蜜桃影视

This update on the Every Student Succeeds Act and the education plans now being implemented by states and school districts is produced in partnership with ESSA Essentials, an ongoing series from the Collaborative for Student Success. It鈥檚 an offshoot of their聽聽newsletter, which you can聽! (See our recent ESSA updates聽from previous weeks right here.)

In a聽, Louisiana Superintendent of Schools John White discusses the state鈥檚 participation in the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 innovative assessment pilot. 鈥淥ur hope is that the new assessments will create an incentive for teachers to focus on the meaning of texts, to focus on building background knowledge rather than specific skills like summarizing or finding the main idea of a text, which really do not have a strong basis in evidence of assisting students in learning to read,鈥� White explains.

White also elaborates on the challenges of ESSA鈥檚 call for innovation and how his state is handling the transition to increased state and local control. 鈥淚f there is one criticism I would have of the policy environment and perhaps even the policymaking community and the research community related to the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, it is that when there was a call put out for other measures or new ways of thinking about measuring success, there were very few answers,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat’s a problem, not because the accountability systems are wrongheaded, but because they need to evolve.鈥�

He adds that at 鈥渁ny given moment in history in our system, there are times where a more robust central presence is needed, and there are times when it has exhausted its utility.鈥� White says it is 鈥渘o secret that over the last 35 years there has been a movement toward a much more centralized role,鈥� but it鈥檚 鈥渇air to say that absent a strong local response [in the wake of ESSA], all of that energy at the federal and state levels will not end up manifesting itself.鈥�

Check out below for more ESSA news.

1 Improving outcomes for military-connected kids

鈥淢ilitary-connected students have a greater than 50 percent chance of moving to a new school each year,鈥� the Lexington Institute鈥檚 Doug Mesecar and Don Soifer Education Week published as part of its 鈥淪pecial Report: 10 Big Ideas in Education鈥� (second item). For the first time, military-connected kids are now going to be identified as a subgroup under the Every Student Succeeds Act. This not only provides districts and schools with a unique opportunity to address the academic and social-emotional needs of military-connected students, it also informs 鈥渉ow effective policy and practice can lead to improved outcomes for them all.鈥� Mesecar and Soifer identify 鈥渁 number of essential practices for educators that can be used for benchmarking district and school programs serving military-connected students.鈥�

2 Upcoming webinar on tracking & reporting federal funds

When ESSA was passed, it gave states and districts the 鈥渙pportunity to do what was in the best interest of educators when spending funds,鈥� 聽eSchool News. But 鈥渢his flexibility also demands some strict guardrails, which is why reporting tools are so important.鈥� It is critical, then, that districts have access to integrated timekeeping solutions that 鈥渁llow teachers to easily document when federal dollars are being used to support their time worked鈥� so they can provide federal officials with accurate and timely data as required under ESSA. A Feb. 6 webinar will explore this issue and provide information about three primary issues relating to ESSA鈥檚 personnel reporting requirements: 1. how 鈥渓abor impacts ESSA reporting,鈥� 2. the 鈥渋nternal controls to help track time and effort,鈥� and 3. how 鈥渟chool districts across the country are adapting.鈥�

3 Alabama delays school report cards (yet again)

础尝.肠辞尘听 that education officials in Alabama have once again delayed release of the state鈥檚 鈥渦nified report card,鈥� in part because of 鈥渢echnical problems with the website but also to ensure the data is accurate, according to Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey.鈥� This is the third time the release has been delayed. The unified report card 鈥渃ontains information required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, and that is where the problems have been, Mackey said.鈥� He also notes that other states , and 鈥渉e doesn鈥檛 expect any federal repercussions because of the delay.鈥�

4 Education, ESSA & the 116th Congress

With a new Congress 鈥� with 鈥渄ozens of new, more diverse members helping to propel Democrats to control of the House鈥� and Republicans slightly expanding their majority in the Senate 鈥� Carolyn Phenicie examines 鈥溾�� in 蜜桃影视. The Education Department has 鈥渟et a March 1, 2019, deadline for states to change their ESSA plans for how they鈥檒l rate schools in the 2019-20 school year,鈥� Phenicie reports. State chiefs 鈥渕ust consult with their governors and give communities a chance to comment.鈥� With 鈥渟everal new governors who focused on K-12鈥� taking office in 2019, changes to how the nation鈥檚 keystone education law is implemented in the states are likely.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.