Trends in the News Archive - Page 31 of 53

Trends in the News

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The 74, 2/13/18

Analysis of personalized learning programs in Chicago shows that strong teacher leaders, not technology, key for financial sustainability

The key to financial sustainability is a principal’s ability to discern what matters for their model and then use the flexibilities they have to align resource allocation to supporting those key elements. In the schools studied, teachers and teacher leadership were critical to model success.

The analysis is part of a new report, titled “Sustaining Innovation & Preparing for Scale: Financial Sustainability and Analysis of Personalized Learning School Models,” released Tuesday by Afton Partners and LEAP Innovations, a nonprofit that supports personalized learning.

Alternative Education Models and Funding Mechanisms

Education Week, 1/23/18

Does it make sense to offer housing perks for teachers?

A growing number of districts are using housing incentives as a way to try to attract and retain K-12 educators—building teacher complexes with below-market rental rates, giving teachers living stipends, or offering discounts on home rentals and purchases. And yet it turns out there’s little proof that offering housing incentives actually makes for good K-12 policy.

Local Education Funding

Education Week, 2/8/18

Personalized learning for the ‘whole educator’? Chan Zuckerberg announces new grants

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has already said it wants to expand the notion of “personalized learning” to include the “whole child.” Friday, the group went a step further, announcing a new round of grants that will focus on supporting the “whole educator,” including the “professional, social, and emotional well-being” of teachers.

Alternative Education Models and Funding Mechanisms

The 74, 1/30/18

In America’s smallest state, a proposal for a colossal surge in public dollars for private schools

The Scholarship Alliance could not say how many Rhode Island students are on the waiting list for the scholarship, but it said the demand is large. Only 15 of the 130 businesses that applied to donate in 2017 were accepted before the $1.5 million cap was reached. An increase to $5 million could potentially expand the program to serve over 1,000 students, Lancia said.

Alternative Education Models and Funding Mechanisms

Ed Surge, 2/5/18

Big data, different visions: Why charter networks are investing heavily in data teams

Charter management organizations, which operate publicly-funded schools, are making million-dollar investments on data teams and shaking up staffing norms in the process. Schools are hiring for these positions with hopes that the data they collect from online educational tools will inform decisions about classroom instruction, staff development, operational efficacy, funding, community engagement—and almost any other question public school stakeholders care to ask. Yet how these data teams and systems are built and funded vary significantly.

Charter Schools

Inside Higher Ed, 1/22/18

Anemic state funding growth for higher ed

Across the country, state fiscal support for higher education grew by just 1.6 percent, according to the Grapevine survey, which provides an early look each year at states’ funding for higher education. That was down sharply from a 4.2 percent increase last year and represents the lowest annual growth in the last five years.

Higher Ed

Education Next, 2/1/18

Pensions under pressure: Charter innovation in teacher retirement benefits

To explore this possibility, we studied retirement plans and surveyed charter schools in five states with such flexibility: Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, and Michigan. We find a growing number of schools, especially those run by management organizations, are choosing to opt out of state pension plans. In lieu of standard plans, charters are providing various, more portable defined-contribution options and incentives such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans, potentially providing a new way to ensure that teachers’ retirements are secure. In interviews, charter operators detail their reasons for these choices, providing important context to a retirement challenge that is unlikely to be resolved without significant action.

Charter Schools Pension Costs

Chicago Tribune, 1/30/18

CTU members give go-ahead to merger with charter school union

Labor groups representing educators at the city’s traditionally run public schools and privately operated charters are set to merge, following a vote by Chicago Teachers Union members. CTU leaders late Monday said results showed that a merger won favor with 70 percent of the 16,206 ballots cast.

Charter Schools

Maine Focus, 1/29/18

Maine tried to send more money to its poor schools. It didn’t finish the job.

For two decades, the state’s goal on paper has been to spend more money on poor students than on their wealthier peers. In fact, that’s become the goal in much of the U.S. as a wave of court decisions have directed states to send more money to poorer school districts so their students have an equal shot at meeting their states’ academic expectations. Still, most states, like Maine, fall short of that goal. Most manage merely to spend roughly equal amounts per student, according to a 2017 analysis of state education spending by the Urban Institute.

Funding Equity State Education Funding

Indy Star, 1/17/18

Indiana: Bill would sack school leaders in financially ailing districts

A bill to create a watch system for monitoring school districts’ financial health would punish schools that are truly struggling— and some school officials say it goes too far. House Bill 1315 would strip power from elected school boards, limit how often they can meet and allow state officials to revoke a superintendent’s license if the district is in hot financial water for too long.

Local Education Funding