Equity Matters video debuts
The National School Boards Association is committed to helping ensure each and every student has, not just equal, but equitable opportunities and access to a high quality education. “Equity Matters” shines a spotlight on the importance of educational equity. “Equity Matters” was released at the National School Boards Association’s 2018 Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX.
VIDEO: Federal Flash: Betsy DeVos Slams State ESSA Plans
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made some surprising remarks to state education officials about the plans they are developing under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). What did she say and what was the reaction from Capitol Hill?
VIDEO: Fed Up With Low Pay, Oklahoma Teachers Prepare to Walk Out
Duncan, Okla.— Few educators here say they want a statewide teacher strike to happen. And yet there’s overwhelming agreement from educators that it’s the only way forward.
Union leaders have given the Oklahoma state legislature an April 1 deadline to pass a funding package that includes a $10,000 pay raise over three years for teachers and a $200 million boost to public schools. If that doesn’t happen, teachers across the state will walk out of their classrooms, and will not return until they get what they’re asking for, union officials pledge.
Oklahoma teachers are among the lowest paid in the country, and many work second jobs to make ends meet and to save for their future.
“I don’t like that [a walkout] seems to be the only course of action—I think if there was something else, we would all jump on that, but I just think we all feel at a loss,” said Kara Stoltenberg, a high school English teacher in Norman, Okla., who also works at a clothing store to help pay her bills. “It’s so disheartening. … I want to believe the best in people, I want to be optimistic. It just feels like with one thing after another, that hope is being crushed.”
Oklahoma’s shutdown proposal came on the heels of the nearly two-week-long teacher strike in West Virginia, which concluded when the legislature there passed a bill giving all public employees a 5 percent pay raise. After that stunning victory, teachers in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Arizona began to ask: “What if we did that here?”
Read the full article here: May require an Education Week subscription.
VIDEO: Black Press Honors Sen. Kamala Harris with Newsmaker of the Year Award
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) honored Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) with the 2018 Newsmaker of the Year Award during Black Press Week. The Newsmaker event took place at the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday, March 14.
“The Honorable Kamala Harris, the second African American woman and first South Asian American senator in U.S. history, is an outstanding choice for the NNPA’s 2018 Newsmaker of the Year Award,” said Dorothy Leavell, chairman of the NNPA and publisher of the Crusader Newspapers in Chicago and Gary, Ind.
The NNPA also celebrated the senator’s efforts to raise wages for working people, reform the criminal justice system, and expand healthcare access for all Americans.
“In all of my years of covering news in our community, Senator Harris has been one of the smartest, most fearless, steadfast and caring politicians that I have come to know,” said Amelia Ashley-Ward, NNPA Foundation chair and publisher of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter. “She has a lot to offer the world…we are so fortunate to have her advocating on our behalf.”
The theme of this year’s Black Press Week is “Celebrating 191 Years of the Black Press of America: Publishing Truth to Empower.” Black publishers, media professionals, civil rights leaders and lawmakers from across the country attend the annual event, taking place March 14-16. On Friday, March 16, Democratic strategist and author Donna Brazile will deliver a keynote address on the state of the Black Press in America.
“When John B. Russwurm and Samuel E. Cornish printed that first issue of Freedom’s Journal they sought to empower Black people to determine their own destiny and to define themselves,” said Leavell. “How iconic, that in 2018, our theme still rings true: ‘Publishing Truth to Empower.’”
Black Press Week will also feature sessions on business development, education reform, and sickle cell disease. Outstanding leaders in the Black community will be honored during the Torch Awards Dinner.
The Torch Award recipients are: Dr. Amos Brown, pastor of the San Francisco Third Baptist Church; Rep. Barbara Jean Lee (D-Calif.); and James Farmer, a senior consultant for General Motors.
Ken Barrett, the global chief diversity officer for General Motors, said that “Jim” Farmer dedicated his career to transforming the automotive industry through diversity and community service.
“I am proud of the invaluable support Jim continues to provide GM and he is truly most deserving of this prestigious honor,” said Barrett.
Chairman Leavell agreed.
“The NNPA Foundation has chosen some of the most outstanding leaders and trailblazers in the Black community to receive Torch Awards, this year,” said Leavell.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA, said that the NNPA and the NNPA Foundation have joined together to celebrate the 191-year anniversary of the Black Press in America.
