For MASSPTA

Boston Public Health Commission's Safe Shops Tool Kit officially went
online yesterday.  The Safe Shops Tool Kit was developed to describe how
the Safe Shops Project was created and to provide other communities who
are also working toward goals of environmental health and pollution
prevention in auto shops, the tools and resources necessary to start or
compliment initiatives of their own.

The purpose of this Tool Kit is to describe the Safe Shops outreach
strategies and successes and provide the resources to help neighborhoods
pro-actively address auto shop pollution prevention.  You can see the
Safe Shops Tool Kit and download materials here:
http://www.bphc.org/bphc /safeshops_toolkit.asp

Please note that other auto shop educational material and information
about the Safe Shops Project can be found here: www.bphc.org/safeshops

Into the playrooms of children has come the unsettling news: those little red trains and other neat miniatures of the adult world may be coated in paint containing illegally high levels of lead, posing myriad risks to a child's neurological development. After that discovery prompted a mass recall this past summer, parents will never look at Thomas the Tank Engine the same way again. But the uproar over banned substances and rogue Chinese toy manufacturers has overshadowed an even more troubling issue: the toxins in toys that are perfectly legal. The United States remains one of the few developed countries to permit the import of plastic toys made with polyvinyl chloride additives called phthalates (pronounced tha-lates), which help make toys soft and pliable enough to be twisted or sucked yet durable enough to survive a 1-year-old's grip. A mounting body of scientific evidence suggests that phthalates impede the production of testosterone and disrupt the sexual development of infant boys.  Read the complete article...

Toxic Toys  by Mark Schapiro  The Nation   November 5, 2007
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071105/schapiro

LEAD TESTING DAY !

WHAT:

Concerned about recent reports of lead in toys? Bring in your toys to be tested with state-of-the-art, high-powered testing equipment. This is a free public service brought to you by Green Planet Kids in partnership with a company that uses x-ray fluorescence technology.

 
WHEN:

Friday, November 30 ^th, from 12 noon to 8 pm .

 
WHY:

With all the recent press coverage of toys that have been recalled because of lead contamination, we had our merchandise tested so that you can shop at Green Planet Kids with confidence. Now we want to give you the opportunity to do the same with some of the favorite toys that you have at home.

 
WHERE:

Green Planet Kids
22 Lincoln Street
Newton Highlands

617-332-7841

 

HOW:

Look for bright orange, red, or yellow toys, especially those that are put in the mouth. Limit of 5 toys per household, please.

 
*****Help us spread the word about this important event. *****

Please forward this information to families, schools and parenting groups.

 
Voted #1 Toy Store in Newton and the Metrowest Region

Consuming Kids: The Sexualization of Children and Other Commercial Calamities  April 3-5, 2008 Register today! Wheelock College, Boston, MA

Special Early Bird Registration Available Until January 15, 2008:

$150 General Admission  $85 Students (Scholarships available)

 

As in year's past, the 2008 summit will combine activism with education.  Since 2001 we have been bringing together distinguished scholars, activists, parents, and educators to talk about how marketing undermines children's health and well-being and what we can do about it. The 2008 summit will feature a special focus on how marketing contributes to the sexualization of children and youth.

To see the complete summit lineup and to register at special early bird rates, please visit http://www.commercialfreechild hood.org/events.htm.

Click on Gallery above to find new poster poem titled: 
Act for A Healthy Tomorrow

Let me know if you would like me to send you a jpg file suitable for downloading. 

ellie.goldberg@gmail.com

Click here: CPS Minutes

From: Mary Ann Hardenbergh, monthly meeting Facilitator

Guest: Paul Reville, Chair of State Board of Education

NEXT MEETING DECEMBER 6 ON METCO AND THE RECENT SUPREME COURT DECISION

http://www.boston.com/news /local/articles/2007/11/18/a _better_equation/

A Braintree middle school, spurred by federal mandate, redesigns its math curriculum, and the gains are adding up

East Middle School's math instruction earlier this decade appeared to be as reliable as 1 + 1 = 2.   Administrators and teachers at the Braintree school made sure lessons matched state standards, adopted the latest teaching techniques, and bought new textbooks. Students as a whole consistently scored above the state average on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests.  But then came 2004 and some disappointing scores for special-education students in the first round of testing under the sweeping No Child Left Behind law. Initially, school officials, like those at dozens of other departments across the region, thought they needed only to tweak instruction for those students. But eventually, East Middle School realized it needed fundamental changes in the teaching of math to all students.

Now, there is evidence the holistic approach may be working. Last month, the school learned that MCAS scores last spring for special-education students shot up 14 percent over the previous year, while scores for others remained strong.

 

Boston Public Schools Community Forums

KENTUCKY TO EMPLOY FIRST-EVER RUBRIC TO INCREASE PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
The Kentucky Parent Advisory Council has issued recommendations and a rubric focused on increasing parental involvement in education. In the report issued by the group, six objectives geared to increase a community's stake in public education, which included relationship building, effective communication, decision making, advocacy, learning opportunities and community partnerships, were outlined. In addition, the rubric allows parents and educators alike to rate the involvement parents and communities have in schools with a focus on the six objectives. The Kentucky Commissioner's Parent Advisory Council (CPAC) has recommended that the Kentucky Department of Education take major steps to implement the objectives defined by the Kentucky Parent Advisory Council, including adopting a "customer satisfaction" training module for school districts and establishing community involvement councils at the school, district and state levels. CPAC'S goal is to make Kentucky the first state to set standards for family and community involvement that are specifically focused on student achievement. The Kentucky Department of Education has already pledged to incorporate the rubric into its standards-based accountability system.
http://www.education.ky.gov /KDE/Instructional+Resources /Student+and+Family+Support /Parents+and+Families/The +Missing+Piece+of+the+Proficien cy+Puzzle.htm