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News Release
Office of News and Information
Johns Hopkins University
3003 N. Charles Street, Suite 100
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-3843
Phone: (410) 516-7160 | Fax (410) 516-5251
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July 15, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Amy Cowles
amycowles@jhu.edu
(410) 516-7800
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Back-to-School Story Tips from
Johns Hopkins Education Experts
Listed below are back-to-school story ideas from The Johns
Hopkins University. To pursue any of these stories, contact
Amy Cowles at 410-516-7160 or
amycowles@jhu.edu.
READY OR NOT
Getting a child ready for school begins long before the
first day, especially if the child is going to school for
the first time or changing schools. If possible, visit the
school with your child during the summer, meet the teacher,
and even take pictures so your child can look at them and
become familiar with the surroundings, advises early
childhood specialist and researcher Barbara Wasik. She has
a backpack full of suggestions to cut down on first-day
jitters for students of all ages. Her advice to parents and
other adults: "Everybody's nervous; don't show it." Contact
Wasik at the Center for Social Organization of Schools at
Johns Hopkins University at 410-516-8815 or
bwasik@csos.jhu.edu.
NEW START FOR HEAD START
The Head Start program is facing changes proposed by the
Bush administration. Among the proposed changes: an
extensive "accountability program" that calls for every
child to be tested this school year; higher required
qualifications for Head Start teachers, without money to
provide the training or compensate those with college
degrees; and demands that youngsters spend more time on
academics to close the achievement gap. Also proposed is a
new process for delivering federal funds through state
block grants rather than direct payments to the centers, as
has been the case since Head Start's beginning in the
1960s. Barbara Wasik works with more than two dozen Head
Start centers in Baltimore City through her literacy
readiness program. "People are very, very concerned," Wasik
says of Head Start administrators, teachers and parents.
Wasik can be reached at the Center for Social Organization
of Schools, 410-516-8815,
bwasik@csos.jhu.edu.
RELUCTANT STUDENTS
In the weeks before school starts, television and radio
commercials and magazine and newspaper ads flood the public
with images of smiling students in new clothes, carrying
new books in clean backpacks, altogether ready and eager to
learn. But a more realistic picture of the back-to-school
period would show some children and teenagers who are not
eager to return to the classroom. Some of them may be
repeating a grade; some may be returning after numerous
suspensions, wondering what has changed this year. Others
are ill-equipped to succeed due to academic, economic,
social and behavioral shortcomings. It may be only a matter
of time before some or all of these students drop out.
Being able to identify these reluctant students and
offering them appropriate help and support are essential to
keeping them in school. Toks Fashola of the Johns Hopkins
Center for Social Organization of Schools is studying
effective dropout prevention programs across the country.
She is interested in reluctant students and can offer
strategies for helping such students begin this school year
on a better footing. Contact Fashola at 410-516-8849 or
tfashola@csos.jhu.edu.
AFTER-SCHOOL APATHY
With the new demands of the No Child Left Behind Act and
federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Centers in
many public schools, today's after-school programs
emphasize academics rather than simply providing a safe
haven for latch-key kids. But if the programs aren't
mandatory, many children don't attend. Toks Fashola, author
of Building Effective Afterschool Programs (Corwin
Press, 2001), suggests approaching students with a
willingness to help and a sincere interest in their ideas
about what they need and like in after-school programs.
"Otherwise, we may offer after-school programs,... but they
will have low attendance, low enthusiasm and no results."
Fashola is available at 410-516-8849 or at
tfashola@csos.jhu.edu.
HOMEWORK AND FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS
Joyce Epstein, director of the Center for School, Family
and Community Partnerships, studies how schools can
strengthen family and community involvement and is
developing new ways for parents and educators to work
together to plan partnership programs. Homework is part of
good partnerships, Epstein says. She studies when homework
is and isn't effective and is creating ways for teachers to
design better homework assignments. She can provide tips to
help parents work with schools and help their kids. See
www.partnershipschools.org. Contact Amy Cowles at
410-516-7160 or
amycowles@jhu.edu.
HELPING STUDENTS INVEST IN ACADEMICS
Can a stock market education program change the way
underperforming middle school students think not only about
Wall Street, but also about school? A program called Stocks
in the Future rewards improved attendance and academic
performance by giving middle schoolers the opportunity to
purchase shares of kid-friendly stocks that can be redeemed
upon graduating from high school. Early evaluations by
researchers at the Center for Social Organization of
Schools indicate that the pilot program -- currently in
seven Maryland schools -- can improve attendance and
achievement in reading and math. See
www.stocksinthefuture.org. Contact Amy Cowles at
410-516-7160 or
amycowles@jhu.edu.
TALENTED YOUTH
Lea Ybarra can speak to reporters about the need to nurture
advanced learners, including those from underrepresented
minorities, so they can reach their full academic promise.
She is the executive director of the Center for Talented
Youth at Johns Hopkins, which conducts the nation's oldest
and most extensive academic talent search and offers
educational programming for students with exceptionally
high academic ability. "Our country must ensure academic
success in extremely bright young minds -- no matter where
they live or what their families earn," Ybarra says. See www.cty.jhu.edu/.
Contact Amy Cowles at 410-516-7160 or
amycowles@jhu.edu.
MIDDLE SCHOOLS CAN MAKE IT
Fixing low-performing schools is perhaps our nation's
greatest challenge, according to Johns Hopkins researchers
Douglas Mac Iver, Allen Ruby, Robert Balfanz and Vaughan
Byrnes. Their research is aimed at finding a successful and
sustainable fix. The group recently published a four-year
study of a Philadelphia school that was targeted for
possible reconstitution, but changed its fate using Johns
Hopkins' Talent Development Middle School model designed
for high-poverty middle schools. See
www.csos.jhu.edu/tdms/index.htm. Contact Amy Cowles at
410-516-7160 or
amycowles@jhu.edu.
CIVILITY IN THE CLASSROOM
The proper way to address an adult. Respecting peers'
personal space. Learning at an early age that kindness
begets kindness. From a firm handshake to knowing to speak
softly when walking down a hallway when class is in
session, civility expert P.M. Forni can discuss how
children of all ages should learn to treat each other with
respect. He can help them feel more comfortable in social
situations by providing guidance in common sense manners.
He is the author of Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five
Rules of Considerate Conduct. See
www.jhu.edu/civility/. Contact Amy Cowles at
410-516-7160 or
amycowles@jhu.edu.
ADMISSION APPLICATION ADVICE
Students entering their junior and senior years of high
school this fall will soon be making big decisions about
higher education. William Conley, dean of enrollment and
academic services at Johns Hopkins, can provide insight
into the nuances of the college application process, such
as essay-writing tips, a college admissions check-list for
home school students, and the pros and cons of applying
through an early decision program. Contact Amy Cowles at
410-516-7160 or
amycowles@jhu.edu.
Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the
World Wide Web at
http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/
Information on automatic e-mail delivery
of science and medical news releases is available at the
same address.
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