In January 2024, we launched a new virtual pet resource center as a part of the Hays County Pet Resource Center, expanding the Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender (P.A.S.S.) program to further support people and pets in Hays County. The virtual resource center provides a centralized place where pet owners and concerned residents can go for help to keep more pets in homes and out of the local shelter through information, assistance accessing resources, and case management.
Tag: help
-
Student mental health is still suffering–how should we address it?
Key points:
Between March 2020 and March 2021, K-12 schools in the U.S. saw an unprecedented influx in federal government aid, totaling nearly $190 billion. This funding aimed to help students recover both academically and emotionally from the pandemic. School districts across the country utilized these grants to hire counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other care providers. In theory, this should have been transformative; however, the available workforce wasn’t large enough to meet the demand, and traditionally underserved and rural districts faced the brunt of this shortage.
Subsequent follow-up funding has been deployed by the federal government in a necessary step to increase the workforce of care providers. As these funding opportunities come to a close, many districts are still left struggling to adequately address their students’ mental health needs.
According to the CDC, more than one in three high school students experienced poor mental health during the pandemic, but in reality, the rate of U.S. students struggling with these challenges was rising even before COVID. The pandemic’s disruption to students’ schooling and development only exacerbated mental health issues, resulting in worsening anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues. As funds such as ESSER come to a close, schools that were able to increase care teams or introduce new mental well-being initiatives are now facing a funding cliff. The impact of this is predictable: Students will suffer as staff and programs are cut. To address this problem, the U.S. education system must look to alternative solutions.
Expanding beyond traditional approaches
Counselors, social workers, and school psychologists are the most impactful front-line resources available for supporting student mental well-being; however, these professionals are saddled with huge caseloads and demands beyond their normal purview. For example, according to a 2020 survey of 7,000 school counselors, many were required to serve as substitute teachers, perform temperature checks, and take on other tasks as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. To improve mental health support to students, we have to expand our narrow perception of what care can look like.
Looking beyond a traditional western medicine approach, school districts should consider adopting solutions such as peer-to-peer counseling, where students who have been trained can meet to support one another and address personal, social, or emotional challenges. Peer-to-peer counseling empowers students to become stakeholders in their mental health while also providing benefits such as cultural relevance, early intervention, crisis prevention, and social-emotional skill development. This effective strategy is strongly advocated for by California’s Children Trust, which has worked tirelessly over the past few years to make peer-to-peer support reimbursable for California schools through Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.
Additionally, utilizing a community-based collaborative care model can further bolster a school system’s mental health resources. This type of approach is not meant to replace the role of trained mental health professionals, but it can provide Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Tier 1 and 2 for large student populations. An effective initiative of this kind may look like inviting vetted community leaders to come in and offer culturally-tailored support, a resource that’s frequently lacking in schools. When coupled with other solutions, community-based care approaches can play a central role in improving student mental well-being.
Embracing technology
While in-person methods such as professional counseling, peer-to-peer programs, and community-based collaborative care models present a range of benefits, an immediate and ready solution exists for K-12 to effectively close the gaps in its mental health resources: digital mental health products.
Technology is accessible and readily complements care providers, and dozens of culturally competent and evidence-based products are successfully being utilized in school districts. These digital products can complement in-school care providers with treatment plans and access to telehealth, assessment tools, screening, tracking, and preventative technologies, which provide education, awareness, peer support, and other non-clinical approaches.
While effective technology solutions exist, the majority of schools face barriers to adopting and utilizing them. Figuring out how to fund product implementation, choosing which products to trust, and understanding exactly what types of student mental health concerns need to be addressed are common obstacles voiced by school systems.
Proper resource allocation can help ensure a brighter future
While there are currently several mental health-focused technology products available, investment for these types of innovations is still lacking. With federal funding drying up, large VC-backed companies that haven’t previously worked in the education sector are beginning to enter the scene, and oftentimes, these companies are driven by interests that don’t meet the needs of the students they are meant to be serving.
The key to supporting school systems, and ultimately students, is to harness the power of culturally-competent and age-appropriate solutions that entrepreneurs with lived experiences are developing while also supporting school systems by helping them identify, adopt, and utilize these transformative products.
Latest posts by eSchool Media Contributors (see all)David Ball
Source link -
Is There a ‘Right’ Age for Your Child to Start Dating?
The question was dreaded, and my daughter waited patiently for her answer. She was ten years old. I may have had a heart attack. After a moment to calm myself, I first inquired why she was asking and was immediately relieved that she wasn’t of the mindset to start dating but that her friend in 4th grade had just announced she had a boyfriend. In addition to that, she reminded me that her cousin had been told she had to be sixteen before she could date.
My response was to ask her the same questions. “How old do you think you should be before you start dating?”
She opted for the typical sixteen, probably because that seems to be a norm in many families we’re around. Fast forward, and she’s well on her way to being fifteen, so hypothetically, we’re only about a year and a half away from the magical dating age of sixteen. We had a similar conversation the other day; only I initiated it.
“So, are you going to start dating when you’re sixteen?”
She stared at me in shock that I asked and then replied, “Why waste my time?”
After I got done doing my secret happy dance in the kitchen and throwing broken spaghetti noodles as makeshift confetti, I realized that was an interesting response for a teenage girl to give. I called her back in and asked her why she’d reacted that way.
“Well, it’s not like I’m going to get married when I’m sixteen. Not to mention, the whole dating thing seems to wreck friendships, and I’d rather not do that when there’s no end game to dating. I’ll wait until I’m older. Like maybe eighteen. When I can start thinking about the long-term.”
It was all so practical and nonchalant; not the atypical teenager. So I’ll take it. But that brings me to my point. If you asked me today how old my daughter needs to be before I’m comfortable with her dating, I’d say she can make up her own mind at this point going forward. But that’s also because she’s shown a remarkable and, I believe, God-given amount of maturity when weighing the pros and cons of dating as a teenager. Her motivations for dating aren’t status, competition, emotional highs, or hormonal impulses. Right now, anyway, her motivations for dating are to find someone who shares her values, heart, and faith and has an end game in mind.
So what is it about the magical age of sixteen? I think we’ve landed on applying an age to dating because it sets expectations and, in a way, gives us, as parents, an out for the younger years. Sixteen is the age at which kids begin to drive, often start being employed more consistently, and begin testing the waters more seriously for adulthood. I could make the argument that, based on those pressures alone, adding a relationship and dating is the perfect reason why sixteen is simply too young to date. But I won’t.
Instead, the argument I’d like to make—or rather the challenge I’d like to put out there for parents—is to avoid the magic age of anything for dating. There’s a lot that goes into teenage relationships. Must I list the pressures? Physical affection, peer pressure, boy/girl dating drama in high school, the added elements of social media, photos, texting, and rumor-mongering, etc. That’s a lot to process as your brain is still developing into adulthood. And truly, what is the end game of a teenage dating relationship? I’ve known two sets of high-school sweethearts in my lifetime that got married. That’s not a strong statistic for a long-term probability of faithfulness.
That being said, a parent may argue that teenage dating is for learning how to interact with the opposite gender in a relationship construct. They may say teenage dating isn’t meant to be for courtship or marriage, but instead, it’s just for fun, socialization, and the learning experience. And you could be right. I’m not here to argue for or against teenage dating but rather to help us determine the right age to start dating.
So, as parents, let’s ask ourselves these questions instead:
Does my child have a track record of integrity and self-control?
Does my child have enough self-worth to say “no” when it’s needed and to stand up for themselves in the event of abuse, bullying, and so on?
Does my child respect themself enough to be content as their own individual, or do they example a more needy personality that relies on another person for their contentedness, happiness, and self-worth?
Does my child have the wherewithal to deny their own emotional impulses?
Does my child have the ability to set healthy boundaries?
Does my child have a clear idea of what they want and need in a boyfriend/girlfriend?
And the list of questions goes on. I realize some of us are reading that list and thinking, “I’m not sure I even fulfill the proper answer to those questions!”
Therein lies my point. Dating at any age is an ongoing learning process on how to balance relationships, healthy boundaries, faith, emotional and mental health, and spiritual consistency. So as your teenager is developing in these areas on their own, if they begin dating, they’ve now introduced another person into the equation of influencing their development. This can be very positive. It can be very negative. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
And that’s really what it comes down to. I propose that there isn’t one right age for your child to begin dating. It might cause some family strife, but you may have one child who could start responsibly dating by the time they’re fifteen and the other not until they’re seventeen. Of course, once they’re eighteen, you’re pretty much out of luck enforcing anything, and some of us aren’t sure our twenty-some-year-olds should be dating yet.
The key is helping prepare your children for dating. Taking that list of questions and being conscientious in helping them learn those qualities, establish those beliefs and philosophies, and build their own sets of boundaries.
As someone who was in youth ministry for over twenty years, I saw far too many teenage dating relationships begin on the endorphin rush of “he/she is cute” and the adrenaline of being able to announce to peers that “I’m dating so and so.” Those relationships typically crash and burn fast, resulting in “cheating” (not even sexually, but when a boy texts another girl, cheating has occurred), and then the gossip and chatter begin among the peers, which only exacerbates the situation. I’ve also seen some healthy teenage dating relationships that didn’t end in marriage but maybe lasted eight months to a year. But those relationships had healthy boundaries the teenagers set for themselves and their parents set for them. Those teenagers also typically had healthy relationships with their parents and a foundational base of their own faith and self-esteem that they weren’t relying on their dating partner to create their value.
