(NewsUSA) – It’s called the “summer brain drain,” and it’s affecting students of all ages. During the long, hot months away from school, kids lose knowledge when they don’t engage in educational activities over the summer vacation.
On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade-level equivalency in mathematical computation skills. This effect is magnified with low-income students; about two-thirds of the ninth-grade achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities during the elementary-school years.
If you think of summer brain drain as just a mere nuisance to be tackled by our nation’s teachers, think again: over one million students in the class of 2010 failed to graduate with a high-school diploma.
The national graduation rate currently stands at a dismal 75 percent, due in part to the 15 million youth unsupervised after the school day ends and an additional 24 million in need of supervision during the summer. A low graduation rate contributes to increases in unemployment, poor health, crime and drug use. It lowers America’s tax revenue and increases its public-assistance expenses.
To seriously address the high-school-dropout crisis, it is imperative to redefine the education equation to include community collaborations.
These critical pieces of the puzzle — organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) — provide refuge for youth during critical out-of-school hours. They aim to give youth a place where they can continue to learn and grow as individuals so they can go on to become productive, caring, responsible adults.
To further this goal, BGCA received $1 million from AT&T to expand the “Be Great: Graduate” program that helps rising 8th and 9th graders successfully transition into high school. The Be Great: Graduate program uses established risk factors to identify youth most at risk of dropping out of high school and intervene utilizing a mentorship program, with a proven record of success. To this point, the program has focused on high-school students, but with support from AT&T, BGCA will be expanding the program to younger participants through the launch of “Be Ready.”
To learn more about the Be Great and Be Ready programs, visit www.bgca.org.

(NewsUSA) – New research using cutting-edge Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for the first time confirms that pharmaceutical grade chondroitin sulphate (CSbBIO-ACTIVE) significantly helps reduce the effects of osteoarthritis in the knee.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting 27 million people in the U.S. alone. Over time, this condition leads to breakdown of the cartilage and other parts of the joint, causing stiffness, pain and loss of movement. Cartilage is a firm, rubbery covering on the ends of joint bones that reduces friction and acts as a shock absorber. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage loses elasticity and wears away; without the cushioning cartilage provides, the bones can rub against each other. Cartilage deterioration can affect the shape and makeup of the joint so it no longer functions smoothly. Also, bruises called bone marrow lesions can develop inside the bone and may cause knee pain.
Trial results recently published in a leading arthritis journal showed that chondroitin sulphate treatment significantly reduced cartilage loss and bone marrow lesions from osteoarthritis of the knee.
Chondroitin is a natural substance in the body that helps keep cartilage healthy by absorbing fluid and providing building blocks to produce new cartilage. Chondroitin may also block enzymes that break down cartilage.
Recent advances in MRI made it possible for Dr. Jean-Pierre Pelletier and his team at University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre in Canada to measure for the first time the impact of chondroitin sulfate on cartilage loss and other changes to the joint, including bone marrow lesions. The latest technology enabled researchers to measure and demonstrate significant improvements after treatment with chondroitin sulphate.
By six months, patients showed significantly less cartilage loss compared with those receiving placebo. By 12 months, treatment significantly decreased bone marrow lesion size.
“Reducing bone marrow lesions may help lessen some of the pain associated with osteoarthritis,” said Dr. Pelletier. “From these results, we can conclude that chondroitin sulfate is a safe drug that significantly reduces the volume of cartilage loss and slows down the progression of osteoarthritis in the knee.” He notes, “Patients must be provided highly purified pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulphate, the one used in this study, as this is the only one that can guarantee such efficacy and specifically, safety results.”