K-12 Education
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from public policy organizations influencing the debate on education policy.
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Fairfax County Public Schools Publications, Student Journalists Win 2020 NSPA Pacemaker Awards
FALLS CHURCH, Virginia, Nov. 25 (TNSAwa) -- Fairfax County Public Schools issued the following news release:
The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) has awarded Pacemaker Awards to two Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) publications.
Winners of the 2020 Newsmagazine Pacemaker are:
* tjTODAY, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology; editors: Justin Chang, Irina Lee, and Grace Mak; adviser: Erinn Harris.
* The Highlander, McLean High School; editors: Nicholas Lohman, Dasha Makarishcheva, and Ava Rotondo; adviser: Lindsay Benedict.
Additionally, staff members from The
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FALLS CHURCH, Virginia, Nov. 25 (TNSAwa) -- Fairfax County Public Schools issued the following news release:
The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) has awarded Pacemaker Awards to two Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) publications.
Winners of the 2020 Newsmagazine Pacemaker are:
* tjTODAY, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology; editors: Justin Chang, Irina Lee, and Grace Mak; adviser: Erinn Harris.
* The Highlander, McLean High School; editors: Nicholas Lohman, Dasha Makarishcheva, and Ava Rotondo; adviser: Lindsay Benedict.
Additionally, staff members from TheHighlander were awarded several individual awards in a variety of contests:
Social Justice Reporting, second place, Coming Clean, Heran Essayas, Kyle Hawley, Nicholas Lohman, and Ava Rotondo.
Story of the Year: News Story, fourth place, Supporting Future Changemakers,
Marina Qu.
Newsmagazine Cover, fifth place, Coronavirus edition, Dasha Makarishcheva.
Portfolio: Artist of the Year, fifth place, Darya Makarishcheva.
Local Climate Change Reporting, honorable mention, A Scorched Earth,
Ben Brooks, Dua Mobin, Marina Qu, and Rebeka Rafi.A
Arlington Public Schools: Gunston Teacher Receives 2020 Mary Peake Award for Excellence in Education Equity
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Nov. 25 (TNSAwa) -- The Arlington Public Schools issued the following news release:
Gunston Middle School Equity and Excellence Coordinator and Instructional Lead Teacher Dr. Shantha Smith is the recipient of the Virginia Department of Education's 2020 Mary Peake Award for Excellence in Education Equity. Dr. Smith was given the award because of her commitment to advancing education equity in Virginia.
The Mary Peake Award for Excellence in Education Equity highlights individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the advancement of equity in education
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ARLINGTON, Virginia, Nov. 25 (TNSAwa) -- The Arlington Public Schools issued the following news release:
Gunston Middle School Equity and Excellence Coordinator and Instructional Lead Teacher Dr. Shantha Smith is the recipient of the Virginia Department of Education's 2020 Mary Peake Award for Excellence in Education Equity. Dr. Smith was given the award because of her commitment to advancing education equity in Virginia.
The Mary Peake Award for Excellence in Education Equity highlights individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the advancement of equity in educationfor students in Virginia. The award offers the Commonwealth an opportunity to recognize educators, policy makers, education advocacy groups, and stakeholder organizations whose service and leadership is impacting equity outcomes for Virginia students.
The Commonwealth is committed to ensuring that its public education system is positioned to achieve equitable academic outcomes for all students. As such, The Virginia Department of Education's equity framework expresses its commitment to eliminating the predictability of student outcomes based on race, gender, zip code, ability, socio-economic status and/or languages spoken at home. This requires that ALL students have access to high quality learning programs that enable them to maximize their potential. Every day, all across the Commonwealth, countless individuals and organizations work tirelessly in various capacities to help achieve this goal.
Dr. Smith will be recognized at a virtual awards ceremony on Dec. 3. This celebration will be virtual and live streamed on the VDOE's YouTube Channel.
President Barack Obama Surprises Chicago Public Schools High School Students With Free Access to 'A Promised Land'
CHICAGO, Illinois, Nov. 24 -- Chicago Public Schools issued the following news release:
This afternoon, Chicago Public Schools CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson joined President Barack Obama as he surprised CPS high school students in a virtual assembly to announce that all CPS high school students have received free access to digital copies of A Promised Land, President Obama's riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making during his time in office. All CPS high school students were invited to tune-in to the livestream with hundreds of students participating in the Zoom call.
