The University of Maine system has released the 2020 Early College Report, which analyzes the impact of early college (dual enrollment) programs in the state. Highlights of the report include the following: Enrollment in Early College (EC) classes has increased 76% system wide in the past five years. Students who take EC classes within the Read more about Maine 2020 Early College Report[…]
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help households struggling to pay for internet service during the pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, and virtual classrooms. The program is expected to begin in May. The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 Read more about Emergency Broadband Benefit Program[…]
Given the urgent need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, increase economic mobility, and ensure racial justice, it is more important than ever for education leaders at all levels of the PK-12 education system to embrace evidence and data to inform their day-to-day decision-making. Results for America’s new report — Moneyball for Education Policy Recommendations Read more about Moneyball for Education Policy[…]
In the past year, more students have engaged in self-directed, independent learning than ever. One organization, Griptape, has been perfecting their approach to cultivating Learner Agency through their work with over 12,000 students during Learning Challenges since 2015. After completing an application describing their passion project, selected students (teens ages 14-19, most of whom are Read more about Learner Agency: Students Driving their Own Learning[…]
If there is one thing the pandemic has taught us, it is that in-person learning is not the only way to “do” school. During the past year, most districts have experimented with fully Virtual Learning modalities, as well as Hybrid Learning, and some college campuses have also perfected the Hyflex model. Moving into post-COVID recovery, Read more about I-Flex: A New Teaching Modality for Post-Pandemic Recovery[…]
Recently in Fordham’s Flypaper, Robert Pondiscio reviewed the new “Professional Learning Partner Guide” published by Rivet Education. Excerpts of the piece appear below: A new initiative is taking up the challenge of reviewing and rating professional learning in a more rigorous way, centered on the adoption and use of “high-quality instructional materials” (HQIM), and with Read more about High-quality Curriculum Doesn’t Teach Itself[…]
A new national survey by Carnegie Corporation of New York and Gallup, Family Voices: Building Pathways from Learning to Meaningful Work, reveals a disconnect between the opportunities families want for their children and the postsecondary pathways available to them. It offers new insights into the aspirations that parents have for their children, their perspectives on Read more about Building Pathways from Learning to Meaningful Work[…]
Bruno Manno of the Walton Family Foundation and Lynn Olson of FutureEd recently partnered to propose a new bipartisan education agenda focusing on offering multiple career pathways to students. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The new career pathways emerging around the country exemplify what University of Texas law professor Joseph Fishkin calls opportunity pluralism, Read more about Career Pathways as a New Bipartisan Education Agenda[…]
State Departments of Education are receiving their third round of funding from the federal government, also known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds. This infusion of funding is the federal government’s largest ever single investment in our schools. When the money arrives at the state level, 90% of it will have to Read more about Sources of Evidence for Educational Programs[…]
A report released by The YES Project at America’s Promise Alliance provides key insights into young people’s conceptions of the changing employment landscape and what it means to be ready for, connected to, and supported within today’s world of work. Drawing from interviews with 65 young people, ages 16-28, who are participants in one of Read more about Young People’s Experiences Navigating the World of Work[…]
A new resource from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, The Acceleration Imperative: A Plan to Address Elementary Students’ Unfinished Learning in the Wake of COVID-19, aims to give the nation’s chief academic officers and other educators a head start on planning for that recovery, with a particular focus on high-poverty elementary schools. It has four Read more about The Acceleration Imperative[…]
Many schools are using a simultaneous learning approach, where teachers work with all students, both in person and online, at the same time. However, writes The 74 contributor Beth Rabbitt, despite hard work and good intentions, full-time, simultaneous learning is not a best practice. Online models are least effective when teachers try to engage learners Read more about Overcoming Challenges of Concurrent Learning[…]
Bellwether Education Partners has released a new policy scan titled, “Working to Learning and Learning to Work: A State-by-State Analysis of High School Work-based Learning Policies.” Excerpts from the report appear below: Work-based learning – including internships, youth and pre-apprenticeships, and cooperative education programs – allows students to gain work experience while in high school. Read more about Working to Learn and Learning to Work: A State-by-State Analysis of High School Work-based Learning Policies[…]
School leaders mustn’t lose sight of the need for student agency and student engagement as they contend with the myriad challenges posed by COVID-19. In fact, they must reimagine what agency and engagement can look like in cases when students are learning virtually and also when they are unable to connect. Mere Engagement: Reflections about Read more about Mere Engagement: Reflections about the Connections Between Online Learning, Student Agency, and Student Engagement[…]
Recently in The Hill, Thomas Toch and Lynn Olson, both of FutureEd, reflected on staffing innovations that are emerging as promising practices amid the pandemic. Excerpts from the piece appear below: One reason distance learning has been such a harrowing experience during the pandemic is that most schools merely shifted the traditional teaching model to Read more about Staffing Innovations from the Pandemic[…]
Recently in The 74, Nat Damon, a 25-year educator and author of Time to Teach: Time to Reach reflected on how to put the nuance into virtual teaching. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Remote teaching does not feel like teaching. This is not the same as saying remote teaching is not teaching. It absolutely Read more about A Teacher’s View: Remote Teaching Doesn’t Feel Like Teaching. Six Steps Toward Putting the Nuance Back Into Classroom Interactions[…]