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– Local public school enrollment has dropped since the pandemic following a statewide trend – Public school enrollment in New York state has dropped more than anywhere else in the country since the beginning of the pandemic. According to an Albany Times Union article which quotes data from Associated Press enrollment statewide dropped 6 percent between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school year. Several reasons were cited for the decline. They include the decline in school-age children, people leaving the state, and a rise in homeschooling. The Ithaca, Elmira, Binghamton, and Corning school districts all showed enrollment changes similar to the statewide shift. Every county in the state has lost enrollment according to state…
Youth Farm Project participants Stella Sapp-Dietrich and Etienne Exantus and Ray Hage Assistant Director of Cornell’s Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP) with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project on WRFI.
Read MoreListen to author Raul Palma in conversation with student organizers April Morales, Emily Trage, Riley Rhoder and Professor Jacob White. The 2024 New Voices Festival runs from April 24-26 at Ithaca College and in your community.
Read MoreWhat does community radio mean to you? We think this commercial-free, free-form, independent station helps make our listeners lives-and life in our communities-just a little better. We strive to make programing that opens ears, opens hearts, and leads us to ask important questions about our world. Even if it’s just to ask yourself, “What in…
Read MoreThis is the last of my three stories about freedom of expression at Cornell University this year. Here are links to the first and second stories. The academic theme at Cornell this year is “Freedom of Expression.” In earlier stories, we reported about the general mood at Cornell around free speech, and students’ opinions about…
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Sabotage Cuts Candidate Forum Short A forum for Ithaca City School Board candidates Thursday night was interrupted and then cut short. The event was hosted by the Ithaca Teachers Association (or ITA) via Zoom. Seven candidates were slated to participate, three of whom are endorsed by the ITA. According to the Ithaca Voice, the attack…
Read MoreCornell President Pollack to Retire After seven years as Cornell’s President, Martha Pollock will retire on June 30. According to the Cornell Sun, in her announcement Pollack stressed that the decision to leave was her own. She added that she had been considering retirement since last fall. But events at Cornell and other campuses lead…
Read MoreHousing Market in Tompkins Remains Tight The housing market in Tompkins County continues to shrink. According to the Tompkins Weekly, housing stock is down 14% from last year’s already historic low. Brent Katzmann of the Ithaca Board of Realtors called the decline “disconcerting.” In addition to an overall decline in available houses for sale, he…
Read MoreIthaca Starts Clean Up of Homeless Encampment City workers have begun to clean up a former homeless encampment in Ithaca’s West End. The clean up was ordered by the Tompkins Environmental Health in early April. According to the Ithaca Voice, work began at the site last week. The small triangular parcel is bordered by train…
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