Fox Rothschild’s Post

Meet Principal Darrin Paschke, you can tell by the photo that he has something pressing on his mind. His facial expression and body language drew me into this article: Paschke calls out the district on behalf of students: https://lnkd.in/ejY8spGJ Kudos to Fredonia High School Principal Darrin Paschke for delivering a fiery speech at the local Fredonia, New York, Board of Education (BOE) meeting. His focus was student safety concerns due to the lack of essential health services, including school nurses and school social workers. He was "incensed" at the lack of urgency to properly staff these important positions and did not hold back from letting the BOE know his frustration. Principal Paschke was born, raised, and educated in the district and now leads the high school. His dedication to the district runs deep and it must be infuriating to feel unsupported by disconnected decision-makers who are not in the trenches. Set your spreadsheets aside, schools need hands-on staff who are "student-facing" to be at the table when the health and welfare of students and staff are on the chopping block. Enough already! We need action to protect student safety, and well-being, and provide the services that meet the ever-growing needs of school communities. School district leaders can no longer look away or minimize what is happening on their watch. There is an alarming pattern of increasing violence, mental health emergencies, chronic absenteeism, bullying, harassment, and school shootings. Here is a snippet of Principal Paschke's message to his BOE. Imagine the collective efforts if other school leaders advocated with such vigor and candor: "I’m just incensed at the situation we’re in. I think we need to do a better job. … There is a solution out there and we can’t keep waiting." "I know that we’re trying, but we need to come up with a solution. It’s something that needs to happen. Our kids are not safe." "I’ve had sick kids in my office in the morning with no place to go. We’ve had kids who need to get their meds in the afternoon and don’t get them." We need people to help our kids and I want the Board to take it seriously. Who is taking action? Who is paying attention? We should not be living in a chronic state of emergency when it comes to the health, safety, and well-being of our students.    

Sometimes a child needs to miss school, but when? The government has issued new guidelines and recommendations for improving school attendance and where parents can get support if they're having trouble. It includes advice for both anxious and special needs students, so it's worth reading. School is so important to a child's development, so getting them to attend as much as possible is something we should all strive for: https://bit.ly/3vRlnfo #SEMH #SEND #SpecialNeeds #Education

you might say the problem with education starts with the FPTP electoral system and the idea that only party A or party B should ever rule the UK. This whole year (2024) will see the Tories and Labour preparing for the next General Election - which isn't healthy, as they are not planning for a future (where they might not be the Government), so they are looking for (very) short-term results. FPTP (First Past The Post) means that both the Tories and Labour are actually coalitions in themselves, and since the last election, they have been increasingly preoccupied with in(sider)-fighting. With a proportional representation system, government is actually more stable - people can see more about what individuals represent, and because political parties receive a smaller share of the vote, they have to collaborate and work together in genuine coalitions. I have lived in Belgium for over 25 years - Belgium is famous for not having a central government for a couple of years. It has a federal system; and education, healthcare, transport and pretty much all of life, continued as normal (even during the Covid pandemic) and we didn't really notice the lack of a central government. So I believe the lack of proportional representation is one of the reasons why Britain - and the British education system - is in a mess... Proportional representation may be the first step to improving education .

Anyone who said school was "the best days of our lives" didn't go to my school and, I bet a pound to a pinch of poo that I am not the only to resent the judgmental attitudes and serious levels of "approval deprivation" as a poor reader before Dyslexia was a handy label for this disability ? For 60 odd years I have had no issues with my vision classed as 20-20 but, haven't been able to exceed 75 words a minute and then I found by far the majority of Kids referred to the S.M.A.R.T. Foundation community projects were either non-readers or very slow to the point where some were unable to manage even one word at a time phonically. Needless to say, their immediate reaction to a membership form or blank piece of paper was to present a fight or flight response, colour draining from their face, shoulders-up and ready to "beam me-up Scotty". https://lnkd.in/e6BMvSiD So set about exploring their and my own, so called, disability looking at visual barriers as, they and I were smart enough learners in terms of practical life-skills and some wizards getting around alarms and immobilisers on vehicles. Anyway, picked up on Irlen colour filters as a start point along with Wilkins Reading Rate Test and set about developing an "objective Digital Literacy tool-kit". Initially I trained with TintaVision a better administered "Accessibility Test" methodology before "Accessibility" was a thing in the early 2000's and went on to create an on-line self-administered AI driven product as, we were entering the 21st Digital Century that provided an accurate before and after measurement reporting any immediate gains in reading-rate on-screen post assessment. As this Beta Version worked well for the majority of children it occurred to me that with 58% of DSE user operators in the workplace reporting vision stress or eye-strain that maybe it would be useful as an occupational vision health tool in prevention or mitigation of Screen Fatigue or worse Computer Vision Syndrome, myopic progression and asthenopia disease. https://lnkd.in/gdeP-4U https://lnkd.in/dEhe3fX At this point I went ahead and Patented the methodology granted by 2018 coincidently when UK & Int regulations were adopted to address "Work Exposure Limits" (ISO 45001) and UK Accessibility Regulations passed in addition to, WCAG 2.1 minimum Colour Contrast Validation of Websites. As the 2010 Equality Act sec '20' reinforced the ineffective 1993 UK DSE Regulations and omissions in compliance with the 1998 PUWER Act I made the mistake of thinking employers suffering a 20% loss in productivity would naturally want to include "DSE Operator Wellbeing" within their occupational health risk assessment and induction training however, the expedience of omission by both employers and employees who are actually also responsible for their own Health & Safety has been overwhelming so far.

