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Volume VII, No. 10 • New York City • JUNE 2002 FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS

www.EDUCATIONUPDATE.com

College Board President

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Conflicts In Testing

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Gaston Caperton

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS

GUEST EDITORIAL

P ARTNERS

sters sit in rapture captivated by dramatic story telling, where citizens of all ages go to find out about the history and geography of such news headlines as the Middle East, where scholars do their research, where job seekers go to find career listings and write a resume and where recently arrived immigrants go to learn English as a second language and children unlock the world of computers. A record shattering 16 million people visited the Queens Public Library last year while another six million checked in at the Brooklyn Public Library. Our libraries are overcrowded and often understaffed. To maximize our scarce resources in a time of escalating costs, the Board of Regents is encouraging “Breaking Down the Walls” and building stronger and closer “Links Between Library Information Services, Schools and the Community.” A new kind of infrastructure will lead to the emergence of new educational communities. Two excellent partnerships are presently providing new directions and changing the souls of the school and the library. One is the Robin Hood Foundation partnership with the New York City Board of Education, designed to provide state of the art school library programs for children in selected New York City elementary schools. The second, CLASP (Connecting Libraries and Schools Project), is a program of the three library systems serving New York City: the Queens Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library in collaboration with three local district elementary and middle schools. To enable all libraries throughout the city and the State to meet the increasing demands for

information technology, the Board of Regents has developed a New Century Libraries School literacy initiative to ensure that all students in the New York’s public schools are information literate and know how to locate, use and evaluate information so they can become productive and skilled members of the workforce and the community. This investment will strengthen school literacy programs with professional development seminars for teachers, administrators, librarians and parents with providing adequate print, nonprint and electronic material and with enhancing access to expanded information technology. Another initiative of the Board of Regents is called NOVEL, (New York Online Virtual Electronic Library), which is designed to deliver high quality reliable digital information to all New Yorkers enabling New York State to retain its premiere status as an educational leader of distance and life long learning. NOVEL libraries throughout the State will be able to: leverage local resources by supplementing their collections with quality databases; offer swift access to research materials hundreds of miles away; offer users an E-Library Card to access full text formulas and databases; provide Internet access to New Yorkers who have no computer or Internet connections at home, and bridge the digital divide for all New Yorkers. New Century Libraries will strengthen the links between two of democracy’s fundamental and cherished institutions, schools K-16 and the library. Moving from a dream to reality will require substantial funding and the leadership, support and advocacy of teachers, administrators, business, parents and the community.#

COMMENTARY

LETTERS

A Funny Thing Happened

To the Editor: Thank you so much for coming to our benefit on April 17th and writing such a wonderful article. We are very proud of the work we do and are thrilled when supporters help to spread the message about Reading Aloud to Children. Trish Maguire, Exec. Director Reach Out & Read New York

By STUART DUNN This article started out as a critique of the Chancellor and the Board of Education (BOE) for moving the date forward when New York City’s schoolchildren are to take the highly competitive test for the selective “science” high schools. I felt that insensitivity had been shown to the parents of these children. When questioned about not leaving sufficient time for the children to take prep courses, the Chancellor dismissed parental concerns, saying, “Maybe some people feel that prep courses are necessary to be competitive, but then they ought to think whether these are the right schools for their children.” A great deal is at stake for these children, with 20,000 students competing for less than 3,000 places. It is reasonable to expect that parents will do all they can to help their children gain acceptance. The issue isn’t whether prep courses can help, but rather that they are not universally available, free of charge, to all who wish to take advantage of them. The Chancellor indicated that the date was being changed, “to better coordinate admission among the science schools, other public schools with specialized or magnet programs, and private high schools; and also to reduce the focus on preparation.” While coordination with the other schools may be a reasonable justification, moving the date forward by six weeks increases, rather than decreases, the focus on preparation. But, a funny thing happened on the way to my article. The BOE announced that three new selective high schools for academically quali-

fied students would be established in September on campuses of the City University of New York. Much of my criticism was based on the lack of sufficient space in the existing selective high schools, and the pressure this put on the students. The way to relieve the pressure of these tests is not to move the test date forward, but to make available more opportunities for qualified children to gain entrance to outstanding high schools. The plan for the new high schools is worthy of broad support, and it will need it. The shortage of funds will be used as a justification for delay. The establishment of these new schools will encounter criticism that the separation of additional top students from the general school population deprives the remaining students of the classroom stimulation afforded by the top students. While this may be true, it will, however, offer the opportunity to focus on the needs of the remaining students. The result is a tradeoff for these students. For those who get into the new selective high schools, it will offer the excitement of academic challenge which they would not otherwise experience. The change in the test date should be delayed until next year, when parents can plan their children’s schedules and the BOE can provide free prep courses. It is unfair to make such an important change without adequate notice. The plan for the new selective high schools should go forward. While the Chancellor and the BOE are to be criticized for the change of date and insensitivity to the parents, they are to be commended for their plan to establish new selective schools.#

JUNE 2002

EDUCATION UPDATE

E DUCATION : N EW C ENTURY L IBRARIES

By DR. GERALDINE CHAPEY, REGENT, NYS BOARD OF REGENTS With the incredible massive infusion of information technology, the thirst of knowledge escalates daily and is changing the way we live and learn. As Peter Stokes, author of ELearning, reports “Education in the 21st century is moving beyond the school house and will transform the classroom in fundamental ways by augmenting traditional materials with online resources and content portals; by enhancing the usual ‘chalk and talk’ classroom lectures through the use of rich multimedia and interactive content and by extending student discussions via a wide range of communication, including inter-classroom exchange.” Despite all efforts, access to this great revolution is not available to many in our midst. Recent surveys indicate that: over 60 percent of American households have no access to the Internet; 46 percent of our libraries are not fully accessible to library users with disabilities; about 20 percent of New York State’s adult population lack the basic educational skills to function in modern society; 94 percent of the elementary schools in New York City have no full time certified school librarian, while 20 percent of the public schools statewide have yet to be connected to the Internet; although student achievement is up overall, wide gaps exist for many inner city children. Today’s library has made quantum leaps away from the stereotypical library as an intimidating repository of old books visited by a select few nerds to a vibrant, exciting, colorful, dynamic and interesting learning center for all. The library has become a place where young-

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To the Editor: We are the readers of your newspaper, Education Update. In planning to send the kids to college, we would be grateful if you could kindly tell us the schedule of college fairs in the Queens area. [emailprotected]

IN THIS ISSUE Editorials & Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Spotlight on Schools . . . . . . . . . 3-10, 17 Conferences, Workshops & Events . . . 9 Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Special Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13 MEDICAL UPDATE . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15 Children’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 COVER STORY . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4, 18-19 Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Modern Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Colleges & Grad Schools . . . . . . . 22-25 College Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Music, Art & Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27 Technology & Software . . . . . . . . . 28-30 Metro Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Tutors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Movie & Theater Reviews. . . . . . . . . . 32 Camps & Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Resource & Reference Guide. . . . . 34-35

Mailing Address: 276 5th Avenue, Suite 10005 New York, NY 10001 email: [emailprotected] www.educationupdate.com Tel: 212-481-5519 Fax: 212-481-3919 PUBLISHER AND EDITOR: Pola Rosen, Ed.D. ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Heather Rosen, Adam Sugerman, Rob Wertheimer ASSISTANT EDITOR: Marylena Mantas GUEST COLUMNISTS: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Geraldine Chapey, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, D.A. Feinfeld, M.D., Richard Frances, M.D., Dr. Carole G. Hankin, Nancy Helle, Jill Levy, Randi T. Sachs, Assemblyman Steven Sanders STAFF WRITERS: Jacob Appel, Joan Baum, Ph.D., Tom Kertes, Katarzyna Kozanecka, Sybil Maimin, Chris Rowan, Merri Rosenberg, Andrew Schiff, Deborah Young EDITORIAL INTERNS: Marie Holmes, Bruce Myint, Laura Pretto, Ricky Berkowitz, Hope Glassberg BOOK REVIEWERS: Harris Healy, III, Lillian Shapiro, Selene Vasquez COMICS: Bruce Wotring MEDICAL EDITOR: Herman Rosen, M.D. MODERN LANGUAGE EDITOR: Adam Sugerman MOVIE & THEATER REVIEWS: Jan Aaron MUSIC EDITOR: Irving M. Spitz PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Christopher McGuire POLITICAL COMMENTARY: Stuart Dunn SPORTS EDITOR: M.C. Cohen WEB DESIGN: Neil Schuldiner, Rick Sulz ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT: Martin Lieberman, Manager. Rosalyn Bacani, Steve Bailey (212) 721-9444, Dawn Clayton, Mitchell Levine, Chris Rowan, Andrew Schiff GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Neil Schuldiner, Rick Sulz Education Update is published monthly by Education Update, Inc. All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Education Update P.O. Box 20005 NY, NY 10001 Subscription: Annual $30. Copyright © 2002 Education Update

JUNE 2002

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

SCHOOL

A Conversation With Gaston Caperton, President, College Board SAT I is basically what I would call a test of college competencies. To be successful in college, you need to think in words and numbers. This is a unique and effective examination that shows if students have developed skills, and the ability to think and answer questions. And as far as test prep is concerned, you can’t stop people from taking prep. The scores are only a small part of the admissions process. You need the tests, because it’s another way for colleges to look at the grades from a school.” Caperton is well aware that the College Board’s high visibility makes it an easy target for critics. “If you’re the best at what you do, with products that are highly visible, you’re always going to be under a magnifying glass, whether you’re the president of the United States, the president of I.B.M., or the governor of a

state,” said Caperton. “We are interested in helping schools with low ability,” said Caperton. One of the College Board’s programs, in fact, provides $25,000 to schools to help them improve their performance; this month, three schools–in Boston, Fresno and Florida–are being honored for their improvement. As Caperton said, “The success of these schools gives kids an opportunity.” Similarly, Caperton is a fierce proponent and defender of the Advanced Placement program, proud of the fact that 57 percent of the nation’s high schools now offer an AP program. Like others, Caperton credits the influence of significant mentors in his life. First and foremost was his father, who gave him a dictionary and taught him to memorize the words when he still wasn’t reading in fourth grade,

The New York City Board of Education T H E D I V I S I O N O F P A R E N T A N D C O M M U N I T Y PA R T N E R S H I P S

Step

due to dyslexia. Then, too, Caperton said he was inspired by reading biographies of influential and significant individuals. “I think we learn from anyone,” said Caperton. “And anyone you learn from is a mentor.” He cited the example of a disabled coal miner that he had met while campaigning for the governorship of West Virginia, who spoke to him about how much he missed his job when he could no longer work because of his disability—an epiphany that made Caperton realize that “all jobs are important to people.” Maintaining that kind of balanced perspective helps Caperton keep his exalted position in perspective, an attitude that he would like to communicate to many of the College Board’s customers. “Nobody has a successful life because of high SATs,” Caperton contends.#

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By MERRI ROSENBERG Given the trepidation and anxiety with which most high school students view the College Board from afar—or from the vantage point of a humble test taker confronting the ominous SATs—a visitor somehow expected to find snapping alligators, snarling guard dogs, or at the very least, a grim and forbidding entrance at the building where the College Board is located. Instead, there was a very welcoming and affable receptionist directing visitors to the discreetly understated and corporate offices of the College Board president, Gaston Caperton, former governor of West Virginia, whose Southern roots were well in evidence in his gracious demeanor and unstudied charm. “I hope this organization is understood as a gateway, not a gate,” said Caperton, who admitted that as a child he had himself suffered with dyslexia. “The idea of the College Board is not to stand in people’s way, but to help them to go to college, to go to the right college and be successful. Our mission is to serve young people as they go to college. We want to prepare them and inspire them. We’re very sincere about our mission of equity and excellence.” He added, “I took this job because you impact education. The College Board can provide things that no one else can, so that students are better prepared to go to college, and help colleges and universities find the students who are the right fit. Our equity and excellence agenda is critical; it has to be available to everybody.” The organization, originally founded in 1900 when it was located on the Columbia University campus, is a membership organization, with some 4000 members from the ranks of the nation’s colleges, some high schools and school districts. Not surprisingly, those at the New York headquarters pay careful and close attention to what the organization’s regional council members tell them. Even last year’s challenge to the College Board, when the president of the California university system questioned the use of the SAT in the admissions process, is one example of how Caperton has responded to a crisis situation during his three-year service with the organization. “The College Board has consistently looked for ways to improve the SATs,” said Caperton. “California’s challenge speeded up the process. We put together the best team we could to work with the University of California, to look at the ideas in more depth. The College Board and the University of California learned a lot through that conversation. The faculty at the university said that there were three important things: one, that they need an admissions test; two, that the tests are not biased, and three, that they wanted to have a test that would evaluate writing. They thought that writing should be part of the core competencies, that now are verbal and math.” To Caperton, “the addition of writing is very important. The ability to write is more critical in a technology-grounded world. If we put writing in the SAT I, it would have an impact on writing in this nation.” Still, as such an influential and admittedly powerful organization, change has to be measured. “The SAT has longitudinal data that is very important to schools and colleges, as well as parents and students,” said Caperton. “ We can’t make such radical changes to the test. And the test needs to have portability, so that students applying to California can take a test in Iowa.” To those detractors and critics who assert that tests like the SAT favor students who can afford to take pricey review courses, or hire expensive tutors—or people like Stanley Kaplan, who has founded a multinational business on the premise that exams like the SAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT and others measure preparation more than aptitude—Caperton is ready with his answer. “Anybody who practiced for anything does better than somebody who doesn’t practice,” he said. “There have been 10 national studies, that are recognized as well researched, that show that after the testing courses, scores only go up 20 to 40 points. The

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SCHOOL

SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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JUNE 2002

Testing the Limits of No Child Left Behind By BRUCE MYINT President Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires public schools to administer reading and writing tests each year between grades 3 through 8. The new guidelines are the nation’s latest installation in a standardized testing movement that began over 30 years ago. But although testing has remained a school reform fixture, many have expressed concern that the new testing scheme could worsen—not better—U.S. public schools. Shortly after taking office, President Bush unveiled No Child Left Behind as a cornerstone of his administration’s school reform agenda; a framework intended to revamp the distribution of federal funds and improve education for traditionally underserved populations. Despite nearly $200 billion in federal spending since 1965, Bush emphasized, “too many of our neediest children are being left behind.” How will NCLB ensure that no child is left behind? Primarily, states will be responsible for breaking down their annual assessment results by poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, and English proficiency. This breakdown will help schools identify whether particular groups are being ‘left behind.’ If those groups are not eventually brought into the fold, schools may be subject to “reconstitution.” “By requiring regular testing of public school students in key subjects…failure would no longer be hidden from parents’ view and poor results would no longer be subsidized by taxpayer funds,” said Rep. John Boehner (ROhio), chairman of the House Senate conference committee. The federal government will ensure state compliance of the new guidelines by rewarding, or withholding, valuable Title I federal funds.

Ironically, federal dollars provide for a very small portion of school budgets. For example, the Office of the New York State Comptroller has estimated that only about 4 percent of school budgets are paid for by federal funds. School districts garner most of their funding from property taxes (56 percent) and state aid (40 percent). But despite the relatively meager support offered by the federal government, cash-poor school districts cannot afford to lose federal dollars. This high-stakes equation has put some testing-watchdogs on alert. To them, NCLB’s testing scheme stands to do the greatest harm to poor schools with underserved students—the population for whom the new policy is intended. “You get high stakes exams and it’s teaching to the test, learning to the test, and the system suddenly revolves around the test,” said Bill Wetzel, Founder of Students Against Testing, a nationwide network of young people who resist high-stakes standardized testing. “We were pretty shocked at the overwhelming amount of bipartisan support that [NCLB] got despite the fact that, state after state, once these tests become high stakes, these schools are going to have a higher dropout rate among poorer communities.” “At best these tests only give numbers,” Wetzel added. “They’re not changing any fundamental structure affecting why the school system is or isn’t working for certain students.” According to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), an advocacy group based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, standardized tests most damage schools serving lowincome children since those schools are the ones that need to get scores up the most. “What happens with schools serving low income kids

is they’re supposed to make a huge amount of progress very quickly and they don’t have the resources to do that job,” explained FairTest president Monty Neil. “They serve very needy children whose needs extend beyond anything a school can do. And so schools are going to get rather desperate to try to get the test scores up and they’re going to do it by very narrow teaching to the test. It won’t work but that’s what many schools are likely to do.” “Teaching to the test tends to produce inflated results—the equivalent of holding a match to a thermostat,” added Neil. “But it doesn’t work in the long run because, to use another metaphor, it’s like eating a candy bar before a race; you get a quick boost of energy and it may help you. But the conclusion that you should live on a diet of candy bars does not work very well. And that’s what teaching to the test is. It’s a diet of candy bars. It’s educational malnourishment.”

How can school districts curb educational malnourishment? Neil urges schools to take a long term view, encourage a lot of reading and writing across the curriculum and make sure the kids know how to think and ask questions. To do so, they must resist teaching to the test. “In the long run it will probably work better for raising test scores than teaching to the test,” said Neil. For Carmen Fariña, superintendent of Brooklyn’s District 15, testing is only one part of the school reform equation. “The strength of the new policy is that it raises expectations for all students and doesn’t allow excuses for low performance. The weakness of the new policy is thinking that the test is the curriculum and that ‘test prep’ is how children can learn,” she said. “The challenge is to balance results from standardized tests with a variety of other indicators including evidence of student work in order to make decisions about student performance. The best preparation for students to succeed in tests is good teaching every day, which requires exemplary practices,” Fariña added.#

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JUNE 2002

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

SCHOOL

CAREERS

Do You Want To Own a Bookstore? By TOM KERTES “[To operate a bookstore] you must love reading books…and you must enjoy talking about books to other people,” says Harris Healy III, the President of Logos, a pleasantly relaxing bookstore on a shady York Avenue block on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Logos, like its owner, dares to be different. “I’m kind of an American expatriate living in America,” Healy says. “What I mean is, I live kind of an overseas existence right here in New York. At least once a week I see a French movie. And, on television, I find myself drawn much more to the British shows than to the rote Hollywood product.” Yet, Healy is profoundly steeped in American culture as well. He has to be. He says, “in order to be successful book-store manager, you must keep up with what interests people, and be curious about – and really interested in – what they want.” At the same time, Healy feels that his responsibility goes beyond that. “You also have to do your best to educate, to get people beyond the hype,” he said. “Running a bookstore you really have a chance to impact on peoples’ tastes, to get them to read books of quality that may be different, that might be outside of the ordinary group of extremely popular books everyone wants to read at certain times.” Healy has that chance because Logos is a medium sized neighborhood bookstore that is surviving in an age when huge conglomerates are nearly taking over the bookselling-market. Although Healy was interested in the business of books and publishing since his school days, he began his job at Logos almost by accident.

