Illinois school funding bill in limbo as special session starts

Dueling news conferences, finger pointing and blame marked the first day of a special session aimed at tackling Illinois public school funding. Nothing passed as Senate Bill 1 was held in parliamentary hold in the Senate because Democrats are trying to avoid the governor's veto. Read more>>

More than 7,200 students are enrolled in summer school this summer in Minneapolis Public Schools. About 5,560 of those students are in grades pre-K through eight, and 1,671 of them are in ninth through 12th grade. Classes are offered at about two dozen buildings. Read more>>

The students improved in every subject area on the state's year-end standardized assessment, although math scores were mostly flat over last year's results. Tennessee's TNReady high school end-of-course results show improvements in English, math, history and science. And the state also saw a decrease in those scoring at the bottom. Read more>>

Recent efforts to restrict Missouri students’ classroom or library access to certain books have met with mixed results, new research by the University of Missouri School of Journalism shows. Bans or restrictions have been considered on more than 50 books in 32 Missouri school districts since 2008. Graduate journalism students relied on more than 560 public records requests to compile the data. Read more>>

A judge extended her preliminary ban to prevent Michigan from using taxpayer funds to reimburse private schools for government mandates, ruling a key provision in the state constitution does not discriminate against schools based on religious affiliation. Read more>>

Is a school in your district achieving technology excellence in Reading and Writing Instruction or Professional Development? Ask them to apply for recognition as a School of TechXcellence. Deadline August 11. Read more>>

We want to speak to administrators about the professional development programs they offer to prepare their district’s educators bring social-emotional instruction to their classes. How does this training help students develop 21st century skills like communication, creativity, teamwork and critical thinking. Read more>>

Too often, parents and professionals fear that their children will be left behind if we don’t artificially speed up the learning process, but the path to success is still based on basic and loving human values. Our kids need the Five R’s: Routines, Reading together, Rhyming, Rewards and Relationships. Read more>>

While young adults place a pronounced value on their mental health, many of them do not know how to access resources that can increase their ability to deal with stress, anxiety and other mental health issues, according to a new survey. Properly investing in staff and teacher development could go a long way in offering students in school the means to help themselves. Read more>>

Florida no longer wants to judge schools on whether they are closing achievement gaps between different groups of students, or on how well English language learners do on English proficiency tests. Will Education Secretary Betsy DeVos agree to this? And if she does, will Congress agree that she is properly interpreting ESSA? Read more>>

When students begin work, many get their first taste of economic independence. To give them the skills they need, OppLoans launched a new financial education site called OppU. The classroom-friendly courses offer free interactive lessons that teach money management fundamentals, including spending, saving, credit and debt. Read more>>

Fort Mill School District selected Discovery Education to help the district create a culture of STEAM education districtwide. At the beginning of the school year, the district's teachers and students will gain access to Discovery Education Streaming Plus. Science Techbook will also be used for grades K-8. Read more>>

After purchasing 180 interactive projectors from Boxlight in 2015, Copperas Cove ISD has just acquired 200 more P8 ultra short throw interactive projectors and P12L ultra short throw laser pen-interactive projectors. Read more>>

View more news at District Administration's PR Portal

Carroll County's school superintendent, Stephen Guthrie, is stepping down at the end of next school year. It will conclude two four-year terms as superintendent. He began his career in Carroll County as a teacher 36 years ago. Read more>>

St. Louis Public Schools’ top academic leader is leaving the district to become the CEO at an Ohio school district that’s in the midst of a state takeover. David Hardy, St. Louis’ deputy superintendent of academics, was picked to lead the Lorain School District as CEO. Read more>>

The Pennsylvania district's school board approved a contract with William P. Haws III as the Bangor Area School District's next superintendent. He replaces Superintendent Frank DeFelice, who is taking over as assistant executive director of Colonial Intermediate Unit 20. Read more>>