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

74 Interview: Education Advocate Myrna Castrejon on Building Great Schools for LA’s Poorest Kids via The 74

Myrna Castrejon, Executive Director of Los Angeles nonprofit Great Public Schools Now, has been interviewed by The 74 about helping poor kids in L.A. get access to better schools.

“One of the pieces of the story that is consistent throughout, say the last 25 years of school improvement and reform, is the scale of the challenge in Los Angeles is just significantly greater than practically any other area in the United States, and, therefore, the challenge and the urgency are huge. We do see this as an interesting new development, a different path for Los Angeles than has ever been attempted before. The ‘why now’ is because the job’s not done.”

Making the Grade in America’s Cities: Assessing Student Achievement in Urban Districts via Urban Institute

“Many US education reform efforts focus on student performance in large, urban school districts. The National Assessment of Educational Progress’s Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) program provides data on student achievement in these districts, but differences in student characteristics complicate comparisons of district performance. I use student-level data to adjust TUDA scores for a rich set of demographic factors across districts and over time, allowing for more appropriate comparisons of achievement in TUDA districts. The results point to districts that have excelled or lagged in their levels of student achievement and the progress they have made over time.”

 Just Mercy: Episode 45 of Criminal

Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, appeared on last week’s episode of Criminal. Listen to the full episode. 

“As a law student, Bryan Stevenson was sent to a maximum security prison to meet a man on death row. The man told Stevenson he’d never met an African-American lawyer, and the two of them talked for hours. It was a day that changed Stevenson’s life. He’s spent the last 30 years working to get people off of death row, but has also spent the final hours with men he could not save from execution. He argues that each of us is deserving of mercy.”

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