Our team is always seeking the latest news in the field of education. As advocates for a quality education for ALL students, we know we have to stay up-to-date on everything that’s going on in the education spheres of our nation…from the White House to the local public school district, from new legislation to the small acts of bravery and kindness made by a single teacher, from the milestones and celebrations to the hazardous injustices affecting many of our nations students.

Here are the best stories we came across last week…because we believe you should stay up-to-date, too!

---

With DACA in Limbo, Teachers Protected by the Program Gird for the Worst
via The New York Times

When President Trump rescinded the program in September, he gave Congress until early March to find a replacement before deportations are set to begin for the hundreds of thousands of young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children who gave their names to the government and were granted work permits. Karen Reyes’s teaching days may be numbered — to 119 to be exact.

“I don’t know what I’m going to tell them,” Ms. Reyes said through tears. “They understand when I go on an airplane. Maybe they’ll just think I’m on a never-ending flight.”

---

‘No Excuses’ Only Works When It Applies to the Adults in the School, Too via Education Post

Many schools with strict discipline practice what they call a “no excuses” philosophy.

The problem with many “no excuses” schools is that the motto is often imposed on children but not adults. The adults make all kinds of excuses about the kids who don’t want to learn, whose parents won’t support the school, or whatever justification they have for pushing out kids who don’t fit the mold.

OK, I’m over-generalizing about the schools, but stick with me…

---

What Trump Didn’t Say About Education via The Atlantic

Sometimes what’s not said in a State of the Union is just as relevant as what’s said. That’s what some in the education world are thinking, at least, about Trump’s lack of mention of their topic in last night’s address. Despite being the third-longest State of the Union in the past 50 years, Trump’s speech barely mentioned schools, students, or learning.

Trump’s omission could come down to a tendency to take the education system for granted when there are other, more seemingly pressing concerns such as security and the economy. But education experts emphasize that schools do in fact play a central role in these issues, even if their role is less explicitly clear.

---

One thing to read this week…

Air pollution: black, Hispanic and poor students most at risk from toxins – study via The Guardian

Schoolchildren across the US are plagued by air pollution that’s linked to multiple brain-related problems, with black, Hispanic and low-income students most likely to be exposed to a fug of harmful toxins at school, scientists and educators have warned.

The warnings come after widespread exposure to toxins was found in new research using EPA and census data to map out the air pollution exposure for nearly 90,000 public schools across the US.

“This could well be impacting an entire generation of our society,” said Dr. Sara Grineski, an academic who has authored the first national study, published in the journal Environmental Research, on air pollution and schools.

---

Did any of these articles particularly speak to you? We would love to know your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below: