Connect for Kids / Child Advocacy 360 / Youth Policy Action Center blogs

Re-Connecting our Youth Conference Calls Scheduled

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 08:34:04 -0500

Join YTFG�s Safe Passage Conference Calls
The Youth Transition Funders Group is hosting two conference calls this fall to share how funders and communities are working together to help all of America s youth connect by age 25. Panelists will discuss pathways to college and careers, reform and alternatives to incarceration, and programs that help youth become financially independent after foster care .

Re-Connecting our Youth Conference Calls

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 13:06:08 -0500

Join YTFG�s Safe Passage Conference Calls
The Youth Transition Funders Group is hosting two conference calls this fall to share how funders and communities are working together to help all of America's youth connect by age 25. Panelists will discuss pathways to college and careers, reform and alternatives to incarceration, and programs that help youth become financially independent after foster care .

Looking for a Few Good Men

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:33:30 -0500

My cousin�s husband, Charlie Seymour, is a first grade teacher at James Monroe Elementary School in Santa Rosa, CA. Charlie is a rarity these days�he is the only male teacher at his school, and one of the few men teaching in his county. That makes Charlie part of the scant 9 percent of males who are elementary school teachers according to the most recent research available by the National Education Association. Only 24.9 percent of the nation's 3 million teachers are men.

New ways to connect...

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:27:05 -0500

In my five years as editor of Connect for Kids, a lot has changed. As I prepare to take my leave -- this will be my last entry to this blog, as I head off for some new adventures with my family in Nairobi, Kenya -- it's fun to look back and see how far we've come.

Let's Move 'Em to Private Schools

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 16:30:11 -0500

I�m a product of the public schools�the public schools of New Orleans, no less. No, I�m not trying to be a poster child to lambast the Republicans for their proposal to spend $100 million on vouchers for low-income students in failing public schools around the country to attend private and religious schools.

Jason Kamras: One Heck of a Teacher

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:47:07 -0500

Jason Kamras is making the future look brighter for many Washington, DC students. Last April he was awarded with the title National Teacher of the Year, which was DC�s first. Kamras is profiled in today�s Washington Post ,and the article discusses his travels as the titular winner, his love of teaching math, and his positive remarks about No Child Left Behind (yes, *positive*, not a typo).

Is the Air Healthy for Your Kids?

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 06:55:59 -0500

Vehicle emission controls and cleaner-burning fuels have improved air quality in urban environments but children can still be exposed to particularly dangerous levels of air contamination in schools built near busy roadways or other sources of pollution. New research reported in the July 6, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine finds that the level of carbon particles in the air is correlated with reduced function in children's developing lungs.

Youth Policy--Let's Get It Together

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 06:32:37 -0500

A few years ago I attended a Forum for Youth Investment luncheon with policy analysts and funders -- all agreed the U.S. was behind the times because we lack any kind of national, coordinated youth policy. In March 2005 Connect for Kids and the Forum fielded a poll that asked if coordinating services for young people made sense--of course the answer was a resounding "yes."

Thoughts on Health Insurance, or Lack Thereof

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:39:55 -0500

When it came to our health, my mother always crossed her fingers and kneeled at her bed at night, praying that my sister and I would not get sick. My mother, a single parent, didn�t have insurance�she couldn�t afford it, and like many folks, she lingered in limbo: she earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, but couldn�t afford private insurance.

Pick one: a) Fat b) Overweight c) Obese

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 09:47:10 -0500

I was a chubby kid. (I�m also a chubby mother because of a plus-40 pound weight gain during my pregnancy, but that�s a subject for another rant-worthy blog). My cousins called me chubby, my track coach called me chubby, and even my mom and grandfather called me chubby. Was I offended by this occasional term of endearment? Sure. I mean, would I call my daughter chubby if she was?

Killing kid culture with kindness

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 13:18:25 -0500

Imagine this. It's 2086. An earnest young graduate student in anthropology turns on his camera, and turns to the stooped, white-haired gentleman sitting across from him.

"Tell me more about this game 'tag' -- how was it played exactly?"

Who's Raining on Your Fourth of July Parade?

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 09:46:15 -0500

Are you going to the Fourth of July parade? Well, Congress has already rained on it. Here's how:

As of July 1 students starting out for college, and many of those still paying off those college loans, will have to pay much higher interest rates, thanks to the budget deal Congress made to cut spending for student aid while expanding tax cuts for investments.

Dear Husband: A Smoky Lesson

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:14:50 -0500

We have a crisis on our hands. And it involves our lovely 5 month-old daughter. Her health and happiness could be affected by a nasty habit of yours: smoking.

You know the facts. You�ve always known. You know that smoking can cause certain cancers, lead to death, and cost thousands of dollars a year. And a recent report issued by the U.S. Surgeon General revealed that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent.

Fluff

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:13:19 -0500

I remember my first Fluffernutter. Jiff Creamy Style peanut butter, carefully spread on Wonder Bread (because Wonder Bread just can't stand up to crunchy) topped with a layer of Marshmallow Fluff and another slice of squishy bread. This sweet nutritional black hole, a symphonic conglomeration of the emptiest calories in the universe, was packed into my lunchbox -- the one shaped like a barn with space for a thermos under the roof. And I knew it was going to be a good day.

What's in Vogue? Greed or Generosity

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 08:55:54 -0500

Update: This just in--the Senate has postponed the scheduled June 29 vote on reducing the estate tax.

In explaining his decision to give away most of his money through the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett says his children have had more privileges and advantages than more than 99 percent of the rest of the children in America. His heirs don't need to inherit every last cent of his billions as well. Buffett says he hopes his gift will serve as a model for others.