By Trisha Powell Crain Here’s a bit of good news for teachers in Alabama — who could all use good news after this surreal school year. Alabama’s teacher salary increases now appear to be outpacing inflation. Three years ago, inflation had outpaced salaries for at least a decade, meaning any additional money teachers made through raises wasn’t…
Category: Funding For Education
Alabama offers free online summer learning to battle student COVID slide
By Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com Alabama students have more ways to keep learning over the summer, even without being in school. The Alabama Department of Education launched a free Summer Learning Challenge this week, offering children in kindergarten through 12th grade online access to hundreds of thousands of books, along with math exercises and online activities. State…
Nearly 50 public school districts in Wisconsin remove mask requirements, despite CDC guidance to keep them in place
By: Ben Jordan May 17, 2021 Dozens of school districts across the state have done away with mask requirements despite the latest CDC guidance saying masks should be worn in classrooms due to low vaccination rates among children. The Mequon-Thiensville School District is meeting Monday night to decide whether to toss its mask mandate. Mequon mother Emily Landers…
Can Schools Require Students to Get COVID-19 Vaccines, and Will They?
By Evie Blad — May 12, 2021 7 min read As younger children qualify for COVID-19 vaccines, public health officials are unsure of how many families will opt to have their children inoculated if the shots aren’t required for school attendance. While some colleges and universities have made COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for their students, experts say it’s unlikely…
Alexandria City Public Schools Enrollment Declines for the First Time in 14 Years
The pandemic and virtual learning have pushed parents to reassess educational options for their children. BY SUSANNAH MOORE MAY 10, 2021 While students leave Alexandria City Public Schools every year for a variety of reasons, this is the first year in more than a decade that the total number of students enrolled in ACPS has actually declined. …
Enrollment down and COVID-19 cases up in East Grand Forks Public Schools
District enrollment is at its lowest point since 2017 and COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise, particularly among students. Written By: Hannah Shirley | 7:10 pm, May 10, 2021 East Grand Forks Senior High School. File photo The latest enrollment numbers for the East Grand Forks Public School District are “bleak,” according to Superintendent Mike Kolness. The district’s…
Alabama Governor signs bill aimed at attracting more math, science teachers
The TEAMS program will provide incentive pay for interested and qualifying math and science teachers BySTAFF-The Alabama Political Reporter May 7, 2021 Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday signed into law the Teacher Excellence and Accountability for Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) Salary Schedule Program, an aggressive piece of legislation to combat the estimated 3,000 unfilled math and science teacher positions…
Alabama teachers getting 2% raise: Here’s how much districts pay now
By Trisha Powell Crain | Teacher pay in Alabama is going up this fall — 2% across the board, and more for middle or high school math or science educators. Gov. Kay Ivey first proposed the main raise in her state of the state address, and lawmakers made it final last week. The increase comes as teachers finish what…
Texas releases $11 billion of $18 billion in federal stimulus money for public schools
The newly released funds come after educators and state Democrats urged the governor to unlock the pandemic relief money as schools plan their budgets for the next school year BY KATE MCGEE APRIL 28, 2021 Texas’s top state leaders announced Wednesday they are releasing $11.2 billion out of nearly $18 billion available in federal pandemic relief funding…
Some fear low COVID cases in Alabama schools will reverse without masks
By Trisha Crain The number of new cases of coronavirus in Alabama’s K-12 schools are at low levels, but officials warn cases will likely tick up as the state and many school districts make face coverings optional. Alabama schools reported 257 new cases of COVID-19 among students and staff in the most recent week tallied,…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 