By: Paul Negron, Public Affairs Specialist
Check out our breakdown of the latest in education news here in the District and around the country.
SBOE IN THE NEWS
Report on DC teacher turnover in excess of national average prompts look at ways to improve retention | DC Line
DC NEWS
Mayor Says She Didn’t Know About Events That Led To Her Chancellor’s Resignation. This Report Says Differently | DCist
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has claimed for months that she didn’t initially know about the events which eventually led to the resignation of former schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson. However, a new report appears to challenge what the mayor knew, and when.
Mayor Bowser Announces New Partnership with Bard College | Mayor Bowser
Mayor Muriel Bowser and interim DC Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Amanda Alexander announced a new partnership between DCPS and Bard College that will provide students the opportunity to earn college credit and an associate degree from Bard College while earning their high school diploma. Opening in school year 2019-2020, Bard Early College High School will be a tuition-free, four-year, early college high school operated jointly by Bard College and DCPS.
D.C. partners with college to offer associates degree to high schoolers in poorest neighborhoods | Washington Post
The District’s public school system is partnering with Bard College in New York to open a school next fall that will allow students to graduate from high school with a two-year college associate degree.
Many families at acclaimed D.C. arts school cleared of enrollment fraud, school leaders and parents say | Washington Post
Administrators and parents at Duke Ellington School of the Arts say a significant share of families accused of residency fraud have been cleared of wrongdoing — an assertion that appears to undermine a high-profile investigation that rocked the acclaimed public arts school in the District.
More Duke Ellington Families Cleared Of Residency Fraud, But Some Still Left Fighting Charges | WAMU
City officials say a large number of students at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a public high school, are not D.C. residents. But parents say the city is falsely accusing many families.
What Data On The Racial Divide In Schools Says About The Washington Region | WAMU
There is a pattern of racial disparity in educational opportunity, attainment and school discipline practices in the Washington region, according to 2015-16 school year data recently released by the U.S. Department of Education and consolidated by ProPublica.
ESSA NEWS
How Does Science Testing Work Under ESSA? | Education Week
How many states have included science testing in their plans, and what states will count science in their accountability system?
Mississippi State Board of Education Approves Letter Grade Ratings | Associated Press
Mississippi’s state Board of Education on Thursday approved almost all of the A-to-F ratings for public schools and districts that it delayed last month, but not before some board members expressed some more heartburn about continuing complaints from superintendents and teachers regarding elements of the system.
What Happens When States ‘Unstandardize’ Tests | Education Week
Few educators are fans of fill-in-the-bubble standardized tests that don’t yield results until after students leave the classroom. But when states had a chance to try out richer forms of assessment under a new pilot program established by the Every Student Succeeds Act, all but two demurred, in part because the pilot comes with tough technical requirements and no extra federal funding.
Many State ESSA Plans Minimize Performance of Vulnerable Students, Report Finds | Education Week
Many state accountability plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act don’t do a great job of incorporating the performance of vulnerable subgroups of students, such as racial minorities, English-learners, and those with disabilities, according to an analysis released by the Alliance for Excellent Education, a research and advocacy organization in Washington.
Education Stakeholders Report Strong Engagement | Collaborative for Student Success
With every state’s ESSA plan now approved by the U.S. Department of Education, the Collaborative for Student Success (CSS) recently collected survey responses from nearly 400 ESSA stakeholders to find out about engagement.
NATIONAL NEWS
From Hot Spots to School Bus Wi-Fi, Districts Seek Out Solutions to ‘Homework Gap’ | Ed Surge
While most schools in the U.S. boast broadband access these days, and plenty of assignments require the internet, when students head home, their connections are not quite in lockstep with schools.
Hostility Toward LGBTQ Students May Be Rising in Schools, Survey Finds | Education Week
After years of improvement in school climate, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students could be facing more hostile environments on campus, a new national student survey found.
Early Childhood Education Yields Few Academic Benefits- But Still Has Lifelong Effects | Vox
There’s actually not much evidence that starting education early makes any difference for children. What there is evidence for is that a safe daycare and a stable home environment make a big difference, and that greater family stability and wealth — which child care enables — produce lasting, positive results.
These Six Teacher Evaluation Systems Have Gotten Results, Analysis Says | Education Week
An analysis of six different teacher-evaluation systems shows that when the systems are implemented with fidelity and with certain tactics, they can lead to an improvement in the teacher workforce—good teachers are more likely to stay, and low-performing teachers are likely to either leave the district or improve.
How Principal Effectiveness Affects Teacher Turnover | Thomas B. Fordham Institute
A new study by Jason A. Grissom and Brendan Bartanen of Vanderbilt University examines the impact of principal effectiveness on teacher turnover. It’s well established that better school leadership leads to lower average turnover, but as the authors write, “all teacher turnover is not created equal.”
College Board Encourages ‘All’ High School Seniors to Apply for New Scholarship | Washington Informer
Officials for the nonprofit College Board are issuing a clarion call for both high-achieving and low-income high school seniors to take advantage of a new program that offers $40,000 in higher education scholarships.
A Special Ed Partnership Makes Texas History | 74
The state’s first district-charter special education partnership, built around personalized learning, leads to 41 percent fewer suspensions & statewide interest from educators.
EVENTS
OCTOBER
10/22: Public Hearing on “Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee Act of 2018”
10/24: SBOE Public Meeting
10/24: City Center Capitol Hill Public Charter School Visit
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
10/25: Equity, Quality, and Access: How Do We Create Schools Worth Choosing for All?
10/29: Fifth Annual Graduation Pathways Summit
NOVEMBER
11/1: Public Hearing on B22-0951, the “School Safety Act of 2018″
11/2: First Fridays Tour to Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS
11/5: SBOE Student Advisory Committee Meeting
11/7: SBOE Working Session
11/8: Inflated grades: What Happens When Report Cards Lie
11/8: Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn Confirmation Resolution of 2018
11/13: SBOE ESSA Task Force Meeting
11/14: SBOE Monthly Public Meeting
11/13-15: SEF’s 2018 “The Politics of Equity” Forum
11/15: Public Roundtable on The District of Columbia Public Schools’ Plans for Shaw Junior High School Campus and Benjamin Banneker Academic High School
11/16: Capital City Tour
11/28: 2020 Vision: Education Policy & Politics Beyond the Midterms
D.C. State Board of Education Blog 