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Q&A: National Parent Union’s Keri Rodrigues on public school disenrollment amid the COVID crisis

America’s education system continues to reckon with the enormous disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some students and families became well-acclimated with the distance learning process overall, many others found it challenging — and often impossible — to participate in because of persistent barriers like job losses, lack of stable housing, insufficient internet access...
By The 74 | May 5, 2021
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New poll shows nearly half of American parents rethinking value of four-year college; want additional alternatives for children

Many parents are rethinking the value of a traditional four year college education, opting instead for hands-on experiences for their children such as vocational education programs, joining the military or starting their own business, a new poll has found. Even without obstacles such as finances, nearly half of parents want alternatives to four-year college for...
By Meghan Gallagher | May 3, 2021
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How a Snapchat post laden with F-bombs and teen angst could give schools broad power over students’ off-campus speech — and why young leaders are fighting back

In a major Supreme Court case that could grant educators the power to regulate student speech far beyond the schoolhouse gate, the nation’s highest court is preparing to weigh the merits of a high school cheerleader’s profanity-laden social media post. Though the Snapchat post central to the case was filled with F-bombs and laden with...
By Mark Keierleber | April 28, 2021
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Biden earns high marks from educators on his first 100 days, but some note there are still ‘kids sitting at home’

In February, the Baltimore City Public Schools allocated over $9 million for COVID-19 testing to ease the concerns of teachers and staff about returning to the classroom. But then President Joe Biden announced he would spend $10 billion for routine screening to help schools reopen as part of the American Rescue Plan. Baltimore CEO Sonja...
By Linda Jacobson | April 27, 2021
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‘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
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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
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‘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
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‘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
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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
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‘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