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☆ The CEO of this edtech company says A.I. can help unlock growth in the space. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

PWSC YTD mountain PowerSchool shares have fallen sharply since January, when they traded as high as $26.05. "For us, it's not a disruption from a negative perspective, it's actually phenomenal," he said, of the advancements in generative AI. Gulati expects generative AI will make it possible for PowerSchool to accelerate its goals to offer personalized learning plans. Still, PowerSchool shares are down 27% since the start of the year. Generative AI systems must be "trained" on data.

☆ The University of California Santa Cruz is condemning recent antisemitic and anti-LGTBQ actions, including an event to celebrate Hitler’s birthday
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Elizabeth Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The University of California, Santa Cruz, is condemning recent antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ incidents reported on and near the campus, including a group of students who allegedly gathered to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday. “They sang happy birthday and ate cakes adorned with hateful and horrific symbols,” UC Santa Cruz Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Success Akirah Bradley-Armstrong said in a statement. A second reported incident involved a student who “found an antisemitic and anti-LGBTQIA+ flyer” on their vehicle’s windshield in downtown Santa Cruz on April 21. UC Santa Cruz is encouraging students impacted by “worry, fear, and anger” surrounding the reported incidents to reach out to the school’s Counseling and Psychological Services for support. “White supremacy has no place at UC Santa Cruz.

☆ Some Colleges Offer Quotes of Competitors’ Prices. Be Wary.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every year, a new crop of innocents arrive in the marketplace for an undergraduate degree. Schools offer website calculators that estimate what families may have to pay, but they make no guarantees. Aid seekers can’t get a real price quote until they’ve applied and been accepted. As you can imagine, some of these other schools are not thrilled with this state of affairs. So why would an institution that offers instruction in mathematics and economics put out suspect figures?

☆ The Long Shadow of Covid School Closures
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During the early months of the Covid pandemic, Randi Weingarten and the teachers’ union she leads faced a vexing question: When should schools reopen? For years, advocates of public education like Weingarten had argued that schools played an irreplaceable role. Without public schools, their defenders argued, society would come apart. Teachers and parents feared that reopening schools before vaccines were available would spark Covid outbreaks, illness and death. Instead, Covid became an opportunity for her union, the American Federation of Teachers, to push for broader policy changes that it had long favored.

☆ ADHD medication abuse in schools is a ‘wake-up call’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Schools with the highest rates of teens using prescribed ADHD medications were about 36% more likely to have students misusing prescription stimulants during the past year, the study found. Schools with more White students and those who had medium levels of student binge drinking were also more likely to see teen abuse of stimulants. “But these findings were not being driven solely by teens with ADHD misusing their medications,” McCabe said. Research has also shown people who misuse ADHD medications are highly likely to have multiple substance use disorders. “Parents can make sure the schools their kids attend have safe storage for medication and strict dispensing policies.

☆ Virginia teacher shot by 6-yr-old student sues school leaders for $40 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 3 (Reuters) - A Virginia teacher shot by a 6-year-old student on Monday sued school administrators for $40 million, alleging they ignored warnings from staff and pupils that the boy had a gun. The Jan. 6 attack on Abigail Zwerner in Newport News was unusual among U.S. school shootings given the young age of the assailant and the fact police said the boy shot his first-grade teacher on purpose. The complaint said Richneck Elementary School Assistant Principal Ebony Parker failed in her duty to protect Zwerner despite multiple reports a firearm was on school property and likely in the boy's possession. The 25-year-old teacher was hailed a hero by police for evacuating students from her classroom after the boy shot her once with a handgun he brought from home, injuring her in the hand and chest. The week of the shooting was the first when neither parent was with him in class, the statement said.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, March 30 (Reuters) - Protesters flooded Tennessee's statehouse on Thursday to demand lawmakers stiffen gun laws following a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three of them 9-year-old children. Demonstrators held aloft placards reading "No More Silence" and "We have to do better" while chanting "Do you even care?" In the latest incident, the shooter killed three pupils and three staff members at Nashville's Covenant School. Republican lawmakers in Tennessee this week delayed hearings on gun legislation that would expand access to firearms. [1/5] Counter protesters hold anti-trans signs outside the Tennessee State Capitol to call for an end to gun violence and support stronger gun laws after a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 30, 2023.

☆ Parenting expert shares her No. 1 rule for raising successful kids—78% of Americans aren't doing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

If you want to raise successful children, start showing optimism on a regular basis. "Our beliefs and attitudes spill over to our kids," educational psychologist and parenting expert Michele Borba tells CNBC Make It. "If pessimism always builds and it becomes personal, permanent, or pervasive, it robs our kids of hope." "I think it's one of the reasons why we're seeing such a huge mental health crisis in our children," Borba says. "It's not just the eavesdropping on what we say," Borba says, noting that older kids especially can pick up on physical cues that you're stressed or worried.

