Fulton County and Atlanta spar over use of abatements for development
By George Lefkowicz, Henry W. Grady High School
September 24, 2020
The Atlanta City Council adopted a unanimous resolution Sept. 21 demanding that the Development Authority of Fulton County cease offering tax abatements within the City of Atlanta. On Aug. 25, the county approved three abatements: $3.7 million for a hotel in Atlantic Station, $3.3 million for a residential...
California wildfires rage on, cause families to prepare for evacuation
By Gabriella Winans, Prosper High School
September 24, 2020
Thousands of families across California are prepared to evacuate their homes, while many have already evacuated, following the severe "El Dorado" wildfire that has burned across the state since Sept. 5. As the wildfire continues to spread, residents like Menlo School senior Sareena Sandhu are left with...
Seniors plan to graduate early under unusual circumstances
By Maggie Delaney, Granite Bay High School
September 23, 2020
For many seniors, that last spring semester is when they make their last memories of highschool. By that time many seniors are finally relaxing. College applications are over, SAT and ACT tests are done, and seniors finally get to enjoy spending one last semester with their peers before college. ...
Breaking News: Vegetation fire forces community evacuations
By Rachel McCrea and Allison Raisner
September 23, 2020
As record-setting wildfires burn across the state, a brush fire broke out in the San Juan Canyon in Belmont, causing evacuations in the nearby community. The first report of the fire was called in at 3:44 pm, Monday afternoon, crews arriving within six minutes, noticing the fire climbing up the...
Social isolation affects teen social development
By Elizabeth Park and Sharlene Chen
September 23, 2020
Isolated, scared and unsure — just a few of the emotions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Humans are naturally social. With the COVID-19 crisis calling for social distancing, though, teens are getting fewer chances for face-to-face interactions with their friends. Teenagers are at a stage...
Unmatched use of #blacklivesmatter and the age of online activism
By Katelyn Newton, Rio Americano High School
September 23, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic forced citizens across the globe to spend more time at home - and consequently online - online activism has been on the rise since March. Almost overnight after the death of George Floyd, social media apps like Twitter and Instagram became hubs to spread social awareness and...
Fighting for justice for all
By Shivi Sharma, Coppell High School
September 22, 2020
Since the 1970s, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pioneered the fight for women’s rights through her work on equal pay and sex-based discrimination cases. At the time of her appointment in 1993, Justice Ginsburg was only the second woman to serve on the court. On Friday, at age 87, Ginsburg...
Raging Wildfires, Sudden Power Outages, and a Worldwide Pandemic: Finding Hope in the Uncertain
By Reet Chatterjee, Jesuit High School
September 22, 2020
Principal Paul Hogan joined local school districts—including the Portland Public Schools—to cancel classes on Friday, September 11 due to disruptions caused by wildfires in the region. The announcement came as a relief to disorderly times, as students enter the school year battling wildfire evacuations,...
“My heart sunk”: Whitman community mourns the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
By Aleydis Barnes, Walt Whitman High School
September 22, 2020
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at her home in Washington D.C. Friday night due to complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to a Supreme Court press release. While technical director of the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU from 1972 to 1980), Ginsburg advocated for women’s rights, leading the Supreme Court to recognize the unconstituitonality of sex-based discrimination. In 1993, she became the second woman ever appointed to the Supreme...
Students Group Engages District Leaders for Change Against Racism
By Sandhya Ganesan, San Juan Hills High School
September 21, 2020
During a summer of protests in the name of the Black Lives Matter movement, students and alumni of CUSD have created a movement to speak out against racism faced by many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the community. CUSDAgainstRacism core organizers Solei Sarmiento, Olivia Fu,...
Accidental arson sparks new wildfires in California
By Erwan Pal, Carlmont High School
September 21, 2020
California’s shocking year of wildfires is the worst in state history; 3,154,107 acres of land have been scorched across the state this year, with more expected to burn. Currently, over 7,000 fires are burning throughout the state, one of which was sparked by a gender reveal party. Jenna Karvu...
Disproportionate discipline of Black students in SRVUSD threatens equity
By Sanjana Ranganathan and Jade Wang
September 21, 2020
“I have been called to the office four or five times for things that I didn’t do. One time I was even threatened with suspension and I had nothing to do with it [the infraction],” Dougherty Valley High School (DVHS) senior Ashraf Abdelmagid said, referring to his time at Gale Ranch Middle School...
Minstrel roots of “The Eyes of Texas” ignite debate within UT community
By Samantha Powers, McCallum High School
September 21, 2020
For years, the University of Texas’ alma mater, “The Eyes of Texas,” was widely viewed in the community as a song of unity and togetherness. Austin high school band students dreamed of one day setting foot on the field of the Darryl K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium and proudly playing the university’s...
