Author: svb802
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Are Community Schools the Answer?
Community schools are a great idea, but it seems no one is willing to pay for them, especially in the state of Vermont. Vermont Digger online reported recently that, “Tired kids don’t do their best learning.” “So when Samantha Stevens, community schools coordinator at the North Country Supervisory Union, finds out that a student is…
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Putting the Worm on the Hook
I’m back and I’m “tan, rested, and ready.” Well, I spent time in 50 degree and cloudy Germany, so I don’t know how “tan” I am. But I digress. Back to trying to create a better learning system for our kids. While away, an article appeared in EducationWeek online discussing strategies to combat student disengagement.…
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Friday News Roundup
Here’s the Friday News Roundup – What One Record-Setting Teacher Shortage Can Tell Us About the Profession (EducationWeek) “’It would almost be financially irresponsible for the long term to go teach in Oklahoma,’ [Alexander Fraboulet, and English education major at the University of Oklahoma] said.” “In a sense, Oklahoma amplified many of the issues now…
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Wishful Thinking
This week The Big Questions Institute (BQI), a group committed to learner-based education, presented two trends they are seeing inside their partner schools: “First, we’re seeing a lot more schools around the world asking important questions, fundamental questions about why and how they exist at this moment. It’s clear to us that the confluence of…
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Solving the Inequitable School System
A big problem with the current K-12 public school system is that most of it is inherently unfair when it comes to providing equitable learning across the country. The 74 online published an article today that focuses on how U.S. school segregation contributes to this inherent unfairness. “Inside U.S. School Segregation by Race and Class…
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A Wrestling Story
There is so much wrong with this story. Earlier this month, Iowa Public Radio reported that, “A western Iowa school district [Hinton Community Schools] at the center of an assault investigation surrounding its high school wrestling team is losing two administrators.” “…the Hinton School Board accepted the resignations of middle and high school principal Phil…
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Getting Ready for a Crash
Denise Forte, president and CEO of EdTrust, wrote an interesting article, published today in The 74 online. Forte writes, “Education equity advocates are sounding the alarm at a crucial time for America’s public school system – but is anyone listening? There’s a fiscal cliff ahead as the Elementary and Secondary School Relief (ESSER) funds that…
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Friday News Roundup
Learning Loss Win-Win: High-Impact Tutoring in DC Boosts Attendance, Study Finds (The 74) According to The 74 online, “High-quality tutoring programs not only get students up to speed in reading and math, they can also reduce absenteeism, a new study shows.” … “…[H]igh impact tutoring – defined as at least 90 minutes a week with…
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Selling Cheesecake
We’ve talked about “this” before. The “this” is how traditional school districts spend taxpayer dollars without most of that money being spent directly to make young learners smarter and stronger. Sure, most of that money is spent on hiring teachers, administrators, and other staff to teach and take care of the student body. But when…
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The Most Inequitable School Practice – Grading
Grading. Ugh! If there was one noteworthy failure in my career as a school leader, it would be my inability to train my teachers to grade fairly and consistently across grade levels and content areas. I was never successful in getting 9th grade English teachers or 11th grade chemistry teachers to align their grading practices…