“I was Director of Marketing of the Brooklyn Opera Society,” he says. “And when, in the mid 1980s, the owner decided that there was no real future for a small non-profit opera company in Brooklyn, I applied for a part-time salesclerk job at Logos.” Healy enjoyed doing sales and interacting with the customers so much that, moving up on the corporate ladder with the speed of lightning, he became manager by 1990, and President and principal shareholder in 1991. “It satisfied my need to serve, to widen peoples’ horizons,” he says. “I wanted to expose people to a different type of literature. I wanted to show them that it’s okay to be yourself, to dare to be different, to avoid the hype.” Originally, Healy wanted to serve in the ministry. He attended elementary school in New York and France and studied history and romance languages at Hamilton College in upstate New York. After graduating from Hamilton he attended the Drew Theological School in Madison New Jersey “for both spiritual reasons and for a basic conversion to the Christian thought,” he says. After changing life-course, he now has Logos specialize in religious literature and books. “Of course, we serve the general market as well,” says Healy. “And our other specialty, children’s books, recognizes the foremost need of the neighborhood.” Indeed, Logos, which in Greek means “The Word,” does much to be a signal part of the community, using its picturesque back garden to host everything from community meetings, to summer parties, to theater and comedy performances, to staged readings by well-known

authors. “We also have a monthly book club–we call it the Kill-Your-TV Reading Club –that people really seem to enjoy,” says Healy. “Probably because it’s very democratic both in its choice of books and in participation.” And, what is his advice to prospective young bookstore owners? “Love books,” Healy smiles. “Enjoy talking to people. Learn to real-

ly listen. Then learn the business side. Be aware of what’s going on in the culture. Yet know how to separate real value from hype.” “And don’t ever think that this will be a profession where you can relax, sit, and read books during business hours,” concludes Healy. “If anywhere, you’ll be doing your reading at home. Running a bookstore is more than a fulltime job.” #

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SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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JUNE 2002

After-School Programs: Lively Exchange at Open Society Institute By JOAN BAUM The After-School Corporation (TASC), in just four brief years has moved to the forefront of one of the country’s most concerted efforts to reform public school supplementary education. Since its initial funding in the form of a challenge grant by George Soros’ Open Society Institute, TASC, has managed to attract public and private money, wide parental and community involvement, and the increasing attention of education administrators and lawmakers across the state. In New York City alone TASC is already part of 150 schools. The goal, says TASC president Lucy Friedman, is to expand “in the shortest time possible” into every public elementary, middle and high school district, and sustain “high quality” programs. This first Conference on Supplementary Education, which took place recently and was co-sponsored by Teachers College at Columbia University and The College Board, drew an impressive array of prominent educators, researchers, and political leaders. It could not have come at a more timely juncture for the city. As keynote speaker Alan Gartner, the Mayor’s Director of Policy Research told Education Update, “we don’t have many more turns at bat.” He noted that his title has no adjective or parenthesis. “Research” for the Mayor means research into education, which is “at the top of his agenda” and is directly related to welfare reform and a “whole range of other serious issues” before the new administration. The Associate Commissioner of Education for the State of New York, Sheila EvansTranum, tapped the same theme. This is a “critical time,” she told conference participants, “an

awarded to

in every grade.

age of accountability.” If we cannot show improvement in the performance of children, we will not get funding, we will not be able to move ahead. In effect, she was saying that without demonstrated progress in students’ academic performance, public schools would not be able to compete with the growing number of private and alternative schools. As Lucy Friedman pointed out in her welcoming address, parents are choosing to send their students to schools that have after-school programs, increasingly seen as central in efforts to improve academic performance. Putting considerations about the presidential message aside, Gartner told Education Update, President Bush’s message “leave no child behind,” was a significant statement, an expression of commitment to education “that has not been heard since the days of Lyndon Johnson.” Like others around the conference table, the Commissioner defended the use of the term, “supplementary education,” recognizing its vagueness and even unfortunate connotation as something less than essential (some participants said they preferred the term “continuous” or “seamless” day). It was Edmund W. Gordon, Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education, and Professor Emeritus of Teachers College and Yale, whose “vision” it was that there be such a conference, who, with measured passion, distinguished the term. “We don’t want to supplant public schools but supplement them.” But how? Refreshingly, participants, who had read the conference papers in advance, were respectfully frank and critical. There was no disagreement, however, on why supplementary education was important. After-school pro-

grams function typically from 3-6 p.m., a time that coincides with two dire facts: a) this is a high-crime period for kids, “the kids themselves say this,” Lucy Friedman noted; they’re alone, hanging out, without supervision at home; and b) for disadvantaged kids particularly, a typical school day has wasted hours. As Irving Hamer, Manhattan member of the Board of Education and its technology czar pointed out, students are in school 12 percent of the day and sleeping 33 percent. So, what’s going on with that remaining 55 percent? What might go on? And what should go on that will not compete with what the Internet or private corporations such as Kaplan have been providing for years? Semantics aside, participants agreed, the substantive disagreement over the meaning of “supplemental education” turns on how one defines need. The poorest schools the Commissioner noted, are not necessarily those whose students have the poorest academic performance. Still, there is no denying the connection and the “severe gap” in New York State between rich and poor in all senses and the extent to which richer schools can afford supplemental education. Enter TASC. But money isn’t everything. As Jeanne Pryor, Assistant Superintendent for the Montclair Public Schools observed, well trained teachers and tutors are critical to the success of any afterschool program which includes, not just supplemental instruction in reading and math, but engagement with those aspects of a child’s life that are rarely dealt with any more in the schools or at home: art, sports, citizenship. Teacher turnover, however, in after-school programs, is about 50 percent— staff cannot stay

after 3:00 pm; many of them are in school themselves. It was the district Superintendent Carmen Fariña who prompted some of the headiest discussion. Once students leave, after their 5th or 6th period, she pointed out, they won’t come back. How will an extended 9 or 10-period day have value if it continues what has gone before? Case in point: if language acquisition is key, how do we model an after-school program if we provide those in need only with the company of others with the same need? Like groups of disadvantaged students preclude peer mentors and role models. Case in point #2 was made in effect by Gartner as he wondered what difference could be made if a seamless day merely fused inadequate onto inadequate? The core structure may need to be changed more than the length of the day, he told Education Update. Other participants, other questions followed. What constitutes an acceptable after-school site? What if church-related facilities do not want to provide sex education? As Ed Gordon challenged, what partners should TASC have, how do we engage them, what are the benefits, the drawbacks? The research is coming in. The second TASC Conference is bound to be as lively as the first.#

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JUNE 2002

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EDUCATION UPDATE

I NSIDE THE S UPERINTENDENT ’ S O FFICE : T ONY S AWYER By MARYLENA MANTAS “I accept no less for any single child in this district than what I would for my own biological child,” says Tony Sawyer, superintendent of Manhattan High Schools. Appointed superintendent three years ago, Sawyer considers himself an “educational facilitator” whose job is “to help principals succeed.” “My job is to meet with everyone that has a concern,” he says. “I’ll speak to everyone in my school district, including students.” Maintaining a hands-on leadership style, the superintendent leads a district that serves approximately 42,000 students, of which 48 percent come from one of five boroughs other than Manhattan. One of the district’s attractions is the large variety of options it offers to students, including 12 large academic-comprehensive high schools, six smaller theme-centered schools, two specialized high schools, four vocational high schools, 16 educational option high schools and nine (6-12 grade) high school and community school district collaborative secondary schools. According to Sawyer, the district opted to establish theme-based schools more than a decade ago and he considers these schools a unique feature of the district. “The advantages of theme-based school were identified early on,” he said. “Whatever the theme has been it has been our goal to make truth in advertising. The district has the responsibility to live up to the expectations of the parents and the students.” According to Sawyer, the incorporation of

the arts and technology in the curriculumn is an integral part of the disrict’s philosophy. “An interdisciplinary curriculum is at the heart of what happens in our schools,” he said. “The challenge is for content driven teachers to create a thematic approach through the arts. We strive to make that a reality.” Sawyer underscored the focus placed on student achievement in the ninth grade. In an attempt to provide ninth graders with a proper support system, the district provides them with the best educators, thus reversing the traditional trends of specialized teachers targeting only higher grades. “If you put the weakest teacher with the kids that have the strongest need you have a philosophy of failure,” said Sawyer. According to Sawyer, the advantages of theme based schools and the focus placed on ninth graders produce positive results when combined with the district’s efforts to offer smaller class size, an extended school day, courses to students who need support in certain areas and double periods of literacy and math for those demonstrating need. The results include an increase in the number of students who achieve high scores on the Regents, a decrease in the dropout rate and an increase in the graduation rate. Sawyer measures the district’s success based upon the overall number of students who pass their classes, the district’s ability to infuse the arts and technology into the curriculum and the attendance rate in the borough. He believes that “good attendance means good quality of instruction.”

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He added, “the only way Sawyer. I know how successful a Professional development school is, is by speaking to in the Manhattan High the kids in a school about School’s district takes severhow they feel about their al forms. New teachers are scholastic environment.” pulled out of their classHis mission consists of rooms eight times a year to “selecting really good attend professional developleaders and then providing ment workshops. According them with assistance to to Sawyer, professional ensure their success.” development is also done in “You want leadership partnership with external born out of a sense of programs such as City pride,” he said. “You need College and Bank Street someone that can go out College. and take the bull by the “Experiential learning is Tony Sawyer horns and make decision at the heart of what we do,” for his/her school. You need said Sawyer. “Teachers are strong leaders that know how to create a team.” really enlivened. They leave feeling that they At a time when the district $267 million have something that they can take back to their budget might be cut by $20 milllion, Sawyer classroom and implement.” believes in keeping “the classroom sacrosant.” Principals who have less then three years of Necessary cuts will take place mostly on the experience also participate in “the next step district level. conferences” where they are guided on how to When he interviews potential principals and create a team, how to deal with u-rated teachers assistant principals he looks for experience, and more topics. All principals belong to a commitment, charisma but most of all “how quad (a four principal team), which meets regmuch they like children.” ularly to discuss and find solutions to concerns “Because so much has changed, they might raised during their monthly meetings with the have all that and then I have to provide the pro- superintendent. “They form an alliance,” says fessional development to support that,” says Sawyer. “This creates trust.”#

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SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

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Academic Olympics: A Golden Educational Tool By TOM KERTES So it wasn’t Barcelona, Atlanta, or Sydney. But, in many ways, the District 8 Bronx Academic Olympics couldn’t have been more enticing, demanding, and chuck-full-of thrills for all who participated as the “real thing.” This, of course, was no coincidence. “We do everything we can to make this an Olympian experience for the students,” District Director of Social Studies John-Paul Bianchi (aka The

Father of the Academic Olympics) said. “I think there’s so much about the Games – discipline, self-sacrifice, team-work – the students can learn from, beyond the academics.” The feeling in the spacious P.S. 101 auditorium was Olympian, indeed. From the line-up of the nine teams for the Opening Ceremonies, to the Presentation of Colors, to the 30-40 strong squads marching in to the stirring sounds of the International Olympic Anthem, the difference

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between this event and The Games was merely in the size of the competitors (pint-sized instead of muscle-bound) and the nature of the competition (intellectual vs. physical). Even though the atmosphere was good-natured and fun, you could also sense tension in the air. The lighting of the Olympic Torch – a funkylooking, student-made contraption turned torch-like by electricity and wind-power. Then things got serious. “Are we going to see any smiles on this team?” a few officials teased as I.S. 125 marched in. Finals opponents, purple-clad I.S. 192, was bedecked with good-luck beads, and multi-colored papier-mâché hair-ornaments. One girl even sported toy devil’s-horns on her head. “She wants to win,” principal Maria Paese, who cried when she saw her kids march in, said. “I am the emotional Principal,” she explained. “My kids are just like me. They work hard, then they like to have a good time.” “All the teams, and all the coaches, in this competition have a different style,” by-thebooks I25 coach Dan Evangelista said. “And that’s fine. Whatever works. I just want my kids to respect the discipline and all the hard work that went into this. The students, the teachers, the coaches, we’ve all been meeting since February almost every morning at 7:30 a.m., and after school, and on weekends to prepare for this competition. So, yes, we’re serious.” But seriously, the Academic Olympics is an intellectual competition for middle school students in Grades 6-8 in four disciplines: English/ Language Arts, Math and Science, Social Studies and Omnibus General Trivia. Hundreds of students in all of the District’s nine schools auditioned to be on their team. About 30-40 of them made it. “This is a wonderful educational tool,” said

Students from I25

Bianchi. “Due to the competitive aspect of the Games, the kids work really hard, in many cases much harder than if this was just another one of their regular classes. We also try to make the questions more than just factual, to get beyond memorization, to encourage logical, creative, contextual thinking. And the discipline, focus and togetherness that’s developed through this is priceless.” And so was the great display of sportsmanship. After the team from I25 put a serious defeat onto their bedeviled opponents, I92 lined up to congratulate and hug each and every winner. Without any encouragement from coaches or teachers. “Aren’t they the greatest kids?” a proud Ms. Paese asked. “This is what it’s all about, what we try to develop in our District: team work, togetherness, bonds of trust, and love,” Community Superintendent Dr. Betty Rosa, who handed out the Gold Medals to I25, said. “And these Academic Olympics have not only been an excellent academic tool but a wonderful instrument for developing those things as well.” So why aren’t other Districts doing something so simple, something that can be so cheaply done? “You tell me,” Dr. Rosa said, shrugging her shoulders in frustration. “ I think we’ve set a really wonderful example here.#

A New Public Alternative to Traditional High School

Bard High School Early College a jump start on college The Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) of the New York City Public School System, now finishing its first highly successful year, will open this fall in its new, permanent, Manhattan location at 525 East Houston Street. The BHSEC is currently accepting applications from motivated, academically strong students now completing the 10th grade who are interested in beginning college study this fall, 2002. At the end of two years, these students will earn an associate of arts degree. The school is also accepting applications for students entering grades 9 and 10 this fall. The BHSEC, an innovative partnership between Bard College and the New York City School System, offers motivated high school students from throughout New York City a rigorous four-year curriculum with two years of college study culminating in the awarding of an associate of arts degree. College credits earned at the BHSEC can be transferred to a four-year college. Tuition is free. To obtain information and application materials, call the BHSEC at 718-486-6898, extension 442, visit the website at www.bard.edu/bhsec, or e-mail [emailprotected].

Public Information Meetings Wednesday, June 5, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 16, 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 19, 6:30 p.m. Bard Hall, 410 W. 58th St., NYC Near Columbus Square Station For information call: 718-486-6898, ext. 442 No reservations required

A PARTNERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND BARD COLLEGE B A R D H I G H S C H O O L E A R LY C O L L E G E 718-486-6898

JUNE 2002

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SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

overextended when it comes to supervising special education programs. Akin to a general practitioner performing brain surgery, it wouldn’t happen in an operating room and it shouldn’t happen in our schools. In my 30 years in special education, I, and scores of special education teachers and supervisors created innovative programs for ignored and under-served children. We answered the call to duty when the school system, responding to court decisions and revamped special education laws, needed specialists. Some of the best and brightest served, people with whom I have been proud to work. And to become experts we went through a grueling training process. Before sitting for the NYC licensing examination as special education teachers or clinicians, we had to have a master’s degree. We were licensed as supervisors in our respective areas only after working as teachers of special education and upon completion of an arduous exam that tested our knowledge, our human-relations skills and our problem-solving abilities. We were advocates for our clients – specialneeds children – and we were proud of our profession. We developed programs, trained and supported teachers, educated and supported overwhelmed parents, and worked with principals and district staff to craft educational interventions at the district level. But the special needs environment in the NYC public schools was evolving in an ugly way. The system shifted its attention from educational expertise to compliance with regulations. It developed an across-the-board approach to children with unique problems continued on page 17

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Mentoring USA-Helping Children Succeed in School and in Life

Requiem for Expertise By JILL S. LEVY Several Saturdays ago I received an unsettling phone call from a dear friend, a respected principal. “My grandchild has been diagnosed with an unusual and serious developmental disability. I need your help,” he said. We discussed the boy’s prognosis, his treatment and, most importantly, his educational and clinical needs. Although my friend knows I am both an advocate for special-needs people and a supervisor of special education, he did not know that my master’s thesis was in language and communications disorders, the world in which he and his family were unfortunately entering. The call was upsetting. For one thing my friend was in pain. For another, I realized once more I felt called upon to speak out on the issue of special education. All is not well in the state of special education. As our special ed experts are retiring, the school system is not replacing them. As their positions are eliminated, their work is taken up by assistant principals and principals with little or no experience in the field. It must be overwhelming for these supervisors who already have a full plate in our overburdened schools. The telephone call brought to mind how little respect is shown to special education experts. The very trends that experts helped to pioneer, including mainstreaming and inclusion, are being undermined by decision-makers, the generalists. More and more, otherwise capable assistant principals and principals no longer have special education experts to whom to turn. These otherwise talented generalists are

