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☆ Here’s What Is Happening on Some Other Campuses Across the Country
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The fallout from last week’s heated Congressional hearing and subsequent arrests at Columbia University continued to reverberate at several colleges and universities on Monday, as students erected tents and staged their own rallies and sit-ins. The demonstrations appeared largely focused on a few campuses in the Northeast, although at least some protests had spread to other parts of the country. At least 47 people were arrested during pro-Palestinian protests at Yale University in Connecticut, and a large crowd of students was occupying an intersection near campus on Monday afternoon.

Organizations: Columbia University, Yale University Locations: Connecticut

☆ Portland Teachers’ Strike Ends After More Than Three Weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The NewsThe union representing teachers, counselors and other school employees in Portland, Ore., reached a tentative deal with the city's public school district on Sunday, ending a strike that has kept nearly 45,000 students out of classes for more than three weeks in Oregon’s largest district. That is about in the middle of what the district had offered and what the union had asked for at the start of the strike. The strike has drawn attention to public school funding in Oregon. (Minneapolis students missed 14 school days during a strike last year.) The strike, which kept students out of school for nearly the entire month of November, could risk amplifying that message in Portland.

Persons: —, Thomas Dee, “, Dr, Dee Organizations: Hollywood, Portland Public Schools, Oregonian, Veterans, Minneapolis, Public Schools, Stanford University, Students Locations: Portland ,, Oregon’s, Oregon, Portland

☆ Students Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In the most affluent schools, widespread chronic absenteeism also increased: to 14 percent of schools, up from 3 percent before the pandemic. For example, in Ohio, chronic absenteeism spiked to 30 percent in the 2021-22 school year, from nearly 17 percent of students in 2018-19. In some states, like California and New Mexico, the rate of chronic absenteeism was still double what it was before the pandemic. Widespread absenteeism also affects school culture, hurting even the students with strong attendance. It has disrupted students’ relationships — with other students at school, and with teachers, who often are burned out and leaving their jobs at higher rates.

Persons: “, Hedy Chang, Ms, Chang, ” Organizations: Johns Hopkins University Locations: Ohio, California, New Mexico

☆ Ohio Lawsuit Punches Back in Battle Over How to Teach Reading
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mike DeWine of Ohio set out to overhaul reading instruction in his state this year, it seemed like another sign that the decades-long debate over how to teach reading had come to a tipping point. Ohio joined the growing list of states that require schools to follow the “science of reading” — an approach that emphasizes systematic, sound-it-out instruction, known as phonics, and the direct teaching of other skills, like vocabulary. The movement, fueled by longstanding research, has sought to oust “balanced literacy,” which is meant to give teachers flexibility to meet students’ needs while promoting a love of reading. It may include some phonics, but also other strategies, like prompting students to use context clues — like pictures — to discern words. “The weight of the evidence is clear,” Mr. DeWine said in an interview this week.

Persons: Mike DeWine, ”, “, Mr, DeWine Organizations: Ohio Locations: Ohio

The average salary for a Portland teacher is $87,000, according to Portland Public Schools, slightly above the area median income for a single person and below the median for a family of four. Portland Public Schools has offered raises of 4.5 percent for the first year, and 3 percent in subsequent years of the contract. The strike in Portland may set the tone for other districts in Oregon that are also struggling to finalize new labor agreements. The union has encouraged parents to make plans for child care while 81 schools in the district are closed. Portland Public Schools is making meals available for pick up at certain schools.

Persons: ”, Angela Bonilla, Tina Kotek, “, Long Organizations: Portland Association of Teachers, Portland Public Schools, Gov, Democrat Locations: Portland, Oregon, Salem

☆ Tulsa Superintendent to Step Down, in a Showdown With State Officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The superintendent of Tulsa, Okla., announced on Tuesday that she planned to step down, in an 11th-hour attempt to stop the state from taking over the largest school district in Oklahoma. The superintendent, Deborah A. Gist, and the school system in Tulsa, one of Oklahoma’s rare Democratic footholds, had become targets of Ryan Walters, the state’s divisive schools chief who is known for his conservative politics and provocative statements. Mr. Walters, a Republican who took office in January, has raised a litany of complaints against the Tulsa schools, including low test scores and financial mismanagement, and has battled over cultural and religious issues. Questioning Dr. Gist’s leadership, he threatened to take over the school district, which could include appointing a new superintendent, and even said that he had not ruled out revoking accreditation entirely — which would force schools to close. Tulsa public schools serve nearly 34,000 students, with a student population that is 80 percent economically disadvantaged and majority Hispanic and Black.

