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The Buzz
2-21-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Charter Advocates Argue for State to Fund Their School Construction
And, despite opposition from plaintiffs, charter association and families seek to join ongoing litigation over funding for needy school districts...'
Education Week--How Schools Can Be More Effective at Growing Young Voters A conversation with John Holbein, assistant professor of public policy and education, University of Virginia...'
2-20-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--State GOP, Dems Readying Vaccination Bills for New Legislative Session
Medical professionals would need to provide detailed information to patients, parents or other caregivers before administering vaccines and allow them to opt out, with some warnings. And New Jersey taxpayers would be on the hook for certain damages if the immunization results in an injury...'
NJ Spotlight--Rutgers Study Suggests Underreporting of E-Cigarette Use Among NJ High Schoolers Researchers found some users of the JUUL brand of e-cigarette may not consider themselves to be e-cigarette users...'
NY Times--The #MeToo Balancing Act in High School Many boys and young men think the movement is essential for girls and women, but struggle with how they fit into it...' NY Times--Bringing a New Vibe to the Classroom Some educators are experimenting with their approaches to teaching to make course materials more relevant to various cultures and communities...' Education Week--Do High-Stakes Tests Make Teachers More Likely to Quit? Study Says No For many teachers, high-stakes testing is a major source of frustration—but they're not necessarily quitting over it...' Politics K-12 (via Education Week)--As Protests Over School Spending Ramp Up, Report Blasts States' Formulas State legislative sessions are in full swing this year and, with governors and legislators deciding what to do with budget surpluses, large coalitions of K-12 advocates have ramped up their efforts to overhaul key components of their states' funding formulas...'
2-19-20 Education in the News
Jersey Journal (via Star Ledger)-To fix schools, Fulop calls on Jersey City BOE to cut spending and raise taxes
Big cuts in school spending and three years of school tax hikes would be in store in Jersey City under a comprehensive financing plan unveiled by Mayor Steve Fulop on Tuesday...'
Philadelphia Inquirer--A New Jersey school district will wash and fold students’ clothes to keep kids in class A South Jersey school has eliminated a reason for some students not to come to school: that they don’t have anything to wear...' NPR--Food Fight: How 2 Trump Proposals Could Bite Into School Lunch Two pending rule changes meant to reduce what the Trump administration calls abuse of federal benefit programs could also mean hundreds of thousands of children lose access to free school meals...' Education Week--Teaching Students to Wrangle 'Big Data' Data science classes are popping up in schools...' Education Dive--These 4 strategies can help school leaders avoid IDEA lawsuits There are a number of factors to consider before an issue ever reaches the due process stage, Linda M. Gorczynski, a special education lawyer, said...'
2-18-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Federal Judge Next Up in Disputes Over Special-Ed Kids
New Jersey DOE in court for failing to meet federal and state timelines for resolving disputes between districts and parents of special-needs students
For the past year, the Murphy administration has been under U.S. Department of Education pressure to speed up its special education procedures...'
Star Ledger--N.J. should pay for kids to switch schools over ‘harmful’ curriculum, lawmaker says A New Jersey lawmaker wants the state to pay to send students to private school if their parents are offended by what they are learning. And the plan is already being ripped as an attack on New Jersey’s requirement for an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum...' NY Times--An Old and Contested Solution to Boost Reading Scores: Phonics As test scores lag, there’s a growing debate between proponents of the “science of reading,” which emphasizes phonics, and traditional educators who prefer to instill a love of literature...' Education Week—Op-Ed: We Lost Family at Parkland. You Should Learn From Our Personal Tragedy Basic security steps could have prevented the murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School...' Education Dive--FRAC report finds 12.4M students received free and reduced-price breakfasts last year The School Breakfast Scorecard, released by Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), reports 12.4 million children received a free or reduced-price school breakfast on an average school day in the 2018-19 school year, down 6,000 students — a relatively small percentage — from the prior year...'
2-14-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--After Public Outcry, Lawmakers Seek to Aid School Lunch Debtors
Legislators approve bills designed to counter shaming of students behind in their meal fees. Committee also endorses restoration of civics lessons...'
