SBOE Weekly Ed Links: 08-31-2018

By: Paul Negron, Public Affairs Specialist

Here’s our rundown of this week’s top education news and events in the District and around the country!

SBOE IN THE NEWS
Girls (Finally) Get Their Own School in Ward 8 | Afro (Markus)
Experts: State Test Scores Only One Measure of Student Progress | Afro (Karen)

NATIONAL
After Five Years, a Bold Set of Teacher-Prep Standards Still Faces Challenges | EdWeek
It has been five years this week since the teacher-preparation landscape was shaken up with the adoption of standards for accreditation that focused on evidence and outcomes, and teacher-training programs are still feeling the ripple effects.

Is Growth Mindset the Missing Piece in the Equity Discussion? | EdSurge
How does a school or district begin to tackle the seemingly insurmountable issue of equity? Decades of attempts at closing the persistent (and perhaps even widening) achievement gap, along with the knowledge that this is an immense and deeply historical issue to address, make it feel as if the task may be impossible.

Back to School by the Numbers: 2018 | EdWeek
Across the country, hallways and classrooms are full of activity as students head back to school for the 2018–19 academic year. Each year, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) compiles some back-to-school facts and figures that give a snapshot of our schools and colleges for the coming year.

How schools are failing working parents — and how some are helping | WaPo
Despite the fact that most American households don’t have a stay-at-home parent — a situation that has existed for decades — and employers fall short of providing much-needed flexibility, many schools continue to function as if the opposite is true. The greatest problem for working parents appears to be school hours and frequent closures

The 5 Ways DeVos’s Reported New Title IX Rules Would Change Sex Assault Investigations | 74
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will make major changes to the way colleges — and K-12 schools — must respond to allegations of sexual assault and harassment under Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in education on the basis of sex.

HOW STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE DEALING WITH TEACHER SHORTAGES | Pacific Standard
More than 100,000 classrooms around the country started last school year with a teacher not “fully qualified to teach,” and educators say the shortages continue this year. In subjects like mathematics, science, and special education, almost every state is experiencing teacher shortages.

After the Bell: Expanding Opportunities for Educator Voice in a Time of Transition | Policy Innovators in Education
In many schools across the country, summer vacation is winding down. But for most educators, the work of supporting their students, and their profession, never takes a break—and often calls for them to speak out, extending their voice far beyond the classroom walls. Perhaps more than ever before, in 2018 teachers have been sharing their voice, showing up in their state capitols, and even running for office.

Millennial teachers of color will change public schools—if given the chance | Brookings
The education sector has been slow to follow this lead in its effort to recruit, groom, and retain a subset of this cohort: highly sought PK-12 millennial teachers of color.

Taking the Long View: State Efforts to Solve Teacher Shortages by Strengthening the Profession | LPI
Most states have been struggling to address teacher shortages for several years now, often filling the vacuum with underprepared teachers who aren’t able to give children the high-quality learning they need and who leave at two to three times the rate of well-prepared teachers. Most often, these teachers are hired in schools serving students of color and those from low-income families. Governors and legislators in many of these states are now working to turn the tide, according to a new report from the Learning Policy Institute.

ESSA
NNPA Polls Black Parents on the Every Student Succeeds Act | Washington Informer
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) announced plans to conduct a groundbreaking survey that will gauge the awareness and impact of President Barack Obama’s education law — the Every Student Succeeds Act — in the Black community.

Educators Hoped ESSA’s ‘5th Indicator’ Would Paint a Clearer Picture of Student Success. But With Some States Now Choosing Up to 11 Different Measures, Experts Worry Results Are a ‘Hodgepodge’ | 74
Academic achievement has typically been the gold standard for tracking student gains and school progress. But policymakers hoped recent changes to federal education law would spur a more innovative approach.

Indiana schools getting 2 state grades? Too confusing for parents and educators, experts say. | Chalkbeat
National experts told Indiana education leaders Thursday that the state’s plan to give schools two A-F grades for the foreseeable future is unsustainable — and that parts of both grade models could be problematic going forward. Indiana ended up with two school grading systems after state education officials updated the state’s rating method in response to new federal law.

