Social & Education News, Opinion & Analysis Darke County Ohio

Social & Education News, Analysis & Opinion
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The Hechinger Report… ‘Right now is not my time’: How Covid dimmed college prospects for students who need help most, By Laura Pappano - March 4, 2021 - NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A few weeks ago, ahead of a nor’easter that unleashed biting winds and snow across New England, Alyssa Washington, a high school senior who wants to be a nurse, made her big college decision: Not to go next fall. There was no single reason. Rather, mounting obstacles... read more.

K-12 Dive… How to create more meaningful STEM lessons, Lauren Barack
Feb. 24, 2021 - Dive Brief: As the Mars rover Perseverance landed on the red planet, some students across California virtually watched the event. Observing the landing was tied to lessons that helped them explore topics from Earth science to climate change, EdSource reports. Elementary school students at Kumeyaay Elementary in San Diego, for example, built models... read more.

K-12 Dive… $1.1M civics framework launches with support from 6 former ed secretaries, Shawna De La Rosa - March 3, 2021 - Dive Brief: Educating for American Democracy on Tuesday announced the launch of The Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy, a cross-ideological framework that aims to enhance K-12 civics and history education to reflect the country’s diverse student population. The project is the work of 300 scholars, educators and practitioners led by a... read more.

K-12 Dive… 4 considerations for districts weighing school name changes, Katie Navarra
March 2, 2021 - On July 1, 2021, two schools in Virginia’s Alexandria City Public Schools will have new names. The suburban district of 16,000 students is among a growing number receiving petitions and resolutions calling for the renaming of buildings named for Confederate leaders or otherwise controversial figures. Since 2014, the names of more than 30 schools have... read more.

EdSurge… Is Teaching Still an Appealing Profession? A Growing Teacher Shortage Worries Experts, By Stephen Noonoo - Mar 4, 2021 - Long Beach Unified, one of the largest school districts in California, is facing a worrying but all-too-familiar problem: Finding enough qualified teachers, or even substitutes, to fill what some experts see as a growing shortage in the midst of an unpredictable pandemic. This year, leaves of absences in Long Beach increased... read more.

K-12 Dive… How teachers are inspiring students to read during the pandemic, Kara Arundel - March 4, 2021 - In several ways, the public health crisis has hampered students' exposure to reading and literacy. Students learning remotely may have fewer opportunities to hold books in their hands and practice turning pages left to right. Those learning in-person are finding classroom bookshelves empty or limited due to safety protocols. But in other ways, the pandemic is... read more.

NPR Ed… NPR/Ipsos Poll: Nearly One-Third Of Parents May Stick With Remote Learning, Anya Kamanetz - March 5, 2021 - One year after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered classrooms around the country and the world, U.S. parents are guardedly optimistic about the academic and social development of their children, an NPR/Ipsos poll finds. But 62% of parents say their child's education has been disrupted. And more than 4 out of 5 would like to see schools... read more.

Edutopia… Cultivating Joy in Writing in the Elementary Grades, By Justine Bruyère
March 2, 2021 - I’m a birder. Late last spring, while observing a flock of Canada geese overhead, I learned that geese share the leading responsibilities in their V formation. Ornithologists have determined that the V formation creates a lift (reducing energy expenditure) and assists communication within the flock. As I watched, I wondered what educators might learn from these... read more.

EdSource... Should kindergarten be mandatory in California? Karen D’Souza
March 3, 2021 - Long before the first day of school in first grade, some children may be far behind their peers. That was true even before the pandemic, but a heightened awareness of learning loss has added a sense of urgency to the matter of how to close achievement gaps in the early grades. The vast disparity in skills that students bring with them when they first go to... read more.

Chronicles of Higher Education… Why Haven’t More Colleges Closed? By Rebecca S. Natow
March 1, 2021 - Last spring’s abrupt, pandemic-induced pivot to virtual learning led to tremendous financial disruption for colleges. The educational technology came with a lofty price tag. So did retrofitting campuses to comply with public-health guidance, with needs for plexiglass dividers, extra campus cleanings, and personal protective equipment — to say nothing of smartphone... read more.

The 74… Texas Teachers Go Door to Door as Kids Disappear From Remote Classes, By Bekah McNeel - March 3, 2021 - This piece is part of “COVID Warriors: How Educators Are Saving the Pandemic Generation,” a two-week series produced in collaboration with the Solutions Journalism Network that explores what educators, schools, and districts are doing to prevent an entire generation of students from lost learning and its lifetime of consequences. Read all the... read more.

The Hechinger Report… PROOF POINTS: Free, no frills programs lead the class in new federal study of remote learning, By Jill Barshay - March 1, 2021 - When the coronavirus pandemic first hit in March 2020, the research unit inside the U.S. Department of Education, called the Institute for Education Sciences, commissioned a report to wade through all the studies on education technology that can be used at home in order to find which ones were proven to work. The... read more.

K-12 Dive… Report: Parent school reviews correlate with test scores, not growth or effectiveness, Naaz Modan - March 3, 2021 - Dive Brief: A new report published in a journal of the American Educational Research Association shows school reviews, often used by parents to inform school choice, reflect student test scores, which are associated with race and family income, rather than school effectiveness, which measures student growth overtime... read more.

K-12 Dive… How are districts prepping for an unprecedented assessment season? Natalie Gross - March 1, 2021 - On March 3, 2020, a deadly tornado hit parts of Tennessee, wiping out two buildings in the Wilson County School District and damaging many students’ homes. Later that month, the novel coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools across the state — and the country — and students in the Nashville suburb would go without instruction until August... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… What colleges should know about the coronavirus variants, Natalie Schwartz - March 1, 2021 - Coronavirus cases are trending downward across the U.S., but the emergence of several concerning variant strains has dampened some of the optimism about where the pandemic is heading. Public health officials are keeping a close eye on three separate variants, first discovered in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. Early studies suggest these... read more.

K-12 Dive… Reading gaps widen in mid-year data, especially for K-1 students of color, Naaz Modan - February 25, 2021 - Dive Brief: Mid-year data from the DIBELS early reading assessment of approximately 400,000 students in over 1,400 schools in 41 states shows grades K-3 are performing worse at the middle of the 2020-21 school year than the same period last year. The difference is more pronounced in K-1, especially for Black and Hispanic students. Compared to this... read more.

Richland Source… Abraxas hosts winter fest for students, The Abraxas School of Ohio
Feb 26, 2021 - MANSFIELD – The Abraxas School of Ohio, in conjunction with the Abraxas facility, had its second annual Winter Fest on Feb. 18. The facility and school staff coordinated to create a day full of winter-themed activities for students as a way to unwind and celebrate the winter weather. Students spent all day with their second block teachers learning how to fold... read more.

The Chronicle of Higher Education… Too Much for Students to Handle? Why One University Decided to Do Away With RAs, By Katherine Mangan - February 25, 2021 - During his first semester as a resident adviser at George Washington University, Drew Amstutz comforted foreign students struggling with culture shock, reassured freshmen panicking over failing grades, wrote some students up for underage drinking, and found a referral for... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… House passes relief package that would send $40B to colleges, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Feb. 27, 2021 - Dive Brief: The U.S. House of Representatives early Saturday morning approved another massive coronavirus rescue package, which would send about $40 billion in direct aid to colleges and universities. The 219-212 vote was mostly along party lines. Like previous relief measures, institutions must use a portion of their allocation to provide... read more.

NPR… Young People Struggle To Keep Friends Close As Pandemic Pulls Them Apart, Hadia Bakkar - February 23, 2021 - Emma Fritschel, 25, and Evelyn Wang, 23, met on the first day of their freshman year as roommates almost six years ago and have been inseparable ever since. But then the COVID-19 pandemic strained their relationship in ways they had never before experienced. "Things were really tense between us for reasons that we both kind of came... read more.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine… COVID-19 Update: Spring Events, Provider Expansion, New Health Equity Website - February 25, 2021 - (COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted today provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SPRING EVENTS Governor DeWine today announced a loosening of restrictions for sporting and entertainment venues when safety protocols are followed. "The vaccines have given... read more.

Texas A&M College of Liberal Arts… Texas A&M’s Conservation Research Lab Returns Another Two Historic Cannons Back To The Alamo, By TAMU Marketing & Communications staff - Two historic cannons have been returned to their homestead at The Alamo after being restored at Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Laboratory (CRL). In 2018, nine other battle-used cannons went through the same process at the CRL, which is located at the... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… What financial aid offices need to know about legislative changes ahead, Nancy Mann Jackson - Feb. 19, 2021 - The government spending package passed at the end of 2020 included several provisions intended to extend federal financial support to more college students. College access advocates have long campaigned for the simplification of financial aid regulations and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. They hope doing so will encourage... read more.

Chronicle of Higher Education… Regional Public Universities Don’t Need Rescuing, By Kevin R. McClure, Cecilia M. Orphan, Alisa Hicklin Fryar, and Andrew Koricich - February 21, 2021 - The headline of a recent essay in The Hill asked if there was an economic case for saving regional public universities. It reminded us of a similar headline in The Chronicle a few years ago (“Public Regional Colleges Never Die. Can They Be Saved?”) and one in The Washington Post a few... read more.

Heritage Foundation… Biden Administration's Confusing Rhetoric on Reopening, Lindsey Burke - February 18, 2021 - If you have whiplash from all the back-and-forth on school reopening plans, you’re not alone. After months of mixed messages, parents and students remain in a perpetual state of uncertainty in too many districts around the country. From the White House briefing room to the halls of the Centers for Disease Control, official guidance on school reopening has... read more.

Dayton Daily News… Feds say K-12 school tests can be delayed, not canceled, By Jeremy P. Kelley - February 22, 2021 - The U.S. Department of Education on Monday announced flexibility, but not full cancellation, for this spring’s federally required K-12 tests, as schools continue to adapt to COVID-19 impact. The guidance says that tests will still be administered in some form, but they could be shorter, or given online, or delayed until fall. USDOE did say that states... read more.

EdSurge… The Key to Better Student Engagement Is Letting Them Show You How They Learn, By Jacquelyn Whiting - Feb 22, 2021 - A couple of weeks ago during a coaching session, a middle school teacher I work with described a fun math activity. She asked her students who were learning remotely to build blanket forts. As you might expect, the students calculated the area, perimeter and volumes of their forts. What was surprising was that for days after... read more.

