District Administration - March 2010 - (Page 10)

Br iefings Newsupdate PeoPle Watch RESIGNATION California’s State Secretary of Education, Glen Thomas, has resigned to aid his ailing mother. Thomas, the fifth education secretary the state has seen in six years, is credited for assisting with their Race to the Top application. NEW HIRE The National Staff Development Council has named Frederick Brown as its new director of strategy and development. brown, former senior program officer at the Wallace Foundation, brings his education leadership skills to his new role. THE WINNER Gregory Thornton was voted the new superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools. Currently superintendent of Chester Upland (Pa.) School District, his urban experience at School District of Philadelphia secured his position. SHE APPROVES President Obama’s decision to increase education spending by an additional $3 billion for the 2011 fiscal year has been applauded by Anne L. Bryant, executive director of the National School boards Association. EXTRA HELP Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) has introduced the Affordable Tutoring for Our Children Act to the House of Representative’s to make after-school tutoring affordable for families who do not qualify for federal assistance. by Marion Herbert Teen’s Death unbuckles Debates over Seat Belts The VeRY TRagic deaTh of a connecticut teenager involved in a school bus accident has reopened debate about the merits of seat belts on school buses. on January 9, Vikas Parikh, a 16-yearold student at Rocky hill (conn.) high School, died from a traumatic head injury when his school bus struck another car and plunged down an embankment. although this is the first onboard school bus death in the state in over 40 years, antonio guerrera (d), state representative and co-chairman of the legislature’s Transportation committee, has vowed to pursue legislation mandating that seat belts be installed in new buses manufactured for connecticut districts and possibly that current buses be retrofitted with seat belts. Parents, legislators and industry experts nationwide have debated the issue for over a decade. “The National highway Transportation Safety association (NhTSa) conducted a lot of research and crash tests, but decided in 1977 that seat belts would not be required on school buses,” said Robin Leeds, industry specialist and consultant for the National School Transportation association (NSTa). at that time, buses underwent many structural improvements, including seat compartmentalization, a combination of high-back, well-padded and well-anchored seats, which proved to be capable of absorbing crash forces. Some are skeptical that seat belts would make a difference. “how would we ensure students are wearing them or wearing them properly?” asks chuck hibbert, president of hibbert Safe School and a consultant for the National School Safety and Security Services. “School administrators love kids and want to see the best for them,” says hibbert, “but seat belts are not the answer.” according to Leeds, the cost estimate for installing seat belts is an additional $1,000 per bus. “as a parent, you say they are worth whatever it costs,” says Leeds. “as a policy maker, you need to look at needs and choices.” TRAFFIc SAFETy FAcTS: School Transportation-Related crashes • Since 1996, 152 school-aged pedestrians (less than 19 years old) have died in school transportation-related crashes. • One-half of all school-aged pedestrians killed in school transportationrelated crashes were between the ages of 5 and 7 • More school-aged pedestrians are killed in school bus-related crashes between the hours of 3 and 4 p.m. than any other time of day. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2006 data, www.nhtsa.dot.gov 10 March 2010 District Administration http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - March 2010

District Administration - March 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Curriculum Update
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Toward a More Perfect Union
The Moxie of Kathy Cox
Logging On to Learn
Battling Sexual Abuse
Supervisor’s Opinion
Problem/Solution
Crisis Response
Product Focus
New Products
Tech Disruptions

District Administration - March 2010