Blog Archive for Education News

Since its launch just 5 months ago, Pass The Chalk has touched on a broad range of issues, including the Chicago teachers’ strike, how to support students’ mental health, coming out as a teacher or student, life in our nation’s Native American communities, and most recently, the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Conn. But there's also a ton of stuff we didn't talk about. As we approach year's end, we asked some of your favorite contributors to reflect on the most overlooked education stories of 2012. Here’s what they said.

(Note: Pass The Chalk will be on hiatus until January 2, 2013. We look forward to resuming our regular publication schedule in the New Year. Have a wonderful holiday!)

Charter Schools

One issue I’d like to have seen more coverage on is the sheer proliferation of charter schools in Minnesota (and other areas) and the consequences—both positive and negative—it has had. Working in the first state to allow charter schools, I see some massive issues (students switching schools on a weekly basis as they “shop around”) and also some massive strengths (Minneapolis’s Hiawatha Leadership Academy was ranked No. 1 in the state for closing the achievement gap). I haven’t seen tons of coverage looking at both sides of this issue, along with states that still don’t have charter schools. (Blair Mishleau, Twin Cities '12) 

Read past posts from Blair

Chicago Youth Violence 

I was disheartened (though not entirely surprised) not to see more in the media on the violence that wrought devastation in Chicago this summer. For many reasons, the Chicago teachers’ strike not least of all, this story never seemed to own a news cycle. I was particularly curious to hear how educators were approaching this topic in their classrooms. (Ursa Scherer Robinson, Teacher Leadership Preparation and Development)

Read past posts from Ursa

By Stoeffler (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

@ChrisGueits was a 2008 Los Angeles corps member and is Co-Founder of Roots of Hope. This post has been adapted from a personal reflection on Facebook last Friday.

"For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on, and make our country worthy of their memory."

I’m embarrassed to admit it.  The news from Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday didn’t tear me apart.  At least not at first.

Photo by VOA by WikiCommons

Today Pass The Chalk is running a series of reflections on the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

As a Connecticut mother of two children and an educator I have been struggling, like many across the world, to absorb the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

I was in a professional development session all day Friday. Even though I was aware that there had been a shooting in a school in Newtown, it wasn’t until the drive to pick up my children from school that I began to process the magnitude of the event and the lives lost.

Photo by DVIDSHUB via WikiCommons

Laura Dallas McSorley is a native of Atlanta and the managing director for Teach For America’s early childhood education initiative.

Last month, my hometown of Atlanta welcomed thousands of pre-K teachers, Head Start leaders, parents, researchers, and program administrators at the largest conference on early childhood education the world over. For four jam-packed days, these practitioners and policymakers came together for the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children to wrestle with how best to educate our country’s youngest learners. As a former pre-K teacher and fervent believer in the remarkable power of early education, I couldn’t have been prouder of our city.

Georgia’s universal, state-funded Pre-K Program exemplifies Atlanta’s dedication to early learning and its leadership in the field. My personal commitment to early education first developed in my own classroom—a community of 3- and 4-year-olds in the Edgewood neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Charged with shaping my students’ first school experience, I came quickly to understand the vital importance of the 10 or so months I would spend with the kids entrusted to me each year.

Research shows that 85% of a child’s brain develops before the age of 5, and that attending a high-quality pre-K program is linked to greater educational attainment, higher earnings, and lower levels of involvement in the criminal justice system throughout a student’s lifetime. It’s one of the highest-return investments our nation can make. Just this week, the New York Times cited lack of early education as a contributing factor in the lingering lag between American students’ math and science achievement and that of their peers worldwide. Without a strong foundation, students tend to fall further and further behind over time.  

Attending a high-quality pre-K program is linked to greater educational attainment and higher earnings throughout a student’s lifetime. (photo via Wikimedia Commons)