Friday News Roundup

It’s Friday! Here’s your News Roundup.

Schools Don’t Want Kids on Cellphones. Is Banning Them the Solution? (USA Today)

Ok, you’re probably thinking “Scott, how many times are you going to report on whether kids should be allowed cellphones in school or not?” And you would be right, this story has probably made more news this year than any other. So, what does that say about what our media thinks is important when it comes to public education news? Do we pay as much attention to the fact that too many of our kids can’t read, write, and problem-solve at high levels, especially black, brown, and poor kids?

Here’s the deal – the reason why schools want cellphones banned is because not enough teachers and administrators understand how to use Smartphones to support the learning process.

Let’s move on.

Exclusive Data: Thousands of Schools at Risk of Closing Due to Enrollment Loss (The 74)

We’ve covered this story too over the past year or so. This time, The 74 online chose this week to focus on Jackson, Mississippi, and their challenges with under-enrolled schools:

“Days before Christmas, the school board in Jackson, Mississippi voted to close 11 schools and merge two more – a drastic move that parents in the district had long feared. Some on the list have lost 30% or more of their students since 2018.”

“Despite the district’s high poverty, Superintendent Errick Greene said he could no longer afford to staff social workers and counselors at schools with long stretches of declining enrollment. Many older buildings were falling apart. It made no sense, he said, to have plumbers and HVAC technicians ‘racing hither and yon across the city’ each morning to keep them running.”

“’Should we really be investing this money in these school buildings if they’re at best at half capacity?’ he asked.”

Let me answer the superintendent’s question:

No, you shouldn’t keep a school building open that has, at best, half of its seats occupied. On the other hand, communities, especially those fighting poverty, depend on schools being open in their neighborhoods so that, in addition to teaching and learning, other social needs are fulfilled – like meals, counseling, afterschool care, social work support, and the list goes on and on.

So, if school districts like Jackson are going to close schools, they need to engage with the families of those children impacted to insure their academic, social, emotional, and physical needs are met.

Schools After COVID: 6 Ways For Districts to Better Engage Parents Amid Concerns About COVID Learning Loss (The 74)

We’ve reported before about the disconnect between how parents think their kids are performing academically and how those young learners are actually doing post-COVID. National Parents Union’s Keri Rodrigues recently wrote that parents are demanding better, more accurate information about how their kids are doing. The 74 online reported six ways Rodrigues believes public schools could engage parents better (the data shared comes from various National Parent Union publications):

“Give parents a seat at the table – Parents should be partners with schools from the beginning: participating in strategic planning, budgeting, leadership changes, and contract negotiations. It’s not enough to ask them for permission after decisions have already been made. Only collaboratively can we create a path forward.”

“Enter a new age of honesty and transparency – Policymakers and educators need to welcome a new age of honesty and transparency with parents, families, and communities.”

“Offer diverse pathways – With all of its complex challenges, the pandemic also provided the opportunity to create more flexibility in the education system. It highlighted the limitations of traditional classroom-based learning and the need for alternative approaches. Now we are hungry for more options for remote learning, hybrid learning models, and other approaches that will accommodate the diverse needs of children and families.”

“Urgent support for teens – Our teens need more support to ensure they aren’t simply pushed out before we’ve adequately prepared them to launch. 64% of parents say schools should do more to ensure college-bound students and students who choose different pathways have equally good opportunities to prepare for their future while in high school.”

“Prioritize mental health – In addition to academic support, parents want policymakers to prioritize students’ mental health and social-emotional well-being. 64% of parents believe policymakers need to prioritize addressing their children’s mental health needs.”

“Transformational change – We must put an end to petty political fights, institutional racism, and antiquated status quo, and policies that prioritize adults over kids and instead collaboratively address the transformational changes our children and families need.”

What if someone took these six suggestions from parents and built a new learning system based on these recommendations?

Hmmm.

Emergency-Hired Teachers Do Just as Well as Those Who Go Through Normal Training (The 74)

According to The 74 online,

“When K-12 schools closed their door for in-person instruction in spring 2020, it had a variety of negative effects on students and teachers. It also shut off the training opportunities for future educators.”

“In response, states instituted a variety of short-term waivers allowing candidates to teach without fulfilling their normal requirements. Those policies helped candidates who would have otherwise been prevented from teaching, while aiding school leaders in filling open positions.”

“Were teachers worse for this lack of training?”

“New research from Massachusetts and New Jersey suggests maybe not. In both states, teachers who entered the profession without completing the full requirements performed no worse than their normally trained peers.”

Now what does that say about our current teacher preparation programs?

There are blizzard warnings in Iowa today. Here’s wishing you a peaceful (and warm) weekend. Til Monday. SVB