Medical professionals weigh in on online learning
By Dana Richie, Henry W. Grady High School
September 18, 2020
Students and faculty are spending five hours a day in front of a screen for online instruction plus potentially more hours for independent work and extracurriculars. Virtual learning, though deemed by medical professionals as a much safer alternative to in-person education during the COVID-19 pandemic,...
Distance learning forces elementary students to adapt quickly
By Amber Chia, Carlmont High School
September 18, 2020
A young girl eagerly waits for her first day of kindergarten to arrive. She vividly imagines television-like scenarios of how her first day of school would play out. Her school supplies were purchased and ready to use, anticipating that she will be using them inside a classroom with her future classmates....
FUHSD community pushes for antiracist curriculum and climate
By Mei Corricello and Sruthi Medepalli
September 18, 2020
With the recent rise of racial justice movements such as Black Lives Matter (BLM), FUHSD has been pushed to speak up in the anti-racism conversation. Students, teachers, administrators and community members are hosting town hall meetings, sending letters and writing resolutions to promote anti-racism...
From backyard minyans to distanced dinners, Covid Rosh Hashanah will look and feel different
By Olivia Fishman and Tehilla Fishman, 10th Grade
September 18, 2020
Shalhevet Dean of Students Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg thinks that it will be especially difficult to connect to God during the High Holidays this year. “There is a certain mood and certain energy that happens in shul, where if you walk in and you are not prepared, you can go from a five to a 10 pretty...
Wildfire smoke causes disruptions to Woodside Teachers and Students
By Cedrik von Briel, Woodside High School - CA
September 18, 2020
As California’s fires rage on, one obvious problem to those nearby has been the smoke, which has been disrupting both life and the distance learning experience for teachers and students at Woodside. Ever since a dry lightning storm hit California on August 16, hundreds of fires around California...
UPDATE: What you need to know about Colorado’s wildfires
By Maddy Merritt, Rock Canyon High School
September 17, 2020
Orange, purple, and pink pastels paint the sky. The sun, a bright fuschia orb, makes its way below the horizon. Stunning, right? It’s actually the result of wildfires currently sweeping through the Centennial State, the Pine Gulch Fire in Grand Junction the biggest in the state’s history and at 87%...
Following George Floyd’s Death, Students Mobilize for a Summer of Protests, While Equity Work Continues at La Salle
By Maddie Khaw, La Salle Catholic Preparatory High School
September 17, 2020
The sights and sounds of Portland's summer were seen across the country: people crowding the streets in various areas of the city each evening, brandishing cardboard posters on sidewalk corners or marching through the streets, fists and voices raised to propel a movement that has grasped America’s...
Parents Protest, Want Option for In-Person Instruction
By Sadie Bograd, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School - KY
September 17, 2020
On the evening of Sept. 14, a group of around 50 parents and children gathered outside the office of Fayette County Public Schools to protest Fayette County’s virtual learning policy. The protest was scheduled to coincide with the FCPS Board’s monthly virtual planning meeting. However, the board announced tha...
Staff votes ‘no confidence’ in superintendent
By Allison Raisner, Carlmont High School
September 16, 2020
Teachers and administrators from the Sequoia Union High School District issued a Vote of No Confidence against the superintendent as they question her trustworthiness and actions as a leader of the students, staff, and community. Over summer break, SUHSD Superintendent Mary Streshly’s leadership...
Confrontation between Tiburon police and shop owner sparks backlash against police
By Henry Pratt, Sir Francis Drake High School
September 16, 2020
On Friday, Aug. 21, at approximately 1:00 a.m, a racially-charged confrontation between Tiburon police and black store owner Yema Khalif occured, later causing backlash against the police from local residents. During this incident, former Sergeant Michael Blasi, supervising officer on scene, voiced...
First student COVID-19 case documented at Homestead
By Hannah Kennedy, Homestead High School
September 16, 2020
Students, parents, faculty and staff were notified on Sunday, Sept. 12 that a student had tested positive for COVID-19. The Mequon-Thiensville School District (MTSD), working with the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department, began contact tracing for students who had been a close contact of the positive...
The Redwood City Police Department’s Role in Helping with the Fires
By Emma Montalbano, Woodside High School - CA
September 16, 2020
After an intense thunderstorm passed through the Bay Area on August 16, several fires sparked as a result of the lightning, dry soils, and high winds. As the fires spread, first responders were sent out to assist with the fires and help residents in the affected areas. California’s wildfire season...
English curriculum highlights authors of color
By Charlotte Nicks, Oak Park High School - CA
September 15, 2020
A national push for increased inclusion of figures of color in public school curriculum has become local. The campus may be quiet, but that doesn’t mean the student body isn’t bustling with activity. In the wake of nationwide protests, many students and faculty have become involved, or intensified...
