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 DISTRICTS Irving students walk out to support teachers over LGBT rights Students at MacArthur High School in Irving walked out of class Wednesday to protest the treatment of two teachers who refused to remove stickers from their classroom doors supporting gay and transgender rights. A video posted to Facebook shows hundreds of students waving a large rainbow flag and chanting “equal rights” and “bring our teachers back.” The district declined to comment on the teachers’ statuses, but several students said that two teachers who refused to remove the stickers had not yet returned to school since the incident. In a written statement Wednesday afternoon, the district said its campuses provide safe space for all students. “We value each student and strive to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for every student, employee and family,” the district said. “To ensure that all students feel safe regardless of background or identity, the district has developed guidelines to ensure that posters, banners and stickers placed in classrooms, hallways or offices are curriculum driven and neutral in viewpoint.”
Dallas Morning News
Conroe ISD approves $1.7m for campus air protection systems The Conroe ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved giving Superintendent Curtis Null the authority to authorize a payment that does not exceed $1.7m for the purchase of biodefense indoor air protection systems at a regular meeting on September 21st. According to Integrated Viral Protection Solutions, the company supplying the machines, the systems kill COVID-19 at a rate of 99.999%. In addition, the machines kill other airborne pathogens, such as influenza, strep throat and chicken pox, and air pollutants such as allergens and mold. The funding is expected to come from the district’s general funds. Mr. Null said the district will seek grant money for funding as well.
Community Impact
Hutto ISD moves forward with virtual learning option Hutto ISD is taking steps toward offering a virtual instruction option for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The district's board of trustees yesterday voted to authorize virtual instruction through a partnership with Pearson. Enrollment in the program, which could be operational by mid-October, will be available to students who meet certain grade level standards, in most cases a C or higher in all foundation curriculum, had fewer than 18 unexcused absences last school year and have fewer than five unexcused absences so far this school year.
Community Impact
FINANCE Amarillo receives superior financial school rating from TEA The Texas Education Agency has awarded Amarillo ISD a superior rating in the 2021 Student Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas Annual Management Report. AISD received a score of 100. The passing score for a school district is 70. “This is a new rating system this year. The rating system itself is not new, but the criteria have changed,” Patti Buchenau, deputy superintendent for Business and Finance at AISD, told the AISD board at its regular meeting on Monday. The board also discussed the 2021 State Accountability Ratings for the district. Amarillo ISD scored an 87, or a B, in its accountability.
Amarillo Globe-News
CLASSROOM How districts can support students with disabilities amid mask debates Disability advocates in at least half a dozen states are filing complaints in court, arguing statewide policies prohibiting mask mandates discriminate against students with disabilities and deny those students equal access to education. Some school attorneys and special education experts agree but say as the lawsuits weave their way through the courts, there are proactive steps districts should take to address the individualized needs and safety of students with disabilities. Jose Martín, an attorney with the Richards, Lindsay & Martín law firm in Austin, Texas, which represents school districts, said he advises districts to have mask policies. Where that’s not possible, he recommends schools consider potential alternatives, such as remote instruction, based on each student’s circumstance. But, he said, even that's not a good alternative. "If you don't have a mask requirement, you're forcing some vulnerable special ed students to have to do remote learning even if it's not a good learning environment and more restrictive than necessary," Martín said.
K-12 Dive
HEALTH & WELLBEING Across U.S., teacher vaccine rules slow to reach classrooms Despite a rise in schools and states declaring vaccines mandatory, America’s schools have been slow to actually impose such requirements on staff. In some cases, negotiations are ongoing. In others, a testing opt-out provides a significant loophole. Many aren’t imposing vaccine rules whatsoever. Even in the strictest districts, the timeline allows teachers to be in the classroom for a month or two before being fully vaccinated. Few districts have started enforcing the mandates yet, either, and as districts struggle with staffing shortages, it remains to be seen whether they will. Several states bar schools from mandating vaccines at all. But among 100 large U.S. school districts, about a third have staff vaccine rules of some sort, according to a tracker kept by the Center on Reinventing Public Education, and more are moving in that direction. Meanwhile, vaccine antidiscrimination laws, which bar policies that treat those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 differently from those who have not in school, work, or other areas, are making contact tracing, quarantines, and other mitigation efforts challenging for education leaders coping with a Delta-driven surge of COVID cases in their schools and communities. While Montana was the first to pass such a strict vaccine antidiscrimination law, nine other states including Ohio, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Tennessee have bills pending with similar language.
