Jonesboro Public School’s mindset is growing

By Destiny Quinn | October 24, 2018  JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) – A Region 8 school district is working to tap in to every student’s potential, no matter what their background might be. The Jonesboro Public School District has made an effort to improve their student’s way of thinking with a new idea called the “Growth Mindset.” Instead…

How are America’s public schools really doing?

It’s hard to find a public official today who, when talking about public schools, doesn’t talk about what a mess they are. Failing. Some of them are, in fact, failing kids. This piece, written by Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the author of “Beyond Test Scores: A…

Arizona Could Be a Case Study for Turning Teacher Protest Into Power

“I realized I wouldn’t be able to look my students in the eyes if I didn’t do everything possible.” EDWIN RIOSOCTOBER 12, 2018 6:00 AM In 2016, newly minted Arizona Teacher of the Year Christine Porter Marsh criss-crossed the state, giving speeches and listening to the concerns of her fellow educators. The Arizona Legislature had been slashing school…

Why Texas public schools are suffering. [Opinion]

David S. Knight  Oct. 11, 2018 Texas is a prosperous state, but lawmakers are failing to adequately finance public education, and communities and students are suffering the academic, physical and economic consequences. The upcoming legislative session provides a unique opportunity for our state’s elected leaders to right past wrongs, but a preliminary budget request from the…

Pasco schools seek class size solutions

Jeffrey Solochek October 2, 2018 Nearly two months into the academic year, several Pasco County schools continue to struggle meeting state class size requirements. A recently created report indicates hundreds of classrooms across the district that exceeded the constitutional caps by at least one student. School Board members said they had received calls of classes with…

Class sizes raise concerns for Mich. parents, districts, teachers

September 26, 2018 Jennifer Chambers, Korie Wilkins was happy with the small class sizes at her son’s elementary school for the last three years. Then the Rochester Community Schools parent heard a number this month that stopped her in her tracks: 30. “There are 30 kids in his class,” Wilkins said. “He has never had…

Austin ISD considers increasing class sizes to save money

October 8, 2018 Tom Miller AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin ISD is considering increasing the student to teacher ratio next year at campuses throughout the district in an effort to reduce its multi-million dollar budget deficit. Under the proposal, kindergarten through fourth-grade classes could grow by as many as two students, increasing to 24 per teacher. Middle…

Florida must prioritize public schools over charter schools, influencers say

September 17, 2018 05:00 AM Updated September 18, 2018 10:21 AM Charter schools play an important role in Florida’s education system but should not be prioritized over traditional public K-12 schools, according to a panel of the state’s leading voices. In a new survey of the Florida Influencers, a group of prominent political and policy figures…

State Board of Education Adopts Act 46 Forced Merger Guidelines

Foreground, from left: Vermont Agency of Education staff members Donna Russo-Savage, Brad James and Emily Simmons face the State Board of Education at a meeting in Bethel on Tuesday.  HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN OCT 3, 2018 After an all-day meeting Tuesday in Bethel, the State Board of Education has adopted a set of guidelines to help steer…