“This year, Black Press Week convenes at a time of profound opportunity and responsibility to ensure a record turnout for Black American voters in the upcoming midterm elections across the nation,” said Chavis. “The new strategic alliance between the NNPA and the NAACP bodes well to advance civil rights and the economic, political, and cultural empowerment of Black America.”
The National Newspaper Publishers Association represents more than 200 Black-owned media companies in the United States. The NNPA promotes the profession of journalism and the business of publishing, while celebrating the evolution of the Black Press in America.
PA Principals Association Executive Director’s Webinar on School Safety
Black History Month PSAs Set in Charleston Explore Themes of Education, Cultural Traditions and Cuisine
CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — Nickelodeon is celebrating Black History Month with a brand-new series of PSAs set in Charleston, South Carolina, that explore themes of education, culture and cuisine as they relate to African Americans. Each PSA is narrated by kids and use Charleston’s storied past and rich culture as both a focal point and a backdrop, given how a sited more than 50% of African Americans are able to trace their ancestry to the port of Charleston, which served as a slave-trading center more than a century ago.
In the first spot currently airing across Nickelodeon’s linear platforms—Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons and TeenNick– the subject is the Avery Institute, built in 1865 and one of the first schools to educate African-American students, following a time when they were legally not allowed to attend school. The second PSA, explores elements of African culture that have been passed down through generations and the importance of keeping traditions alive. The third vignette in the series focuses on the African roots of soul food.
Black History Month-themed videos:
VIDEO: The NNPA ESSA Public Awareness Campaign
The National Newspaper Publishers Association’s ESSA Awareness Campaign is focused on informing and engaging parents, educators, elected officials and opinion leaders about efforts and policies aimed at closing achievement gaps for students of color and low-income students.
Watch the video
Videos of Black teens reacting to their college acceptance letters made 2017 amazing
By Rachaell Davis, essence.com
CHICAGO CRUSADER — The students of TM Landry College Prep school in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana have been spreading joy across the Internet with their celebratory college acceptance reaction videos. Each must-see video clip captures the moment one of students learns that they’ve been accepted to the college of their choice, as their friends, family members and teachers gather around to cheer in excitement along with them.
As we bring 2017 to a close, here’s a round up of their most lit reaction videos, which we absolutely can’t stop watching. Congratulations to all of these phenomenal students and to the school staff for continuing to encourage such a positive tradition!
BOWDOIN COLLEGE—RANKED #3 in the US in Liberal Arts—SAYS YES TO SENIOR, TROY GREENE. Here’s his acceptance video!
Posted by TM Landry College Prep. on Friday, December 15, 2017
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY—RANKED #5 in the US—SAYS YES TO GRADUATING JUNIOR, KAYLA AMOS. Here’s her acceptance video! (TM LANDRY 4 for 4 on the IVY LEAGUE colleges for the day)!THREE-PEAT-three years in a row TM Landry has gotten students into Columbia University!
Posted by TM Landry College Prep. on Thursday, December 14, 2017
BROWN UNIVERSITY—RANKED #14 IN THE US— SAYS YES TO TM LANDRY GRADUATING JUNIOR, ALIKO LEBLANC! Here’s her acceptance video! (TM LANDRY IS 3 for 3 on the IVY LEAGUE colleges for the day)!
Posted by TM Landry College Prep. on Thursday, December 14, 2017
YALE RANKED #3 in the US— SAYS YES TO James Dennis TM LANDRY’s 16 y/o graduating junior!—(TM LANDRY 2 for 2 on the IVY LEAGUE colleges for the day)! Here’s his acceptance video!
Posted by TM Landry College Prep. on Thursday, December 14, 2017
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE ranked #11 in the US SAYS YES TO TM Landry College Senior, KAMAN LEDAY!!! TM LANDRY 1 for 1 on Ivy Leagues for the day, out of a possible 4.
Posted by TM Landry College Prep. on Thursday, December 14, 2017
Wesleyan University said “YES” to our senior student ASJA JACKSON. Wesleyan is ranked #33 in the country!! Here’s her acceptance video!
Posted by TM Landry College Prep. on Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Wesleyan University said “YES” to our senior student DEWELLYN HOWARD. Wesleyan is ranked #33 in the country!! Here’s his acceptance video!
Posted by TM Landry College Prep. on Wednesday, December 13, 2017
VIDEO: Every Student Succeeds Act
A humorous video that describes the process of making the Every Students Succeeds Act a new law.