10. In-Person Classes, Old Buildings, Almost No COVID: Are Philly Catholic Schools a Blueprint?
Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia share the same geography as the city’s public schools. And perhaps more than any other school system in the region, the parochial sector shares the public schools’ legacy of contraction, tight budgets, and, in some places, aging infrastructure. Read Now
9. To Retain Teachers of Color, an Oregon Bill Takes Aim at Schools’ ‘First In, Last Out’ Layoff Policies
The proposed legislation would allow districts to retain educators of color if doing so helps maintain the school’s ratio of teacher diversity. It would also allow an administrator to retain educators who have “more merit” than those who qualify for seniority protections. Read Now
8. Bronx Educator Claims She Was Fired After Sharing Holocaust Story, Refusing ‘Wakanda’ Salute
Karen Ames, a 30-year Department of Education employee, says she was targeted by Carranza’s “Disrupt and Dismantle” campaign to oust or marginalize longtime employees because she is over 40, and Jewish. Read Now
7. Six Alabama School Officials Charged in $7 Million Scheme Pretending to Enroll Students Into Districts’ Virtual Schools
Federal prosecutors say officials in Athens City Schools and Limestone County Schools, including two former superintendents, conspired to get more state funding by pretending to enroll full-time private students into the systems’ virtual schools. Read Now
6. Poll: Americans Say Academic Concerns a More Pressing Factor Than Teacher Health Risks in School Reopening Decisions
Amid new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to safely reopen K-12 schools for in-person instruction, Americans are increasingly concerned about the effect of virtual learning on academic progress. Read Now
#CommentaryOfTheWeek:
MARKOWIZC: To Stop Educational Wokeness, Force Teachers to Actually Teach
Closed schools this year have caused kids to fall behind academically, lose their social lives and plunge into mental-health crises. It has also allowed wokeness to spread like wildfire. Read Now
5. One Year Into Pandemic, Far Fewer Young Students Are on Target to Learn How to Read, Tests Show
Twenty percent fewer kindergartners are on track to learn how to read than their peers were at this time last year, and most haven’t made much progress since the fall, according to new assessment data released Wednesday. Read Now
4. ‘We’re Going to See the Consequences of This for Generations’: Unprecedented Numbers of Students Have Disappeared
During the disruption, schools lost track of students. Many students who were present in the classroom in early March could not be found online. And others who showed up in the spring haven’t been seen since. Read Now
3. Teachers Speak Out About Frustrations With Unions Slow-Walking School Reopenings: ‘Politics Seems to Rule’
President Biden’s plan to reopen schools within 100 days has faced opposition from teachers unions due to coronavirus safety concerns, leaving other teachers frustrated. Read Now
2. Study: Charter Schools 35% More Cost-Effective, Produce 46% Larger Return on Investment Than District Schools
Charter schools proved more cost effective and yielded a greater return on investment than traditional public schools in seven cities, according to a new report by a research team based at the University of Arkansas. Read Now
1. Paid to Stay Home: COVID Aid Bill Pays Federal Employees With Kids Whose Schools Are Closed Up to $21K
The U.S. House version of the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” – a $1.9 trillion emergency aid package to help America recover from the coronavirus pandemic has an extra perk for federal workers: Enhanced paid time off if your child is enrolled in a school that isn’t back to full-time, in-classroom instruction. Read Now