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By MATILDA RAFFA CUOMO Children have always needed three pillars of support: home, community and school. When one of these supports is broken, the child suffers. Although our business is “mentoring,” we at Mentoring USA are acutely aware of the whole picture as far as kids are concerned. As the year winds down, many of our mentors and mentees are wholly preoccupied with city-wide tests, and rightfully so. Tests are needed for accountability. It is important to be able to measure childrens’ progress from year to year, and to make sure that teachers and schools are helping each child to achieve his highest learning potential. It is an unfortunate fact that children in urban environments often suffer with respect to these tests: it is not that they are any less able, but rather that they lack some of the advantages of their more affluent suburban counterparts. When more than 50 percent of our elementary school children cannot read at grade level, how can our expectations for performance be the same for all children? First, we have to acknowledge the disparity. Not all children are equally prepared for standardized tests. We have to be honest about the fact that schools and families need help. Then we need to work to level the playing field as far as school and testing are concerned. A mentor is an invaluable part of this process for a disadvantaged child. Mentoring USA makes a complete effort to develop the child in all ways. A mentor works with a child not only on academics, but on developing social skills and competencies and improving a child’s self-esteem via educating the child about his or her culture and heritage. Mentoring USA has a special training component for the volunteer mentors that empowers our volunteers to succeed with hard-to-reach youth. Mentors leave our training equipped with the skills to offer the kind of attention friendship and instruction to their mentees that is often unavailable to them in a foster home, agency, group home, or in an overcrowded school or communi-

Calendar

ty center. These children will remember their dedicated mentors for a lifetime. In addition, Mentoring USA mentors address a range of issues with their mentees, from school to friends to family life. Mentors aren’t afraid to tackle the “tough topics” with kids. As you might suspect, these dramatic attitudinal and behavioral shifts result in enhanced performance in the classroom. The United States Department of Justice has noted that “the experience of failure itself” during the crucial elementary years increases the risk of school drop-out, drug abuse, delinquency, violence and teen pregnancy. Early-intervention mentoring seeks to get students on the path to success early, before a child has gone too far down an undesirable path and intervention becomes difficult. This past September, Mentoring USA began to work with ESL students. ESL students are outsiders in terms of both language and culture. I was recently visiting a school in Brooklyn as “Principal for a Day” and was discussing with the principal the need to begin ESL programming as early as preschool. We both agreed that it makes sense to begin English immersion for immigrant students as soon as they enter the school system, and their young brains are able to embrace foreign sounds and letters with ease. I have always advocated for universal pre-kindergarten in order to give all of our children a sound, equal academic foundation, and I think that universal ESL education would work hand-in-hand with universal pre-K to help put all students on an equal footing. Mentoring USA’s Fordham Youth Ministry site, located in the Fordham section of the Bronx is a heartening, real life example of the difference a mentor can make. These Fordham kids (mentees) are primarily recent immigrants from the Caribbean and Central America. Last year six of the 16 children in this after-school program were identified by their teachers as being at risk of not passing the citywide tests—and not being able to advance to the next grade. Our mentoring program staff and mentors met to discuss continued on page 16

Events

June 2002 Awards

Workshops

Early Childhood Teacher Awards, June 19, 2002 - 6 p.m. at Bank Street College of Education, 610 W. 112th Street New York, NY 10025 Awardee - Arbo Doughty, District 15, Pre-K, P.S. 146, Brooklyn Finalists: Jayne Marie O. Capetanakis, District 20, Second Grade P.S. 105, Brooklyn Alice Mulligan, District 20, Pre-K Our Savior’s Lutheran Preschool, Brooklyn

The ADD Resource Center Practical help for living with attention and related disorders, seminars, courses, workshops and services for children, parents, adults, employers and educators. Call for a schedule at 212-724-9699 x59 or 914-763-5648.

Open Houses Although it is not specifically requested by every school, readers are strongly advised to call schools to confirm dates and times and verify if appointments are needed. Community School District 3: Gifted & Talented Program, (212) 678-2897, Marilyn Carella 300 West 96th St., NY 10025. Program is available at 8 different schools in Manhattan.

Bringing Liberty Science Center to You! Host LSC at your school, camp, fair, or community center. Through assembly shows and classroom workshops, we bring the excitement of LSC right to your location. Yes, we travel to summer camps, schools, and enrichment programs! Classroom Workshops Our classroom workshops, like our famous StarLab, are 30-45 min. in length and are designed to accommodate up to 30 students per session. The initial program fee covers 4 workshops at the same site, on the same day. Additional programs can be purchased for an additional charge.

Touro College Occupational Therapist Asistant Program: (718) 265-6534, ext. 1003 Information session in Brooklyn; Thursday, June 20 at 6: 30 pm; 1870 Stillwell Avenue (at the corner of 82nd Street)

Assembly Programs Our assembly programs are 45 min.- 1 hr. in length and are designed to accommodate up to 350 students at a time. The initial program fee covers one assembly program. An additional program fee is kept low to encourage to break-up audiences of various ages into smaller groups for a more meaningful, age oriented experience. Create some real summer fun with our Science Sportacular!

Smith School: (212) 879-6354 7 East 96th Street (between 5th & Madison Ave.), NYC. Call for appointment.

All our current workshops and assembly programs can be viewed under Educational Experiences at www.lsc.org. Please call (201) 451-0006 and speak with either John Herrera x218, [emailprotected], or Jim McGlynn x340, [emailprotected], for further details.

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HOMESCHOOLING

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JUNE 2002

Mastery Publications is the debut sponsor of Education Update’s first Homeschooling Section!

C HILDREN ’ S B OOK A WARDS B ESTOWED BY B ANK S TREET By JOAN BAUM How apt that the 30th annual Bank Street College of Education presentation of The Irma S. and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature should have been held at The Algonquin Hotel. As the president of Bank Street College of Education, Augusta (“Gussie”) Souza Kappner noted in her welcoming remarks, “we’re both literary landmarks.” The book awards are certainly “one of the most exciting things we do at Bank Street,” she rhapsodized, as teachers, publishers, literary agents, librarians and trustees filed into the Algonquin’s cozy Library and Gallery Suite for breakfast. Indeed, the fit was even more significant, given the fact that the Black awards are for books that stimulate the creative imagination through learning and art, the very mission of the Bank Street College of Education. A man who identified himself simply as “a parent of a child who had attended Bank Street,” mentioned how an award-winning book of some years back – “a story about a girl who wore green shoes,” created such an indelible impression on his daughter that he and his wife had to go out and buy her a pair of green shoes, not an easy find, even in New York. Black Awards always go to memorable books. The publications of the legendary guest speaker Vera B. Williams are so well known and loved, that people who heard she would be speaking that morning, called to say they would be attending and carting with them dogeared copies of More, More, and More Said the Baby to be autographed. In her keynote remarks, Williams, a short (“can you see me?”), feisty and deliciously accomplished teller of tales, who did not have to ask if she could be heard, spoke of the picture book as a “wonderful invention” unfortunately relegated to childhood. Such “marvelous creations of our humanity” educate, entertain, challenge and transfer all of this “through affection, through love,” she said. We live in a “golden age of picture books,” an interesting phenomenon considering that “we also live in a dark age of so many inventions that can destroy us.” But in just 32 pages “we can live in a humanistic and adventurous world.” We also live in an education world that is quantitatively

obsessed, she continued. “We who love picture books and art know that in picture books there is much that cannot be measured.” And Bank Street, she added, “is in the forefront of this understanding.” A compelling story teller, Williams made the turning of a page a wondrous act – noting that a double page spread allowed for s-l-o-w reading. Lacking a child for immediate verification, she seemed nonetheless pleased with the adult substitutes before her that day. Black awards are unusual because the final judges of the wide-ranging competition are children, ages 7-10. There were, as always, hundreds of books to consider, and indeed the three Honor Book Awards that were also presented that morning so testified to the richness of submissions. The honorees were Sharon Creech, author, and Harry Bliss, illustrator, of A Fine, Fine School; Susan Stevens Crummel, author, Janet Stevens, illustrator, of And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon; and Jon Agee, author and illustrator of Milo’s Hat Trick. In presenting the 2002 Black Book Award to David Wiesner for his remarkably engaging The Three Pigs, which had already won several other awards, including the Caldecott, Gussie Kappner spoke of it as a “boundary breaking book.” In Wiesner’s world, the pigs are blown into limbo by the wolf and enter other tales just as the illustrations also break out and soar beyond their frames. Beautifully drawn and colored, playful, full of wit and humor, the pictures capture the spirit of their author/illustrator who loves to work on “flying things that don’t really fly, changes in scale, and shifts in reality.” Again, with more than a courtesy nod at the Black Awards sponsors, Wiesner gave thanks for schools such as Bank Street which treasure “books, art and creativity,” a world quite different from his own. He recalled an annoyed 4th grade teacher who reported him for wanting to be drawing rather than doing schoolwork” and an 8th-grade Career Day which had nothing about the arts. The spirit of Bank Street, which sees no such dichotomy, was very much in evidence at the Awards Breakfast. “Are your books really for children?” Wiesner said he is often asked. To judge from the interest in The Three Pigs, the answer that day was a resounding No and Yes.#

Spend an hour preparing for a 10 minute lesson? Follow a boring script that even confuses you? Forget flexibility, eliminate your input and ignore your child’s pace?

T HINKING A BOUT H OMESCHOOLING ? By CHRISTINE WEBB might use a ready-made curriculum. For a more Families come to the decision to homeschool in wholistic learner, you may choose to use the a variety of ways. For some it is a lifestyle deci- library, museums, and life experiences as your prision; for others it is an education choice. Deciding mary learning resources. Resources will vary in to homeschool can be a little daunting. It will take time commitment, philosophy of learning, and research, insight, thought, discussion and perhaps expense. Be prepared to do some experimenting to a little courage, but it is a commitment that is made find the combination that works best for each child each year for hundreds of thousands of children and understand that as children mature or situaacross the nation. tions change so, too, might your approach. Homeschooling offers families the opportunity If your child wants to learn something you can’t to provide a loving environment in which their teach, they might successfully opt to self-teach, or children can mature and learn. The benefits of to get together with other students to form a study homeschooling include the strengthening of fami- group around a particular subject. You can hire a ly life, providing a superior education geared to tutor or barter for help with another interested famtheir children’s individual needs, learning styles, ily. Classes over the Internet or via television, personalities, and interests, and the flexibility videos and computer software are increasingly homeschooling provides. available options for many families. Some stuHomeschooling is legal in all 50 states. Laws and dents choose to take classes at a community colregulations vary from state to state, and interpreta- lege. When searching for teachers, don’t overlook tions can vary among school districts. A copy of friends, or businesspeople in your community— your law can be found in your public library, on the most people are delighted to have a young person Internet, or from a local homeschool support group. around who is sincerely interested in what they To get information about homeschooling in your know and do. (More on homeschooling next state, contact your state or local homeschooling month).# support group. The support groups usually have Reprinted with permission from Home copies of the state law, information about getting Education Magazine, PO Box 1083, Tonasket, WA started, lists of activities and resources, and many 98855 offer a newsletter as well. To find out which D I S TA N C E E D U C AT I O N approach to use, read, ask questions, listen carefully and observe. There are as many homeschooling styles as there are homeNow you can get the independence of homeschooling families. schooling, the camaraderie The approach you of a traditional high school, choose should fit and over 35 full-credit comfortably into your courses fromKeystone lifestyle. This decision National High School , will depend on your a leading provider of accredited independent study philosophy of learncourses. Choose between ing, the structure of correspondence courses your family’s life, and and thenew eSchool, the types of resources with its virtual Home Room, through which each of bulletin boards, chats, and your children learns more. With Keystone, it’s easier than ever to achieve best. Households that academic success at home. thrive on schedules are often most comCall 1-800-255-4937, fortable setting a reguDept. 169 or visit lar time each day for www.keystonehighschool.com homeschooling activities. Others approach homeschooling as an integral part of what they do each day, with 420 W. 5th Street Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1564 no set schedule. A child who likes textA division of KC Distance Learning books and workbooks

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SPECIAL EDUCATION

All Photos by Jim Belfon, Photographic Company of Harlem

Phi Delta Kappa, Columbia University Honors Superintendent Patricia Synan & Inclusion Pioneer Teachers

Joan Washington

Steve Levy, Henri Belfon, Howard Tames

Superintendent Patricia Synan, District 14 in Brooklyn and 10 special education teachers from District 75 who pioneered inclusion, (the integration of special education children into regular classrooms), were honored at Phi Delta Kappa (PDK), Columbia University, spring awards banquet. The teachers represented schools in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Manhattan. Principal Joan Washington of P 811Q and Dr. Catherine Rikhye, supervisor from District 75, cited them for their talent in rewriting and adapting curriculum to fit the needs of their students and for their bravery in implementing their beliefs about inclusion despite opposition.

Patricia Synan

Superintendent Synan was named the Educator of the Year for her outstanding lifelong efforts on behalf of children as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. One of the honored guests present was Howard Tames, Chief Executive for Labor and Policy and his wife Marla Tames, principal of PS 319 in Brooklyn.#

For more information about Phi Delta Kappa, see www.dynatek.com/pdk The teachers honored as “Inclusion Pioneers” were: Vera Banach—Inclusion Facilitator Brooklyn/Queens; Mindy Greenspan—PS 811Q @ 227Q; Karen McInerney—PS 811Q @ Bayside High School; David Coodington—PS 811Q @ Francis Lewis High School; Alice Miller—PS 811 K @ PS 329K; JoAnn Mauro Solano—PS 811K @ IS 281 K; Paula Smith— PS 53K @ PS 104K Barbara Kania—PS 721R; Sherryl Berti—PS 721M @ Chelsea High School; Dawn Burdi—PS 138 M @ PS 134M.

Inclusion Pioneer Teachers, District 75

Visit the children’s art exhibition based on the book

Childhood Revealed Art Expressing Pain, Discovery & Hope Edited by Harold S. Koplewicz & Robin F. Goodman New York University Child Study Center

June 5 - July 12, 2002 80 Washington Square East Galleries 80 Washington Square East New York, NY 10003 Tel: (212) 998-5747 Summer Gallery Hours: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Childhood Revealed is the centerpiece of the National Child Mental Health Initiative, a public awareness campaign by the NYU Child Study Center. New York City exhibition sponsored by the NYU Child Study Center and the Mental Health Association of New York City, Inc.

For more information visit www.AboutOurKids.org

Innocence of Youth, 1998. Bipolar disorder, Male 15

SPECIAL EDUCATION

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EDUCATION UPDATE

National Association for Visually Handicapped (NAVH) Founder Awarded Honorary Doctorate

Lorraine H. Marchi

Lorraine H. Marchi, Founder and CEO of the National Association for Visually Handicapped (NAVH), was recently awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.)

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JUNE 2002

throughout the United States, NAVH provides a host of large print educational materials–in English, Spanish and Russian–on vision related issues including eye disease, nutrition, and proper lighting, and delivers direct services to

visually impaired people from its national offices at 22 West 21st Street. For more information, phone 212-889-3141, or visit the NAVH website at www.navh.org.#

by the State University of New York. Dr. Alden N. Haffner, President of the State College of Optometry, nominated Marchi for her outstanding achievement in founding the only national health agency solely devoted to the “hard of seeing,” one of America’s most prevalent disabilities, second only to hearing impairment. Although the honor came as a total surprise, Lorraine Marchi had often been taken for a doctor because of her extensive knowledge of vision and eye disease. She founded NAVH in San Francisco in 1954, largely as a result of what she learned from investigating resources for low vision elementary school children, who, like her visually impaired young son, had special reading needs. In addition to supporting a free-by-mail 7,000 volume large print lending library

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EDUCATION UPDATE

W INDWARD S CHOOL: S PECIAL E DUCATION A T I TS B EST By TOM KERTES Wise men say that some of the greatest things in the universe once started out small. The Windward School — one of the leading places of learning for language disabled children in the U.S. — is the perfect example of that adage. “Back in 1930, the school got its name because the imagery of sailing into the wind was so fitting to all the difficulties involved in establishing it,” says Assistant Head and Director of Admissions Maureen Sweeney. “Our founder, Isabel Greenbaum Stone, had three boys and she was looking for a good independent progressive school for them to get into. After many travails, she managed to find two teachers she liked. Then she decided to buy seven acres of land right in White Plains. And the Windward School was formed.” Over the years, while the focus has changed, the name remained. “In 1976, we became a school specifically for children with language based disabilities,” Sweeney said. “And in the late 1980s, due to the unique vision of Judith B. Hochman, we became the school that we are now.” And that is a focused place of learning strictly adhering to the Orton-Gillingham curriculum, a school that places a great emphasis on the processing of language, while teaching reading, writing, spelling and, basically, an entire way of thinking in a multi-sensory manner. “Over the years, there has been much research done in the area of teaching language disabled students,” Sweeney said. “But for some reason, not much of this research got into the classroom. We always felt that we followed what was known to be the best available way to teach reading. And now the research is finally catching up to us, confirming what we do.” Currently with 328 students, the Windward School is probably the only place of learning in the U.S. that hopes to decrease its student-body. “We feel that we will have accomplished our goal when our students successfully return to mainstream education,” said Sweeney. “The average term of a student here is 2-5 years – and we hope to make it briefer. In a way, our ultimate vision is to actually disappear one day. That would mean that all schools are using the best research and the Windward School would no longer fill a need.” That, of course, could only occur in an ideal

world. In the real world, Windward – currently serves Grades 1-12 — is about to eliminate its high school grades by 2004. “The main reason is the State’s new emphasis on a Regents diploma, rather than a local diploma,” said Sweeney. “We do more remediation. We are not a testprep program. To change into that would completely compromise our purpose.” Responding to current needs, Windward is actually growing. The school has just purchased nearby Berkeley College and will move its 6-12 Grades onto that campus next September. Even on wider territory, Windward will continue to proudly define itself narrowly. “Students come here based on their disability,” said Sweeney. “We follow a rule-based curriculum. So if a student has another primary disability, we can’t accept him.” “Teachers can’t just come in here, they must be specially and extensively trained,” added Sweeney. “In fact, there is a tremendous amount of teacher training and teacher supervision going on around here. Our mission is to teach with a completely consistent focus, following the same philosophy no matter what the academic subject might be.” “Thus everybody leaves their door open around here. We are all on the same page. This is indeed a very different place. And we are proud of that difference.” Windward has its own individual philosophy. “We put kids in ability groups. The classes are very much teacher-centered. And the students first do expository writing – in order to learn the basic rules of the language — before they embark on more creative writing.” Sweeney feels that early identification is the best and most important way to counter dyslexia. “Look for an otherwise intelligent child in kindergarten or first grade who doesn’t hold the sounds well when reading,” she said. “Or a child who has trouble rhyming or segmenting words, who has trouble taking away the ‘cow’ from ‘cowboy.” It’s not an easy road: language disabled children are indeed sailing against a harsh wind. But the Windward School clearly makes for a far smoother sailing.# For more information visit windwardny.org or call 914-949-8220.

