Corey DeAngelis’ Post

As the District XIV Director for National Science Teaching Association, I have the opportunity to write quarterly District Dispatches that go out to the states I represent. Here is what I wrote for May: Education is one of the biggest topics in today’s political landscape. Politicians have made teachers a target for either teaching too much or not enough, not teaching the “right” things or in the “right” way. We see school funding and teacher salary increases being tied to unrelated bills in an effort to get legislation passed. And every day, the political process becomes less and less transparent, making it harder than ever to know what is happening. It is for these reasons, and so many more, that educators can no longer stand on the sidelines, but must become active participants in the political process, on both sides of the aisle. We can either choose to be present and voice our concerns when decisions are being made and nominees are selected, or we can watch helplessly as our field changes without our input. I recently participated in the caucus and convention system in Utah and was impressed with the number of educators who turned out — but it should be so much more. We cannot afford to sit by any longer. I encourage you to register to vote, if you have not done so already. I would also encourage you to participate in the primary/caucus systems as they take place. Consider attending school board meetings, even just to observe, or write to your local newspaper to tell the story of what we see every day. If you are feeling extra ambitious, run for a local office. Local school boards or city councils are where the biggest impacts can be felt in our day-to-day lives. This is a fight we all must take up, for we will all be affected by the outcome.

Neil Odell: It’s not so simple, Gov. Phil Scott LINK: https://lnkd.in/e93Gs4Fv #TheDailyConsultant #Education #Learning #TeachersPayTeachers #TpT _______________________________________________________________ Are you looking for Educational Tools for children? check out our education products: https://lnkd.in/e57b85eB 1. Addition Math Drills: https://lnkd.in/dHGzAs9k 2. Subtraction Math Drills: https://lnkd.in/dw56FKmZ

Applications for the 2023/2024 program open August 1, 2023 and close September September 15, 2023. Eligible applicants are teachers or administrators in public or private schools, grades K-12. Schools must be located in the TVA service area and receive power from a TVA distributor. If a TVA service provider is misidentified in the application, that application will not be accepted. Please contact your school to verify the school's local power distributor. Applications are now accepted through Submittable.com. With Submittable, you can preview the application, save your work to complete later, and share your application to collaborate with other educators. Be sure to add @email.submittable.com to your safe senders list so that you receive all grant updates and communication. Additionally, please be sure to download the Budget Template, which is necessary to complete your application. All funds must be spent by June 1, 2024 and must be spent in the manner outlined in the approved grant proposal. For more information https://lnkd.in/eKwiYuhx #educationreform #stemeducation #pedagogy Tennessee STEM Innovation Network

The Tennessee state legislature is currently considering a bill to expand school vouchers, also known as the Education Savings Accounts Program, to affect students and families statewide. To help share information on this topic, we’ve created two new resources – one that explore research on similar school voucher programs in other states, and one that breaks down how the new pending legislation differs from current legislation and what that means for Nashville’s students and families. View these two new infographics and more resources on critical topics in public education at https://lnkd.in/dHq7RvyN.

Something to watch in the House... H.Res. 922: Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1147) to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to ... ... allow schools that participate in the school lunch program under such Act to serve whole milk; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 357) to require the head of an agency to issue and sign any rule issued by that agency, and for other purposes; and for other purposes. https://lnkd.in/g6W5d4Pb?

A recent Boston Globe editorial titled “Sadly, the MCAS ballot-question battle is on,” urges voters to take a hard look at the facts about the measure that would eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement. It points out that the requirement that students pass MCAS to graduate “has been a lynchpin of the education-reform efforts of the past three-plus decades, which have helped establish Massachusetts schools as among the top-performing in the country.” The editorial sets the record straight on “monumentally misleading claims” that proponents of the measure have used to make the case for it and highlights that Governor Maura Healey, House Speaker Ron Mariano, a former schoolteacher, and Senate President Karen Spilka, a onetime social worker, have all come out against it. “They have all decided the public educational interest dictates their opposition.” MBAE agrees that voters should reject this proposal. Requiring that students pass MCAS to graduate high school ensures that there is a consistent, minimum academic standard of achievement to earn a high school diploma in Massachusetts. Getting rid of that requirement will mean there will be no consistent standard for awarding a high school diploma and districts will no longer be required to ensure all students meet a minimum standard. Read the editorial: https://lnkd.in/ezVxXahi

Rep. O’Brien introduces bill addressing special education costs STATE HOUSE – Rep. William W. O’Brien (D-Dist. 54, North Providence) has introduced legislation which would address the municipal costs of special education. “As with everything else these days, costs are also rising for education, particularly for our special education programs. These rising costs are severely impacting our municipal budgets and this bill will allow school districts to save millions of dollars across the state. Sharing this obligation statewide is the right thing to do so no community is forced to take on an unfair economic burden, which in turn will provide our municipalities and their residents the financial relief they need and deserve,” said Representative O’Brien. The bill (20424-H 7250) would amend the definition of the term “extraordinary costs” for the purpose of excess costs associated with special education students. The new definition of extraordinary costs would be educational costs that are over 3 times the average statewide special education cost. If a community’s special education costs are considered “extraordinary,” then the state would be required to provide the additional funding that is not covered under the education funding formula. Currently, the threshold to be considered “extraordinary costs” is above five times the total cost of core instruction, plus the student success amount. The bill has been referred to the House Finance Committee.

"The Washington Post studied more than 1,000 book challenges and found that 11 people were behind the complaints. In one Utah school district, a married couple were behind 199 out of 205 challenges. The district reported that the challenges required 10,000 hours of staff time and cost more than $100,000. In Texas, documents show that more than 16 employees spent more than 225 hours at a cost of $30,000 on a single book challenge at the Spring Branch ISD. Of course citizens should be able to offer feedback on public policy. But we must have a sensible balance. Americans already enjoy numerous opportunities to share their concerns on policy through multiple channels including calls, emails, public hearings, and board and committee meetings. But the appropriate scope of feedback from constituents is policy, not the nitty-gritty of operational decisions. Indeed, we would be hard-pressed to identify any agency that allows a single person to initiate, without vetting, a time-consuming and expensive review process." Thanks to EveryLibrary for this important piece: https://lnkd.in/g3pcgxfc

Back to school tips for educators This back to school season, CRA is here to make it easy to teach and understand taxes. Whether you are an educator or an organization that supports educational growth, there are many resources that you can take advantage of this academic year. Click here to learn more: https://lnkd.in/dEiypvpR

Neil Odell: It’s not so simple, Gov. Phil Scott LINK: https://lnkd.in/eSAepgPY #TheDailyConsultant #Education #Learning #TeachersPayTeachers #TpT Please LIKE & REPOST _______________________________________________________________ Are you looking for Educational Tools for children? check out our education products: https://lnkd.in/db_H7993 1. Addition Math Drills: https://lnkd.in/enCdPV8C 2. Subtraction Math Drills: https://lnkd.in/eNuVHcCt