3 Strategies to Help Kids Stay in School
Schools, particularly in New York City, are battling chronic absenteeism through emotional support, financial aid, free health checks and access to food pantries, writes Phoebe Boyer, president and CEO of Children’s Aid in The 74. With students missing class at alarming rates, acknowledging that chronic absenteeism is now an educational emergency is long overdue, she…
Smartphone Restrictions Improve Grades & Engagement
When KIPP NYC College Prep restricted smartphone use in class, AP test scores increased, grades bounced back to pre-pandemic averages, and attendance at sporting events and other activities jumped by 50 percent, according to Bloomberg News. At a high school in upstate New York that banned mobile phones, a student was constantly reaching for her…
How to Deliver High-Impact Tutoring
Despite some progress, students continue to struggle with persistently low achievement, chronic absenteeism and poor motivation around learning, according to an article in K-12 Dive. The long-term social and economic consequences of pandemic-induced learning loss – including lower graduation rates, unemployment and reduced lifetime earning potential – are just now emerging. Research shows high-impact, in-person…
How to Confront Pre-COVID Levels of Verbal & Physical Aggression
Research by the American Psychological Association (APA) finds incidents of verbal and physical aggression in schools have returned to pre-COVID levels, causing many educators to consider transferring or resigning, according to Education Slice. Eight out of ten teachers reported threats, and 56% reported physical violence post-pandemic. The study finds a concurrent increase in anxiety and…
How to Give Gifted Students Access to Accelerated Learning
Access to accelerated learning has long been wildly inequitable. Here’s what schools can do to reduce the financial and logistical barriers, according to Ilana Walder-Biesanz, writing in Chalkbeat Chicago. “I went to high school at age 11. “Without the chance to skip grades, I would have completely disengaged from school. Even three years accelerated in…
Call to Action: Cut Chronic Absenteeism by 50% in 5 Years
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Education Trust and Attendance Works have issued a call to action for states and school districts to put policies in place to decrease student chronic absenteeism by 50% in the next five years, according to an article in K-12 Dive. Organization leaders and educators call the goal ambitious but necessary….
How New School Administrators Gain Confidence and Satisfaction
Speaking at the National Conference on School Leadership, Travis Moss, assistant principal at Spring Canyon Middle School in Springville, Utah, admitted he was “white-knuckling it” in his first year as an administrator — facing challenging and sometimes head-scratching situations, according to an article in K-12 Dive. “You learn a lot from getting lost,” says Moss,…
How to Emphasize Science of Reading Amid the Politics
“In November 2022, voters in my corner of southeastern Maryland were facing a contentious school-board election amid a nationwide surge in book bans at school libraries,” explains Frederick Briggs, chief academic officer of Wicomico County Public Schools in Salisbury, writing in The 74 Local school board candidates were debating whether bans are a crucial defense…
Creating a True Sense of Belonging for Students
School communities where all students feel a sense of belonging is essential for academic and social well-being, according to Education Week News. Research and education leaders discussed the importance of students feeling connected to their schools in a recent webinar. The benefits: improved regular student attendance, academic performance and mental health. But there are obstacles…
The COVID Gap: Students Entering High School Are Academically a Year Behind
Eighth graders remain a full school year behind pre-pandemic levels in math and reading more than four years after COVID hit, according to new test results reported in The 74. Data from more than 7.7 million students who took the widely used MAP Growth tests from NWEA indicates students finishing 4th grade when the pandemic…
