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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 18, 20221 min read
First candle
Hanukkah starts tonight at sundown: Light 'em up. The Hanukkah parody song has become a Jewish tradition.
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 18, 20221 min read
Group care doesn't lead to behavior problems, say new study
Kids who've spent a lot of time in child care tend to act up years later, studies have shown. But newer research concludes that's not so:...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 17, 20223 min read
'Are my kids going to be scared to come to school?'
Two teen-age boys were killed yesterday, and a boy and girl were wounded as they left their Chicago high school at the end of the day,...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 16, 20221 min read
A diploma track for students who say 'no' to college
Indiana's state board of education is allowing districts to create diploma tracks for students who want to enter the workforce...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 16, 20222 min read
They earned a diploma, but they need help to succeed in jobs, college
How do you judge a high school's effectiveness? Graduation rates don't mean much: It's easy to raise the graduation rate by lowering...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 15, 20221 min read
Ohio vouchers led to higher district scores, less segregation
Ohio's EdChoice vouchers enable 60,000 students from low-income families to leave district schools for alternatives. The program has led...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 15, 20221 min read
How Denver schools improved: Choice, accountability
Denver schools' reform strategy improved achievement dramatically, concludes a University of Colorado Denver study. "The overall effects...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 14, 20221 min read
No shows
Students just aren't showing up in many school districts, writes Steven Hayward on Powerline. Chronic absenteeism -- missing 10 percent...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 14, 20222 min read
Third graders are way behind in reading and catching up very slowly
Third graders are way behind in reading, reports Hechinger's Jill Barshay. These students, who were in kindergarten when their schools...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 13, 20222 min read
We're not that far apart on how to teach our history
The "history wars" are a fight between "imaginary enemies" concludes More in Common, after surveying Americans. "Both Democrats and...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 12, 20221 min read
The kids can't write
Students are encouraged to express themselves, writes Elizabeth Grace Matthew, who's taught writing at several universities, on The Hill....
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 11, 20222 min read
ChatGPT writes better than most students: What next?
Is writing over? The ability to write clearly and cogently has been seen as "a gatekeeper, a metric for intelligence, a teachable skill,"...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 10, 20222 min read
Poverty is down, but can they fish?
Fewer people are living in poverty, but not because they're earning more, writes Jon Baron on The Hill. We're doing better at giving...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 9, 20221 min read
'Be all you can be' works for black soldiers
Enlisting in the Army raises earnings for blacks, writes Jeff Murray, citing a new study. Army Service in the All-Volunteer Era by West...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 9, 20222 min read
Paid jobs put teens on career paths
Career and technical education (CTE) programs are surging across the country, but most students don't end up in those careers. In...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 8, 20221 min read
Ignoring smart kids isn't a smart strategy
Gifted students deserve an education that fits their needs, argues Brandon Wright on Fordham's Advance newsletter. Acceleration and...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 8, 20222 min read
'Ya gotta believe'
"We're not good now, but we can get better" was the unofficial motto of a start-up charter high school in San Jose, I concluded in 2001....
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 7, 20221 min read
Don't push good teachers over the fiscal cliff
School districts are hiring more staffers, even as enrollments decline. When federal pandemic relief funds run out in 2024, who will be...
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 6, 20222 min read
Applying while Asian: No violin, no chess, no math club
Asian-American students are advised to be "less Asian" when they apply to selective colleges, reports Amy Qin in the New York Times....
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Joanne Jacobs
Dec 5, 20223 min read
Why they left district schools -- and aren't coming back
Seven parents tell Washington Post Magazine why they left district-run public schools for private school or homeschooling. "Since 2019,...
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