MCGRAW HILL New Survey Indicates Social and Emotional Learning is Key in Post-Pandemic Education
We surveyed educators, administrators, and parents to better understand their opinions about the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL), the effects of COVID-19 on children’s wellbeing, and how schools can support kids as they return for the 2021-22 school year. Here’s what we learned.
Read the report.
STATE NEWS California moves to ban oil wells within 3,200 feet of schools Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a statewide 3,200-foot buffer zone to separate homes, schools, hospitals and other populated areas from oil and gas wells. The draft rule, released by the state’s oil regulator California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), would not ban existing wells within those areas but would require new pollution controls. More than 2m state residents live within 2,500 feet of an operational oil and gas well, and another 5m, or 14% of the California’s population, are within 1 mile, according to an analysis by the non-profit FracTracker Alliance. People who live near oil and gas drilling sites are at greater risk of preterm births, asthma, respiratory disease and cancer, research shows. Oil drilling disproportionately affects Black and Latino residents in major oil fields like Los Angeles County and Kern County.
Bakersfield.com
CNBC
Los Angeles Times
San Diego Union-Tribune
DISTRICTS Riverside teacher on leave after mimicking Native Americans in video A Riverside USD high school teacher has been placed on leave after a viral video recorded by a student showed her hollering and dancing around a classroom in a fake feathered headdress. In the video, the teacher appears to be chanting, “SOH-CAH-TOA,” a mnemonic device used to help remember trigonometric functions, as she dances and jumps around the front of the classroom, waving her arms in a chopping motion. The teacher is wearing a black and red feather headdress, and a black face mask. Dee Dee Manzanares Ybarra, the director of the American Indian Movement‘s Southern California chapter and tribal chair of the Rumšen Am:a Tur:ataj Ohlone, said: “People are upset, people are a little angry with what happened because it’s just so disrespectful to our youth.” Community members organized a protest Thursday afternoon in response to the video, she said.
Palm Springs Desert Sun
Los Angeles Times
San Francisco Chronicle
LAUSD: Survey pushes superintendent search into 'new phase' Los Angeles USD said yesterday that its search for permanent superintendent has entered a “new phase” with the release of a community engagement report detailing the opinions of some 30,000 students, parents, staff and community members on what they’re looking for in a new district leader. According to a district release, respondents had “clear preferences” for qualifications — including experience as a teacher and/or administrator (90% of those surveyed); experience working in and with diverse communities (90%); and experience managing a very large organization (89%). The district's Board of Education will integrate the results of the survey into subsequent phases of the selection process, including the full job description and selection criteria.
Los Angeles Daily News
CHARTER KIPP Foundation board appointment sparks ethics questions A Newark school board member is facing questions about a potential conflict of interest after she was offered a spot on the board of an organization that supports KIPP charter schools across the country, including in Newark. A’Dorian Murray-Thomas was selected to join the board of directors of the KIPP Foundation, a nonprofit that assists KIPP charter schools through training and fundraising. The board position is reserved for KIPP alumni. The potential conflict has arisen due to an ongoing legal battle between Newark's elected school board with KIPP over a former district building. It has also joined a lawsuit arguing that KIPP and other charter schools worsen racial segregation and sap district resources. Ms. Murray-Thomas said she has not started serving on the KIPP Foundation board, but that doing so would not create a conflict because the organization is not involved in school-level decisions. However, some Newark education advocates, including the teachers union president, say that Murray-Thomas serving on both boards would represent a clear conflict of interest as the Newark school board makes decisions that directly affect KIPP charter schools.
Chalkbeat
CLASSROOM Pandemic changes conversation about class sizes While average class sizes in K-12 grades have remained constant since 2016, a new review of state policies has found that new federal relief funding gives school districts the opportunity to fulfill long-desired aims to reduce the numbers of students in classes. The study, from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), concluded that targeted class-size policies, such as those for core academic courses, high poverty schools or English learners, may yield more support for students most impacted by pandemic hardships, rather than system-wide class reductions. “As school districts begin to spend down their ESSER funds, and assuming there are available teachers to hire, devoting a portion of funds to this kind of targeted class size reduction is very much in the spirit the funding was formulated, and would achieve a less congested learning environment, something both students and teachers would welcome,” wrote Patricia Saenz-Armstrong, a senior economist with the NCTQ.
K-12 Dive
SECURITY Merrick Garland defends protections for school board members Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday defended ordering the FBI to help local leaders address threats against educators and school board members, after some officials had accused the Justice Department of seeking to "silence parents." During a contentious first appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Garland reasserted the Oct. 4 directive calling on the FBI to work with federal prosecutors and local officials to thwart “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against teachers and school staff over politically charged issues. Mr. Garland issued the directive shortly after the National School Boards Association asked President Biden in a letter for federal help in dealing with threats to educators by people opposed to face mask mandates for stemming Covid-19 and to the teaching of critical race theory. “I want to be as clear as I can be: This is not about what happens inside school board meetings, it’s only about threats of violence and violence aimed at school officials, school employees and teachers,” Mr. Garland said under questioning.
Wall Street Journal
HIGHER EDUCATION UC to publish database of how it uses AI The University of California plans to launch a public database and assess how the system is using artificial-intelligence based technologies. Administrators said they’ll follow four recommendations from a new “Responsible Artificial Intelligence” report on risks and opportunities in academics, health, human resources and policing. The report sheds light on how the 10-campus, 250,000 student system currently uses AI and includes recommendations on incorporating eight guiding ethical principles for UC’s use of AI in its services, such as procurement, and monitoring the impact of automated decision-making, facial recognition and chatbots. Colleges and universities across the country are using AI in everyday processes, allowing employees to focus on tasks that require human judgement or empathy. However, there are ethical concerns about AI reinforcing historical bias. Universities often lack a universal ethical approach when buying new technologies, according to Brandie Nonnecke, the founding director of UC Berkeley’s lab on technology use policy and one of the working group members.
EdScoop
OTHER Education Secretary announces Terrel H. Bell Award recipients U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona has announced the recipients of the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership for 2021. Named for the second U.S. Secretary of Education, the awards honor school leaders who are committed to education as a powerful and liberating force in people’s lives. The award is part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Principals are nominated by their school communities during the final stages of the National Blue Ribbon Schools application process. The 2021 recipients are: Mary J. Anderson of Jacob C. Fruchthendler Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona; Christy Flores of Maude B. Davis Elementary School in Costa Mesa, California; Sonia Anna Flores of the Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy in Gilroy, California; Mardele Simmons Early of Lake Forest Elementary Charter School in New Orleans; John Robert Gibbons of Weston Middle School in Massachusetts; Angela Marie Silvaggio of Mesquite Elementary School in New Mexico; Elisa Brown of PS 249 - The Caton School in Brooklyn; and Sophia Acevedo of Calder Road Elementary School in Dickinson, Texas. They will be honored during the National Blue Ribbon Schools awards ceremony on Thursday, November 4th.
U.S. Department of Education
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