Category: The Weekly Connect

The Weekly Connect 12/12/16

Here’s the new edition of The Weekly Connect. Check it out and sign up to have it delivered to your inbox!

These are some of the things we’ve been reading about:

The United States Department of Education has released: ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) regulations on testing as well as guidelines for students who are leaving the juvenile justice system

While homelessness is making it tough for children to attend school, the achievement gap between rich and poor students is closing.

 And as technology becomes a larger part of schoolwork, educators are warning that the “blue light” cast by mobile devices can threaten students’ sleep.

To read more, click on the following links. Continue reading “The Weekly Connect 12/12/16”

The Weekly Connect 12/5/16

Here’s the new edition of The Weekly Connect. Check it out and sign up to have it delivered to your inbox!

These are some of the things we’ve been reading about:

ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act) remains in the news. Seeking to address complaints about draft ESSA regulations, the U.S. Department of Education is giving states more time and greater flexibility in how to adhere to the law.

A recent survey underscores what we see every school day: Students are facing more challenges outside the classroom, and they need more help handling these challenges. And as we’ve blogged before, teachers are coming up with alternate sources of funding for supplies: in this case crowdsourcing.

Around the Nation, children who have health insurance still aren’t getting the care they need, and most children aren’t meeting physical activity guidelines. Education Week points to students who “Stop Out” of school (instead of dropping out), taking weeks off but ultimately returning to classes.

To read more, click on the following links. Continue reading “The Weekly Connect 12/5/16”

The Weekly Connect 11/21/16

Here’s the new edition of The Weekly Connect. Check it out and sign up to have it delivered to your inbox!

These are some of the things we’ve been reading about:

A new survey reveals just how much of their own money teachers use to fill gaps in educational equity; teachers tended to spend more in the poorest school districts. A New York University study finds that parents’ race and country of birth affect how teachers communicate with them.  And depression is becoming more common among U.S. teenagers.

In the good news column: preschool, when it’s done right, has lasting efforts; ACT Inc. will provide accommodations for the English Language Learners who take its college entrance exam; and mindfulness practice is making a difference in a West Baltimore school.

To read more, click on the following links. Continue reading “The Weekly Connect 11/21/16”

The Weekly Connect 11/14/16

The new edition of The Weekly Connect is now posted. Check it out and sign up to have it delivered to your inbox! Here are some of the things we’ve been reading about:

ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act) continues to unfurl: Among its many provisions, the new law will reveal disparities in school spending.

Teachers are in the news. A new campaign promotes their ability to reduce stress for traumatized students… and while classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, the teaching profession is losing African-America teachers who leave at higher rates than their white colleagues.

Families and schools continue to face daunting mental health challenges: parents may not recognize children’s post-traumatic stress disorder; and middle school suicides have reached an all-time high. Fortunately, research suggests that music therapy can reduce depression in children and adolescents.

How are principals doing? Researchers looking at one principal prep program are struggling to find good data.

To read more, click on the following links. Continue reading “The Weekly Connect 11/14/16”

The Weekly Connect 11/7/16

The new edition of The Weekly Connect is now posted. Check it out and sign up to have it delivered to your inbox! Here are some of the things we’ve been reading about:

ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act) remains in the headlines. One potential new indicator for ESSA’s accountability requirement could be reducing chronic absenteeism among students. And in other news, the U.S. Department of Education has issued guidelines on early learning to help school’s implement ESSA.

In research news: Teachers are underestimating girls’ math abilities, according to recent research. Students who attend schools with high poverty rates or high numbers of minority students are less likely to enroll in college. And positive school climates may help reduce achievement gaps.

On the health care front, there are shortages of child psychologists and growing numbers of children in foster care. Experts are encouraging parents to improve their children’s sleep by removing mobile devices from kids’ bedrooms. And researchers say that the fight against childhood obesity should begin at age 6.

To read more, click on the following links.

Continue reading “The Weekly Connect 11/7/16”

The Abell Report Looks at City Connects’ Approach to Student Success

abellWe’re excited to announce that City Connects is featured in the October edition of the Abell Report. The report is published by the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation, the largest foundation that focuses solely on Baltimore.

The Abell Report sums up assumptions that are common in many schools: Support services for students are important, but “they are often dismissed as isolated from the core school functions of teaching and learning.”

It is, however, essential to relocate these services to a school’s core. As the report says, “New research shows that effective student support not only improves the climate of a school, but it can also actually accelerate learning and improve students’ academic outcomes.” Continue reading “The Abell Report Looks at City Connects’ Approach to Student Success”

The Weekly Connect 10/31/16

The new edition of The Weekly Connect is now posted. Check it out and sign up to receive it in your inbox!

We’ve been reading that absenteeism is a problem among students and teachers. Children who don’t feel safe at school are missing days, and 1 in 4 teachers are absent on more than 10 days of school.

It’s fall and change is in the air thanks to ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act). School Improvement Grants are gone, and states have more control and “more freedom to change the way they think about education,” so watch to see if they do.

Schools are coping with limited resources, from states spending less on education than they did before the 2008 recession to districts that don’t have enough school counselors to meet the staffing recommendations of the American School Counselor Association.

Educators who want to interest girls in coding should reach out to them during middle school when inspiring teachers and positive messages have a positive impact. And give the nation’s fourth and eighth graders a pat on the back because they’ve made gains on a national science test.

To read more, click on the following links.

Continue reading “The Weekly Connect 10/31/16”

The Weekly Connect 10/24/16

The Every Student Succeeds Act is changing education policy by meeting emerging challenges such as the growing number of English Language Learners.  Look for changes in how these students are classified, tested, and taught.

How do you share research with policymakers? Personal connections between researchers and policymakers help, and so do other strategies such as making research easily accessible.

Achievement gaps continue to make headlines.  One story looks at the difference between how rich and poor kids learn (hint: there isn’t one), and another story looks at race and gender gaps in computer science classes.

There’s a “new focus” on children’s mental health; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want schools to help ensure that children get sealants on their molars. The math here is simple: a study found that children with dental pain tend to miss more school than children with good oral health.

And in the good national news category, high school graduation rates across the country have reached a record high.

This week’s edition of The Weekly Connect is now posted. Check it out and sign up to receive it in your inbox as soon as it is posted!

Continue reading “The Weekly Connect 10/24/16”

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