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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
National
How the education world is reacting to racist violence in Charlottesville — and to Trump’s muted response
For educators across the country, this weekend’s eruption of racism and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, offered yet another painful opportunity to communicate their values to families, colleagues, and community members. Many decried the white supremacists who convened in the college town and clashed with protesters who had come to oppose their message. Some used social media to outline ideas about how to turn the distressing news into a teaching moment. (Chalkbeat)
Trump Ed. Dept. to Michigan: Your ESSA Plan Is Missing Major Details
A key section of Michigan’s plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act is so sparse that the U.S. Department of Education isn’t sure it’s ready for formal review, according to a letter the agency published Tuesday. (Maine also received a response Tuesday, scroll down for more on that.) The department told Michigan’s state chief, Brian Whiston, the information it provided “was insufficient” to “adequately review” the section of the plan dealing with the state’s accountability system, arguably the heart of ESSA. (Education Week)
Surprise, Trump’s Education Ideas Are Polarizing
In the last year, there’s been a big drop in support for charter schools, while other forms of school choice are getting a little less unpopular. That’s the top line of a national poll released today. President Trump and his education secretary Betsy DeVos have put school choice front and center on their education agenda. The general idea of “choice,” however, takes many forms. (NPR)
Proponents of Later School Start Times See Momentum
When students head back to school this fall, many will relish the fact that their alarm clocks won’t be sounding so early. Schools in at least 19 states are planning to start the school day later this year, according to Start School Later, a nonprofit organization that advocates for later school start times. “Every year we see more and more schools delaying bell times to improve student sleep, health and learning,” Terra Ziporyn Snider, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “Not all of them will be starting middle and high schools at 8:30 or later, as health professionals recommend, but they are moving to schedules that are healthier and safer for many more students.” (U.S. News & World Report)
States
Hawaii
This Honolulu Charter School Has Found A Unique Way To Survive
The differences stand out. One is a high school, the other a middle school. One was established more than 70 years ago, the other only four years ago. One’s student body is nearly one-quarter Micronesian, with a large English language learner population and 60 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch. The other’s is a blend of races and ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet, for all their surface differences, Kaimuki High School and The School for Examining Questions of Sustainability — or SEEQS — share a lot in common. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
New Jersey
An urban charter school achieves a fivefold increase in the percentage of its black and Latino graduates who major in STEM
NEWARK, N.J. — Tahiv McGee spent Fridays during his senior year of high school at Rutgers University-Newark, where he worked with faculty and a doctoral student on a psychology research study. McGee, who took seven Advanced Placement (AP) courses during high school, found the experience immensely valuable, even though he plans to study neurology, not psychology, at prestigious Pomona College, in Claremont, California. (The Hechinger Report)
New York
DOE was reckless with billions in school contracts: report
The Department of Education is playing fast and loose with billions of dollars in school contracts, according to a new report from city Comptroller Scott Stringer. The analysis found that the DOE frequently ignored its own procedures by awarding insufficiently competitive contracts and heightening opportunities for abuse. “The new findings show that the agency plays by its own rules when it comes to contracting,” the report said. (New York Post)
Pennsylvania
Teachers at Philly charter school vote to unionize
Teachers at New Foundations Charter High School in Philadelphia’s Holmesburg section have voted to be represented by the Alliance of Charter School Employees. A vote count Friday at the regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board in Center City showed that 73 percent of the teachers and professional staff who cast ballots said they wanted to be represented by the union. New Foundations Charter High School, which opened in 2010, is the fifth charter school in Philadelphia where teachers and professional staff are represented by the alliance, which is an affiliate of AFT Pennsylvania. (The Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News)