Education Update - July 2002

4 SCHOOLSPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ JULY 2002Who’s Minding the Schools?By JILL LEVYBy the time we go to press,elected officials will havehammered out the detailsof the NYC school governancelegislation. The big questions, however,remain: What impact will this change haveon our schools, the children and educationaloutcomes? How will our roles, responsibilitiesand professional relationships look in thefuture?My career began in 1959 in a red, woodframeschool. My first memory of that forbiddingplace was on a hot, August day when myhusband and I drove by, for the first time, to“scout it out.” My mother and her siblingsgraduated from that school, and I knew that theprincipal was renowned for her autocratic temperament.But I was unprepared for the terrorthat gripped me when I saw the dark structurewith its dozens of broken windows. A fewweeks later, I found myself teaching in one of14 first-grade classes, managing 38 non-English-speaking children. I used orange cratesfor bookcases. The school had no librarybooks, and the readers–don’t ask. I cherishedand relied on my teacher guides, gifts from thecentral board.School governance? I knew there was aBoard of Education, and that the Board had apresident, but what did the Mayor have to dowith education? For my colleagues and me,education was simply a matter of day-to-daysurvival. When the Ocean-Hill Brownsville crisisended in a decentralized system in 1969,classes remained overcrowded. School facilitiescontinued to crumble. Non-existent suppliescrimped lesson plans. And it was to getworse. We were heading towards the 1975 economiccrisis, a financial disaster from whichour schools have yet to recover. School governancebecame a popular refrain. NYC mayorscame and went, each one castigating centralizedor decentralized systems. While screamingfor control of the schools, those mayors starvedthem of resources. Governors, too, came andwent, but still NYC public schools were shortchangedyear after year. All fingers pointed atthe Board of Education as the one majorimpediment to educational success. Ultimately,community school boards took the fall and inthe 1990s, we stripped these elected bodies ofmost of their power over personnel and policy.It hasn’t mattered. With all the tinkering, theadjustments, the finger-pointing, school buildingsstill continue to deteriorate. Overcrowdingis rampant. The state’s list of failing schoolscontinues to grow. We still have so much to do.We must attract and retain certified teachersand supervisors. We used to attract more than100 candidates for principal and assistant principalpositions. Now, we’re lucky to attract adozen. We must do much more to encourageour school professionals to stay in the city systemand not take refuge in the suburbs.With change, extraordinary opportunitiesarise. But, if conditions in the schools remainunchanged, it is unlikely that changing who’sin charge will result in the widespread educationalimprovements we want to see. If principalscannot allocate resources the way they seefit, if schools do not have a reasonable supervisor–to-staffratio, if we cannot attract and retainthe best teachers and supervisors, our schoolswill continue to struggle. And in that case,who’s in charge of the Board of Education, whosits at the top of the heap, will not matter verymuch at all.#Jill Levy is the president of the Council ofSupervisors and Administrators (CSA).Is your child Dyslexicor experiencing school failure?If so, we may be the solution.We strive to help children not only havethe skills needed to learn, but to want to learn.Warning Signs of Depression and SucideBy MATILDA R. CUOMO& MARGARET I.CUOMO MAIER, M.D.The three pillars of supportfor children are the home, theschool and the community.When one of these supports isinadequate or even missing, the child suffers. Thechildren who are at risk of dropping out of schoolare designated by their teachers to the MentoringUSA program. We recruit and provide trained volunteermentors for each child, establishing a oneto-onerelationship. The mentor is given trainingand many resources to help the relationship flourishand become meaningful. The mentor is a positiverole model who can direct and counsel thechild through many challenging situations in life.During the bonding of the mentor and the mentee,the mentor is able to assist the child in solving his orher problems. Especially during the teenage years,the children can express their anxieties and fears. Ina real sense, it is the mentor who can fill a void inthe child’s life, listen to the child; realize the needfor professional assistance and get the help the childneeds. Mentoring USA’s concept is to help