A video of
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CHICAGO, Illinois, Nov. 24 -- Chicago Public Schools issued the following news release:
This afternoon, Chicago Public Schools CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson joined President Barack Obama as he surprised CPS high school students in a virtual assembly to announce that all CPS high school students have received free access to digital copies of A Promised Land, President Obama's riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making during his time in office. All CPS high school students were invited to tune-in to the livestream with hundreds of students participating in the Zoom call.
A video ofthe event can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcqo6Wei8c4).
During the virtual assembly, it was announced that a follow up conversation with CPS students and educators will be held in the coming weeks in early 2021 and live-streamed for all students and teachers to tune in. The conversation will be moderated by ABC7 Windy City LIVE's Val Warner.
All Chicago Public Schools high school students and teachers have access to digital copies of A Promised Land which is published by Crown, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. The books are available in e-book and audiobook formats in both English and Spanish through the generosity of Penguin Random House and OverDrive Education, through its Sora student reading app. Students and teachers can access the book at CPS' internal website library.cps.edu.
Governor's School for Science and Mathematics Announces New Interim President
COLUMBIA, South Carolina, Nov. 24 (TNSPer) -- The South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics issued the following news on Nov. 23:
The South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematics (GSSM) Board of Trustees appointed Mr. Daniel S. Dorsel as Interim President, effective January 1, 2021. Mr. Dorsel will also continue to serve as the Senior Vice President for Residential during his Interim Presidency.
Mr. Dorsel has been part of the GSSM Administration since 2012. He earned his Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Notre Dame, a Master of Science in Environmental
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COLUMBIA, South Carolina, Nov. 24 (TNSPer) -- The South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics issued the following news on Nov. 23:
The South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematics (GSSM) Board of Trustees appointed Mr. Daniel S. Dorsel as Interim President, effective January 1, 2021. Mr. Dorsel will also continue to serve as the Senior Vice President for Residential during his Interim Presidency.
Mr. Dorsel has been part of the GSSM Administration since 2012. He earned his Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Notre Dame, a Master of Science in EnvironmentalEngineering from Virginia Tech, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Carolina. As an undergraduate, he studied at the University of Kent, England, for one year. He was also in the inaugural class of the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics.
Mr. Dorsel started his career as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers before entering into the field of education. During his 21 years in education and prior to returning to GSSM, he served as a high school principal, director of advancement, classroom teacher, and coach. Mr. Dorsel serves on the Board of Directors for the National Consortium for Specialized STEM Schools (NCSSS).
"I am looking forward to serving as the Interim President for the South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematics," GSSM Senior Vice President for Residential, Mr. Daniel S. Dorsel. "We have an incredibly talented team of faculty and staff that are dedicated to providing educational opportunities that consistently move our students and state forward in STEM education. GSSM had a tremendous positive impact on me as a student. I hope to provide a similar impact during my time as Interim President."
The GSSM Board of Trustees made this decision at the most recent board meeting on Thursday, November 19, 2020.
"Being selected to lead the South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematics as Interim President is an incredible honor," GSSM Senior Vice President for Residential, Mr. Danny Dorsel. "I look forward to serving my alma mater any way I can as we seek to overcome today's challenges. I thank Chairman Brown and the Board of Trustees for their partnership and support."
Dr. Ershela Sims, who has been serving as GSSM's Interim President and Senior Vice President for Virtual and Outreach since July 2019, accepted a position in September as Executive Director of the Women in Engineering Proactive Network, Inc (WEPAN) and will conclude her tenure with GSSM at the end of December. WEPAN is the leading champion in North America for leveraging research and best practices to propel women's inclusion in the field of engineering.
Mr. Randall (Randy) M. La Cross has been named Interim Senior Vice President for Virtual and Outreach. Mr. La Cross has been serving as the Vice President for Outreach and Global Initiatives since 2019. He is responsible for leading a team of STEM educators in the development of educational experiences for the state's students and teachers and collaborating with the GSSM Leadership Team, faculty, staff, and students to develop international initiatives and partnerships. Prior to summer 2019, Mr. La Cross served the as the VP for Outreach and Research, a role he assumed in 2005. In this role, he provided the oversight for the school's Summer Program for Research Interns (SPRI) and collaborated with a team to develop GSSM's first international student research experience, which led to research opportunities in Germany, South Korea, and China. Mr. La Cross joined GSSM in 1998 as a curriculum development specialist, and in 2000, became a curriculum coordinator in the school's Outreach Center. During his 30 plus years as a science educator in South Carolina, Mr. La Cross has had the opportunity to develop curricula, create science education outreach programs, and serve on numerous state and national committees. He has also served as a science teacher consultant, conducted presentations at state and national science conferences, and taught at various educational levels. He has a passion for developing STEM educational experiences that are academically challenging, relevant, and interactive.
