April 1, 2008

Parent Info

Last Updated on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 at 3:47 PM

In this issue

* April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

* State testing schedule

* Grant to fund parent leadership institute in science, math

* 'Zip' to financial aid information at www.kheaa.com

* Survey shows decreases in risky behavior by youth

* 25 years of D.A.R.E.

* Earth Day photo contest

* Vietnam Memorial replica in Danville

* Upcoming days of interest

Child Abuse Prevention Month
April marks the first full month of springtime each year. Flowers bloom and temperatures get warmer (hopefully). But April is also a time to raise awareness for child abuse prevention.

Last year, more than 81,350 children across Kentucky were reported as abused or neglected to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and that’s 81,350 too many. Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky (PCAK) recognizes April as a chance to raise awareness of the tragedies of child abuse and neglect.

To find out how to get involved in child abuse prevention efforts in your community, contact Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky toll-free at 800-CHILDREN.

State testing schedule

Another rite of spring? You guessed it: Kentucky Core Content Tests. Yes, that time of year is here, so get out your children’s No. 2s and get them some healthy meals and early bedtimes. This year’s spring testing window is scheduled for April 21-May 2 for students in grades 3-8 and grades 10-11. Parents are asked to avoid scheduling medical appointments and other activities that will take students out of school on these important testing days. Writing Portfolios also are due for grades 4, 7 and 12 on April 21.

Grant to fund parent leadership institute in science, math

A $125,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation, the corporate philanthropy organization of AT&T Inc., to the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence will fund development of a special Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The special institute will be conducted in the fall to provide leadership training and support to parents to help them become advocates for improved science and mathematics education in their schools and communities. The program will be designed and implemented in partnership with the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science and the Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University.

The Commonwealth Institute's curriculum focuses on leadership skills, planning and strategic development as well as elements of Kentucky's education and accountability systems. After completing the institute, parents work with educators and other parents on projects targeting specific areas of student achievement. Projects in this institute will focus on opportunities to increase student achievement in science and mathematics in the participants' schools and districts.

The Gatton Academy opened its doors the fall of 2007 as a residential program for advanced high school juniors and seniors interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. With its opening, Kentucky becomes the 14th state to have such a school supported by the state legislature.

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is a nonprofit citizens' organization that works to improve education for all Kentuckians.

For more information, contact Bev Raimondo at (859) 233-9849, ext. 227.

'Zip' to financial aid information at www.kheaa.com

Three Zip features at www.kheaa.com provide important information that Kentucky students and parents need to help them learn about and apply for student financial aid.

Zip Access, Zip Decision and Zip Answer are unique features available only on the Web site of the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA).

Zip Access lets students apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship, KHEAA Teacher Scholarship and Early Childhood Development Scholarship and check the status of federal student loans guaranteed by KHEAA. The sign-in function for Zip Access is at the top of the KHEAA home page.
Parents will find Zip Decision a helpful online resource if they are applying for a Federal PLUS Loan to help pay for their child's education. Using Zip Decision, parents may get immediate pre-approval for a loan originated through KHEAA. The credit decision is valid for 120 days.
Zip Answer provides answers to hundreds of questions about state and federal student aid. Users may choose a topic or type a word or phrase into a search box. By choosing KEES as a topic, Zip Answer will bring up 44 of the most commonly asked questions and answers about KEES.

The sign-in functions for Zip Decision and Zip Answer are on the right-hand side of the KHEAA home page.

For more information on how to plan and prepare for higher education, visit www.GoHigherKY.org. For more information about student loans, visit www.studentloanpeople.com.

Survey shows decreases in risky behavior by youth

Data from the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) show that fewer Kentucky high school students are engaging in negative behaviors than in 2003.

The data was gathered in 2007 through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. The YRBS measures what the CDC defines as the Six Critical Health Behaviors of Adolescents:

alcohol and drug use
injury and violence (including suicide)
tobacco use
nutrition
physical activity
sexual risk behaviors

In Kentucky, the YRBS is given to a randomly selected sample of high school students. The data is reported as statewide totals only.

Highlights of the YRBS include:

Alcohol and drug use

The percentage of students who had at least one drink of alcohol one or more days during their lifetime has decreased from 76.7 percent in 2003 to 71.7 percent in 2007.
The percentage of students who used marijuana one or more times during their lifetime has decreased from 43.3 percent in 2003 to 35.0 percent in 2007.