So as a parent, be careful of choosing an “age” when dating is “okay.” Your teenager may not be ready yet, and when you get there, you might regret ever setting that criteria. On the flip side, your teenager may be mature and ready to explore relationships in a healthy way that isn’t detrimental to their development. It might seem a tad overbearing at that point to hold the age of 18 over them as the age they can choose to date and there’s no dating allowed as a teenager prior.
Take your time to know your child. Take the time to instill values in them and truly ask yourself the questions that will help you identify if your child has reached the level of maturity to handle a relationship responsibly.
Will there be break-ups? Most likely. Broken hearts? Probably. Mistakes made? Inevitably. But the foundation of your child plays a big part in how severe those -lys become. So be cautious of identifying one right age, and instead, identify your child’s character and maturity, and go from there.
RELATED PODCAST:
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Rawpixel
Jaime Jo Wright is an ECPA and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author. Her novel “The House on Foster Hill” won the prestigious Christy Award and she continues to publish Gothic thrillers for the inspirational market. Jaime Jo resides in the woods of Wisconsin, lives in dreamland, exists in reality, and invites you to join her adventures at jaimewrightbooks.com and at her podcast madlitmusings.com where she discusses the deeper issues of story and faith with fellow authors.
Jaime Jo Wright
Source link -
Savvas Learning Company Named to the 2024 GSV 150 of Top-Growth Companies
PARAMUS, N.J./PRNewswire/ — Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, is excited to announce that it has been named to the 2024 edition of the GSV 150, an annual list of the top 150 private companies transforming digital learning and workforce skills. This is the second year in a row that Savvas has been named to the GSV 150.
“At Savvas, we are committed to developing innovative learning solutions that are powered by the most advanced technology to help educators meet the needs of all students,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “Savvas is honored to be recognized among the exceptional companies on the GSV 150 who are champions of educational technology — including new AI-enabled systems — to make for a richer, more personalized teaching and learning experience for all.”
GSV is a global community and investment platform singularly focused on elevating the scope and scale of innovation in the $7 trillion education and workforce sector. It estimates that together these 150 companies reach roughly 3 billion people — almost half of the global population — and generate approximately $23 billion in revenue.
Savvas was chosen from more than 2,000+ global companies revolutionizing the world of education technology, from Pre-K-12 to workforce learning. GSV Ventures evaluated these companies on five criteria — revenue scale, revenue growth, active learner reach, international reach, and margin profile — to determine the global GSV 150 list.
With an innovation mindset and a focus on technology to personalize instruction at scale, Savvas empowers educators and engages students with high-quality, interactive PreK-12 learning solutions. It recently acquired Outlier.org and its portfolio of online, asynchronous college-level courses that combine cinematic videos and charismatic professors, enabling high school students to earn dual credit while never having to leave their school building. The acquisition will allow Savvas to offer an immersive, engaging college learning experience to millions of high school students and increase educational equity, access, and opportunity.
In 2023, Savvas acquired Whooo’s Reading and its cutting-edge AI-driven technology, which Savvas is thoughtfully integrating into its digital ecosystem of innovative learning solutions. Savvas believes that AI’s game-changing capabilities have the potential to take personalized learning to new heights while providing teachers time-saving tools to make their jobs easier, enabling them to spend more time interacting with students.
“The world is adapting to seismic shifts from generative AI,” said Luben Pampoulov, partner at GSV Ventures. “AI co-pilots, AI tutors, AI content generators — AI is ubiquitous, and differentiation is increasingly critical. The GSV 150 is an impressive group of edtech companies that are leveraging AI and driving positive outcomes for learners and society.”
Visit GSV 150 for the full list of 2024 winners.
In addition to Savvas being selected for inclusion on the GSV 150 list, Forsa has also been chosen to speak at the ASU+GSV Summit 2024 in San Diego, in panel discussions focusing on the AI Revolution in Digital Education as well as K-12 schools and content.
ABOUT SAVVAS LEARNING COMPANY
At Savvas, we believe learning should inspire. By combining new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of interacting, we design engaging, next-generation K-12 learning solutions that give all students the best opportunity to succeed. Our award-winning, high-quality instructional materials span every grade level and discipline, from evidence-based, standards-aligned core curricula to supplemental and intervention programs to state-of-the art assessment tools — all designed to meet the needs of every learner. Savvas products are used by millions of students and educators in more than 90 percent of the 13,000+ public school districts across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as well as globally in more than 125 countries. To learn more, visit Savvas Learning Company. Savvas Learning Company’s products are also available for sale in Canada through its subsidiary, Rubicon.ABOUT ASU+GSV SUMMIT
The ASU+GSV Summit is the premier global event focused on technology innovation in education and skills. We believe that ALL people deserve equal access to the future. Started in 2010 with a collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU) and Global Silicon Valley (GSV), the annual Summit connects leading minds focused on transforming society and business around learning and work. Educators, investors, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs from around the world come together to innovate the future of education for all.
Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link -
Friday 5: Online learning’s evolution
Key points:
Online learning has limitless potential for students and teachers, offering the ability to learn from any location and at all times of the day. Let’s take a look at some of the latest online learning trends:
Is online learning really effective?
The short answer: Yes. Flexible, hybrid learning is key to student success. Schools should reimagine the learning processes and leverage in-person and hybrid learning to help students achieve the best possible results. The potential for innovation and student engagement are only scratching the surface when it comes to the advantages of online learning. Having many new, effective tools in educators’ toolboxes, it’s time to cast aside conventional processes and rethink the way we provide services to, and support, our students. Take the first steps toward this innovation.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of online learning?
A student’s motivation in school is a key driver of their academic success. Yet, the demanding nature of high school classes, mixed with a teenager’s natural craving for independence and individual identity, can stand in the way of that motivation. COVID-19 took a toll on student motivation, and 80 percent of educators are still feeling the effects. Following the rapid and sudden shift to online learning, parents and educators remain concerned about keeping online students motivated and engaged. In fact, challenges around online student engagement remain among the most-discussed disadvantages of online learning. As we move past the pandemic and rethink the role of online education, it’s vital to education reform that teachers remain focused on fostering student motivation.
What are the challenges of online learning?
Many often wonder what happens to students’ social skills when they are enrolled in online learning programs–after all, students don’t have in-person interactions with their peers through this learning modality. But students enrolled in online learning don’t have to miss out on social opportunities–in fact, it’s easier to facilitate balanced social growth than previously believed. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways for students to foster social connections during online schooling, and there are strong social online learning examples available. Kids who are enrolled in online learning can still connect with their peers in virtual breakout rooms and should be given every opportunity to meet up informally during the school day. Learn how to foster such connections.
How can online learning help you?
There are many online learning platforms for students to connect them with engaging and motivating learning experiences. Online learning can help students who are sick for long periods and not able to be physically in school. It also can connect students to learning opportunities not available in their home districts, such as specialized language learning or advanced courses with no local instructors. Online learning also can help families stay or return to their local public schools–a complex challenge that requires a multifaceted approach. Families want options for their children’s education, and these options must be of high quality. Partnering with an experienced provider to offer high-quality online learning is one way traditional schools can give students more options—and it’s an important strategy for attracting and retaining families.
What is the future of online learning?
District virtual schools are dynamic alternatives to conventional schooling, ripe for transformation to cater to the diverse needs of 21st-century learners. It’s time to transform district virtual schools from pandemic stop-gaps into pioneering models of 21st-century learning. The sustainability of district virtual schools hinges on whether they can evolve beyond the current versions we see in most districts. Here’s how to ensure online learning is innovative, impactful, and long-lasting.
Latest posts by Laura Ascione (see all)Laura Ascione
Source link -
Carolina Certified Version of OpenSciEd for Middle School Receives All-Green Rating from EdReports
BURLINGTON, NC – Leading school science supplier Carolina Biological Supply Company announced that its Certified Version of OpenSciEd for grades 6 to 8 received all-green ratings from non-profit EdReports. The organization provides free reports and reviews online that help K-12 educators evaluate math, language arts and science instructional materials because high-quality content matters to teachers, to kids, and to their collective future. The materials are rigorously evaluated for alignment to standards and usability by teams of educators. EdReports’ content reviewers consist of outstanding classroom educators, district coaches, and state content leaders who deeply understand college-and career-ready standards and the importance of high-quality instructional materials. Read the full report on EdReports.org.
In simple terms, the all-green rating from EdReports means that the Carolina Certified Version of OpenSciEd meets expectations for all three categories of review: Designed for the Next Generation Science Standards* (NGSS); coherence and scope; and usability. It further demonstrates that the enhancements Carolina made to its version of the program also meet expectations for alignment and usability.
“As a non-profit science developer, OpenSciEd intentionally created an open-source science curriculum so that teachers could edit and adapt and localize the content for their students,” said Jim Ryan, Executive Director of OpenSciEd. “By making the OpenSciEd for grades 6-8 curriculum easier to use last year, the Carolina Certified Version paved the way for teachers to make these changes, while maintaining the high quality of the instructional materials. Working with Carolina as a certified partner resulted in another excellent version of our curriculum.”
In 2021, Carolina became a certified partner with nonprofit science developer OpenSciEd to create a unique version of OpenSciEd science units grades 6 to 8. Carolina, through its own expert scientists and science educators, took a first step towards enhancing the OpenSciEd units to further support teachers and engage students. The Carolina Certified Version offers redesigned print materials, simplified equipment, and an enhanced digital experience, plus certified professional learning to help teachers make the shift to three-dimensional, student-centered, and phenomena-driven learning.
