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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
National
As End of DACA Looms, an ‘Anxious Time’ for Immigrant Educators and Students
As the deadline for the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals nears, each week hundreds of young people who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents are losing the permits that allow them to legally work and stay in the country. While leaders in Congress have vowed to find a fix, a concrete plan still hasn’t materialized—and some immigration advocates are beginning to worry that nothing will happen before the March 5 cutoff. (Education Week)
Teacher of the Year Finalists Represent 3 States, Defense Dept. Schools, Subjects From Art to ASL
Teachers from four states, covering subjects as diverse as sign language and art, are finalists for the 2018 Teacher of the Year prize. The finalists are Amy T. Anderson, an American Sign Language teacher in southern New Jersey; Kara Ball, an elementary school teacher at the Department of Defense Education Activity at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Jonathan Juravich, an elementary school art teacher in Powell, Ohio; and Mandy Manning, an English and math teacher for high school immigrant and refugee students in Spokane, Washington. (The 74)
Girls Can Change the World—But We Have to Invest in Them First
One hundred and thirty million girls are out of school. As I travel the world to advocate for them, not every day is easy. Some days I meet girls who have to fight so hard for a right they already have. This summer I met Najlaa, a Yazidi teenager in Iraq. At 14, her parents took her out of school and told her she would be married. On her wedding day, Najlaa kicked off her high heels and ran away — still in her wedding dress. She wasn’t ready to give up on her education and dreams of becoming a journalist. (TIME)
State
Maryland
Outrage in Baltimore after kids huddle in freezing classrooms
Baltimore closed its public schools Thursday amid blustery cold, snowy conditions and community outrage after conducting classes in some buildings where students had to wear coats and gloves to stay warm. At least a half-dozen schools opened late or closed early Wednesday because of heating problems. Staff in about 60 district schools complained about heating issues, almost one-third of the city’s total. Schools CEO Sonja Santelises, in a Facebook Live video, blamed the “unprecedented” cold. (USA Today)
New Mexico
Two new ABQ charter schools to open
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two new Albuquerque charter schools are scheduled to open this summer — both targeting low-income families who want rigorous academics. Altura Preparatory School and Albuquerque Collegiate Charter School eventually will offer kindergarten through fifth grades with a focus on high expectations for all students, according to their founders. The two schools — both authorized by the state’s Public Education Commission — are replicating best practices from around the country, such as longer school days, data-driven instruction and intensive math and literacy classes. (Albuquerque Journal)
New York
Mayor de Blasio wants New York City’s next schools chief to be like Fariña — but finding a replacement won’t be easy
When Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a search for a new schools chief, he said he would look for someone very much like retiring schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. But as the search intensifies, that approach could pose a dilemma for the mayor, and make it harder to find someone well-suited to running and improving a system that sees itself as a model for school districts across the country. (Chalkbeat)
North Carolina
Assaults on teachers up in Durham schools. See what else is driving suspensions
Assaults on teachers and other school workers jumped 56 percent in Durham Public Schools last school year, according to the district. The preliminary data shows there were 61 assaults on school personnel last school year, 22 more than the 39 reported during the 2015-16 school year. “The increase in acts of assault on school personnel, although it concerns us, represents just a tenth of one percent of our entire student population,” said Debbie Pitman, the district’s assistant superintendent of student services. (News & Observer)
Washington D.C.
On first day back from holiday break, D.C. leaders stress importance of good attendance
District Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and city leaders touted an initiative Wednesday aimed at boosting low attendance records as students returned to school after a nearly two-week holiday break. Bowser and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson emphasized to students at Jefferson Middle School in Southwest the importance of showing up to school each day as part of Every Day Counts! — an initiative launched at the start of the school year that coordinates across city agencies to get students at their desks on time each morning. (The Washington Post)