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SPECIAL EDUCATION

400+ L EARNING L EADERS S CHOOL V OLUNTEERS C ELEBRATE Learning Leaders, the city-wide public school volunteer organization, convened its annual Queens Borough Recognition Ceremony at St. Johns University recently. The event featured Learning Leaders who shared their experiences in the city’s schools this past year and exhorted their fellow volunteers to keep up their incredible work. One volunteer, Carol Torres, a parent at PS 101 in District 28 and a police officer, spoke about her daughter who was having a lot of difficulty in school. Torres worked the night shift and only saw her daughter for an hour each day. Then, a Learning Leader began working with her daughter twice a week and she learned to read. In an emotional and moving speech Torres remarked, “I can now sit with her and she can read an entire book to me.” She cried as she thanked the volunteers for what they do to help children. Additional speakers included Teri Thomson, Queens representative on the Board of

Education and new New York City Councilmen Tony Avella, Allan Jennings and James Gennaro. The officials thanked Learning Leaders for their hard work and commitment. Councilman Jennings remarked that he was so impressed by the work of the volunteers “that I am in favor of increased funding for Learning Leaders.” “This has been a difficult year for many children and for the school system”, said Carol Kellermann, Executive Director of Learning Leaders. “Our year-end ceremonies provide a much-needed chance for volunteers to celebrate and talk to each other and feel the encouragement and support of hundreds of their fellow Learning Leaders.” This year, 11,000 trained Learning Leaders volunteers (75 percent of them parents of public school children) are working with over 165,000 NYC public school students in 780 New York City public schools.#

Graduations in U.S. History Compiled by Chris Rowan Firsts In 1642 the first class graduated from Harvard – the nation’s oldest university. In 1823 Alexander Lucius Twilight became the first black American to earn a degree when he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont. In 1841 Oberlin College in Ohio, the first coeducational institution in the United States, began granting degrees to women. In 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the United States to receive a medical degree (from Geneva College in New York). In 1850 Lucy Ann Stanton became the first black American woman to earn a college degree when she graduated from Oberlin College.

U.S. Presidents (1)Who was the first U.S. President to graduate from college? Where did he attend? When did he graduate? (2) Although 26 Presidents were lawyers, only one attended Harvard Law School. Which President? (3) Which of these Presidents never attended Harvard: (a) John Quincy Adams (b) William Howard Taft (c) Theodore Roosevelt (d) Franklin D. Roosevelt (e) James Monroe (4) Which President dropped out of Princeton but graduated from Harvard? (5) How many Presidents never attended any college?

FATHERS DAY FACT: In 1909, Mrs. John B. Dodd of Washington state proposed the idea of honoring the nation’s fathers. She was inspired by the memory of her father, a widower who raised six children. Father’s Day was first observed in Spokane, Washington in June, 1910, and in 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a national proclamation declaring the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.

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Answers: (1) John Adams, Harvard (class of 1775) (2) Rutherford B. Hayes (3) William Howard Taft and James Monroe (4) John F. Kennedy (5) Eight (Washington, Jackson, VanBuren, Taylor, Fillmore, Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Cleveland).

JUNE 2002

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MEDICAL UPDATE New York City • JUNE 2002 FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS

• 14

Athletes and Drugs…The High Price of Success By DR. RICHARD FRANCES AND NANCY HELLE The widespread use by athletes of “performance enhancing drugs” many of which are sold over the counter, was discussed at the recent seminar on Addiction Psychiatry at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, CT. Steroids and other “dietary supplements” sold in health food stores are commonly used, not only among professional athletes, but among college, high school and ever junior high school students, according to Dr. Robert B. Millman, a medical director of the major baseball leagues and Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. “Athletes take drugs for the same reasons as everyone else—performance enhancement, self medication, and recreational use. Performance enhancing drugs tempted Olympic contenders for over 2000 years. “To be the best, the swiftest and strongest,” from the beginning people took everything they could to help them compete. A l950s American Olympic coach noticed that foreign athletes were bigger and stronger, discovered they were taking steroids and introduced the concept to American athletes,” said Dr. Millman. “The current problem is athletes trying to beat the tests. Do we want sumo wrestlers or gladiators? Since the l950s, records document that athletes take drugs…steroids, testosterone and its derivatives—drugs with muscle building and sexual effects, increasing lean body mass, speed and aggressiveness and making females more virile with deeper voices,” he stated. When college students in a recent survey on performance enhancing drugs were asked, “If you knew you’d win or make the team by tak-

Dr. Richard Frances

ing steroids, but in five years you’d get sick, would you still do it?,” nearly all said yes. When the question was changed to “if you knew you would die within five years,” 65 percent still said yes. In most high schools today, 15 percent of the kids are taking steroids, testosterone, or other performance enhancing drugs purchased over the counter, said Dr. Millman. “When you combine weight training with steroids, there is no question that you get results.”

“However, if a young person hasn’t completed growing, these drugs stop bone growth. This is a major issue…the side effects are hypertrophied muscles and sexual organs, as well as acne, oily skin, and baldness in male and females. And the problem of withdrawal symptoms is like reverse anorexia; athletes feel like they can’t stop taking the drug. One negative symptom is hyper-alertness, a form of paranoia,” Dr. Millman said. People wrongly assume that what they buy over the counter is not harmful. “The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, states that ‘if you don’t claim your product cures an illness, there are no regulations on its sale.’ The ingredients don’t even have to be listed,” said Dr. Millman. “These pills are in everyone’s locker in professional sport. Olympic athletes have been busted for taking drugs which contains steroids, even if bought over the counter. It’s very difficult to get baseball players not to take steroids. They say, ‘I’m being offered a four million a year contract and if I don’t take the stuff, I won’t make the team’,” he said. You have to have a degree of narcissism to become a famous athlete or celebrity. If they don’t get admiration, they suffer from plummeting self-esteem. Most of us are not being graded every day as athletes are. They put themselves at risk due to ‘acquired narcissism.’ They think they can get away with taking drugs.” In asking, “Should we ban all performance enhancing pills?,” Dr. Millman concluded, “I feel that more of these supplements should be available only by prescription.”# Richard Frances, M.D. is the President and Medical Director of Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut.

BEYOND THE STETHOSCOPE POETRY By D. A. FEINFELD, M.D. GLOW-WORMS “I do not warm myself at fantastic fires and dance in the light of glow-worms.” —Robertson Davies What better light for dancing than the fickle glow of fireflies as males seek mates below? The sun paces our patient steps, but at dusk reason and color sneak off, leave gray wisps. Flames of evening snap and spurt as burning twigs, and the moon darts in and out of cloud and wind. Flashes of lightning-bugs fingertip the air, call our feet to kick to katydids’ fiddles, leap and cross like whirring beetle-wings. We dance till music ends in dull dawn. Where do glow-worms go by day when their sparks are cold? Behind the skein of sky they teach hiding stars to flicker and spin. Dr. D.A.Feinfeld is Professor of Clinical Medicine at SUNY Medical Center at Stony Brook and co-Chief of Nephrology at Nassau University Medical Center.

ADD children show undiagnosed vision problems A free screening may find the cause of your child’s concentration problems and these symptoms: • avoids reading, incomplete work, restless (caused by focus disorder) • loses place while reading, skips words, uses finger to follow (caused by poor control of eye movements) • slow work, poor handwriting (caused by poor eye-hand coordination) • poor word recognition, reverses letters, poor reading comprehension (caused by poor visualization)

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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MEDICAL UPDATE

Rockefeller U. Fellow Aspires To Make a Difference in Society & Science By MARYLENA MANTAS For Tshaka Cunningham, a graduate fellow at Rockefeller University and a recipient of the prestigious David Rockefeller fellowship, quality time with his grandmother transcended visits to the local playground. His own playground came in the form of a laboratory at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he spent most of his childhood afternoons with his grandmother, a staff researcher at NCI for 33 years. “From a very early age I thought the lab was fascinating. I was fascinated the first time she showed me cells. That was my draw to science. I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher,” says Cunningham. Today, Tshaka builds upon the foundation provided by his grandmother—a woman who managed to break gender boundaries at a time when few women, and especially AfricanAmerican women worked in the field—and conducts his own research at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in Manhattan. “I’ve always wanted to do HIV research,” says Cunningham, who studies a quirk of the HIV replication process. “So little is known about how HIV interacts with the immune system.” The research that he and his colleagues conduct is based upon the fact that each time HIV enters a cell a small percentage of its DNA fails to integrate with the cellular DNA and 2-LTR circles—a closed circle of viral DNA in the nucleus of the infected cell—form. Cunningham and his colleagues have learned that the 2-LTR circles remain stable for at least one month following infection of HIV and that

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(L-R) Tshaka Cunningham and his advisor, Mark Muesing, Ph.D.

they probably persist throughout the life of the cell. Because of the structure and newly understood stability, the circles are a possible platform for gene therapy based vaccines. Cunningham’s interest in science followed a natural progression, which build upon his grandmother’s influence and the internships he completed when he was a student at St. Albans High School in Washington DC. His interest in HIV intensified when he was at Princeton University, where he completed his undergraduate studies in molecular biology. An interaction with an acquaintance that worked in a heroin clinic, which eventually became an HIV Center due to the large number of patients infected, contributed to Cunningham’s research

EDITED By HERMAN ROSEN, M.D. Study of Cardiac Scarring That Leads to Heart Failure A new study from Weill Cornell Medical College supplies “important missing links” in our knowledge of “the causes, mechanism, and composition” of the scarring that occurs in heart muscle when there is cardiac valvular disease, according to the lead author, Dr. Jeffrey S. Borer, Professor of Medicine. The study, which is published in a recent issue of Circulation, suggests possible approaches to preventing scar formation and thus reducing both the risk of heart failure and the need for valve operations. Dr. Borer said that although physicians have

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an abnormal amount of the material that it produces as a scaffolding on which new muscle cells are arranged. To prevent scar formation, new drugs may be created, and the study identifies some of the specific chemical reactions in heart cells, which can be targeted by the new drugs. Dr. Borer adds that evaluation of these same chemical reactions may be useful in determining the need for valve surgery in asymptomatic patients. “The implications of these results are not limited to leaking heart valves,” Dr. Borer said. “The same mechanical strains that cause scarring when heart valves leak are present in the hearts of patients who suffer heart attacks, and are likely to be important causes of heart failure in these patients, too.” Thus, application of this knowledge may lead to treatments to prevent many causes of heart failure.# Herman Rosen, M.D. is Clinical Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

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arship from the Washington Post. “I did not have a professor take me under his wing. College is a point where you doubt yourself a lot.” How did he overcome the challenge? “I sat myself down and made it personal. I said Princeton is not going to beat me. I gave myself a pep talk. That turned me around,” he said. “I developed coping skills in college that I have taken with me.” After graduating from Princeton, Cunningham, the first male in his family to go to college, worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a few years. He quickly came to a crossroads. “I asked myself what would I do if I was not getting paid money,” he said. “And I chose science.” For the choices he made throughout his life, he gives credit to the influence of his mentors, which include his mother who was determined to provide her son with the best educational opportunities. “I knew two things when I was growing up. I was going to go to college and I was going to get a scholarship,” said Cunningham, recalling his frequent visits to the Foundation Library in Washington, DC where, as a result of his mother’s persistence, he found funding. Evidently, persistence, in Cunningham’s case has produced positive results. On future goals he says, “I want to make an impact as a scientist. I want to teach the next generation and to do that I have to make sure that I am well prepared. And, I want to make a change societally. If I could get one of the three, I’d be happy.” #

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choice. “[He asked me] can you do something? All of my friends are dying,” says Cunningham, whose senior thesis at Princeton focused on current strategies and future prospects for HIV. He added that his interest in the social implications of HIV, particularly related to the disproportionate number of African and AfricanAmericans infected, further enhanced his interest in researching the virus. “There need to be more African and AfricanAmerican scientists working on this topic,” urges Cunningham, who wishes to contribute to the improvement of minority recruitment in science. “It’s my social responsibility,” he says. “a responsibility that I am happy to take on.” In partnership with another student from Rockefeller University, Cunningham wishes to bring together African-American graduate students, who live in New York City and study science. He hopes that the team will be instrumental in mentoring and working with inner city youth. “You have to give the kid the fire. Science is a very intellectually rewarding field,” he says, while acknowledging that attempting to inspire youngsters to enter the research field is challenging. Not as challenging, however, as the social environment at Princeton, which provided Cunningham with what he considers the greatest challenge he had to overcome. “As a minority I felt all alone,” he says, of how he felt when he first arrived to Princeton, which he attended after receiving a full schol-

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EDUCATION UPDATE

Kids Hunt for Allergy Clues at Bronx Zoo By TOM KERTES What could zoos and allergies possibly have in common? According to Linda Corcoran of the Wildlife Conversation Society, zoos are educational places that also provide fun for children. Therefore, what better place to find out about allergies. If you turn kids into detectives as part of a Detective Weekend program, they can find allergy clues everywhere. The Detective Program has visited 14 zoos around the United States in the last two years, touching thousands of lives in a surprisingly significant way. “It’s significant, because allergies are a serious, ever-growing problem,” said Dr. Roberto Zambon, an internist at St. Luke’s- Roosevelt Hospital who’s affiliated with the project. “In fact, an estimated 41 million Americans suffer from the condition. Allergies cost U.S. companies more than $250 million last year. And amazingly we, as a people, are still exceedingly uninformed about it.” What are allergies? “They are a specific immunologic reaction – a heightened sensitivity, if you will — to a normally harmless substance that does not bother most people,” Dr. Zambon said. “It can cause watery eyes, sneezing, even sinus congestion for weeks at a time.” Why do people develop allergies? “It’s not yet fully understood, but heredity may very well be a factor,” said the doctor. Scientists believe that people inherit a tendency to be allergic, although not to any specific allergen. “If one parent is allergic, a child has a 25 per cent chance to develop allergies,” Dr. Zambon said. “If both parents have allergies, the chances rise to 75 per cent.” As part of the “Be a Zyrtec Detective” program, children received a “detective kit” upon

June in History Compiled by Chris Rowan Flag Day On June 14, 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States. Firsts in June: The first Republican national convention was held June 17, 1856. Samuel J. Battle became the first black New York City policeman on June 28, 1911. World History: In 1215 ( on June 15), King John of England signed the Magna Carta, considered the first step toward representative government in England.

FAMILY VACATIONS: Schedule some unscheduled time together. Woodland cabins with fireplaces. Waterfront. Canoes. Tennis. Meal plans. Call for Free Brochure. Loch Lyme Lodge 70 Orford Road, Lyme, NH 03768 1-800-423-2141

entering the zoo, complete with a clue map. As they toured through the various exciting attractions, including the monkeys, birds, and tigers, they sought out clue signs with allergy-related riddles. After all three clues had been solved, the letters received from each clue provided the answer to the final word jumble. Then the completed clue cards were redeemed for a prize at the Detective Zone, including a picture with Bunches – a friendly grape-colored ape character that appeared to be a close relative of Barney. The Detective Zone also included a “detective debriefing area” where kids, and their parents, could ask Dr. Zambon all kinds of information about allergies. A computer kiosk was even available to help adults identify their particular allergy profile. People with allergies are often sensitive to more than one substance. The most common ones are seasonal outdoor allergens like tree, grass, and weed pollen, and yearround indoor allergens such as dust particles, animal dander, and mold. “Some can be harder to treat than others,” Dr. Zambon said. “For allergy sufferers, understanding their unique profile can help the doctor select the treatment that works best.” Of course, as with so many other illnesses, prevention may be the best medicine. “The key to managing your allergies and your kids’ allergies is preventing a flare-up before the symptoms intensify,” Dr. Zambon said. The kid detectives learned that, in order to avoid allergy flare-ups, allergy-proofing the home and compliance with prescription medications are the best methods. “All signs point to the pollen level being extremely high, maybe the highest ever in fact, this year,” Dr. Zambon said. “So what a great time this is for children to learn about allergies.”#

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JUNE 2002

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S SEAT

Electives Can Be Enlightening By DR. CAROLE G. HANKIN WITH RANDI T. SACHS A great deal of pressure is placed on high school students to take the most challenging courses available to them in order to impress college admissions officers. The advice is valid, but if taken too literally it can restrict students from taking elective courses that just may have a strong impact on their lives. At a Board of Education meeting in Syosset, we recently had a demonstration of student work in architecture, which is a three-year sequence in our high school’s Technology Department. We were very impressed with the spectacular model homes the students had created, and the computer-aided design programs that they had mastered. When one of the students announced that he would be attending the United States Naval Academy in September and that as a result of his taking this course that he had chosen naval architecture as his field of study, I felt truly proud. Look at what participation in an “elective” course had done for this young man. It was incredible. High school is certainly a time for experimentation and growth and if your child is fortunate enough to attend a school that provides a wide range of electives, you should encourage him or her to explore courses other than AP and Honors classes. Elective classes can be found in such departments as Business, Technology, Family

Mentoring USA continued from page 9 options, and decided to concentrate on intensive, one-to-one tutoring in reading and math for the remaining mentoring sessions that spring. Through their combined efforts, coupled with the children’s hard work, every child passed and was promoted to the next grade. One young girl’s story is particularly poignant. Michelle was in seventh grade and had never learned her multiplication tables, which hampered her ability to understand more advanced math. Her mentor doubled up on mentoring sessions, coming twice a week, and drilled Michelle on her multiplication tables. Once she had mastered them, she was able to perform long division and other mathematical operations that had eluded her. This year Michelle graduated from the Mentoring USA program and was accepted into the highly selective LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. What a difference a mentor can make!

and Consumer Science, Health, Physical Education, Music, Art, Language, and others. A course in American Sign Language could spark an interest in working with hearing impaired individuals. A course in nutrition or cooking could bring out a student’s “inner chef” or restaurateur. A Health class in Peer Leadership can provide a unique opportunity for a student’s social growth and to experience working with peers and younger students as a mentor or advisor. Of course, elective classes can benefit all students, not just those hoping for acceptance to the Ivy League schools. Taking a sequence (three, four, or five years) can be a way to learn about a subject in depth. It can also serve as an outlet for creative or artistic students who choose sequences in art, music, or theater. And by completing a sequence in an elective rather than taking a number of very different courses, you are demonstrating a true interest in achieving a proficiency in that subject—another factor that is looked upon favorably by admissions officers at all types of colleges. If your child insists that there is no room in his or her schedule urge him or her to look again. Go through your high school’s course catalog together and read beyond the titles to see what the classes really cover. Consider also, that finding a course that engages your high school senior can be a great way to cure “senioritis” and keep him or her involved in school. Your child may discover new interests that can take him or her in an exciting and rewarding direction in life. # Dr. Hankin is the Superintendent of the Syosset School District in Long Island.