BBC… Covid: Catch-up narrative putting 'huge pressure' on children, psychologists say - February 22, 2021 - The idea that children must "catch up" with learning lost due to the pandemic is heaping "huge" pressure on them, educational psychologists have warned. Many pupils have missed out on months of face-to-face teaching, and the PM has appointed a catch-up tsar to lead educational recovery in England. But the British Psychological Society says children's... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Nonprofit taps 7 rural colleges to improve student success, Natalie Schwartz - February 18, 2021 - Dive Brief: Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit aiming to improve community college student success, launched a three-year initiative this week to improve workforce development at rural schools. Backed with nearly $3.4 million in funding, the organization will work with an inaugural cohort of seven colleges on institutional reforms, narrowing equity gaps... read more.

EdSource… California students watch and learn through hands-on projects as Mars rover lands, Sydney Johnson - February 19, 2021 - Science teacher Gay Young has followed just about every space expedition in recent memory. This week, she’s taking her elementary students on the journey with her, as NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on Mars after a seven-month flight from Earth. California teachers have struggled with creating engaging, hands... read more.

NPR Ed… To Play, Or Not To Play: Schools Wrestle With CDC's Athletics Recommendations, Eda Uzunlar - February 13, 2021 - High school senior Audrianna Hill has been playing basketball since she was five years old. But this winter, with Covid-19 cases rising, there was a chance she might not get to play. Her Detroit school has been virtual since the pandemic began, and the basketball season has been pushed back multiple times since September. Basketball is... read more.

NPR Ed… Debate Over Student Loan Forgiveness Hinges On 2 Numbers: $10,000 Vs. $50,000, Elissa Nadworny - February 18, 2021 - For months, Democrats in Washington have been debating what to do about student loan debt. About 43 million borrowers owe $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. While some lawmakers have pushed for President Biden to forgive up to $50,000 per borrower via executive order, Biden has so far only expressed support for... read more.

The Business Journals… Growing Pains: Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, By Hilary Burns, Associate Editor, Boston Business Journal - Feb 18, 2021 - Last month, Earlham College penned an unusual deal with the state of Indiana's community college system as part of a broader strategy to broaden the school's student pipeline amid years of enrollment declines. Earlham President Anne Houtman said such credit-transfer agreements are more... read more.

K-12 Dive… Promising Practices: How a CTE school overturned schedules for student choice, Kara Arundel - Feb. 19, 2021 - The school: Butler Tech is a career and technical education school in southwest Ohio that serves more than 18,000 adult and high school students yearly on six campuses. It works with 11 public school districts to educate nearly 1,600 high school juniors and seniors full-time, as well as 150 full-time sophomores, according to AJ Huff, the... read more.

K-12 Dive… Using texts to boost Pre-K to 3 learning during the pandemic, Naaz Modan
Feb. 17, 2021 - Very young students falling behind during the coronavirus pandemic could face long-term achievement impacts. But Tennessee is turning to texting to keep these early learners on track. Since the Tennessee Department of Education rolled out a curriculum-aligned Pre-K to 3 texting initiative in mid-January, there has been a "surge of interest" from families... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Iowa lawmakers advance bills that would kill tenure at public universities, Hallie Busta - Feb. 16, 2021 - Dive Brief: Two bills advancing through Iowa's legislature would end the system of tenure at the state's three public universities. House and Senate committees have recommended the passage of separate but nearly identical versions of the proposed legislation, both of which call for prohibiting "the establishment or continuation of a tenure system... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… The pandemic is weighing on students' mental health: survey, Hallie Busta - Feb. 17, 2021 - Dive Brief: Students most frequently cited mental health as an aspect of their lives that has been negatively impacted by the pandemic, according to a survey by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State University. This was true for all but one of the 38 demographics the researchers tracked, even though only a third of students were seeking counseling... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… As coronavirus cases persist, colleges lock down campuses, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Feb. 17, 2021 - Dive Brief: In an attempt to reverse persistent or rising coronavirus case counts on campuses, some colleges over the last several weeks have put students on lockdown. Some of these institutions are allowing students to attend in-person classes, while others have ordered them to stay put except to pick up meals or seek medical care. Colleges entered... read more.

Higher Ed Dive: Opinion… President Speaks: How higher education can avoid leaving the humanities behind, Laura Walker - Feb. 17, 2021 - As the president of a liberal arts college in New England, I was particularly dismayed to learn late last year about the University of Vermont's cuts to humanities programs on the heels of similar cuts at other institutions throughout the region. Data is cited for these cuts, of course, and that data indicates that enrollment in... read more.

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K-12 Dive… What do sports, pizza, Pokémon and math have in common? Lauren Barack
Feb. 17, 2021 - Dive Brief: Math-based word problems, when crafted well, can help students find the context to what they’re learning, elementary special education teacher Braxton Hall writes for Edutopia. Following a few simple steps, educators can build word problems with a connection to a student’s life and make math more relevant, he said. To start, educators should create math... read more.

The Daily Signal… Unintended Consequence of $15 Minimum Wage: Higher Child Care Costs, Rachel Greszler - February 11, 2021 - Many families struggle to find child care, especially at a cost they can afford. A $15 federal minimum wage could make child care unattainable for millions more families. Higher wages are a great thing, especially for child care workers who serve such an important role in the lives of children and families. But the reality is that higher wages... read more.

Lorraine Morning Journal… Ohio public schools have until April 1 to develop new options to help students, By J.D. Davidson | The Center Square - Feb 10, 2021 - (The Center Square) – Some Ohio public school students may go to school later this summer, and others may begin the next school year earlier or be in school longer each day after Gov. Mike DeWine asked school districts to develop a plan to meet the needs of students. DeWine’s suggestions and request for... read more.

K-12 Dive… Ed Dept issues practical strategies alongside new CDC reopening guidance, Kara Arundel - Feb. 12, 2021 - Dive Brief: Schools offering in-person instruction should prioritize the universal and correct use of mask wearing, as well as physical distancing that includes 6 feet between people, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in new, comprehensive reopening guidance released Friday. To complement the CDC guidance, the U.S. Department of... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Kids are shooting hoops with rolled up socks, but pandemic phys ed is not cancelled, By Kelly Field - February 12, 2021 - It’s almost time for gym class, and my fifth grader can’t find her tennis ball. “Adrienne, did you take it?” she demands of her younger sister, who swears she didn’t (though she probably did). “How about a soccer ball?” I ask. They’re practicing dribbling skills. “No, Mom,” she says firmly. “We’re indoors.” It has to be a tennis... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Moody's predicts continued demand for graduate programs, Hallie Busta
Febrary 8, 2021 - Dive Brief: Graduate enrollment grew this fall while most of the rest of the higher education sector lagged, so it's perhaps unsurprising that Moody's Investors Service projects those programs will continue to play a critical role in colleges' revenue growth and diversification. In a new report shared with Higher Ed Dive, the credit rating agency says colleges... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Democrats propose $40B in higher education relief funding, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - February 9, 2021 - Dive Brief: Colleges would receive nearly $40 billion in direct coronavirus aid in Democrats' latest relief package, the largest single infusion of federal funding institutions have seen since the pandemic began. Nonprofit and public colleges would need to devote at least half their cut of the funds to student grants. For-profit institutions would need to dedicate... read more.

The Hechinger Report… 5 ways schools hope to fight Covid-19 learning loss, By Jackie Mader - February 4, 2021 - A deluge of data released late last year confirmed what has long been suspected: The coronavirus pandemic caused widespread learning loss while also amplifying gaps across racial and socioeconomic lines. The situation is especially concerning among younger children: one analysis of reading level data by Amplify Education, Inc., which creates... read more.

The Hechinger Report… To test or not to test? Educators weigh the value of standardized testing during a pandemic, By Kelly Field - February 12, 2021 - When schools in Columbus, Ohio, opened up classrooms this fall for the state’s third grade reading exam, just over a third of students showed up. The rest stayed home, for reasons district leaders can only guess at. Some parents may have worried their child would contract the coronavirus, despite the district’s... read more.

K-12 Dive… What's behind The 1619 Project controversy? Naaz Modan
Feb. 12, 2021 - Dive Brief: Right-leaning lawmakers in at least five states — Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi — have introduced legislation that would prohibit schools from teaching The 1619 Project or cut funding from those that do. The ongoing long-form journalism project was published by The New York Times in 2019 and explores the impact of... read more.

K-12 Dive… CDC: Vaccinations should not be a condition for reopening schools, Kara Arundel - February 12, 2021 - Dive Brief: Schools offering in-person instruction should prioritize the universal and correct use of mask wearing, as well as physical distancing that includes 6 feet between people, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in new, comprehensive reopening guidance released Friday. To complement the CDC guidance, the U.S. Department of... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Future of Learning: Media literacy ‘vitally important’, By Javeria Salman - February 10, 2021 - For years now, experts and advocates have been saying there’s an urgent need for media literacy, and more specifically news literacy. That need became increasingly clear in 2020, when fake news, misinformation and disinformation was so widespread that it had consequences for everything from the coronavirus pandemic to the presidential election... read more.

Edutopia… The Camera-On/Camera-Off Dilemma, By Youki Terada
February 5, 2021 - When the Cornell professors Frank Castelli and Mark Sarvary switched from in-person to remote teaching last spring, they established an “optional, but encouraged” policy for video cameras. Concerned about equity issues, they didn’t want their students to feel uncomfortable if they lacked access to a private space or were embarrassed by their... read more.

Edutopia… Why Teachers May Want to Try Throwing Students a Curveball in PBL, By Michael McDowell - February 3, 2021 - The culminating act in a project-based learning (PBL) experience can often be pretty straightforward: Students get in groups. Students do some research. Students develop a presentation. It’s akin to when a pitcher throws a fastball straight down the middle—the batter has to work to hit the ball, but she knows what’s coming. In the real world... read more.

NPR Ed… Colleges Add More In-Person Classes For Spring, Amid High Risk Of Coronavirus Spread, Elissa Nadworny - February 3, 2021 - Last week, Ayiana Davis Polen finally set foot on the campus of Spelman College — a historically Black liberal arts school for women in Atlanta. She's a freshman there but had started her college experience last fall taking classes from her bedroom in Puerto Rico. Back then, she wasn't sure if it felt like college — but then again... read more.

Edutopia… Getting to Know the Whole Student in Distance Learning, By Cara Furman
February 1, 2021 - Knowing my students holistically has always been important to me. When I was an elementary school teacher, a process of attending to students called the Descriptive Review of the Child helped me gain a better perception of each child. Drawing on the review, I wrote detailed, multipage narrative reports and ensured that my curriculum allowed for... read more.

