MCGRAW HILL NEWS Important Questions to Ask about Education Research
There's a great deal of information - from peer-reviewed research papers to news articles to shared posts on social media sites - about teaching and learning available to educators. While every teacher wants to provide their students with the very best instruction, the sheer amount of information (and the reality that the information is sometimes conflicting) can make it overwhelming to make decisions about classroom strategies. Dr. Timothy Shanahan, Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, and Dr. Doug Fisher created this guide to help educators navigate the complex task of bridging research and practice.
Read More STATE NEWS Texas’ ban on school mask mandates draws federal probe The federal government is investigating the Texas Education Agency (TEA) after deeming that its guidance prohibiting mask mandates in schools last week may be “preventing school districts in the state from considering or meeting the needs of students with disabilities.” The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched the investigation following the state's announcement Friday that school districts once again can’t require face coverings, citing that courts are not blocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting local mask mandates. In a letter to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, federal officials said the investigation will focus on whether or not students with disabilities who are at greater risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are prevented from safely returning to in-person education, which would violate federal law, wrote Suzanne B. Goldberg, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights. The announcement makes Texas the seventh state to become the subject of an OCR investigation due to a statewide ban on mask requirements, following similar probes launched into orders issued by Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Florida.
The Hill
Dallas Morning News
The Texas Tribune
State education commissioner blames COVID-19 for schools 'disruption' Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath says the "disruption" the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on schools is "hard to describe." Speaking yesterday at the Texas Public Schools Post 87th Legislative Summit hosted by Longview ISD, he emphasized that COVID-19 has taken a toll on students' learning, adding that students in grades three and four have declined in math and are below grade level on the subject. “Our track records on taking kids that are below grade level and catching them up has not been incredibly strong as a state," Mr. Morath added. "And when we dealt with major disruptions and not just us, but education all over the place, it's been very difficult to recover. We have about 800,000 more children in the state of Texas who are noticeably below grade level this year versus normal.”
Longview News-Journal
DISTRICTS Former Harlandale superintendent tapped as SAISD's interim leader San Antonio ISD will be led on an interim basis by Robert Jaklich, former superintendent of Harlandale ISD, effective September 29th, when outgoing leader Pedro Martinez will transition to chief executive of Chicago Public Schools. "We believe Dr. Jaklich is the right person to continue leading this district forward. He demonstrates the experience and wisdom to assess situations, resulting in sound decision-making," says SAISD Board President Christina Martinez in a statement on the district website.
My San Antonio
Seguin ISD takes step toward selling Mary B. Erskine Seguin ISD is placing the Mary B. Erksine campus on the market, deeming it no longer usable for education purposes. The College Street campus, which was the original high school building, has housed adult education classes, after-school camps, a health science academy, a sixth-grade center, a training center for professional development and more. As growth continues and more homes are built with new families arriving, the need for new campuses is sure to arise. But Erskine’s capacity of 250 students closes the door on the campus potentially opening again as an educational facility, Superintendent Matthew Gutierrez said. Interest to date has included leased office space, private day care centers, training facilities, as well as a lot of looks from private investors.
The Seguin Gazette
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City begins discussion on virtual learning options The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD Board of Trustees yesterday discussed virtual learning opportunities for the current school year. Senate Bill 15 passed on September 9th allowing local education agencies to receive Average Daily Attendance funding for students who attend local remote learning programs during the 2021-22 school year if that remote program meets the requirements set by SB 15, according to the Texas Education Agency. SCUCISD Chief Academic Officer Kelly Kovacs presented a plan to the Board of Trustees detailing the best option if the Board decides to offer virtual learning. The district had three options for providing a virtual learning service. SCUCISD could provide their staff for the service, but that staff could not teach both in-person and online. Another option is to partner with other districts on a joint program, but Kovacs warns of possible confusion when gathering grades and other logistics. The third and more likely option would be SCUCISD contracting with another company that has Texas Certified Teachers. The Board will meet to discuss further details for virtual learning options next month, ahead of a launch on November 1st.