"I'd like to thank and congratulate Dr. Sims on her new position at WEPAN. I'm confident that she will do amazing work there just as she has done here at GSSM," said Board of Trustees Chair, Mr. Bob Brown. "I am also excited about the new opportunity presented to Mr. La Cross. Outreach builds the Govie community pipeline, and Summer Research is one of the real differentiators for our students here at GSSM. Mr. La Cross has done a wonderful job with these initiatives in the past, and there is no doubt that he will continue that excellence in his new position. Also, I'm beyond thrilled that a former Govie is going to be leading our school. Mr. Dorsel has served with excellence for nearly a decade now at the school, and surely, his unique perspective will serve us well as we work to provide the highest level of STEM education to our students during these trying times. Go Eagles!"
Boston Public Schools Reports Annual Hiring Update, Reaches Diversity Hiring Milestones
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Nov. 24 (TNSRep) -- Boston Public Schools issued the following news:
The Boston Public Schools (BPS) Office of Human Capital recently provided its annual hiring update, demonstrating substantial progress on recruitment, cultivation, and diversity hiring practices and initiatives with the hiring of the highest percentage of candidates of color in seven years.
For the first time in the last seven years, when BPS adopted mutual consent hiring, the total percentage of educator hires (including teachers and guidance counselors) who identified as people of color surpassed 50%,
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, Nov. 24 (TNSRep) -- Boston Public Schools issued the following news:
The Boston Public Schools (BPS) Office of Human Capital recently provided its annual hiring update, demonstrating substantial progress on recruitment, cultivation, and diversity hiring practices and initiatives with the hiring of the highest percentage of candidates of color in seven years.
For the first time in the last seven years, when BPS adopted mutual consent hiring, the total percentage of educator hires (including teachers and guidance counselors) who identified as people of color surpassed 50%,growing the BPS workforce to nearly 54% people of color, an increase of nearly 7% over last year, which was the previous highpoint.
This year, Black educators comprised 31% of all hires of teachers and guidance counselors, the first time this number has been significantly higher than the court-ordered Garrity threshold of 25%. In addition, 16% of hires were Latinx, the highest percentage in the last seven years. The Garrity court order, established in 1974, requires BPS to achieve and maintain a desegregated faculty and staff (teachers and guidance counselors), "comprised of not less than 25% Blacks and 10% other minorities." According to the data released today, BPS teachers of color are now 39% of all teachers, the highest total percentage over the last seven years.
BPS also experienced strong diversity hiring results for external hires, or those new to BPS. Over 48% of external hires were educators of color, while external Black hires were 24% of the total, a nearly 6% increase over 2019-20, and by far the highest percentage in the last seven years. Additionally, the percentage of hires who self-identified linguistic capacity in a BPS language other than English was 45% this year, a 7% increase over last year.
"I am so proud of my colleagues for their continued progress in leading the critical charge of increasing the diversity of our workforce. This incredible progress is the result of years of hard work and a reflection of the commitment of our team to continue to elevate our diversity recruitment, cultivation and retention efforts," said BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. "This office's move to the Division of Equity and Strategy has brought a renewed focus to this work and broadened our efforts throughout the district to expand workforce diversity initiatives, in alignment with the commitment in the BPS strategic plan to increase teacher and workforce diversity so children have more role models who look like them and speak their language."
BPS, which employs just 6% of Massachusetts educators, already has an outsized proportion of educators of color in the Commonwealth. While 8% of the teaching force in Massachusetts are educators of color, BPS employs 47% of the state's Black teachers, 23% of the state's Latinx teachers, and 23% of the state's Asian teachers.
The BPS Office of Recruitment, Cultivation & Diversity (RCD) Programs recently moved to the Division of Equity, Strategy, and Opportunity Gaps, led by Dr. Charles Grandson. The office continues to cultivate diverse educator candidate pools by maintaining strong partnerships with colleges and universities, BPS-run pipeline programs, Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) Prep support programming, school-specific coaching and supports, school-based and central office affinity grouping, leadership development and retention programs for educators of color.
"These positive results demonstrate the impact of the comprehensive and collaborative strategies that have led BPS to be recognized as a national example for success in recruitment, cultivation, hiring, and retention of teachers of color," said BPS Managing Director of Office of RCD Programs Ceronne Daly. "We look forward to further expanding this work to eliminate racial disparities across the district by continuing to advance strategies and initiatives that yield a highly effective racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse workforce."
