Black and Latino parents express their views on education
School choice advocates seemed surprised earlier this year when the NAACP called for a moratorium on new charter schools. The need for school choice, according to many advocates, such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, stems from lack of choices and underperformance of public schools for low-income students and students of color. However, a new survey…
read moreAnalysis on what the Media and Experts have Been Saying about ESSA
This report considers both the information featured in the Advance and a larger scan of ESSA-related news items and social media coverage. We conducted a LexisNexis search and analyzed over 800 news articles and opinion pieces published from January 2016 to March 2017 for both topic and tone.
read moreNational News: Better-educated families less likely to choose PA cyber charters, study finds
As information about the academic struggles of Pennsylvania’s cyber charters has become more accessible, the full-time online schools have increasingly enrolled students from the state’s least-educated communities and most-disadvantaged school districts, according to a new study to be presented here Sunday as part of the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
read moreWithdraw and Rework State’s ESSA Plan, Michigan Lt. Gov. Urges
Michigan Lt. Governor Brian Calley wrote the U.S. Dept. of Education requesting that the state’s ESSA plan be sent back so officials can “rework [the] plan in order to ensure more accountability for special education students.” In the letter, Calley argued that the state’s “proposed…
read moreILLINOIS: Guest Column: Illinois’ school accountability plan needs work
Illinois’ plan to hold schools accountable for student outcomes does some things right, and is a significant improvement on the state’s previous framework, but it doesn’t do enough to meet the educational needs of high achievers — especially those growing up in poverty.
read moreVIRGINIA: The Promise of ESSA in Reducing Test Stress
At a townhall in Virginia, education leaders discuss how ESSA can help reduce testing, increase enrichment programs, and improve school climate — anything and everything that makes a school great.
read moreOHIO: Rifts Remain as Betsy DeVos, Randi Weingarten Tour Ohio District
Van Wert, Ohio — Long-time adversaries U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten spent more than four hours touring this rural Ohio district together Thursday. Both were still alive and well by the end of the day.
read morePENNSYLVANIA: 2016-17 State of Education report news conference
Representatives of several education leadership associations recently released the 2016-17 State of Education report highlighting the many successes and challenges facing public education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
read moreNATIONAL: Your Cheat Sheet: How Early ESSA Plans Tackle School Grades, Tests, and More
Roughly a quarter of states have turned in their accountability plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act. Having trouble keeping track of all the ins and outs of each state’s plan? We’ve got you covered.
read moreNATIONAL: DeVos Tells Fox News: ‘There Isn’t Really Any Common Core Any More’
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos seems to be indicating that, as far as she’s concerned, the Common Core State Standards aren’t really a big point of discussion in education any longer. But how did she express that idea, and does it hold up to scrutiny?
read moreNATIONAL: Trump’s First 100 Days: How Does He Stack Up to Obama, Bush on K-12?
Have you been waiting for President Donald Trump to work with the Republican-controlled Congress and get rolling on a big K-12 education initiative? If so, you might be getting a little bit antsy. But is that unusual during the first 100 days or so of a presidential administration?
read moreNATIONAL: Early childhood investments seem to be paying off
Children are entering kindergarten with stronger math and literacy skills, a recent report shows. These gains seem to be due to investments in improving the quality of early childhood programs, such as HeadStart. Stark gaps still persist between students based on race and socioeconomic status, though all groups have made progress.
read moreDetroit News Publishes Editorial on the State’s Education Governance Model
The Detroit News published an editorial on the state’s education governance model under ESSA. The editorial board argued, “The governor, Legislature, State Board of Education, Michigan Department of Education and the School Reform Office are all involved with creating and implementing school policy in this…
read moreNATIONAL: Deeper Learning Digest: Destination Deeper Learning
In this week’s digest, take a tour of deeper learning then and now, check out next generation learning in Colorado, see how competency-based learning will transform an Illinois school, and find out how states can use the Every Student Succeeds Act to enable deeper learning for all students.
read moreKY Ed Commissioner Hosts Stakeholders to Discuss ESSA
GLASGOW – Kentucky Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt came to Glasgow High School on Thursday to hear feedback from teachers and administrators about the accountability system the Department of Education is working on.
read morePENNSYLVANIA: Critics say charter bill shortchanges school districts
HARRISBURG — A proposed rewrite of the state charter school law would allow public schools to keep almost $30 million by adding deductions for costs that computer-based schools don’t have.
read moreNATIONAL: We Still Must Get the Every Student Succeeds Act Right
This week President Trump signed a resolution to invalidate a regulation designed to help implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This move will create tremendous confusion among states that are currently in the middle of putting the new law in place in time for the 2017-2018 school year.
read moreHAWAII: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) overview webinar: May 19, 2016
What’s Missing From Some State ESSA Plans?
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states get to decide what goals to set for student achievement, how to gauge schools’ academic progress and quality, and more. (Explainer on the law here.)
read moreMN Dept. of Ed Releases Preliminary Elements of ESSA Plan
A little over a year ago, Barack Obama signed into law the biggest K-12 education reform in over a decade: the Every Student Succeeds Act, a product of years-long compromise in Congress, was intended to smooth over the shortcomings of the previous education law of the land, No Child Left Behind.
read more