Yesterday’s column was the 500th article posted by ABPTL. When I started writing ABPTL in April of 2022, my goal was to persuade readers to think about a different system of learning for our kids. Our current K-12 public school system just isn’t working well enough for the kids who need an effective learning system the most.
After two and a half years of writing, editing, and publishing, I don’t know if I have made the impact I wanted to see by changing people’s opinions on the state of today’s schools. To me, too many of us are content to let the traditional system run as it may, without any real sense of urgency to change things for the kids and families who aren’t successful in our current K-12 world – especially black, brown, and poor kids.
I’m going to give the process some more time, see if my readership picks up a bit, or maybe ABPTL will be plucked up by another online educational news source with a wider audience. Who knows?
What I do know is I have some dedicated readers that have been with ABPTL since the beginning. I want to thank them for their loyalty and commitment. After working in our current teaching and learning system for 35 years, it’s clear to me that changes need to happen for our kids to become smarter and stronger when it comes to their reading, writing, problem-solving, and character development skills.
Most importantly, the time has come to find a system that can teach kids how to learn, because once you own your own learning, you possess one of the ultimate powers of life.
And now, here’s your Friday News Roundup.
Survey: For Most Parents, Grades Have Lost Ground as Measure of Student Progress (The 74)
According to The 74,
“Parents have traditionally relied on grades to gauge how their children are performing in school.”
“But new data suggest that’s changing.”
“In a recent national survey of 20,000 parents, respondents said they trust communication from their children’s teachers more than any other source of information to judge whether their kids are on track. That was the case regardless of whether parents thought their children performed on grade level.”
Just one more piece of evidence that grades are over-rated when it comes to providing rich information about learning.
Elon Musk Is Opening a School for Young Students. Here’s What We Know About It (EducationWeek)
EducationWeek reported last week that Elon Musk is opening a school (a private one) in Texas:
“Musk’s Texas-based private school – Ad Astra, meaning ‘to the stars’ in Latin – has been in development for the past year…”
“The school’s website states that it is accepting applications for the current, 2024-25 academic year for both the preschool, open to children ages 3-6, and the lower-elementary schools, open to children ages 6-9. It’s unclear if the lower elementary school is operational as of November.”
…
“’He’s a businessman who sees this as a way to create a benefit for his employees but have it subsidized by things like education savings accounts,’ said Jeffrey Henig, an emeritus professor of political science and education at Columbia’s Teachers College, referencing Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s proposal to give families tax dollars for private school expenses.”
It’s unclear whether Musk’s private school startup will have any effect on the Trump administration’s K-12 policies moving forward.
In Eagerly Anticipated ‘December 1 Letter,’ Vermont’s Tax Department Projects 5.9% Property Tax Increase Next Year (Vermont Digger)
The Vermont Digger reported this week that property taxes will increase nearly 6% to pay for the state’s public school system.
“In a written statement, Governor Phil Scott said that ‘with this projected increase, Vermonters will have seen a 33% increase in education property taxes in the last three years. This is the result of unsustainable costs, an aging demographic, and a smaller workforce.’”
“Vermonters ‘simply cannot afford more,’ Scott said, calling on lawmakers to work with his administration to reduce the tax burden.”
And Vermont is not the only state in this financial predicament.
There is a less expensive way to build strong readers, writers, problem-solvers, and people of character than what we are paying for with our current K-12 system. But to save money, we will have to begin to change the current system.
School Closures Are Way Down, but Delaying These Hard Choices Makes Things Worse (The 74)
The 74 reported this week that,
“After reports that Chicago Public Schools might need to close up to 100 schools, its board voted in September to impose a moratorium on any such discussion until at least 2027. With that decision, Chicago became the most extreme and high-profile example of a district ignoring its underenrolled schools.”
“But it’s not just Chicago. Over the last decade, districts have closed fewer and fewer schools. As of 2021-22, the most recent year for which national data is available, districts closed 666 schools – the lowest number in more than 20 years.”
Why are we tolerating under-enrolled schools? Why aren’t districts providing other choices, other than these places called schools, for kids to become smarter and stronger learners?
We need a new system for learning.
Why Are Hundreds of Iowa Schools Designated as Needing Help? (The Des Moines Register)
One out of every four Iowa public schools are in need of assistance, the Des Moines Register reported earlier this week. Most of the challenges circle around special education needs, low academic performance by minorities, and generally low scores in reading and math.
I grew up in Iowa. Iowa used to be one of the top performers in the country when it came to their K-12 public schools.
No longer.
A 2006 Study Found Undocumented Immigrants Contribute More Than They Cost Texas. The State Hasn’t Updated It Since (The Texas Tribune)
Understanding that many of the children occupying space in Texas public schools come from families who are undocumented, it makes sense to include this story in the News Roundup.
The Texas Tribune reported today that,
“In 2006, Texas States Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn set out to assess the impact undocumented Texans have on the state economy and found that they contributed more to Texas than they cost the state.”
“’This is the first time any state has done a comprehensive financial analysis of the impact of undocumented immigrants on a state’s budget and economy,’ Strayhorn, a Republican, wrote at the beginning of the report.”
“It was also the last time Texas did such a study.”
“The state has not updated Strayhorn’s analysis or conducted a similar review since it was issued 18 years ago. But a series of reports released by nonprofits and universities have confirmed what Strayhorn’s office found.”
I’m just sayin.
If we are going to deport, let’s be careful not to deport families helping build the country more than others.
Education Department Recommends These 3 Principles to Develop School Cellphone Policies (EducationWeek)
Okay, I know I promised not to talk about cellphones again, but here we go…
The U.S. Department of Education has released three key principles for developing cellphone policies:
- Bringing students and parents to the table in designing a cellphone policy is likely to enhance buy-in and bolster the chances for success.
- Teachers, school leaders, and students should be aware of the policy. School and classroom culture should be built around it.
- Any device policy should be paired with lessons on digital citizenship.
I have not been a proponent of closing down the U.S. Department of Education, but, honestly, if this is what the feds are spending time on (when national reading and math scores are in the tank), then maybe shutting the doors at 400 Maryland Avenue in our nation’s capital.
That’s your News Roundup for Friday, December 6th. Til Monday. SVB
A Better Path to Learning 
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