In last week's column, I made the case for more time in the classroom. Based on the research, eight powerful arguments were presented for adding more instructional time. The case for maintaining the status quo, however, is just as compelling. more

One of the more recent controversies raging in education is whether and how to extend the school day and even the school year. Most children spend about six hours a day in class. There are proposals to lengthen that time anywhere from an hour to two or more. One variation involves weekend school, particularly for those students who have fallen behind in their studies. more

The school year is approaching the halfway mark, and it has been a great year for District 12. The Malverne High School marching band just won second place in the state championships, and administrators have expanded the district’s character education program to all four schools to help keep students motivated to achieve their goals. more

East Rockaway High School senior Danny Quadrino, 18, is living his dream as an actor on Broadway. He has made his debut on the Big White Way in the revival of the musical "Bye Bye Birdie." He just filled in for the starring role of "Hugo" in this week's matinee performance. more

It’s a truism of politics: In times of economic collapse, hard-liners seek scapegoats to blame rather than bipartisan solutions to offer hope. more

With 500 elementary school students chanting “cut the ribbon,” officials did just that on Nov. 25, officially opening up the new playground at the James A. Dever School. The school serves mostly Malverne residents. more

Throughout the long, at times agonizing health reform debate, conservatives and insurance-industry lobbyists have argued that we don’t need a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers. more

As it turns out, we have a new Nassau County executive. Democrat Thomas Suozzi conceded defeat to Republican challenger Ed Mangano last week. Suozzi lost by a mere 386 votes. more

Talk about timeliness. Last week's column, "Responding to a Trio of Tragedies," was followed by three more incidents this week: a principal held hostage, resulting in his school going into lockdown; a 13-year-old boy committing suicide in the Bronx; and a report that two-thirds of all middle school students say they have been bullied. In each case, there was no outlet for rage. It is incumbent on us to prevent anger from escalating to that point. This week, I will examine a number of the anti-bullying programs that are proliferating in the schools, from the elementary to even the college levels. more

Saul Lerner, the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District athletic director, recently resigned his post as coordinator of the Nassau County Boys' Basketball Committee because, he said, the Section VIII Athletic Council rejected a proposal of his to fine-tune the seeding process that ultimately determines teams' playing schedules. In 2006, Lerner was the architect of an ability-grouping system that determined a team's conference by its record. Previously, teams were assigned to conferences without much regard to their records. Rather, officials used what they called the "snake," in which teams were seeded and then laid out on a grid that wound back and forth in serpentine fashion. more