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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
National
San Bernardino shooting puts spotlight on school safety
In the wake of Monday’s fatal shooting at a San Bernardino elementary school, schools and security experts across California revisited campus safety protocols intended to keep students safe from gun violence.in case of an emergency. In the wake of Monday’s fatal shooting at a San Bernardino elementary school, schools and security experts across California revisited campus safety protocols intended to keep students safe from gun violence. “As we mourn and remember the victims of today’s school shooting tragedy, we will continue to instill safety and vigilance in making our campuses as safe as possible,” Steven Zipperman, chief of the Los Angeles Unified School Police, said Monday. “While no educational institution can ever be 100 percent safe from an intruder or other safety threat, maintaining vigilant planning, preparedness, response and recovery protocols can help prevent and mitigate tragedies.” (EdSource)
Course Choice: A Different Way to Expand School Choice?
Plans to expand school choice from President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Congress have largely focused on high-profile measures like vouchers and tax-credit scholarships. But there’s another option for the Trump administration to promote, one that’s supported in multiple sections of the Every Student Succeeds Act and that many states are already using. (Education Week)
How not to argue for school choice
I think school choice is a helpful thing. While I don’t think it, in and of itself, will yield great teaching and learning, I do think it can play a very positive role in promoting coherent school cultures, empowering parents and educators, and fostering a healthy array of educational options. Of course, many advocates see choice as much more than that. I sympathize with their passion, but think their admirable enthusiasm is leading them to make their case in ways that are tone-deaf or counterproductive. Here are three pro-choice lines of argument that I’ve heard a lot already in 2017, and a couple thoughts as to why advocates might want to lean on some different talking points. (AEI)
Fisher: Making Equity a First Principle of the Personalized-Learning Era
“Racism and inequity are products of design. They can be redesigned.” These words echoed from the keynote speakers at the annual Blended and Personalized Learning Conference (BPLC) in Providence, R.I., last weekend. On April 1, in partnership with Highlander Institute and The Learning Accelerator, the Christensen Institute co-hosted the BPLC for the second year in a row. To build the agenda, we used our Blended Learning Universe to recruit innovative school leaders and educators to share their tactics and practices at the cutting edge of school innovation. We also looked for presenters who were wrestling with the challenging gaps in racial and socioeconomic equity that have for too long dominated our education system. (The 74)
State
New Jersey
Why N.J. teacher attendance data doesn’t add up
None of Piscataway Township’s teachers took a sick day last year, faculty at one Sussex County school were absent for nearly half of the year, and teachers at another school showed up only 10 percent of the time. Those unlikely scenarios all played out last school year, at least according to data released in the state’s school report cards. New Jersey for the first time last week released statistics for how often teachers and support staff miss school, showing that the vast majority of teachers are in the classroom more than 90 percent of the time. (NJ.com)
New York
After heated debate, New York charter schools receive boost; school aid increases by $1.1 billion
More than a week after the state’s budget deadline, lawmakers resolved their differences on education with a per-pupil increase in charter school funding and a $1.1 billion increase in school aid. The funding tug-of-war between charters and traditional public schools boiled over into a contentious fight this year, which contributed to the most delayed budget on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s watch. (Chalkbeat)
North Carolina
13 CMS Schools Seek Flexibility Similar to Charters
Thirteen Charlotte elementary schools are hoping to get some of the same flexibility as charter schools. It could be granted under the state’s Restart initiative, an effort to turn around academically struggling schools. CMS board members signed off on the applications but are divided on its merits. (WFAE)