TOP NEWS Los Angeles Times The city's schools are at risk because of inconsistent campus safety measures, a need for more mental health services and inadequate coordination with other public agencies. The report took a wide-ranging look at school safety, including gun control, safer pathways to and from school, and law enforcement. Read more>> Sponsored Sponsored by n2y n2y is changing the way special education is delivered with an integrated, age-appropriate and differentiated total solution. With n2y, everyone can learn. Read more>> The Texas Tribune A special Texas Senate school safety committee devoted to fighting school violence has recommended improving mental health resources for students and increasing funding for a program that arms some members of school staff, but shied away from any measures aiming to limit access to guns. Read more>> Pioneer Press The Minnesota Department of Education expects to award at least 50 schools up to $500,000 each this fall to improve building security and safety. Lawmakers signaled they wanted to spend about double that on security improvements but couldn’t reach a deal. Read more>> From DA Magazine Ray Bendici Externship programs offer hands-on experience and the opportunity for creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication that better inform instruction and boost teacher confidence. Read more>> Associated Press via The Kansas City Star The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a Kansas school district over unequal pay. It alleges that USD 245 Leroy-Gridley paid a female principal less than it paid the man she had replaced and less than the man who succeeded her. Read more>> KXAN With just two weeks to go until the first day of school, local principals are still working to fill hundreds of teacher openings in Central Texas classrooms. The majority of open positions are bilingual, special education, and math and science. Read more>> Kennebec Journal The Augusta Board of Education is moving forward with a proposal to incorporate the major holidays of multiple religions into the school district’s calendar so that educators may avoid them when scheduling school-wide activities such as field trips and class photograph days. Read more>> OPINION Chalkbeat Over the last two decades, a rapidly increasing number of students have taken and passed AP exams. But more students are also failing the exams. A review of research provides a reminder that we simply don’t know the answer to a number of questions about AP courses, even as the program has become a more common part of the high school experience. Read more>> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution While it’s tempting to view school violence in the context of the gun-control debate, this issue is about more than politically charged topics. It’s also about the growing need for schools to support their students' well-being with better school climates, fairer discipline, more meaningful classes, and greater help with family and emotional health issues. Read more>> The Laurinburg Exchange If we instead taught in multi-age classrooms, kids could advance at their own pace, learn from each other, and adapt to the work settings they’ll encounter in the real world. Mixed-age classrooms also make it easier to group kids according to the skills they’ve mastered. Read more>> INDUSTRY NEWS Istation/Boulder Learning, Inc. Istation is partnering with Boulder Learning to develop Istation’s Oral Reading Fluency and Listening Comprehension Program by incorporating advanced speech-recognition technology. Istation will enhance Boulder Learning’s existing speech-recognition and assessment product, FLORA, and adapt it for large-scale deployment in classrooms. Read more>> Schneider Electric Jackson County Schools has reached a $1,000,000 savings milestone resulting from a comprehensive facilities improvement project with Schneider Electric that included a new building automation system, energy efficient lighting and controls, extensive sealing of buildings, and more. Read more>> RobotLAB RobotLAB Inc.'s Engage! K12 online STEM and robotics learning platform is now supporting the sixth version of SoftBank Robotics' NAO Robot. This platform brings hundreds of lesson plans, activities, apps and simulation tools to teach coding, programming, math, ELA and STEM. Read more>> ✭ Visit the District Administration's PR Portal ✭ PEOPLE WATCH Central Maine School Administrative District 49's Superintendent Dean Baker has retired after 30 years with the district. Reza Namin, who has served as superintendent in Maine and Massachusetts schools, has been named to replace him. Namin is currently the head of Cambridge Arts, Technology, and Science Academy's science department. Read more>> MLive The Michigan district's board of education voted to hire David Washburn as the next superintendent. He currently is the principal at Forest Hills Middle School. Superintendent Ethan Ebenstein, who was with the district for 10 years, left to become superintendent of the Ionia County ISD. Read more>> The Dispatch The North Carolina district named Anitra Wells to replace former schools superintendent Rick Kriesky. Wells has 30 years of experience in education. Since 2015, she has served as the superintendent for Weldon City Schools. Read more>> |