skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

CO families must sign up to get $120 per child for food through Summer EBT; No Jurors Picked on First Day of Trump's Manhattan Criminal Trial; virtual ballot goes live to inform Hoosiers; It's National Healthcare Decisions Day.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Former president Trump's hush money trial begins. Indigenous communities call on the U.N. to shut down a hazardous pipeline. And SCOTUS will hear oral arguments about whether prosecutors overstepped when charging January 6th insurrectionists.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Fears grow that low-income folks living in USDA housing could be forced out, North Carolina's small and Black-owned farms are helped by new wind and solar revenues, and small towns are eligible for grants to boost civic participation..

NY Education Reformers To Be Told “Start Before School Even Starts”

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 10, 2012   

ALBANY, N.Y. - With New York's high school graduation rate ranking 38th in the nation, a blue-ribbon commission created by Governor Andrew Cuomo begins a series of ten regional hearings today to look at what can be done to boost pupil performance.

Kate Breslin, president and CEO of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, will tell the Commission the so-called "achievement gap" between college-ready graduates and those who fall behind or drop out can be narrowed with an emphasis on children who aren't even in kindergarten yet.

"That gap appears long before children reach kindergarten. It can become evident at early as nine months of age. And so we know that at-risk children are 25 percent more likely to drop out of school."

She'll be calling for more state support for a quality rating system for early childhood programs, including pre-K, that's in its initial stages, called Quality Stars New York.

Breslin is confident the Commission will get her message.

"For too long, New York has had separate and siloed (kept apart: ed.) early childhood and K-through-12 systems and people have focused very much on the later years. And I really think we have a group of folks here who are going to get it. They're going to say, 'Oh, yeah: investing early makes sense.' "

Breslin says children who fall behind before even starting kindergarten - often those from impoverished communities - are 40 percent more likely to become teen parents and 50 percent more likely to be placed in special education.

"So we know that investing in kids early can save us money, in the short term by reducing the costs of remedial education, and in the long term by increasing graduation rates."

The Commission hearings will continue through October with a goal of delivering a report to the governor by the end of the calendar year.

Following criticism that the Commission's initial membership failed to include a parent-advocate, a school board member and a district superintendent, representatives from those constituencies were added belatedly by the Governor.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Statistics show that women make up nearly two-thirds of Americans 65 or older living with Alzheimer's disease. (Africa Studio/Adobestock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Today is National Healthcare Decisions Day, a day when everyone is encouraged to review their end-of-life planning. The 2024 Alzheimer's Association …


Social Issues

play sound

South Dakotans face high prices at the grocery store and some are working to ease the burden. A new report from the Federal Trade Commission finds …

Social Issues

play sound

Despite a recent policy victory, Wisconsin labor leaders still express concern about the current environment for shielding young teens from unsafe …


When the school year ends, millions of children from households with low incomes lose access to the school meals they rely on. Help is available. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado families must sign up before the end of April to receive $120 per child to buy food through the new Summer EBT program approved by Congress…

Environment

play sound

As the Sunshine State grapples with rising temperatures and escalating weather events such as hurricanes, a new study sheds light on the pivotal role …

Teleheath services have expanded since the start of the pandemic. (Nattakorn/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Sarah Jane Tribble for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Eric Tegethoff for Illinois News Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public Ne…

Social Issues

play sound

As communities across Georgia come together to raise awareness during Child Abuse Prevention Month, local groups are taking steps to equip parents …

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama civic-engagement groups are searching for strategies to maintain voter engagement outside of major election years. As candidates gear up for …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021