WeChat and TikTok to be banned from the United States
By Irene Yuan, The Harker Upper School
September 15, 2020
On Aug. 6, President Trump issued two executive orders that prohibit U.S. citizens or permanent residents from transacting with the owners of WeChat or TikTok, citing national security concerns as the reason for the orders that would take effect on Sept. 15. This essentially gave American companies 45 days to purchase the U.S. operations of TikTok, especially placing pressu...
SROs and ethnic studies — a closer look
By Mira Sundar, Anika Sikka, and Cedric Chan
September 15, 2020
A handful of Mountain View and Los Altos community members presented a petition to the district board asking to eliminate the presence of student resource officers (SROs) on campus and adopt a mandatory ethnic studies curriculum. The two groups — Los Altos Students, Alumni and Educators (LA SAE)...
Tarrytown Back the Blue rally displays strong support for law enforcement, President Trump
By Logan Schiciano and Mitch Fink
September 14, 2020
“Make America Great Again” and “Thin Blue Line” flags were scattered throughout the crowd at a Tarrytown “Back the Blue” rally on Saturday afternoon, as several prominent law enforcement officials and local politicians took the stage to denounce violence in Democrat-run cities, and voic...
What does shelter-in-place mean when shelter is unaffordable?
By Eric Fang, Lucy Ge, Nina Gee, Varsha Rammohan, Arushi Saxena, Alysa Suleiman, Anna Vazhaeparambil, Sara Yen, and Gloria Zhang
September 11, 2020
'Like pouring on gasoline': Bay Area’s pandemic response complicated by ongoing affordable housing crisis On March 16, Bay Area officials in six counties announced shelter-in-place directives, mandating that residents only leave their homes for essential purposes. But what does sheltering in place look...
DGS students, administration respond to “Zoom bombing” incidents
By Alex Miranda, Downers Grove South High School
September 10, 2020
Since the beginning of the semester on Aug. 17, instances have occurred where unauthorized individuals entered scheduled Zoom calls and engaged in inappropriate behavior. The offense, coined “Zoom bombing” by students and staff, has raised questions related to security and ethical concerns in the...
Fleeing fires: Evacuated community members face challenges with new reality
By Lucy Ge, The Harker Upper School
September 10, 2020
Since a heat wave struck California on Aug. 14, over 900 fires have rolled through 1.8 million acres, destroying at least 3,400 structures, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom during a press conference today. Californians experienced extreme heat over Labor Day weekend, with Newsom declaring a state o...
A race for change
By Lukas Goodwin, Hagerty High School
September 10, 2020
On June 13, a small group of college students rounded together the voices of Oviedo to march for the Black Lives Matter movement that took the nation by storm following the murder of George Floyd. When University of Central Florida senior Tania Sims, the face of BLM Oviedo which would become known as Rea...
Anonymous Cal student posts racist comment during class on the first day of school
By Angela Deanne Paloma and Ronnie Gogoi
September 10, 2020
Cal High was once again attacked by an anonymous act of racism when a student submitted a racist comment in a virtual lesson on, of all days, the first day of school. In a letter emailed to the school community Thursday afternoon, Principal Megan Keefer wrote that a student posted, “I wish...all...
Trace of concern
By Charlotte Mansur, Hagerty High School
September 9, 2020
The person to your right has been gone all week. Your third-period teacher was teaching from home while you watched her from the classroom. Rumors have been swirling throughout campus, making speculations as to who was the first to fall victim to COVID since the start of the school year and how they...
SCU and CZU Lightning Complex fires cause stress as fear of evacuation looms
By Alyssa Garcia, University Preparatory Academy
September 9, 2020
The smell of smoke lingers in the Bay Area as the SCU and CZU Lightning Complex fires burn, causing a surge of fear and anxiety for members of the UPA community. The SCU (Santa Clara Unit) Lightning Complex began abruptly due to lightning strikes on Aug. 18. The California Department of Forestry and ...
To defer or to commit: seniors have a difficult choice this fall
By Kendall Headley, Walt Whitman High School
September 8, 2020
Graduated senior Lucas Arulpragasm sits in front of his computer, attentively staring at the screen and waiting for an announcement from his dream school, Cornell University. He committed to Cornell earlier in the year, but now, any fall plans could vanish. Because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic,...
Pandemic parenting: a complicated balancing act for teachers
By Kate Gross, Downers Grove North High School
September 8, 2020
As schools around the country prepare to begin instruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers face the added challenge of parenting, and in some cases, educating their own children while simultaneously teaching the students in their classes. Teachers with children of all ages have been forced...