One of the key initiatives of the Boston Public Schools five-year strategic plan is to hire and retain a workforce that reflects the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the students and families the district serves. BPS has also started to collect more robust language fluency data as part of the recruitment and hiring process. BPS asks candidates not only to identify languages in which they have some fluency, but the hiring process also requests that applicants self-assess in reading, writing, and speaking, in addition to indicating whether the language is native, whether they feel comfortable teaching in the language, and whether they have the ability to translate.
Access to a linguistically diverse candidate pool will support the district's strategy to implement the LOOK Act and strengthen and expand the bilingual options available to students. BPS recently welcomed Dr. Silvia Romero-Johnson as the new Assistant Superintendent for the Office of English Learners, who has made it a priority to hire more bilingual educators to better serve students with native language supports, and provide additional training to current bilingual educators to support them in meeting the needs of all learners.
More information about the district's retention, cultivation and diversity programs is available at teachboston.org.
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REPORT: https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/cms/lib/MA01906464/Centricity/Domain/162/FINAL%20OHC%20School%20Committee%20Presentation%2011%2018%2020.pdf
Twenty-One Dallas ISD Neighborhood Schools Received $50,000 to Pursue Innovative Ideas
DALLAS, Texas, Nov. 21 -- The Dallas Independent School District issued the following news release:
Twenty-one Dallas ISD neighborhood schools each received $50,000 in seed money to pursue innovative ideas that will increase school choice in families' backyards.
The Dallas ISD Office of Transformation and Innovation launched the Innovation Engine Grant program in 2019 as a way to further support neighborhood schools and increase school choice. This week OTI notified the 21 campuses selected for an Innovation Engine Grant, bringing banners and a socially distanced celebration to the neighborhood
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DALLAS, Texas, Nov. 21 -- The Dallas Independent School District issued the following news release:
Twenty-one Dallas ISD neighborhood schools each received $50,000 in seed money to pursue innovative ideas that will increase school choice in families' backyards.
The Dallas ISD Office of Transformation and Innovation launched the Innovation Engine Grant program in 2019 as a way to further support neighborhood schools and increase school choice. This week OTI notified the 21 campuses selected for an Innovation Engine Grant, bringing banners and a socially distanced celebration to the neighborhoodschools.
"We are planting seeds of innovation throughout Dallas ISD," said Shakeatha Butler, director of the Office of Transformation and Innovation. "Sometimes it takes money to innovate. A school team might have the passion and might have the ideas, but they need the funds to make those ideas a reality."
The selected schools can use the funding in a variety of ways to support innovation on their campus.
As one of the 21 school selected, John Carpenter Elementary School in Oak Cliff will pursue a leadership model with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. Under the model, the school will, in part, host a "Socratic Hour"-an open-ended discussion that teaches students to think critically-and a financial literacy course.
"This will have an enormous impact on our students and the community we serve," Carpenter Elementary Principal Constance Jawaid said. "We are thankful for this seed money to help us innovate here in Oak Cliff. It is our goal to do our part to help change the economic trajectory of Black and Brown people in this country and what better place to start than with the children."
In addition to Carpenter Elementary, the other schools 20 selected, and the proposed academic model they will explore, are:
* Roosevelt High School (STEAM)
* Boude Storey Middle School (STEAM)
* Gaston Middle School (Communications and Culture-Inquiry Based Learning)
* Hector P. Garcia Middle School (International Baccalaureate - Middle Years Programme)
* Kennedy-Curry Middle School (Visual and Performing Arts)
* O.W. Holmes Middle School (STEAM)
* Herbert Marcus Elementary School (Leadership)
* Pershing Elementary School (STEAM College and Career Exploration)
* DeGolyer Elementary School (STEAM - Design Thinking)
* Adelle Turner Elementary School (STEAM - Project Based Learning)
* Eddie Bernice Johnson Elementary School (STEM)
* Rhoads/Thompson Elementary School (STEM)
* Brashear Elementary School (Leadership)
* H.I. Holland Elementary School (New Tech)
* Foster Elementary School (Personalized Learning)
* Harrell Budd Elementary School (Theater Arts)
* Dunbar Elementary School (STEM)
* Soto Elementary School (Leadership)
* Dorsey Elementary School (Leadership)
* Guzick Elementary School (International Baccalaureate)
