DC High School Immerses Students in Hands-On Education for Choosing Career Paths
King Muhammad, a rising 12th grader at Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School, picks up a mini home construction model with subfloor, insulation, arches and sheathing. The model, which Muhammad created with classmate Lania Lake, also a rising 12th grader, is one of many projects he’s completed as a student at the 320-student District…
NEA Approves Classroom AI Guidance
The nation’s largest teachers’ union – the National Education Association, with more than 3 million educators and allies — is seeking to address classroom use of AI through policy actions, according to Education Week. About 6,000 delegates voted by voice to approve a policy statement on July 4, the first day of business at the…
Virginia District Reaches out to Chronically Absent Students
Officials at Virginia’s Richmond Public Schools knew something had to change when nearly 40% of students were chronically absent in the wake of the pandemic, according to The 74. Approaches to absenteeism in the 22,000-student district were failing, and administrators were forced to rethink how they could bring children back to school. The job was…
Teaching Challenges — Juggling Emotions with Practical Requirements
The first-ever EdWeek Teacher Morale Index stands at -13, on a scale ranging from -100 to +100, with higher scores indicating more positive feelings about the profession, according to Education Week. This year’s score suggests that on average, teachers are feeling more negatively than positively about their jobs. But why exactly is teacher morale so…
Schools Pouring Money into Reading Materials That Teach Kids to Guess
School districts across the country are continuing to pour money into expensive reading materials criticized for leaving many children without the basic ability to sound out words, an investigation by The 74 reveals. The approach, known as “balanced” literacy, has been dominant in U.S. classrooms for decades, but has come under fire recently amid research…
More Districts Turn to 4-Day School Weeks to Recruit and Retain Staff
About 2,100 schools across 900 districts have adopted four-day school weeks, as of the 2022-23 school year, said an Oregon State University researcher, in an article in K-12 Dive. It’s been more than six years since Colorado’s 27J Schools implemented a four-day school week, and Superintendent Chris Fiedler says he doesn’t foresee the district going…
How to Perform Effective Teacher Observations
More than a decade after being recognized as the Arkansas 2007 teacher of the year, Justin Minkel still found himself flustered when his principal slipped into the back row of class, according to Education Week. “When my principal walks in with her laptop or a clipboard and pen, I’m instantly afflicted by a crippling self-doubt…
Overwhelmed and Under-Supported — Reality Hits Many New Teachers
The most common type of teacher in schools today is a new one, according to Education Week. Two examples show how modern challenges can play out for new teachers. For most of her adult life, H., 30, worked on and off, towards a teaching degree. The whole journey from associate teaching degree through student-teaching, with…
Health Issues Keeping Many Kids out of School
Close to 6% of children in the United States were chronically absent from school due to injury, illness, or disability in 2022, according to Education Slice. A new report reveals that chronic absenteeism among public school students in the U.S. grew by more than 90% between the 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 school years. Data indicates that…
Books are Disappearing from English and Reading Classrooms
Reading books together as a class should be common practice in American English and reading classrooms, says Doug Lemov, author of several books on teaching, including Teach Like a Champion 3.0, in writing a column for Education Next. “Diverse research supports this assertion and helps explain why the experience of reading books, especially shared books,…