Students and faculty reflect on school’s reentry decision as remote start looms
By Logan Schiciano, The Masters School
September 8, 2020
With the first day of classes just days away, students and faculty at The Masters School have varying opinions on Head of School Laura Danforth’s decision to return to remote teaching and learning for at least the month of September. Danforth detailed the school’s reentry plans, which she said w...
Disastrous derecho: Iowa’s unexpected storm
By Maya Chu and Krisha Kapoor
September 8, 2020
Nearly 8,300 homes were damaged in a matter of minutes. A gloomy Monday morning in Iowa turned into a disastrous storm with wind speeds reaching 140 mph, equivalent to a major hurricane. This storm was classified as a derecho, devastating 43% of corn and soybean crops and leaving upwards of $82.7 milli...
Language barriers limit parents’ ability to assist their children with remote learning
By Vanessa Maya, Cerritos College
September 8, 2020
Many school districts, grappling with challenges from the pandemic, have made the decision to teach through remote learning this year, forcing many parents and guardians to make the best of the situation and help their children adapt. For parents with English language learner students, the switch to...
Students seek school identity and unity amid controversial name change
By Samantha Parr and Jack Long
September 4, 2020
Since just over a week ago, Sir Francis Drake High School has become a name of the past. It’s time to say goodbye to the pirates and hello to new beginnings. When school resumes in August it will take on a new, temporary identity as High School 1327. The redefinition of Drake High School has caused...
Viking Solidarity with BLM
By Valentina Moreno, Oakmont High School
September 4, 2020
The recent political and social turmoil following the murder of George Floyd has shifted the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to the center of the world stage, with young activists leading the pack. Young people universally have begun to delve into social activism through a host of platforms,...
MSMS seniors split on affirmative action
By Luke Bowles, The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science
September 4, 2020
As MSMS seniors apply to colleges in the midst of the quest for racial justice by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, affirmative action, or steps taken to increase the representation of minorities in education from which they have been historically excluded, is quite the hot topic. Additional...
Wauwatosa School District Makes Progress in Hiring Minority Teachers but Teachers of Color Continue to be Scarce Locally, Statewide Compared to Students
By Sara Stanislawski, Wauwatosa West High School
September 4, 2020
2020 Wauwatosa West Graduate Anyiah Chambers had her first and only minority teacher at West her senior year. Chambers said she always struggled with math. She says she was willing to learn but faced challenges getting concepts down on tests. However, when she had Wauwatosa West Math Teacher Nathaniel...
KHS alumni share stories of sexual abuse
By Molly Higgins, Kirkwood High School
September 4, 2020
The Kirkwood High School Alumni Facebook group exploded with shares, comments and outrage. Katie Pappageorge, 1999 KHS graduate, began the conversation on July 7 by sharing a haunting story – her experience as a victim of sexual abuse by a former KHS teacher, who will remain unnamed as they have not...
Hurricane Laura impacts families, makes landfall as Category 4
By Gabriella Winans, Prosper High School
September 3, 2020
When Hurricane Laura reached southern Louisiana, residents in Louisiana and Texas cities had to evacuate their homes, and those evacuations affected more than just locals - even people in Prosper had to take action. After previously named as a Category 2 storm, officials updated Hurricane Laura's thre...
Community reflects on police presence in schools
By Ulaa Kuziez, Parkway West High School
September 3, 2020
Student and community organizers are calling on schools across the country to cut their ties with police departments. While campaigns to remove armed officers from school campuses have been ongoing for years, the recent national uprising against police violence sparked by the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd reignited this fight. ...
Virtual environment provides new experiences for elementary, middle school learners to start school year
By Sapna Amin, Coppell High School
September 3, 2020
For Coppell ISD students, the transition to remote learning means that the kitchen table, bedroom, and backyard all double as a classroom, making it increasingly difficult to separate home life from school. From kindergarten to 12th grade, each grade level requires different skills from its students, ...
School reopening debate divides nation, state
![Education Austin president Ken Zarifis, shown here speaking during the AISD budget stabilization task force meeting on Nov. 7, 2018, demanded on Wednesday that TEA and Austin ISD offer wholly online classes at least for the first nine weeks of the 2020-2021 school year. “We have heard too much from the commissioner [and] from the governor that would lead us down the wrong path,” Zarifis said. “We believe that they do not have the interests of workers, of students and their families in mind as they make the decisions that seem to be more guided by fiscal realities than human realities.” Photo by Bella Russo.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/46478948361_91ce2d2f96_o-2-475x266.jpg)
By Samantha Powers, McCallum High School
September 3, 2020
Over the past few weeks, President Trump and Education Secretary Devos have been pressuring schools across the country to reopen for in-person learning. The Trump administration even threatened to revoke federal funding from public schools that do not reopen in the fall. In a tweet posted on July 10,...