New medical school in New Jersey
New Jersey faces a physician shortage expected to grow to 3,000 in the next two years. Hackensack Meridian Health and Seton Hall University hope to help stem that deficit with the launch of the state's first private med school in more than 60 years. Seton Hall President Mary Meehan said she imagines how her university's alumni who went on to or aspired to become doctors might've thrived at this Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall, which plans to pair every med student with a couple of families in the community to meet with and counsel throughout their years as a student.
Project Search
A program called Project Search recruits students with special needs, ages 18 to 21, from the school system and brings them to Overlook Medical Center in New Jersey to get on-the-job training in various internships.
Armed guards in LI schools?
A fiery debate has captured the attention of the nation after 17 people were killed in the Parkland, Florida, shooting: Should teachers or school security guards be armed? School districts throughout Long Island are reevaluating security measures. As Fox 5 reported last week, a surveillance camera pilot program is underway in Huntington that captures an image of anyone who pulls a fire alarm. In Westbury, all visitors are required to sign in. But the buzz surrounds the Miller Place school district where four armed guards joined the security staff earlier this week.
Schools chancellor pick bails on NYC
The person tapped to lead New York City's public schools has backed out of the job. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho of Miami-Dade County, Florida, told an emergency school board meeting Thursday that he had a change of heart so he can honor "an agreement and a pact I have with the children of Miami." It is an embarrassment for the de Blasio administration. Eric Phillips, the mayor's spokesman, blasted Carvalho. "Who would ever hire this guy again? Who would ever vote for him?" Phillips tweeted.
Protesting school closures
Parents, teachers, students and community leaders packed into a downtown Manhattan auditorium in an impassioned last-ditch effort to save their schools from closing. The Panel for Education Policy was considering the fate of 13 city schools slated for closure, including 8 schools that are part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's renewal program, which aims to get failing schools back on track with increased funding and resources.
Suicide prevention training through avatars
An online simulation program uses role-play conversations with virtual humans, also known as avatars, to teach people how to identify signs of distress and then respond to those who might be at risk. Colleges throughout the country are using the program Kognito at Risk to help its students tackle anxiety, stress, thoughts of suicide, and depression. St. John's University is one of them. The university has been using Kognito at Risk for faculty and staff since 2011.
Augmented reality in classrooms
Gina Divito's fourth graders at P.S. 4 in Linden, New Jersey, are seeing sharks very clearly. Augmented reality technology is taking her class to the depths of the ocean. The technology allows a computer-generated image to be superimposed on a user's view of the real world.
NYC schools to close
More than a dozen struggling New York City schools will be closed, including one where a student was fatally stabbed in September. Many of the schools were part of a renewal program to help underperforming schools improve, which, apparently, is not working out.
Fighting gang recruitment
Nearly two dozen killings on Long Island last year are linked to MS-13. The brutal gang often targets children ages 11 to 15 for recruitment. Now Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to target those kids with educational programs. On Sunday, Cuomo announced an $11.5 million plan to enroll at-risk kids in social and educational programs.
Good Day Street Talk: Dec. 16, 2017
Developmental psychologist Dr. Nava Silton created a family musical called "Addy and Uno" that inspires audiences and raises awareness about disability. Karen Geer of InterSchool Orchestras of New York talks about getting NYC kids access to instruments and lessons. Micaela Martegani of More Art and artists Dread Scott and Shimon Attie talk about the organization's impact.
Learning in a simulated hospital
At Long Island University Post, both undergrad and graduate students use a simulation center that mimics a hospital to learn proper techniques and gain real-life experience. Eight mannequins simulate different scenarios. A maternity ward simulation has a mannequin programmed to give birth.
Homeschooled New Yorkers
Just over 4,600 students are homeschooled in New York City, according to the city Department of Education. Fox 5 met with two of those students. Willow Doldan, 5, is enthusiastic about going to school every day, but it's not your typical school setting. She attends class while sitting in her Hell's Kitchen living room.
Free school lunches
New York City public schools will offer free lunch to all students, regardless of family income. Chancellor Carmen Farina said the free lunch for all program is about equity, treating every child fairly, and helping families. The program also provides free breakfast to all New York City public school students. Advocates say healthy breakfast and lunch ensure that students are receiving nutritious meals so they can succeed in the classroom.
Students spend summer in South Africa
It was a trip of a lifetime for 25 students in grades 6 through 12 at schools in New York and Connecticut. Their mission was to help orphans and families in need in South Africa. The students from Capital Prep Charter School in Harlem and Bridgeport, Connecticut, study social justice and live by a code at the school: their actions can change the world.
Painted pianos donated to schools
A room is filled colorful pianos that been on the streets and parks of New York City. Since 2006 the nonprofit organization Sing for Hope has had one mission: to bring art and music to the fingertips of the community. The Sing for Hope piano installation is one of the organization's largest programs and is also one of the largest public art projects in the world. So what happens to the instruments after they are removed from the streets and parks?
Being Muslim and female in New York
Many Muslims argue that the president's foreign policy is fostering a more vocal Islamophobia in the United States. And it is especially problematic for women who wear traditional garments, which they say makes them targets for hate.
Schools with no librarians?
Harlem mom Diana Tinsley is frustrated. Last year Tinsley filed a Freedom of Information Law, or FOIL, request, with the city's Department of Education to find out which of the 16 middle and high schools in the district staffed librarians. Tinsley and the rest of the Community Education Council were concerned the city was violating state regulations that require librarians at certain schools, and that a lack of librarians could be hurting literacy levels.
Games for Change Festival
A chemistry lab in virtual reality. A game that lets the player help scientists fight dementia. Minecraft for the classroom. These games all have one thing in common: they're all designed with social impact in mind. The 14th annual Games for Change Festival is the biggest one yet, with 1,100 participants from all around the world at the New School at Parsons.
Universities respond to growth of e-sports
The world calls professional competitive video gaming "e-sports." In April, the University of Utah announced the sponsoring of a varsity e-sports team. It is the first school from the Power 5 athletic conference to offer such program. It is the first school from the Power 5 athletic conference to offer such program. In the last couple of years, e-sports has become huge around the world with hundreds of millions tuning in to watch. In 2014, Amazon acquired Twitch, which is the live streaming video platform in online gaming broadcasts.
Rikers Island inmates receive job training
Rows on rows of razor barbed wire around the GMDC building on Rikers Island say "jail" bigger than any sign. Fox 5 got an exclusive look inside the jail that is the temporary home to about 400 men, ages 18 to 21. They've all been arrested but the vast majority of them have not yet had their day in court. For some detainees, time served on Rikers is their initiation into the prison pipeline. For a growing number of others, it is a wakeup call before it is too late. Inside this high-security facility over the last two years, the Department of Correction has been arming inmates with a variety of career skills so they won't succumb to the negative influence of the streets once they get out. So far, about 1,500 former inmates left Rikers with job training.