Star Ledger--Lunch debt in N.J. schools is an ongoing, expensive problem. We want to hear your stories. In one New Jersey school district, a tuna sandwich became a “badge of shame” late last summer when administrators proposed the idea of giving kids the cold, not-so-popular meal when their parents had amassed too much unpaid lunch money...' Education Week--Microsoft, Verizon, and Other Big U.S. Companies Design Their Ideal High School Courses We asked senior executives from a variety of industries to weigh in...' Education Dive--6 lessons principals learned in the wake of school shootings Leaders who survived shootings at their schools reflected on their experiences at a National Association of Secondary School Principals event, noting they are in a club no principal wants to be in...' Edutopia--Powerful SEL Is Happening After School, Too New research shows that when schools extend SEL lessons beyond the classroom into after-school programming, students’ academic skills and classroom behaviors improve...'
2-13-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--State Lays Out Plans for School Construction Projects, But No Funding
Schools Development Authority lists projects to address overcrowding, building age in 18 districts...'
NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: Promises Unfulfilled in Camden’s Schools, and a City Left Behind Where’s the emergency state aid that was promised? Without it, superintendent may be forced to increase class sizes, eliminate programs and lay off teachers...' Education Dive--Report: Diversifying teacher workforce, linking preservice to later performance among 'high-priority issues' National Academies research notes having same-race teachers benefits of students of color, but also suggests all teachers should recognize the "assets students are bringing into the classroom."...' Edutopia--3 Reasons Students Procrastinate—and How to Help Them Stop Psychologists have uncovered reasons why students put off important work. But there are a few simple things teachers can do to keep students on track...'
2-12-20 Education in the News
NJN News (via NJ Spotlight)--Murphy Announces Programs to Help Teens with Mental Health Woes
As he unveils education-based programs, governor says: 'For far too long, we as a society have been too passive on this issue'
Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday announced a pair of programs designed to equip those in the state’s education system with the skills and tools they need to address the persistent and largely hidden problem of mental illness and suicide among young people...'
NJN News (via NJ Spotlight)--Spreading the Gospel About Vape Dangers, One School at a Time Campaign is geared at arming those most prone to vaping with the information they need to make wise health choices...' NJ Spotlight--NJ Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Expansion of Charter Schools in Newark At the same time, parents and charter school supporters seek to join a separate case concerning funding for so-called Abbott districts...' Paterson Press (viaThe Record)--Paterson needs extra space for 2,235 students — one of NJ's biggest education facility shortages PATERSON — The city school district needs additional classroom space for 2,235 students — one of the biggest education facility shortages in New Jersey, according to a state report made public last week...' Associated Press (via Press of Atlantic City)--Teachers unions raise alarm over student involvement in active shooter drills The nation's two largest teachers unions want schools to revise or eliminate active shooter drills, asserting Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020 that they can harm students' mental health and that there are better ways to prepare for the possibility of a school shooting...' Education Week--Trump Admin. Unveils School Safety 'Clearinghouse.' Here's What You Need to Know The Trump administration has unveiled a “one-stop shop” for school safety resources, fulfilling one promise contained in the 180-page report of the federal commission it set up in the wake of the massacre in Parkland, Fla., America’s deadliest shooting in a high school...'
2-11-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Public Now Gets Chance to Weigh in on Proposed Changes to Core Learning Standards
Education officials foresee a school curriculum with updated requirements in computer science and career readiness...'
Star Ledger--N.J. wants to grade teachers less on student performance, more on supervisor’s opinion New Jersey has already slashed the weight of standardized test results in teacher evaluations. Student performance in day-to-day classwork could be next...' Jersey Journal--Jersey City school district not showing docs that prove it can move on from state control, report says The Jersey City Public Schools are failing to meet the state’s standards for regaining full control of the school district, according to an independent report...'
NPR-- 2 Big Teachers Unions Call For Rethinking Student Involvement In Lockdown Drills...' Education Week--Trump Seeks to Slash Education Budget, Combine 29 Programs Into Block Grant President Donald Trump's proposed budget would shrink U.S. Department of Education funding by nearly 8 percent in part by consolidating 29 major programs—including Title I aid for disadvantaged students and funding for charter school expansion—into a single, $19.4 billion block grant...'
2-10-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: How State Can Meet Its Obligations to Fund Schools
As budget season begins, school superintendents wonder if they will have the funds ‘necessary to fulfill the needs of our students’...'
Star Ledger--Can you consolidate 14 school districts into one? This N.J. county will find out. The Salem County freeholder board is hiring a consultant to study whether switching to a single, county-wide public school district has merit...' Star Ledger--We were promised state aid but still don’t have it, say parents in Camden planning protest A group of parents in Camden plan a protest Friday morning to draw attention to a pending request for emergency funds for public schools that have not been delivered...' Education Dive--Study: Majority of students' feelings about high school are negative High school students experience mostly negative emotions toward school, with feeling tired among their biggest complaints, according to a new nationwide study by Yale University's Center for Emotional Intelligence and Child Study Center...' Edutopia--5 Strategies to Minimize Bad Leadership Decisions When school administrators make lots of tough calls, the quality of decisions later in the day tends to suffer. Here’s how to minimize that effect...'