Injury and violence

The percentage of students who rode one or more times during the past 30 days in a car or other vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol decreased from 25.5 percent in 2003 to 20.3 percent in 2007.
The percentage of students who carried a weapon such as a gun, knife or club on one or more of the past 30 days has increased from 18.5 percent in 2003 to 24.4 percent in 2007.
The percentage of students who had been threatened or injured with a weapon such as a gun, knife or club on school property on one or more times during the past 12 months has increased from 5.2 percent in 2003 to 8.3 percent in 2007.

Tobacco use

The percentage of students who ever tried cigarette smoking has decreased from 71.1 percent in 2003 to 62.2 percent in 2007.
The percentage of students who smoked cigarettes on school property on one or more of the past 30 days has decreased from 14.3 percent in 2003 to 9.5 percent in 2007.

Nutrition

The percentage of students who were at risk of becoming overweight in 2007 is 16.4 percent, which isn’t a statistically significant change from 2003.
The percentage of students who were overweight in 2007 is 15.6 percent, which isn’t a statistically significant change from 2003.

Physical activity

In 2007, 32.9 percent of students were physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes per day on five or more of the past seven days.
The percentage of students who attended physical education classes on one or more days in an average week when they were in school was 34.9 percent in 2003 and 31.0 percent in 2007. This is not a statistically significant change, but the percentages are moving down.

Sexual risk behaviors

The percentage of students who ever had sexual intercourse in 2007 is 50.3 percent, not a significant change from 2003.
Among students who had sexual intercourse during the past three months, the percentage that used a condom during last sexual intercourse is 59.0 percent, down from 61.7 percent in 2003 (not a statistically significant change).

Click here to view the 2007 data available on the Kentucky Department of Education’s Web site. The full CDC report will be made available online by mid-summer 2008 at www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/index.htm.

25 years of D.A.R.E.

The D.A.R.E. program was started by a group of Los Angeles police officers and schoolteachers who were concerned because kids were taking drugs. These drugs were destroying kids’ lives. The police officers and schoolteachers joined forces and launched D.A.R.E. to teach kids about the dangers of drugs and violence, and how to protect themselves from it.

The police wanted to steer kids away from dangerous drugs and help them make smart choices, like playing sports and starting hobbies instead of using drugs and hanging out on the streets.

D.A.R.E. was born in Los Angeles, California in April of 1983 and now is taught in all 50 states in the U.S., as well as in 53 countries. All in all, the D.A.R.E. program will reach 50 million children around the world this year alone.

Click here to go to the Kentucky D.A.R.E. link for kids. On this site, you’ll find fun-filled, learning activities for your children that can help them understand the importance of staying safe and saying “no” to drugs.

Earth Day photo contest

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is sponsoring an Earth Day photo contest for middle school students. Interested students are asked to photograph something that is changing in their local environment. They are to take the photo between Tuesday, April 22, and Tuesday, April 29. The change could be occurring in the student's backyard, outside the student's school, in a local park or even off in the distance. Participants must research and write an explanation of the change documented in the photograph. The contest is open to all U.S. students in grades 5-8.
Entries must be received by e-mail or postmarked by May 9.
For questions about the contest, e-mail info@strategies.org.

Vietnam Memorial replica in Danville

Students can have access to a wide range of educational resources at a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial arrives in Danville.

The Norton Center for the Arts at Centre College will host an April 24-27 exhibit of “The Wall That Heals,” including the 250-foot replica and an accompanying mobile museum. The exhibit is open to the public at no charge.

The traveling replica of the Vietnam memorial has had a dramatic impact on communities throughout the nation. It has been in special demand this year, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Memorial’s construction in the nation’s capital. For more about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, go to www.vvmf.org.

Upcoming days of interest

April is:

· Mathematics Education Month

· National Alcohol Awareness Month

· National Autism Awareness Month

· National Poetry Month

· National Youth Sports Safety Month

Also this month:

· National Library Week (April 13-19)

· National Playground Safety Week (April 21-25)

· National Science and Technology Week (April 26-May 2)

· National SAFE Kids Week (April 26-May 4)