Among 88,183 U.S. high school students, marijuana use declined from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021, with first-time use before age 13 dropping from 8.1% to 4.9%. In 2021, use was highest among 12th graders (22.4%) and 11th graders (18.7%). Notably, girls (17.8%) surpassed boys (13.6%) in reported use in 2021, reversing past trends. While Asian, Hispanic, and white adolescents saw declines, Black adolescents had a higher usage rate of 20.5% in 2021, indicating ongoing racial disparities.
Tag: Schools
Robotics revolution: UniSA sparks STEM passion for future teachers
Cheers of excitement, high-fives all around, and wide, beaming smiles – they’re all the signs of a team success. But this is not a sporting field – this is the camaraderie found among the next generation of teachers learning the very latest, world-class robotics programs so they can excite and inspire students about STEM.
Alarming Surge: Global Crisis of Childhood Overweight and Obesity
Since 1990, childhood obesity has nearly doubled globally, with the U.S. at the forefront. In Southern Europe, 10-15% of children are obese, while Asia has nearly half of all overweight kids under 5. Nearly 70% of the average U.S. child’s diet consists of ultra-processed foods, which are increasingly consumed by children under 24 months, raising obesity risks and reducing immunological protection. Addressing pediatric obesity requires a multifaceted approach from tackling the influence of social media and advertising on children’s food choices to increasing physical activity.
Would banning cell phones on California schools help address students’ mental health? Child psychologist weighs in
As the school year kicked off in California this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging more campuses to adopt bans on cell phone usage to address a growing mental health crisis among students. Proponents say such bans would work to…
Boost creativity in schools and build STEM careers
It opens the mind and is at the heart of innovation, yet while creativity is recognised as a critical skill for Australia’s economic future, it is typically confined to the arts, skipping other areas of the curriculum.
High ceilings linked to poorer exam results for university students
Ever wondered why you performed worse than expected in that final university exam that you sat in a cavernous gymnasium or massive hall, despite countless hours, days and weeks of study? Now you have a genuine reason – high ceilings.
Learning how to learn: How SA school children can achieve long-term success
A collaboration between the SA Department for Education and the University of South Australia, the five-year study will engage 4000 students in years two, four and six, across 57 South Australian primary schools to determine the benefits of teaching self-regulated learning.
Tennessee Bill Allows Teachers and School Staff to be Armed
Elizabeth Choma, clinical assistant professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing, is a pediatric nurse practitioner whose work focuses on firearm safety education in families. She can discuss this bill and the debate over arming teachers and faculty.
Silence is not an option for First Nations’ content in Australian schools
In a UniSA study, researchers found that pushing pre-service teachers outside their comfort zones helped educate them about the injustices faced by First Nations’ people – including racism, prejudice and discrimination – and to more confidently integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content into their lessons.
One small step for STEM, one giant leap for STEM-kind
A manned mission to Mars: it’s the next step in the global space race. But while agencies scurry to take pole position, UniSA experts say the innovations that will help us land the red planet are far more likely to come from next generation of STEM stars in schools.
Teachers from across US invited to teach, live and play in West Virginia
Teachers Ascend into West Virginia, a first-of-its-kind national program based at West Virginia University and designed to attract teachers to the Mountain State, is now accepting applications.
Could fitness tests do more harm than good for Aussie kids?
Beep test or shuttle run – we all remember fitness time trials in school. But did you know that your early experiences of compulsory fitness may have influenced your current views of physical exercise (PE)?
Mozzie Monitors all a-buzz for SA schools
Longer days and warmer nights, it’s the perfect recipe for mosquito season. But before you reach for the repellent, did you know that some species of mosquitoes rarely touch a drop of blood, instead favouring flower nectar? Or that mosquitoes only smell with their feet?
Rutgers Experts on School Climate and Conditions for Learning Available to Comment on Post-COVID Educational Challenges
Dr. Alicia Raia-Hawrylak, Co-Project Manager for the School Climate Transformation Project (SCTP), is available to comment on post-COVID concerns related to school climate, including student behavior and bullying, social and emotional learning, staff retention, and using data to guide the…
Q&A: As AI changes education, important conversations for kids still happen off-screen
Jason Yip, a UW associate professor in the Information School, discusses how parents and schools can adapt to new technologies in ways that support children’s learning.
Schools’ surge in marketing to attract pupils fuels inequalities globally, new research reveals
A pioneering global study has revealed how schools worldwide are using a raft of marketing techniques to attract higher performing pupils and climb the league tables.