At this time of year, when graduation caps are flying, I recall the graduations of my own five children, from high school, college, and then graduate programs. It is such a tremendous source of pride for parents to watch their children fulfill their educational promise. It is our mission to impart this knowledge to children. My father’s lesson to me, “the best gift I can give you is a college education,” is perhaps even more true today in a tight job market. We encourage all parents, mentors, teachers, and friends to not merely help children to achieve the standards outlined by the Board of Education, but also to “raise the bar” with respect to both school and personal achievement. Children need to be taught how to do their best in all areas of their lives. It is up to us to work with parents to show children good work habits, solid values, discipline and respect for one another. Every graduate will succeed in life with these skills in place. # Matilda Cuomo is the former first lady of NY and founder and chairperson of Mentoring USA.

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JUNE 2002

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

F AMILY F UN IN THE E VERETT C HILDREN ’ S A DVENTURE G ARDEN This summer visit the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and discover why plants love summer almost as much as we do! The Everett Children’s Adventure Garden is a 12acre indoor/outdoor interactive museum where kids can have hands-on fun and learn about plants, science, and the natural world. Special Weekends In conjunction with our on-going programs we offer at the Garden, we also have special weekends for families including: June’s Blooms— Saturday and Sunday, June 8 and 9 The New York Botanical Garden is bursting with color and fragrance as the days stay brighter longer. This weekend get to know the trees at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden; create a tree art gift for dad for his special day using leaves, twigs, bark and tree cookies. Family activities include discovering what trees need to stay green and make their own food, creating collages and pendants using tree parts, making tree impressions in clay, potting up a plant to take home, and participating in a tree scavenger hunt. Saturday Afternoon Storytelling Series— June 15 - August 31 In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, master storytellers weave amazing tales about plants and wildlife, insects and animals, to keep kids spellbound. Famed performers are listed on the weekly schedule below. Performances take place at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. The following storytellers will be performing at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden: June 15: Brothers Grimm; June 22: Story

Laurie; June 29: Jerry Joy Music-Luis Miranda; July 6: Regina Ress; July 13: Brothers Grimm; July 20: Jerry Joy Music-Luis Miranda; July 27: Jonathan Kruk; August 3: Brothers Grimm; August 10: Story Laurie; August 17: Jerry Joy Music-Luis Miranda; August 24: Jonathan Kruk ; August 31: Brothers Grimm Ongoing Activities This Summer at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden: For Children of all ages Tuesday – Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m All throughout the season, children dissect plant parts like seeds and flowers, experiment to find out if plants make sugar, investigate bugs that help plants grow, use microscopes to see plants up close, press flowers and plants to take home, and much more. Children also discover what’s in a flower by taking apart and putting together a giant flower — and children have an opportunity to look at things through a bee’s eye view! Ages 2 – 5 Tuesday- Friday: 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. Budding Botanist Early Learner Activities include nature discovery, crafts, mini nature walks, storytime, and music making. Pasting, painting, potting, and playing engage the senses in indoor and outdoor galleries. Find a baby plant in a seed and take away your Garden memento to share with the folks at home. Summer Exhibits in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden at The New York Botanical Garden Travels of a Plant Scientist — Going on now through August 31

Explore what life is like for a traveling plant scientist. Sit in a botanist’s tent, use scientific tools, read jungle field journals, and contribute your own field drawing to the Garden’s wall journal, in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Roger Tory Peterson Institute Photography Exhibit — June 4 through July 28 Explore the beauty of plant and animal interactions through this series of striking nature photographs on loan from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Taking inspiration from the photographs, children investigate plants and animals and record their observations in field notebooks in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Bring Your Camp or Summer School Class To the Garden Take advantage of over 250 acres of gardens and children’s facilities. Explore the one-of-akind Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, a 12-acre, hands-on, indoor-outdoor museum with interactive exhibits. Giant topiaries and mazes capture children’s imaginations at every turn. Visit the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden where ponds teeming with life, a flourishing meadow, open-air pavilions, and Global Gardens beckon. To register, call (718) 8178181. For more information please call (718) 817-8700 or visit us on the web at www.nybg.org The Everett Children’s Adventure Garden has been made possible by the leadership generosity of Edith and Henry Everett.

SCHOOL

Requiem for Expertise continued from page 9 rather than custom-tailoring programs childby-child. It is painful for me to watch the inept handling of some of these children when I know what a team of instructional and clinical supervisors could accomplish if only their expertise was tapped into to improve and enhance classroom instruction for the special-needs child as well as the rest of the class. Indeed, some districts see my fellow special education professionals as superfluous. It doesn’t have to be this way. Inclusion works best when we include the experts. We have some very good examples right in our own backyard. Why does The Children’s School in District 15, an inclusion institution, work so well? Ask its principal, Lorraine Boylan, a special education professional. Why do District 75’s inclusion initiatives work? Look to the experts who support and train everyone in their classrooms and provide the supervisory oversight to protect the integrity of instruction. So my friend, I am pained that we must have more of these conversations about your grandchild. There is much you need to learn. I assure you, however, that the educational and instructional expertise he needs is available. And because of your new experiences, I am also sure you will have a newfound regard for the special education experts in your midst. And I also know that in the future you will probably be a little less comfortable supervising special education teachers now that you know how much you don’t know.# Jill Levy is the president of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators (CSA).

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Barnard Graduates Reminded to Turn Talents & Energies Outward in 1991. She spoke before a crowd packed into all corners of Lehman Lawn and Altschul Plaza for Barnard’s 110th commencement. She began by remembering the challenges she faced when she graduated 30 years ago from the University of Natal. Pursuing her M.D. as a black woman in apartheid South Africa was practically unheard of at the time. “Yes, that was eons ago, a continent away,” she said, “and the challenges I faced in a politically and socially complex South Africa were very different from the challenges you face as you enter the world today. The challenges you are facing are no less real and diffi-

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Teachers: It’s not too late to make your field trip plans for the spring! We have TWO new exhibits and TWO new films in the IMAX® Theater that cannot be missed! New Exhibits: Kid Stuff: Great Toys From Our Childhood (May 25, 2002 - January 6, 2003) If you built it, played it, or created it as a kid, chances are that it will be part of this traveling exhibit. Inspired by the book Kid Stuff: Great Toys from Our Childhood by David Hoffman, the exhibit is a remarkable presentation of more than 200 of the most popular toys of the past fifty years, from Tonkas and Tinkertoys, to Colorforms and Cooties, to Raggedy Anns and Radio Flyers. Get ready to throw Nerf balls at priceless crystal, rummage through clothes in an old trunk and play dress-up with a life-sized Mr. Potato Head, and share memories with your students. XFR: eXperiments in the Future of Reading (May 18 - September 15, 2002) Imagine a book as big as a table top with pages that turn when it tilts. Think of the possibilities of a Reading Eye Dog: a device that combines optical character recognition and speech synthesis to create a loveable reading companion. Or a children’s book that produces amazing sound effects when you “conduct” it with simple hand gestures. See all that’s new on the cutting edge of reading technologies in XFR. In the IMAX® Dome Theater: Australia: Land Beyond Time (May 18, 2002 - March 2003) Witness Australia’s birth as it broke away from Antarctica millions of years ago, and watch as the film captures in a beautiful ancient landscape fossilized evidence of the first life on earth. Explore how life has managed to adapt to the harsh environment and even flourish on the impoverished soils of Australia, revealing its spectacular landforms and strange and beautiful animals that populate it. See how the bounding giant red kangaroo has become more efficient than most athletes, and how plants and animals cooperate to maximize their chance of survival. Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West (May 18, 2002 - February 2003) Relive an amazing tale of discovery and exploration as National Geographic Films brings to life the first crossing of what would become the United States. With careful research and meticulous recreations, this scientific expedition lives again on the big screen. Two hundred years after their epic journey, go back in time with Lewis, Clark, their guide Sacagawea, and their brave Corps of Discovery, as they discover the adventure, danger, and wonder of the unmapped West. Also Showing: The Human Body (Through September 2002)

cult, however.” Reminding the graduates of the changes that have occurred, not only since they graduated from high school, but of the last few months, Ramphele said, “In today’s world, it is no longer possible to live a life in isolation, detached from the rest of the world.” Solving the growing AIDS crisis, world poverty, lack of education, and lack of clean water were issues she cited as ones for which the graduates “have an important role Members of the Barnard Class of 2002 to play.” She also called on the graduates to fight against gender discrimination Washington; and, Harold Varmus, cancer worldwide: “In no part of the developing world researcher, Nobel Laureate and head of the are women equal to men in legal, social, and National Institutes of Health, whose research economic rights. Gender gaps are widespread in has led to great strides in the understandings, access to and control of resources, in economic diagnosis and treatment of a variety of cancers. opportunities, in power, and political voice. In a Barnard Commencement tradition, the Women and girls bear the largest and most Frank Gilbert Bryson Prize was given to the direct costs of these inequalities – but the costs graduate whose classmates voted to have concut broadly across society, ultimately harming tributed the most to Barnard in her time as a stueveryone.” dent. This year the prize went to Kathryn Ramphele closed with a quote from William Curran. Keeping with tradition, no student James: “The great use of life is to spend it for knew who would receive the award until the something that will outlast it.” moment President Judith Shapiro announced Also receiving the Barnard Medal of the name. Distinction were: Barbara Novak ‘50, Barnard President Shapiro praised the graduating class Professor Emerita of Art History and one of the for their learning of the past year, citing the most influential theorists of American art; Alice interfaith dinner organized during Ramadan by M. Rivlin, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies Columbia/Barnard Hillel and the Muslim at the Brookings Institute and Henry Cohen Student Organization: “I would like to believe Professor of Urban Management and Policy at that the students who attended that dinner are the Milano Graduate School, New School viewing the current hostilities from a broader, University, a highly regarded policy maker in more critical and informed perspective.”# Photos by Elissa Matsueda

Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, activist, educator and managing director of the World Bank, spoke to a graduating class of 550 women on their responsibilities and opportunities as Barnard graduates and as women. “There is a pressing need,” she said, “for you to turn your exceptional talents, sensitivities and energies outward: to the community, the society, and the world at large, and the many problems that deprive billions of your fellow citizens of a secure, dignified and meaningful existence.” Ramphele received the Barnard Medal of Distinction, one of the College’s highest honors,

NJ Asst. Principal Reflects on HS Graduation By GINA M. VERRONE As we approach the closing months of school, students, teachers, parents and administrators across our great nation will find themselves reflecting on the future of the young adult lives that are a part of the graduating Class of 2002. Students in our high schools today are faced with the challenges and promises of tomorrow. As an administrator, I have been touched by the accomplishments of many students. However it is one student in particular this year who has provided tremendous hope and comfort to many of his peers. Christopher Cimorelli will be graduating from Pequannock Township High School on June 14. I had the opportunity to sit down with this fine young man and discuss with him his experiences as a high school student and the excitement he is embracing with regard to his future. Chris reflected all the way back to sixth grade and how it was at this time he dedicated himself to going to a military academy. When the question of why was posed to him, he poignantly stated, “I have a desire to make a difference and be in receipt of a prestigious honor.” In wake of the trials our country is facing, I personally want to thank Chris Cimorelli for restoring in me the faith that the work we do as educators most certainly is making a difference. I asked Chris if his desire to serve his country increased after September 11th. Without hesitation, he responded, “This made me want to serve my country more.” While I

can cite statistics about Chris, (4.4 GPA, 1310 on the SAT, in the top 5 of his class, Boys’ State representative, Peer Leader, National Honor Society member and secretary, Spanish Honor Society member and vice president, boys’ track, Concert Choir, varsity football captain and Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholar), it is not these figures that separate him from thousands of others who might have a similar profile. It is his strong character and commitment to our country on a daily basis that prompted West Point Military Academy to appoint him membership to the Class of 2006. When I asked Chris about his heroes he mentioned Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur; how they changed history and influenced the United States of America in a more positive way. Heroes may be defined differently by many of us, but Chris’ greatest hero has been his father, a lieutenant in the New Jersey State Police, who has instilled in him a tremendous work ethic. Chris is not influenced by titles or names; he respects most what people stand for and their values. As an educator, I am proud to have known the student leader, role model and graduating senior called Christopher Cimorelli. In his own words, “the sacrifices made along the more difficult path will allow a person to achieve more than he or she ever thought possible.” Gina M. Verrone is an assistant principal at Pequannock Township High School in northern New Jersey.

C OLUMBIA U NIVERSITY : P RES . R UPP ’ S L AST G RADUATION More than 10,000 students from Columbia, Barnard and Teachers College participated in the 2002 Columbia University Commencement ceremony, which took place on Low Plaza on Wednesday, May 22nd, while more than 20,000 family members and friends looked on from the white chair rows of South Lawn. President George Rupp officiated his last graduation before stepping down from his position in July. Former Senator George Mitchell, author Joan Didion and Columbia President-elect Lee Bollinger were among those who received honorary degrees. Also receiving honorary degrees were Brown University President Ruth Simmons, Latin American literary scholar Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, neuropsychologist Brenda Milner, and Jack Beeson, Columbia’s MacDowell Professor Emeritus of Music. Molecular biologist and geneticist George Yancopoulos received the University Medal of Excellence, which is given each year

to a Columbia alumnus who has made significant contributions to society. Each school within the University also held its own graduation ceremony. The featured speakers at these ceremonies represented a variety of fields, including politics, business and academia. The following are excerpts from President Rupp’s speech: “Our destiny cannot be divorced from the fate of the rest of the world, including those furthest from us in geography, ideology, and socioeconomic status. The United States may be the world’s lone superpower. But we cannot simply impose our will, even on those who seem relatively powerless.” “One challenge we face together is, then, to make globalization work for the impoverished as well as the wealthy. To meet this challenge will certainly require more generous programs of foreign assistance than the post-Cold War world has so far produced. But it will also

NY Medical College: Paul LeClerc Honored Paul LeClerc, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of the New York Public Library, addressed graduates of New York Medical College, Valhalla at the university’s 143rd Commencement. The university awarded 195 doctor of medicine (M.D.) degrees, 98 master of science (M.S.) degrees, 49 master of public health (M.P.H.) degrees and 8 doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. Dr. LeClerc, who received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree, has led the New York Public Library, an American treasure and a New York City landmark, since 1993. Previously he served as president of Hunter College, as university dean and acting vice chancellor for academic affairs of the City University of New York (CUNY), and as provost and vice president for academic affairs at CUNY’s Baruch College. The university also awarded an honorary doctor of science degree to Catherine N. Hinterbuchner, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the College. A resident of Rye, N.Y., Dr. Hinterbuchner served as chief of rehabilitation medicine at Metropolitan Hospital Center from 1964 until last December, the first woman in Metropolitan’s history appointed to the position. She continues to serve as chief of rehabilitation medicine at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx. A member of the

Paul LeClerc, President of the NYPL

college faculty for nearly 40 years, she became the first female department chair in 1971.#

B ANK S TREET C OLLEGE By POLA ROSEN, Ed.D. The clattering of the silver and excited voices of graduates and faculty suddenly stopped at the gala commencement luncheon as President Augusta Kappner began to speak. In her customary warm manner, she congratulated the 266 masters students who were about to embark on their new careers. Dean Jon Snyder followed quipping about “not leading the graduates but being led by them.” He introduced honorary doctoral recipient Dr. Michele Fine who proceeded to congratulate Bank Street for “daring to imagine what’s possible;” she then cast shame on our country for depriving public education of funds while more prisons are being built. Her statistics were staggering: in California 40-60 per cent of teachers have emergency certification. In Seward Park High School, there are 1194 students in the 9th grade and 137 in the 12th grade. In John Jay

entail designing incentives and, when necessary, enforcement mechanism to assure that all the players follow the rules of the game.” “So today we are challenged to rethink and re-order the ways we live together. First, globalization requires a reorientation of our stance in the international arena—a reorientation that recognizes how intimately we are interconnected with even those most distant from us. And second, along with our embrace of markets, we must affirm the legitimate role of public institutions in requiring adherence to rules of conduct and standards of quality to which all participants are held accountable.” #

New School University: Pres. Kerrey Reflects on 9/11 Excerpts of President Robert Kerrey’s Commencement Address: “Today we grant 892 undergraduate and 784 graduate degrees to students from 100 countries and all continents on the face of the earth except Antarctica. At the Graduate Faculty our graduates have learned to understand what it means to be human and to help us understand what is going on between human beings throughout the world. At Parsons School of Design our graduates have gained the ability to design solutions to human problems and to create art which helps us understand our humanity. At Eugene Lang College our students have gotten a progressive education in small, seminar style classes. At the Actors Studio Drama school our students now have the skills to write, direct and act the stories that allow us to connect with the pathos and humor of our lives. At Mannes College of Music our students have prepared for orchestral and operatic careers in order to bring music’s unique power into our lives. At the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program our students have acquired a thorough grounding in a special and endangered idiom which has the capacity to change the way we feel about our lives. At the Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy our students have thoroughly prepared themselves to solve the problems of modern urban civil society. And, finally, at The New School our students have juggled careers and classes and faced other obstacles in their pursuit of greater knowledge and richer lives. “Students aren’t the only ones facing challenges at our university. This is my second commencement and I have learned a lot since last year. Most of all I have learned how much love there is between the students, faculty and staff

