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Teachers felt more COVID anxiety than healthcare workers, study finds

Teachers were far more likely than other workers to experience anxiety during the first year of the pandemic, a newly released study has found. And among teachers, those who worked remotely for most of the 2020-21 school year reported higher rates of depression and loneliness than those who worked in-person. The study, which leverages a...
By Kevin Mahnken | November 28, 2022
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Analysis: To improve the nation’s schools, first close the honesty gap

The 2022 NAEP results reveal alarmingly poor academic performance that should be a call to action for big change in our education system. But what are stakeholders — parents, policymakers, voters and taxpayers — to make of the mixed messages they are getting on how well their schools are educating their students? The National Assessment of Educational Progress is...
By Rianna Saslow | November 23, 2022
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Virtual nightmare: One California student’s journey through the pandemic

In a black suit and red bowtie, his smile full of braces, Jason Finuliar stands by a fountain on the Santa Clara University campus as his mother snaps a photo. It was December 2018, and the promising young speech competitor had just placed fourth in a California tournament, qualifying him for nationals. “It was literally...
By Linda Jacobson | November 22, 2022
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Black families look to continue pod schooling movement beyond pandemic

White families may have embraced pods and microschools as a short-term fix to cope with the pandemic. But for many Black parents, they offer something more permanent: an alternative to traditional schools where their children have historically faltered. “Our motivation for building outside of the system is because we saw our system crumbling in the...
By Linda Jacobson | November 21, 2022
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‘The bottom has dropped out’: Study confirms fears of growing learning gaps

In the earliest weeks of the pandemic, researchers associated with NWEA made two jaw-dropping predictions. The first — that school closures would lead to lower math and reading scores — has been borne out over and over since then. The second — that the already broad range of academic levels within classrooms would yawn wider — has...
By Beth Hawkins | November 17, 2022
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Commentary: To make STEM inclusive, students need to feel they belong

The debate over the firing of NYU organic chemistry Prof. Maitland Jones Jr. misses the point: It’s neither that his tests were too hard nor that his Gen Z students were too entitled. It’s that introductory courses should be gateways into the STEM professions, especially for students underrepresented in these areas, not elimination rounds in a...
By Talia Milgrom-Elcott | November 16, 2022
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LAUSD’s test scores reveal large drops for Latino & female students

As remote learning in the Los Angeles Unified School District ended in spring 2021, Liliana Madrid discovered her daughters were struggling with their math and science classes. As a Spanish-speaking parent, Madrid had difficulty navigating prolonged online learning and finding the best ways to support her daughters Alexa Godoy and Itzel. “They’re dealing with anxiety...
By Joshua Bay | November 15, 2022
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School leaders’ view: Let’s use the latest scores on the nation’s report card to inspire us — not deflate us

As the pandemic moves toward the rearview, its effects on education linger. The latest edition of the Nation’s Report Card, which includes federal, state and local 4th and 8th grade math and reading scores, was released last month with grim and sobering results. Test scores are an essential benchmark, but they only tell part of...
By Angella Martinez | November 14, 2022
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Maria Brenes and Kelly Gonez lead in tight LA school board races

Community group leader Maria Brenes and school board president Kelly Gonez lead in a close race for two open spots on the Los Angeles Board of Education. Brenes, leading with a 50.80% voter approval, is against education researcher Rocío Rivas to represent school district 2 – in the Eastside neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Gonez, leading...
By Joshua Bay | November 9, 2022
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Incumbent California schools chief wins overwhelming support for second term

Incumbent Tony Thurmond has won another bid to serve as California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, leading the vote over opponent Lance Christensen by about 2 to 1 as of midday Wednesday with about 42% of districts reporting. Thurmond will guide California’s K-12 schools through a period of academic recovery and curricula reform in math and...
By Marianna McMurdock | November 9, 2022