Trends in the News Archive - Page 14 of 53

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Forbes, 1/15/19

How this Chicago nonprofit is changing education as we know it

One Chicago-based organization, LEAP Innovations, is changing the education narrative and bringing forth innovation for every child. LEAP Innovations has worked with more than 120 schools across the Chicago area to implement personalized learning, and have supported over 2,400 current and pre-service educators. Through their work, they’ve reached 30,000 students since their launch date and nearly 90% of the students they impact are children of color. This interview with Phyllis Lockett, the Founder and CEO, highlights how she’s bringing innovation and personalized learning to the classroom.

Alternative Education Models and Funding Mechanisms

Chron, 1/15/19

How much more can Texas spend on education? The House says $7 billion.

The House wants to pour $7 billion more dollars into public schools over two years should state lawmakers change Texas’ education funding formula and reform property taxes, according to budget documents released late Monday. Although the Senate is expected to release it’s own budget plan Tuesday, the 17.2 percent jump in funding offers a first glimpse at how Republicans propose to fulfill their promise to give a boost to schools. The proposed boost in state funding would be contingent on enacting legislation that helps public schools, such as by increasing the state share of the Foundation School Program, enhancing district entitlements and decreasing the practice of “recapture” which includes taking money from property-wealthy districts to cover education costs in property poor districts, according to the budget documents.

State Education Funding

Education Dive, 1/10/19

Study: Pension plans generally better for teachers than 401K-style accounts

New research from the University of California, Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education and the National Institute on Retirement Security, comparing teacher pension plans and 401K-style accounts in six states, concludes that pensions generally provide greater value to teachers and play a critical role in retaining educators. However, since the market crash in 2008, 48 states have made changes to their pension plans as have many companies across the nation. Many states are now facing unfunded liabilities that range from mildly concerning to nearly catastrophic. These unfunded liabilities are threatening the security of some pension plans and causing states to divert money from other services, including education, to keep pace with funding the plans.

Pension Costs

Education Week, 1/10/19

$5,000 retention bonuses for good teachers can up reading scores, study finds

Offering a one-time bonus could help keep high-performing teachers in high-needs schools and raise student scores, according to a new study published in Economics of Education Review. Previous research by…a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill’s school of education, and one of this study’s authors, found that the extra money did keep more high-performing teachers in these high-needs schools. This current study found that student performance improved as well: Reading scores at these schools increased by about .1 standard deviation, or between 8 and 11.5 additional weeks of learning, compared to similar schools that didn’t have the bonus program. Math performance improved as well, though the difference was only marginally statistically significant.

School Money and Performance

CNBC, 1/14/19

Teachers in Los Angeles want more than a raise—here’s why over 30,000 just went on strike

The annual mean wage for teachers in California is $74,940 and $75,000 in the LAUSD, and while teacher pay is a significant issue for protesting educators, the current teachers strike in Los Angeles is also about class size. In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Alex Caputo-Pearl explains why class size was such an important issue for educators. “Class sizes often exceed 45 students in secondary schools; 35 students in upper elementary grades; and 25 students in lower elementary grades,” he writes. “It is downright shameful that the richest state in the country ranks 43rd out of 50 when it comes to per-pupil spending.

Local Education Funding

S&P Global Ratings, 12/20/18

From union ballots to election ballots: A look back at the top 10 credit stories affecting U.S. charter schools in 2018

It’s been an eventful year for the U.S. charter school sector. Some schools edge closer to possible defaults, some have dealt with striking workers, and many lost some allies at multiple levels of government following the midterm elections. At the same time, options for charter school financings beyond rated debt have expanded substantially. S&P Global Ratings analysts recently discussed what they thought were the most impactful events in the sector that have had or could have credit quality implications. Here are their picks for the top 10 credit stories for charter schools in 2018.

Charter Schools Facility Planning

Politico, 1/7/19

Poll: Americans want Congress to reduce student debt, improve K-12 funding

Americans in a new poll of education priorities say they have a couple of top assignments for the new Congress — slash student debt and boost funding for public schools. The majority of Americans — both Republicans and Democrats — said “finding ways to lessen student debt” and “increasing spending on K-12 public education” were “extremely important” goals for the Congress…Respondents were given a list of six education policy areas and asked which they believe are “extremely important” for Congress to tackle. Seventy-nine percent picked cutting student debt, making it first on the list. Seventy-six percent selected public education funding, putting it second.

Federal Education Funding Higher Ed

Education Week, 1/8/19

Gates giving millions to train teachers on ‘high quality’ curricula

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to invest in professional development providers who will train teachers on “high quality” curricula. The investment, at around $10 million, is a tiny portion of the approximately $1.7 billion the philanthropy expects to put into K-12 education by 2022. Nevertheless, it’s likely to attract attention for inching closer to the perennially touchy issue of what students learn every day at school. Gates officials emphasized that the new grants won’t support the development of curricula from scratch. Instead, grantees will work to improve how teachers are taught to use and modify existing series that are well aligned to state learning standards. The funding announcement also comes as a number of recent reports conclude that teacher training suffers by focusing on general teaching strategies rather than on how to use a specific curriculum.

Alternative Education Models and Funding Mechanisms

Chalkbeat, 1/7/19

New York City now spends $325 million a year to send students with disabilities to private schools

The cost of sending students with disabilities to private schools has doubled since de Blasio was sworn in and has reached $325 million per year. Officials said 4,431 students with disabilities attended private schools paid for by the education department in fiscal year 2017, according to the most recent data obtained by Chalkbeat, a third more than in 2014. The sharp increase is notable because it suggests the city is increasingly acknowledging that it can’t provide an adequate education to students with disabilities within traditional public schools. Chancellor Richard Carranza acknowledged that the city doesn’t offer the full range of programs that are listed on student’s learning plans but argued it would be more cost effective for the city to create programs on its own.

Local Education Funding

Education Week, 1/4/19

Education statistics: Facts about American schools

How many K-12 public schools, districts, and students are there? And how much are we, as a nation, spending on the education of these youth? The Education Week library provides answers to these questions. In 2014-15, $625 billion was spent on public elementary and secondary education by local, state, and federal agencies. On average, the nation spends $12,536 to educate each student. These expenditures vary state to state. Vermont has the highest per-pupil expenditures in the nation at $20,795, as adjusted for variations in regional costs. At the other end of the scale, Utah spends the least at $7,207 per student.

Federal Education Funding Local Education Funding School Money and Performance State Education Funding