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Teachers Feel the Strain of Politics. Can Better Political Engagement Help?

In September, a teacher in the Hamshire-Fannett Independent School District, in Southeast Texas, was fired when district leaders learned that an eighth grade class was reading a graphic novel based on the diary of Anne Frank. The novel had not been approved and was deemed inappropriate, and the firing made headlines. It was an extreme example …

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You Know I’m Right: Returning to classroom as substitute teacher rewarding experience

I got an email from a former colleague asking me if I would substitute teach her classes for two days so she could visit her family. Well, it was flattering to be asked and I knew this teacher to be an outstanding professional as well as a long-time friend, so I reluctantly agreed. I was …

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‘Historic’ deal between Montclair State, Wayne schools will help fix teacher shortage

WAYNE — The school district is partnering with Montclair State University to offer an apprenticeship program for teachers aides that will allow them to become certified in education while continuing their employment. The pilot program is expected to create a smoother path for paraprofessionals who want to be classroom leaders, but who have until now lacked opportunities …

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Districts Make Tutoring a Top Priority in Afterschool Programs Funded by COVID Relief Aid

Roughly 8 in 10 school districts spent some of their federal COVID relief funds on afterschool or summer learning, according to areport released recently by the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization. The majority of districts focused those programs almost entirely on tutoring and other academic supports, rather than a combination of academic learning and enrichment …

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Why the School District of Philadelphia revamped its digital literacy curriculum

The new curriculum provides more guidelines for teachers and considers students’ needs at each grade level, leaders say. The goal is to teach students to be good digital citizens and get them thinking about future tech careers.   This is Damian Furmanchin’s first year teaching digital literacy at Eliza B. Kirkbride School in South Philly …

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Schools across U.S. join growing no-phone movement to boost focus, mental health

In an effort to remove distractions and enhance educational experiences, schools across the United States are increasingly adopting a no-phone policy, requiring students to lock away their devices for the entire school day. Newburgh Free Academy in New York stands as a testament to the growing trend. Students at the public high school begin their …

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Racial gaps in math have grown. A school tried closing theirs by teaching all kids the same classes

Hope Reed was seeing stark disparities a decade ago at her high school in the suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina. Nearly half the school’s students were white, but the freshman remedial math classes were made up of almost all students of color. Reed, then chair of the math department at Blythewood High School, intervened with …

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Philly schools moved 50 teachers weeks into the school year because of ‘leveling’

Reassigning teachers based on enrollment, the superintendent wrote, was necessary “in order to serve our students equitably.” Telling her students she was leaving Martin Luther King High School was one of the most difficult conversations she’s ever had, said Karlynne Staten. The move wasn’t by choice. Staten, a special education case manager, had been informed …

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Doubling up on classrooms, using online teachers and turning to support staff: How schools are dealing with the ongoing teacher shortage

Millions of students are returning for another school year marked by challenging teacher shortages, causing schools to double up classrooms, move courses online and employ what critics have labeled as underqualified teachers. As states lower the certification standards to become a teacher, education experts worry these tactics could delay students’ recovery from pandemic learning loss. Packed …

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