Oakland Unified School District’s Post

To date, we’ve awarded more than 180,000 bicycles to hard-working students in the second grade in a mission to improve child literacy in the Greater Houston area. 💡 But why do we target second graders? In a survey we took with educators, we discovered that the second grade is the last formative year in which students are learning to read and sound out what they are reading. Starting in the third grade, students are transitioning to reading for content and understanding. 📊 After the third grade, students not reading on grade level are four times more likely not to graduate from high school. And with less than half of Houston ISD first-, second- and third-graders reading at or above grade level as of 2022, we’ll continue our program until that number reaches 100 percent.

#ICYMI: Annie Kessler, Executive Director of City Year New York, was featured on CBS News last month. She spoke about our work to recruit Student Success coaches to curb the teacher shortage in New York City. "A lot of mentors come in knowing they want to go into education, and we give them experience in the classroom and training to put them on that path. Then we have a lot of young people who come in and they really don't know what they want to do next, and then they decide over the course of the year that education is the career path for them." Watch the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gmg7hFJq

Excited to share the first statewide look at uncertified teachers in Texas and how they impact student achievement. Link to policy brief: https://shorturl.at/6T9q7 Some key highlights: 1.    Nearly half of first-time new teacher hires are uncertified 2.    Uncertified teachers made up over 80% of new hires in 55 counties 3.    72% of uncertified new teachers have no prior experience working in Texas public schools 4.    Nearly 1 in 5 uncertified new teachers do not hold a bachelor’s degree 5.    Students with new uncertified teachers perform significantly worse in reading and math, unless that teacher has previous experience working in a Texas public school

Students do better when they have teachers and principals who look like them. As the student population becomes more and more diverse, the educator population has not been able to keep up. While states have invested in strategies to increase the diversity of the educator workforce, there is still a significant gap between the racial and ethnic makeup of students and staff. However, there are ways to enhance principal pipelines to not only increase the diversity of school leaders but also help all principals best serve all students. Read more: https://bit.ly/47tDMfn

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have seen significant positive outcomes in their implementation of #restorativepractices #restorativejustice What we at CSC found compelling:   - The positive outcomes were NOT because of “mechanical” changes, like a simple change to their discipline response or code of conduct. The robust use of Restorative Practices was the driver of positive outcomes. - Equally important, the reduction in suspensions did NOT result in increased in-school-suspension, classroom disruption, or poorer academic performance. The University of Chicago Education Lab evaluated outcomes across 239 schools within CPS starting before implementation in 2008 through the end of 2018. What they found:  - 18% decrease in Out of School Suspensions without an increase in the use of In School Suspensions - 35% reduction in student arrests in school  - 15% reduction in student arrests outside of school - Improvement in student-reported perceptions of school climate, including items related to classroom behavior of peers, psychological sense of school membership, student-teacher trust, and school safety. - Students enrolled in RP adopting schools are less likely to exit the CPS system You can read more about their successes here: https://lnkd.in/e7MF7X4w Does your team want to explore adopting RP at your district or school? We're happy to meet with your leadership team to provide a brief overview of RP. Or, join the Hour Huddle on Friday April 5th at 12pm ET to get an overview of RP. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ekSX4zgV  

Every child deserves & needs a safe, inclusive learning environment that supports their social, emotional, & academic development (#SEAD). Our case study, Creating Safer Schools, highlights five approaches to #SchoolSafety & student well-being and offers recommendations for a “school-to-possibility” pipeline. https://edtru.st/4al1RYq #PlantingSEADs

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) have seen significant positive outcomes in their implementation of #restorativepractices  #restorativejustice What we at CSC found compelling:   - The positive outcomes were NOT because of “mechanical” changes, like a simple change to their discipline response or code of conduct. The robust use of Restorative Practices was the driver of positive outcomes. - Equally important, the reduction in suspensions did NOT result in increased in-school-suspension, classroom disruption, or poorer academic performance. The University of Chicago Education Lab evaluated outcomes across 239 schools within CPS starting before implementation in 2008 through the end of 2018. What they found:  - 18% decrease in Out of School Suspensions without an increase in the use of In School Suspensions - 35% reduction in student arrests in school  - 15% reduction in student arrests outside of school - Improvement in student-reported perceptions of school climate, including items related to classroom behavior of peers, psychological sense of school membership, student-teacher trust, and school safety. - Students enrolled in RP adopting schools are less likely to exit the CPS system You can read more about their successes here: https://lnkd.in/e7MF7X4w Does your team want to explore adopting RP at your district or school? We're happy to meet with your leadership team to provide a brief overview of RP.  Or, join the Hour Huddle on Friday April 5th at 12pm ET to get an overview of RP. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ekSX4zgV  

In recent years partially due to the pandemic, school districts in Pennsylvania have found difficulty filling new positions. According to a study conducted by Penn State’s Center For Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis titled “Exacerbating the Shortage of Teachers: Rising Teacher Attrition in Pennsylvania from 2014 to 2023,” between the 2022 and 2023, Centre County had a teacher attrition rate of 9.3. The rate at which teachers leave a school district varies in surrounding counties, like Clinton County with an attrition rate of 10.1 and Clearfield County, which has a rate of 6.8, according to the analysis. Penn State University Park sends their student teachers to “a variety of schools and school districts within a 70 mile radius of University Park,” according to Penn State’s College of Education website. Despite the varying levels of teacher attrition in Centre County and its surrounding counties, student teachers are placed in districts depending on the supervisor they are randomly assigned to, according to Bryce Ervin.

Last week on TV we debated whether our kids are struggling academically, and had some very different opinions. [https://lnkd.in/gw4-vsRb] I don't think it's OK that we've fallen behind most states in K-12 education [https://lnkd.in/gVSNXp2E] or to see the poorest state passing us by in math [https://lnkd.in/g_Ekxg8P]. So I've built a plan to ensure access to tutoring for kids who fall behind -- an overdue but much-needed implementation of US Department of Education guidance on tutoring support. The incumbent thinks that calling out these issues is disrespectful to teachers. As a fourth-generation Washington public school teacher - most recently at Rainier Beach High School - I think it's disrespectful to our educators to not call out the leadership failures here. We can and must do better to support our teachers and students. Please re-post if you agree. As your next WA Superintendent of Public Instruction, I will ensure that we're better supported and begin to lead the nation in education again! www.Reid4WAschools.com

One of the educational crises is where are the teachers? How can we attract more college-bound students to go into the teaching field and pursue education as a career? I'm continually working in the educational community arena, and I'm watching this struggle in school districts for teachers and how a policy from the past prevents our college graduates from teaching certifications. Teacher's unions are continuing to be at odds with school districts. Also, this is a distraction, and our communities of parents and students are lost in the shuffle of the teacher shortage, which affects the classroom. Various solutions are being discussed nationally in education. The topics are national teacher certification, college tuition forgiveness, housing incentives for teachers to relocate, and free tuition for their master's or higher education degrees. So, let's start to have more discussions on solving this problem for a better education for K through 12. #communityneversleep