E DUCATION : I NTEGRAL

High School there are 1335 students in the 9th grade and 145 in the 12th grade. According to Fine, “it’s nobody’s fault and it’s everyone’s responsibility.” Fine credited President Kappner with ensuring that a college education should be a right for everyone including prisoners in Bedford Hills, New York. Expressing her outrage for social injustice, Fine stressed to the assembly, “that’s your work when you graduate.” Citing teachers who dare to fight for fiscal equity, Fine concluded that “there is no peace without justice. May we all grow up to be half the woman that Gussie Kappner is.” Two honorary doctorates were awarded to husband and wife team Dr. Mindy Fullilove, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Dr. Gary Fullilove, Associate Dean of the Columbia School of Public Health for their seminal work on

Columbia University Graduates

Graduating students from the Actors Program performed “Rush.”

of New School University. I have seen that love expressed by men and women who were willing to go above and beyond the call after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. The men and women who have chosen to work and teach at this university simply decided to work a little harder, to sustain the effort through physical fatigue and in short do the one thing that has confounded skeptics over and over again: They refused to give up. “Let me stop my address and gaze across the faces of great accomplishment and promise, and say: I am proud of your success, hopeful for your future, and prayerful for the courage you will need to carry you through the fascinating disappointments of every good life. Best wishes to you all.” Honorary degrees were presented to investment banker and New School Trustee Henry H. Arnold; President and CEO of Thirteen/WNET William F. Baker; Middle Eastern historian Bernard Lewis; jazz singer Abbey Lincoln; Chairman of the September 11th Fund Franklin A. Thomas; and Chairman and CEO of Tishman Realty & Construction and New School Trustee John L. Tishman.#

B UILDING A B ETTER W ORLD

HIV/Aids. Dr. Mindy Fullilove expressed how special this graduation was in being the first to take place after 9/11. While she underscored social justice as being high on the agenda, she noted that “the great thing about this luncheon was the family of Bank Street giving gratitude for the bounty that learning gives us in the company of one another.” Dr. Fullilove spoke about the importance of “holding the community together and then aiming for an educated populace.” The fourth honorary doctorate was awarded to David Waltenberg, an illustrious teacher of children at Bank Street for many years. He spoke of teaching as the most “fun and rewarding work that anyone can do.” Of primary importance in early childhood education, according to Waltenberg, is the relationship of trust and profound respect between teacher and child as well

Honorary doctorate recipients

as teacher and parent.” In 1916, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, founder of Bank Street College of Education said, “We as teachers are integral to building a better world.” These words have even greater significance in 2002 and are clearly the mission at Bank Street. Auguri to its graduates!#

BOOK REVIEWS

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EDUCATION UPDATE

Logos Bookstore’s Recommendations By H. Harris Healy, III, President, Logos Bookstore, 1575 York Avenue (Between 83rd And 84th Sts.), New York, New York 10028 (212) 517-7282, Fax (212) 517-7197; WWW.NYCLOGOS.CITYSEARCH.COM With springtime here and summer just around the corner, now is the time to walk the city for enjoyment and come visit Logos and take advantage of the Spring and Summer midweek sales at Logos, every Tuesday through Thursday: Tuesday, June 5-Thursday, June 7, all The Little Big Hardcover Biographies Book for Dads 20% off. Tuesday, June edited by Lena 12- Thursday June 14, all Tabori and Photography and Art Hiro Clark books 20% off, Tuesday, Wakabayashi, June 19-Thursday, June designed by 21, all Hardcover Fiction Timothy Shaner 20% off and Tuesday, (Welcome June 26-Thursday June Books, $24.95) 28, all Hardcover Poetry and Hardcover Mysteries 20% off. While you are in the store you might want to look at The Little Big Book for Dads, edited by Lena Tabori and Hiro Clark Wakabayashi, Book Magazine’s Book of the Year Award Winner, and The Little Big Book for Moms edited by Lena Tabori and Alice Wong. Both books, designed by Timothy Shaner, are wonderful collections of retold fairytales, meditations on being Dads and Moms by well-known authors, folksongs, poetry, nursery rhymes, stories, recipes, finger games, activities, jokes and tongue twisters accompanied by marvelous illustrations of children, animals and fairy tale characters. Each book has a ribbon bookmark so you will not lose your place in this enchanted world. Other books in the series are: The Little Big Book for Grandmothers and The Little Big Book For God’s Children, edited by

C HILDREN ’ S B OOKS Summertime and the reading is easy! Beat the heat and venture into the pages of a cool

Lena Tabori and Alice Wong, The Little Big Book Of Animals edited by Lena Tabori and Katrina Fried and The Little Big Book of Chills and Thrills edited by Lena Tabori and Natasha Tabori Fried, all available at Logos. Aside from these books, Logos has an extensive collection of children’s books, parenting, The Little Book health and psychology for Moms books, cookbooks, sciedited by Lena ence and nature, poetry, Tabori and fiction, biographies, hisAlice Wong, tory, philosophy, spiritudesigned by ality and religion. In the Timothy Shaner area of religion, Logos (Welcome has a wide range of Books, $24.95) books on Christianity from Eastern Orthodoxy to Paul Tillich including Roman Catholicism, books on the saints and evangelical authors such as Billy Graham, John Stott and James Packer. Judaica is also wellrepresented as well as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism and Celtic religion. Logos also sells a variety of distinctive greeting cards, music and gift items. Transit: #4,#5,#6 Lexington Avenue Subway to 86th St., M15 Bus (First & Second Aves.), M86 Bus (86th St.), M79 Bus (79th St.), M31 Bus (York Ave.) Upcoming Events At Logos Wednesday, June 6, 2002, 7 P.M., KYTV Reading Group will discuss Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw Wednesday, July 3, 2002, 7 P.M., KYTV Reading Group will discuss The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch.

book. PICTURE BOOK: AGES 6 THRU 8 Summer Sun Risin’ by W. Nikola-Lisa. Illustrated by Don Tate. (Lee and Low, unpaged, $16.95). As the morning sun rises, an

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JUNE 2002

Mother & Sons Write On Diabetes By MERRI ROSENBERG For families struggling with a child’s chronic illness, managing the physical practicalities and emotional turbulence can be a challenge. Initially overwhelmed by the sheer shock of the diagnosis, it is all too easy for youngsters and their parents to dwell on the dangers and difficulties of their condition. In these two volumes– one written by two brothGetting a Grip ers, now young men who on Diabetes were each diagnosed with by Spike childhood diabetes while Nasmyth Loy still in elementary school, and Bo and one written by their Nasmyth Loy mother– the emphasis is The American placed on the positive. Diabetes While neither downplays Association the serious medical issues (2000) that diabetes poses, rather than focusing on the limitations that diabetes could potentially present to children and teenagers, these slim volumes offer practical information to help families manage the disease, instead of being managed by it. As Mrs. Loy writes, “We like to focus on what can go right with diabetes.” Both books are engaging, with a breezy tone that strongly communicates to the reader that the authors understand fully the realities of living with diabetes without terrifying a newly-diagnosed youngster or his parents. Perhaps it helped Spike and Bo that, by being diagnosed at the ages of seven and six respectively, living with diabetes was simply the normal backdrop of their lives. It’s as if someone with blond hair and freckles accepts without question the need for a sun hat and sun block to venture outside, or someone who is quite tall knows that he has to duck for doorsills. Neither of these books dwells on self-pity, nor on any kind of existential angst about being stricken with the illness. The boys’ book covers everything from participating in sports, attending teenage parties, traveling, hiking and camping, to how to make the proctors during SATs and Advanced Placement exams understand why a diabetic student needs frequent snack breaks. Unlike earlier generations, perhaps, where a diabetic would have kept his condition to himself, the Loys are strong advocates of telling everyone they know about their disease. The reason? A fairly important one, as the more friends and classmates who know about what happens to a diabetic whose sugar levels are falling or rising, the better the chances that someone can offer life-saving help. Many of the suggestions have to do with food: the kinds of meals and snacks diabetic children and teenagers need to have during the course of a

normal day, and how to make modifications if they’re participating in vigorous exercise or other events. Just as important, and practical, is their check list for what children should carry in their cooler–foods, snacks, and drinks like Gatorade– and medication bag, and the kinds of equipment needed in what they call the ‘diabetic drawer’ in Real Life their household. Parenting of Other recommendations Kids with are just as useful, like Diabetes wearing a medical identiby Virginia fication tag and a diabetes Nasmyth Loy identification tag, so that a The American local pharmacist could Diabetes help a diabetic in crisis without the need for a preAssociation scription. Or, when look(2001) ing at potential college campuses, discussing with the school’s office of disabled students’ services how that particular school makes accommodations for diabetic students in terms of having 24hour food available or allowing for food during an examination. Similarly, Virginia Loy’s guide, geared for the parents of diabetic children and teenagers provides ample lists for stocking the family kitchen, including what to take on road trips (even for something as small as an away-soccer match). Mrs. Loy also offers practical strategies for explaining a child’s medical condition to the people who need to know about it–the school nurse, the bus driver and monitor, classroom teacher, and even substitute teachers. To her credit, Mrs. Loy does not shy away from confronting the issues that all protective parents have to deal with when their once-biddable and obedient young children are transformed into independent-minded pre-teens and teenagers. She doesn’t pretend that teenagers don’t eat fast food, or possibly drink at parties; what she does is give guidelines that parents can use with both their own children, and their offspring’s friends, to be sure that in the balancing act between independence and protection, a diabetic won’t come to harm. And Mrs. Loy, in a section clearly labeled for parents only, confronts head-on the fears that parents of diabetics live with: that their beloved children may go blind from the disease, that dating may be difficult or that future grandchildren may be afflicted with the disease. These books would be a valuable addition, if not to a classroom teacher’s library, then at least to a school library as a resource for children, teachers and other staff alike.#

African-American boy begins his routine day on the family farm. In simple, handmade typeface, these rhymes are as comforting and lulling as a lovely summer day: “Bee in the hive/ fruit on the trees./ Summer sun’s stirrin’/ a summertime breeze.” Apple Pie Fourth of July by Janet Wong. Illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. (Harcourt, unpaged, $16.00). Do Americans eat chinese food on the Fourth of July? A ChineseAmerican girl is plagued with the anxiety that customers won’t be ordering chow mein or any other dish on this most American of celebrations. How can her parents be so naive as to open shop for business? A child’s fear about cultural differences is rendered with cheerful and bright illustrations as spirited as the holiday. FICTION: AGES 8 THRU 10 That Summer by Tony Johnson. Illustrated by Barry Moser. (Harcourt, 32 pp., $16.00). The freedom of school ending and the start of bliss-

ful summer is harrowingly short-lived when the Fourth of July finds Joey suddenly terminally ill. His brother narrates this story of loss with heartbreaking simplicity. Moser’s artwork respectfully reflects the moments of sorrow. As his dedication reads: “For all the courageous people who care for terminally ill children...” POETRY: AGES 8 THRU 12 Summersaults by Douglas Florian. (Greenwillow, 48 pp., $15.89). Simple rhyming verses capture the essence of summer and all its fun-filled activities from jump-roping to baseball. Clever wordplay adds humor and lighthearted zest to this most carefree of seasons: “June: We seeded/ July: We weeded/ August: We eated.” Watery colors drench the pages with a palette of blues, yellows, oranges and greens. Selene S. Vasquez is a media specialist at Orange Brook Elementary School in Hollywood, Florida. She is formerly a children’s librarian for the New York Public Library.

JUNE 2002

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EDUCATION UPDATE

Queensborough Community College Establishes Language Program for Immigrants Queensborough Community College (QCC) has been awarded a $300,000 grant to fund the Queens Civics Collaboration of the City University of New York (QCCC), a partnership program between Queensborough, Queens College, and the CUNY School of Law. This grant will provide both English language and civics education to the adult and out-ofschool youth immigrant population in the borough of Queens. Participating students will study various aspects of American culture and government. As part of the program’s emphasis on both civic participation and technology-based learning, the program, beginning this summer, will offer a theme-based curriculum for students as a means of preparing them for effective communication in a variety of media. Instruction in the functions of government and civic rights and responsibilities will also be stressed. Information from the latest census reveals the increasingly diverse makeup of the Queens populace. The Latino population within the borough increased 46 percent over the past decade, and the Asian population grew 7 percent, highlighting an overall increase in immi-

gration during the time period. This has created demand for programs to assist this population’s assimilation into the overall Queens community. “The impetus of this program grew out of the tremendous growth of non-native immigrants into the Queens community,” says Professor Kitty Bateman, Director of the QCC Literacy Program, who will serve as director and be responsible for implementing some of the curricula. “It’s essential to integrate these new immigrants into the already existing institutions of our community, and this program is a direct response to this need. The number of seats currently available in Queensborough’s Literacy Program does not meet the demand for instruction.” The program, an expansion of the already existing adult literacy program established at QCC, is an outgrowth of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, a Federal program whose partial goal is “to consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training, literacy, and vocational rehabilitation programs in the United States.”

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MODERN LANGUAGES

L ANGUAGE E VENTS Dr. David Birdsong to Give Presentation on Late Learning of Second Languages

Dual Language Education in the New Millennium Summer Institute

Dr. David Birdsong (Ph.D., Romance Languages, Harvard University), Associate Professor of French Linguistics at the University of Texas, Austin, and visiting professor at Georgetown University will lecture on “Nativelike Attainment in Late Second Language Acquisition” in Washington, D.C. on June 5th. The Critical Period Hypothesis for language acquisition puts forth the idea that people who learn a second language later in life are not able to achieve native likeness of that second language. However, newer research suggests that 10 percent or more of adults who study a second language reach native ability on tasks relating to grammar and pronunciation. The lecture will take place at the Center for Applied Linguistics on 4646 40th Street N.W. in Washington, D.C. on June 5th, 2002, from 3:00-4:30. The Center can be contacted at (202) 3620700. #

The second annual “Dual Language Education in the New Millennium Summer Institute” will take place in the Hastings Hotel on 85 Sigourney Street in Hartford Connecticut on June 28 and June 29. The program will address a wide variety of topics regarding dual language education including strategies and techniques for the bilingual, mainstream, and dual language program classrooms. The Institute will bring together nationally recognized experts in dual language education and research as well as teachers, administrators, curriculum specialists, policy-makers and others interested in the subject. Educators can earn continuing education units for 1.2 hours of institute participation. For more information call the Bilingual/Bicultural Department at (860) 6958449 or (860) 695-8444, or visit www.hartfordschools.org.#

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tion and develops and manipulates class rosters. For example, the program assigns students to homeroom classes by criteria set by the school staff. Part time teacher schedules can also be easily accommodated. Parent-teacher conferences and student data can be recorded and reports generated. The software can also incorporate a homework hotline, attendance calling, and reporting of grades and attendance. This excellent organizer and time saver is made by MasComm Systems and can be ordered from [emailprotected] or 888729-8223.#

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157th Commencement at Fordham U STUDIES IN EDUCATION BACHELOR OF ARTS MASTER OF ARTS MASTER OF EDUCATION CERTIFICATE OF ADVANCED GRADUATE STUDY

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Washington, D.C., who was presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters. The Rev. Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, noted “when Ted McCarrick left the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University at the end of his sophomore year to attend St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, fellow members of the Fordham College Class of 1954 predicted that someday he would be an archbishop. Today, 50 years later, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, past Archbishop of Newark, founding bishop of the diocese of Metuchen, returns to Rose Hill, his classmates’ expectations more than fulfilled.” John D. Feerick, retiring dean of Fordham Law School, received an honorary doctorate of laws. Sister Francesca Thompson, O.S.F., associate professor of African and African American studies and assistant dean/director for multicultural programs at Fordham, received an honorary doctorate of fine arts.#

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Retired AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald M. Levin told more than 10,000 graduates and their families at Fordham University’s 157th Commencement that technology is important, but love and compassion create a better world. Levin told graduates to strive to love not only their families, but also those who struggle daily to overcome hunger and poverty. “Each of us has not only a mind that can conceive of a world better that we have and haven’t,” said Levin, who received an honorary doctorate of humane letters, honoris causa. “We also have a heart that can show us how to seek that world. And we have a will, a will that can enable us to try.” Levin explained to the graduates that although technology provides the world with the means to heal itself, it is not enough to make us see the common humanity that binds together all the people of the world. “This sometimes cruel, often callous, always imperfect world of ours needs you very badly,” said Levin. “It needs the knowledge, the expertise that you have been getting here at Fordham. It needs your faith, your hope and hard work. Even more, it needs your love, your compassion and commitment to shine forth for all of us and show us how to live as well as survive.” Levin recalled the example set by his late son John, who “chose to invest his life in a classroom not far from here in the South Bronx where he awoke the talent and dreams of students seeking to escape the nightmare cycle of discrimination, deprivation and despair.” Levin remembered that his son “loved in a way that causes ordinary men and women in every corner of the world to stop ignoring the injustice and start fighting.” In presenting Levin’s honorary doctorate, Paul B. Guenther, chair of Fordham’s Board of Trustees, noted that “in the information age, a new kind of business leader is needed, one who can recognize the opportunities implicit in technological discoveries and at the same time appreciate the challenges that come with such opportunities. In a remarkable career that spans four decades, Gerald M. Levin has demonstrated both the strategic vision and the skills necessary to bring diverse interests and personalities together in the pursuit of a pioneer project.” Also receiving an honorary degree was Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of

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opera-going public, especially young people, was to bring in subtitles – an inspired idea that James Levine was not yet ready to embrace. He shrugs his shoulders in bemused recollection. Mortimer Levitt is a man of discreet charm and fixed determination. A high school drop out himself, he looked around with pleasure at the eager high school juniors who had gathered on that rainy afternoon, beneficiaries of his select caring and largesse, and there was no doubt: Mortimer Levitt had more than earned an advanced degree or two in smarts. Mortimer (after whom the elegant East Side restaurant Mortimer’s was named, now known as Swifty’s) also proffered as how he was delighted to be the contest founder and honored guest that day of Lewis Burke Frumkes, the director of the Marymount Manhattan College Writing Center, which sponsored the event. There was no need for a formal speech, however: Mortimer Levitt, simply by his presence, was holding court. Not even the earlier thunderstorms, one could well assume, would have kept him away.

