London Borough of Camden’s Post

Schools and districts can do some amazing things in #highschooltransformation when they have the tools and flexibilities to do so. This Education Week article highlighting several districts gives some great examples how how schools are building connections within their community, all to the benefit of students. Well worth the read! Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/ex_YzzhB

With the right policy design and a special emphasis on collaboration, charter, magnet, and public schools can bridge divides in school equity rather than deepen them. The Century Foundation explores some paths to leveraging school choice👇 Controlled choice programs: Allowing families to choose schools, but with controls in place to ensure socioeconomic diversity Weighted lotteries: Giving preferential treatment to students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the admission process Diversity incentives: Providing incentives such as additional funding and resources to schools meeting diversity targets Education reform is a nuanced and collective effort. Ultimately, equitable education is much bigger than one policy or institution, and collaboration is the key to building lasting educational change. https://lnkd.in/gZb898C5

📚 Empowering Education and Bridging the Digital Divide 📚 AT&T and Human-I-T are teaming up to provide 150 refurbished laptops and backpacks filled with school supplies to students and families supported by the Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD), Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund (SALEF), and Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC). This initiative is part of AT&T’s broader effort to equip 20,000 students nationwide with the tools they need before heading back to school. 🎒💻 Each laptop, funded by AT&T, will be distributed to pre-selected recipients, helping to bridge the digital divide and ensure students have access to the resources they need to succeed. The backpacks include essentials like notebooks, pencils, headphones, and handwritten cards of encouragement from AT&T employees. 📝🎧 This effort is part of AT&T Connected Learning®, a $5 billion commitment to help 25 million people get and stay connected to high-speed internet by 2030. Since 2021, AT&T has distributed over 22,000 devices to students and families across California. Join us as we work together to close the digital divide and empower the next generation. 📶✨ #VSEDC #DigitalDivide #ConnectedLearning #EmpoweringEducation #ATT #HumanIT #CommunityImpact

https://lnkd.in/eFBN8Kgk This is an issue that heavily impacts students in FE. I was working with permanently excluded Year 11 students with my colleague Kevin Oseman more than 25 years ago, and the issues and trends we saw then are just as prevalent now. Students exluded from mainstream education are excluded from so much else as a consequence - and post 16 opportunities are just the tip of the iceberg. These young people are unprepared and unready for what comes after secondary education and their issues perpetuate for years afterwards. Together, as a sector, we need to identify and implement bespoke solutions to try and break the negative cycle perpetrated by exclusion.

In the US, Symplicity's Advocate Flex is a powerful tool that can revolutionize student support services by addressing a wide array of needs, from food insecurity to transportation challenges, equity issues, and more. Here are 3 ways Advocate Flex enhances student support: https://hubs.ly/Q02mh8gy0

Since 2020, Accommodate has improved Bishop University's ability to support its students by implementing enhanced processes and increasing face-to-face time with students. Read more about their student-focused approach here: https://hubs.ly/Q02m5cZz0

"These are not isolated anecdotes, but rather they reflect a movement within higher education toward building thriving campus communities and identifying the vital conditions necessary to make it so. Institutions are shifting the narrative, asking: What does it take to create a community where every student feels embraced, supported, and empowered to flourish? 🏫💬🤝🌟" https://lnkd.in/gsziRZWm #HigherEducation #CampusCommunity #StudentSupport #ThrivingStudents #EduCredServices #InclusiveEducation #StudentSuccess #HigherEdInnovation #EdChat #CommunityBuilding #EducationMatters #StudentEmpowerment #HigherEdLeadership #FutureOfEducation

NJCU & ReUp empower non-traditional students and take actionable steps to remove barriers to completion. President Andrés Acebo shared, “Academic journeys are not linear...In our communities, life presents detours — some intentional and necessary, but for many, life presents obstacles which are unexpected and uncontrollable. Our mission-driven work beckons members of our community back onto our campus to finish what they started, and this new investment from the State of New Jersey will further these significant efforts." Thanks to efforts like this, New Jersey City University ranked #1 in the state of New Jersey and 10th nationwide for improving students’ upward economic mobility. https://lnkd.in/ewRCHFRD #adulteducation #scnd #scnc #stopouts #adultlearners #completion #highered #highereducation #studentsuccess #studentsupport #

Valuable insights into the current generation’s views on higher education. https://lnkd.in/gQS5TrKe 1. Demand for Practical Skills 🛠️ Young people seek education that offers real-world applications and practical skills to prepare them for the workforce. 2. Emphasis on Accessibility and Flexibility 🌐 There’s a growing desire for more accessible learning options, including online and hybrid models, to accommodate diverse lifestyles and commitments. 3. Focus on Affordability and Value 💰 With rising tuition costs, students are increasingly concerned about the return on investment and advocate more affordable education solutions.

School closures have well-documented impacts on academic outcomes, but more recent research shows they also can lower housing values, raise crime rates and diminish the social fabric of a neighborhood. Yet districts rarely consider their community value when deciding whether buildings should close, experts tell Axios. More than 5,000 public schools closed across the U.S. between 2017 and 2022, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. Urban Institute research dating back to 2003 found that closures happened across urban, suburban and rural geographies and socioeconomic statuses. More districts may be forced to close schools after pandemic-era funding, which many institutions used to plug budget holes, expires at the end of this year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities cautions. Closures are most often driven by district budget shortfalls caused by declining enrollment. Americans are having fewer children and parents have more charter and public school options than ever. This means fewer public school students, and ultimately less per-pupil government funding for districts. The most severe impacts of closures tend to occur in poor, urban neighborhoods without recreation centers, parks, or other facilities that can absorb the role of community hub forfeited by the school, UC Davis Department of Human Ecology associate professor Noli Brazil tells Axios. Schools are more than just academic institutions. Neighborhood associations hold meetings in cafeterias. Gymnasiums are used as polling places on Election Day. Health clinics and food pantries offer services there on the weekends. Repurposing closed buildings can mitigate the damage of a school closure. A decade after the closure of Kenilworth Elementary — one of the few remaining community assets in a high-poverty Washington, D.C., neighborhood — the department of parks and recreation last year converted it into a recreation center. Two shuttered Cleveland-area schools are in the process of being adapted into housing. Redevelopment is not the norm — many shuttered schools remain vacant for years, which can attract vandalism and provide a visual reminder of the loss. In 2013, Chicago closed 46 school buildings in the largest mass closure in U.S. history at that time. As of last year, 26 remain vacant despite lofty redevelopment promises, the Chicago Sun reported. Abandoned, "eye sore" school grounds are "a signal to communities that the district is unwilling to invest in their children's success," said Vanessa Marrero, executive director of Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco. When the Paradise Valley Unified School District outside of Phoenix decided to close three schools earlier this year, a school board member told concerned parents: "In the end, they're buildings … the community can exist anywhere." History shows that's not always true.