Has a Decline in Playtime Affected Mental Health Issues?
The increase in childhood mental health issues, steadily on the rise in the last few decades, may be at least somewhat linked to a lack of play in general and independent playtime, unsupervised play in particular, Psychology Today reported. The decline in childhood autonomy has myriad causes, experts say. Among the many contributing factors cited…
NYC School Districts Change How They Teach Reading
Reading scores are in crisis and instruction is uneven at best, according to two New York City public school district superintendents writing in Chalkbeat Detroit. Will a plan to change curriculum at all New York City public schools help more students become proficient readers? The superintendents have seen firsthand how a well-chosen reading curriculum can…
Middle School Teachers Need Support to Integrate SEL
Though social-emotional learning skills including empathy can be incorporated into middle school curriculum, schools have found not all students are connecting with the way these lessons are delivered, according to an article in K-12 Dive. The Association for Middle Level Education has received feedback from schools that some SEL programs aren’t succeeding well with students…
Extractive AI is the Real Game-Changer for Teachers, Students
Artificial intelligence is here to stay. Schools can embrace it and seize the opportunities it offers or try to resist and become obsolete, according to The74. Just as AI is being used in other professions to improve productivity, engagement and the quality of output, so, too, it could be leveraged to transform how schools are…
More Missouri Districts Switching to a Four-Day Week
Since the 2011-2012 school year, the Harrisburg School District has operated with four-day weeks. Harrisburg was among the first districts in Missouri to drop classes once a week, but this year at least 160 public school districts are running four-day weeks, accounting for about 30 percent of the 581 school districts statewide, according to the…
Are Virtual Educators an Answer to Teacher Shortages?
One live virtual teaching company, Elevate K-12, notes an uptick in district interest in its services amid severe, ongoing educator vacancies, according to an article in K-12 Dive. There is a growing trend in which certified instructors are delivering live lessons virtually to in-person groups of students. An analysis of GovSpend data by The74 found districts…
Tiny School Lets Young People Direct Their Own Education
The headquarters of Alcove Self-Directed Learning looks like any small home in the largely Latino Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles. This self-directed learning center for teens and tweens allows young people to direct their own education. It is part of an expanding ecosystem of alternative educational models throughout the U.S. focused on individualized learning,…
Biden Administration Urges Schools to Carry Naloxone
Overdose deaths among teens have been increasing, prompting the Biden administration to call on schools to purchase and carry the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, according to Education Slice / NPR. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona wrote a joint letter urging every…
Training Future Teachers to Be Computing Education Champs
A new program at the City University of New York, the Computing Integrated Teacher Education (CITE) program, launched with funding from the Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund, Google, Gotham Gives and NYC Public Schools, trains future teachers to use computing concepts in a broad range of subjects, from social studies to science, and at…
Cellphone Bans Can Ease Students’ Stress & Anxiety, Say Educators
A statewide policy in Florida, signed into law in May, prohibits students’ use of cellphones during instructional time, according to an article in Education Week. “I can tell you that the result of it on a very wide scale has been extraordinarily positive for [students’] mental health from an anecdotal perspective,” said Heather Kreider, the principal…
