Thank a Teacher Day 2025: Send us your messages
You see them almost every day and they are a big part of your lives, teachers and school support staff help kids learn and grow and now there is a chance to recognise all they do.Is there a special teacher who is able to explain things really well and makes lessons super fun?Or is there a teaching assistant who has helped you with something that you found difficult?Perhaps there's someone who is always there for a friendly chat or is guaranteed to make you laugh? Maybe one of your school staff is particularly kind or a good listener?Or is there a dinner helper who remembers what your favourite food is and always gives you a bigger helping?Whoever it is, give that special person in your school a shout out in the comments.Let us know how they've helped you and why they should be thanked.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
One injured after plane in Denver aborts takeoff due to ‘landing gear incident'
One person was injured after a plane in Denver aborted its takeoff and evacuated those on board using its emergency slide, authorities reported. The Federal Aviation Administration said that a 'possible landing gear incident' hit the American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 and the slides were deployed amid signs of a fire underneath the plane. 'All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for their experience,' the airline said in a statement. One person taken to the hospital with a minor injury. 'The plane started vibrating and shaking really bad,' 17-year-old passanger Shay Armistead told CNN. 'We started tilting to the left side of the runway, and then we heard the sound of the wind from them lifting up the brakes of the plane and slamming on them really hard.' Denver is the sixth busiest airport in the world and a vital hub in the United States. The incident is the second involving a major airline in the US since Friday, when a Southwest flight took a sudden nosedive to avoid a midair collision shortly after takeoff in Burbank, California.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Disturbing trend that has been growing among children since the pandemic
Chronic absenteeism surged to unprecedented levelsat schools across America during the coronavirus pandemic and remains at disturbingly high levels even now. The Department of Education (DoE) defines chronic absenteeism as students missing 10 percent or more of school per year. Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed to 31 percent in the 2021-2022 academic year but even four years later, students are still missing class at unprecedented rates. Absenteeism has dropped to 19.3 percent but student absences are 'more common' and 'more extreme' following the pandemic, a study by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has found. The latest data, which includes figures through March of 2025, shows absenteeism rates still remain 50 percent higher than before covid. Absenteeism declined 0.3 points since last year, but experts warn that at the current rate it will take at least two decades for student absence rates to return to pre-pandemic levels. Educators are trying to incentivize students to come to school, with some districts even paying students for their attendance. Others have encouraged teachers to have attendance count towards grades or limit the number of assignments that can be completed online, The Boston Globe reports. Twenty states reported that more than 30 percent of their students missed at least three weeks of school in 2022-23, according to latest figures from the DoE. Absenteeism remains highest in Oregon, Hawaii, New Mexico and the District of Columbia, the report - published earlier this year - revealed. Oregon recorded absenteeism levels of 44 percent during the 22-23 academic year, followed by Hawaii and New Mexico at 43 percent. Washington DC, however, recorded an absenteeism rate of 47 percent - the highest in the country, according to the data. The AEI report, which includes data from last year, found the highest rates of absenteeism are in Hawaii which recorded a level of 34 per cent in 2024. Connecticut followed at 30 percent and DC came ranked third worst at 29 percent, according to the AEI data. Researchers say that absences derive from multiple - but often interconnected - factors including student disengagement, lack of access to student and family supports, and student and family health challenges. They allege absenteeism is highest among 'high-needs populations', including students who come from low-income households. Students with disabilities are 36 percent more likely to experience chronic absenteeism than students without disabilities, the DoE has found. Absenteeism is also 20 percent higher among students who are English language learners than those who are fluent or native speakers. The DoE has called on states and school districts nationwide to address the factors driving absences and 'send a clear message' to students and families that children 'need to be in school'. District officials in Detroit, Michigan and Oakland, California have used money to motivate students to come to school. Detroit spends up to $1,000 per student per year to encourage attendance, which experts allege increases attendance by as much as several days annually. A Boston School Committee member has called on officials to launch a similar program in the Massachusetts city, the Globe reports. Massachusetts recorded a statewide absenteeism level of 15 percent last year, latest figures reveal. Other experts have encouraged schools to create 'negative nudges' or punishments for students who fail to meet attendance requirements. Robert Balfanz, of Johns Hopkins University School of Education, suggests that having attendance affect academic grades could get students who are on the verge of skipping to turn up to class. Tim Daly, CEO of education nonprofit EdNavigator, has suggested that schools increase attendance rates by helping tackle students lacking sleep. A survey conducted by the organization found that after sickness, 'not enough sleep' was the most common reason for student absences. Daly suggested schools could 'help kids with their nighttime routines' by disabling capabilities on district-issued technology at certain times. 'Sometimes when kids stay up too late, they're using the devices to 'do homework' but really they're using them to stream,' he said during AEI's chronic absenteeism symposium in May. 'Not only would [disabling them] prevent them that, [schools] can message to parents, when that goes off, it's time to go to sleep.' Some school districts have even adjusted high school start times to better align with adolescent sleep cycles. Mary Beth Miotto, a pediatrician and former president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has also urged medical professionals to treat school attendance like a 'vital sign'. Miotto argued that high absenteeism negatively impacts physical and mental health, such as increasing high school dropout rates and lowering life expectancy. She said it is critical for doctors to encourage parents to get their children to school and have positive conversations about attendance without sparking fears about truancy. The pediatrician believes that all primary care physicians, ER staff and urgent care doctors should be asking families about school attendance. 'We can pour all the money into schools and teachers, but if kids aren't showing up, it's not helping,' Miotto told the Globe.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Passengers evacuate Boeing jet after tyres blow out
Passengers were forced to evacuate from a Boeing flight after the plane's tyres blew out on the runway. American Airlines Flight 3023 was preparing to leave Denver International Airport for Miami on Saturday when it 'experienced a mechanical issue' while accelerating before take-off, the airline said. The incident raises further questions over Boeing's safety record following a number of major failures. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement on Sunday that the crew onboard the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane 'reported a possible landing gear incident during departure' at around 2.45pm (9.45pm BST) on Saturday. All 173 passengers and six crew 'de-planed safely' but one passenger sustained a minor injury and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the airline said. Video shows passengers using the evacuation slide to leave the plane as smoke billows from the fuselage, some carrying small children. Several people can be seen falling onto the tarmac as they land. Mark Tsurkis, 50, a passenger aboard the flight, told ABC News he heard 'a loud boom' as the plane was about to take off. 'I said, 'That's not good',' Tsurkis said, at which point the plane began to slow down, he said, and passengers could see one of the wheels pass by. 'When the plane stopped about 30 seconds to a minute later, somebody said, 'Smoke, fire.' And then a lot of people, of course, started panicking,' Tsurkis said. Shay Armistead, a 17-year-old passenger who was headed to Santiago, Chile, for a ski trip told CNN that Saturday's ordeal was 'kind of traumatising.' As the plane moved down the runway, passengers heard a loud bang and believed the tyre popped, Armistead said. 'The plane started vibrating and shaking really bad. We started tilting to the left side of the runway, and then we heard the sound of the wind from them lifting up the brakes of the plane and slamming on them really hard.' The airline said: 'We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologise to our customers for their experience.' The FAA said it was investigating the incident. Boeing has been heavily criticised in recent years over a string of failures. In June the National Transportation Safety Board blasted Boeing's safety culture and its failure to stop a cabin panel getting sucked out mid-air during a flight in January 2024. The board said the company failed to install four key bolts in a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 during production. Sunday's evacuation also comes amid concerns over aviation safety in the United States after a string of recent accidents and near misses. On Friday a Southwest Airlines flight plunged mid-air to avoid colliding with another aircraft while en route to Las Vegas, injuring two flight attendants. In January, a mid-air collision between a commercial aircraft approaching Ronald Reagan Airport near downtown Washington and a military helicopter killed 67 people. In May, US President Donald Trump's administration announced plans to overhaul its 'antiquated' air traffic control system, which suffers from a shortage of controllers in FAA-managed towers. The government has laid off hundreds of FAA employees as part of its plan to slash the federal workforce.