“We appreciate receiving the review from EdReports, a highly respected source for reliable insight, and are very proud to have earned all green ratings,” said Jim Parrish, President and CEO at Carolina. “Carolina, like EdReports, knows teachers spend many hours looking for quality materials. Their rigorous review process can make it much easier for educators to quickly see and be assured that our Carolina Certified Version of OpenSciEd for middle school met their standards in every category and went through deep scrutiny by a team of educator reviewers. The review can definitely help take another burden off teachers and help them find high-quality materials for their classrooms.”
Carolina is grateful for the opportunity to have its version reviewed by EdReports. The Carolina Biological Certified Version of OpenSciEd draws upon the same science content as OpenSciEd and has the same scores across the program. Some evidence statements have been edited to reflect the differences in program navigation and usability, including the presence of an online digital platform.
For information, Carolina encourages educators to visit its online page at https://www.carolinaopenscied.com to learn about its versions of OpenSciEd. Units are available for purchase now through Carolina. Visit Carolina’s website or, call (800) 334-5551, or e-mail curriculum@carolina.com.
Carolina Biological Supply Company
From its beginnings in 1927, Carolina ( www.carolina.com) has grown to become the leading supplier of science teaching materials in the world. Headquartered in Burlington, NC, Carolina serves customers worldwide, including teachers, students, and professionals in science and health-related fields. The company is still privately owned by descendants of the founder, geology and biology professor Dr. Thomas E. Powell Jr.* NGSS is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.
Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link -
Austin Pets Alive! | Doing More in 2024 Requires Change
We’re nearly three months into 2024, and this year is already in full motion! At Austin Pets Alive!, we started the year with a promise to be even louder about the importance of progress for Austin’s pets. We’re not going to break that promise. We also aren’t going to ignore the role we play in implementing progressive changes. And we certainly aren’t going to pretend that we do animal sheltering perfectly, because there isn’t a bigger impediment to growth than the refusal to take a close look within.
-
America’s Blood Centers Announces National Partnership with Body Interact to Help Innovate Blood Donation Education
Washington, DC (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — America’s Blood Centers (ABC), the national organization of community-based, independent blood centers that supply 60 percent of the nation’s blood supply, today announced a new multi-year national partnership with Body Interact, a leader in virtual patient simulation technology. This collaboration aims to help innovate the way students and potential blood donors learn about the critical importance of blood donation by providing cutting-edge virtual patient scenarios illustrating the lifesaving impact of blood donation as part of an expanded Vein to Vein: The Science of Blood Donation high school education program, to be released in the coming weeks.
“America’s Blood Centers is proud to partner with Body Interact to bring cutting-edge virtual learning scenarios to our Vein to Vein program. This collaboration will help innovate how students and potential blood donors learn about the critical importance of blood donation, fostering a lifelong interest in supporting our nation’s blood supply. We look forward to working together to provide an engaging and interactive learning experience that will help strengthen and diversify the blood supply for years to come,” said Kate Fry, CEO of America’s Blood Centers.
“At Body Interact/Take The Wind, we are honored to join forces and collaborate with America’s Blood Centers. By offering students a chance to experience realistic patient simulations, we aim to bring attention to the universal relevance of blood donation through experiential learning. Not only is blood donation a noble act, but also a critical one that could touch students’ loved ones and their communities. We are excited to bring this valuable resource to thousands of high school students across America,” said Raquel Bidarra, U.S. Country Manager at Body Interact.
ABC and its international division, ADRP: the Association for Blood Donor Professionals, first released Vein to Vein: The Science of Blood Donation, a groundbreaking high school education program in 2022 to help educators craft lesson plans to develop student leadership skills and a lifelong interest in supporting our nation’s blood supply. This turn-key resource is educator-crafted and designed to meet Next Generation Science Standards. Implementation goes beyond the field of science to also offer opportunities to integrate English Language Arts and Mathematics.
This partnership recognizes the increasing demand for digital healthcare education and comes at a critical time for the blood supply. From 2019 to 2021, there was an alarming 60.7% decrease in donations from individuals 16-18 years old. This is especially concerning considering that nearly 20% of all blood drives were held at high schools or colleges last year. Early education and exposure to blood donation is a critical step in creating life-long blood donors.
As part of this collaboration, Body Interact will develop 10 cutting-edge digital scenarios covering essential topics such as blood and trauma, pre-hospital blood use, and the vital need for a diverse blood supply. These immersive scenarios will be integrated into an expanded version of ABC’s Vein to Vein program to be released in the coming weeks, offering educators and students complimentary access to a more engaging and interactive learning experience.
Over the five-year duration of this partnership, ABC members will utilize these scenarios in schools nationwide, enhancing their ability to provide immersive and impactful education in classrooms across the country. Members of ABC’s international division, ADRP: The Association for Blood Donor Professionals, as well as educators implementing Vein to Vein, will receive a complimentary trial to further explore these innovative scenarios.
Founded in 1962, America’s Blood Centers is the national organization bringing together community-based, independent blood centers. Its member organizations operate more than 600 blood collection sites providing close to 60 percent of the U.S., and a quarter of the Canadian, blood supply. These blood centers serve more than 150 million people and provide blood products and services to more than 3,500 hospitals and healthcare facilities across North America. All ABC U.S. members are licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.AmericasBlood.org.
Body Interact is a clinical system adopted around the world to train learners in decision-making and critical thinking, with lifelike virtual patients, in hundreds of clinical scenarios. Body Interact enables both medical professionals and students to accelerate learning, develop clinical skills and achieve excellence in their performance. Its vision is to be the most reliable, engaging and widely adopted clinical education system in the world. To learn more, visit www.BodyInteract.com.
Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link -
iCEV Recognizes Putnam County Schools as the District’s Student Becomes the 100,000th Certification Earner on the iCEV Testing Platform
Lubbock, TX – Putnam County Schools in Tennessee is recognized by iCEV, a leading producer of Career & Technical Education (CTE) curriculum, industry certification testing, and data management, for having the 100,000th certification earner on the iCEV Testing Platform.
Serving more than 12,000 students across 22 schools, Putnam County Schools has long been recognized as a leader in promoting equitable access to CTE programs and career opportunities. In Putnam County Schools, CTE courses are aligned to relevant industry certifications that will help earners begin successful careers.
“It’s important that we provide equal access to all of our students,” said Jaclyn Vester, CTE Program Director for Putnam County Schools. “We want to make sure all of our students are leaving with the tools they need to be college and career ready.”
Having the 100,000th earner demonstrates the significant role certifications play in ensuring students in Putnam County Schools are prepared for their careers.
“We want them to really explore and think about what their next steps are, and we want to make sure as a school system that we are providing them with the skills they are going to need for those next steps,” said Vester.
By partnering with organizations such as iCEV, Putnam County Schools will continue to fulfill its mission to provide CTE students with employable skills that will help them lead successful careers in the fields of their choosing. In the previous school year alone, Putnam County Schools certified more than 1,500 students, including 374 through the iCEV Testing Platform.
“This milestone celebrates the success of Putnam County Schools and countless other CTE programs across the country,” said Dusty Moore, iCEV CEO. “The certification earners are now better prepared for their careers and are serving in communities across the country. iCEV is proud to partner with schools nationwide to provide opportunities for individuals to enhance their knowledge and validate their skills.”
With 18 industry certifications created by industry-leading businesses and organizations, the iCEV Testing Platform offers opportunities for learners to demonstrate they have the knowledge and skills necessary for work in a wide range of industries. The milestone of 100,000 certification earners represents that there are now 100,000 individuals more prepared to pursue their academic and career goals.
About iCEV
Since 1984, iCEV has specialized in providing quality CTE curriculum and educational resources. iCEV is the most comprehensive online resource for CTE educators and students, offering curriculum for several major subject areas, including agricultural science, trade & industrial education, business & marketing, career exploration, family & consumer science, trade & health science, law enforcement and STEM education. iCEV also acts as a certification testing platform for industry certifications. Recognized companies and organizations utilize iCEV as the testing platform for their certifications. Additionally, iCEV offers Eduthings, a CTE data management platform that simplifies reporting for industry certifications, work-based learning, CTSO participation, and more. For more information, visit www.icevonline.com.Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link -
Loudoun County Public Schools Offers New Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Resources for Parents and Students
SALT LAKE CITY – The Cook Center for Human Connection, a nonprofit dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention, has partnered with Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) to provide ParentGuidance.org to LCPS’ schools and families. Members of the LCPS community now have free access to a range of online mental health resources that empower families to help children thrive, including:
- One-on-one parent coaching individualized for families;
- Online on-demand lessons taught by licensed therapists; and
- Live, interactive family mental health series webinars hosted by trained professionals – available in the fall of 2024;
“Talking about mental health and other concerns is the key to understanding,” says Jennifer Evans, M. Ed., LPC, Director of Student Mental Health Services at LCPS. “Through ParentGuidance.org’s parent coaching and webinars, we are aiming to help parents address important mental health and developmental topics to support their children. Parents will gain tools and strategies that will enable them to talk with their children, engage in, and normalize important conversations about mental health.”
The Cook Center’s model focuses on the protective factors for youth mental health and suicide prevention in which schools and parents play a critical role. Though only two years old, ParentGuidance.org has already been adopted by 229 districts and 3,617 schools, offering more than 2.4 million families access to services across 37 states.