Higher Ed Deep Dive… 3 HyFlex lessons from the pandemic and what's next, Hallie Busta
Feb. 5, 2021 - As the coronavirus pandemic forced college classes online, the higher ed community was buzzing about an instructional model called HyFlex. The concept wasn't new. In its truest form, HyFlex, sometimes called hybrid-flexible, calls for courses to be created in a way that gives students complete control over how and when to participate, either in-person or... read more.

Inside Higher Education… The Promise of Dual-Mission Colleges, Jamie Merisotis and Carrie Besnette Hauser - February 4, 2021 - Today’s postsecondary education system is out of sync with what our nation needs -- as surveys of students, employers and others show. One reason is that it’s ossified by structures put in place a half century ago, which led many colleges and universities, even new ones, to pursue academic and business models that aligned with strictly designed... read more.

The Atlantic… The Colleges That Took the Pandemic Seriously, Aaron E. Carroll
January 31, 2021 - Until vaccines against COVID-19 are available to all, the public will need two things: a reason for hope and a vision of how to live more safely and productively in the meantime. For both, Americans can look to the examples set by a number of colleges and universities—a surprising turn, perhaps, given the widespread anxieties that these institutions... read more.

The Hechinger Report… The jobs where sexual harassment and discrimination never stopped, By Caroline Preston - January 31, 2021 - SEATTLE — The job on the light rail platform was to be one of her last as an apprentice sheet metal worker, and Vanessa Carman was relieved. She was one year shy of achieving journeywoman status and the higher pay and better treatment it typically afforded — at least to men, who account for virtually all her coworkers. Carman, who... read more.

Chalkbeat… I am in foster care. I started a tutoring organization to help young people like me. By Sarah Malik - Feb 4, 2021 - My family has always emphasized the importance of education. All three of my aunts are teachers, and my father has helped me with my schoolwork throughout my life. My dad enrolled me in a prep course for Hunter College High School’s admission test. The school, which is run by New York City’s university system and whose seats are highly... read more.

eSchool News… A teacher’s remote learning reality, By Britten Follett, Executive V.P., Follett School Solutions - February 5th, 2021 - Deep understanding comes from first-hand experience and stepping out from behind our desks. That includes me, as I lead Follett School Solutions and strive to always understand our customers’ needs. Since the pandemic began, I’ve been talking to district leaders, librarians, and teachers about the challenges and opportunities... read more.

eSchool News… 10 TED-Ed Lessons to get students thinking, By Laura Ascione, Editorial Director, Content Services - February 4th, 2021 - School days might seem as if they move at a glacial pace after winter break. The spring and summer breaks seem too far away, and whether students are learning in-person or online, they could use a bit of fun. Teachers can use TED-Ed Lessons to liven up long days and highlight students’ different personal interests. The TED... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Cardona emphasizes community colleges, career-tech pathways at Senate hearing, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Feb. 3, 2021 - Dive Brief: The importance of community colleges and career and technical education dominated discussion of higher education topics at the confirmation hearing of Miguel Cardona, President Joe Biden's pick for education secretary, on Wednesday. The proceedings were the first step in approving Cardona, the... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… 7 in 10 students think colleges can require the coronavirus vaccine: survey, Hallie Busta - Feb. 3, 2021 - Dive Brief: A recent survey highlights questions and concerns college students may have about the coronavirus vaccine and whether they'll be required to get it. College Pulse polled around 1,000 undergraduates at public and private colleges in January. Seven in 10 students surveyed believe colleges can require them to get vaccinated... read more.

K-12 Dive… COVID-19's kindergarten setbacks will have long-term achievement impacts, Shawna De La Rosa - Feb. 3, 2021 - Dive Brief: Kindergartners losing months of school or skipping the grade entirely due to the novel coronavirus pandemic will face long-term impacts as a result of the disruption to a critical foundational learning year in which rapid brain development and academic base-building occurs, EdSource reports. About 17% of families surveyed by the University... read more.

Hechinger Report… Should teachers be apolitical? By Charlotte West
February 2, 2021 - Samantha Palu, a high school government teacher in South Dakota, came to school on Jan. 7, 2021, armed with a plan to talk to all of her classes about the attack on the U.S. Capitol the previous day. When she started at the school in August, she was told not to say anything “political” in class — a difficult mandate for an educator whose job it is to teach about... read more.

K-12 Dive… 3 summer program strategies to address learning loss, support emotional health, Kara Arundel - Feb. 2, 2021 - Interest in offering summer instruction and enrichment programming for greater numbers of students is building amid pressure for school systems to address students' learning loss and social-emotional health, said National Summer Learning Association CEO Aaron Dworkin. And although there are logistical and funding hurdles to running summer... read more.

eSchool News… 12 fun learning apps to beat winter boredom, By Laura Ascione, Editorial Director, Content Services, @ESN_laura - February 1st, 2021 - Learning apps have skyrocketed in popularity during COVID-19--here are some exciting apps to try this winter. The 2020-2021 school year has been anything but typical. With more and more students using devices for school each day, learning apps are more prevalent than ever. While too much passive screen time... read more.

K-12 Dive… Report: K-12 schools saw 66% jump in overall safety incidents in fall, Naaz Modan - Jan. 28, 2021 - Dive Brief: K-12 schools saw a 66% jump in the number of overall safety incidents during the first three months of the 2020-21 school year when compared to the same time last school year, according to a report from Gaggle, a security management system used by districts to monitor student activity, that pulled data from 4.5 million students and 3 billion... read more.

The Daily Signal… Here’s How Some States and Families Are Taking Back Control Over Their Children’s Education, Jude Schwalbach - January 28, 2021 - When schools closed last March due to the coronavirus pandemic, no one expected them to still be closed nearly a year later. The image projected by the public education system as a reliable and stable fixture of society has waned as classrooms remain empty. At the same time, teachers unions... read more.

Higher Ed Deep Dive… Colleges get a crash course in digital recruiting during the pandemic, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Jan. 29, 2021 - Angel Pérez, head of the top college admissions association, got an email in the fall after his group sponsored its first-ever online fair, which the pandemic made virtual by necessity. A student thanked Pérez, writing that they'd been exposed to institutions they wouldn't have otherwise. It was an "aha!" moment for Pérez, CEO of the... read more.

EdSource… What happens to children who missed kindergarten during Covid-19 crisis? Karen D’Souza - January 28, 2021 - Many California parents dreaded returning to remote learning last fall, but they did it anyway, holding onto hopes of going back to campus at some point during the school year. But for those whose children were just entering kindergarten, the decision to commit to distance learning was a far tougher choice: Wrangling a 5-year-old in front of a computer... read more.

U.S. News & World Report… Study of Rural Schools Suggests Class Can Continue Even Where Coronavirus Infection Rates Are High, By Lauren Camera, Senior Education Writer - Jan. 26, 2021 - BY REQUIRING MASKS AND grouping students into small cohorts, rural schools may be able to maintain a low risk of coronavirus transmission – even when community infection rates are high, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests... read more.

Chronicle of Higher Education… The Heavy Cost of an Empty Campus, By Karin Fischer & Lindsay Ellis - January 27, 2021 - Well before Covid-19, Ed Walton, a top finance official at the University of South Carolina, would convene colleagues to plan for the future. Pressured by lower state appropriations, the university needed to expand enrollment and reduce costs. But over the years, the conversations would sometimes spin out to extreme hypotheticals. What if students... read more.

Edutopia… How to Teach Character in the Classroom and Online, By Thomas Courtney
January 27, 2021 - Good teaching involves character building. I find myself worrying as much about students’ hearts as I do about their minds—or their grades, for that matter. Parents have shared with me that they do too, like never before. As I spoke with families when the virtual adventure began, I asked each one what I could do to help during this trying time... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Rural counties would be economically devastated if their public colleges closed: report, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Jan. 26, 2021 - Dive Brief: Rural public colleges are local job engines, which means their closures would be economically devastating, according to a new report from the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges. The newly formed research group found that 19 of 115 counties served by rural public institutions have high... read more.

eSchool News… 5 reasons to adopt an SEL curriculum in your district, By Brandon Hubbard, Supt., Chilton Independent School District - January 29th, 2021 - Here’s how Chilton ISD’s SEL curriculum helped it break through the misperception that it was an “F” school and achieve its goal of becoming a high-performing educational institution - With our district demographics, it’s no secret that—to be considered a high-performing school—our students are going to have to... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Biden administration may help keep student parents in college, By Liz Willen - January 28, 2021 - For student parents, the road to a college degree has always been fraught with obstacles, from hunger and homelessness to lack of child care. Many student parents are also working while attending community colleges. Unsurprisingly, they are 10 times less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree within five years than students who are not parents. But as... read more.

Cleveland.com… Family book project aims to challenge children in Orange School District, By Ed Wittenberg - January 27 - PEPPER PIKE, Ohio – Reading and discussing books as a family can be a bonding and educational experience -- and a great way to pass the time during the coronavirus pandemic. That’s the basic idea behind Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover, a family book project that has been developed by Orange Community Education and Recreation. The reading initiative... read more.

EdSurge… A Shockingly Simple Way to Improve Online School, By Betsy Corcoran
Jan 27, 2021 - When Nettie Johnson fired up her first online class for her fifth graders in Topeka, Kansas last March, she knew they were flying by the seat of their pants. She had her laptop and Wi-Fi “but it was really difficult because if I was sharing my screen, I couldn’t really see the kids. So it was hard to interact or see if they were engaged.” Her fellow teachers... read more.

Spectrum News 1… Ohio's New "Dyslexia Law" is Personal for Lawmaker, By Micaela Marshall Cleveland - Jan. 24, 2021 - WINCHESTER, Ohio — When Alyson Tamanko was 9 years old, school became challenging. “Hard with spelling tests, reading,” she recalled. It was a confusing and frustrating time. “Well, at least our school does a lot of reading out loud. That was a big struggle for me because I didn’t want my classmates to know that it was hard. But, I didn’t want to... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… What colleges should know about herd immunity, Natalie Schwartz
Jan. 25, 2021 - Dive Brief: Colleges shouldn't anticipate reaching herd immunity levels against the coronavirus anytime soon, especially given the slow rollout of the vaccine, health experts said. In the meantime, schools should continue employing safety measures — such as mask-wearing, handwashing and social distancing — even if some people on campus are... read more.

