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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
National
Mr. Trump, Don’t boost our budgets while cutting education: Charter school CEOs
In the “skinny budget” that the White House released this month, President Trump offered $168 million in new funds for charter schools. As public charter school operators, we appreciate the proposed investment in new schools like ours. But we cannot support the president’s budget as proposed, and we are determined to do everything in our power to work with Congress and the administration to protect the programs that are essential to the broader needs of our students, families and communities. (USA Today)
Ivanka Trump, Education Secretary DeVos promote STEM careers
Ivanka Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday exhorted young girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, saying those fields will provide the jobs and innovation for the future. Their tour of the National Air and Space Museum with a group of middle school students came as the Trump administration proposed further cuts to education and science, drawing harsh criticism from teachers’ unions and others. (ABC News)
Early Education Advocates Fighting for Priority in Federal Budget
When the Trump administration released its budget blueprint earlier this month, it noted that early care and education ranked among its “highest priorities.” But the federal preschool program Head Start was a notable omission in the few pages devoted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start. A complete budget proposal is due from the administration in May. And Congress, which controls the federal purse strings, often follows its own priorities—even if they differ from those laid out by a presidential administration. (Education Week)
State
New York
Pressure Builds for City’s Renewal Schools as State Tests Begin
The boy read the passage haltingly, pausing at words that he had trouble deciphering: “zigzagged,” “monastery,” “dominated.” It was less than a week before students at his school and around New York would sit for the state reading tests. The boy, a fifth grader in a special education class, was supposed to be answering a practice question about what two characters had in common. But just decoding the passage was proving difficult. (The New York Times)
Tennessee
Tennessee Bets Big on Personalized Learning, Launching Pilot Program & Eyeing Big 2020 Goals
When Jeran Tenpenny wrapped up his first year of teaching last summer at Tennessee’s Cannon County High School, he hoped to solve a problem that had vexed him for months. His algebra students mastered basic concepts, but they had trouble communicating what they didn’t understand when faced with more challenging algebraic equations. So he and a teaching coach at BetterLesson, an education technology company, hatched a plan to improve student learning. He would encourage students who struggled on a test or quiz to seek extra help from him during their lunch hour and write explanations about exactly why they got each question wrong. (The 74)
South Carolina
New website equips parents with information about local education options
Palmetto Promise Institute today announced the launch of a new website designed to give parents easy access to information about education options in their area. The site, which is fully searchable by zip code, enables parents to view local schools’ academic performance, specialized areas of study and levels of parent satisfaction. It also includes state-reported information about every public school, including public magnet, charter and online schools. (King Street News)