West End Strategy Team’s Post

"During the 2023 state legislative sessions, 110 bills that PEN America defines as educational gag orders were introduced, and 10 became law. Four more gag orders were imposed via executive order or state or system regulation: two in Florida, and one each in Arkansas and California. These developments bring the number of educational gag orders that have become law or policy to a total of 40 across 21 states as of November 1, 2023. "While it is difficult to guess the total number of educators affected by these laws and policies, a conservative estimate would put the number at approximately 1.3 million public school teachers and 100,000 public college and university faculty.2 The students who have been directly affected—through canceled classes, censored teachers, and decimated school library collections—likely number in the millions. The chilling effect on public education across the country is certainly much larger. "In this report, we analyze the educational gag orders introduced and passed in the 2023 legislative sessions, as well as the impact of laws passed in 2022 and 2021." #law #bannedbooks #bookban #censorship #USconstitution #socialjustice #racialjustice #education #k12education #highereducation #primaryschool #highschool #college #curriculum #criticalthinking #freespeech #history #truth #truthmatters https://lnkd.in/eRTsMGpw

In our last essay, the latest in our series on public education, we examined the teaching crisis in America. In this essay, written by Civic Way founder Bob Melville, we examine possible solutions. These could include reforms to how teachers become teachers, increasing resources and increased pay. https://lnkd.in/eCGBnSff

The School Librarian Solution to 2024 Education Challenges https://lnkd.in/g6mBgp_H School and district leaders face significant challenges in 2024. Here's how a highly effective school librarian can help.

Education in schools should not only cultivate creativity, practical skills, and academic knowledge but also promote critical thinking, enabling students to objectively and analytically assess ideas, information, and problems. It should prepare them for real-world challenges and diverse career paths. Collaborative learning environments play a crucial role in providing a well-rounded education by addressing all relevant aspects. Critical thinking involves evaluating ideas, information, and problems objectively and analytically, using the brain's capacity to approach them from a logical standpoint, considering various perspectives. It encompasses analyzing, discussing, problem-solving, and generating thoughts on diverse topics.

Breaking news! Florida Governor DeSantis signs education bill restricting book challenges. Join the conversation as we navigate the implications of this decision on academic freedom and classroom diversity. 📚✍️ Florida Gov DeSantis Signs Education Bill Restricting Book Challenges Read More: https://rb.gy/a5kgc9 #FloridaEducation #GovernorDeSantis #EducationBill #BookChallenges #AcademicFreedom #ClassroomDiversity

Bill to mandate ‘science of reading’ in California classrooms dies. Supporters vow to bring the issue back next year https://lnkd.in/e5SNMeXr In 2023, just 43% of California third-graders met the academic standards on the state’s standardized test in 2023. Only 27.2% of Black students, 32% of Latino students and 35% of low-income children were reading at grade level, compared with 57.5% of white, 69% of Asian and 66% of non-low-income students. 

Take a moment to read through the blog written by Nancy. What are your thoughts about policy and education? https://ow.ly/IAbz50Qpn3q

In the latest entry in our series on public education, we examine perhaps the most critical facet of our education system: teachers. We are losing good teachers every year at an alarming rate and the replacement rate for them has plummeted. Propaganda against public schooling in general has certainly contributed to this, but what other factors are at play? Civic Way founder Bob Melville examines why we are losing teachers, why it is getting more difficult to replace them and why standards for evaluating teachers to ensure bad ones are not teaching children have fallen. https://lnkd.in/eKYanQmq

There is a large set of education advocates who've said, "But Jose, we can't wait until America corrects its property taxes and education laws to get our talented and gifted children the education they deserve." OK. But a strategy that only strategized for the "in the meantime" doesn't get us to something more everlasting. We don't have to center dominant ideas of what a good school is to send our children to good schools. We also have to work on deconstructing school systems that intentionally create inequitable and unjust schools at the root. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g_5XeTqp And let me know what you think. #educolor #education #diversityequityinclusion #writing

Last month, Ary Amerikaner and Rucker Johnson released a new paper “Reclaiming the Promise of Brown: The Integration of Desegregation & School Funding Reform.” In the paper, they explain, “The best available research evidence provides support of the pursuit of a holistic set of policy reforms that rethink how we assign students and resources to schools if we are ever to achieve equal educational opportunity that prepares all students to thrive in a multiracial democracy.”  At ERI, we affirm the need for law and policy reform around school funding and assignment so that each and every student across our nation can access a high-quality education.   Read their paper here: https://lnkd.in/g25k7bZT.