“ParentGuidance.org is a powerful tool to help families be the first line of support for their children,” said Anne Brown, president and CEO of Cook Center for Human Connection. “By providing education, resources, and direct support to families, we are helping the people who love and care for their children most: the parents. We are extremely proud to be partnering with a school district of distinction like Loudoun County Public Schools, who are showing they truly care about the role of parents in their children’s well-being.”
In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other national medical partners declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health, noting that healthcare professionals are “caring for young people with soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have lasting impacts on them, their families, and their communities.” Mental health factors have become especially formidable barriers to learning following the pandemic, intensifying a national imperative for innovation in student mental health and wellness. Research has established that school-based mental health and suicide programs that engage parents can increase the effectiveness of all interventions.
Loudoun County Public School families can sign up directly through ParentGuidance.org or learn more from the division’s Student Mental Health Services page. For more information about the Cook Center’s work and resources, visit CookCenterforHumanConnection.org.
About the Cook Center for Human Connection
The mission of the Cook Center is to bring together the best organizations, programs, and products to prevent suicide, provide mental health support, and enhance the human connections vital for people to thrive. The foundation’s current focus is on supporting children, families, and schools with youth mental health resources and on the goal of eradicating suicide. This work is accomplished through various grants to schools, programs for parents, and global resources to bring greater awareness to the support needed for those affected by mental health needs and suicide. Its free resources created to support child mental health and suicide prevention include My Life Is Worth Living™, the first animated series about teen mental health and suicide prevention, and ParentGuidance.org, a mental health resource giving parents the tools to have important conversations at home. The content includes free on-demand courses taught by licensed therapists and family mental health nights hosted by trained professionals. Learn more at CookCenterforHumanConnection.org.
Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link -
Now Hear This—The Future of Classroom Audio Systems
One of the biggest announcements out of FETC24 this year involved Lightspeed, the leading provider of instructional audio solutions that create equal access to learning, and their launch of Cascadia—a networked instructional audio platform that not only projects the teacher’s voice within the classroom but also empowers teachers to call for help and communicate outside of the classroom directly from their lanyard microphone.
I had a conversation with Tony Zeikle, Senior Vice President of Revenue at Lightspeed Technologies, Inc. about the features of the new product, its integration with existing school systems like phone networks and paging solutions, and its potential benefits for teachers and students, especially in light of challenges posed by the pandemic. We also touch upon the evolving landscape of educational technology, including the role of audio in augmented reality, virtual reality, and language learning. Have a listen:
More details about the launch:
Cascadia delivers all the benefits of instructional audio and integrates with existing life-safety and building communication systems, providing the ability to initiate mobile, silent emergency alerts and make two-way calls to the office from anywhere in the building.
“The need for teachers to communicate with resources outside of the classroom continues to grow, whether in an emergency or simply when help is needed,” said Shaun Fagan, Senior Vice President of Product and Lightspeed. “With Cascadia, schools can now meet this need by providing teachers with a communication tool that offers mobility, simplicity, and immediacy.”
Cascadia connects to a school’s network, providing centralized monitoring and control, along with key integrations to critical building-wide communications. The Cascadia platform provides:
- Timely alerts from anywhere in the building
- Communication to the office with two-way calling
- Real-time teacher location during an active alert
- Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) to leverage network infrastructure
- Integration with classroom multimedia
- Student sharing with Sharemike
“By integrating with leading life-safety and building communication providers, our solutions provide schools with the flexibility to leverage their existing investments and build the best systems to meet their needs,” said Fagan.
This networked communication system can enhance existing safety protocols and procedures, which is vital for students and parents. Students (87%), parents (96%), and educators (98%) all agree that school safety is extremely important to them, according to the 2022 State of School Safety Report by Safe and Sound Schools.
Below is a machine-generated transcript:
00:00:05 Speaker 1
OK, Tony. Thanks so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to off, etc in a couple weeks and I know lightspeed’s going to be down there. Maybe we could just get right into it, talk a little bit about the news and any announcements that that you guys might be promoting on the show floor.
00:00:22 Speaker 2
Absolutely. You know, we go to FTC every year. We love the opportunity to be able to interact with a lot of school districts and just across the entire industry of the Ed tech space. And you know, we are well respected and known for what we do in the classroom with instructional audio, putting a microphone on a teacher and providing a low volume, highly intelligible speech through speakers.
00:00:42 Speaker 2
So that every student in the classroom can effectively hear the instruction.
00:00:46 Speaker 2
The new product that we’re launching this month and it’s just gone on to our website this week is called Cascade, Cascadia and it’s an instructional networked platform. It’s our first foray into being a networked system, so that our our technology directors can have visibility into all of their instructional audio solutions.
00:01:05 Speaker 2
Across an entire school.
00:01:07 Speaker 2
And also adding some additional features. You know, the thing that we really realized was as we put microphones on, teachers and teachers are wearing a microphone, you know, both in their classroom and around the school is that that microphone can have some additional features and abilities beyond just that. We have an important piece of real estate.
00:01:27 Speaker 2
So to speak, by having that microphone right here at a, you know, hands distance away.
00:01:33 Speaker 2
For the teachers, So what we’re doing is adding some components of being able to integrate our microphone for safety and security purposes and that can be incorporating it in as a discrete silent alert that can notify the office that there’s something wrong in a classroom or somewhere else in the school. And we’re also integrating it with the school’s phone system so that the.
00:01:55 Speaker 2
Teacher is actually able to make a teacher initiated call to the office.
00:02:00 Speaker 2
Sometimes a little bit more information is required. You know with that discrete alert or something like that, and the teacher being able to have a quick conversation with the office and it could be something as minor as a student needs help in the hallway. It could be just instruction, maybe a teacher or a student’s heading to the office just so that quick information can provide a little bit more.
00:02:20 Speaker 2
Information for the teacher and staff to be able to communicate the thing we really realized coming out of the pandemic.
00:02:27 Speaker 2
Was that gone? Are the days that a teacher just walks into their classroom at the beginning of the day doesn’t interact with any other adults the rest of the day? And you know, they’re just with their students in that classroom. The dynamic has changed and teachers need support, whether it’s for behavioral purposes, whether it’s just standard communication across the school campus.
00:02:48 Speaker 2
And we realized that we could add some value there by adding some additional buttons and additional features onto our microphone.
00:02:56 Speaker 1
You know, it sounds like a pretty significant upgrade. And when you talk about significant, you’re also talking about sophisticated and and and complicated especially I guess when you’re tying in phone systems or IP based, if any of our readers or listeners here are responsible for those sort of IT systems. Can you give us some of the the?
00:03:16 Speaker 1
Weak speak when it comes to how those are being integrated.
00:03:19 Speaker 2
Yeah, absolutely. What we really desire to do is stay in our space from an instructional audio standpoint. That’s what we’re known for. That’s what we’re respected for. So we’re really staying there. But what we have done is identified that we can integrate with existing paging and intercom solutions through our network system. So that from a wireless standpoint, we use deck technology for our wireless.
00:03:41 Speaker 2
Transmission, but from the amp we’re now connected through the through the network and integrate with that paging system so that we’re integrating with what the school is already used to using.
00:03:52 Speaker 2
And being able to navigate and then those buttons can do different things based upon what the school desires it to do based upon their safety and security protocols and those kinds of things. One of the things that we really wanted to make sure that we did through this process is there can be complexity on the back end for sure, but how do we keep it simple for the teacher? How do we make it so that it’s very easy and intuitive?
00:04:14 Speaker 2
For them to use, you know, one of the things that we realized was when it comes to school wide communication, there’s different ways that teachers were interacting, whether it be, you know, maybe a walkie.
00:04:24 Speaker 2
Bucky and those are kind of bulky and they might be taking them to recess or different places across the school. They’re not very wearable, so to speak, but they serve their purpose. You think about other things that they’re using sometimes they’re using their own cell phone, which sometimes isn’t on the school’s network, isn’t a school.
00:04:45 Speaker 2
Piece of property.
00:04:47 Speaker 2
And there’s some challenges tied to apps and things like that. On their own personal device that can be challenging for a school to navigate, and then, you know, they have their phone system maybe or their, you know, in the school and it’s fixed. And it’s not a wearable technology, so to speak. So we felt like there was a little bit of a gap in terms of just communication that we can make a little bit simpler.
00:05:07 Speaker 1
Yeah. And you mentioned the pandemic in in some of the the changing behaviors.
00:05:12 Speaker 1
Is that something that that as as a company as as a technology company who’s emphasizing these technologies as being an enhancement, has there, has there been a change in terms of maybe convincing faculty members who maybe were resistant? Like why do I need a microphone? I’ve always, I’ve always taught my algebra class for for 30 years and never seem to have necessary like.
00:05:34 Speaker 1
And always felt awkward about. So maybe now that they’re more comfortable and see those benefits.
00:05:39 Speaker 2
Yeah, really kind of two purposes that the pandemic really highlighted the need for this technology. One was when teachers were wearing masks in their classroom, you know, that mask was at 10 decibel drop in their voice. And also you had the loss of the visual cues of the mouth through that mask. And so I think that necessity of audio and the challenge of communication through the pandemic.
00:06:02 Speaker 2
Just heightened teachers awareness of why this technology is important. One of the first responses we’ve gotten for years when teachers put a microphone on and they hear that low volume, highly intelligible speech coming through, is that they didn’t have to repeat their instructions nearly.
