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Mississippi's new K-12 funding model: The Mississippi School Funding Formula, which went into effect on July 1, aims to better support low-income districts, potentially improving resources for Black students. However, some experts are skeptical about its impact. Will this formula introduced by Republican lawmakers bridge the gap for underserved students? My debut article for Word In Black: “Can This New Plan to Fund Schools Help Black Kids Nationwide?” dives into the potential implications of a similar school funding formula replicated nationwide. https://lnkd.in/eiFdSyCe Read more on wordinblack.com 📝 #EducationEquity #Mississippi #SchoolFunding #BlackStudents #WordInBlack

As student enrollment declines and the fiscal cliff looms on the horizon, school districts around the U.S. are grappling with whether to close schools — and, if so, how many. In her latest op-ed for The 74 Media, Robin Lake shares four evidence-based guidelines for district leaders wrestling with school closures — including recommendations on how to make school systems more flexible and resilient moving forward. https://lnkd.in/gUYZQQZY

“State leaders have a responsibility to guarantee all schools have adequate funding to provide all #students with a high-quality education and also to guide school leaders and districts to understand how best to use the money available effectively.” This recent piece from Newsweek offers 3 lessons from California to help state leaders do just that: https://lnkd.in/eg4AkCZy #EdChat #K12 #SchoolLeaders #Equity

ICYMI: Patrick Henry High School is undergoing a name change. I have two thoughts about this: 1. Major props to the students who stepped up and fought for this change. Advocating and speaking up is not an easy thing to do, especially at a young age. Y’all should be proud of yourselves. 2. While this is a positive, it’s also a distraction put forth by our failing schools. The self-proclaimed “educators” would rather have their students focused on something emotional (like the name of the school), than the main issue at hand; the students receiving a ‘pipeline to prison’ education. I urge these students to step up in the same strong way and demand a better education. If more and more students make their voices heard, the schools will be forced to listen. #patrickhenryhighschool #mplsschools #minneapolisschools KARE 11 https://lnkd.in/gdDFteAX

I have had the great honor to read 77 essays written by local middle school students for the Civics Bee competition. What I have learned, or what has been confirmed, is that kids have important things to say. In my new position as Exec. Director of the Buena Vista Chamber of Commerce, I have the opportunity to host the Civics Bee, an annual, nationwide event. I love this b/c I believe that an intergenerational civic dialogue is absolutely vital to a well functioning society and must be cultivated. The kids were asked to identify a problem in the community and explain how they would solve it. They wrote about problems that I also care about like bullying and violence in the schools, safe walking routes to school and around town, housing inequities and forest management, litter and environmental issues, ai and plagiarism, cultivating curiosity in the educational process, after school activities and clubs, discrimination at school, child care, health and wellness, and so much more. They are paying attention and collectively they know the problems that need to be solved and they've got great ideas to move us all forward into a better future.  I believe it's up to us adults to instill in the youth the knowledge that these problems can be solved. That we can do it. That we hear them and we see that's it's worth doing. We teach them by example, by taking the dialogue and the community needs seriously, by accepting no less than constant, collective improvement. We teach them to not become complacent and hopeless by celebrating together the possibilities and the successes that arise from robust civic dialogue. Civic Dialogue is hard. People often disagree and that's ok and good and that's how important conversations go and it's important to learn how to do it. That is why I am so pleased to be able create a safe space to share ideas, be heard, be inspired and to think about next steps towards addressing the real needs of our community and meeting the needs of our times. The top 20 finalists are now preparing for the live competition on April 14, 2024 at the Buena Vista Heritage Museum. The top 3 winners will go on to the statewide competition and the state winners go onto Washington, DC from there. It's kind of a big deal and last year a BV student took second in the state! That student is back in the local top 20 again this year so the bar is high for the live competition! This week, I invite you let a kid in your life know you hear them and respect their ideas. Be curious about something they are saying, or thinking, or feeling. Hide their phones and have a real conversation (haha) or in some way show them what's important to them, is important. 

College is a hub for growth and development! 🌱 And in our years of working with students, we know that all – not just students who may need extra or specialized support – thrive in inclusive environments. So, when we see more efforts in post-secondary education to remove barriers to academic accommodations, it is really encouraging! College campuses all across the country are making space for more on-campus resources, support, and student services for diverse learners. However, we know that many parents have unfortunately realized that choosing a school with available services does not always equate to their student utilizing them. This could be in part because the traditional paradigm of collegiate support is still almost wholly dependent on students initiating and effectively utilizing the support that is available. That is one of the reasons why Manfield Hall exists. To continue this movement across colleges, and to create inclusion for students. We believe that there should be great access and support for students with Asperger's, autism, and other learning disabilities to have college success. Discover different support systems typically available in schools and learn about what we offer here ➡️ https://bit.ly/3tRjYox

Lessons for Milwaukee’s K12 school ecosystem here, as we face demographic shifts, declining enrollment, and Milwaukee Public Schools ongoing fiscal turmoil. Rightsizing our schools is a reality we will have to address - as even MPS’ strategic plan acknowledges. The question for all of us is what will we prioritize: students, families, and school quality- or politics, protecting a failing status quo, and special interests?

This week in PublicSource: 24 of 54 Pittsburgh Public Schools are deemed low-achieving. We chart the ways in which the district’s Uneven Scales play out in student performance https://lnkd.in/eG-uxkkA We hope you spent Thanksgiving in a way that suits you perfectly. For some, that might mean a day of peaceful solitude. For others, though, the holiday only magnifies isolation https://lnkd.in/e5JS7EiX Artist John Peña draws his way through life. His friendship with “Mr. Tony,” now 103 years old, spurred some of his most poignant panels, and he tells their story in 15 frames here https://lnkd.in/esZBjv-G Bird and bug populations are hurting, and you feel powerless to stop the slo-mo enviro disaster. But it’s actually pretty easy to do the right thing, and Melanie Linn Gutowski has tips on how https://lnkd.in/eWQzy3iS Last year we probed the workings of Pittsburgh’s ShotSpotter system, which listens for gunshots, alerts 911 operators — and sometimes generates evidence in prosecutions. This month the state Supreme Court handed down an important decision and expressed concerns https://lnkd.in/e7uEQQBV It was a quirky week, but epitomizes our team’s roles: Dig into important civic issues, and amplify community voices. If that seems worthy of your support, now’s a great time, as donations are being matched https://lnkd.in/eYKwsFwt..

Clyde Clarke has done an outstanding job of using DCPS data to help us better understand the Black student performance gap in the District. Curious to know what we found? Check out our article and let us know what you think. #equityineducation #teacherretention #chronicabsenteeism https://lnkd.in/eDbMjpey

This is spot on. When we looked at school district composition in 2022 and noticed the kind of demographic shifts Ellie Klein talks about, we dug a little deeper. Three things struck me. First, in the 10 years that we looked at district secessions, we found that, overwhelmingly, those new districts were generally whiter, wealthier than the remaining districts. Second, about 18.5 million students (about 1/3 of K-12 kids) attended a predominantly same-race/ethnicity school during the 2020-21 school year. And 14% of students attended schools where almost all of the student body was of a single race/ethnicity. Third, our analysis showed that predominantly same-race/ethnicity schools of different races/ethnicities exist in close proximity to one another within districts, but most commonly exist among neighboring districts. For example, about 13,500 predominately same-race/ethnicity schools (about 14 percent of all public K-12 schools) are located within 10 miles of a predominately same-race/ethnicity school of a different race/ethnicity; of these schools, 90 percent have a different same-race/ethnicity pair in a different school district. You can access the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e94hsuqk