[1/2] A vehicle is towed from the property as community members pray while visiting a memorial at the school entrance after a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 29, 2023. Security experts said the Covenant School apparently had good safety protocols. It was a grim reminder that any campus could be the target of gun violence, spurring educators around the country to review security protocols and try to reassure parents. Protective measures notwithstanding, Corcoran said the Covenant School shooting exposed how deadly such attacks can be even when school leaders "did everything right." It is not clear that hardening school security always works.

☆ Former Christian school student kills 3 children, 3 staff in Nashville shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sandra Stojanovic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

He said the Covenant School was singled out for attack but that the individual victims were targeted at random. [1/5] A still image from surveillance video shows what the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department describe as mass shooting suspect Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, entering The Covenant School carrying weapons in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 27, 2023. Also shot dead were staffers Mike Hill, 61, a school custodian, Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher, and Katherine Koonce, 60, listed on the Covenant website as "head of school." "We have to do more to stop gun violence," Biden said at the White House. Monday's violence in Nashville marked the 90th school shooting – defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property – in the U.S. so far this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman.

☆ Factbox: Major school shootings in the United States
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A 28-year-old woman shot dead three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, before police killed her. SANDY HOOK: Dec. 14, 2012 - A man shoots dead his mother, then kills 20 children and six adults before killing himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. UVALDE: May 24, 2022 - A man fatally shoots 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas before he was shot dead by Border Patrol agents. PARKLAND: Feb. 14, 2018 - A former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, opens fire with an assault-style rifle, killing 17 students and educators. He is fatally shot by police.

March 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether colleges can continue to consider race as part of their admissions decisions, a practice commonly known as affirmative action. Schools also employ recruitment programs and scholarship opportunities intended to boost diversity, but the Supreme Court litigation is focused on admissions. HOW HAS THE SUPREME COURT RULED IN THE PAST? The court has largely upheld race-conscious admissions for decades, though not without limits. A decision banning affirmative action would force elite colleges to revamp their policies and search for new ways to ensure diversity.

☆ Los Angeles schools to reopen after three-day workers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Jorge Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, March 23 (Reuters) - School will be back in session on Friday for 420,000 Los Angeles students after a three-day strike by education workers disrupted classes and social services in the second-largest school district in the United States. ... We look forward to seeing our students and employees back in classrooms," the school district said on Twitter on Thursday. "We're three days in and I'm willing to do some more (strike) days if we have to," said Tiffany Barba, a special education assistant and one of thousands who attended a closing rally on Thursday at Los Angeles State Historic Park. The union was demanding a 30% salary increase plus an additional $2 per hour for the lowest-paid workers, the Los Angeles Times reported. Reporting by Jorge Garcia in Los Angeles and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif.; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Arkansas enacts law restricting school bathroom use by transgender people
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Mike SegarMarch 21 (Reuters) - Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed a law targeting the trans community, prohibiting transgender people from using the restroom that matches their gender identity at public schools. The law requires schools to provide reasonable accommodations, that include single-person restrooms and changing areas. School authorities that violate the law can face fines of at least $1,000, and parents can also file lawsuits to enforce the measure. Similar laws directed at transgender youth have been enacted in Alabama and Oklahoma. read moreRepublican legislators across the United States have escalated a campaign to ban certain healthcare for transgender youth, in some cases seeking to charge parents and doctors with child abuse if they provide treatment.

☆ Los Angeles education strike cancels school for 420,000 students
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Alan Devall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] Los Angeles school workers protest in front of LAUSD headquarters during the first day of a walkout over contract negotiations that closes the country’s second largest school system in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciLOS ANGELES, March 21 (Reuters) - Some 30,000 education workers backed by the teachers' union walked off the job for a three-day strike in Los Angeles on Tuesday, canceling school for nearly half a million students in the second-largest school district in the United States. Thousands of protesters gathered for a rally outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, vowing to continue their pickets for another two days under the banner, "United for L.A. The service workers are backed by the 35,000 members of the teachers' union United Teachers Los Angeles, which refused to cross their picket line. Dozens of meal and safe-place sites were opened across the city on Tuesday, with school district employees and volunteers distributing more than 124,000 meals, the district said.

WASHINGTON, March 20 - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a traveling Christian evangelist's free-speech challenge to a University of Alabama requirement that he obtain a permit before handing out religious pamphlets and preaching from a sidewalk adjacent to its campus. Keister, founder of a Pennsylvania-based group called Evangelism Mission, regularly visits U.S. university campuses in hopes of spreading his Christian message to students, according to court filings. School officials told Keister he needed a permit for a public-speaking event, prompting him and his companion to leave. Following losses in lower courts, Keister's appeal in 2018 was turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court, prompting him to file an amended civil rights suit against school officials the next year. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, in recent years has taken an expansive view of religious rights, though this case came to the justices as a free speech dispute.

☆ The 6 best locations for a vending machine if you want to start a 6-figure side hustle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

According to the vending entrepreneur Marcus Gram, younger people use vending machines more than other age groups. "Students have access to the vending machines in their dorms 24/7 and even late at night for classes," he said. "Breaks aren't typically long enough for people to go to the store, so they turn to the vending machine." "If you have lashes inside of the vending machine at a hotel, it doesn't necessarily mean that that's going to sell," she said. AirportsAirports have a lot of foot traffic and therefore more opportunity for your vending machine to be visited by travelers.

