institute Lectures on Aesthetic Education by Maxine Greene, reviewed by Joan Baum, Ph.D. (more)

July Books to Ignite the Imagination by Selene S. Vasquez (more)

CFE v. State of New York: Explaining the Landmark Decision by Tom Kertes
While many people say that education has problems, not many are willing to examine the complex question of how to make it better. (more)

Real Estate May Be Key to Tuition by Marsha Mack Frances
The location and value of your New York apartment may turn out to be the key to your children’s or grandchildren’s private school, college or graduate school tuition. (more)

A Revolutionary Chess Champ by Tom Kertes
Susan Polgar, an attractive, stylish young woman, defies the stereotype of the chess grandmaster as a bearded, revolutionary old man. (more)

Channel 13 Honors Adult Learners by Rachel Mittelman
The familiar paradigm—graduate college, get a job, retire and move to Florida—played no role in the recent ceremony held at Channel Thirteen/WNET headquarters on West 33rd Street. (more)

Something for Everyone at MMC’s Writing Conference by Sarah Elzas
Lewis Frumkes, director of the Marymount Manhattan College’s Writing Center, founded the annual Writers Conference nearly ten years ago in order to “restore Marymount as a premiere cultural institution.” (more)

Berlitz International: An Institute for Language Lovers by Toni Brett
In a city as culturally diverse as New York, the sounds of Spanish, German, Italian, French and many other foreign tongues fill the air like international symphonies. And if music soothes the soul, language lures the intellect. Should the passions of your mind and spirit merge in a quest to learn a foreign language, then the 125-year old Berlitz International is to foreign language students what Carnegie Hall is to concert musicians. (more)

Cracks in Wall Between Church & State by Martha McCarthy, Ph.D.
On June 11, 2001 the Supreme Court delivered a significant decision, Good News Club v. Milford Central School, allowing a private Christian organization to hold its meetings in this New York school district. (more)

Act to ‘Leave No Child Behind’ (more)

Public-Private Partnerships Promote Children’s Health by Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Last year, I launched HealthStat, a comprehensive, citywide initiative to provide uninsured New Yorkers with access to existing heath insurance programs such as Medicaid and Child Health Plus. I am pleased to announce that the first year of HealthStat was a tremendous success and we have programs in place to ensure that 2001 will bring even bigger gains. (more)

Funny Fairy Tale: Shrek by Jan Aaron
This engaging, unusual PDI/DreamWorks (“Antz”) animated feature about an ornery ogre is fine family fare. (more)

Tuneful Treasure: Songcatcher by Jan Aaron
Wonderful music, memorable images and a strong performance by British actress Janet McTeer (“Tumbleweeds”) make this movie a first-rate summer choice. (more)

Supercomputers at the Natural History Museum by Sarah Elzas
In natural history museums, dinosaurs are usually displayed as skeletons, not as code scrolling down computer screens. (more)

Creative Education Creates Miracles by Tom Kertes
In most schools, wiggly, gyrating students are not looked upon too kindly in class by their teachers. But in at least one program in the city, the teacher actually leads the twisting. (more)

Arts Education & Internships: A Road To Success by Assemblyman Steven Sanders
With headline after headline focusing on standards and high-stakes testing, it is too easy for New Yorkers to lose sight of some of the important success stories in our public schools—among these, the restoration of arts education. (more)

Deaf Art Sees Light: Lexington School Celebration by M. C. Cohen
“Seeing Through Deaf Eyes” is a daring and different art exhibit featuring 14 of the best known deaf artists around the country. (more)

Fourth of July Fireworks Safety for Eyes by Betsy van Die and Lori Brenig, MPH
Fourth of July celebrations can be a magic time for kids. Yet that magic can be shattered if you don’t protect your eyes from danger. (more)

Leaving School for the NBA by M.C. Cohen
Will this year’s NBA talent extravaganza be the Taj McDavid/Korleone Young draft, or the Kevin Garnett/Kobe Bryant draft? If you’re not sure, stay in school. (more)

Product Review - Zero-Halliburton Z5 by Mitchell Levine
A few months ago, I bought a computer. The next day, as I walked to work, every mobile-user’s worst nightmare came to pass: the backpack-style case that came with it burst open because of a defective zipper. (more)

Website Connects Women in Science on Long Island
St. John’s University has launched a website designed to encourage women to explore careers in technology and science. (more)

Technology Shorts (more)

San Francisco: City on the Bay by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
San Francisco holds great visual appeal: its hills and architecture combine the gracious curves of the past with the edges of the present and everywhere, the sense that all streets lead to the beautiful bay. (more)