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.

Eight lessons we learned from education research in 2019 via Chalkbeat

Education research is hard to keep up with, and often enough, it’s hard to even understand. It seems like there are more caveats than clear conclusions, findings are “mixed,” and one finding contradicts the previous one. Meanwhile, all sides of a debate claim to have The Research on their side. Here, we’ve gathered several key lessons we’re taking away from this year of research coverage

School Resource Officer Fired After Video of Him Slamming 11-Year-Old to the Floor Goes Viral via Citizen Ed

In a recent, disturbing viral video, a school resource officer (SRO) is seen lifting an 11-year-old boy into the air before violently throwing him to the ground, slamming him once again and then dragging him along the floor.

The officer, a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy, was initially put on paid leave after the video first surfaced, but further investigation or backlash from the tepid response has led to his firing.

What’s Lost When Black Children Are Socialized Into a White World via The Atlantic

Many of us know about the disparities: Black students are more than three times as likely as their white peers to be expelled or suspended. Less frequently discussed are the strategies black parents use to prepare their children for schools where they might be perceived as threats or expendable misfits who aren’t core members of the community.

The mothers I spoke with were concerned about these disciplinary patterns. They were also worried about subtler ways black students are told they don’t belong in classrooms where the dominant culture, with its emphasis on obedience and hierarchy, is unlike the culture at home.

One thing to read this weekend…

“Kids who have less, need more”: The fight over school funding via The Hechinger Report

When Taheem started the sixth grade, Bayard had one behavioral health consultant for about 325 students, the vast majority of whom have experienced trauma, and she was only able to take on a dozen or so cases at a time. So teachers and administrators served as ad hoc mental health or social service providers for children in crisis. A boy arrived at school the morning after his 5-year-old sister was shot. A girl stopped coming to school later appeared on a “missing child” flyer that her principal discovered in the mail one morning. And on and on.

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