Brochure Offers Families Facts on How to Identify Learning Disabilities in Youth and Access Available Educational Resources

ITHACA, N.Y. - As a student in the Human Ecology Leadership Initiative Program this year, Cornell University senior, Dana Sckolnick, has created an educational outreach project to help children in the Ithaca community who are behind in school.

"Through my volunteer work at local schools and organizations, over my past four years in Ithaca, I've discovered how often families lack knowledge of educational rights and resources," Sckolnick explains, "So, I wanted to create something that would help strengthen public awareness of available academic resources and, possibly, inspire others to stand up for educational equality in our public schools."

As an executive board member at the Family and Children's Service of Ithaca, Sckolnick has put her project into action. By creating an educational brochure for families with children facing learning difficulties in school, she offers families facts on how to identify learning disabilities in youth as well as contact information for a variety of national, statewide, and local educational centers and resources. The brochure can be found at the Family and Children's Service Center, located at 530 West State Street in Ithaca.

At F&CS, Sckolnick advocates for increased local educational rights awareness through the agency's Dispositional Alternatives Program (DAP). DAP is a youth services program that provides supportive counseling and enrichment opportunities to children and their families facing difficulties at home, in school, or in the community. Sckolnick works together with the program's case managers as they meet with their clients to find out what their educational needs are and how the program can best meet them.

"Educational advocacy is essential," Sckolnick proclaims, "Many schools across the country, such as Beverly J. Martin Elementary here in Ithaca, are facing funding problems and not meeting federal education standards. We can't just sit back and watch this happen. We need to stand up and do something about it."

With education issues hitting close to home, Sckolnick's educational outreach work has definitely not gone unrecognized, or unsupported, in Tompkins County. "Educational outreach is vital for families in our area," DAP Director, Pat Karr-Segal, explains, "Navigating the special education process is especially important in keeping many of our most vulnerable youth on track.
" State Assembly Representative for Tompkins County, Barbara Lifton, also acknowledges the importance of educational advocacy. In a letter to Sckolnick, she stated, "we need education reform and accountability…under-performing schools need better paid and trained teachers and administrators and more resources."

From researching and exploring the issues of youth educational policy and human rights, under the supervision of her advisors, Leadership and Undergraduate Research Director, Brenda Bricker and Policy Analysis & Management Professor, Ray Swisher, Sckolnick continuously seeks out more ways to promote learning and educational rights awareness in Ithaca for the future. "Some ideas I am currently working on," she explains, "are setting up a free education-based lecture series on the local college campuses and talking with Ithaca City School District administrators about implementing special programs to help children in need."

Sckolnick acknowledges, however, that educational inequality is not just a local dilemma. Instead, she claims, "it is a problem that needs to be given greater attention to in every community, nationwide."

Thus, with her college graduation approaching, Sckolnick is determined to remain active in advocating for greater academic equality. She plans to continue her studies on education law and human rights by attending law school in the fall. "I look at my leadership initiative project this year as my first big stepping stone towards establishing my future career as a lawyer," she states, "One day I hope to provide school children and families in need with professional legal and educational assistance."

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Dana Sckolnick, of Hewlett Harbor, NY, is a human development major at Cornell University. Graduating in May 2007 with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, Sckolnick is the president of the Human Ecology Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society, treasurer of the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, class correspondent for the Class of 2007 Alumni Council, a co-founder of Fostering Leadership in Youth (FLY), and a former senior commissioner for the Student Assembly Finance Commission. She is currently writing her leadership honors thesis on youth educational rights in the United States and working at the Family and Children's Service of Ithaca, where she helps promote education among disadvantaged families. Due to her academic and extracurricular achievements, Sckolnick has recently been honored, by the College of Human Ecology, as an "Outstanding Senior" at Cornell. In August, Sckolnick will attend law school, where she will continue her studies on educational law and human rights.

Published April 16, 2007