January - 2023

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 31
2 min

The readiness is (almost) all

Who goes to college? Enrollment rates vary widely by family income, race and ethnicity and gender, but among students of similar academic preparation, blacks are the mostly likely to enroll in college, according to a report by Sarah Reber and Ember Smith. They analyzed test scores, high school grades and course-taking to assess academic preparation. Asian students are the most prepared for college, by far, and 83 percent enroll, compared to 72 percent of whites, 63 percent

2 comments

Teacher: Students are learning they don't need to show up or do the work

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 30
2 min

Teacher: Students are learning they don't need to show up or do the work

No-consequences attendance policies have encouraged students to skip class, teacher Loren Green told the Albany, New York school board. They're learning there's no need to show up and do the work, said the high school English teacher, reports Kathleen Moore in the Times-Union Albany High School teachers are “encouraged” to pass students even if they fail the class, said Green, who's taught in the district for 27 years. "Administrators passed 15 students who he failed last yea

7 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 30
2 min

Unsafe at school

Angry teachers in Newport News, Virginia blame lax discipline for a 6-year-old shooting his first-grade teacher, write Ben Finley and Denise Lavoie for Associated Press. During a three-hour school board meeting, "teachers and parents said students who assaulted classmates and staff were routinely allowed to stay in the classroom with few consequences," they report. "They said the shooting of Abigail Zwerner could have been prevented if not for a toxic environment in which tea

0 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 29
2 min

The sound of stupid

The Sound of Music is not the Nazi-glorifying Triumph of the Will, nor is it the Nazi-spoofing Springtime for Hitler. But it does have swastika-wearing Nazis: That's why the Von Trapp family has to "climb ev'ry mountain" to get out of Austria. In a school newsletter, City Schools of Decatur (Georgia) Superintendent Maggie Fehrman condemned "the inclusion of a swastika" in the high school play, writing that "symbols of oppression are never acceptable in any context," reports Z

7 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 28
1 min

'If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life' ...

My husband says this is "our song." I interpret it as: Have realistic expectations.

0 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 28
2 min

Happy days: Connect, care about others, cope

Happy people are kind to others and to themselves, says Laurie Santos. The Yale psychology professor is offering a free, six-week course, the Science of Well-Being for Teens on Coursera, reports Lindsey Bever in the Washington Post. Santos teaches about the psychology of happiness at Yale: It's one of the university's most popular classes. She's revamped the course for adolescents as a series of short TikTok-length videos. "Teenagers are in the midst of a mental health cris

1 comment

Funding follows students to religious school, if that's parents' choice

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 27
2 min

Funding follows students to religious school, if that's parents' choice

Empowered with a $7,000-per-child "backpack of cash," Arizona parents can choose an educational program -- including a religious private school, writes Robert Pondiscio. Are there seats for all those students? There will be. Arizona’s most successful charter school operator, Great Hearts Academies, will partner with churches to create "a network of private Christian academies aimed at low- and middle-income families, with tuition paid almost entirely" with state-funded "empow

1 comment

If strike closes LA schools, it could be 'nail in the coffin'

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 26
1 min

If strike closes LA schools, it could be 'nail in the coffin'

A threatened strike by Los Angeles Unified's service workers -- custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special-education aides -- could be a "disaster" for the huge district, writes Will Callan on The 74. Enrollment is declining, "in part to exasperated parents fleeing the district," he writes. Absenteeism is high. Families "worry that a strike could be the 'nail in the coffin'" for the district. “I can absolutely tell you that one more major disruption like that, tha

2 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 26
2 min

Exodus: Achievers' families are leaving

As many New York City middle schools end selective admissions, middle- and upper-middle-class parents are considering private schools or a move to the suburbs, writes Vince Bielski on RealClear Ed. Lotteries will mix high, average and low achievers from different backgrounds in the same classroom. Many parents with "say they don't want to roll the dice on their kids’ education," he writes. "If a large number of families do exit the city’s public schools in 2023, it would mean

11 comments

Choice lets parents find a school that respects their rights

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 25
1 min

Choice lets parents find a school that respects their rights

"Families should not be stuck in an education system that actively undermines parental rights and ideologically grooms children, argues Kaylee McGhee White in the Washington Examiner. School choice give parents "the freedom to yank their students out of a school that disrespects their values and send them to one that better fits their needs." Public school officials who treat parents like child abusers if they don't "affirm" their child's new gender identity with sufficient e