Chronicles of Higher Education… Some Colleges Revamped the Academic Calendar in Response to the Pandemic. Here’s What They Learned. By Beth McMurtrie - January 23, 2021 - As the fall approached and colleges considered what impact Covid-19 would have on their campuses, some of them settled on a solution: an altered academic calendar. Many made adjustments like delaying the start of the semester for a couple of weeks or moving classes online... read more.

eSchool News… 3 strategies to help schools navigate the new year, By Federico Bausone, CEO, Multimedia Care - January 25th, 2021 - This year, the return from winter breaks looks remarkably different--here's how to help schools keep students safe and engaged in the new year - No one could have prepared our children for ten months (and counting) of face shields, distance learning, and minimal peer interaction. In fact – no one could have predicted much of what transpired... read more.

The Columbus Dispatch… DeWine restores $260 million in pandemic-related cuts to Ohio K-12 schools, universities, Randy Ludlow - Gov. Mike DeWine has moved to soften pandemic-related budget cuts to Ohio's K-12 schools and public universities and colleges. The governor on Friday signed an executive order restoring $160 million to schools' basic state aid and $100 million to the bottom line of higher education. But, his order preserved $390 million in previous budget cuts made by... read more.

NPR Ed… 'I've Tried Everything': Pandemic Worsens Child Mental Health Crisis, Cory Turner, Christine Herman, Rhitu Chatterjee - January 18, 2021 - A bag of Doritos, that's all Princess wanted. Her mom calls her Princess, but her real name is Lindsey. She's 17 and lives with her mom, Sandra, a nurse, outside of Atlanta. On May 17, 2020, a Sunday, Lindsey decided she didn't want breakfast; she wanted Doritos. So she left home and walked to Family Dollar, taking her... read more.

K-12 Dive… School enrollment decline threatens lasting funding damage for districts, Naaz Modan - Jan. 20, 2021 - Dive Brief: Low enrollment numbers could be permanent in some areas where students are moving beyond school district borders, cornering districts into difficult decisions, said education finance expert Marguerite Roza in a Tuesday webinar hosted by the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. Even though states are putting in place... read more.

K-12 Dive... What Biden's early executive orders mean for K-12, Naaz Modan
Jan. 22, 2021 - President Joe Biden signed more than a dozen executive orders shortly after his inauguration Wednesday and additional orders Thursday, including a handful with implications for K-12. Education organizations including the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers have welcomed Biden's directives. While executive orders... read more.

K-12 Dive… How is COVID-19 changing school discipline? Naaz Modan
Jan. 22, 2021 - Before March 2020, inequitable school discipline practices were a major concern for advocates and educators alike. "There was a real discipline crisis" for students with disabilities and students of color, said Wendy Tucker, senior director of policy for the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools and a former member of the Tennessee... read more.

Inside Higher Ed… Creating Rich Transcripts for Career Activation, By Fred Cutler
January 20, 2021 - Around the world, many people have questioned or criticized the impoverished traditional transcript. A 2017 report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario reported, for example, that the “Current credential and accreditation system does not serve students well.” The fact is that institutions should be embarrassed by the standard transcripts... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Community colleges dropped test scores for class placements amid pandemic: report, Natalie Schwartz - Jan. 20, 2021 - Dive Brief: The pandemic forced several community college systems to move away from solely using standardized tests to determine whether students need developmental education, explains a new report from the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness. CAPR researchers looked at... read more.

CBS News… Biden directs Department of Education to extend student loan payment freeze, By Kate Smith - January 21, 2021 - In one of his first actions as president, Joe Biden on Wednesday directed the Department of Education to extend the nearly year long pause on student loan payments through September 30, delivering on the new administration's campaign promise to prioritize and begin addressing the nearly $1.6 trillion debt crisis. Requesting a forbearance... read more.

Edutopia… Creative Ways to Assess Math Understanding, By Emelina Minero
January 15, 2021 - Math teachers are rethinking student assessments in creative ways that allow them to get a broader picture of kids’ conceptual math understanding, writes Madeline Will for Education Week. And while this creative approach to assessing student knowledge is, at least in part, due to remote learning, the strategies are powerful and make sense during a... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… College Board drops SAT subject tests, essay, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Jan. 19, 2021 - Dive Brief: The College Board said Tuesday it is scrapping a key supplement to the SAT: the mastery exams known as subject tests. It will also almost entirely eliminate the optional essay-writing component. The testing giant said in a statement that the pandemic "accelerated a process already underway ... to reduce and simplify demands on students." It also... read more.

K-12 Dive… Biden's gambit: Will schools be ready to reopen in 100 days? Naaz Modan
Jan. 19, 2021 - President-elect Joe Biden is expected to bring significant changes for K-12 schools, but perhaps none is more awaited by school leaders than a coronavirus mitigation and school reopening strategy. "The conversations we've had with [Education Secretary] nominee [Manuel] Cordona already indicate that they are focused on and that their top priority is COVID... read more.

K-12 Dive… Will outdoor classroom momentum persist beyond COVID-19? Lauren Barack
Jan. 13, 2021 - Dive Brief: Thousand Oaks High School in California has started constructing an outdoor classroom that taps into technology, which will allow students to use the space as a learning center throughout the school year, District Administration reports. The pilot project is in partnership with Schneider Electric, which is financing the building and design of the... read more.

eSchool News… How the pandemic is driving a shift in student-directed learning, By Laura Ascione, Editorial Director, Content Services - January 15th, 2021 - New research documents why digital and mobile tools will continue to play a role in the classroom and be instrumental in student-directed learning - While the COVID-19 pandemic has been, to say the least, a struggle for students and educators, it also has revealed a move toward increased student-directed learning, according... read more.

K-12 Dive… Prior to COVID-19, states cut $600B in ed funding since Great Recession, Roger Riddell - Jan. 15, 2021 - Dive Brief: A pair of reports released Thursday by the Education Law Center — "Making the Grade 2020" and "$600 Billion Lost: State Disinvestment in Education Following the Great Recession" — add deeper context to the financial turmoil facing the nation's public schools and further highlight the adverse impact states' education funding cuts were... read more.

eSchool News… How to teach the 15 skills students need for success, By Katrina Salazar, CEO, Wethink - January 15th, 2021 - Some skills aren’t easily taught, but they’re essential as students leave school and enter the global workforce - 21st century skills. Social and emotional learning skills. “Soft” skills. Whatever you choose to call them, there is a set of skills that are essential for success in school, work, and life — and yet teaching and assessing these skills in... read more.

Prevention Action Alliance… Know! To Put Self-Care and Connection into Practice in the New Year - We’ve happily kicked 2020 to the curb and welcomed in 2021 with open arms. Now it is time to figure out what we want to make of this fresh, new year. If we learned anything in 2020, it is the importance of self-care and connection for a healthy mind and body. We may still be wearing masks, social distancing, and dealing with other COVID-related regulations, however, the... read more.

EdSurge… With the Pandemic Shining New Light on Early Childhood Educators, Proponents Look to ‘Radical’ Changes, By Emily Tate - Jan 14, 2021 - Along with Dolly Parton, good weather, well-stocked toilet paper aisles and the “stop video” function on Zoom, the pandemic has brought a newfound appreciation—reverence, even—for early childhood educators. Families, fellow educators and the general public have begun to see just how... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… In a year without admissions tests, elite college applications balloon, Hallie Busta - Jan. 14, 2021 - Dive Brief: New York University has received more than 100,000 applications for first-year students hoping to start college next fall, a 20% increase from last year. It will enroll only about 6,500 of them. The announcement mirrors news of big growth in early admission requests at other elite institutions. Elimination of standardized testing requirements could... read more.

Inside Higher Ed… Great Recession Graduates: Where Are They Now? By Emma Whitford
January 14, 2021 - Ten years after earning their bachelor’s degree, 86 percent of college graduates had a retirement account and 63 percent owned a home, according to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics. Despite the often-held assumption that well-educated but indebted millennials can't afford to buy homes, the new NCES report paints a different picture... read more.

Washington Post… More than 160 law deans denounce attempted insurrection and effort to decertify election — but don’t name names, By Valerie Strauss - Jan. 12, 2021 - More than 160 deans of the United States’ best-known law schools issued a rare joint statement Tuesday, condemning last week’s attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as well as the lawyers who “betrayed the values of our profession” by challenging election results without... read more.

K-12 Dive… Effective online teacher training grows, but in-person supports still needed, Kara Arundel - Jan. 13, 2021 - Dive Brief: Educator professional development is becoming more accessible, flexible and personalized as a result of the pandemic-related need for online training but experts say face-to-face interactions will still be essential to building effective teacher workforces. On-demand instructional learning, quicker access to best practices and... read more.

Brookings Institute… Higher education’s reopening decisions affected the most vulnerable students, Kristen E. Broady, Eliana Buckner, Jennifer Umanzor, and Sarah Wheaton - Monday, January 11, 2021 - The COVID-19 pandemic hit higher education on March 6, 2020 when the University of Washington became the first major U.S. university to cancel in-person classes and have students take courses and finals remotely. What followed was a tidal wave of shuttered... read more.

K-12 Deep Dive… An Inauguration Day like few before it provides ample curricular topics, Lauren Barack - Jan. 13, 2021 - To National Council for the Social Studies President Stefanie Wager, the upcoming presidential inauguration is one significant enough to bring up in any classroom. From the historical elements of the day to the speech itself, there are multiple angles for educators to work the event into curriculum, including the symbolism of the ceremony... read more.

K-12 Dive… How to deter cheating, test anxiety in remote learning, Shawna De La Rosa
Jan. 13, 2021 - Dive Brief: To eliminate cheating, educators can lessen students’ stress about tests by clarifying test expectations and emphasizing the learning process, Stephanie Toro writes for Edutopia. Students should understand that exams are an opportunity to show their knowledge, not something to cause stress, said the assistant professor and education researcher... read more.

K-12 Dive… What school districts need to know about COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Naaz Modan - Jan. 12, 2021 - As frontline workers are vaccinated for COVID-19, many district leaders say they and their staffs are waiting in anticipation for their turn in the phased distribution. In many states, educators and other school staff are listed in the early phases of COVID-19 vaccine rounds, following the CDC's recommendations to vaccinate essential workers after those in... read more.

eSchool News… Virtual learning will stick around after COVID fades, By Laura Ascione, Editorial Director, Content Services - January 12th, 2021 - A survey finds that district leaders hope to offer virtual learning for the long haul, and shows they're focused on inequities in learning opportunities. About two in 10 U.S. school districts have already adopted, plan to adopt or are considering adopting virtual learning after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new RAND... read more.

eSchool News… How the 4 Cs prepare students for life after high school, By Sandra Love, Ed.D. - January 11th, 2021 - The 4 Cs are more than skills taught in school--they'll stick with students throughout their academic, professional, and personal growth. As our world continues to become more connected through technology, today’s students have boundless access to a wealth of information. But, to effectively leverage these resources, students need to be able to make... read more.

eSchool News… Out of COVID crisis comes education’s opportunity, David J. Saltmarsh, ED.D., Global Education Strategist, JAMF - January 11th, 2021 - There's no debating that COVID-19 brought chaos to education--but in all that chaos may be a chance for education to reinvent itself. The COVID-19 crisis has caused unprecedented disruption to schools, bringing a fractured landscape of reopened classrooms, distance learning, and hybrid models that combine both. While it’s... read more.