Tighter school security leads to lower test scores, study finds
As schools around the country have ramped up security efforts in response to recent school shootings, a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests that increased surveillance is having a detrimental impact on academic performance.
Teachers want support to embrace nature play in primary education
From tree-branch tepees to bush tucker gardens, mud kitchens and even functional fire pits, primary schools are sprouting all sorts of nature play environments in an effort to better connect primary students with the outdoors.
Surfing the edtech wave: the future is online education
Never in the history of education has online learning been so important. But there’s a big difference between teaching online, and providing quality online education, say researchers at the University of South Australia.
WashU Expert: SCOTUS ruling hints at why religious freedom means living with views we don’t like
While the ruling in the Maine case is unsurprising giving the court’s recent decisions around freedom of religion, some of the rhetoric around the case misrepresents the role of constitutional protections for religion in a pluralistic society, said John Inazu, expert on law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis.
75% of teens aren’t getting recommended daily exercise
Three out of every four teens aren’t getting enough exercise, and this lack is even more pronounced among female students. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests improving a school’s climate can increase physical activity among adolescents.
Rural communities under-resourced to take on refugees
As Australia continues to take on refugees from Ukraine, education experts are calling for essential supports as new research from the University of South Australia shows that rural and regional schools can be under-resourced and ill-prepared to support refugee children and their families.
Texas school shooting: Closer family/school connection could help identify troubling behavior
A closer connection between families and school districts could help identify troubling behavior in youths before crisis strikes, accordings to an expert in education at Binghamton University, State University of New York. 19 children and two adults are dead after…
Experts discuss mass shooting in Buffalo
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Experts at Binghamton University, State University of New York discussed issues surrounding the recent mass shooting in Buffalo. Watch the full talk via YouTube. The tragic, racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., by an 18-year-old has…
In News12 The Bronx Blog, Green Bronx Machine’s Stephen Ritz Weighs in on Back-to-School
As New York City public schools prepare to welcome back students next week, Green Bronx Machine founder, urban farmer and educator Stephen Ritz recently shared his thoughts about the return to the classroom in these unprecedented times in a new blog published on New 12 The Bronx’s web site.
Most New Jerseyans Support Fully Reopening Public Schools in Fall, Requiring Vaccinations for Healthcare Workers, Rutgers Poll Shows
As vaccination rates increase and prospects of normal life return more than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, New Jerseyans differ on various aspects of this “new normal” and how comfortable they feel, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.
Study: More multilingual and mental health staff needed to offset trauma experienced by refugees, displaced students and their teachers
The University at Buffalo study examined whether United States educational policies and practices helped or hindered school staff in supporting the needs of students who are refugees or displaced for reasons such as natural disasters.
Study Finds Americans Eat Food of Mostly Poor Nutritional Quality – Except at School
A study of U.S. dietary trends over 16 years finds food consumed from typical sources, such as restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and work, is mostly of poor nutritional quality, with the exception of food from schools. Disparities in dietary quality by race, ethnicity, and income persist.
Schools reduce inequality, defying the conventional wisdom
The teachers and schools serving our disadvantaged children are doing much better than we think they are, according to the author of the new book “How Schools Really Matter.”
Scientists study how to reduce airborne spread of COVID-19 virus particles
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are studying how airborne particles like COVID-19 move through the air and to identify effective countermeasures that reduce particulate exposures.
U.S. schools receive a C in whole child development in reimagined Nation’s Report Card
If the Nation’s Report Card, an annual report formerly known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), was reimagined to include physical and emotional health in addition to academics, the United States would receive a C average, says University at Buffalo educational policy expert Jaekyung Lee.
NYC takes ‘significant, systemic steps’ toward desegregation of schools
Today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced major changes to the way the city’s middle and high schools admit their students. Those changes include eliminating all admissions screens for middle schools for at least one year; eliminating a…
App Developed at Rensselaer Can Help Guide COVID-19 Management on Any Campus
Leaders at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute relied on a powerful algorithm, COVID Back-to-School – now freely available to the public – to determine that twice-weekly testing of all students would be the optimal regimen for keeping the infection rate on campus safely below 1% for any two-week period.
Study: Remote learning adds pressure for teachers who work second shift as mothers
The transition to remote learning coupled with an unequal distribution of second-shift responsibilities has placed teachers who are also mothers under immense stress, according to new University at Buffalo research.
New tool tracks COVID-19 cases within NY school district boundaries
Cornell University has launched the NYS School District COVID-19 Tracker, an interactive, web-based mapping application that combines multiple sources of data on COVID-19, demographics and related topics by new York school district.
