Category: Updates

The way education media and policymakers frame education debates can have longer-term effects on how the public thinks about students, and which policies they are likely to support to improve students’ learning.

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This is the first of a three-part series looking at how social-emotional learning strategies can support teachers of students with learning differences during the pandemic. 

Educators tackle tough conversations about race and violence – This time virtually.

Educators across the US already adapting to remote teaching due to the coronavirus pandemic now find themselves facing another challenge: Supporting, educating, and engaging students during waves of protest and unrest.

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According to new research analysis, Districts’ summer school plans are showing missed opportunities for addressing learning loss for students and fostering social connections. READ MORE

The advocacy group ParentsTogether has released a survey of online learning since COVID-19 shut down schools across the country.

Among the results, the survey of 1,500 parents nationwide found that the nation’s poorest students are accessing remote learning as little as once a week or less. By contrast, the survey found that for families making more than $100,000 a year, 83 percent of children participate in online learning every day, and most are participating for at least two hours.

The survey also discovered big gaps — both by income levels and between families with and without children in special education. Thirty-nine percent of families with a child on an IEP reported not receiving any support at all, and nearly twice as many parents of children with special needs reported concerns with their children’s mental health.

The survey results can be found here.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) established the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) in 2004 to assist states and districts with producing accessible instructional materials for students with print disabilities. Primarily, the NIMAC is responsible for producing materials for eligible students who are blind, visually impaired, or have print disabilities — as defined under Section 131 of the U.S. Copyright Act.

To ensure eligible students have access to textbooks and other educational materials — and in response to technological advances in the creation of educational curricula — the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued a new interpretation of the phrase “printed textbooks and related core materials” referred to in the definition of “print instructional materials” in section 674(e)(3)(C) of IDEA to include digital instructional materials.

ED’s rationale further explains why the new interpretation of print instructional materials includes digital materials by stating, “because that is the primary medium through which many textbooks and core materials are now produced.”

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The mental and emotional health of students is becoming just as important during COVID-19 as their academic development. Two recent surveys have examined the social and emotional well-being of K-12 students but from opposing sides — one focused on the students and the other focused on teachers. Both were undertaken by companies that sell products and services to help teachers teach or participate in well-being activities.  READ MORE

Even amid the uncertainty of what the school year will look like in the fall, teachers are itching to get back to some semblance of normalcy. Greeting students at the door each morning, chatting with them about their weekend, providing in-person feedback on projects and facilitating student-led conversations are among the many joys we miss during this pandemic.  READ MORE