Chronicle of Higher Education… Higher Education in a Time of Insurrection, By Brian Rosenberg
January 7, 2021 - As I watched far too much television news on Wednesday evening, I heard many references to the fragility of democracy. I found myself thinking, however, about what the economist Joseph Stiglitz described in a 2018 lecture as “the fragility of truth.” Stiglitz made the point that the systems of truth developed since the Enlightenment, despite their... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… What a Democratic-controlled Congress could mean for higher ed, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Jan. 6, 2021 - Democrats secured control in Congress after winning dual Senate runoff races in Georgia this week. Although the margin of their advantage is slim, it has some progressives hopeful that the majorities, along with the Biden administration, could deliver on postsecondary policies they favor. However, Democrats’ tenuous reign in Congress means they... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… More colleges delay spring classes, return to campus, Natalie Schwartz
Jan. 5, 2021 - Dive Brief: Several more colleges announced they're delaying bringing students back to campus for the spring term to avoid coronavirus outbreaks and heed public health advice. Syracuse University, in New York, is delaying the start of its spring term by two weeks to have more time for some of its frontline workers to get vaccinated and avoid anticipated... read more.

The 74 Million… Lessons from an Insurrection: A Day After D.C. Rampage
How 15 Educators From Across U.S. Helped Students Make Sense of the Chaos - Teachers across the country faced their students Thursday with a gut-wrenching task: Talking to them about the violent insurrection that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol less than a day before. In D.C., where the breach of the Capitol building by pro-Trump supporters falsely claiming election... read more.

K12 Dive… Violent US Capitol insurrection presents difficult classroom discussions, Roger Riddell - Jan. 6, 2021 - Dive Brief: The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., was stormed Wednesday afternoon by a mob supporting President Donald Trump, aiming to disrupt the House and Senate certification process of President-elect Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election. The events present educators with yet another difficult topic to navigate in... read more.

K12 Dive… Embedding tutoring into school day could offset COVID slide, Shawna De La Rosa - January 6, 2021 - Dive Brief: Equal-access tutoring is emerging as an equity-based solution to correct pandemic-related learning loss, District Administration reports, noting the practice is considered an effective intervention and can be scaled nationally, but is currently only widely available to those who can afford private tutoring. The first step in implementing a... read more.

U.S. News & World Report… More Evidence Suggests In-Person School is Safe, as Long as Virus Is Controlled, By Lauren Camera, Senior Education Writer - Jan. 5, 2021 - REOPENING SCHOOLS FOR in-person learning did not result in an increase in coronavirus hospitalizations as long as hospitalization rates in the community were low at the time of reopening, according to the latest study to wade into the controversial K-12 reopening debate. The study... read more.

eSchool News… Is it fake? How to teach with news and media sources, By Eileen Belastock, CETL, Director of Technology and Information, Nauset Public Schools, MA - January 6th, 2021 - Teaching students how to identify and use high-quality news and media resources isn't as daunting as one might think. Between the recent presidential election, COVID-19, and racial unrest, our students are barraged with 24/7 access to news and media that can be real, fake, or altered... read more.

The 74… Analysis: What Does ‘Attendance’ Mean for Remote Learners in a Pandemic? Center for Reinventing Public Education - As districts close out their first academic quarter, educators are reporting increased absenteeism rates for both remote learners (double the rates they saw before the pandemic) and in-person learners. About a third of educators say unexcused absences will impact student grades and, potentially, prevent some kids from passing to the... read more.

K-12 Dive… States move to suspend school report cards, create accountability flexibilities, Naaz Modan - Jan. 6, 2021 - Dive Brief: Taking advantage of flexibilities allowed by the U.S. Department of Education this school year, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Tennessee and other states have moved to suspend school accountability report cards or waive or reduce the weight of certain accountability measures, like assessments, for the 2020-21... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… 5 higher education trends to watch in 2021, Hallie Busta
Jan. 3, 2021 - We're all hoping some degree of pre-pandemic life will return in 2021. But for higher education, many of the trends that dominated storylines in 2020 will continue into this year. We've rounded up a few below and will be following them throughout the year. Will enrollment bounce back? Colleges collectively enrolled about 560,000 fewer undergraduates... read more.

Inside Higher Ed… Irreplaceable: Tenured Professors win court battle, By Lilah Burke
January 4, 2021 - In 2016, 27 tenured faculty members at John A. Logan Community College in Illinois were laid off. The following year, seven of those faculty members sued the Board of Trustees, arguing that the college replaced them with adjuncts in violation of the Illinois Public Community College Act. Last month, the Illinois Supreme Court sided with the faculty. The decision... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… College health association recommends twice-weekly coronavirus testing, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Jan. 4, 2021 - Dive Brief: Colleges and universities should test students and employees for the coronavirus twice a week, according to the American College Health Association's latest recommendations. Test results should be available within 24 to 48 hours, the association said. Robust testing is key and should not be replaced by tactics such... read more.

K-12 Dive… 8 trends influencing K-12 in 2021, Roger Riddell, Naaz Modan, Kara Arundel
Jan. 4, 2021 - In the wake of an unprecedented and unpredictable 2020, the novel coronavirus pandemic has reshaped the K-12 landscape, shifting — and in some cases outright derailing — the trends guiding what 21st century education looks like. The nation's public education system was forced to shift almost entirely to a virtual model overnight, catalyzing debates over the... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Researchers pinpoint three elements of effective schools, By Jill Barshay - January 4, 2021 - Parents are often stymied by the process of picking a good school for their kids. Word-of-mouth recommendations can be misleading. High test scores provide only a limited picture of a school’s effectiveness since they often reflect family income with wealthier students scoring better. Northwestern University economist C. Kirabo Jackson believes... read more.

K12 Dive… Survey: 60% of parents would allow their K-12 student to get COVID-19 vaccine, Shawna De La Rosa - Jan. 4, 2021 - Dive Brief: In a survey by the National Parents Union, 60% of parents overall said they would let their child receive a vaccine for COVID-19, while 25% said they would not, and 15% reported they are unsure. Parents with higher household incomes would be slightly more likely to allow their K-12 student to receive a coronavirus vaccine... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Sex, masks and parties: Can colleges actually change student behavior? By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf and Hallie Busta - August 7, 2020 - Purdue University President Mitch Daniels has been on the forefront of the campaign to reopen college campuses this fall. He appeared on a Senate committee panel in June extolling the benefits of students returning to campus and outlining the extensive efforts his university would undertake to prevent the... read more.

eSchool News… Here’s the biggest mistake educators make with remote learning, By Dennis Pierce - December 30th, 2020 - Education thought leader Alan November isn’t shy about discussing what he believes is a key misstep that many educators are making in shifting to web-based instruction during the pandemic. Instead of taking the same techniques that teachers have used in their classrooms for years and trying to apply them within a remote learning environment—an... read more.

Deep Dive… Why 4-year colleges are tapping Amazon to help deliver cloud computing degrees, Natalie Schwartz - Nov. 25, 2020 - Hassan Asqiriba, a computer science student from Mexico, dreams of working for Amazon Web Services or helping businesses use the cloud once he finishes his master's degree at California State University Channel Islands. That's why this winter, Asqiriba plans to take one of the university's several cloud... read more.

The Daily Signal… Good Things Did Happen in 2020. These 7 Events Prove It. Virginia Allen
December 30, 2020 - I don’t need to tell you about all the negative events of 2020, because we all memorized that laundry list months ago. But if you’re anything like me, you’ve had a lot of practice rattling off each doom-and-gloom item of the past year as you vent with friends and family members over Zoom. Yet, at times, the intensity of 2020 also revealed the very... read more.

eSchool News… 12 multimedia learning tools for the classroom, By Laura Ascione, Editorial Director, Content Services - December 30th, 2020 - Learning is more engaging when educators incorporate digital resources--here are some multimedia learning tools you can try in your classroom. Multimedia learning tools play an important role in classrooms in a number of ways–including, but not limited to, boosting creativity, encouraging student engagement, and helping students... read more.

K12 Dive… Fall assessments to gauge 'COVID slide' may be skewed. Can school districts use them? Naaz Modan - Nov. 30, 2020 - Dive Brief: State level assessment officials and testing experts have expressed concerns that screening assessment results to determine learning loss levels due to "COVID slide" could have been skewed by a number of factors, including parental help. Curriculum Associates, makers of the i-Ready test adopted by some school districts.. read more.

The Daily Signal… History Shows Our Passion for Freedom Runs Deep, Katharine Gorka
December 31, 2020 - Christmas 2020 was a Christmas like no other in our nation’s history. Thousands of churches across the country were shuttered, others had to hold services outdoors or restrict capacity indoors. Families were not allowed to gather for the holiday. Many Americans are rightly upset that the freedom to worship—the foundational American freedom—has been... read more.

eSchool News… 10 SEL activities for teachers, By Emily Doerr, National Marketing Coordinator, Aperture Education - December 16th, 2020 - COVID-19 has thrown educators for a loop, and paying attention to mental health is critical--these SEL activities can help teachers maintain peace. We are all dealing with high levels of stress right now. On top of normal pressures, current events are causing stress related to job and financial worries, health risks, and disruption to our... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Colleges enrolled nearly 500,000 fewer students this fall, Hallie Busta
Dec. 17, 2020 - Dive Brief: College enrollment fell 2.5% this fall from a year ago, almost twice the rate of decline reported in 2019 and representing more than 460,000 students, according to final figures from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released Thursday. Undergraduate enrollment dropped 3.6% during the period — a difference of more than 560,000 students... read more.

