A BLANK SLATE MEDIA SPECIAL SECTION • AUGUST 19, 2022 AND
22 NYC Metropolitan Area (45 minutes from the heart of Manhattan) 125 Route 340 • Sparkill, NY 10976 • 845.398.4100 • WWW.STAC.EDU Did you know we’re test-optional and offering Scholarships amounting to at least $50,000 over 4 years? Come to Fall Open House to find out more! Begin your college search by attending one of our FALL OPEN HOUSES! Saturday, October 22 or November 19 at 10 AM The best way to see a college is to walk the path of a student. Join us for Fall Open House and visualize your future with us as a Spartan! Register at www.stac.edu/open-house or scan SCHOOLS & EDUCATION • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, August 19, 2022
FCA talks keeping our kids safe
BY MARITZA QUINTERO AND THURSTON O’NEAL
Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, August 19, 2022 • SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
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Our kids are our greatest resource. They bring us joy, hope for the future, bright ideas and boundless enthusiasm. As they enter their teens and seek greater independence, our guidance is essential to help them stay the path to achievement.FCA, one of Long Island’s largest health and human services agencies, helps Long Island families meet the challenges of adolescence. Targeted programs help teens and parents as a team and independently learn the skills to make good choices.Asadministrators of FCA’s Hempstead Prevention Coalition and Roosevelt Prevention Coalition community programs, we’d like to share some take-home information. Youth led, adult guided programs When kids understand that they have a choice and voice as to how to live their lives, they feel empowered. Kids want to be healthy and strong. When they learn about opportunities, they want to pursue them. When they learn about how drugs can affect their brains, it helps them to say no. When they learn about organic food, they don’t want to put chemical substances in their bodies. The past two years the Hempstead Coalition welcomed 70 girls attending middle or high school to its four month Girls Empowerment & Leadership (GEL) Summit. The Summit fosters strong relationship building, teaches the girls to effectively identify and navigate opportunities and barriers, and creates the platforms for them to mentor, influence, and advocate for themselves and their peers, at school and in the community.TheRoosevelt Prevention Coalition invited a group of students from Roosevelt Middle School to join the Roots Club, a gardening project in partnership with the NC Cornell Cooperative Extension Program and the Roosevelt Community Garden. They learned how to grow organic vegetables, but more importantly, they discovered new ways to interact with peers, change their environment, and become youth advocates in a substance-free space. Connection requires a relationship.Toconnect with and encourage dialogue with teenagers, the first thing a parent or other adult needs to do is listen. And listen some more—to your kids and to other teens. Ask what they think, what they would like to change. Ask what troubles them and what they embrace. Give them the space to speak. Listen, then help them to synthesize their message to reach a wider audience. Allow them to take some ownership for their lives and community. As they gain confidence, they share positive ideas among their friends and peers. If you don’t have a relationship, your advice falls on deaf ears. You have to take the time to build a connection so your voice means something. Conversation starters Shorter talks are better than one big conversation. Start early! Find opportunities while watching a movie, listening to a song, or talk about something you witness together. Be honest and vulnerable about your own experiences. Be nonjudgmental about theirs. As the leader of your children, foster trust and a safe sharing environment. You want them to come to you for advice. Even if their revelations shock you, take a breath and look to problem-solve, not punish. Kids hear about substance abuse prevention once or twice in school. You can make prevention a dialogue in everyday conversation and experiences. Reflect on your own behavior. Children learn by Provideexample.asupervised environment where a group can feel comfortable and gather without substances, such as your home, a local park, school, house of worship, or library. The No-CAP game plan. It is crucial for kids to have a plan when faced with temptation or peer pressure. Otherwise, they will be more vulnerable to coercion by an individual or group. We practice the NO CAP (Comedy, Alternative, Plea) plan, which prepares teens to gracefully decline rather than succumb to pressure. NO- use a simple “no”C—Deflect with a joke/Comedy. “Hey, I need all the brain cells I have.”A— Propose an Alternative. “Nah, let’s go to the park and shoot hoops.”P— Cop a Plea. “If my parents/coach find out…”Despite all of life’s allures and distractions, parents have their love, the most powerful tool. Our kids want to please us and be loved. Every minute you spend with your kids presents an opportunity to share your love and guidance. Maritza Quintero and Thurston O’Neal lead FCA’s Roosevelt Prevention Coalition and Hempstead Prevention Coalition, respectively. FCA’s Coalitions operate through funding from the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Support (OASAS) and the Nassau County Office of Youth Services. For more information visit www.fcali.org.
