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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
National
American Federation of Teachers President Under Fire
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, the head of the 1.6 million member teachers union, is under fire for controversial remarks linking private school choice to racial segregation. “Make no mistake: This use of privatization, coupled with disinvestment are only slightly more polite cousins of segregation,” Weingarten said last week during a major speech at the union’s annual convention in Washington, D.C. (U.S. News & World Report)
Meet The 5 New Inductees Of The National Teachers Hall Of Fame
Emporia, Kansas is home to rolling prairies, wheat fields, and the world’s biggest frisbee golf tournament. But the reason we went there: the National Teacher Hall of Fame, which gives the place it’s most revered title, Teacher Town USA. In 1989 the members of the Emporia local school board and Emporia State University asked, ‘Why doesn’t anyone honor teachers?’ To fill the void, they created the museum and hall of fame, where the top five teachers in the nation are honored every year. To be eligible, you must have taught for 20 years or more. To date, 130 teachers have been inducted. We sat down with this year’s inductees to hear the trials, tribulations, and valuable lessons they learned in their years in the classroom. (NPR)
Schools Are Missing What Matters About Learning
When Orville Wright, of the Wright brothers fame, was told by a friend that he and his brother would always be an example of how far someone can go in life with no special advantages, he emphatically responded, “to say we had no special advantages … the greatest thing in our favor was growing up in a family where there was always much encouragement to intellectual curiosity.” (The Atlantic)
Stewart: Black Parents Deserve an NAACP That Fights for Schools They Choose — Not Against Them
Seven out of eight Black public school students in America attend traditional public schools, so it goes without saying that the traditional public school system is far more responsible than charter schools for the inequities and outcomes of Black students. The inequities include less funding, less access to gifted programs and rigorous high schools, and less effective teachers. Not surprisingly, the outcomes include lower test scores, lower rates of high school and college graduation, and higher rates of discipline. (The 74)
States
Florida
Home education once again on the rise in Florida
The number of home education students in Florida keeps rising. It reached 87,462 during the 2017-16 school year, according to fresh state data. The Florida Department of Education releases a report on homeschooling each summer. In 2015, the number of children taught at home saw some of its largest growth ever. Last year, it declined. But the state’s largest school district, Miami-Dade County, accounted for that decrease single-handedly. (redefinED)
Louisiana
Charter school lawsuit will be argued Sept. 5 at Louisiana Supreme Court
A case affecting funding for more than 30 Louisiana charter schools is set for arguments Sept. 5 before the state Supreme Court. The court released its September docket Friday (July 21). Charter schools are tax-funded public schools operated by independent organizations under charters approved by state or local education officials. At issue in September’s hearing will be funding for charters approved by Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, rather than local school boards. (The Times Picayune)
Maryland
State delegate optimistic about changes to Prince George’s schools
A Prince George’s County delegate is hopeful that improvements can be made in the county’s school system. Maryland state Del. Darryl Barnes’ new optimism comes after a follow-up meeting Friday with representatives from the school board, the County Council and County Executive Rushern Baker’s office. That meeting follows Thursday’s sometimes-testy meeting with the system’s CEO, Dr. Kevin Maxwell. (Washington’s Top News)
New Mexico
New Mexico students’ scores on PARCC exams rise slightly
After three years, New Mexico students have slightly improved their performance on the PARCC exam, but the scores remain low. The 2017 results, released Monday, show 28.6 percent proficiency in English language arts and 19.7 percent in math. In 2015, the first year PARCC was administered in New Mexico, the numbers were 26.4 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively. (Albuquerque Journal)
New York
This seemingly small change could make it easier for guidance counselors to send students to transfer schools
New York City is planning to make it easier to refer students to alternative high schools — part of a broader effort to remove obstacles for students seeking admission to them. The change will affect the city’s 52 transfer schools, which are designed to catch up students who have dropped out, are over-age or behind in credits. Guidance counselors at traditional high schools will be able to electronically recommend up to three transfer school options for students they believe would be better served in different settings. (Chalkbeat)
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Milliones students, staff seek to ‘change the narrative’
Amir Hutchins had plenty to look forward to after graduation from Pittsburgh Milliones 6-12. When he’s not working his summer job as a junior counselor at Mount Ararat Baptist Church, he’s poring over college guides in preparation for his freshman year at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he’ll study fashion merchandising and human resources. But unlike most seniors, he wasn’t exactly in a rush to get his diploma. (Pittsburg Post-Gazette)
Washington D.C.
Undocumented suspensions persisted in D.C. schools despite repeated alerts
Over the past seven years, city officials, teachers and attorneys for special-education students have repeatedly alerted D.C. Public Schools to cases of student suspensions that were not properly documented. And yet the problem has persisted. The Washington Post reported last week that in 2016 and 2017, several DCPS high schools barred students from class without recording them as suspended. In response, DCPS officials said they would examine data for those schools but were confident that others were following the rules. (The Washington Post)