Our team is always seeking the latest news in the field of education. As advocates for a high-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 nation’s students.
Here are the stories that we’ve been talking about this week.
Educators Using 2019 Diversity Report to Show Districts How They Can Better Support Teachers of Color via The 74 Million
Kimberly Eckert had been tasked with strengthening teacher recruitment, including Educators Rising, a pre-service organization for high school students interested in teaching. She recruits high performers, ensuring that at least half are students of color. She’s upfront with those students that it is not an easy profession and will likely be more difficult for those who are placed in high-need schools. She wants them “going in eyes wide open,” she said, because disillusionment doesn’t help anyone. At the same time, she said, there are ways to improve the experience for teachers of color.
‘We’re stronger than we’ve ever been’: A Mississippi district shows that integrated schools pay off via The Hechinger Report
Pearl, Mississippi organizes its schools by grade level instead of by neighborhood, an arrangement that results in integrated classrooms in which black, white and Latino students, and low-income, working-class and middle-class students are given access to the same experienced teachers, challenging curriculum and well-kept facilities.
The Trump administration wants to cut federal education spending — including money for charter schools via Chalkbeat
The Trump administration proposed a major reduction in federal education spending Monday that would eliminate nearly 30 standalone programs, including ones that support homeless students, rural students, English learners, and magnet schools. Perhaps most surprisingly, the proposal would effectively ax a long-standing federal program that has catalyzed charter school growth across the country.
One thing to read this weekend
Two boys with the same disability tried to get help. The rich student got it quickly. The poor student did not. via USA Today
The investigation showed an utterly unregulated shadow school system that often vaults families with means into nurturing, rigorous schools largely unavailable to their poorer peers. The system shunts the hardest-to-teach kids into schools-of-last-resort, which tend to be subject to fewer checks and balances than their public counterparts.
Did any of these articles particularly speak to you? We would love to hear your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below: