K-12 Key Trends to Monitor in 2024
The nation’s schools face numerous challenges as 2024 ramps up, according to an article in K-12 Dive. Here are eight trends to keep an eye on: 1) Easing off ESSER The first and second rounds of Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSR) funding are closed, but schools can still spend ESSER III funds until September 30,…
New Software Aims to Improve K-12 Hiring
A Pennsylvania-based software company that specializes in school workforce management unveiled a new tool recently that could help districts improve recruiting and hiring processes amid multi-state employee shortages in the K-12 space, according to Government Technology. Districts that use the Red Rover Hiring software can receive job applications from any web-browsing device, eliminating more cumbersome…
3 Ways to Build Engagement in STEM Classrooms
Here are three ways to create authentic learning experiences that help build students’ interest in STEM fields and keep them engaged throughout the year and beyond, listed in a post by Steve Millam, physics and astrophysics teacher at Chaparral High School and appearing in eSchool News. 1) Focus on hands-on learning “Students often learn best…
Tips for Tightening up Grow-Your-Own Teacher Initiatives
Grow Your Own” (GYO) programs have emerged as a promising approach to expand teacher supply, address localized teacher shortages, and diversify the profession, according to K-12 Dive. But little is known about the scale and design of GYO programs, which recruit and support individuals from the local community to become teachers. Brown University’s Anneberg Institute…
Leaning into AI: Engage with Experts to Understand the Technology
Coordinated professional development plans will be needed as districts develop AI guidelines at the teacher and administration levels, according to Joshua Wilson, a professor at University of Delaware’s School of Education, as quoted in a K-12 Dive article. “What we will see in 2024 is that more and more individual teachers will start to use…
Strategies for Rethinking Seat Time Equals Learning
Tim Knowles, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was interviewed by The 74 on rethinking the age-old time-in-the-seat equals learning. “At the heart of accelerating learning is ensuring young people are leaning in, are engaged, are inspired and are working on problems that they think are actually useful — whether it’s useful for their…
6 Innovations to Help Students Succeed Post-Pandemic
A study looking at how six New England high schools figured out the best ways to help students succeed post-pandemic identified moving away from “college for all” and grappling with whether to maintain COVID-era leniency as key themes, according to an article in The 74. Chosen because they had a track record of innovation, the…
Novel Approach to STEM Education through Music in Florida
The Florida Senate is currently scrutinizing a legislative bill known as SB 590. This innovative legislation seeks to incorporate music into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through a pilot program dubbed mSCALES, according to a report in Education Slice. The program is specifically designed for middle school students in Miami-Dade, Alachua, and Marion…
California Alternative High Schools Enroll 11-15% of All Grade 10-12 Students
Data shows that alternative schools successfully re-engage youth, according to a new data brief from the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford University, as reported by Education Slice. “On average, the positive transition rate for students in these schools mirrors the four-year cohort graduation rates of the average traditional high…
How 5 Educators Approach SEL
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of today’s schools, teaching students how to manage and regulate their emotions, identify and work through tough feelings, and support personal and academic achievements, according to an article in eSchool News. Here’s how five educators approach SEL integration in their districts, schools, and classrooms: In the past two…
