RedSTART Educate’s Post

Championing the importance of a diverse higher education sector - a new GuildHE manifesto. The higher education sector is made up of a huge range of providers - including conservatoires, smaller universities and specialist institutions - delivering a wide variety of learning environments, course types and qualification routes. The UK higher education sector is stronger for being diverse providing choice for students and education often in remote parts of the UK. However, the financial pressures facing higher education place this diversity at risk. We make a number of recommendations to protect and enhance this diversity to enable both students and higher education institutions to thrive. #universities #highereducation #highered #GE2024 #GeneralElection

Though I’m not yet formally in post, I’m happy to share the GuildHE manifesto containing key recommendations for the next government. Our focus must remain on championing the diversity of our sector. It’s richness is derived from its wide variety of providers; some large, some medium-sized, some small; some more traditional, some very new; some providing on-campus, off-campus, blended learning or all 3; all delivering to towns, cities and regions across the devolved nations, enabling students of all ages to undertake lifelong learning that improves their lives, careers and experiences. There is no one-size fits all, and unless we think creatively, we risk losing the diversity that makes UK HE so attractive to both domestic and international students. Not only that, a less attractive, strong and robust system would weaken the UK’s soft power around the world at a time we need to be showing ourselves as deep and meaningful collaborative partners to tackle global challenges. I look forward to working with my GuildHE team and many of you in (and outwith) the sector to secure the strength and diversity of our sector!

The Shift from Public Schools: A Growing Trend in American Education An overwhelming majority of American students attend public schools, but this trend is changing. According to new research from EdChoice, an organization that supports private school choice and tracks the sector, more than one million students used some form of private education voucher this year. Read More: https://lnkd.in/dCPPG7Rx #educationshift #publicschools #EducationTrends #AmericanEducation #schoolchoice

Curt Cardine ‘87 (New England, MED) has published a new book entitled, Horace’s Hope, Friedman’s Folly (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024). The book explains the forces behind the current efforts to privatize education. It also works to debunk the idea that public education should be based on a capitalistic model of action that places the education of our youth into the hands of corporations. Cardine does this by presenting the original six principles of public education as espoused by Horace Mann, which is the basis of most state legislation concerning the creation of public schools: 1. Citizens may not obtain both ignorance and freedom. 2. The public should pay for, control, and maintain education. 3. Children of different financial ladders should get the same education. 4. The education that is taught must be nonsectarian (nonreligious). 5. The education taught must use tenets of a free society. 6. This education should be taught by professionally trained teachers. Cardine has over 50 years of experience in public and charter schools, where he served as a superintendent, principal, and teacher. An early advocate of the model for charter schools promoted by Ray Budde and endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers, Cardine has written multiple papers on charter schools for the Grand Canyon Institute in Arizona, where he serves as a research associate.

Illinois's Section 529 plan can help families save for higher education, with all earnings being tax-free! The earlier you start saving for your kids’ higher education, the more time it will have to compound and grow—giving your kids a head start in funding their future educational expenses. #mypfcu #CUYouthMonth

Great blog from Tim Aldridge sharing a fantastic example of a successful place-based education partnership in Camden that brings coherence to a complex and fragmented system. We need a way to make sense of the national policy framework at a local level so all parts of the system can work collaboratively in the best interests of children and young people. Place-based education partnerships with real teeth and decision making powers are a key recommendation in the ADCS policy paper ‘a future vision for education’. If you’d like to know more about the ADCS vision there’s a link in Tim’s blog to the full paper

“From another country”: how much is the fee that Luciana Salazar pays for her daughter Matilda’s school If there is something in which Luciana Salazar does not skimp, it is in the education of his daughter. That is why he decides to take Matilda to an American school but in Argentina. That is why he has to pay in dollars, which is why the amount he pays was leaked. In an effort to try to ensure the best possible future for her, Luciana Salazar decided to send Matilda to an American school. The little girl goes to one of the most prestigious schools in the country, so that is also reflected in the amount she has to pay per year for her to be able to study there. It’s that, the little one goes to the Lincoln School Association, Located in Vicente López, it stands out in the country for being a prestigious private school that offers bilingual and multicultural education. That is why, taking into account that it is endorsed by the United States, it respects its school calendar. This means that in the last days, Matilda Salazar Luciana Salazar has finished preschool, so she will start primary school in August. This means that the fees will increase for Luciana Salazar. The fees of the Lincoln School Association vary depending on the level that each child attends. Thus, it was revealed how much the model pays in dollars. It is worth mentioning that there are different methods to pay, since the idea is to provide facilities despite the high cost. Although the only condition is that it is always in the US currency, the amounts vary depending on how the payment is made. For those who want to pay the fee month by month, they will have to pay between $1,874 and $3,870, depending on the level they go to per small group. In this sense, for those who wish to pay semi-annually, the values are between $7,495 and $15,400. While those who wish to pay for the entire year and thus forget about the installments can do so for an amount that is between $14,990 and $30,960. More information at The USA Print The post “From another country”: how much is the fee that Luciana Salazar pays for her daughter Matilda’s school appeared first on The USA Print.

I was struck by the report on the BBC website (6 March 2024) that Birley Academy in Sheffield could lose funding because of ‘underperformance’. The report says that the community college, which has 1,000 pupils on roll has been inspected twice by Ofsted since 2017 and was rated as ‘requires improvement’ on both occasions. As a result, the school may well lose funding. I am not able to comment on the validity of the inspection findings.  What struck me was that reducing funding was an odd ‘punishment’ although it can be seen as a clear marker of an ostensibly public service, such as a school, being in a market.  Who will suffer from funding being reduced? The staff at the school or the children or both? Will having less funding help the staff improve the school? Presumably the idea is that they will have to try harder! I can feel Mrs Thatcher's ideology at work here! In a time where, arguably, economic rationality seems the dominant ideology this might have skewed our collective thinking? Ball (2003) claimed that schools exist in a time of punishment and reward for compliance with policy where public naming and shaming are accepted. In this we have allowed Ofsted to become a reality definer. A teacher once said to me “I know we are a good school because Ofsted says so”. There would have been a time when if a school was struggling like this the LEA, remember them, would have mobilised their resources to help the school on the basis that this would be the best for the children who attend that school. I find it very revealing that the report makes no mention of ‘children’ or ‘students’. It is almost as if they are merely a means for the school to ‘score’ well on the quantifiable and measurable criteria that ‘really’ matter. What do people think? https://lnkd.in/eScgcwgp

What do the recent changes to funding for the Department for Education’s National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) mean for you and your school, trust or educational setting? Read our explainer to find out about: ☑ NPQs with scholarships for all eligible schools ☑ NPQs with targeted scholarships for schools serving the most disadvantaged pupils ☑ who can take an NPQ and how they can benefit teacher and leaders https://lnkd.in/eCFHmZ-x

At an education conference last week, I made a prediction that, if current macro trends continue, 75% of American children won't be going to traditional public schools by 2035. (We're at ~10% now.) The looks on their faces reminded me of the looks people gave me when I told them I wanted to start a microschool company in the middle of the pandemic. Well, today, I just came across this headline and got a glimpse into what the future might hold. In NC, 25% of students have already left the traditional public school system. This is before the full-scale implementation of North Carolina's Education Savings Account, which allows anyone in the state to take their state tax dollars and apply them towards a microschool or other forms of alternative education. So, now I wonder, will it take until 2035? Will it happen sooner?