the childas early as possible, from grades K-12.During the sensitive adolescent period, childrencan lose their self-esteem and can becomedepressed. When the mentor becomes aware of thechild’s symptoms, which can be serious, the parentsare informed. According to the NationalInstitute of Mental Health (NIMH), up to 2.5 percentof children, and up to 8.3 percent of adolescentsin the United States suffer from depression.In more recent decades, the onset of depression hasbeen occurring earlier, and often recurs and continuesinto adulthood. In fact, once a young personhas experienced an episode of major depression,she or he is at risk for yet another episode withinthe next five years.At higher risk for depression are children whohave an attention or learning disorder or who areunder stress, or experience loss, such as the deathof a parent. Other risk factors include abuse or neglectand the break-up of a romantic relationship.Depression in children and adolescents is associatedwith an increased risk of suicidal behavior.Boys and girls are at equal risk for depressive disordersin childhood, but girls are twice as likely asboys to develop depression during adolescence.The increase in the rate of adolescent suicideover the past decade has been widely attributed tochanges in the social environment, and in particular,in the diminishing quality and cohesion of thefamily unit.What are the symptoms of depression in childrenand adolescents? Here are several that have beenreported by the American Psychiatric Association:inappropriate guilt, or feelings of worthlessness;persistent sad or irritable mood; loss of interest inactivities once enjoyed; difficulty sleeping or oversleeping;psychomotor agitation or retardation; lossof energy; significant loss of change in appetite orbody weight; difficulty concentrating; thoughts ofdeath or suicide.Another serious concern is a child who is contemplatingsuicide. Some of the warning signs ofsuicide as noted by the NIMH are: anger and rage;missed school or poor performance; difficulty withrelationships; drug and/or alcohol abuse; recklessbehavior. Herbert Hendin, M.D., author of Suicidein America, notes that the parents of suicidal childrenconvey a sense of emotional detachment fromthe child. It has been suggested that when thesechildren experience academic failure, they also riskthe loss of parental love. Other possible causes ofdepression, as noted by the NIMH, are genetic vulnerability,hospitalization, especially for a chronicillness and rejection of the child by a caretaker. Anincreased rate of depression is found in children ofparents with bipolar disorder.Alan Lipschitz, M.D., author of College StudentSuicide, reports that in contrast to the rebellious andaggressive behavior frequently observed in suicidalteenagers in high school, suicidal college studentstend to be quiet and withdrawn, and are notusually drug and alcohol abusers. While there aremany reasons why college students attempt suicide,hopelessness and the pressure to succeedappear to be key factors. How should parents, caregiversand friends relate to the suicidal young person?Above all, it is important to be a good listener,trustworthy and nonjudgmental. The young personat risk for suicide must believe that she/he isrespected and accepted.Awareness of mental health issues that affectchildren and adolescents is essential for parents,teachers, and mentors. By providing a caring,attentive, mature adult presence in a young person’slife, a mentor can serve as a significant supportsystem for a young person at risk.#Matilda R. Cuomo is the Founder and Chair ofMentoring USA, Margaret Cuomo Maier is aphysician.We take our commitment seriously• Orton Gillingham trained staff• Small classes with individualized attention• Art, music, culinary arts, and computers for arich educationCall 718-625-3502 or contact: Ruth Arberman,Director of The Sterling School299 Pacific Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201Now Accepting AdmissionsCO-ED SEMESTERED BOARDING HIGH SCHOOL• High academic standard• Co-ed semestered boarding school• University preparation: advancedcourses for entrance into NorthAmerica’s finest Universities: taught inEnglish; grades 10 through high schoolgraduation• Medieval Lanciano on the Adriaticcoast in central Italy• Safe, quiet, utterly charming• Exquisite college residences• Expert qualified teaching staff• Supervised excursions to citiesthroughout Italy and Europe• Study with the best of Europe and NorthAmerica in a culturally rich environment• A unique education experiencethat lasts a lifetime!Now enrolling - full year September 2002Tel: (905) 508-7108 1-800-422-0548 Fax: (905) 508-5480Email: cciren@home.com www.ccilanciano.com