-
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
-
Analysis: The link between college and a good job is even weaker since COVID-19. Here are some new, more effective pathways to opportunity & employment

Americans assume an almost fairy-tale link between a college education and a good job. Take college freshmen. In 2019, more than 8 in 10 (83 percent) said a “very important” reason for attending college was “to be able to get a better job.” But reality is different. A 2018 study of over 800 million job...
By Bruno Manno | April 19, 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
-
Analysis: Emergency aid won’t last forever. Using some to create a corps of coaches, coordinators & mentors to support teachers would ensure long-term benefits

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden on March 11 allocates $129 billion to help elementary and secondary schools rebound from the severe disruptions to school life caused by COVID-19. Additionally, the law stipulates that recipients are obliged to spend “not less than 20 percent of such funds to address learning...
By Jim Balfanz and Carole G. Basile | April 12, 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
-
Analysis: Teaching students in person and online at the same time is a huge challenge. 4 ways to bridge the home-classroom gap

Across the country, educators are working hard to support students learning in hybrid contexts, where students are attending school both online and in person. In many schools, staff availability to teach, attendance policies and a desire to have students working with teachers for as much time as possible mean many districts are pursuing a simultaneous...
By Beth Rabbitt | April 5, 2021