Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

1-24-19 Education in the News

NJ Spotlight--New Jersey Employers Search for Straight Answers on Cannabis in the Workplace

Medical marijuana raises more questions than answers about drug tests and employee rights, while full-blown legalization seems like an invitation to lawsuits and court cases

Business leaders have a lot of questions about how to handle employee issues that may crop up with the expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program and the possibility of full legalization.

For instance, can employees use cannabis in the workplace if it’s prescribed by a doctor? Can employers still require drug tests and are they even useful anymore? What if employees are drug-impaired but have a doctor’s authorization to use cannabis?

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/19/01/23/new-jersey-employers-search-for-straight-answers-on-cannabis-in-the-workplace/

Carly Sitrin | January 24, 2019

 

Press of Atlantic City--Schools using therapy dogs to relieve stress and promote learning

LOWER TOWNSHIP — Molly walked slowly down the hallway at Lower Cape May Regional High School on Tuesday morning and was greeted by just about everyone she passed. Students stopped to say “hello,” some commented on her beauty, while for others just the sight of her gave them a big grin.

Despite her popularity, Molly isn’t a student in the district. She is a therapy dog, owned by former teacher Karen Wadding and her wife, Kirsten Miller, a teacher at Cape May County Technical High School. Wadding has been bringing her dogs to schools around Cape May County for the past five years in hopes of relieving student anxiety and stress and promoting better education..

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/schools-using-therapy-dogs-to-relieve-stress-and-promote-learning/article_0827a26d-4a72-5383-85b7-00b8032dab4f.html

CLAIRE LOWE Staff Writer| Jan 22, 2019

 

NY Times--The Hard Part of Computer Science? Getting Into Class

Lured by the prospect of high-salary, high-status jobs, college students are rushing in record numbers to study computer science.

Now, if only they could get a seat in class.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/technology/computer-science-courses-college.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Feducation&action=click&contentCollection=education®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

Natasha Singer| Jan. 24, 2019

 

Chalkbeat--How to get teachers to believe in a new school program? Ask them to help design it.

A veteran teacher in any school district will likely be able to tell the same story: A faddish new initiative comes sweeping in, perhaps promoted by the just-hired superintendent. Grand promises are made, and teachers get a few days of training (if they’re lucky).

Then, it slowly fades away, as teachers ignore mandates they see as unhelpful or impractical.

A new study looks closely at that phenomenon and its flip side — when teachers are bought in to programs designed to help their schools. The results, based on interviews with dozens of teachers at three high schools, aren’t so surprising: teachers are more enthusiastic if their school gets control over how a new program is designed and introduced.

https://chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2019/01/23/how-to-get-teachers-to-believe-in-a-new-school-program-ask-them-to-help-design-it/

Matt Barnum| 18 hours ago

 

Education Week--Thing Standing in the Way' of School Choice

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Wednesday that the public wants school choice and that teachers' unions are the only real impediment. But some school choice proposals have met with resistance even from congressional Republicans and conservative organizations, including the Heritage Foundation, where she made her remarks. 

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2019/01/DeVos-voucher-Heritage-D.C.-choice-conservative.html

Alyson Klein on January 23, 2019 4:00 PM