Two major takeaways from this article from my alma mater. 1-Relevancy matters. Especially in schools where the concrete necessities of life draw from the abstractions of academia, being explicit about why the learning matters is essential. 2-The needs of the student outside the school have a direct and tangible impact on their attendance. If students can’t eat, don’t have health care or child care, and worry about the stability of their home, they aren’t showing up to school. It is incumbent on the school to foster stability in the community in order to ensure that students take advantage of the stability that is offered in the school.

In the 2022/23 #academic year, 28.3% of #secondary school #pupils were persistently #absent. In the latest article on our wesbite, #FindingTheFlex founder, Sarah Sudea makes the case for enabling more #children to go to #school less often! She says, “#Flexischooling could be transformative for some of the children we are currently failing. We must face up to the fact that unprecedented numbers of our young people are unhappy at school and that, for many of them, this is a rational response to the school environment… …There is a moral imperative to do school differently for these children. Through flexischooling there is also a commonsense and practical option available, right now, to every school in the land. It allows for a gentle shift in how we do school. A quiet revolution… Flexischooling: #Parents can ask for it and #headteachers can support it. It’s an available option in the best interests of some children. We owe them a duty of care to consider it.” In this informative article, Sarah shares examples of how schools can make it work in practice and outlines the benefits for both schools and families. https://lnkd.in/eJmT27nn #ReimagineEducation

The landscape of education has changed dramatically over the decades, and we need more than gratitude to save public education. Understanding our teachers' needs is the first step in helping them! Below are the 8 things they need the most: 💰 Better funding for education: Invest in our future by fully funding schools, especially in low-income areas 🧠 Increased support for students' mental health: Bring therapy into schools to support student well-being and create a healthier learning environment 📈 Help in getting students to school: Develop creative solutions to combat chronic absenteeism and ensure kids are in school learning 🙌🏻 Greater respect: Elevate teachers' voices and ensure they have the respect and support they deserve 💵 Pay raise: Give teachers what they're worth to keep talented educators in the classroom 📵 Stricter cellphone policies: Implement cellphone bans to improve focus and reduce distractions in the classroom 🏫 Improved working conditions: Invest in safe, healthy, and modern school buildings to create better learning environments 🌟 Teacher agency: Let teachers teach! Reduce focus on testing and allow teachers the freedom to inspire and educate Teachers: What else would you add to this list? Please let us know in the comments below! #EducationMatters #SupportTeachers

🧠 In the US, students as young as 2 are being suspended for behaviours that can be considered developmentally appropriate for their age. In Montana, GA students in K-5 made up almost 4,000 suspensions for disorderly conduct. The landscape in Australian schools is not dissimilar. ⚖️ Repeated suspensions negatively impact academic success and increase the likelihood of entering the criminal justice system as an adult. 💰 Punishment and reward systems are based on a view that children's behaviour is reasoned and deliberate and are therefore, ineffective. 👩👦Repeated suspensions interrupt student-teacher Attachments, students' sense of safety and contribute to ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). In choosing to keep kids at school and build relationships, teachers and schools are well positioned to provide PCEs (Positive Childhood Experiences) and contribute to the reduction of problematic behaviours through improving student mental health and wellbeing.

Districts have many committees that allow parental involvement. School board members should ensure they are filled with parents committed to academic excellence and transparency. Parents Defending Education is helping boards and parents make effective use of committees through this guide. https://lnkd.in/g2GH4Tby

Schools play a critical role in children’s psychological, social, and academic growth and are often the primary hub for youth mental health services. This article highlights three essential strategies that school communities like Bronx Community School District (CSD) 7 in New York City were able to implement to support their students’ mental well-being. 1. Connect to the community: School-community partnerships bring community assets and wraparound support into schools so students and families can access more easily. These partnerships boost family and community engagement with schools and provide academic enrichment activities, academic support, health and mental health resources, and social services. 2. Give students a seat at the table: Inclusion is key. Students are part of the Bronx CSD 7 Superintendent’s Advisory Council. The article explains that involving students in decision-making cultivates students’ leadership skills, strengthens communication channels, and uplifts the entire community. 3. Think developmentally: Bronx CSD 7 made efforts to support their students’ social and emotional development and well-being during periods of remote learning. Amidst the push for academic recovery, it’s crucial to continue addressing the holistic needs of every child. #education #schools #mentalhealth https://lnkd.in/gSQBNKkM