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!

Students of Color Face Steep School Funding Gaps via Education Trust

“In the county [schools], EVERYTHING is better! Over here, we live in the ghetto; we’re not getting much. So getting school funding based on property taxes isn’t gonna do anything for the kids. And it’s horrible because schools like this have a lot of kids with a lot of potential. Just because we’re born in the city doesn’t mean that we’re going to be failures. But they don’t want to put in that extra effort at providing what we need for an education — like calculators and computers and stuff like that.”

These are the words from a Black 10th-grader from a large, metropolitan public school system. Apparently, even a high school student can be savvy enough to understand school funding gaps.

With Hundreds Of Students, School Counselors Just Try To ‘Stay Afloat’ via NPR

Each time a school shooting occurs, the nation collectively asks: who is responsible for students’ safety? Is it teachers? Parents? Lawmakers?

Some suggest that school counselors, who work with students on academic and personal levels, play a part. But those folks are often stretched too thin — and lack resources like money, support, and time.

Obama Has to Save His Forgotten Education Legacy via New York Magazine

Now that he has departed the scene, the politics have changed. The Obama administration is no longer the public face of liberal education reform. Instead, its opponents are attempting to attach that policy to Donald Trump and his Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Molly Hensley-Clancy reports that teachers’ unions plan “to tie supporting charter schools to the two people who are perhaps the most hated by the party’s base: Trump and his education secretary, Betsy DeVos” and “to push candidates to vocally oppose many forms of charter school expansion, as well as things like private school vouchers, betting that the Democratic base will be mobilized by a desire to oppose policies that Trump and DeVos have strongly supported.” Obama’s critics on the left can now try to dismantle Obama’s education reforms by branding them as Trump’s policies.

One thing to read this week…

What If America Didn’t Have Public Schools via The Atlantic

Today, school choice has become a polarizing term, pitting those who favor market-based approaches to education against those who say such approaches undermine public schools and the children they serve. But imagining a world with only private schools or with only public ones reveals just how easy it is to overlook a simple truth: These are not mutually exclusive aims. Just as liberty in America means citizens have the freedom to choose for themselves, that power comes with a responsibility to the public good. Opting into the private-school system does not mean forsaking the public system—at least, it shouldn’t. And embracing the public schools does not mean there aren’t powerful reasons for families to go private.

A school is more than just a school. Ultimately, it is a foundation for the future and a reflection of societal values. “Diverse approaches to education encourage people to think differently when they reach adulthood, leading to developments in business, industry, and the arts,” said Donna Orem, the president of the National Association of Independent Schools. “Would America be as creative if all the schools in the country were the same?”

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