First Day of School
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
Remember the jingle, “School days, school days, dear old golden rule days?, Reading and writing and ‘rithmetic, Taught to the tune of the hickory stick…” The lyricists, Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards obviously were referring to what school would hold in store for them in 1907. What do students think about today in 2003 as they approach the school steps? READ MORE

Literacy: Experts Examine Our Nation's Dilemma
[Part I]

Reuel Jordan,
Dean of Children’s Programs, Bank Street School for Children.
READ MORE

Arthur Levine, Ph.D.,
President, Teachers College, Columbia University READ MORE

Sandra Priest Rose
Reading Consultant & Founding Trustee of Reading Reform Foundation.
READ MORE

Jerrold Ross, Ph.D.,
Dean of Education, St. John's University READ MORE

Edward Zigler, Ph.D.
Sterling Professor of Psychology
Yale University, Planner of the Head Start program. READ MORE

Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ph.D.
Eight-time, Emmy award-winning executive producer, educator and author, creator of the award-winning PBS series, Reading Rainbow
The Brian Lehrer Show (WNYC - National Public Radio) READ MORE

Failing the Test
Featuring Education Update's Dr. Pola Rosen
Some parents and school administrators believe the New York State Regents exam has caused such a dramatic decline in New York’s high school graduation rate that the test should be abolished. We’ll hear from one education expert who wants to save the exam, and another who thinks school officials should find alternatives to the Regents.

FEATURED STORIES

Large-Scale Efforts to Fight Illiteracy
by Rob Luchow
It was almost a year ago that Reading Rainbow producer and host LeVar Burton made a plea to corporate America. Without enough funding, he said, the famous children’s public television program would be cancelled. Eventually, one business chose to help. READ MORE

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Deaf Actor Signs Up for Broadway Stardom
Tyrone Giordano wins raves as Huck Finn in a play that mixes music, speech, sign language and Mark Twain. Like Huck Finn, Tyrone Giordano savors the simple pleasures. As a child, he said, “I would lie in the night, with the stars, listening to crickets.” READ MORE

EDITORIALS

A Gay High School is Not a Good Idea
by Stuart Dunn
According to a recent NY Post article, “the city is opening a high school for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students—the first in the nation.” The school, to be called the Harvey Milk HS, is named after the slain San Francisco politician and leader in the gay community.
READ MORE

Experiencing Power of School Volunteerism Firsthand
by Digna Sánchez, President, Learning Leaders
In my first months as president of Learning Leaders, the largest volunteer organization solely dedicated to helping New York City’s public school children, I have already seen the caring, determination and talents that our 11,600 volunteers bring to the City’s schools.
READ MORE

SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

Bronx Teacher Returns with Lessons from India
Gail Maliam Ryder spent 16 days far from the halls of St. Raymond Academy for Girls to learn about schools in Calcutta, camps that help children adjust from a life of labor to learning, and programs that rescue children who have fallen victim to South Asia’s bustling human-trafficking industry. READ MORE

The Height of Fashion Education
by Rob Luchow
Imagine walking in to school and discovering that your principal has been replaced by fashion designer Kenneth Cole. That has happened at the High School of Fashion Industries—twice. READ MORE

New School Year Begins With Institute For Teachers
by Michelle Accorso
Often when we think about children’s heroes, we think of a basketball player or actor, and usually we are right in our assumptions. However, although pseudo-celebrities may pose as decent role models, the true leaders kids often look up to and actually remember into adulthood will probably never appear on television. These leaders are teachers.
READ MORE

Preschool Admission: Finding the Right Fit
by Gabriella Rowe
Summer’s over. Relaxation is replaced by anxiety over a brand new cycle of preschool selection. Over the next couple of months, families all over New York City with young students will be starting the process again, preparing for fall tours and application submissions and anxiously anticipating the interviews, essays and acceptance or rejection letters. READ MORE

Public Meetings of the Panel for Educational Policy
The following is a list of public meeting dates. READ MORE

The Ross School: Rich in Ideas
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Despite facts to the contrary and numerous interviews with the press, the 13-year old independent, co-educational Ross School still seems to be correcting the impression of being a New Age, artsy prep school for gifted rich kids. READ MORE

COLLEGES

Broad Foundation Taps Young MBAs to Transform Urban Public Education
The Broad Foundation launched an innovative residency program to recruit, train and place young business leaders in urban school districts across the country. This highly selective program accepted less than five percent of the over 250 applicants. READ MORE

At CUNY, Opportunity Knocks Louder Than Ever
by Chancellor Matthew Goldstein
A college education helps New Yorkers to achieve their dreams—yet some wonder if now is the right time to pursue their education. In fact, there has never been a better time to take advantage of the outstanding educational opportunities available at The City University of New York. READ MORE

President Ned Regan, Baruch College, New York
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
There are talkers and there are doers, and some, like Ned Regan, the former Comptroller of the State of New York (1979-1993) excel at both—articulating a vision and acting on it. READ MORE

MEDICAL UPDATE

Live Heart Surgery on the Internet
Surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston recently replaced a patient’s aortic valve during a live Internet broadcast. The web cast, which is the third in a series, is intended to educate medical students, cardiac surgeons, and the general public about the latest minimally invasive techniques now available for such a procedure. READ MORE

A Smoking Gun:
Speaking to 9.8 Million Women & Girls of NYS
by Antonia C. Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.h.
I am writing to you about a product that each year kills more New Yorkers than alcohol, cocaine, crack, heroin, murder, suicide, car accidents, fire and AIDS combined. I am speaking of tobacco.
READ MORE

Back to School Vaccines
As our nation prepares for “Back to School” time, there is one school supply parents and children cannot go without: vaccinations. Taking your child to a doctor’s office isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it could save his or her life. In many states, the law requires a certain number of doses of mandated vaccines before the first day of classes.
READ MORE

HOMESCHOOLING

Homeschooling Bestseller
The Dallas Morning News reported recently that Tamra Orr’s After Homeschool is one of the bestselling nonfiction paperbacks in the region. “It’s not often that a homeschooling title gets this kind of reception,” said Edwin Steussy, publisher of Parent’s Guide Press.
READ MORE

Talicor—”Money Management”
Teach responsible use of credit and simple interest calculations. Featuring QuickCharge, American Success, Recover and Bold Card, this game peaks students’ interest. READ MORE

University of Nebraska High School:
Distance Learning as Home Education
by Mitchell Levine
As any parent will tell you, the choice to homeschool is often one of the most important decisions to make regarding a child’s education. What to teach, how to teach and which curriculum to use are often daunting decisions to make, ones that can have a far reaching effect on their future. READ MORE

CHILDREN'S CORNER

Children Build a Culture of Peace in a Complex World
by Michelle Accorso
In John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance, there were some very distinct sounding voices singing along with him as he pleaded with the world to listen to what he was saying. READ MORE

About Bilingual Education
by Lorraine McCune, Ph.D.
This volatile topic is often dominated more by closely held political opinions and cultural bias than by the needs of children, their teachers and parents. READ MORE

BOOKS

Logos Bookstore’s Recommendations
by H. Harris Healy, III, President, Logos Bookstore READ MORE

Book Review:
The Wasted Years:
American Youth, Race, and the Literacy Gap
by Michelle Accorso READ MORE

It’s Back-to-School with Books Galore!
by Selene Vasquez READ MORE

MUSIC, ART & DANCE

Music Education Being “Left Behind”
Local interpretation of the federal “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) education law is seriously affecting access to music education for America’s public school students. “The law clearly identifies the arts as a core academic subject,” explains American Music Conference Executive Director Rob Walker. READ MORE

“New Watercolors” Exhibit
by Meera Thompson READ MORE

Wolf Trap Gets Its Wings
The world premiere of Face of America 2003: A Celebration of Flight at Wolf Trap in Virginia, is an original multi-media and multi-disciplinary artistic adventure series that explores the relationship between the “natural” stage and the creative process. READ MORE

MOVIES & THEATER

Film Review
by Jan Aaron
Catherine Hardwicke’s directorial debut, Thirteen, is a raw drama about a teenage school girl who jumps from pony-tailed innocence to hard-boiled rebel as tutored by the school’s bad girl. READ MORE

METROBEAT

Synopsis: The Advanced Placement Program for the Italian Language
by Matilda Raffa Cuomo
It was in April of 1987 that Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti invited me to Rome to attend the first conference to promote the Italian language in the United States of America. As Governor of the State of New York, my husband, Mario Cuomo, had established the international partnership program under the Economic Development Corporation to further investments. READ MORE

The 40th Anniversary of March on Washington
by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
“The 40th Anniversary of the March on Washington is a wonderful opportunity for all New Yorkers to look back on its significance and on the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and to appreciate how they have fundamentally changed life in our City and our Nation.
READ MORE

The Case for Smaller Classes
by Randi Weingarten, President, United Federation of Teachers
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to stand on the steps of City Hall with representatives of a broad coalition of parent and community groups, labor unions, and elected officials, including City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, and Assembly Member Steve Sanders, to announce a major step forward in the campaign to improve our schools. READ MORE

Assemblyman Hearings on High-Stakes Regents
Exam Set
by Assemblyman Steven Sanders
As Chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, I will be chairing a set of public hearings on the subject of New York’s high-stakes Regents exams. READ MORE

MUSEUMS

Sunny Summer, Fiery Fall at NY Botanical Garden
For Families: The transition from summer to fall brings new and exciting seasonal flowers to investigate and exciting fall programs from children to participate in. READ MORE

Interactive Installation at American Museum of the Moving Image
DARE, a new interactive installation designed specifically for the American Museum of the Moving Image by Fabrica, the Benetton Group’s communication research center in Northern Italy, will be on view through October 26, 2003 in the Museum’s Warner Room.
READ MORE

TECHNOLOGY

Product Review:
Booq Powersleeve
by Mitchell Levine
Industry experts, sophisticated journalists, and intelligent laypeople agree: the largest deployment of education technology resources in the history of our school system will occur when the New York City Department of Education completes its stated goal of finally reaching the “one-to-one computing standard” in the hopefully near future. READ MORE

Product Review:
Flashmaster Electronic Math Tutorial
by Mitchell Levine
Almost everyone hates learning their Times Tables. How do we know this? The fact that even most adults, whom presumably use them every day, don’t know them. If you don’t believe me, try asking your friends what 8 X 6 is. READ MORE