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SCHOOLS & EDUCATION • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, August 19, 2022
3. Establish a study schedule. Develop a system and a schedule for studying. Students should establish a fixed habit of studying each day or week — whatever is best for him or her. Over time, studying will become routine.
1. Find value in the lessons. Many students lament that what they learn in school just isn’t relevant in daily life. That can make the subject matter feel less important and uninteresting. Finding value in what one is learning and seeing how it can be applied outside of the classroom may make a student more inclined to learn and retain information.
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5. Use grades as benchmarks and motivators. Blaming a teacher for a poor grade won’t get a student anywhere. Rather, grades should indicate how well one is learning the material, and in turn, the effectiveness of students’ studying habits. Students can tweak their habits if they find their grades are not where they want them to be.
4. Establish dedicated study spots. Students should locate places that work best for them as study and homework stations. Certain individuals may need the quiet of a library or a bookstore. Others may do best with the hum of conversation around them or in a group. There’s no right or wrong study spot. Maintaining consistency will help the mind associate a place with studying.
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Assessments such as quizzes and exams help educators recognize areas where students are excelling and where they might need a little extra help. In addition to tests in the classroom, high schoolers generally take standardized testing for state or provincial assessment purposes,. Testing may come easier to some students than others, but having solid study techniques can improve students’ performance on a wide range of exams. In fact, research by Stanford scholars, whose data was published in Psychological Science, found that applying a strategic approach to studying helped college students improve their exam scores by an average of one-third of a letter grade. The testing preparation resource PrepScholar says it is important to build and maintain strong study habits to help students avoid undue stress and last-minute cramming. The following are seven techniques that may help foster good study skills.
6. Rephrase material. Textbook language can be dry and unappealing. Students can try putting the material into their own words or rephrase passages to make them easier to remember and recall. Similarly, teaching or sharing the material with another person also may improve retention.
2. Avoid distractions. Study time is time to take a break from social media, video games and any other distractions that can pull a student away from studying. Constantly checking notifications can interrupt thoughts and make it hard to learn the material.
7. Make a formula sheet. Depending on the subject, having a sheet with shortcuts, formulas or diagrams can put the material into smaller bursts of information that are easier to digest. Along this same vein, writing information down can help improve recall. These are a few study tips that high schoolers can utilize to improve their grades so they can be more successful in school. study tips for high school students
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Performance pointers that can help student athletes avoid injury
Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, August 19, 2022 • SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
Professional sports teams often note that injuries are part of the game. That notion is never too far from professional athletes’ minds, but it can be a harsh reality for student athletes to confront, especially if they have never before been sidelined by injury. Though there’s no foolproof way for athletes to avoid injury, student athletes and their families can consider these preventive measures to reduce their risk of being sidelined. Use diet to athletes’ advantage. A healthy diet benefits people from all walks of life, and it can be especially beneficial for student athletes. Precisely what defines a healthy diet depends on variables specific to the athletes, such as age and gender, but Nemours Childrens Health notes that balance is vital for teenage athletes. Avoid cutting back on carbohydrates, which provide fuel for young athletes. When choosing carbs, opt for fruits, vegetables and whole grains instead of sugar-laden options like candy bars. The latter can provide a quick energy burst but then cause an energy crash that makes athletes feel fatigued. In-game fatigue can increase risk of injury. In addition, calcium and iron can be vital to young athletes looking to avoid injury. Calcium helps strengthen bones while iron carries much-needed oxygen to athletes’ muscles. Protein is important for athletes, but Nemours notes that most teenage athletes who eat healthy diets already get ample protein. As a result, protein powders and shakes are not necessary for teenage muscle growth. Make a good night’s rest part of athletes’ routine. A good night’s rest is vital for student athletes, as it ensures they aren’t playing tired. Tired athletes have slower reaction times and that can increase injury risk. Adequate sleep also benefits athletes’ performance. A 2015 study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior found that athletes who increased their nightly sleep from seven to nine hours experienced significantly improved performance after doing so. Emphasize the rules of the game. The rules of the game aren’t in place solely to encourage fair play. Rules also are designed to keep athletes safe. For example, student athletes who play contact sports, including football and soccer, should be taught proper ways to tackle so they can avoid injuring themselves and others. Coaches can reinforce these lessons during practices and even games if the need arises. Prioritize offseason conditioning. Rest and recovery is vital for any athlete, but especially student athletes whose bodies are still growing and changing. Offseasons have largely fallen by the wayside, but parents can protect their student athletes by encouraging them to avoid year-round competition. During periods when student athletes aren’t competing, they can forgo in-season workout routines to reduce their risk for overuse injuries while also improving their conditioning through cardiovascular workouts. Running on a treadmill, using an elliptical machine and/or swimming are great activities that make it easy for student athletes to keep their bodies in shape as their muscles and joints recover from the season.
