By Valerie Strauss November 8, 2020 Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is on her way out of office now that Joe Biden has defeated President Trump, and the education world is eager to see who her successor will be. Whoever it is, Biden has said that the new education secretary will be on a mission to undo…
Category: Every Student Succeeds Act
K-12 Trends and the Future of Higher Education
What happens in K-12 schools eventually reshapes higher education. Steven Mintz November 9, 2020 What happens in K-12 schools rarely stays in K-12. You don’t need a long memory to recall that higher ed’s preoccupation with accountability, collaborative learning, learning outcomes, and workforce preparation actually originated in K-12. If you want to glimpse the post-pandemic future…
As More Students Return To School, Officials Brace For ‘Rolling Blackouts’
‘Rolling Blackouts’ MARY SCOTT HODGIN | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 Jefferson County Schools Deep cleaning at Grantswood Community School because of COVID-19. A new online dashboard is tracking cases of the coronavirus in Alabama schools. While state education officials are optimistic they can control the spread of the virus, some challenges remain. Most schools have already reopened…
More Alabama students returning to class despite virus worry
Posted Oct 13, 2020 MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Thousands of Alabama students who’ve spent the coronavirus pandemic in virtual classrooms are returning to traditional instruction despite safety concerns and continuing school shutdowns linked to COVID-19. Schools in Jefferson County began allowing elementary students to return to class full-time on Monday, and additional systems that have offered…
New quarantine rules for Alabama schools means fewer sent home
Updated Oct 09, 2020; Posted Oct 08, 2020 By Trisha Powell Crain CORRECTED at 9:00 a.m. on Oct. 9 to show that changes affect only close contacts, not symptomatic students or school employees. New guidance for schools from the Alabama Department of Public Health should mean fewer students and staff sent home to quarantine for possible exposure…
Alabama’s state school authority preps $1.5 billion deal, its largest ever
By Shelly Sigo October 14, 2020 The state of Alabama’s most prolific issuer is preparing to sell its largest bond sale ever, in part, to take advantage of the low interest rate environment. The Alabama Public School and College Authority plans to issue nearly $1.5 billion of tax-exempt and taxable, new and refunding bonds, around Oct….
Alabama voters approve an amendment to remove racist language from state constitution
Brian Lyman MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama voters Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment that could lead to the removal of racist language from the state Constitution. As of 8:48 a.m. Wednesday, Amendment 4 had 1,169,206 yes votes (67%) in incomplete, unofficial returns. About 585,384 Alabamians (33%) voted against the measure, a symbolic measure that proponents said would allow the state…
Alabama teacher speaks out against unsafe conditions and schools reopening
Emma Arceneaux November 6, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread throughout Alabama, with the past two weeks seeing roughly 1,600 new cases per day and a test positivity rate of 22.6 percent. Since the start of the pandemic, 198,000 people have been infected and 3,006 have died. Under these conditions, educators are increasingly enraged…
Public charter school geared toward LGBTQ youth will open in 2021
By Angel Coker – Banking and Legal Reporter, Birmingham Business Journal Nov 5, 2020, 3:54pm EST A new charter school geared toward LGBTQ youth is coming to Birmingham in the fall of 2021. The Alabama Public Charter School Commission has granted a public-school charter to the Magic City Acceptance Academy. The commission previously denied an appeal for the…
Texas Teachers Object To School Reopening Plan
Chelsey Zhu June 19, 2020 Two teachers’ unions in Texas have strong objections to Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan for reopening public schools in August. They’re criticizing the governor’s lack of transparency with educators. Abbott told lawmakers yesterday that schools would reopen in the fall for in-person instruction. Remote learning will be available for families with health concerns,…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 