Districts Are Supposed to Use Evidence to Improve Schools Under ESSA. Will They?
The Every Student Succeeds Act is supposed to bring about a big change in school improvement. The law says states and districts can use any kind of interventions they want in low-performing schools, as long as they have evidence to back them up.
read moreSchool Safety Forum Held by Florida Senators Highlights Prevention, Security
Washington, DC — A school safety forum on Capitol Hill hosted by Florida’s U.S. senators focused on how to help students head off threats from their peers, and on improving security measures for schools, among other topics.
read moreIowa review teams release recommendations to reform developmental education
DES MOINES – Two work groups charged with studying ways to reduce the need for developmental college coursework today released recommendations that support Iowa’s vision for all students to graduate from high school ready for college and for college students to have the support they need to complete a degree or credential.
read moreTreasury: 529 Plans Provide Michiganders a Way to Save for College
In honor of April as National Financial Literacy Month, the Michigan Department of Treasury is reminding Michiganders about the importance of saving for college and using a 529 plan as a way to save. A 529 plan is an education savings plan designed to help families set aside money for future education expenses. Contributions provide state income tax deductions and earnings in a plan grow tax free and are exempt at the federal and state level.
read moreCOMMENTARY: Autism: moving from acceptance to action
MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER — In honor of April being National Autism Awareness Month, Sheletta Brundidge shares the first of a two-part story chronicling her discovery that three of her four children were on the autism spectrum.
read moreMiddle School In Concord Opens Food Pantry For Students Struggling With Food Insecurity
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Over the past few years, schools across the country have been opening up food pantries for students who may be struggling with food insecurity.
read moreESSA Demands Full Transparency on K-12 Educational Funding
NEW ORLEANS DATA NEWS WEEKLY — The ESSA reporting requirement for school funding begins in December 2019, and supporters of the rule, including the NAACP, believe it will help to encourage greater educational equity, particularly among schools serving large numbers of Black and Hispanic students in low-income neighborhoods.
read moreSTEM, Students and Space: HCC to Launch Innovative New Challenger Learning Center in Houston
HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES — Houston Community College (HCC) is on a mission to thrill and educate young students in simulated flights to Mars, the Moon and beyond. That mission was officially launched in Greater Houston area this past Thursday, April 12, when HCC joined Challenger Center President and CEO Lance Bush to announce the new Challenger Learning Center – a place where elementary, middle and high school students will be taught how to apply the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and math to a trip to outer space.
read moreCOMMENTARY: What NAEP Scores Aren’t Telling Us – Education Week
For two decades, as part of repeated research studies, thousands of participants from diverse backgrounds have watched the same video of college students playing basketball in a circle. Participants are told to count how many times the students wearing white shirts pass the basketball. Stunningly, roughly half of the participants become so distracted trying to count the passes that they completely miss something extraordinary: a student dressed in gorilla suit who walks into the middle of the scene and thumps her chest before walking out of the frame nine seconds later.
read moreSAVE THE DATE: National Black Parents Town Hall Meeting on Educational Excellence
Attendees will engage a distinguished panel of educators, parents, and community influencers in an intimate conversation on the historic role the Black Press has played in advancing educational opportunities for the African American Community. Panelist will use the work of the Black Press as the historical framework to inform action moving forward.
read moreMAKING A DIFFERENCE: City Year L.A. helps students realize their potential
LOS ANGELES WAVE NEWSPAPER — Specifically, City Year L.A. partners with elementary, middle and high schools that serve children from impoverished neighborhoods who are more likely to experience trauma and are less likely to finish high school.
read moreVIDEO: Kentucky Governor Apologizes For Comments On Teachers’ Strike
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin is apologizing for saying a teachers’ strike left hundreds of thousands of children vulnerable to sexual assault and drug use.
read moreUpper Peninsula Lags the Rest of Michigan in Saving for College, New Michigan Education Trust Survey Finds
The study by the state’s 529 prepaid tuition program discovered that 47 percent of U.P. families are saving for college, compared with 56 percent in Southeast Michigan and 53 percent in both South-central and West Michigan. The Saginaw Bay region, also at 47 percent, is the only part of the state with an average savings rate as low as the U.P.’s.
read moreJay-Z’s new 2018 scholarship program
THE LEGACY NEWSPAPER — The Shawn Carter Foundation Scholarship provides financial support to high school students as well as undergraduate students entering college for the first time. The purpose of the scholarship is to help under-served students who may not be eligible for other scholarships.
read moreBetsy DeVos Has Been Scarce on Capitol Hill; Why Is That? – Politics K-12 – Education Week
Democrats say they want to question DeVos’ choice to approve ESSA plans that they and some civil rights groups think flout the law. (DeVos has a different take.) They want to hear more about why her budget proposals have sought to slash popular programs, such as money for teacher quality. And they want to question her about her plans to roll back or revise Obama-era rules dealing with discipline and special education.
read moreFour schools selected for P-Tech grant program
DALLAS POST TRIBUNE — “Dallas ISD, Dallas County Community College District, University of North Texas Dallas and 63 industry partners are committed to working collaboratively to ensure that students graduate with workplace skills which will provide a clear pathway from high school to college to career,” said Israel Cordero, Dallas ISD Deputy Superintendent of Academic Improvement and Accountability. “The receipt of the P-TECH Success Grants further enhances educational opportunities for our students.”
read moreBeyond ESSA: How to use your data to make informed decisions
Mike English writes for eSchool News that with the passage of the deadline for states to submit their final ESSA plans, it’s now “up to school districts to figure out how to capture and report data about student performance.” This additional reporting may seem burdensome,…
read more10 Teachers Selected As Regional Teachers of the Year
LANSING – Ten Michigan educators have been named as 2018-19 Regional Teachers of the Year and will comprise the 2018-19 Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council, a group of teachers dedicated to sharing a teacher’s voice in education discussions throughout the state.
read moreSC Bar Young Lawyers Division’s (YLD) third annual “Your Big Idea” Scholarship Competition
THE CHRONICLE — The SC Bar Young Lawyers Division (YLD) is sponsoring its third annual “Your Big Idea” Scholarship Competition this spring. To enter, students must complete an application and answer one of five prompts about the First Amendment in an Instagram video. The submission deadline has been extended to April 13, 2018 at 5 p.m.
read moreA record number of Louisiana high school graduates qualified for TOPS awards in 2017
About 52 percent of 2017’s graduates statewide qualified for TOPS, according to a news release from the department. The increase in eligible students marks a gain of 18 percent since 2012, when 16,289 of graduates, or 45 percent, qualified for the scholarship program.
read more