-
‘Doomed’ by 8th grade: Underserved students thrive in college, but disparities in access start early & persist insidiously, new report reveals

When it comes to understanding which students make it not just to, but through college, substantial past education research has identified steep differences along lines of race, gender and class. A recently released report, however, provides an alternate narrative. The study, which links middle and high school achievement to postsecondary outcomes in five New England...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | April 21, 2021
-
Ethnic studies could be the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of American education reform, but California showed how creating a curriculum can get sucked into the culture wars

As a middle schooler, early December was an agonizing time of year for civil rights activist Karen Korematsu. When the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack approached, she made excuses to avoid the school bus where students subjected her to racist bullying. “Go home.” “Go back to where you came from.” “You don’t belong here.”...
By Mark Keierleber | April 20, 2021
-
‘Welcome to the Red Summer of 2021’: Minnesota social studies teacher of the year shares lesson on Daunte Wright’s killing & the deadly events of summer 1919

Long before sunrise the morning after Daunte Wright, a Black motorist, was killed by a white police officer outside Minneapolis, Kara Cisco made some quick posts to Facebook. She asked if anyone knew whether the previous night’s protests would affect her commute to work. She would need to traverse the part of Minneapolis where the...
By Beth Hawkins | April 15, 2021
-
‘Urgency is everywhere’: 2022 federal budget plan includes major increases for community schools, Title I

Over the past year, school districts across the country have delivered meals to families, connected them to mental health counselors and served as central hubs for information on rental assistance — operating much like “community schools” that are designed to pull together a variety of services for students under one roof. Now President Joe Biden...
By Linda Jacobson | April 14, 2021
-
Report: Learning loss data show 40,000 Los Angeles high school students off track to graduate

Forty thousand high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are at risk of not graduating — including 6,000 this year — according to a new analysis that tracks the effects of school closures on students in the nation’s second largest district. In middle school, about a third of students in the district are currently...
By Linda Jacobson | April 13, 2021
-
‘Opening the door wider’: With recent admissions decisions, top-ranked L.A. arts school put equity in the spotlight

Updated April 13 Nyla Joseph has felt at ease in front of a camera ever since appearing in a public service announcement six years ago. But her dreams of becoming an actor were frustrated because her South Los Angeles middle school lacks a theater program. And her mother was leery of internet scams promising to turn her...
By Linda Jacobson | April 8, 2021
-
Begun in NYC public schools, Techrow makes virtual reality work for students of all income levels, no matter where they’re learning

With students stuck at home during the pandemic, disengagement from school has turned from concern to danger. But with the challenge of distance learning comes an opportunity for virtual reality to create accessibility and understanding for kids of all demographics, even in the most disadvantaged districts. Travis Feldler saw firsthand how early in their educational...
By Tim Newcomb | April 7, 2021
-
Reticent families in NYC, LA could prove true test for school reopenings, even as Gallup poll reveals overwhelming parent support nationwide

Seventy-nine percent of parents support in-person learning for schools in their communities, according to a Gallup poll from mid-March. But as Los Angeles Unified School District prepares to welcome students back to classrooms in April, and as New York City gives families another chance to enroll their children for in-person learning through April 7, parental decisions may prove the true...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | April 6, 2021
-
Many rural remote learners are receiving little to no live teaching, federal survey reveals

More students than previously understood may be attending school virtually, survey data released in March by the U.S. Department of Education reveal. And many students — particularly remote learners from rural schools — are getting little to no live instructional time with teachers. While the survey finds that over three-quarters of elementary and middle schoolers attend schools that offer...
By Asher Lehrer-Small | April 1, 2021
-
After a year without mass school shootings, experts sound the alarm about a ‘return to normal’

As the pandemic spread across the country, students were swept from their classrooms and isolated in their homes, raising concern that the instability could result in devastating emotional health implications and widespread learning loss. But it also came with an unsettling silver lining: A year without a single mass school shooting. The trend wasn’t unique...
By Mark Keierleber | March 31, 2021