K-12 Dive… 3 assessment challenges & how districts are navigating them, Naaz Modan
Dec. 17, 2020 - When educators feared learning loss heading into the 2020-21 school year, interim and formative end-of-year assessments were met with a potpourri of reactions. Depending on who you asked, assessments were critical to understanding COVID slide or unnecessary sources of stress for students whose learning losses were predictable by ZIP code, or answers... read more.

eSchool News… COVID learning loss has substantially impacted math gains, By Laura Ascione, Managing Editor, Content Services - December 16 - New research reveals concerning COVID learning loss, including substantial math losses in grades 5-8 and modest reading losses across grades K-8, as a result of the pandemic, according to Illuminate Education. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in measurable learning loss. Researchers saw... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Declines in high school graduates may not be as bad as expected: report, By Natalie Schwartz - Published Dec. 15, 2020 - Dive Brief: Declines in high school graduates over the next decade may not be as bad as initially projected because of improving graduation rates, according to a new report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The number of high school graduates is projected to peak in 2025 before declining modestly... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… Colleges prepare to store, administer coronavirus vaccines, By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Published Dec. 14, 2020 - Dive Brief: Several colleges are preparing to store and distribute the coronavirus vaccination in their regions. The Pfizer vaccine, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorized, needs to be stored in extremely low temperatures, and some institutions have offered freezer units to do so. Public health experts have predicted colleges... read more.

K12 Dive… Night kindergarten class meets needs of working families during the pandemic, Kara Arundel - Dec. 14, 2020 - The class of squirmy but eager and focused kindergartners took their seats behind their screens in their homes to begin Zoom class. They immediately started greeting each other and chatting about what they just ate. “Guess what I had. Strawberries, a fruit cup and my most favorite: waffles,” said Vanessa Parker, age 5. Their teacher... read more.

K-12 Dive Brief… CDC report: Coronavirus mitigation efforts to reopen schools could cost up to $442 per student, Shawna De La Rosa - Dec. 14, 2020 - Dive Brief: Coronavirus mitigation efforts in schools will cost about $55 per student for materials and consumables, according to a recently released CDC report, and up to $442 per student when additional custodial staff and transportation costs are factored in. There are approximately 50 million students... read more.

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EdSource… How one California school district is moving forward with math in the pandemic, Sydney Johnson - December 11, 2020 - In a school year when in-person instruction is already limited, California math teachers are making up for lost time on the fly. Since school campuses closed in March due to the pandemic, education experts have sounded the alarm that certain groups, such as low-income and special education students, could fall further behind academically... read more.

Higher Ed Dive... Ed Dept: College free speech still under siege, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Dec. 9, 2020 - Dive Brief: The Trump administration is engaging in a final push to eliminate threats it perceives to free speech on college campuses, which some Republicans have framed as liberal bastions inhospitable to conservative views. Speakers at a U.S. Department of Education event Tuesday unleashed against these biases, alleging a widespread suppression... read more.

eSchool News… The Making of the Modern Librarian: The Value of School Libraries, UWA Online - December 1st, 2020 - A virtual reality field trip. A lesson on how to create a podcast. A tutorial on how to create a paper circuit board that uses LED lights. For a new generation of educators, these pursuits have something in common: They’re all appropriate learning exercises that can take place in the school library. Makerspaces, or library media centers that encourage collaboration... read more.

USA Today… College campuses drove major COVID-19 outbreaks. Now, will they require the vaccine? Lindsay Schnell - André Le Duc doesn’t consider himself a fortune teller. As the University of Oregon’s chief of safety and risks, Le Duc prides himself on planning, often way into the future. So when the novel coronavirus started to spread in China in early 2020, Le Duc knew it wasn’t going away anytime soon. He told his university administration to start planning immediately... read more.

DA District Administration… Harness the workforce to create normalcy for students, Tanya Hirsch and Rob Tibbs - December 9, 2020 - North Kansas City Schools (NKC Schools) has been back in session for a little more than two months. Grades K-5 are learning in person five days a week, and more than two-thirds of students in grades 6-12 are doing a hybrid—two days of in-person classes, three days of remote learning—while the remaining third opted for full-time... read more.

Deep Dive… 4 ways schools use video game design to spark interest in computer science, Lauren Barack - Dec. 9, 2020 - In the Lewisville Independent School District in Texas, video game design and programming courses typically get 200 students a year to sign up — but only about 150 can enroll. That interest, and the subsequent waiting list, is a sign of how eager students are for these courses that Technology Exploration and Career Center East Director... read more.

eSchool News… 10 educator suggestions to instill a love of reading in students, By Britten Follett - December 10th, 2020 - My husband quite often reminds me not to use my behavior as a child OR an adult as an indicator of others’… because I’m weird. From the moment I learned to read, I loved it. My favorite winter break was spent bingeing on every Baby-Sitters Club book in the series. As an adult, at any given moment, I’m listening to an audiobook and bouncing between one or... read more.

NPR Ed… With Fall Graduation Off, But Football Still On, Students Question College Priorities, Adedayo Akala - December 8, 2020 - Jayme Henderson says her college's decision to cancel fall graduation over coronavirus concerns felt like "a slap in the face." Henderson, a graduating senior at the University of Missouri in Columbia, remembers thinking about the campus activities that hadn't been cancelled: Football was still on, with fans still able to attend games in... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… 'Sharp' pandemic recovery not likely for colleges: report, Hallie Busta
Dec. 8, 2020 - Dive Brief: A pair of new reports from Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings offers prognoses for the pandemic's impact on colleges during 2021. Enrollment volatility will persist, the ratings agencies say. Moody's predicts net tuition revenue will decline at around 75% of private schools and 60% of publics. Along with lower auxiliary income and state funding, colleges... read more.

K-12 Dive… How educators are tweaking grading approaches in response to the pandemic, Kara Arundel - Dec. 8, 2020 - For 10 years, Kaitlin Jenkins graded her high school English students according to the traditional A-F model she grew up with and was taught in educator preparation courses. But when a student asked her why an assignment marked with an 89.2% (a B) was not a 90% (an A), she struggled to justify the grade. “I had to really stop and have a... read more.

eSchoolNews… 3 recommendations from research on COVID learning loss, By Laura Ascione
December 8th, 2020 - Initial findings on COVID learning loss indicate unfinished learning in math despite slightly encouraging reading gains. While students have made some learning gains in reading and math since the beginning of COVID, average math gains were lower on average in fall 2020 than prior years–meaning more students are falling behind relative to their... read more.

DA District Administration… 3 alternatives to requiring video in online learning, By Matt Zalaznick - December 4, 2020 - Compelling students to turn on their webcams during online learning sessions raises issues of increased data collection, implies a lack of trust, and conflates students’ school and home lives, according to new recommendations from The Future of Privacy Forum and National Education Association. “Requiring that students’ videos be on may unintentionally... read more.

K-12 Dive… 4 ways superintendents will address snow days post-COVID-19, Katie Navarra
Dec. 4, 2020 - With COVID-19 upending in-person learning and acclimating schools and students to virtual models, could snow days soon be a thing of the past? “If we know anything, teachers and students love snow days,” said Donna L. Wright, director of schools at Wilson County Schools in Tennessee. Historically, Wright's district, which serves... read more.

Higher Ed Dive… What role could colleges have in distributing coronavirus vaccines? Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Nov. 30, 2020 - Dive Brief: Colleges will likely play a big role in distributing coronavirus vaccinations to their students and employees as well as the public, health experts predict. Institutions have helped research a vaccine and campuses have functioned as trial sites. Leaders of a couple of historically Black colleges also urged their students to participate in... read more.

EdSource… Freshman year can be tricky; the pandemic makes it worse, By Larry Gordon
December 4, 2020 - Krisstina Caro, a freshman at California State University East Bay, has been on campus only once, to buy a hoodie sweatshirt at the campus bookstore. With all her classes online, she feels somewhat disconnected from the school and finds it frustrating that she can’t fulfill her hopes of meeting new people and joining clubs during her first year of college... read more.

The Hechinger Report… High cost, low returns for many new majors, By Delece Smith-Barrow
Dec 3, 2020 - For many students, some of the most attractive parts of the college experience are the variety of classes and the number of majors offered. But many of the newest majors showing up in course catalogs are proving to be financially disastrous for the institutions, according to a recent analysis from Burning Glass Technologies. And with nearly every institution... read more.

NPR Ed… What A Biden Presidency Could Mean For Education, Anya Kamanetz, Elissa Nadorny - November 10, 2020 - With the eyes of the country upon him, Joe Biden shouted out education during his speech Saturday in Wilmington, Del: "For American educators, this is a great day for you all. You're going to have one of your own in the White House." Of course, the president-elect was talking about his wife, Jill Biden, an English professor at Northern Virginia Community... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Schools bring mindfulness to the classroom to help kids in the Covid-19 crisis, By Jena Brooker - November 23, 2020 - Doug Worthen guided his small class of ninth graders at Middlesex School through an exercise designed to focus their attention. On his screen, he saw the students sitting outside or at desks and lounging across their beds as they joined their weekly mindfulness class online. One by one the students clicked off their cameras... read more.

Prevention Action Alliance… Holiday Responsible Gifting
The following Our Thoughts was written by Derek Longmeier, the executive director of Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. Founded in 2010, PGNO is working toward building a network of support for those impacted by gambling through collaboration, education and research. Learn more about PGNO at pgnohio.org. The holiday season is upon us and with it comes... read more.

Higher Ed Dive... Did colleges' quick move online ready faculty for a long-term shift? Hallie Busta - Students weren't the only ones disrupted when the pandemic forced colleges and universities to shutter their campuses and move activities online. Faculty also had their work upended, with no indication of when, or if, the status quo would return. They weren't entirely without a safety net, however. As spring turned to summer and the realities of the pandemic crystallized, several colleges... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Rundown schools forced more students to go remote, By Bracey Harris, Meredith Kolodner and Neal Morton - November 25, 2020 - Yvette Alston-Johnson was seething when she got the news. Children in Paterson, New Jersey would not be allowed to go to school in person this fall, while many of their peers in predominantly white and affluent suburbs would return. Alston-Johnson attended Paterson public schools, as did her five children, and she... read more.

The Hechinger Report… The ‘Fauci effect’: Inspired by front-line health care workers, record numbers apply to medical schools, By Jon Marcus - December 1, 2020 - SOMERVILLE, Mass. — When Covid-19 restrictions reduced his work schedule, Sam Smith turned to another time-consuming job: applying to medical schools. He’d always wanted to go into medicine, Smith said. But what was happening in the world had a big impact on the kind... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Community colleges are helping students more than ever in the pandemic, By Christine Wolff-Eisenberg & Michelle Dimino - November 23, 2020 - Each of Northern Virginia Community College’s six campuses has a food pantry, which some students rely on for half their weekly meals. At the Community College of Philadelphia, some 70 percent of students have a full-time advisor they can meet with virtually. Wraparound supports at Loyola... read more.