2-7-20 Education in the News
Education Week--White Parents Say They Value Integrated Schools. Their Actions Speak Differently
Ask parents if they value ethnic, racial, and economic diversity in their children’s schools, and entrenched social and political barriers often melt away...'
Education Dive--College Board: AP participation and performance grow 'in tandem' But CEO David Coleman said a "real crisis" still exists in expanding access to AP courses in rural schools...' The Hechinger Report--Schools struggle to help students return to class after a mental health crisis More kids are missing school because of anxiety and depression. A Massachusetts program is trying to disrupt that cycle...'
2-6-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Repollet Looks to Ease Back on Key Gauge of Teacher Accountability
Education commissioner wants to reduce weighting of student growth objectives from 25% to 15%...'
Star Ledger--N.J.'s education chief could leave for college president job New Jersey Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet is among the candidates being considered as the next president of Kean University, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday...' Jersey Journal--N.J. Supreme Court will hear case on Jersey City school district’s deal to pay union reps’ salaries The fight over whether the Jersey City Public Schools can use taxpayer money to pay teachers union representatives is heading to the state Supreme Court...' NY Times--Facial Recognition Moves Into a New Front: Schools A district in upstate New York has adopted the technology in the name of safety. Opponents cite privacy and bias concerns...' Education Week--Data: 5 Big Challenges in Preparing K-12 Students for the World of Work Why preparing students for the world of work is so hard...' Politics K-12 (via Education Week)--'Government Schools' or Public Schools? Trump, DeVos, and the Language of School Choice...' Chalkbeat--Newark school board considers limiting public comment at meetings Even after coming under fire for their alleged disinterest in hearing public input, the Newark school board is weighing whether to limit the number of speakers at monthly board meetings...'
2-5-20 Education in the News
Chalkbeat (via NJ Spotlight)--State to Close One of Four Newark Charter Schools that City Superintendent Wanted Shut Down
M.E.T.S. Charter School has until end of school year; NJ education commissioner faults it for low academic achievement, chaotic classrooms and high staff turnover...'
Education Week--When Teachers Are Tough Graders, Students Learn More, Study Says A new study finds that students perform better on end-of-year standardized tests when their teachers are tough graders—and argues that the "mindset that says 'everybody gets a gold star' does more damage than good."...' Politics K-12 (via Education Week)-- Trump Pushes Tax Break to Promote School Choice in State of the Union Address President Donald Trump used his State of the Union Address Tuesday to urge Congress to greenlight a plan that would provide federal tax credits for scholarships to private schools and other education services, offering the largest stage yet for one of his administration's key education priorities...'
2-4-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Social Justice Group Offers Ways to Boost Voter Turnout In NJ
Creating more opportunities for more people to vote, lowering the voting age to 16 and establishing mandatory civics classes in high school among recommendations...'
NY Times--Number of Homeless Students Rises to New High, Report Says The report found that more than 1.5 million public school students experienced homelessness in the 2017-18 school year, the highest in more than a dozen years...' Education Week--English Fluency Among Parents: Why It Matters for Student Success States vary in this piece of school readiness...'
2-3-20 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Extending Tuition Reimbursement to More Psychiatrists with Aim to Assist More At-Risk Kids
The program would be extended to those who contract with state Department of Children and Families to provide mental health services for teens and younger kids...'
Star Ledger—Op-Ed: I’ve ponied up the cash for tutors to give my kids the best shot at college. So, am I part of the problem? I did not break the law, but I did use the financial resources I have, that many people don't have, to give my kids a leg up, Clifford Kulwin says. What I did was legal, but was it fair?...' Jersey Journal--Jersey City Muslim and Coptic Christian parents angry over state-mandated LGBT curriculum More than 60 Muslim and Coptic Christian parents stood together Thursday night at the Jersey City Board of Education meeting to denounce the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) curriculum mandated by the state, claiming it violates their First Amendment rights...' Education Week—Op-Ed:The Cyber-Security Problem Schools and Ed. Tech Need to Face Thousands of students had private data compromised last year. We must do better...' |
The Special Education Task Force Report was released in November 2015. GSCS, a Task Force member, looks forward to discussion on this important topic under the Murphy administration. See below for a link to the report. RELATED LINKS
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