Friday News Roundup

Here’s your Friday News Roundup –

Advocacy or Electioneering? Education Leaders Walk Fine Line in School Voucher Debate (EducationWeek)

Governor Greg Abbott and his Republican cronies are playing hard ball these days when it comes to getting education savings accounts – vouchers – established in the Lone Star State. According to EducationWeek online,

“Texas attorney general Ken Paxton…took the unusual step of suing seven school districts, alleging that a handful of leaders had engaged in electioneering before the March 5 legislative elections.”

“The lawsuits are a new chapter in a protracted and volatile fight over the future of public education in Texas, analysts say. But they also demonstrate the increasing difficulty district leaders face in balancing the advocacy they feel is necessary for their schools’ survival against the complexity of state campaign finance rules.”

“The lawsuits, beginning with one against the Denton Independent district, filed February 22, contend that principals and superintendents asked their colleagues to vote against candidates who favor private school choice policies, like vouchers. Such communications violated state law that prohibits the use of district resources to ‘electioneer for or against any candidate, measure, or political party,’ the lawsuits claim.”

New Data: Despite K-2 Reading Gains, Students Face a ‘Much Harder Journey’ Ahead (The 74)

According to The 74 online,

“Young students have made less progress in reading this year than they did earlier in the post-pandemic period, according to new data.”

“The results from curriculum provider Amplify show that the number of K-2 students on track in literacy increased by 2 percentage points compared to this time last year. The leap between 2021-22 and 2022-23 was more than twice as large – 5 percentage points.”

…

“’Maybe the lower-hanging fruit has been pulled, and now the much harder journey is there,’ Paul Gazzerro, Amplify’s director of data analysis, said. ‘There are a lot of kids who are really struggling and need that intensive support.’”

But the question remains, given the traditional school master schedule, what time will be taken away so that more time can be committed to reading improvement. The traditional system is not known for its flexibility, especially when it comes to how to use time differently.

If TikTok Gets Banned, Will It Solve Schools’ Social Media Drama? (EducationWeek)

No, it won’t.

Los Angeles Unified Bets Big on ‘Ed,’ an AI Tool for Students (EducationWeek)

The Los Angeles Unified School District has invested in artificial intelligence – big time.

According to EducationWeek online,

“[L.A. Unified] has launched an AI-powered learning tool that will serve as a ‘personal assistant’ to students and their parents.”

“The tool, named ‘Ed,’ can provide students from the nation’s second-largest district information about their grades, attendance, upcoming tests, and suggested resources to help them improve their academic skills on their own time, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced March 20. Students can also use the app to find social-emotional-learning resources, see what’s for lunch, and determine when their bus will arrive.”

“Ed, which is available 24/7 and in multiple languages, is part of the 420,000-student district’s effort to catch students up on any unfinished learning from the pandemic. It uses artificial intelligence to report on key academic metrics for each student and then creates individualized plans based on that information.”

SEL Teaches Kids to Deal with Their Emotions. It’s Under Attack as ‘Woke’ Indoctrination (The Des Moines Register)

“Surrounded by 13 wriggling classmates sitting on a colorful mat, kindergartner Dara Peralta-Ponce thought briefly as her teacher asked her what made her unique.”

“In a quiet voice, Dara talked about holding her friend’s hand to comfort her when she was feeling bad.”

“Her story of kindness helped kick off a conversation in teacher Teresa Miller’s classroom about what made each student different and special.”

…

“The exercise is part of a larger push this school year in the Storm Lake Community School District to incorporate social-emotional learning into the first 15 minutes of elementary students’ day.”

…

“But SEL has taken on a much more sinister aspect among many conservatives, who have dismissed it as a thinly veiled attempt at liberal indoctrination in public schools. Florida lawmakers have banned its use in schools.”

…

“In deep red Iowa, SEL increasingly has come under attack from Republicans as allegedly engaging in ‘woke’ principles and endorsing a left-leaning political agenda. Lawmakers have introduced legislation to eliminate teaching social-emotional learning…”

At the exact moment our kids are hurting socially and emotionally, we, as adults, decide to take away what might be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Unbelievable.

Which States Have Private School Choice? (EducationWeek)

“Programs that direct public money toward private schools of a family’s choosing or family accounts that can cover any education expenses outside the public school system are proliferating.”

…

“As of March 22, 2024, 29 states and the District of Columbia have at least one private school choice program, according to an Education Week analysis. Of those, 12 states have at least one private school choice program that’s universally accessible to K-12 students in the state.”

The next step should be to open state-supported choice programs to learning pods and microschools. That way, families have more of a choice than picking between their public school and a private school.

Why Does Education Matter? Ask Elaine Collins (Vermont Digger)

This story comes from the Green Mountain State as reported by Vermont Digger online,

“The North Country Supervisory Union superintendent moved lawmakers this week with her story grounded in personal experience. She urged them to consider Vermont’s most vulnerable children.”

“Elaine Collins, the superintendent…, sat down before the Vermont House Education Committee…and apologized to those in the room.”

“’I wrote this testimony at 4 a.m.,’ she said, adding that she was ‘too tired’ to go off script.”

“Collins had a story of resilience to tell – her own story – which clearly moved the lawmakers who were listening.”

“It was a story of how school can save a student, maximize their potential. A story of how growing up poor and as a survivor of childhood trauma, she relied on school, worked her way over three decades from paraeducator to superintendent, from being a foster kid herself to fostering more than 50 children. A story of the value of public education.”

When ABPTL criticizes our current public school system, don’t ever think it’s criticizing the importance of publicly-supported learning. Public schooling, not necessarily public schools, can change kids’ lives. I’ve seen it through my own eyes.

Have a great weekend. Til Monday. SVB