June News RoundUP

News

Week of 6/16-6/20

• Governor Plans to Cut Ties to Common Core in Louisiana, New York Times: Gov. Jindal said he plans to end the enactment of CCSS in his state; other officials said that the governor has overstepped his authority and vowed to resist his moves.
• Philly Schools Teeter on the Brink of Layoffs, Struggling for Funding, NPR: Once again, Philadelphia needs tens of millions to avoid layoffs. School leaders are asking the state and labor unions to help fill a $96 million budget hole.
• NYC Announces 271 New Providers of Afterschool Programs for Middle School: This week Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Farina announced new providers to expand the middle schools initiative that will provide struggling students with extra time for academic and enrichment programs.
• Reactions to Vergara, Education Week: The education community is not without its opinions on the high-profile case in California. Check out the roundup of reactions from Education Week.

Week of 6/9-6/13

• Obama Unveils Plans for Online Hub to Link Tech Companies, Schools, Education Week: The White House announced plans to link tech companies with schools that could benefit from their services as part of the ConnectED initiative designed to improve K-12 digital access.
• Delay Urged on Actions Tied to Tests by Schools, New York Times: The Gates Foundation has called for a two-year moratorium on any high-stakes decisions based on tests aligned to the CCSS. The NEA welcomed the Gates Foundation’s stance, expressing the need for more time for implementation.
• Citywide Summer Learning Initiatives Launched in Several Urban Areas, Education Week: Five cities will join Chicago in implementing summer learning programs that involve various stakeholders across the communities to come together to provide opportunities around both academics and enrichment. This is the second year that Classroom, Inc. is involved in the Chicago Summer of Learning.

Week of 6/2-6/6

• Zuckerberg gives $120M to Bay Area Schools, Washington Post: Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan announced $120M to improve underserved communities in the Bay Area. The donation is a cautionary tale for some as they see the slow progress that the $100M made in Newark over the past years.
• OK Gov. Fallin Signs Bill Repealing the CCSS, Politico: Oklahoma has officially dropped the CCSS, marking a major shift by former supporter Gov. Mary Fallin.
• “My Brother’s Keeper” White House Initiative Outlines Priorities, Education Week: The White House’s efforts to improve opportunities for boys and men of color were released, which include a priority around ensuring students can read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade.
• Alarming Number of Urban Teachers Chronically Absent, Huffington Post: The National Council on Teacher Quality released new numbers this month regarding the nation’s 40 largest school districts. It found that 16 percent of teachers in these districts are chronically absent—meaning they miss 18 or more school days per year.

Blogs

• NYC Launches Plan to Turn Schools into Community Hubs, Chalkbeat: The city will spend $52 million over the next several years to turn 40 schools into community hubs, offering health, nutrition, and other services to students. The community schools movement has gained traction in the last few years, including the federal government funding Promise Neighborhoods across the country based on Harlem Children’s Zone.
• Making Games: The Ultimate Project-Based Learning, KQED/MindShift: In this post, the author argues that as project-based learning becomes more popular it’s easy to pigeon-hole it into one particular way of thinking about it. Part 6 of MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning discusses how having students create their own games is tantamount to project-based learning.
• 6 Characteristics of Great PD, eSchool News: PD should inspire teachers to integrate technology and inspire skills in students that are useful for the digital age.
• Can Games Make High-Stakes tests Obsolete? MindShift/KQED: The promise of game-based learning is not only about increased student engagement and intrinsic motivation, but also about changing the way we think about assessment so that it is no longer in a category by itself.
• Three Ways Digital Badges are Used in Education, eSchool News: In education, badges can represent an accurate depiction of what students actually know rather than what their standardized-test scores or report cards say about them. This post gives a brief 101 on badges as well as a short video clip.

Reports

• Project Tomorrow issues Report on Use of Tech in Schools: The organization is out with its latest report, “Digital Learning Playbook: Advancing College and Career-Ready Skill Development in K-12 Schools”. Fun fact: 86% of principals say mobile learning increases engagement among students, but only 37% say it develops communication skills.
• How Teachers are Learning: Professional Development Remix: A free detailed guidebook from edSurge is designed to help administrators find the tools that fit the needs of teachers and their PD strategy.
• Navigating the EdTech Marketplace: This special report from Education Week is chock full of information on the industry, tips for schools in finding and using edtech, and other insights on the market given the current state of the standards reform movement.
• Cooney Center Releases Report on Games in Classroom: The latest survey reports on how frequently teachers use games, the ways they integrate these into instruction, and which devices are being used the most.