Rutgers Pediatrician Discusses How to Keep Children Safe at School
Rutgers pediatrician discusses how to keep children safe at school during the pandemic as more school districts face COVID-19 outbreaks and some are forced to stop in-person classes.
When can kids return to sports after COVID-19? Doctors weigh in
Pediatric cardiologists are offering important advice on if and when it is safe for children and teens to return to playing sports after recovering from COVID-19.
School spending cuts? Citizens prefer teachers and administrators to take the hit during economic crises
With schools around the world looking into various cost-cutting measures in the midst of the COVID-10 pandemic, new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York reveals that citizens prefer teachers and administrative staff to be at the frontline of school spending cuts during times of economic crisis.
Sociologists Available to Discuss Schools Reopening During a Pandemic
As school districts grapple with how to plan for the start of the 2020 school year, parents, teachers, and administrators are divided on the best approach. Sociologists study education, families, inequality, access, and a number of other issues related to schools reopening.
Commentary in Pediatrics: Children Don’t Transmit Covid-19, Schools Should Reopen in Fall
Based on one new and three recent studies, the authors of this commentary in Pediatrics conclude that children rarely transmit Covid-19, either among themselves or to adults. The authors recommend that schools reopen in the fall, since staying home can adversely affects children’s development.
NYC school reopening plan puts vulnerable Black, Latinx students at risk
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that public schools will not fully reopen for the upcoming school year. New York City students will return to school on a limited basis with only one to three days a…
Caution urged for reopening schools to prevent spread of COVID-19 crisis
Irvine, Calif., June 15, 2020 — With fast-approaching preparations required for a new school year with no consensus plan yet in place, a team of clinicians, scientists and educators – including a University of California, Irvine pediatrician – stress the need for caution when re-opening America’s schools and advocate for large-scale viral testing in children, contract tracing and other actions to avoid compounding the COVID-19 crisis.
Persistent inequitable exposure to air pollution in Salt Lake County schools
Salt Lake County, Utah’s air pollution is at times the worst in the United States. Underserved neighborhoods—and their schools—experience the highest concentrations. A new study utilized nearly 200 PM 2.5 sensors through the Air Quality and U network and revealed persistent social inequalities in Salt Lake County schools.
Keep schools closed. They’re ‘dangerous breeding grounds’ for coronavirus
In a call with governors this week, President Trump suggested states should seriously consider reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though many have already said it would be unsafe for students to return to…
Don’t forget our kids. OT researchers urge extra support for home schooling vulnerable children
As Australia’s teachers strive to shift education online, parents everywhere are bracing for change, but no more so than parents of children with additional needs such as autism, who fear their kids may be left behind in the race to adjust.
Understanding How COVID-19 Affects Children Vital to Slowing Pandemic, Doctors Say
Though COVID-19 so far appears to be largely sparing children, researchers are cautioning that it is critical to understand how the virus affects kids to model the pandemic accurately, limit the disease’s spread and ensure the youngest patients get the care they need.
Faculty Q&A: H. Luke Shaefer on how the coronavirus outbreak highlights inequities in health care, employment systems
FACULTY Q&ALuke ShaeferAs the coronavirus continues to spread, University of Michigan poverty scholar H. Luke Shaefer discusses how the pandemic will impact hourly workers and families with low incomes. Shaefer, faculty director of Poverty Solutions U-M, is a professor of social work and public policy.What are the implications of the coronavirus pandemic for low-income families?As there are more and more closures, those who don’t have paid time off and only get paid when they clock in are going to run into the most financial trouble.
Coronavirus K-12 closures impact safety, stability for vulnerable NYC students
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the first NYC public school closures on Thursday, adding to the over 1,000 K-12 schools across the country that are closing or moving to online education to help control the spread of…
New Survey: Nine in 10 U.S. Adults Support Local Government Investments in Infrastructure Improvements to Promote Economic Activity in their Communities
More than nine in 10 adults from every major demographic group want their local government to invest in infrastructure improvements that promote economic activity in their community, according to a newly released National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) poll.
New study advocates a positive approach to school safety
Policy responses to school shootings have not prevented them from happening more frequently, but restorative justice has the potential to avert bad behavior and school shootings, finds a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.The study, “Disparate Impacts: Balancing the Need for Safe Schools With Racial Equity in Discipline,” published in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, finds that crisis prevention policies enacted following school shootings tend to exacerbate racial and ethnic discipline disparities in several different ways.