This Week’s ESSA News: Questioning Florida’s Still-Unapproved Education Plan, Using ESSA to Arm Educators With Weapons & More | 74
With 36 governors set to take office in 2019, it will be critical that they implement their states’ ESSA plans with fidelity by ensuring states administer high-quality assessments, enact ambitious yet realistic plans for school improvement, and support teachers with professional development and proper funding.

DC
INSPIRE: Transgender student advocate leading way on digital awareness campaign for DCPS | WJLA
A transgender student advocate is helping lead the way on a digital awareness campaign for D.C. Public Schools.

Elementary School Wellness Program Helps Young Males of Color Cultivate Their Identities | EdSurge
Over the past three years, a group of elementary school students from Southeast Washington, D.C., have been redefining what “high achieving” really means. Growing up in a neighborhood of the nation’s capital where success is far from guaranteed, these students are cultivating positive identities, strengthening their relationships with peers and adults and sharing their stories with the world in a variety of ways.

Officials look for all-girls Excel Academy to thrive under DCPS control | DC Line
Excel Academy originally opened in 2008 as a charter school — and the first public all-girls school in the District, hosting pre-K through eighth grades. However, the DC Public Charter School Board voted in January to rescind Excel’s charter, citing below-standard outcomes for students. Excel reopened this fall as a traditional DC Public Schools campus

Parents push for warnings on playground surfaces, synthetic turf in extreme heat | Fox 5
Parent activists are pushing District and school leaders to do more to keep children from synthetic turf and playground surfaces in excessive heat. Experts say synthetic turf surfaces get significantly hotter than grass.

Many DC-Area Districts Falling Short of School Resource Officer Standards | NBC Washington
Several local school districts fall below a national recommendation for police resource officer staffing levels, a review by the News4 I-Team found. A recommendation by the National Association of School Resource Officers, a non-profit organization that helps train and advise school resource officers, recommends one officer for every 1,000 students.

DC school using lockable pouches to keep students off cellphones during class | Fox 5
A D.C. public school is using lockable pouches to keep students off their phones during class time. Woodrow Wilson High School in Northwest D.C. became the first public school in the District to roll out the pilot program. Using Yondr pouches, school officials are looking to cut down on distractions in the classroom, which teachers have said is a constant battle.

RESEARCH
The Gallup 2018 Survey of K-12 School District Superintendents | Gallup

THE STATE OF STATE STANDARDS POST-COMMON CORE | Fordham Institute

Teaching: Respect but dwindling appeal | PDK Poll

Do Suspensions Affect Student Outcomes? | Sage

50-State Comparison: State Policies on School Discipline | ECS

EVENTS
DCPS Extended Year 2018-2019 Calendar
DCPS Traditional 2018-2019 Calendar

SEPTEMBER
9/1: 18th Library of Congress National Book Festival
9/5: SBOE Working Session
9/6: Opening the Gates: Using Deeper Learning to Expand College Access
9/8: Special Education Town Hall for DC Parents
9/11: SBOE ESSA Task Force
9/11: DCPS Chancellor Public Engagement @ Brookland Middle
9/12: Team Up for Attendance: Data Matters
9/13: CBC Young Gifted & Green Black Millennials For Flint CommunityAction
9/17: Ward 1 Education Town Hall (featuring Laura)
9/17: Building Safe, Engaging and Equitable Schools
9/18: World Class: How to Build a 21st Century School System
9/18: A School Superintendent’s Challenge to America
9/20: SBOE Public Meeting
9/20: Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan on “How Schools Work”
9/22: DCPS Back to School Block Party
9/23: DC State Fair
9/25: RSVP: OPPORTUNITY MYTH LAUNCH
9/29: OSSE DC Parent and Family Engagement Summit

OCTOBER
10/3: SBOE Working Session
10/9: SBOE ESSA Task Force
10/12: Sharing Our Voice: What Students Think About School Mental Health
10/17-20: NASBE Annual Conference
10/20: EmpowerEd Teacher Voice Summit
10/24: SBOE Public Meeting
10/24: DCI Changemaker Session #8: Jack Jacobson
10/24-28: Council of the Great City Schools 62ND ANNUAL FALL CONFERENCE
10/25: 15th Annual AERA Brown Lecture in Education Research
10/27: ResearchEd Philadelphia