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A survey from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has found that, even though school buildings have long since reopened from their pandemic closures, 92% of public school leaders are still concerned to some extent about their students meeting academic standards. Out of those, 25% said they are moderately concerned, and 16% said they are extremely concerned. A third of administrators said that the pandemic will have a “large negative impact” on their students’ performance on state-mandated testing this school year.  “We know that the job of public school leaders has become increasingly complex and there is a constellation of challenges that keep them up at night,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr in a Tuesday statement. “It’s a Herculean task to manage all these challenges, and we hope that understanding what school leaders are facing will identify essential areas of support.” To address this, at least 13 states-including Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Montana-are exploring through-year assessment models, which proponent say have a quicker turnaround time for results and a better ability to inform educators of student progress.

 

K-12 Dive

The California Teachers Association (CTA) is sponsoring Senate Bill 1263 to eliminate Teaching Performance Assessments (TPAs), which are seen as unnecessary hurdles for aspiring educators. TPAs have been criticized for being long, time-consuming, and full of low-value tasks. It is also claimed that they disproportionately impact educators of color and require candidates to pay $300 out-of-pocket. The CTA argues that aspiring teachers can better learn the craft in real-world settings, working with mentors and developing quality lesson plans. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) recently adopted a secondary passing standard for educators who did not complete the TPA requirement, allowing them alternative paths to a credential. The CTA believes that removing barriers like TPAs will improve the educator pipeline and better equip teachers to serve California's diverse students. Other states, including New York, New Jersey, Georgia, and Texas, have already eliminated the TPA requirement.

 

EdSource

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has presented an ambitious and transformative contract proposal. The CTU is seeking affordable housing for unhoused families and wants all students to be taught a second language. Unlike previous contracts, the CTU wants the negotiations to take place in public, engaging the entire city of Chicago. The current CTU contract expires in June, and negotiations are expected to be different this year with Mayor Brandon Johnson leading the city. The union's demands also include raises for staff, particularly the lowest-paid workers. However, the biggest barrier to agreement is likely to be the cost, with the school district facing a $391 million deficit. The CTU's proposal aligns with Mayor Johnson's transition report, which includes expanding sustainable community school programs. The CTU's contract proposal aims to create a transformative and equitable school district.

 

Chicago Sun Times

Chicago Tribune

Tyler Hansford, former superintendent of the Union school district in Mississippi, highlights the funding challenges faced by rural districts due to the state's funding formula. The formula, in place since 1997, provides equivalent per-pupil amounts to high- and low-poverty districts, despite the need for more resources in high-poverty districts. Lawmakers in Mississippi are now working to replace the formula with a more equitable and less complicated approach. The Senate and House have proposed different plans, leading to a tense standoff. The House plan focuses on weighted funding for high-need students, while the Senate proposal makes modest changes to the current approach. The state's annual allocation of K-12 school funding is at risk if the differences are not resolved soon. Mississippi is not alone in its quest for fair school funding, as similar efforts are underway in other states. The challenge lies in determining objective criteria to guide funding allocations.

 

Education Week News

A mother who was riding on the bus that rolled over during last month's fatal Hays CISD school bus crash is suing the driver of the concrete pump truck that struck the bus and the driver's employer. Victoria Limon stated that she suffered injuries to her back and other parts of her body. Limon also filed the lawsuit on behalf of her daughter, who is not named in the suit and is said to have suffered injuries to her head and other parts of her body. The lawsuit, filed by lawyers with the Scott Hendler Law Firm, is asking for a monetary award of more than $1m. Limon's lawsuit is the second filed in the aftermath of the March 22 wreck in which a concrete pump truck being swerved into the oncoming lane on Texas 21, striking the side of a Hays school bus carrying 44 prekindergarten student and 11 adults. The crash killed five-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya and the driver of the other vehicle, 33-year-old Ryan Wallace.

 

Austin American-Statesman

School shootings, particularly the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, have had a profound impact on school safety measures. “People remember where they were when it happened, like 9/11,” said Jillian Peterson, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University who studies the warning signs of violence. “It put school shootings into our public consciousness.” Recognizing threats, intervening when students are at risk, preparing for emergencies, and relying on a speedy police response are some of the fundamentals that emerged from the tragedy. Lockdown drills, once rare, are now routine in American schools. However, experts argue that policymakers often overlook the core lesson of focusing on human behavior rather than solely "hardening schools." In 2018, Sandy Hook Promise, formed in the wake of the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Conn., launched the Say Something anonymous reporting system, a national tipline that allows students to submit reports about troubling behavior through a website, telephone hotline, or mobile app. Operators have since fielded nearly 250,000 anonymous reports, the organization said, categorizing tips and sharing them with school administrators and law enforcement if they deemed an imminent response was necessary.

 

Education Week News

People with mentally stimulating jobs, such as teachers, are less likely to experience cognitive decline in later life, according to a study from Norway. The research found that jobs involving creative thinking were better at preventing cognitive decline than those involving repetitive tasks. The study, published Wednesday in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, examined 7,000 people and 305 occupations, measuring the level of cognitive stimulation in each job. After adjusting for other factors, the study found that those in the lowest group of mentally stimulating jobs had a 66% higher chance of mild cognitive impairment. The researchers suggest that education and challenging work throughout one's career play a crucial role in lowering the risk of cognitive decline. 

 

CNN

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The Times of London

The University of Southern California (USC) has revoked the valedictorian's ability to deliver a speech at the graduation ceremony due to "substantial" security risks. Asna Tabassum, the valedictorian, faced backlash after it was discovered that she had links to pro-Palestinian sites on her social media. USC Provost Andrew Guzman stated that the decision was made to ensure campus security and safety. Tabassum expressed doubts about the decision, as she was not aware of any specific threats and was not provided increased safety measures. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) criticized USC's decision, calling it a violation of the school's obligation to protect its students. USC will host its graduation ceremony on May 10, with over 19,000 graduates and around 65,000 attendees expected.

 

San Luis Obispo Tribune

The Parliament of South Africa's Legal Service says that the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, which would significantly change the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the Educators Employment Act of 1998, is likely to pass constitutional muster. The legislation, which was passed by the National Assembly last year, alters the law so that education heads of department (HoDs) now have the final say after consulting school governing bodies (SGBs) as to which pupils to admit to public schools as well as the school’s language policy; it also makes Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age, criminalizes parents who do not ensure their children attend school, and confirms a ban on corporal punishment. BELA has previously faced opposition from many SGBs who say it is an example of state overreach. 

 

Business Tech

BusinessTech