USA Today… NCAA unveils proposed rules changes related to athletes' name, image and likeness, Steve Berkowitz - College athletes would gain new and significant abilities to make money from the use of their name, image and likeness, beginning Aug. 1, 2021, under a series of specific proposals for Division I rules changes unveiled Friday. However, the proposed rules changes would give schools discretion to prevent athletes from having deals that are... read more.

ESPN… What the Ivy League's canceling its seasons means for college basketball, other sports play, Multiple Contributors - Nov 13, 2020 - In an unfortunate echo of March, the Ivy League on Thursday became the first Division I league to cancel its men's and women's basketball seasons, announcing that it would not play any winter sports in 2020-21 and would delay a decision on spring sports until at least the start of March 2021. Will the Ivy's decision... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Now is not the time to put college plans on hold, By Craig Robinson
November 24, 2020 - As a fall semester transformed by the Covid-19 pandemic continues, a startling trend is emerging: Students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, are leaving college at an alarming rate. Around 100,000 fewer high school seniors completed financial aid applications to attend college this year than in 2019, according to an analysis by... read more.

The Hechinger Report… More people with bachelor’s degrees go back to school to learn skilled trades, By Jon Marcus - November 20, 2020 - SCARBOROUGH, Maine — Putting on hazmat gear for the first time turns out to be a long-drawn-out process, so the trainees who are practicing this new skill make the time go faster with a little clowning around. “Smile! Work it! Work it!” one shouts at a classmate as she jokingly strikes glamour poses for photos in a heavy vapor... read more.

The Hechinger Report… “Stuck in it until I die”: Parents get buried by college debt too, By Meredith Kolodner - November 19, 2020 - Jay Rife was sitting in his pickup truck on the outskirts of Las Vegas when he answered a phone call that would permanently alter his life. A man from the federal government was on the line and told him that the loan he had taken out so his son and daughter could go to college had come due. The monthly payment was $1,200. “I thought I was going to... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Remote learners feel shortchanged in districts pressured to reopen in person, By Bracey Harris and Caroline Preston - November 22, 2020 - It was the second week of the fall semester when Cassandra Wooten realized her teenage daughter was sinking. The high school junior often spent hours a day on her computer for online school, only to tell her mom at the end of the day that she wasn’t sure she’d learned anything at all. She felt she was trying... read more.

Prevention Action Alliance… Prevention is Prevention: How CSAP Strategies Can Prevent COVID-19 - As the spread of COVID-19 continues it’s evident that many are becoming weary of the measures we must take to stay safe. As the promise of a vaccine or several vaccines looms near, it’s more important than ever to stay focused on prevention than as we were months ago when the pandemic began. New recommendations from the Centers for Disease... read more.

DA District Administration… How one state is tackling declining enrollment numbers, By: Chris Burt - November 11, 2020 - Though the Connecticut State Department of Education reported on Wednesday a 3% decline in enrollment for the start of the 2020-21 school year, it says that number is consistent with dips from the past five years and does factor in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sharpest declines in enrollment are happening at the pre-kindergarten and... read more.

USA Today… Schools want to end online classes for struggling kids, but COVID-19 cases may send everyone home, Erin Richards - Math teacher Aaron Tomhave found it fairly easy to continue connecting with his students when his district outside of Houston shifted online in March. He's a tech whiz, and he already had a good relationship with them. But when the Splendora school district returned to in-person instruction in September, Tomhave noticed subtle differences... read more.

Deep Dive… What do leading K-12 organizations expect from a Biden presidency? Naaz Modan - Nov. 11, 2020 - In his victory speech Saturday night, presumptive President-Elect Joe Biden called for national unity. But educators, education organizations and associations and legal experts are far from united in their views on what a Biden presidency might mean for K-12. Although the final outcome of the election will not be certain until the Electoral College votes in... read more.

Prevention Action Alliance… Know! What’s Up with Psychedelics?
While you may not be familiar with psilocybin, chances are you have heard of psychedelic mushrooms, or shrooms. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms. Though many of us associate psychedelics with the 60’s, there has been a resurgence of interest in their use. In November, Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin, and it has... read more.

The 74 Million… As Coronavirus Cases Surge, New Antibody Study Shows Young Children May Be Less Likely to Spread Virus - November 18 - A new study continues to build the case that the risks of in-person learning for elementary and middle school students may be lower than many officials originally feared, but comes just as surging coronavirus cases nationwide are prompting multiple districts to delay reopening. The paper, published in the journal Nature... read more.

Education Dive… Fast Forward: States' accountability changes may impact school designations, improvement timelines, Naaz Modan - Nov. 16, 2020 - Assessments and accountability plans, put on pause by the U.S. Education Department for the 2019-20 school year due to COVID-19, are expected to resume this school year with addenda. “We are skeptical states can return to status-quo school accountability systems,” said Chris... read more.

NPR Ed… A College Student Is Coming Home. Should The Whole Family Wear Masks? Elissa Nadworny - November 14, 2020 - Sandy Kretschmer imagines her son Henry returning home from college, dropping his bags and then giving her a big hug. But she knows the reality of this homecoming may be a lot different. "I'll probably have a mask on, and he'll have a mask on when I hug him," she says. Henry plans to take a COVID-19 test a few days before he leaves Iowa... read more.

The Daily Signal… CDC Director Says School ‘One of Safest Places’ for Children, Data Supports In-Person Learning, Mary Rose Corkery - November 20, 2020 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said school “is one of the safest places” for children and data supports in-person learning. Redfield stressed the importance of adhering to data during a White House press briefing Thursday. The CDC director also said “data-driven... read more.

Deep Dive… 3 ways K-12 schools can evolve post-pandemic, Kara Arundel
Nov. 17, 2020 - The pandemic-driven upheaval of the K-12 education system is doing something many say has been nearly impossible — opening a door for significant reforms that would disrupt decades or century-old practices and rituals. And even though school administrators are in the midst of responding to the immediate health crisis, they are setting aside time to discuss... read more.

EdSource… How school discipline — and student misbehavior — has changed during the pandemic, Carolyn Jones - November 17, 2020 - Student misbehavior hasn’t vanished during distance learning, but schools are finding that imposing discipline in a virtual environment is a complicated and often murky process, and that current laws don’t neatly apply to online behavior. The California Department of Education has not yet released suspension and... read more.

The 74 Million… New Poll Finds Parents Want Better Distance Learning Now, Online Options Even After COVID, More Family Engagement - While many school leaders focus on bringing students back into in-person classrooms as they were, a majority of parents want them to develop new and better ways of teaching, prioritize high-quality distance learning now and continue to offer virtual instruction even after COVID-19 recedes, a new poll finds... read more.

The Bargain Hunger… Library a useful tool in enhancing at-home learning experience, By Dave Mast - November 16, 2020 - When many people think about a library, they envision going in, perusing shelves of books and signing out something to read for a few weeks. Libraries have come a long way since those days, providing many valuable functions that go far beyond the mere effort to check out reading material. Learning programs, genealogy, computer usage and more... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Opinion: The truth about returning to school? There’s no easy answer, By Morgan Polikoff - November 12, 2020 - As winter bears down on most of America and Covid-19 again surges out of control, pundits and parents alike are wondering when our nation’s 50 million schoolchildren will return to classrooms. With the election over, now is the time for legislators and leaders in states and the federal government to turn their attention back to education. The... read more.

Education Dive… Teacher mentoring still adds PD value in remote learning, Shawna De La Rosa - Nov. 16, 2020 - Dive Brief: When schools shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, South Dakota's statewide teacher mentoring program shifted to virtual platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom so participants could continue to benefit from the insight of their peers — both for virtual instruction and mentoring, Waubay School District Superintendent... read more.

Education Dive… Lack of extracurriculars hurts school engagement during pandemic, Shawna De La Rosa - Nov. 13, 2020 - Dive Brief: Education experts fear lack of fall sports and other extracurricular activities is putting some students at greater risk of dropping out, The 74 Million reports, as being surrounded by a group of friends and adults helps keep at-risk students engaged and on track for graduation. A recent poll shows 58% of U.S. students are learning... read more.

Education Dive… Districts lack 'comprehensive' plans to address learning loss this fall, analysis finds, Naaz Modan - Nov. 16, 2020 - Dive Brief: In an ongoing analysis of the nation's 100 most high-profile school districts, the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a non-partisan research and policy analysis organization, found slightly more than half of the districts are offering some extent of in-person instruction, an increase from one-quarter at the beginning... read more.

Deep Dive… 'Relationships matter': Remote learning places new hurdles in fight against chronic absenteeism, Natalie Gross - Nov. 12, 2020 - When students at El Puente M.S. 50 Community School in Brooklyn, New York, log into Zoom at 8:30 a.m. each school day, they’re greeted by a remote school coach who takes attendance, checks in with students and stays online with them throughout the entire school day, even as teachers come and... read more.

The Hechinger Report… As the pandemic rages, more students are struggling with trauma, By Ava Cotlowitz - November 11, 2020 - The topic of trauma — specifically, trauma-informed teaching — has become a focus in education. Almost 50 percent of students in the U.S. have experienced some form of trauma, so it’s critical that educators be equipped to support every student. Trauma is often linked to adverse childhood experiences, including abuse, neglect and other... read more.

Deep Dive… School communities largely embrace masks despite lawsuits, Kara Arundel
Nov. 12, 2020 - With the school year several months underway and the number of COVID-19 cases increasing across the country, school systems are finding that, for the most part, students, parents and staff are complying with mask policies in areas where they are required. “It’s been surprisingly easy,” said Michael Lubelfeld, superintendent of the North Shore School District... read more.

Education Dive… Enrollment still down with three-quarters of colleges reporting, Hallie Busta
Nov. 12, 2020 - Dive Brief: Undergraduate enrollment decreases deepened slightly as more schools shared their numbers with the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, according to data released Thursday. Colleges reported 4.4% fewer undergraduates than a year ago as of Oct. 22, compared to a 4% lag as of late September. Graduate enrollment was up 2.9% in... read more.

Washington Post… Most popular course ever at Georgetown Law? How to fight for justice. By Susan Svrluga - November 6, 2020 - In her third year of law school, Maxine Walters expected to have everything in place: Her job locked in, her career path mapped out. Then the pandemic hit, and economic uncertainty, and protests erupted over racial justice and tensions flared over the presidential election and transition. Her summer job with a firm evaporated, and with it the... read more.