00:06:17 Speaker 2
This much students were more attentive and at the end of the day the teacher had more energy. They realized I don’t have to raise my voice all day, every day for my students to be able to hear me, you know another, you know, we talked a little bit about maybe the rise in behavioral issues in a school. You know, I I went to a lot of Superintendent conferences towards the tail end.
00:06:37 Speaker 2
Of the pandemic and.
00:06:38 Speaker 2
After the pandemic and a lot of superintendents would just say we are just seeing an A significant increase in behavioral issues tied to all of the challenges that the pandemic had for students, their home life and all the things that they were going through. And, you know, there was an increase in room clears just.
00:06:55 Speaker 2
You know things that are every day in a school that you know a lot of people maybe don’t hear about, but they’re the challenges that teachers are facing every day and they’re very aware of it. So increased communication across the school campus was one thing that we just wanted to really focus on. And, you know, one of the things that I’m sure that you’ve thought about too, and you’re hearing from other companies.
00:07:16 Speaker 2
As well.
00:07:16 Speaker 2
Well, is how technology needs to evolve. You know, we talked about AI and ChatGPT and how that’s being incorporated into the classroom. And there’s a lot of different things. And I think coming out of the pandemic and in the next few years, we’re gonna continue to see a lot of really innovative technologies that are going to change the way that the classroom is shaped and the way teaching and learning.
00:07:38 Speaker 1
Yeah, because especially we’re talking about the future of education technology conference, right. And I’m I’m looking forward to getting down there and now that we’re.
00:07:45 Speaker 1
Kind of finally free to a certain degree from the pandemic and kind of start to look forward on some of these technologies, the augmented reality, the virtual reality audio is a big part of all of those things, right? So I mean you can, are you anticipating other new kind of applications where?
00:08:06 Speaker 1
Audio will be part of that.
00:08:09 Speaker 2
Yeah, absolutely. You know, the other component is just making sure you have clear audio for extended learning. You know, students that are outside of the classroom. How do you make sure that audio is clear on both ends? You know, if you have a group of students that are in another classroom across the school campus or, you know, in a different part, or if you have a teacher that’s remote.
00:08:29 Speaker 2
How do you make sure audio is clear through that whole process and we continue to think through that and we have a lot of various innovative solutions that we provide to be able to make sure that that can happen. One of the things that.
00:08:42 Speaker 2
Provided during the pandemic was our T3 solution, which is basically being able to provide a student with every a microphone. Every student in the classroom, and that became really applicable for remote learning where you might have a teacher that’s remote because if a student has a question that teacher needs to be able to hear it and.
00:09:01 Speaker 2
Being able to interact that way and really making the classroom setting different than what it has been in the past, and I think we’ll continue to see that evolve and change. But audio is at the heart of a lot of.
00:09:12 Speaker 1
Things one especially too. I I’ve noticed that when you look at various AI applications, various transcription applications, I mean specifically just Microsoft Word, the character recognition.
00:09:28 Speaker 1
It’s kind of across the Rubicon, right? I mean, it used to be like it was pretty good, but you’d have to spend a lot of time kind of cleaning.
00:09:36 Speaker 1
I notice now that just I mean the the character recognition when it comes to audio transcriptions, it’s just really spectacular. But the key comes down to.
00:09:47 Speaker 1
The microphone and what that technology can capture, right? I mean, so that’s kind of like the the front lines of any of this stuff working at all.
00:09:56 Speaker 2
Yeah. And you think also even about, you know, English language learning and the way that’s evolving in in K12 right now, I think over 10% of our student population.
00:10:05 Speaker 2
And now is falling into that category. So how can we do translation services through that process as well? So there’s a lot of exciting things that are happening through all of that.
00:10:17 Speaker 1
And the one piece of the the audience here that I don’t think needs much convincing are the students themselves.
00:10:26 Speaker 1
Right. I mean this is just.
00:10:27 Speaker 1
This is the technology is not a novelty to them. I mean, of course we’re all going to be speaking into microphones.
00:10:34 Speaker 2
Absolutely. And you know, I think students, especially now with, you know, headphones and everything else, they’re used to a more immersive experience when it comes to audio. So how can we deliver that to them, whether they’re in the classroom, whether they’re at home or whatever medium that they’re doing in the learning environment? We need to be thoughtful of that and engage them where they are.
00:10:53 Speaker 1
Well, lots of exciting stuff. Uh, I look forward to seeing you in person, not just on the on the zoom platform where we can kind of go more in depth. But thanks for your time to kind of.
00:11:04 Speaker 1
Let our listeners and let our readers kind of know what’s on the on the forefront here when it comes to audio.
00:11:09 Speaker 2
Absolutely. And what you know will be on the showroom floor, but we’ll also have a demonstration room where we can show Cascadia and demonstrate it on a first hand level in an enclosed space. So we look forward to being able to meet with many people at FTC.
00:11:23 Speaker 1
Excellent, Tony. Thanks again. Appreciate it.
00:11:25 Speaker 2
Thank you.
Kevin is a forward-thinking media executive with more than 25 years of experience building brands and audiences online, in print, and face to face. He is an acclaimed writer, editor, and commentator covering the intersection of society and technology, especially education technology. You can reach Kevin at KevinHogan@eschoolnews.comLatest posts by Kevin Hogan (see all)
Kevin Hogan
Source link -
Moms in the ER
-
Throw a Delightful Dumpling Party With These Cake Mix-Style Kits
For culinary creator and blogger Samantha Mui, food has always been “the center of everything.” It’s one of the reasons the second-generation Cantonese American launched Thirsty Dumpling, an at-home dumpling-making kit that marries tradition with modern ease.
“There are two kinds of people,” Mui says. “People who plan their food around their activities and people who plan their activities around food.”
You could guess which category she falls into.
For Mui, Thirsty Dumpling is a culmination of personal and career milestones to this point; an opportunity for the act of preparation to serve as a focal point for communing in the age of Postmates and Uber Eats. She’s no stranger to the food space, having worked in several different food spaces including blogging at Sammy Eats and creating cooking videos on YouTube. She’s even appeared on the Bay Area version of Check, Please! and competed on Food Network’s Supermarket Stakeout (the episode aired in early January 2021, in which she made it to the final round).
Mui aims to empower millennials and zoomers by reigniting a spark for home cooking and party hosting. It’s something she admits she didn’t have as often as she would’ve liked growing up, and was part of why she loved hosting friends as she got older. After the height of the pandemic, she felt an element of quality, thoughtful at-home gatherings was lost as everyone was eager to be back outside.
After moving to the Midwest from the Bay Area in 2022, Mui began posting on Kittch, a live-streaming platform for culinary creators where she shared trendy hacks and what have become millennial party staples — charcuterie and butter boards. But she soon realized that wasn’t where her heart was.
Then, she thought of dumplings.
Looking back on her childhood, primarily living with her brother and maternal grandmother during the week while their parents worked, then spending the weekends with mom and dad, dumplings were the one dish she always enjoyed among what she considered “bland, healthier” foods her mother and grandmother made more regularly.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243841/53480951768_7de44ba614_h.jpg)
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243833/53480808741_c9478aa0da_h.jpg)
While living abroad in Shanghai as part of a graduate studies program in 2017, she frequented a local dumpling shop whose flavors brought back those childhood memories; she confesses she dined there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Pretty soon, she took to her apartment’s purple kitchen to try her hand at making them herself, experimenting with proteins such as pork and shrimp, seeking the kind of comfort that only a family recipe could deliver.
Like many grandmothers’ recipes handed down through generations, there were no measurements or written instructions. “I realized how much of [the process] was memory-based because I’d watch my mom just throw it all together. I remember her just chopping things up and throwing a bunch of random ingredients into a big, yellow Tupperware bowl, then we’d fold them together. There was no recipe. This was 20 years later and I was able to recreate what she did.” Returning to the United States, dumplings became a staple in her own home — she even included a recipe for Jiaozi-style dumplings in her 2020 self-published cookbook, Melting Pot.
The kits come with the basics for a filling. Just add protein.
Six years later, she finally — albeit impulsively (coming up with the concept in April of 2023 and launching in November) — decided to go all-in on Thirsty Dumpling.
Developing a recipe that would easily translate to home cooks of all skill levels was crucial. With Asian cooking in particular, she’d heard from many home cooks that there were additional “intimidating” factors to recreating dishes on their own.
“We’ve tried to remove all the pain points of making dumplings without sacrificing any of the complete experience, so this is really bridging the culture,” she says.
Thirsty Dumpling’s package includes everything but the meat (or selected substitute, such as Impossible beef or pork) and preferred cooking oil to make an affordable, “cake mix-style” product.
“If you’re scared of crimping, we have the little dumpling folder,” she says. “If you’re nervous about reading instructions and not really trusting yourself, we have the videos to use as a benchmark.”
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243848/53481215065_31b9ffaa3a_h.jpg)
With enough ingredients for 36 dumplings, including a soy-and-sesame-based dipping sauce and a combination of air and freeze-dried ingredients that reflect a traditional Cantonese stuffing — from various cabbages and green onion to ginger, mushroom, and white pepper — Mui has created an arguably foolproof recipe, “so good,” its tagline states, “you’ll catch fillings.”
Much intention and attention to common kitchen mishaps went into compiling the final product. Considering different learning styles was important to her, sharing that she hesitated in her own continuing education (culinary and otherwise) due to inflexibilities in lessons or instructions before realizing she was just a more of a hands-on learner.