We are still complying with state and local health guidance to ensure the safety and health of all students and staff. The cost of products and services continues to rise and organizations everywhere have increasingly been feeling the pressure to reevaluate budgets. It’s no different in school districts nationwide, with school boards making difficult decisions about which programs to keep and which will have to go in order to save Musicmoney.andarts programs often are the first to be cut when school budgets are tightened. The organization Save the Music says that, during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009, per-pupil spending in public schools decreased by approximately 7 percent across the country. This led to a trickle-down effect that resulted in the cancellation of art and music programs. Since then, many districts have continued to cut arts programs due to budget limitations. COVID-19 also did little to help the situation. Art program cutbacks are rarely met with open arms, and that resistance has a lot to do with the positive effects such offerings have on students’ academic performance.
*Class sizes are limited (15-20 students/room).
Better test performance Numerous studies have found a correlation between early introduction to music education and a number of benefits for children. Music education can help develop communication skills, brain plasticity, language, and motor skills. A study conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles used a database of more than 25,000 middle and high school students. The researchers found that students involved in arts performed better on standardized achievement tests than students with lower arts involvement. Furthermore, data from 2015 from The College Board, which produces the SAT, found students who took four years of arts and music classes while in high school scored an average of 92 points higher on their SATs than students who only took one-half year or less. Improved emotional states In addition to better performance on tests, a review in Frontiers in Psychology examined several studies linking arts and aesthetic experiences with “broad improvements” in people’s emotional states. Those improvements included greater psychological and physical wellbeing. Community involvement Participation and even appreciation of the arts can have an impact as well. Researchers from the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Chicago found that being an art curator or audience member leads to high levels of civic engagement and social tolerance. The support and therapy company Evolve Treatment Centers reports that involvement in music and arts leads to overall higher GPAs, higher scores in math and reading and a reduced risk of behavioral problems and Musicsuspensions.andartseducation are important to students’ development. Keeping these programs alive in schools can benefit students in many ways.
How the arts benefitperformanceacademic
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SCHOOLS & EDUCATION • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, August 19, 2022
Rhode Island School of Design: This school’s mission is to educate students in the appreciation of works of art and design through studio-based learning and robust study in the liberal arts. RISD also is home to the RISD Museum. Pratt Institute: Students can choose from degrees in art & design education as well as digital arts, photography, fine arts, and film at this Brooklyn school. Pratt offers several associate degrees for those not ready to commit to a bachelor’s program.
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Alberta University of the Arts: Formerly known as Alberta College of Art + Design, this Calgary university focuses on studiobased experiences for students in design, new media and fine art. BFAs are offered in drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass, jewelry, and print media, among others.
Studentsprograms.across North America have plenty of highly regarded arts schools to consider as they try to decide where to continue their academic careers.
Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, August 19, 2022 • SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
The pursuit of a career in the arts often requires enrolling in an undergraduate art program in either a standalone arts facility or an arts program embedded within a larger university. Consulting the various published lists of top-ranking schools is a great way for students interested in the arts to find schools where they can continue their academic careers. These lists take into account feedback from faculty and alumni, tuition and fees, admission rates, and much more. The following are some highly rated arts schools that students may want to consider as they ponder their academic futures. Yale University: This Connecticut school is well known for many of its excellent programs. The Ivy League school also has topped nearly every listing of the best MFA programs in the nation.
California College of the Arts: Located in San Francisco, this school offers 15 majors and minors in the fine arts. The student-faculty ratio also is low at 8:1, meaning students will get plenty of individual attention from professors.
Vancouver Institute of Media Arts: Aspiring animators as well as those interested in creating video games or special effects for film and television can enroll in this British Columbia school. Students also can develop a professional demo reel and portfolio to help them find their first job. Savannah College of Art and Design: This Georgia school is one of the most prestigious art and design institutions in the United States and offers a bevy of art degrees. The school also boasts an extensive faculty and alumni network that supports graduates trying to land their first jobs. School of the Art Institute of Chicago: U.S. News and World Report says SAIC is ranked as the No. 2 Graduate Fine Arts Program in the United States. It places as the No. 7 art and design school in the world, according to QS World University Rankings. The school provides a complete liberal arts education with a focus on arts and design. George Brown College: This Torontobased college is divided into three schools, which include the School of Design, the School of Fashion Studies and the School of Performing Arts. All three offer undergraduate and graduate degree
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