Education Dive… As Thanksgiving break nears, colleges prepare to cut students loose, Hallie Busta - Nov. 10, 2020 - Dive Brief: Colleges across the country are preparing to send students home for Thanksgiving break, but their plans are inconsistent, public health experts say. Many colleges will end in-person instruction before the holiday, though others intend to welcome students back to finish the term and are beginning to set expectations around coming and going... read more.

Prevention Action Alliance… Know! Gratitude for the Health of It
November is here to kick off the holiday season. Just like most things in 2020, Thanksgiving is bound to look different this year due to COVID-19. At a time when we might normally be gearing up to travel to grandma’s house or preparing to host extended family members for dinner, this time around we may be forced to break yet another tradition. But instead of dwelling... read more.

EdSource… Community colleges find an advocate in future First Lady Jill Biden, Ashley A. Smith - November 10, 2020 - For the first time in American history, the nation’s First Lady will hold a job outside the White House, and that job will involve teaching. Jill Biden will continue teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College, where even as Second Lady, she has advocated for students and education after high school. “For American educators, it is a great day for... read more.

Pew… COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on employment at local schools and public colleges, By Barb Rosewicz & Mike Maciag - November 10, 2020 - Practically every segment of the economy has suffered this year as the pandemic and resulting recession sparked massive job losses, but new data suggests education workers have been among the hardest hit. The latest U.S. Department of Labor estimates show that state and local education... read more.

Education Dive… State ballot measures' impacts on K-12 schools, Naaz Modan
Nov. 11, 2020 - Ballots in the 2020 presidential election also included a variety of state measures that could impact education. "The biggest trend is that a lot of them had to do with raising money for education," said Damion Pechota, a policy analyst at Education Commission of the States. While a limited number of state ballot initiatives specifically... read more.

Education Dive… Media literacy, finding common ground key for civics ed, Shawna De La Rosa
Nov. 11, 2020 - Dive Brief: The Francis Parker School in San Diego implemented curricula teaching students between junior kindergarten and 12th grade how to engage in civil discussion, as well as how to decipher fact from fiction and navigate differences, District Administration reports. During the 2020 presidential election cycle, for example, students didn’t debate... read more.

Edutopia… Strategies to Encourage Students to Turn Their Cameras On, By Liz Byron Loya
November 9, 2020 - While there is a tremendous amount of value to being able to see your students’ faces during distance learning, we can’t force them to be on camera, just as during in-person teaching, we can’t force unengaged students to lift their heads or remove hats or hoodies that obscure their faces. With experimentation and persistence, however, you can arrive at... read more.

The Hechinger Report… Teachers forced to “MacGyver” their own tech solutions, By Nichole Dobo - November 9, 2020 - When Audrey Green, a middle school teacher in Broward County, Florida, began the year working remotely with her students, she had a lot to think about. She had to establish a personal connection with students she’s never seen face to face and help children develop tools to cope during a pandemic. And she had to handle emotionally heavy issues, like... read more.

EdSurge… The U.S. Election Underscores the Need for Teaching News Literacy in Our Schools, By Liz Ramos - Nov 7, 2020 - Imagine sending a teenage driver onto a highway in an unfamiliar area, where road signs are in a foreign language, lanes change direction without warning, fog and rain obscure visibility, the car has faulty brakes, and the passengers are giving bad directions. Madness, right? It’s also madness to let teens wander an... read more.

Education Dive… Biden is president-elect: What could it mean for K-12? Naaz Modan
Nov. 7, 2020 - Dive Brief: After a contentious, close race, Democrat Joe Biden, who was vice president during the Obama administration, is expected to win the 2020 presidential election. During the campaign, Biden outlined an education policy platform that has a number of possible implications for K-12 schools, including increased teacher pay, stricter Title IX rules, more... read more.

Education Dive… Difficulties taking SAT and ACT persist, signaling long-term problems for test makers, Jeremy Bauer-Wolf - Nov. 3, 2020 - Dive Brief: Prospective college students are still encountering problems sitting for the SAT and ACT, the two most common admissions tests — a trend that's persisted since the spring. The College Board, the SAT's provider, announced this week that as of Oct. 27, some 96,000 students of the 312,000 who had registered to... read more.

NPR Ed… Overwhelmed with election news? Kids can tell.
If you've been riding an emotional, politics-fueled rollercoaster, believe us: Your kids have noticed. They can see when you’re on edge. And because they're naturally self-centered, they'll assume your stress is about them. Be honest and tell them, "Dad/Mom has been a little nervous about the election." It's helpful for kids' social and emotional development to hear you naming... read more.

Deep Dive… Rubric for Recovery: ELs face more hurdles amid lost in-person learning, Kara Arundel - Nov. 2, 2020 - The shy girl learning to write, read and speak proficient English blended in with her peers in Kristabel Regalado’s virtual class this fall at Edward K. Downing Elementary School in Odessa, Texas. Regalado, an English language teacher and multi-classroom leader, thought the girl’s oral skills were strong, but the student was reluctant to answer questions or initiate... read more.

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Education Dive… Report: Steeper COVID slide expected in math than reading, Shawna De La Rosa - Nov. 3, 2020 - Dive Brief: Learning gains during the 2019-20 school year are expected to be significantly lower than typical years due to the "COVID slide," according to a report from NWEA published in Sage Journals. The research predicts learning gains in reading to be 63% to 68% of what they normally are on average, but math is expected to be much lower at only 37% to... read more.

Inside Higher Education… Thanksgiving ‘Exodus’ Looms, By Emma Whitford
November 3, 2020 - To successfully provide on-campus instruction during the pandemic, colleges needed to prepare for several milestones. The first was bringing students back to campus safely and without increasing coronavirus case counts on campus and in surrounding towns and cities. In the following months, the primary goal was to keep case counts low. Now... read more.

The Hechinger Report… FAFSA completion declines, By Delece Smith-Barrow
In the middle of our current economic and health crisis, there’s a disturbing trend in higher education: Fewer high school seniors are filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is typically the first step in receiving federal and state grants, federal loans and institutional aid for college. The FAFSA application opened on Oct. 1, and as of Oct. 23... read more.

NPR Ed… Colleges Turn To Wastewater Testing In An Effort To Flush Out The Coronavirus, Elissa Nadworny - October 26, 2020 - Twice a week, mathematics professor Andrea Bruder squats in the sewage tunnels below South Hall, a mostly freshman dorm at Colorado College. She wears head-to-toe protective gear and holds a plastic ladle in one hand and a to-go coffee cup in the other. Bruder hovers above an opening in a large metal pipe and patiently waits... read more.

Education Dive… Translating dyslexia support to distance learning a challenge, but not impossible, Shawna De La Rosa - Nov. 4, 2020 - Dive Brief: Dyslexia interventions can be replicated virtually with online sensory tools and assistive technology, District Administration reports, noting applications that allow for interactive learning also help students engage in distance learning environments. Zoom, for example, has annotation tools... read more.

Education Dive… High school SEL requires approach geared to teens' changes, Lauren Barack - Nov. 4, 2020 - Dive Brief: While social-emotional learning lessons are commonly found in elementary school, they are less likely to be in high school curriculum, writes Edutopia, citing a 2019 survey, “Support for Social and Emotional Learning is Widespread,” from the RAND Corp. Yet teens still have a need for these tools, as they make the shift into adulthood... read more.

Chronical of Higher Education… Student Voting in 2020: ‘Weird Is Probably an Understatement’, By Nell Gluckman, Emma Pettit, and Michael Vasquez - Nov. 3, 2020 - Election Day 2020 will be remembered as a masked affair and, at many colleges, a subdued one. Nearly 10 million young Americans cast their ballots ahead of Tuesday’s vote, and the result at campus polling sites was evident. Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and... read more.

US News… Most Parents Worry Students Will Fall Behind Due to the Pandemic, By Alexa Lardieri, Staff Writer - Oct. 29, 2020 - MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF parents of students who receive at least some online instruction are concerned about their children falling behind in school. A Pew Research Center survey found that 32% of parents are very concerned and 36% of parents are somewhat concerned that their children will fall behind in school as a result of any... read more.

Deep Dive… Rubric for Recovery: For rural communities, it's all-hands-on-deck to help low-income students, Naaz Modan - Nov. 3, 2020 - In the hour she has between remote classes, Jackelin Escalante Macias' younger brother steps into her room to ask if she has lunch prepared for her five siblings. “When the pandemic hit, I had to do my own schoolwork and make sure my siblings don't fall behind,” said Escalante Macias, who lives in a rural part... read more.

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DA District Administration… How far behind did students fall during spring closures? By: Matt Zalaznick - October 29, 2020 - Learning losses during remote instruction this spring were more severe in math than in reading, a new analysis has found. Using a model that treated spring school closures like an extended summer break, NWEA researchers found that students likely started school this fall with 37% to 50% of the typical annual learning gains in math. In reading... read more.

DA District Administration… The College Degree Is Dividing America, By Eric Kelderman
October 30, 2020 - With a passing phrase during a speech in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump seemed to open a wide, new chasm among the American electorate. “I love the poorly educated,” then-candidate Trump said at a rally celebrating a victory over his rivals in the Nevada caucuses. The candidate was, at the time, enumerating some... read more.

Education Dive… Disappointing 12th grade NAEP prompts calls for curriculum, funding improvements, Kara Arundel - Oct. 29, 2020 - Dive Brief: National 12th-grade reading and math scores from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mostly held steady on average compared to performance in 2015, but results from students scoring in the lowest percentiles dipped noticeably. A deeper examination of the results, also known as The... read more.

Education Dive… 4 ways leaders are keeping teachers motivated through pandemic disruption, Shawna De La Rosa - Oct. 29, 2020 - From the pressure put on first responders to the demands placed on essential workers, COVID-19 upended professional norms across all industries — especially education. Last spring, teachers had to retrofit in-person curricula for a virtual environment and adopt new approaches for teaching students from afar. Then came fall, with the... read more.

Prevention Action Alliance… Scare Tactics in Prevention
Halloween 2020 is over, which means that kids dressed as astronauts, vampires, and monsters, homes were decorated with cobwebs and tombstones, and candy was given out to children everywhere. The sounds of screaming filled the air as people watched scary movies, but do you know what really scares us? The use of scare tactics in prevention. We have a lot to say... read more.

EdSurge… Virtual Office Hours Get More Students in the Door. Will They Be Here to Stay? By Rebecca Koenig - Oct 22, 2020 - From professors to advisers to career counselors, colleges employ many people responsible for coaching students on how to meet their goals. But students don’t always take advantage of opportunities to receive this personalized guidance. Now that the pandemic has pushed many of these meetings into virtual spaces, though, some faculty... read more.

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