“People who don’t cook, when you ask them ‘what happened?’ — it’s those small steps that weren’t mentioned but should have been,” she says. “If you cook, you learn that over time, some things in recipes are implied. That’s why we have the videos. They’re not there to follow step-by-step, but it’s the closest thing to me being right next to you, your bestie in the kitchen, letting you know that you’re good.”
Her mission in fostering togetherness and active participation in the kitchen is further underscored by her “dumpling parties” and classes showcasing what she considers “the world’s most shareable food.” Taking place in coworking spaces like Guild Row in Avondale and the conference rooms of Merrill-Lynch’s downtown offices, they’re her ideal vehicle for building harmonious unions on and off the plate.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243857/53481216565_530058405a_h.jpg)
Mui’s infectious, extroverted personality also mixed well with Chicago’s Midwestern hospitality, making it comfortable for her to connect with the local food community. She’s attended mixers hosted by Vermillion’s Rohini Dey and her Let’s Talk Womxn initiative, and connected with other rising leaders in the city like Francis Almeda of Side Practice Coffee, alongside companies such as Here Here Market and Good Food Accelerator that support independent entrepreneurs in their business goals.
“Chicago is such a hub for emerging food brands,” she says excitedly. “There were so many accelerator programs here — and they were free. The city’s so collaborative. I was so shocked at how many communities exist here to support folks like us. People want to see you succeed.”
She credits her friend, founder of Vietnamese coffee brand (and upcoming Uptown coffee shop) Fat Miilk, Lan Ho with providing her first real introduction to Chicago’s expansive food culture and entrepreneurial spirit. Initially meeting during their pageant days, competing in Miss Asian Global, Mui reached out ahead of her impending move and the two reconnected more deeply.
“I witnessed a lot of her growth, when she was prepping for Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars and watching her grow and figure out Fat Miilk and all the craziness of being an entrepreneur, always be able to turn a corner and come out on top — it was helpful to see someone else on their journey. She’s that person I call for advice.”
Since Thirsty Dumpling’s launch, Mui’s continued adjusting to life as a small business owner, but the feedback so far has been more than enough to sustain her.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243830/53480807801_c1f0360522_h.jpg)
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243842/53481115499_c5b3a96553_h.jpg)
“I sent a lot of tester kits to different kinds of people — folks with kids, people having a date night, girls’ nights, whatever. I was so nervous that if someone got my kit and the instructions weren’t good, they would say it was so hard to do — that their experience was bad,” she says. “But just the fact that people say ‘I can’t believe I made that’ — it’s all about that confidence that comes after. That lets me know I’ve made it.”
Jessi Roti
Source link -
Bluum Launches Innovative Esports, STEAM, and Security Solutions
PHOENIX, Ariz. — At its recent Impact 2024 conference, Bluum, a leading provider of education technology, unveiled five new solutions designed to address the biggest challenges in education today. The latest customizable selections of hardware, software, and services from Bluum aim to help educators increase and improve enrollment, keep schools safe and informed, and deliver curriculum innovation for K-12 and higher education.
“Bluum is on a never-ending mission to help improve learning and access to education,” said Bluum CRO Scott Pintsopoulos. “With the new solutions we unveiled at Impact 2024, we are poised to partner with educational institutions to solve some of the toughest challenges facing teachers and learners today.”
Bluum’s diverse range of new offerings include best in class brands addressing everything from stem to school safety.
- The new Esports solution is designed to enhance student engagement and build a sense of community, effectively tapping into the growing interest in gaming. This innovative strategy not only boosts enrollment figures but also fosters a dynamic learning environment, aligning education with evolving trends and student interests.
- The new school safety solution provides comprehensive cyber and physical security solutions to ensure a secure learning environment. Bluum’s cybersecurity offerings include strategic planning for educational leaders and tools that safeguard sensitive information, shielding schools from digital threats and ensuring the integrity of educational data. Advanced physical security measures, ranging from access control systems to surveillance technologies, empower schools to proactively address safety concerns, creating a protected space for students and staff while keeping stakeholders well-informed about potential risks and responses.
- Bluum’s new curriculum innovation for primary schools packages offer a diverse range of tailored solutions that integrate STEM tools and hands-on learning opportunities to increase student engagement and foster curiosity and critical thinking skills among the youngest learners.
- New curriculum innovation solutions for intermediate schools enable educators to create dynamic and interactive lessons, fostering student engagement and critical thinking, empowering educators to deliver innovative content by ensuring that students are equipped with the digital skills they need to succeed in an ever-evolving world.
- Bluum’s curriculum innovation for higher education packages allow colleges and universities to integrate hybrid and blended collaborative learning tools and personalized learning experiences with their curriculum.
Bluum selected the quality products in each package to help each school or district achieve its specific goals, and also offers a range of services to ensure that the new tools are ready to go on day one and continue to provide value day after day. Bluum’s support services include the following:
- White glove services make deployment easier, faster, and less costly. Bluum’s customized configuration solutions help IT teams focus on keeping classrooms running smoothly.
- Bluum Shield is an original equipment manufacturer warranty extension that provides comprehensive coverage to minimize learning interruptions, maximize the value of every technology investment, and lower the total cost of ownership.
- Strategic planning services customize solutions to fit the specific needs and goals of each organization.
- Funding advisory services help schools and districts find, apply for, and use available funds they may not be aware of.
- Bluum’s professional development offerings include coaching via onsite, remote, and asynchronous learning options. Current research shows that ongoing support for instructional integration of technology tools empowers teachers to maximize learning outcomes, increase efficiency, and provide access to learning to meet individual student needs.
“We know that your teachers, your students, and your community are unique, and that even if you share common challenges with other educators, the solutions to those problems are unique,” said Emily Cook, Bluum’s vice president of educational services. “That’s why Bluum is committed to listening, learning, and collaborating with each partner to assess their particular needs and goals, then plan and implement a solution designed for success as they’ve defined it.”
For more information, visit Bluum.com.
About Bluum
Bluum is a leader in providing innovative technology solutions for education. We believe in creating engaging, inspiring, and safe learning environments that make education more accessible to all students to better equip them for the future. Through its wide range of best-in-class solutions, Bluum is committed to helping educators and students realize their full potential through technology to improve learning. Visit Bluum to learn more.
Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link -
She was a victim of the 'Happy Face Killer.' Investigators close in on ID but ask public's help
More than 30 years after a woman died violently at the hands of the “Happy Face Killer,” Riverside County investigators are close to a breakthrough in identifying her — but they’re seeking the public’s help.
The serial killer, whose name is Keith Hunter Jesperson, boasted of killing the woman and seven other female victims in the early 1990s, sending letters to the press about his exploits that he signed with a smiling face.
He referred to the woman he killed in Riverside as “Claudia,” but investigators have never been able to confirm her identity, according to the Riverside County district attorney’s office.
“Our goal is to identify this victim and provide closure to her family, wherever they may be,” Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin said in a statement. “We are hopeful someone hearing any of these details may remember anything that could help us reunite this woman with the family who may have been looking for her for over three decades.”
Jesperson has been in custody since 1995 and pleaded guilty to murdering this Jane Doe in 2010, according to authorities. In his confession, Jesperson said he met the victim in August 1992 at a brake check area along Highway 15 south of Victorville.
Jesperson had been working as a long-haul truck driver. The woman hitched a ride with him, saying she was going to Los Angeles, but Jesperson had been headed southeast toward Arizona on his truck route.
He drove her south to Cabazon and then a rest stop in the Coachella Valley, where Jesperson killed her in his truck after a dispute about money, he said. He then drove seven miles north of Blythe along Highway 95 and disposed of the woman’s body on the side of the road. Her remains were discovered on Aug. 30, 1992.
The woman was described by Jesperson as in her 20s, about 5-foot-6 and 140 to 150 pounds. She had shaggy blond hair and a tattoo of two dots on the left side of the thumb on her right hand. She was wearing a T-shirt with a motorcycle on it when her body was found.
Forensic investigators using DNA evidence and genealogists have determined the woman’s biological father, now dead, hailed from Cameron County in Texas. Her mother remains unidentified but could have been from Louisiana or southeastern Texas. Investigators have contacted several people they believe to be half-siblings of the woman, though they told investigators they were not aware of her and could not identify her.
Anyone with potential leads can contact the Riverside County district attorney’s cold case hotline at (951) 955-5567 or by emailing coldecaseunit@rivcoda.org.
Jeremy Childs
Source link -
Austin Pets Alive! | Emergency Response Needed For Outdoor Shelter…
We need your help this week! The Austin and surrounding areas are expected to reach freezing temperatures this weekend so shelter pets in outdoor enclosures need help by this Sunday! Here’s how you can support them NOW.
-
Homelessness is down in South L.A. But nearly 13,000 remain unhoused
A string of tents and makeshift shelters sat for years west of the 110 Freeway, across the street from an elementary school in the Vermont Vista neighborhood.
Then, one day in February, workers cleared the encampment, which stretched about four blocks from Colden Avenue to Century Boulevard, moving dozens of people indoors.
Today, a single tent remains, along with about five people living in a pedestrian tunnel under the freeway.
Longtime residents said the neighborhood is quiet again, and the sidewalks are clean.
“It was an ugly sight, but now things are better,” said Andrea Ceron, 59. “We still deal with other problems, like police chases and prostitution.”
Intake worker Maria Ajtun, right, takes down information from a client for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program at All Peoples Community Center in Los Angeles.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
South L.A. has been a rare bright spot amid the city’s homelessness crisis.
