Friday News Roundup

It’s Friday! Time for the News Roundup.

No More Fresh Fruits and Veggies: Schools Grapple With Loss of Federal Funding (EducationWeek)

EducationWeek reported last week that,

“Vickie Dunaway, the school nutrition director for the Milan Special school district in rural West Tennessee, can rattle off an impressive list of fresh fruits and vegetables that were part of the district’s cafeteria meals, until recently; strawberries, blackberries, apples, tomatoes, corn, broccoli, and romaine lettuce.”

“In her 10-year stint as a nutrition director, Dunaway has been keen on setting up a farm-to-table pipeline of locally sourced, fresh produce for school lunches. The $660 million Local Food for Schools program, introduced in 2021 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, finally gave her the money and resources to do so.”

…

“As part of its cost-cutting efforts, the Trump administration canceled the Local Foods for Schools program, along with a similar program that supports food banks, on March 11. These programs ‘no longer effectuate the goals of the agency,’ the USDA wrote in an email to several news outlets.”

What?

The Trump administration stating their opposition toward delicious homegrown fruits and vegetables being part of America’s school nutrition program? Unbelievable.

Actually, it’s not unbelievable. Who thinks young Donald Trump was raised to appreciate a delicious tasting strawberry or was made to eat his broccoli (wait, that was another president)?

One more Big Mac please.

L.A. Schools Create “Perimeters of Safety” Against ICE Agents (The 74)

The 74 reported this week that,

“Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said Monday school police will create ‘perimeters of safety’ around high school graduation ceremonies to keep out immigration enforcement agents after federal raids rocked the city last week.”

“Speaking at a press conference at LAUSD headquarters, Carvalho also said the district would offer transportation to graduation events, shorten lines outside venues, and provide temporary shelter for attendees in case of immigration action by ICE at or near graduation venues.”

…

“’Our schools are places of education and inspiration, not fear and intimidation,’ Carvalho said, ‘Many of us here are immigrants or children of immigrants.’”

So far, there have been no disruptions at L.A. graduation ceremonies reported.

Finally, three stories from Iowa:

Governor Kim Reynolds Signs Bill Aimed at Raising Iowa Students’ Math Scores (Des Moines Register)

The Des Moines Register reported recently that,

“All K-6 grade students will be tested three times a year in math under a law Governor Kim Reynolds signed to improve test scores across the state.”

“Starting July 1, House File 784 requires the Iowa Department of Education to create math learning resources for families to use with their student at home and to improve instruction for educators.”

Let’s hope Iowa is different, but other than the recent “Mississippi Miracle” (where rising reading and math scores propelled Mississippi to the head of the National Assessment of Education Progress performance list), very few states see increases in student performance based on what their state department of education does by order of a state legislature.

Most learning improvement is accomplished at the basic relationship between an adult learning leader and their young learners.

Des Moines Unveils Which Schools Will Become Specialized in STEM, Arts and Languages (Des Moines Register)

The Des Moine Register reported this week that,

“The so-called signature schools – released during the Tuesday, June 3, school board meeting, are part of a larger plan to retool the district’s approach to education.”

“Dubbed Reimagining Education, the plan would close, update and repurpose multiple schools; move sixth-grade students to elementary schools, expand Montessori and all-day preschool programs; and reevaluate course offerings and programs.”

“Officials say they need to change the district’s education offerings because of falling student enrollment, required facilities updates and necessary building infrastructure improvements.”

Here’s hoping this plan works for Des Moines.

My advice is to find a group of “pied pipers” – adults who kids will love to follow as they work on STEM, the arts, and languages. When New York City built small schools and saw success in that move, the determining factor whether a small school was high-performing depended on the adult learning leaders hired inside that building.

Reynolds Signs Law Requiring Schools to Show Fetal Development Videos Depicting “Humanity” (Des Moines Register)

“Beginning this fall, Iowa schools must show middle and high school students a video of fetal development that ‘depicts the humanity of the unborn child,’ under a law Governor Kim Reynolds signed June 6.”

During my 40-year public school career, I saw some weird stuff come down from the state legislature (both Democrat and Republican led), but this one is in a class of its own.

It demonstrates just how far we’ve moved away from making kids smarter and stronger in reading, writing, problem-solving, and character development.

Sad. Very sad.

I’ll be away until Wednesday, June 18^th. Til then. SVB