Persons: Deborah A, Gist, Ryan Walters, . Walters, Gist’s Organizations: Democratic, Republican, Tulsa Locations: Tulsa, Okla, Oklahoma

☆ In a Reversal, A.P. Psychology May Be Allowed in Florida Schools After All
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than 28,000 students in Florida took A.P. But under a new Florida rule, instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation is now restricted through 12th grade, putting the A.P. Psychology course in the spotlight. Florida officials had recently asked the College Board to offer assurances that material in its A.P. The College Board declined, saying it would not “censor” college-level standards.

Persons: American Psychological Association Organizations: College Board, The, Board, American Psychological Association, The College Board Locations: Florida

☆ The College Board Says A.P. Psychology Is ‘Effectively Banned’ in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The College Board announced on Thursday that Florida school districts should no longer offer Advanced Placement Psychology, one of the most popular A.P. The College Board, the nonprofit that oversees advanced placement courses and the SAT, revoked its support for A.P. “The Florida Department of Education has effectively banned A.P. Psychology in the state,” the College Board said in a statement. The Department of Education fired back, accusing the College Board of “playing games with Florida students” one week before school starts.

Organizations: College Board, state’s Department of Education, Florida Department of Education, of Education, Florida Locations: Florida

☆ Florida’s New Black History Standards Have Drawn Backlash. Who Wrote Them?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dr. Wright and six other members who were serving this spring while the standards were being written said they had not been consulted. Few details have been publicly released about how the standards, which lay out concepts that students are expected to learn, were created. Even Mr. DeSantis, who has often embraced his role as a warrior against “woke” ideology in schools, sought to distance himself amid a faltering 2024 presidential campaign. “I wasn’t involved in it,” he told reporters last week. To craft the 216-page document, his Department of Education created a 13-member work group, which drafted the standards from February to May.

Persons: Wright, ” “, ”, Brenda Walker, DeSantis, “, Frances Presley Rice, William Allen, Ronald Reagan Organizations: University of South, of Education, National Black Republican Association, Michigan State, United States Commission, Civil Locations: University of South Florida

☆ $7,200 for Every Student: Arizona’s Ultimate Experiment in School Choice
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cecilia Maes, the superintendent of Alhambra Elementary School District, near Great Hearts Christos’s Phoenix location, has no shortage of ideas of what she could do with more money: Give raises to teachers. “In public schools, we are committed to every child who walks through our doors, regardless of the challenges,” Dr. Maes said, echoing critics who say that children with the fewest resources and highest needs tend to be left out of the school choice frenzy. Patrick Wolf, a University of Arkansas professor who studies school choice and has supported vouchers, said that expanding eligibility “pulls in a broader customer base,” which builds political support. Steve Perez, a 38-year-old mortgage loan officer who says he is politically independent, will use vouchers to send four children to Great Hearts Christos. “What parent wouldn’t,” he asked, “given this opportunity, choose what they believe to be a superior education if they can?”

Persons: Cecilia Maes, ” Dr, Maes, Katie Hobbs, Patrick Wolf, Steve Perez, ” Organizations: Elementary School District, Hire, Democrat, Republican Legislature, University of Arkansas Locations: Hearts

☆ DeSantis Faces Swell of Criticism Over Florida’s New Standards for Black History
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After an overhaul to Florida’s African American history standards, Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s firebrand governor campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, is facing a barrage of criticism this week from politicians, educators and historians, who called the state’s guidelines a sanitized version of history. For instance, the standards say that middle schoolers should be instructed that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” — a portrayal that drew wide rebuke. In a sign of the divisive battle around education that could infect the 2024 presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris directed her staffers to immediately plan a trip to Florida to respond, according to one White House official. “How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” Ms. Harris, the first African American and first Asian American to serve as vice president, said in a speech in Jacksonville on Friday afternoon.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Kamala Harris, Ms, Harris Organizations: firebrand, Republican, White, American Locations: Florida, American, Jacksonville

☆ U.S. Students’ Progress Stagnated Last School Year, Study Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Despite billions of federal dollars spent to help make up for pandemic-related learning loss, progress in reading and math stalled over the past school year for elementary and middle-school students, according to a new national study released on Tuesday. In fact, students in most grades showed slower than average growth in math and reading, when compared with students before the pandemic. That means learning gaps created during the pandemic are not closing — if anything, the gaps may be widening. “We are actually seeing evidence of backsliding,” said Karyn Lewis, a lead researcher on the study. Older students, who generally learn at a slower rate and face more challenging material, are the furthest behind.

Persons: ”, Karyn Lewis, That’s

☆ With a Creative Edit, the Wisconsin Governor Raises School Funding. For 400 Years.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Sarah Mervosh | More About Sarah Mervosh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It took only a few snips of creative editing for Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin to push through a long-term boost to public education funding. And by long term, we mean long term. Governor Evers raised the amount that school districts could generate through property taxes by an additional $325 per student each year. In the original budget, the increase was allowed through the 2024-25 school year.

Persons: Tony Evers, Evers Organizations: Gov, Democratic Locations: Wisconsin

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