While homelessness increased in other parts of the city, South L.A. had 10% fewer unhoused people than the previous year, according to the annual point-in-time count conducted last January.
Officials and service providers attributed the drop to the hard work they have put in for years coming to fruition, with the help of funding infusions, in an area where most residents are Latino or Black and many live below the poverty line.
Mayor Karen Bass’ signature homelessness initiative, Inside Safe, has also made a dent, with more encampment cleanups in South L.A. — including the one in Vermont Vista — than in any other part of the city.
While Inside Safe has cleared long-standing encampments, most who lived in them are still in temporary housing or are back on the street. The problem remains vast, with nearly 13,000 unhoused people in South L.A., according to the point-in-time count.
Bass took office in December 2022, so the progress made by Inside Safe isn’t reflected in the 10% drop from the point-in-time count. But her supporters say the program, as well as her sense of urgency on homelessness, is setting up South L.A. for more success.
Homelessness outreach workers from 2nd Call visit Olga V. Romero, who lives in her car with her 23-year-old son.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
City Councilmember Curren Price, who represents large parts of South L.A., credited the drop in homelessness to increased collaboration among elected officials and a willingness to try different strategies. Bass, he said, has “set a very positive and inclusive tone” and worked well with county supervisors.
But backsliding is all too easy, he warned.
“That 10% is a nice number to throw around, but we know it could go back up easily, and so we can’t get complacent,” he said. “We know we have to keep identifying the financial resources, because these properties need to be built and services need to be provided, and if that stops, then all of our efforts are going to be for nothing.”
Nearly 70% of South L.A. residents are renters, and the median household income is $47,692, compared with more than $76,000 citywide.
Amid rising rents, inflation and the end of pandemic renter protections, more people are at risk of becoming homeless as eviction cases work their way through the courts.
“A lot of folks are one check away from being in real trouble,” Price said. “They can’t make the car payment, they can’t pay their rent or house payment, kids need clothes, food, medicine, etc. So it’s a very delicate situation that we’re in.”
Karen McGee of 2nd Call checks in with a woman sleeping outside a McDonald’s in South Los Angeles.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Karen McGee, a homelessness outreach worker with the South L.A. nonprofit 2nd Call, said many of the people she helps are families or senior citizens who couldn’t keep up with rising rents. Most are desperate to get off the streets.
“They want any help they can get,” she said.
In February, in addition to Vermont Vista, Inside Safe cleared a large encampment at 88th Street and Western Avenue, where people lived near a vacant lot surrounded by a chain-link fence. Since then, no tents have reappeared at the site.
Many of the large encampments in South L.A. targeted by Inside Safe were along the 110 Freeway’s underpasses and overpasses. A few tents have returned, but as of December, most areas remained clear.
“We had to rely on the police,” said Mary Action, 86, who lives near the former Vermont Vista encampment. “It was a real mess. There was drug use, fighting and a shooting.”
Chontae Peters, right, who is living in her car, reacts as Teanna Mosqueda, an ambassador with 2nd Call, provides her with information on how to get help.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Valentin Gonzalez, another Vermont Vista resident, said that for two weeks, a homeless man lived up in a tree outside his home.
“I ended up cutting the branches off to get him to leave,” said Gonzalez, 61. “It was really bad here.”
Getting people off the streets is an arduous and time-consuming process. Sometimes, outreach workers speak with unhoused people frequently to earn their trust so they will accept help.
“We go to the same areas, whether the encampments are there or not,” McGee said. “Sometimes we show up, and people have either moved or got the help they needed.”
The South L.A. planning area, as defined by the point-in-time count and other homelessness measures, includes not only neighborhoods like Crenshaw and Watts but cities such as Compton, Lynwood and Paramount.
The area is riddled with social problems that include overcrowded housing, gang violence, drug use and inadequate access to healthcare, some of it with roots in discriminatory practices such as redlining. Service providers have historically had a hard time getting funding.
“You have organizations in the Westside and Hollywood that have been around for decades and have strong boards and these private funding networks that support them as well,” said Katie Hill, deputy director of HOPICS, the lead homeless services agency in the area. “We hardly have any private fundraising at all to help us with this issue, because the community doesn’t have money.”
But the $1.2-billion city bond measure Proposition HHH and the quarter-percent county sales tax Measure H have brought an infusion of cash.
The additional funding helped boost HOPICS’ annual budget to $105 million. About 15% of the money goes to subcontractors who provide homeless services, and at least 30% goes to financial assistance for low-income families.
HOPICS has expanded its payroll to more than 430 employees and increased its outreach teams, which provide services that include housing and street medicine, from four members to 22.
Juana Romero, who works on a HOPICS outreach team, attributes the decrease in homelessness to this street-level expansion, as well as to programs like Inside Safe.
“It’s all very helpful,” she said. “The resources are there to pull people off the streets and bring them inside.”
Hundreds of new public housing units have been built, or are in the process of being built, in South L.A. And residents are being prioritized for permanent housing over people from outside the area, said Veronica Lewis, director of HOPICS.
Since 2015, the number of emergency shelters in the South L.A. area has increased from 60 to 205, and permanent supportive housing projects went from 20 to 71, according to city records.
City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, whose district includes portions of South L.A., said that when the Measure H money arrived, nonprofits that had been working on homelessness in the area were ready to step up.
“When there’s availability of resources, you have people who know what to do with those resources and are prepared to carry it out,” he said.
Harris-Dawson added that residents of South L.A. are more supportive of housing developments than those from other parts of L.A. County.
“And then I think our social service agencies are pretty strong and are doing a really good job of keeping track of folks that are on the street, so that when units do become available, they can find them and get them in,” he said.
Programs that prevent people from falling into homelessness have also been vital in South L.A.
Children play at the All Peoples Community Center, which provides various services for South Los Angeles residents such as rental assistance, financial coaching and tax preparation. It is one of several in South L.A. that has played a key role in reducing homelessness.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
At All Peoples Community Center in Historic South-Central, about 90% of clients are in need of emergency rental assistance, said Julio Ramos, director of the Family Resource Center, one of 16 centers that help low-income families, many of whom are on the verge of homelessness. The centers, which are run by nonprofits and receive city funding, also provide financial education and other services.
“We’re getting clients that are 25 months behind on rent,” Ramos said. “Utilities as well, especially when they’re included with the rent.”
Last year, the City Council approved funding for four additional centers.
Neery Montes, 40, who has two sons, was in a panic when she arrived at the All Peoples center last winter. She had lost her job at a bakery and was seven months behind on rent and utilities, owing about $9,600 for a small one-bedroom in South Los Angeles.
Nerry Montes recounts being threatened with eviction while seven months pregnant to a counselor at All Peoples Community Center.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Her new landlord was threatening to evict her and had raised her rent, despite the pandemic-related rental freeze and eviction moratoriums.
“It was a very difficult time for me,” she said. “I was dealing with anxiety and depression.”
Montes said she worried about ending up homeless, as she had been before, when she fled from her husband.
Case manager Jessica Sanabria-Rosales signed up Montes for several food programs as well as emergency rental assistance. Montes was able to stay in her apartment and pay off 83% of the past rent. The center created a payment plan for the balance.
With more outreach workers on the streets, the labor-intensive work of earning a homeless person’s trust continues.
As a HOPICS team stopped at the site of the former encampment in Vermont Vista, LeAndre Hewitt rode up on his bicycle.
Outreach Services coordinator Mychal Johnson had placed Hewitt, 34, in shelters several times. Each time, Hewitt, who has struggled with drug and mental health issues, was kicked out, Johnson said.
This time, in a first, Hewitt was initiating the conversation and requesting shelter.
The HOPICS workers found a spot for Hewitt at Safe Landing, an interim housing facility with beds and 24/7 clinical care that opened about a year ago.
The group discussed what to do with Hewitt’s bicycle, which didn’t fit in the van.
Finally, Hewitt threw his bike on the curb and hopped in the van.
Ruben Vives
Source link -
Rising ransomware attacks on education demand defense readiness
Key points:
Ransomware attacks continue to wreak havoc on the education sector, hitting 80 percent of lower education providers and 79 percent of higher education providers this year. That’s a significant increase from 56 percent and 64 percent in 2022, respectively.
As “target rich, cyber poor” institutions, schools store massive amounts of sensitive data, from intellectual property to the personal information of students and faculty. Outdated software, limited IT resources and other security weaknesses further heighten their risk exposure. In a ransomware attack, adversaries exploit these vulnerabilities to infiltrate the victim’s network and encrypt their data, effectively holding it hostage. After encryption, bad actors demand ransom payment in exchange for the decryption key required to retrieve their files.
But the ramifications of ransomware extend beyond the risk of data exposure and recovery costs; attacks can also result in downtime that disrupts learning for students. The impact of ransomware has grown so severe that the Biden Administration has even committed to providing ongoing assistance and resources to support schools in strengthening their cyber defenses.
So, while ransomware in the education sector isn’t a new phenomenon, the stakes remain high. And with both higher and lower education institutions reporting the highest rates of attacks among all industries surveyed in a recent study, the need for increased defense readiness in the education sector has never been more evident.
3 ransomware trends disrupting classrooms in 2023
Cybercriminals have refined the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model in recent years, enabling adversaries to specialize in different stages of attack. Amid the current ransomware surge, IT and security leaders in education must remain aware of the evolving threat landscape so they can effectively safeguard their networks and systems.