In bringing greetings to the group, Marymount Manhattan president, Judson R. Shaver thanked Mortimer, his gracious wife, and the students for having demonstrated the importance of writing as thinking. It was a theme that was addressed by Daphne Merkin, freelance writer and culture critic at the New Yorker, the Contest’s final judge, and later that day by William Zinsser, Marymount’s Writerin-Residence at The Writing Center, who spoke of the importance of writers, having to jumpstart themselves, be flexible, and have a sense of humor. When the five contest finalists were finally placed in order, the event was no less cause for smiling; the runners up – Jennifer Gonzalez of The High School for Environmental Studies; and Jessica Ventura of Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers – each received a bond of $100, a certificate of appreciation, and the admiration of attending principals, families and friends. After the third- and second-place winners were announced– Nicole Burgan of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music &

Photo by Alex Schierman

‘K EEP S MILING ’ A T M ARYMOUNT M ANHATTAN C OLLEGE By JOAN BAUM Recently, at Marymount Manhattan College “Keep Smiling,” the watchwords of 94-year old philanthropist Mortimer Levitt’s life and philosophy of life, needed no prompt: to be elicited. Smiles came naturally from him and from the five happy New York City high school students who gathered in the College’s Mezzanine to celebrate their having been finalists in the first Mortimer Levitt Essay Contest on the theme of – what else! – Keep Smiling. Asked where the phrase came from, the irrepressibly upbeat, nattily dressed bon vivant flicked a black-gloved hand, looked over at his admiring wife Mimi, and replied with a mischievous grin, “you could kill yourself if you don’t.” He then quickly launched into a flawless nonstop short disquisition on the (usually less than admirable) interests of college students today, noting that one of his recent projects has been fashioning syllabi for culture in the classroom. After all, he noted, it was he who over 30 years ago had suggested to the Met that the way to increase the size of the

Mortimer Levitt with Winning Essayists

Art and Performing Arts, who was awarded $250, and Jessica Bayner of The Bronx High School of Science, who won $500–Master of Ceremonies Frumkes suggested that logic prevailed, and one could now easily infer that Denise Friedman of Midwood High School was the first-place winner and the happy recipient of a $1,000 bond. The winning essay follows below. #

Midwood High School Essay Winner Receives $1000 “Smile With Your Eyes” By DENISE ELYSABETH FRIEDMAN I’m fat. Not ugly, but fat. That right away separates me from most girls my age. Another thing that separates me is that I know the difference between fat and ugly, and that none of it really matters as long as you know how to keep smiling. Fat is a fact, not an opinion. Someone 4’11 and

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300 pounds is fat. There is no such thing as “thinking you’re fat.” A person either is or isn’t. Fat is an adjective, the same way as thin, tall, short, blue, and green are adjectives. I never used to see it that way. I always thought that something was wrong with me, that I was defective because I was fat. Now, I’ve realized that being fat doesn’t make you ugly. Being ugly makes you ugly. I’m not even talking about things that are strictly physical. Someone who is rude, nasty, mean or anything like that instantly becomes physically repulsive, where someone who may not be the stereotypical beauty could be the most amazing person in the world. I know I’m not classically beautiful, but I know how to smile, and to keep smiling. One of the tricks is to walk the right way. I know that I feel low when I don’t look good, because it’s a cycle. Looking good and feeling good are directly connected. If you wake up feeling sad, then you won’t put as much effort into how you look, and then when you look in the mirror you’ll feel sad all over again. It’s no different for a size 18 woman than for a size 4

woman. I wear dark boot cut jeans, V-neck shirts, and black boots with my black coat. I put effort into my looks, and my weight doesn’t matter. I walk with a strut, not in a egotistical way, but in a way that says, “I know who I am, what I am, and there’s absolutely nothing any of you can do about it.” All that works, all of that attitude, it all amounts to nothing without a smile. People think the mouth is where the smile is really found, but that’s not where. The smile is really found in the eyes. When I walk down the hall, shoulders straight, hips swinging, the sound of my boots hitting the floor as I make my way through the world, I feel just as good, if not better, than a woman who weights 90 pounds. And it shows in my eyes. My perfectly arched eyebrows and dark, dramatic eye makeup frame a smile in my eyes no match for the smile on anyone else’s face. I’ve learned that no matter what life throws me, no matter how different I may seem to be, no matter how much I weigh, as long as I keep smiling, everything will be okay.#

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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JUNE 2002

An Ongoing Series of Interviews with Deans of Education

NYU D EAN

E DUCATION : A NN M ARCUS

BY MARYLENA MANTAS “Teaching is a very difficult job and it needs to be a respectable middle class profession,” says Ann Marcus, Dean of the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. Since 1989 Marcus has led the school of education, which traces its origins to the School of Pedagogy established at NYU in 1890 and was the first education school of its kind in the United States. Today the school prepares approximately 2,300 undergraduate and 4,500 graduate students to enter the field of education. Over 80 percent of its graduates teach in the public school system. “Teacher quality is the single most important thing. What we need are highly competent, experienced people,” says Marcus of the current challenges facing public school education. She cited the lack of certified teachers and the low retention rate as education’s primary challenges and emphasized that new teachers need support. “Under any circumstances teaching is a difficult job in the first years,” she said. According to Marcus, several factors can bring more individuals to the teaching profession, including providing youth with positive exposure to teaching through internships. She also suggests creating mechanisms to support the number of new people entering the teaching profession, such as the establishment of a fiveyear program that allows students to complete their Bachelors and Masters degrees in education in five years. In addition, she emphasized that career changers must be supported and that immersion programs must be established to allow current uncertified teachers to gain certification. “A source for certified teachers has to be the current uncertified teachers. There needs to be a huge investment in helping them get their degrees,” says Marcus, adding that “the basic strength of the profession can be found in the people who want to go into teaching.” To address the retention of teachers, Marcus underscored that new teachers must be supported as soon as they enter the profession and be provided with professional development. In addition she highlighted that an improvement in working conditions, such as an increase in

stud

tricts and districts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Northern Virginia, “is designed to identify and assist those first grade children who are at maximum risk of reading failure.” In addition to providing teacher training and technical assistance to school administrators, the program provides students with oneon-one intervention for up to 12 weeks. According to Marcus, 80 percent of the students who receive intervention never fall behind again. Other programs administered through the NYU Steinhardt School of Education include, The Professional Development Laboratory, The Institute for Education and Social Policy, and The Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. “[Over the years schools of education have become] more connected to urban education and more focused on the broad issues of training, rather than just training teachers,” Marcus said, adding that NYU has a long tradition of such collaborations. “We’ve insisted that our faculty remain involved with the community.” An emphasis on research remains an integral

Dean Ann Marcus

part of Marcus’ vision for the Steinhardt School of Education and for its students, whom she characterized as “young, diverse, idealistic” individuals who come to NYU “wanting to be teachers.” “I’d like us to become more of a leading center of research because we are a leader in practice,” she said. “Teachers should know not only how to understand research, but also how to do research in their own classrooms.”# For previous interviews with deans, visit www.educationupdate.com and go to archives.

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salaries, must take place. “We have to emphasize the highly sophisticated approach to teaching and learning,” says Marcus. “The reason schools of education exist is because there is so much to be learned in terms of pedagogy. In the end there are no shortcuts.” According to Marcus, the number of applicants to the school of education has increased in recent years, which she considers indicative of the fact that “teaching still maintains a positive hold on the public’s imagination.” Students of the Steinhardt School of Education are immersed in an educational environment upholding research and practice. “NYU always had a strong populist tradition,” said Marcus. “We believe in students having connections with schools. That is the platform from which we do research.” According to Marcus, the Steinhardt school retains strong relationships with several New York City school districts, including districts, 4, 10, and 13. The collaboration with district 13 in Brooklyn, which has been in place for eight years, has been the strongest. The establishment of several Centers and Institutes over the years allows students to conduct field-based research and to provide services to the public schools. Marcus cited the NYU Reading Recovery Program as an example of the collaborations between the school and the community. The program, which involves 16 NYC school dis-

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MUSIC, ART & DANCE

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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JUNE 2002

Arts and Technology: A Successful Merger in District 25, Queens By TOM KERTES Famous for having one of the very best art programs in the nation, Queens’ Community School District 25 “has always tried to be a frontrunner of Arts in Education,” said Arlene Jordan, the District’s Supervisor of Expressive Arts. “And that was so both in good times and bad. So naturally, when the programs were cut, we were on the forefront of the fight to put the art programs back into education as well.” “So, when the programs were finally restored in 1992, the question that faced us was where to go next? How do we stay a step ahead?” The answer was the marriage of art and technology. “Once again, we raised the bar,” said Jordan. “We felt that the next level was the integration of art, technology, and literacy.” The marriage that allowed this union to come to fruition – to enable 10-12-year-old students to produce multi-media works of art digitally – was the marriage between District 25 and Teaching Matters, a nonprofit organization that’s committed to working on integrating technology into the public school classroom. “I felt that there was an economic gap in public schools,” said Elizabeth Rohatyn, Teaching Matters’ Chairman of the Board. “And, especially due to the extreme expenses involved in the new informational age push, I was very concerned that this gap would result in an intellectual gap. I felt that we could make a difference in this area.” The result of this commitment was on proud display at “Dancing Across the Digital Divide”, the third annual multi-media show put on by the district’s fifth and sixth-graders at Flushing Town Hall. It was, in a word, spectacular. “First, we had to get the teachers hot to trot,” said Rohatyn. “This was a daring avenue, requiring a new way to think. What people needed was a curriculum, to make art and technology integrated into what the students were learning. Teachers needed to be re-trained. But, once we had the educators on our side, we knew the kids– they get naturally excited about new things–would follow.” And follow they did – in spite of the fact that the program got off the ground two years ago with Digital Opera. Why use such an alien (to

Image from one of the productions displayed at “Dancing Across the Digital Divide”

fifth-graders, at least) art-form? “The operas are art and literacy together,” said Jordan. “It allowed the kids to create a little musical theater, write a story, then digitalize the text and the images.” Classrooms were transformed into studios, where academic subjects such as reading, writing, math, and social studies meshed with every aspect of music and theater. The students, routinely sacrificing sleep, lunch-hours, and weekends, made the works about fables and myths an art-form relevant to their lives. And the program’s momentum – spurred on by the kids’ surprisingly high level of commitment – only increased the following year, with the presentation of the no-less challenging Digital Shakespeare.

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Though educators were first doubtful, the students’ natural curiosity about history and warfare once again won out. “It was great,” said Meri Ezrarty, an art teacher at JHS 189. “The kids had to make the words in the book come to life. The kids had to visualize the characters, they had to make them move, they had to make them appear and disappear.” And give them voices, too. Students, who uniformly thought of Shakespeare as “boring” up to that point, now found the Bard “kind of cool”. “I finally understood how Macbeth was feeling,” one said. “And that people today often feel the same way as well.” After the success of the first two shows, the District allowed each school to develop its own project for the year’s gala. The result was Digital Storytelling, an eclectic marvel that kept the audience of 300 enthralled nearly all

day. Two of the biggest hits were Through the Eyes of Children; 9/11 and Beyond, a fascinating multi-media presentation of young teenagers’ shockingly different reactions to the tragedy, and Antigone, a freshly updated version of Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy in which “two brothers vie for the U.S. Presidency and one wins – even though the other had more of the popular vote.” Antigone’s combination of drama, video, dance, and mime was nothing less than stunning. “Arts education can inspire children to learn in a way that textbooks and standardized tests cannot,” Rohatyn said. “We know Digital Storytelling is working – and it’s working in a multitude of different ways. The spectacular productions these young people created speak for themselves.”#

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MUSIC, ART & DANCE

T HE L INCOLN C ENTER S UMMER I NSTITUTE : B RAVO & E NCORE By JOAN BAUM Sometimes it’s the little word that makes the difference. In the matter of the Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) Arts in Education program, the key to understanding how this particular school-arts collaboration differs from all other programs that supplement, augment, and enrich learning lies in the preposition “in” as opposed to the conjunction “and.” Where other fine programs also serve to bring the arts into closer play with the curriculum, LCI wants the arts – all the arts – to be integral and inseparable from teaching and learning. In this sense, among others, LCI directly affects teachers and teaching in a way that, in the words of LCI Executive Director Scott Noppe-Brandon, makes it “unique.” For starters, he points out, the 25year old program has a philosophy – Aesthetic Inquiry – and a philosopher –Maxine Greene– behind it. For another, the program’s integrative approach to the arts, from pre-service teacher education through Focus School and Partnership School collaborations, insures that philosophy gets practically grounded as experiential learning. And specifically grounded, LCI may be the only arts-in-education program to center study on a specific work of art, whether in dance, theatre, museum art, or music, and then challenge teachers to draw out general principles about how the arts affect teaching. There is also the fact that LCI has prestigious affiliations in its collaborative efforts – Lincoln Center - not to mention this summer’s additional coup: partnering with England’s Royal National Theatre and the American Crafts Museum. The July 8-19 session, part of LCI’s annual Professional Development series, coincides with performances at Lincoln Center, including a birthday concert with the New York Philharmonic for Maestro Kurt Masur, and The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s “Dance and the Art of Animation.” Not to mention work-

gram is the hallmark of progressive education. As the LCI website proclaims, “Each individual – child as well as adult – has the capacity to respond to any given work of art in ways that challenge preconceived notions, stimulate fresh insights, and encourage deeper understandings. Without the limitations imposed by ‘right’ or ‘wrong’answers, this process of response builds cognitive abilities in powerful, fundamental ways.” Students and teachers at the LIC How do schools find out about LCI? “Word of mouth,” NoppeBrandon says, though he admits shops on photography, poetry, and teaching stu- that he’d like to have a better presence in the dents with special needs. high schools. Still, there’s a waiting list for the The history of LCI tells much about its pur- lower grades. The majority of participating pose, which is essentially to make the arts a institutions are public schools, and the Director model for learning in general, not an add-on but keeps careful watch on the kind of school that an integral part of curricula. Conceived from an applies, its level and location. Every effort is idea proposed many years ago by a former dean made to represent diversity, he notes. of Juilliard, that performances to be truly Collaboration comes in basically two forms: appreciated needed an education context, the Partnership Schools and Focus Schools. The idea, now shaped in light of Aesthetic former, now numbering 140 (Elementary, Education, prompted studies into the role of Middle and High Schools) and involving 65-70 imagination in professional life, no matter what percent of the faculty, allow individual teachers the profession. Soon business and science lead- to participate in the Institute’s various programs ers started holding conferences on the idea, and creatively design their own curricula, draw then town meetings, and the idea expanded up their own budget, establish their own prodirectly into the schools. “We don’t get into dis- cedures for testing, and provide for additional cussions of standards or high-stakes testing,” coverage. In Focus Schools, now numbering Noppe-Brandon, says. The focus is on the 11, the Institute works one on one with every depth and breadth of the arts in the curriculum, student in the school over a period of five years. on realizing the theory of Aesthetic Education The beauty of the overall LCI idea, Scott for grades K-12. Maxine Greene, LCI’s says, is that 85 percent of the participating philosopher-in-residence, is the “soul” of the teachers are not involved in arts education. Not program, guiding, checking, being the honest all artists, he points out, are good teachers. His broker on how we “operationalize” theideas, own background, he pointed out, was a slow Noppe-Brandon says. At the heart of the pro- but inevitable movement from dancer to certi-

fied arts education teacher, to artist-in-residence, to administrator, a shift that expanded his roles, rather than causing him to abandon one for another. He is now involved with five CUNY colleges and some private institutions, including the Bank Street College of Education, Fordham University, and Teachers College, promoting different kinds of collaborative programs, from loose arrangements for individual teachers (Bank Street) to sequential course models (Lehman) . So, does LCI work? Just ask Anna Marie Carrillo, Principal of P.S. 116 in District 2. She is nothing if not rhapsodic about the program, moving from adjectival hyperbole to more adjectival hyperbole. “Wonderful,” she says, “we are all so very happy,” and by “we” she means, not just administrators but teachers, students and especially parents, for whom the program has been particularly “inspirational.” One innovation it has inspired, she says, has been Museum Night, when parents and children together with teachers go to a museum to study a particular art work. The quality of the discussion, she reports, is “absolutely amazing.” This summer LCI is instituting new repertory and institutional partnerships for educators, with Arts Coordinators Workshops, and fabulous dance and theatre performances, including an LCI co-commissioned presentation, “Shadow’s Child,” performed by the Urban Bush Women and National Song and Dance Company of Mozambique; “Srishti,” a program of traditional Indian dance; “As If the Past Were Listening,” Latino folktales; “The Alicein-Wonderland Follies,” performed by New York Theatre Ballet; Poulenc’s “Piano and Wind”; “Ghost Lovers,” a comic Chinese opera; and the Royal National Theatre production of “The Tempest.” # For more information about LCI, access the website or call (212) 875-5535.

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THE ENABLING KEYBOARD By NEIL SCHULDINER Most individuals never contemplate that most-often used piece of computer hardware— their keyboards. Keyboards only enter user’s consciousness when late night cups of chicken soup or cans of soda spill onto their generic input devices, thus rendering their keyboards useless. In the classroom, these odd moments

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JUNE 2002

ble architecture which enables users to literally bend, twist, curve, and fold their keyboard. Based on our experience with our review model, students can quickly and easily “roll” their keyboards into the shape of a cylinder measuring 3.75 inches wide for easy transport, and silently type their notes in class with its mute, no-click keys. While initially the no-click keys were uncomfortable, as time elapsed they felt as natural and more ergonomic that a regular keyboard. For the typical student who crams all night and is prone to flooding their keyboards with

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the TrueTip stylus allows you to enter characters, navigate screens, and manipulate information on the touchscreens of PDAs or Smartphones completely and naturally. Since it requires no grasp of an instrument, the fingertip stylus can permit data entry or text formatting with far less screen blocking, or injury-producing repetitive stress. The TrueTip can quite easily be carried on a belt, pen, or finger, making it much easier for a student to keep without losing. And a list price of under $10 ensures that this is a product for just about any budget. This is one that needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated, so don’t just listen to me – check it out for yourself at the company’s website www.truetip.com or dial them direct at 703-359-1400.#

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T EACHERS C OLLEGE H OLDS E DUCATION T ECHNOLOGY S UMMIT By BRUCE MYINT Nobel laureate Niels Bohr once said: “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” In spite of that caveat, scores of educators, policy makers, school administrators, and representatives from the tech industry gathered at the recent Education Technology Summit held at Columbia University, to discuss technology and the future of education. Their prediction was nearly unanimous: in the immediate future, computers will become a permanent fixture in American schooling. Soon, online and distance learning will be as common as face-to-face classrooms. “We’re going to experience a revolution in the next few years,” said Teachers College President Arthur Levine, in a speech welcoming delegates to the two-day event. The Education Technology Summit offered a variety of different seminars on such topics as: “Preparing Knowledge Workers for the 21st Century,” “Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse,” “Follow the Money: Paying for Educational

Technology,” and “Evaluating Online Professional Development.” Building on the success of last year’s event, the summit informed educators about the latest innovations available to schools and how educational technology survived through the dot-com bust. Corporate sponsors such as Classroom Connect and National Semiconductor played a central role during the conference by supplying product demonstrations and speaking at seminars. Their increased presence may be a signal of what can be expected from the ed-tech revolution. “The private sector is a factor in a way it has never been in the past,” said Levine. Reasons for the impending educational technology boom include: the rise of overcrowded schools, family/work restrictions of college students, and the premium students now place on convenience and access in education. By moving education online, technology promoters asserted, computers can play a role in meeting these new demands.

