Rewards for Student Learning: Teachers Are Split on the Practice
Keeping students engaged and on task can be difficult. Can rewards help? Education Week recently wrote on the question of rewards – good or not so good. Teachers are split on the answer. Some swear by incentives like stickers, a fun activity, or a sweet treat. Others say that learning is its own reward, and…
Traditional Measures Show Teens Are Thriving. Teens Report Their Mental Health is Spiraling.
By traditional measures of well-being, America’s children and teens should be doing well, according to the Hechinger Report. Consider that: Over the past two decades, high school graduation rates have gone up. Fewer teens are taking up smoking. The birth rate among 15-to-19 year olds is at a record low. Arrest rates among teens are…
5 Strategies to Combat the Silent Crisis of Disengaged Students
Student disengagement is a complex problem that demands more than a one-dimensional solution. It calls for a proactive approach from school administrators to understand and address the root causes, writes Michelle Singh CEO of LCT-E Learning Solutions, a teacher professional development consulting firm, in Education Week. “When I teach educators how to combat student disengagement…
Teaching English Learners Needs New Approach as Numbers Surge
At Lew Wallace School 107, principal Arthur Hinton sees students come from all over the world, according to Chalkbeat Indiana. Roughly 70% of the 509 students are classified as English language learners, a population that has only increased since Hinton arrived in 2020. More than a quarter of the district’s students are now classified as…
How “Play Theory” Intertwines with Learning
When we’re young, playing and learning are inseparable, according to The Hechinger Report. Then, somewhere around early elementary school, learning and play become separated for life. Learning becomes a task that only takes place in proper classrooms with the help of textbooks, homework and tests. Play becomes a distraction that we’re only allowed to indulge…
A Go-To National Program for Mental Health Support
When thousands of Syrian families fleeing violence resettled in Canada several years ago, Ontario’s school mental health agency wanted to give schools tools to help refugee children process their traumatic journeys and adjust to their new lives, according to Chalkbeat Colorado. Kids were bursting into tears and struggling to explain how they felt. Parents, too,…
A Revised Indiana Absenteeism Bill Could Impact Students and Parents
Indiana House lawmakers have amended a Senate bill focused on chronic absenteeism to require school districts to prohibit habitually truant students from participating in extracurricular activities., according to Calkbeat Indiana. They also altered Senate Bill 282 to add instructions that school officials must report habitually truant students to the prosecutors’ office, and that prosecutors must…
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…
Teletherapy Gains Traction in California Schools
Teletherapy is becoming increasingly popular in schools across the nation as educators and social workers strive to address growing mental health issues, according to a report in Education Slice. Los Angeles County has partnered with Hazel, a teletherapy company, to provide virtual therapy sessions to students. However, the rollout has faced challenges, with only 607…
Chicago Dashboard Tracks How Youth Are Faring in Every Corner of the City
The tool paints perhaps the most comprehensive picture to date of how kids in each community are doing in school, in finding work and financially, according to WBEZ Chicago. By clicking around the dashboard, one can see that in Albany Park on the North Side, about 45% of children age 5 and under live in…
