The author reports on the issue of bullying that rose on state legislative agendas this year, with 21 states passing anti-bullying laws--some of which expanded schools' responsibilities to keep a check on any harassment that goes on among students. States set out to write clear definitions of bullying and to regulate school policies and…

Cheating has become a major issue for schools and leaders across the country. While plagiarism and cheating are not new, the proliferation of technologies available to students enables new forms of cheating. In addition, recent studies demonstrate an interesting level of moral flexibility among students as they often are motivated to cheat simply…

America is failing its young Black boys. In metropolitan ghettos, rural villages and midsized townships across the country, schools have become holding tanks for populations of Black boys who have a statistically higher probability of walking the corridors of prison than the halls of college. Across America, the problem of Black male achievement…

The names that school boards give to public schools can both reflect and shape civic values. It is increasingly rare for public schools to be named after presidents -- or people, in general -- and increasingly common to name schools after natural features. This shift from naming schools after people worthy of emulation to naming schools after…

Following the National Alliance of Safe Schools' recommendations, a suburban New Jersey school district developed a successful school/police liaison program, issued photo ID cards, and initiated a "safe haven," zero-tolerance substance abuse policy. The district metes out immediate, serious penalties for violations, but also teaches…

William Paterson University (WPUNJ) is a midsize, public, comprehensive university in northern New Jersey, seventeen miles from New York City. The university offers thirty undergraduate and nineteen graduate degree programs in five colleges, has 350 full-time faculty members, and enrolls approximately 11,000 students. While faculty and staff at…

In 1984-85, as part of its annual assessment of the character of remedial programs in New Jersey, the New Jersey Basic Skills Council (NJBSC) administered the Basic Skills Questionnaire to all county and state colleges and universities and requested information on enrollments, placement testing, students identified as needing remediation, students…

A project was conducted in Bergen County, New Jersey, to develop a technical high school for students who are gifted and talented in science, mathematics, and the technologies. Through a hands-on approach to learning, the curricular disciplines were integrated to bring life and meaning to abstract principles and theories and to give students an…