Field Visits Part of Summit By POLA ROSEN, Ed.D. One expects brilliant keynoters, erudite professors, the business sector and educators to exchange ideas at various panels when Teachers College, Columbia University organizes a special 3-day technology conference such as this one. What is novel and extremely effective is being out in the field to see programs in action in the community. And that is just what Professor Joshua Halberstam, Chair, Education Techology Summit and Bruce Lincoln, Manager of Community Outreach at the

Institute for Learning Technology (Teachers College) arranged for participants to do. Playing to Win is a program located in Harlem since 1990. In partnership with the Boys and Girls Harbor of New York and affiliated with Columbia University, 100 people are taught computers each day including an after-school program for elementary school children, teens, and career training for adults at night. Princeton graduate Rahsaan Harris is the director of the program, while a cadre of 10 bright and energetic young people teach at nine computers. There is a math and science upward bound pro-

“Education can come to a child no matter where they are, at home, school or at work,” said John Bailey, Director of the US Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology. “There was a time when you would go to school. There was a time when you would go to work. Now those times are merging.” Another force driving the technology revolution comes from the need to develop a generation of ‘knowledge workers’; a common theme repeated over the course of the event. In order for the nation to remain globally competitive in the 21st century, said experts, US graduates must be technology savvy. In order to make that happen, schools must change to meet the technology needs of the future. But introducing such radical changes present significant problems for the educational technology community. Historically conservative institutions, schools do not change easily. “We still educate on an agricultural timetable in an industrial structure and we tell kids they live in a digital age,” said Bailey referring to

the enduring tradition of summer vacations (once intended to allow students to work on parents’ farms) and classroom periods (originally meant to duplicate industrial working schedules). Even if the predictions come to pass, warned Robert McClintock, co-director of the Institute for Learning Technologies at Teachers College, work needs to be done on how to best integrate technology into the curriculum: “Educational technology presents us with some real, significant, and powerful empowerments that we can use, but we can also fail to use them… the fact is that we don’t know what is to be done.” One seminar told a cautionary tale of technology use in the classroom. Thinking Systematically about Education Technologies: Portals, Potentials and Pitfalls began 20 minutes late. The hold up? A glitch with the digital video projector; echoing McClintock’s warning and proving that although the future of educational technology may be upon us, there are still bugs left to work out in the present.#

gram; young people learn to be entrepreneurs and inventors. Probes, provided by a corporation, can take kids to Great Adventure; legos are used to introduce robotics. Shaneefa, a current student in the program, dreams of owning her own computer company. Via field trips to Sony Wonderlab and making digital journals, students like Shaneefa learn a variety of skills. Play to Win is just one of 136 Community Technology Centers (CTC) in New York City. Among the many attendees, Mary McFerran, the Director of Education Technology at the Fieldston School, found the visits extremely useful. Our next stop was The Harlem School of the Arts, founded by New York City opera diva Dorothy Mayer. Our tour, led by Bernard Phillips, showed how software such as Music

Ace (ages 8-12) and Practica Musica help in the students’ learning and progress. Some of the software aids in composition, some can print out each part, which can be heard and modified easily. Different melodic lines and instrumentation can be heard immediately by the student composer, thereby allowing instant modification. One can’t help but think of Beethoven as a mature composer, deaf and only able to hear the music in his mind! In a wrapup, Lincoln, noted that we are at the epicenter of the technology movement, that we have a more technology oriented city council that we are seeing cablevision and RCN now giving money to learning and contributing to CTCs. His hope is that education becomes a ubiquitous, seamless process.#

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Loyola School congratulates the Class of 2002. The 46 young men and women of Loyola School have received acceptances to the following colleges and universities: Amherst College Arizona State University Babson College Bard College Barnard College Bentley College Boston College Boston University Brown University Carnegie Mellon University Catholic University Clark University Colgate University College of the Holy Cross Columbia University Cornell University Dartmouth University Dickinson College Drexel University Emerson University Fairfield University Fordham University

Franklin & Marshall University George Mason University George Washington University Georgetown University Gettysburg College Hamilton College Harvard University Hobart & William Smith Colleges Hofstra University Howard University Hunter College Ithaca College Johns Hopkins University Lehigh University LeMoyne College Loyola College in Maryland Loyola University of Chicago Loyola University of New Orleans Lynn University Manhattan College Marist College

Marquette University Marymount Manhattan College New York University Pace University Pennsylvania State University Pomona College Pratt Institute Princeton University Providence College Quinnipiac University Rutgers University Sacred Heart University Saint Peter’s College Salve Regina College Seton Hall University Siena College Skidmore College Stanford University Stonehill College SUNY, Albany SUNY, Binghamton SUNY, Maritime

SUNY, Stony Brook Swarthmore College Syracuse University Tufts University University of Arizona University of Colorado University of Connecticut University of Dallas University of Illinois University of North Carolina, Asheville University of North Carolina, Greensboro University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Richmond University of Rochester University of Scranton University of Vermont Vanderbilt University Vassar College Villanova University Wesleyan University Williams College Yale University

31 •

JUNE 2002

MetroBEAT

Working Together for a Safer New York By MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG Last week, the FBI notified the New York Police Department of a possible terrorist threat against our City. Because familiar New York City landmarks were named, the threat got a good deal of media attention. I want to take this opportunity to outline what we are doing to protect New Yorkers’ security and what you can do to help. Unfortunately, New York City receives many threats on a daily basis. Be assured that we take each one seriously and investigate them all. I can’t disclose the details of the process, because publicly discussing specific counterterrorism measures would undermine their effectiveness. But you should know that we believe intelligence and preparedness are the keys to stopping terrorism – and New York City is better prepared on those fronts than ever. One of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly’s first actions was to add two new deputy commissioners to the NYPD ranks, both of whom bring valuable experience in fighting terrorism. Deputy Police Commissioner for Intelligence David Cohen joins the NYPD after 35 years with the CIA. Deputy Police Commissioner for CounterTerrorism Frank Libutti was a highly decorated Lieutenant General in the United States

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Marines, and now directs the NYPD’s prevention, training and investigation efforts for terrorist threats directed toward New York City. Along with new leadership, the NYPD also has received the equipment and training needed to combat terrorism. For example, we recently sent police officers to Israel to receive counter-terrorism instruction that they will then use to educate our uniformed officers back home. We’ve also greatly improved communication with intelligence and law enforcement agencies at the State and Federal levels. What can average New Yorkers do to help? Two things. First, exercise common sense. If you see something suspicious, dial “9-1-1” and report it to the professionals; it’s their job to investigate it, and they will. Second, keep things in perspective. If you want to take safety measures, don’t drink and drive and be sure to wear the seat belt when you ride in a car. Follow through on that perennial New Years Resolution and finally stop smoking. I promise, these measures will protect the life of you and your loved ones more than worrying about terrorism will. There is a danger though. If we isolate ourselves from one another, or begin to harbor baseless suspicions of our fellow New Yorkers then we will have allowed the terrorists to win. We cannot let our lives be dominated by fear. We’re a free and open society. That’s what our enemies hate. But that’s also what unites Americans and makes us strong. These are difficult times. But we will get through them together.#

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Perseverance Pays Off— State Budget Provides $600 Million More for City Schools By ASSEMBLYMAN STEVEN SANDERS As Chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Education, working closely with Speaker Silver, I successfully fought for and secured an increase of $440 million in operating aid for public schools under provisions of the State budget adopted in mid-May. In New York City, the Assembly’s victory in adding this money should be sufficient to enable Mayor Bloomberg to eliminate his proposed citywide school cuts of nearly $400 million. Additionally, this budget will give to the City approximately $200 million more in State school aid as well as ensure that the City is promptly repaid over $435 million owed to it in what are referred to as “prior year claims,” relating to costs or contracts involving renovation, construction and transportation—usually repaid over many years. The budget provides a solid foundation for the City to conclude—once and for all—a contract with the teachers. We came a long way from Governor Pataki’s unacceptable January budget proposal, which contained damaging school aid cuts for New York City that would have amounted to a $400 million reduction. Without adequate state aid, school districts statewide were projecting drastic program cuts and teacher layoffs. In addition, the Governor would have delayed previously promised building aid funding. Instead, the Assembly held its ground and secured in the adopted State budget education

funding at a level that maintains our commitment to our children’s future– dedicating 68 percent of the overall budget increase to education and higher education. The budget also includes funding for effective programs that have helped schools reduce class sizes, expand pre-K and kindergarten programs, improve teacher training, and modernize computer technology. We were victorious in blocking the Governor’s cuts in education virtually across the board, fully restoring cuts to so many vital programs such as Teacher Centers, mentor programs and job-training programs. The budget continues the Assembly’s tradition of improving New York’s schools. In the past eight years, the Assembly has fought for education aid increases and, year after year, rejected the Governor’s school aid cuts. Although I am disappointed that the budget doesn’t meet all of the Assembly’s goals, for the first time the Governor finally admitted this year that we clearly need more funding for our schools than he originally proposed. The fact that the Governor seems to finally grasp how badly his school aid cuts would have hurt our children, teachers, and taxpayers could be a good sign. While we need to do much more in the future, this budget is a good start in the direction we need to go.# Steven Sanders is chairman of the NYS Assembly Education Committee. You can contact him at 201 E. 16th St., New York, NY 10003 (email [emailprotected]). Tel: (212) 979-9696.

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MOVIE & THEATER REVIEWS

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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JUNE 2002

Film Review

W ILD GLIDE: DOGTOWN & Z BOYS & NEW YORK CONVERSATIONS BY JAN AARON f you think you need to see a movie about skateboarding as much as a fish needs a bicycle, you’re wrong. Stacy Peralta’s 90minute documentary, Dogtown & Z-Boys, gives you a fascinating whirl through the freewheeling story of skateboarding 70s kids from the wrong side of the L.A. tracks. The movie is set in the down-at-the-heels beach towns of Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Ocean Park, known as “Dogtown,” itself the home of the Zephyr Productions Surf Shop. This was the hangout for this group of punk-rock latchkey kids who translated their love of surfboarding to skateboarding. The group known as “Z-Boys”, who included Peralta, revolutionized the course of skateboarding with their contempt for convention and acrobatic derring-do. Sean Penn, who is still remembered for his role as the spaced out surfer Jeff Spicoly in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, narrates the film. Peralta and co-writer Craig Stecyk, get every inch of drama and excitement out of their story. As kids, Z-Boys found they could fill in downtime for surfing by transferring their devil-may-care surf skills to the “asphalt

waves” of playgrounds and empty swimming pools, which were everywhere at their disposal during the mid-70s California drought. After winning many skate meets, the Z-Boys became superstars, who were courted by corporate sponsors, which eventually led to the team’s demise. Kudos must go to editor Paul Crowder for splicing together the wealth of magazine and newspaper articles, still photos, vintage footage, and recent interviews with the nowmiddle-aged skateboarders. Crowder’s pick of music from the 70s for the thumping soundtrack appropriately ignites the antics of yesterday’s daredevils who opened the door for today’s extreme sports craze. Now to NY. Look for 13 Conversations About One Thing, a movie that interweaves five contemporary New York stories into a single tale that explores the dramatic impact people have on each other. Its star-studded cast include superb acting by Alan Arkin as cynical claims adjuster and Cleo Duval as somewhat mystical housekeeper.# (Dogtown, 90-minutes, PG strong language, drug references. Conversations, 102 minutes, R. For venues: 212-777-FILM.)

Theater Review

Splash Hit: Metamorphoses By JAN AARON kay everybody into the pool!” If you think this no way to describe a Broadway play, it is — when the play is Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses. The show, which had a soldout Off-Broadway run last fall, now is a Broadway hit at Circle In the Square. Ms. Zimmerman’s play adapts ten tales by Ovid to explore the enduring and transforming power of love. It offers a great way to bring the classics into the classroom. The length of the stage is taken up with a big wading pool surrounded by a narrow wooden deck. Water, the most changeable element, works well to tell these tales. As Gods and mortals jump in and out of the water, splashes hit the front rows. Management provides protective towels. The tales are not classically mounted but thoughtful contemporary retellings with plenty of humor. The play opens with King Midas, here impeccable in a tux. When he wishes for the golden touch, Bacchus’s warning: “That’s a

“O

Photo by Glen E. Friedman Tony Alva in Dogtown & Z-Boys

A movie like this needs an out-of-this-world theatre.

really bad idea,” sounds very hip. But the story grows darker and richer as it sets the stage for the dramas to follow. Perhaps the most memorable comic moment is Doug Hara’s Phaeton, the spoiled son of Apollo, who blabs to his therapist while lounging in the pool. Touching episodes like the tale of Alcyon and Ceyx, lovers separated by death, but reunited as birds, linger long in the mind. The play combines the key ingredients of enjoyable theater — a good story (here several of them), interestingly told, a striking setting (by Daniel Ostling), lovely costumes (Mara Blumenfeld), drama, leavened with humor and hope, and a lot of laughs. All 10 people in the cast are completely convincing in many roles and very graceful, which also is important to the story telling. Morsels of sex and nudity are not enough to keep this from being family fare. Metamorphoses ends memorably with the story Baucis and Philemon, which told here is not about hospitality but the power of love.# (Tickets $30-$75, at the Box Office or telecharge 212-239-6200)

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JUNE 2002

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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CAMPS & SPORTS

NOT NO MORE!!: St. John’s Women’s Basketball

The Big Three

By TOM KERTES “Not no More!” is sure to become the battlecry for the St. John’s Women’s Basketball team this season. Though grammatically incorrect, it’s certainly right on target in expressing the emotions of a ready-to-fight-back team coming off of an atrocious 3-24 season. Then again, while Hungarians may not be big on grammar, emotions have always been their strong point. So the Red Storm should be an emotional juggernaut with no less than three Hungarian girls on next season’s roster. Five-seven guard Reka Szavuly, “the author”, will be accompanied by 5-11 swinger Nora Gyuris, and 6-4 center Kati Kurtosi. “Not no more!”, Reka repeats, her dark eyes flashing. “We’ll be much better than that! For one thing, we have a new coach. She seems vonderful! For another, myself and Kati we were out with injuries all last year. But this time around we’ll be ready!” And what is this terrifically Hungarian trio doing right now to get ready for next season? “Not much,” Reka raps. “Just chillin’.” Think what you will of hip-hop expressions, if you haven’t heard one pronounced with a Hungarian accent….well, you haven’t lived yet. Rap, of course, has been the least of the cul-

ture shock the three girls have experienced during their brief U.S. stay. Thing is, in the new millennium the world may be getting smaller and smaller, but people hailing from different societies, cultures, and traditions remain quite different. And that takes some getting used to – especially if you are a true student-athlete with mighty little “Chillin’ Time” on your hands during the season. And especially if that athlete wants to succeed both on and off of the basketball floor. “Understanding people, and making yourself understood, was the toughest thing at first,” says Kati who, along with Reka, has been in the U.S. less than two years. “I only had one year of English at home.” “I had eight!” adds Reka with a smile. “And I’m still having problems communicating. Studying a language a couple of hours a week at home was one thing. But living it full-time is quite another.” Nora, a junior who played some valuable minutes last year and speaks the best English, found the people here a tad too different at first. “Nobody looks you in the eye,” she says. “At first, people would make fun of me, or my accent. You ask something, people answer you on the run – if they answer you at all. Nobody seems to have time to stop and really talk to

you. Life here, until you get used to it, is just too fast!” Once Reka and Kati transferred from Colby Community College last season to join her at St. John’s last year, Nora managed to slow down a bit and began to feel more adjusted. “The three of us, we are such great friends. We really understand each other, so we always hang out together. But, with a couple of girls on the team, even that was a problem. Sometimes, when we were speaking to each other Hungarian, they thought we would be talking about them. Which we were not, of course. But it just took some time, I guess. Now, we’re good friends with every girl on the team.” Ironically, the Big Three – all members of the Hungarian National Cadet (Junior) Team, all heavily recruited by U.S. colleges– should never have ended up at St. John’s. “I’m not religious, so when I was getting all those recruiting letters I threw every one of them that started with a ”St. Something ” into the garbage,” says Reka. So why the Storm? “Well, they were the one school that really followed up with us aggressively,” Nora says. “And we all wanted to play in the Big East, which is the best competition, the No. 1 women’s basketball conference in the country.” “And, most of all, we wanted to live in New York!” Which, of course, is very different from Colby, Kansas. Or the rest of the U.S.A. Or Hungary. “Everything’s just so huge, you can’t believe it,” laughs Nora. “The cars, the buildings! We’re in Manhattan walking around every free moment we have. And we still haven’t seen half the things we’ve wanted to see.”

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And, for the longest time now, St. John’s basketball fans haven’t seen a truly competitive women’s team. But this year, helped by the Trio of Magical Magyars, they might very well see a much-improved squad. Or, at least, a much more emotional one.#

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS

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JUNE 2002

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EDUCATION UPDATE

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FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS

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JUNE 2002

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