News from ASCA
ASCA Weekly Wrapup
A roundup of the week's education-related headlines
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009
Special Programs to Boost Diversity in a South Carolina District   
The Post and Courier  
Five Charleston County schools opened partial magnet programs this year in an effort to boost student achievement and increase racial diversity. Poverty and low student achievement plague most of the five schools involved. Read more.
First Tween Summit Held in Washington, D.C.
USA Today
"Every single person here wonders whether she's got the right body or the right look," says Weiner, who writes a body-image column for Seventeen magazine. She spoke to more than 200 tween girls, ages 9-14, gathered for the first National Tween Girl Summit in Washington, D.C. Ultra-thin models and celebrities are getting some backlash these days, but body image is still a major preoccupation for girls. Some marketers have started to respond, such as Dove, a summit sponsor, which created the Campaign for Real Beauty and the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. Read more.
Jay Talks Bring Families and School Counselors Together
Wausau Daily Herald
A flurry of parents are visiting Prairie River Middle School, but it's not because their children are in need of discipline.The parents are attending conferences, called Jay Talks, with their children and their children's school counselors. The meetings cover children's personal growth, planning for high school and career development. Unlike parent-teacher conferences or a student-counselor meeting, Jay Talks provides time for parents and their eighth-grade children to talk about the children's interests and future goals. Read more.
NAEP Math Scores Yield Unsettling Results 
Detroit Free Press
Students in Michigan and nationwide are producing mixed results on the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress math exam. While eighth-graders made progress, posting their highest scores ever,- fourth-graders showed no improvement nationwide and declined slightly in Michigan. Read more.
After Uproar on Suspension, District Will Rewrite Rules
New York Times
School officials in Newark, Del., said they would revise the district's code of conduct to exempt kindergarteners and first-graders from some of its automatic and harsher punishments. The decision came after a first-grader, Zachary Christie, 6, was suspended and ordered to the district's alternative school for troubled youth because he took to school a camping utensil that included a small fold-out knife. Read more.
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