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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
Starting next school year, any parent in Nevada can pull a child from the state’s public schools and take tax dollars with them, giving families the option to use public money to pay for private or parochial school or even for home schooling. (The Washington Post)
We’re not even halfway through 2015, but the American Federation of Teachers, a 1.6 million-member union, is wasting no time in researching the 2016 presidential candidates. (Education Week)
U.S. states’ education spending averaged $10,700 per pupil in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but that average masked a wide variation, ranging from $6,555 per pupil in Utah to $19,818 in New York. (The Washington Post)
Denver Public Schools officials plan to set a new organization-wide minimum wage and increase stipends for teachers in high-needs schools next year using funds that would otherwise have been earmarked for pensions. (Chalkbeat Colorado)
Nobody expects an internship to make one rich — but for many, the entire experience has become simply unattainable. (NPR)
It’s arguable that there is no industry where the marketing function is in a greater state of flux than higher education. Elizabeth Scarborough, CEO and Partner of SimpsonScarborough, a leading research, strategy, and creative services firm used by academic institutions across the U.S., indicates: “Less than two decades ago, marketing within higher education was a service function rather than a strategic function that drives admissions, recruitment, and fundraising. Few institutions had marketers and those that did rarely leveraged the expertise of marketers to help recruit better quality faculty and staff, admit higher quality students, or increase fundraising.” (Forbes)
A provision of the state education budget signed by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon cuts off funding for the Smarter Balanced exam and require the state to develop a new test in English/language arts and math. (Education Week)
Amid mounting protests by rebellious teachers the Mexican government has taken a risky gamble. On May 29th, just days before mid-term elections scheduled for June 7th, it “indefinitely suspended” the most important part of its landmark education reform. Officials whisper that they are just trying to ensure a trouble-free day of voting and that they will reverse the move later. If that is true, the government is being deeply cynical. If it is not, it is undermining what some consider its most important policy, and may be breaking the law to boot. (The Economist)