Here are some trends from The State of Ransomware in Education 2023 report that demand attention now:
1. Adversaries are leveraging compromised credentials and exploited vulnerabilities. More than three-quarters (77 percent) of attacks against higher education institutions and 65 percent against early education institutions this year originated from compromised credentials and exploited security flaws in software.
Although the root causes of attacks are similar across other industries, educators experienced a significantly higher number of attacks that originated from compromised credentials. The sector’s lack of adoption of multi-factor authentication (MFA) technology — a critical tool in preventing these types of attacks — likely plays a role in this trend.
2. Educational institutions lag behind other sectors when it comes to data backups. The use of data backups is critical in recovering encrypted data and reducing downtime in the event of an attack. Still, only 63 percent of higher educational organizations use backups, falling below the cross-sector average of 70 percent. Lower educational institutions perform slightly better in this area, with 73 percent of organizations backing up their data.
However, the use of backups to recover encrypted data decreased in the last year — a concerning trend given the high rate of ransomware attacks against the sector.
3. Educators are paying ransoms. But should they? Education had one of the highest rates of ransom payouts of all industries, with 56 percent of higher education institutions and 47 percent of lower education institutions paying the ransom in attacks in 2023. Educators’ willingness to pay ransom often stems from factors like the critical nature of their operations and the potential impact of data exposure on staff and students.
But paying the ransom is a risky and often costly move because there’s no way to guarantee adversaries will provide the decryption key. Even if they do, victims may still need to spend significant time and resources recovering data. In fact, paying the ransom actually increased recovery costs and lengthened recovery times for victims this year.
Empowering educators: How to defend against ransomware attacks
Factors like resource constraints can make it difficult to maintain comprehensive and up-to-date cybersecurity measures. But with an understanding of optimal incident response protocols and adversaries’ tools, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), you can prioritize practices and investments that bolster your institution’s defenses against ransomware.
- Explore CISA guidelines and toolkits for recommendations and best practices when it comes to information sharing, maintaining defenses with limited resources and more.
- Maintain proper cybersecurity hygiene through routine patching and regular reviews of security tool configurations. Don’t be afraid to lean on a third-party expert for help assessing the effectiveness of your defenses.
- Defend against common attack vectors with tools like MFA and zero trust network access to prevent the exploitation of compromised credentials.
- Employ managed detection and response (MDR) services to enhance your security with round-the-clock threat monitoring.
- Leverage adaptive technologies that automatically respond to attacks to buy you response time.
- Prepare for the worst by regularly backing up your data and maintaining an incident response plan that reflects the current threat landscape.
- Raise awareness among staff about the dangers of ransomware and best practices they can follow to mitigate risk.
Cyberattacks are inevitable, and ransomware is a common form of attack in the education sector. But you’re not helpless — you have the ability to exercise control over your institution’s digital preparedness.
By adhering to best cybersecurity practices, implementing tools that defend against emerging threats, and outsourcing services when necessary, you can equip your institution to respond to potential threats in an effective and timely manner.
Latest posts by eSchool Media Contributors (see all)Rob Lalumondier, Vice President, U.S. Public Sector, Sophos Contributor
Source link -
D2L and Unity Partner to Help Revolutionize Education with Immersive Real-Time 3D
D2L, a global learning technology company, today announced a new partnership with Unity, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D (RT3D) content with a goal to transform the education landscape through classroom integration of immersive Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and RT3D technologies. The partnership is a direct response to the increased demand for innovative and engaging learning experiences in the classroom.
“Immersive technology revolutionizes learning by breaking down traditional barriers, turning education into a dynamic and engaging experience that goes beyond the limits of classrooms,” said Natalie Mai, Global Head of Education Sales at Unity. “We’re excited to see how D2L can more deeply connect educators and students through Unity.”
With Unity education licenses now available through D2L Brightspace, D2L’s learning innovation platform, educators can have access to tools, professional training, and certifications to help create immersive learning experiences that can transcend traditional boundaries of learning. From virtual science experiments to medical-training simulations, students can have the opportunity to test their knowledge and benefit from a more engaging and hands-on experience.
“Over the past few years, we have seen exciting possibilities for the use of XR technologies (virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality) in teaching and corporate learning environments. At D2L, we believe that education should inspire, engage, and prepare students for the future,” said Katie Bradford, VP of Product Partnerships at D2L. “By partnering with Unity, we continue in our mission to explore how emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), can be leveraged to help enable new ways of learning and we look forward to continuing to transform the future of learning with partners like Unity.”
Training and learning management system support will be available through D2L for Business to help users successfully integrate, harness and track the progress of how immersive learning can impact students.
Learn more about D2L’s partner ecosystem here. And visit D2L’s Partner Integration Hub here.
About D2L
D2L is transforming the way the world learns—helping learners of all ages achieve more than they dreamed possible. Working closely with clients all over the world, D2L is supporting millions of people learning online and in person. Our growing global workforce is dedicated to making the best learning products to leave the world better than they found it. Learn more about D2L for K-12, higher education and businesses at www.D2L.com.
Twitter: @D2L
© 2023 D2L Corporation.
The D2L family of companies includes D2L Inc., D2L Corporation, D2L Ltd, D2L Australia Pty Ltd, D2L Europe Ltd, D2L EU B.V., D2L Asia Pte Ltd and D2L Brasil Soluções de Tecnologia para Educação Ltda.
All D2L marks are trademarks of D2L Corporation. Please visit D2L.com/trademarks for a list of D2L marks.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link -
Utah Nonprofit Awarded U.S. Department of Education EIR Grant for Youth Mental Health Program
SALT LAKE CITY – The Cook Center for Human Connection has been awarded a $3.99 million Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) for its program, “Helping Helpers Help: An Integrated Model for Empowering Educators and Parents as Partners in Supporting Student Wellness and Learning.” The Cook Center is among the first awardees to receive EIR funds for a project with an exclusive focus on mental health and suicide prevention as keys to improving school climate and learning. The program will serve 83 middle schools in New Mexico and Arizona by bridging systemic access inequalities to mental health supports, reducing barriers to learning, and helping educators, parents, and caregivers better support young people’s social-emotional well-being.
The DOE announced $277 million in new grant awards to advance educational equity and innovation, earmarking $87.2 million for programs that support social-emotional well-being, an increase of nearly 20 percent over the previous year. “The Department of Education has recognized that youth mental health is a crisis that threatens the education and well-being of millions of students,” said Anne Brown, CEO and president of the Cook Center. “In a historic move, they have awarded the largest amount of EIR funding to social-emotional learning initiatives, and recognized that our program can provide critical support to underserved communities in addressing mental health challenges that hinder students’ ability to engage and learn.”
The Cook Center’s model focuses on the protective factors for youth mental health and suicide prevention in which schools and parents play a critical role. Through the grant, the schools will participate in ParentGuidance.org, which includes one-on-one parent coaching for all parents of schoolchildren, interactive mental health series webinars hosted by trained professionals, and a library of on-demand online courses taught by licensed therapists. School faculty and staff will also participate in professional development sessions to complement the resources available to parents.
In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency, noting that child and adolescent healthcare professionals are “caring for young people with soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have lasting impacts on them, their families, and their communities.” Mental health factors have become especially formidable barriers to learning following the pandemic, intensifying a national imperative for innovation in better supporting student mental health and wellness.
“The grant awards will fund some of the nation’s most promising efforts to raise the bar for academic recovery, excellence, and equity in education,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cordona. “All of this year’s grantees are pioneering exciting, evidence-based strategies to close opportunity gaps and provide young people with the engaging and impactful learning experiences they deserve so that they can achieve at high levels.”
Research has established that school-based mental health and suicide programs that engage parents can increase the effectiveness of all interventions. The Cook Center’s newly funded project will serve two high-need areas: New Mexico, which has the second-highest suicide rate in the nation; and Arizona, where the suicide rate is 35% higher than the national rate. The EIR grant will advance the Cook Center’s model through pilot testing and iterative improvements, new culturally and linguistically responsive resources, and rigorous evaluation that addresses critical research gaps.
Though only two years old, the Cook Center’s model has already been adopted by 229 districts and 3,617 schools, offering more than 2.4 million families access to services across 37 states. The grant offers an opportunity to accelerate the adoption. For more information about the Cook Center’s work and its resources, visit CookCenterforHumanConnection.org.
About the Cook Center for Human Connection
The mission of the Cook Center is to bring together the best organizations, programs, and products to prevent suicide, provide mental health support, and enhance the human connections vital for people to thrive. The foundation’s current focus is on supporting children, families, and schools with youth mental health resources and on the goal of eradicating suicide. This work is accomplished through various grants to schools, programs for parents, and global resources to bring greater awareness to the support needed for those affected by mental health needs and suicide. It’s free resources created to support child mental health and suicide prevention include My Life Is Worth Living™, the first animated series about teen mental health and suicide prevention, and ParentGuidance.org, a mental health resource giving parents the tools to have important conversations at home. The content includes free on-demand courses taught by licensed therapists and family mental health nights hosted by trained professionals. Learn more at CookCenterforHumanConnection.org.
Latest posts by eSchool News Staff (see all)ESchool News Staff
Source link
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243841/53480951768_7de44ba614_h.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243833/53480808741_c9478aa0da_h.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243848/53481215065_31b9ffaa3a_h.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243857/53481216565_530058405a_h.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243830/53480807801_c1f0360522_h.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25243842/53481115499_c5b3a96553_h.jpg)