Chalkbeat
HIGHER EDUCATION Harvard, Stanford, MIT take top rankings in WSJ/Times college rankings Harvard University has taken the top spot in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings for the fifth straight year. It was followed by Stanford, MUT, Yale and Duke. The WSJ/THE rankings are based on 15 factors across four main categories: Forty percent of each school’s overall score comes from student outcomes, including graduates’ salaries and debt; 30% comes from academic resources, including how much the college spends on teaching; 20% from student engagement, including whether students feel prepared to use their education in the real world, and 10% from the learning environment, including the diversity of the student body and academic staff.
Wall Street Journal
SECURITY How schools can keep students safe amid uptick in gun violence As students return to in-person learning amid rising violent crime rates in many cities, school leaders face increasing challenges in keeping students safe. Last year, gun violence rose to its highest point in nearly two decades. “Everything that is beginning to shape out in regard to gun violence in schools was absolutely predictable. If folks look at the history of gun violence and public schools, it is not somebody deciding at random to shoot up a school. It is the bright, sick minds that are involved in the incident,” said Joe Erardi, retired superintendent of Newtown Public Schools in Connecticut, where the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting occurred. With the pandemic, Mr. Erardi said, that issue has been exacerbated. Solutions are also no longer limited to simply hardening the building as experts have recognized the importance of taking into consideration community conversations with parents, staff, and elected and appointed officers, as well as the social-emotional needs of students. As superintendents take on rapidly changing, ever-growing responsibilities and challenges, the position requires knowing when to delegate. “If they delegate school safety and security post-tragedy, they have done a disservice to the community,” Mr. Erardi said. “You have to own it, stand in front of, explain and move forward as harsh corrective.”
K-12 Dive
TRANSPORTATION School bus fleets report success in push for propane As people and companies across the country are looking at ways to lower their carbon footprint, coupled with the federal government pushing for lower emissions, the school bus industry is quickly adopting alternative fuels including propane in this new environment. The move to alternative fuels like propane - which has a carbon intensity of 19%, five times better than diesel and gasoline - brings many benefits for fleets, including reduced maintenance, increased cost savings, and renewability. In Indiana, Carmel Clay Schools (CCS) started running propane buses in 2014, with 30 Blue Bird buses running currently. “We have been purchasing new propane buses when older diesel buses were due for trade,” explains Ron Farrand Jr., recently retired director of facilities and transportation at CCS. “These buses have been focused on our special-needs student transportation in response to a student group that may have compromised health issues. The use of propane-powered buses reduces emissions in proximity to student loading areas.” Jarrod Adams, chief operations officer for Washington County Schools in Tennessee, said the district is seeing fuel costs about equal to diesel, with diesel at $2.56 a gallon and propane at $1.89 a gallon — or 36 cents per mile for diesel and 45 cents per mile for propane, although factoring in maintenance brings diesel to around 70 cents per mile and propane to around 47 cents per mile.
School Bus Fleet
OTHER Education Dept, announces 2021 National Blue Ribbon schools U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has announced that 325 schools have recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021. The award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content. Now in its 39th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools. "This year's cohort of honorees demonstrates what is possible when committed educators and school leaders create vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school cultures where rich teaching and learning can flourish," said Secretary Cardona. "I commend this school and all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. In the face of unprecedented circumstances, you found creative ways to engage, care for, protect, and teach our children. Blue Ribbon Schools have so much to offer and can serve as a model for other schools and communities so that we can truly build back better."
US Department of Education
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