2 comments

Parents feel 'villainized' by teachers who think they know best

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 25
3 min

Parents feel 'villainized' by teachers who think they know best

It's not just conservative parents who think they have a right to know if "Hannah" has become "Hank" at school, reports Katie J.M. Baker in the New York Times. Liberal parents think they know best about their children's psychological and emotional needs. Jessica Bradshaw's daughter -- now a son -- was diagnosed as on the autism spectrum, as well as with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, PTSD and anxiety, the California mother told Baker. Her teenager "had struggled wi

13 comments

ESAs expand in red and purple states, states, and blue-staters are interested too

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 24
2 min

ESAs expand in red and purple states, states, and blue-staters are interested too

"Capitalizing on parent’s frustration with public schools during the pandemic," Republican governors are pushing for education savings accounts, reports Linda Jacobson on The 74. In the eight states that have ESAs, parents who've withdrawn their children from public schools can use state funds to pay for private school, tutoring, online courses and other education expenses. For example, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, wants the state to spend the same amount per student

1 comment

54% of parents are considering a new school for their kids

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 24
1 min

54% of parents are considering a new school for their kids

A majority of parents are considering a new school, according to a new survey by the School Choice Awareness Foundation. Two-thirds say they're largely satisfied with their child's current school, but they're open to alternatives. Black and Hispanic parents are the most eager for new options: More than 64 percent are considering new schools, compared to 46 percent of white parents. Overall, 16.6 percent of parents surveyed choose new schools in the past year, 11 percent consi

2 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 23
1 min

Open doors to challenging academics

Challenging classes can help many students -- not just the "gifted" -- excel, writes Vincent Dotoli on Fordham's Flypaper. He heads Harlem Academy, a private, nonprofit K-8 school that turns achievers into high achievers. "Our students enter with median baseline scores in the 74th percentile, a level that would generally miss the mark for gifted admissions," he writes. "By eighth grade, their median scores reach the 90th percentile, achievement that opens a door to top secon

4 comments

Skip the smart kids: We're holding back (and boring) high achievers

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 23
2 min

Skip the smart kids: We're holding back (and boring) high achievers

I was very good at school, but also very bored. I wanted to skip a grade to catch up with my sister, but the district never skipped anyone -- except for my sister, who ended up two grades ahead of me. Still bitter. There was no tracking until high school and no "gifted" education. I read in class. A lot. Grade skipping is very rare -- only 1 percent of students skip -- writes Patrick Carroll on the FEE site. Yet, by late elementary school, 15 to 45 percent of students are a y

9 comments

School board member tweets: 'Whiteness is so evil'

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 22
1 min

School board member tweets: 'Whiteness is so evil'

Tweeting "whiteness is so evil" has proven controversial for Kesha Hamilton, who's on the Jackson (Michigan) school board, reports Kristina Watrobski for ABC News. In December, Hamilton, who works as a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, tweeted: Whiteness is so evil.. it manipulates then says, I won’t apologize for my dishonesty and trauma inducing practices and thinks you should applaud it for being honest about its ability to manipulate and be dishonest.. #Deceitfu

11 comments

'Diversity training' costs billions, but does it work?

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 22
2 min

'Diversity training' costs billions, but does it work?

There's no evidence diversity training works and some evidence it hurts, writes Jesse Singal in a New York Times commentary. The diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) industry has exploded, reaching an estimated $3.4 billion in 2020, he writes. Workshops are supposed to "foster better intergroup relations, improve the retention of minority employees, close recruitment gaps and so on." "Diversity training is likely the most expensive, and least effective, diversity program aro

5 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 21
2 min

Do 'red flag' laws prevent shootings?

“I just might come to yo school and kill everybody,” a 17-year-old former student wrote in an Instagram message. He specifically threatened the principal and a counselor at the Fort Lauderdale alternative school, and included a photo of a handgun and a rifle and the name of the alternative school. Using Florida's "red flag" laws, police got a "risk protection order" to seize the boy's guns. Nobody was shot, reports Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times. But, was it the l

0 comments

Generation Doom: Show students a path forward

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 20
1 min

Generation Doom: Show students a path forward

Teachers should encourage young people to believe in the future, writes Alice Dominguez on EdSurge. The Doomer Generation needs a sense of hope, not more negativity, she writes. If students are cynical and afraid, teachers should "shine a light on students’ paths forward." She also suggests telling kids that it's up to them to "save the world" puts an unfair burden on them. Dominguez teaches English and yoga and mindfulness at a Catholic high school near San Diego. “I’m tired

5 comments

Joanne Jacobs

Jan 19
2 min

How much math?

British students who pass a national math exam at 15 or 16 don't have to take any more math, unless they need higher-level math for college or career plans. But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants all students to take four years of math in high school, he said in a speech. Young people need to learn how to manage their finances and prepare for a workforce "where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job." Most U.S. students are required to take three or four years of

8 comments