Community Impact
EMPLOYMENT School districts continue to struggle with staff shortages All across the country, school districts are posting in towns and on social media with urgent requests for applicants to fill crucial job openings. Interviews with economists, administrators, and employees reveal a complex array of factors causing the school hiring headaches: Fears over health and safety, frustrations over longstanding pay gaps and inequities, and political disagreements over masks and vaccines. Some of these shortages are far more severe than usual, while others existed long before the pandemic. “When I was a principal, we had tremendous turnover among our bus drivers and the folks who staffed our cafeterias,” said Stefan Lallinger, a former teacher and administrator at a charter school in Louisiana who now serves as fellow and director of the Century Foundation’s Bridges Collaborative, which advocates for school integration and other progressive policies. “Even before the pandemic, whether we talk about bus drivers, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, [they] were dramatically underpaid and undercompensated for the work that they did,” he said. “By and large people in the general population have often taken these positions for granted.” Districts and states are trying to find creative ways to respond to the needs of their current and prospective employees, including hosting job fairs, dangling bonuses, hiring internationally. This week, the governor of New York announced new steps to tackle the bus driver shortage including opening new testing sites for commercial drivers trying to get their licenses, and reaching out to law enforcement, military and fire departments to try to find already-qualified drivers who can pitch in.
Education Week
FINANCE Prairiland ISD set to sell $7.5m in bonds for construction Prairiland ISD is set to sell $7.5m in bonds approved by voters in May and will kick in an additional $800,000 or so from the district’s $10.5m fund balance to finance construction now in progress at the junior high and at Blossom Elementary campuses. “That building cost estimate could go up or it could go down,” Superintendent Jeff Ballard said at a Monday night meeting. “We would start skimming some things off, and if you want me to skim it way back I will, but I think we would be just pinching pennies.”
The Paris News
HEALTH & WELLBEING Twenty percent of parents say their kids are eating more fast food While half of surveyed parents reported their family has eaten home-cooked meals more often since the pandemic started, 20% of parents said their family has had fast food more often, according to a new poll published Monday. More than 2,000 parents participated in the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, which surveyed parents with at least one child between the ages 3 and 18. Reports of kids consuming fast food at least twice weekly were more common among parents who had lower incomes (less than $50,000 annually) and those who thought their child was overweight. Parents with lower incomes were more likely than those with higher incomes (more than $100,000 yearly) to say their child is overweight. "There is convincing data that regular consumption of fast food predisposes children to gaining unwanted weight," said Dr. Maya Adam, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Stanford University in California, who wasn't involved in the report, via email. "Parents love their kids, so they are often the first to notice potential health issues." For these parents, "the demands and stress of daily life required compromises," the report's authors wrote.
CNN
OPERATIONS How the pandemic has exacerbated special education challenges While the pandemic made it harder for teachers everywhere to do their jobs, special education teachers in particular experienced a lack of training, support, and collaboration with their general education counterparts, according to a new study from the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). This spring and summer, researchers interviewed more than 60 special education directors and teachers, school leaders, and general education teachers working at 15 schools across the country to ask them about their experiences with special education during the pandemic. It identified a number of difficulties, including a lack of opportunities to collaborate with general education teachers, and districts not factoring in students with disabilities into their reopening plans. The CRPE report advises administrators to encourage general and special education teachers to be jointly responsible for students with disabilities by explaining what shared responsibility looks like for lesson planning, classroom instruction, family communication, and supporting students outside the classroom. It also says that leaders should help educators meet these new standards by scheduling dedicated time for collaboration and training for general educators about special education students’ needs.
Education Week
New research digs into districts' pandemic pivots A new study from Next Generation Learning Challenges examines what school districts did to successfully pivot due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finding those that did so most effectively had existing practices in place prior to closures, and that many attributed positive school cultures and strong relationships to their success. Of the 70 schools and districts that participated in the research, 84% reported an emphasis on healthiness of culture, strong relationships between adults and students, and the ability to adapt. Leadership was cited as an important factor by 79% of the respondents, and 74% emphasized a focus on student-centered learning. The research highlights schools like Urban Assembly Maker Academy in New York, which chose to focus primarily on a few key standards. This strategy allowed teachers to narrow their scope of planning and figure out how to deliver core subjects. The schools’ history of mastery-based learning also meant students were already aware of academic expectations and accustomed to independent learning.
K-12 Dive
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