☆ Lunchables are going to be rolled out directly to students. Here’s what’s in them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New CNN —Kraft Heinz has succeeded in getting its ready-to-eat packaged Lunchables into school lunch programs starting this fall, in a major new initiative. The USDA referred CNNBusiness to Kraft Heinz for further details about the cost and nutritional content of its Lunchables for schools. Kraft Heinz declined to provide additional details about the cost and other nutritional content, including sodium and saturated fat content. School food nutrition guidelines getting stricterKraft-Heinz says that Lunchables will minimize school "labor needs and costs" in its promotional materials. “As school nutrition guidelines get increasingly complex, we’ve seen companies leaving the K-12 segment, said Pratt-Heavner.

“This is a major life decision that should involve the parents,” Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer said as the panel heard arguments in the case before it makes a decision. Steven Fitschen, the group's president, said in an email that he anticipates filing more lawsuits challenging school policies barring the disclosure of students' gender identity. At least 168 U.S. school districts with more than 3.2 million students have such policies, according to conservative group Parents Defending Education. Parents have filed lawsuits challenging similar policies adopted by school districts in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia and Iowa, among other states. Quattlebaum and Circuit Judge Allison Rushing, who rounded out the panel, are appointees of Republican former President Donald Trump.

☆ I was fired from my teaching job for being an OnlyFans creator. I then made more than my annual salary in 6 months.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sarah Juree got fired from her teaching job after her employer found out she was an OnlyFans model. A month later she earned $17,000 and made her entire annual teaching salary in just six months. I believe getting fired was a catalyst for a new direction in lifeI've since made my entire annual teaching salary in just six months. As a teacher I made $55,000 a year, but in the last six months I've earned over $58,000 through OnlyFans. When I receive friend requests from men, I accept them and send a link to my OnlyFans account via Messenger.

☆ I got a job on Netflix's 'Next in Fashion' by DMing a producer on Instagram. Here's what my job is like as a stylist
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

She landed a stylist job on season 2 of 'Next in Fashion' after dropping out of fashion school. I wouldn't have been able to land my first major stylist job at New York Fashion Week if I had been at school. Three days later, he called and said he was on the New York Fashion Week calendar, and asked if I would style his show. These are a few models I styled for Nicholas Raefski’s Fall/Winter 2022 presentation at New York Fashion Week. I was allowed to make TikTok content on the Netflix set, as long as I didn't give away anything creatively.

☆ The 5 best locations for a vending machine if you want to start a 6-figure side hustle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vending machines can be a lucrative side hustle for entrepreneurs looking to earn passive income, especially as economic experts warn of a recession this year. According to the vending entrepreneur Marcus Gram, younger people use vending machines more than other age groups. "Students have access to the vending machines in their dorms 24/7 and even late at night for classes," he said. "Breaks aren't typically long enough for people to go to the store, so they turn to the vending machine." "If you have lashes inside of the vending machine at a hotel, it doesn't necessarily mean that that's going to sell," she said.

☆ Fear, Anger, Love: See Ukrainians’ Texts From the First Hours of War
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Maria Varenikova | Gray Beltran | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

The messages are a snapshot of a fateful day for Ukraine and Europe — capturing the fear, love and support shared in the first hours of war. Ira YeroshkoOh Girls:((( I can’t believe it started friend one yeah. Oleksandr StarunThe war started. Lilia TurchynSvitlanka, the war started Be careful, and tell our mom to be careful with Myroslav Where did you read that? On Feb. 24, she was in Lviv with her husband and 4-year-old son, Ustym.

☆ Fact Check-Video of teacher implementing a ‘communist lunch program’ created as satire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A tweet with more than 2.5 million views at the time of writing shared the video and said: “SHOCK VIDEO: Govt. School teacher admits to taking white kids’ ‘good’ lunches & redistributing them to blk & brown kids to promote Equity” (here). The clip originates from Twitter user Kali Fontanilla (@KaliFontanilla) on Feb. 15 with text in the video that says “Implementing a communist lunch program in my 4th grade class! The clip was intended as parody and created by a user who routinely shares satirical videos. (Update Feb. 22, 2023: Replaces paragraph 7 with response from Fontanilla)This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

☆ A GOP lawmaker wrote a one-sentence bill to abolish the Department of Education. His reasoning doesn't address student loans, grants, or any of the major things the department does.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The CBO previously said that getting rid of an agency would only cut spending if its programs were eliminated, as well. Last week, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie introduced a bill to abolish the Education Department, and it's a short, one-sentence read: "The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2022." Congress recently approved a $1.7 trillion budget for the government, including $79.6 billion for the Education Department. Former President Donald Trump also said in 2015 that he'd consider getting rid of the department, saying it could be cut "way, way, way down." Reagan's efforts were clearly unsuccessful, given both of those agencies are operating at full capacity today, and millions of Americans are now relying on the Education Department's Federal Student Aid Office to facilitate the disbursement of federal student loans and grants.

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