The Alumni Initiative’s Post

On an average school day, thousands of New Jersey public school students are skipping school as fallout from the pandemic continues to disrupt education. In its annual School Performance Reports, released Wednesday, the state Department of Education said while some schools have returned to pre-pandemic levels, others still lag in attendance. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of school days. In the latest report, which is about the 2022-23 school year, 16.6% of New Jersey’s 1.4 million public students were chronically absent. During the 2018-19 school year — before the pandemic disrupted in-person learning — the chronic absenteeism rate statewide was 10.6%. The rate was not reported for 2019-20 when schools were closed for months. https://lnkd.in/efks5APT

📉 Florida's teacher pay has plummeted to 50th in the country, as per the latest data from the National Education Association. 📚 Just last year, we were ranked 48th. The Florida Education Association is calling for a $2.5 billion increase in funding annually over the next seven years to address this issue, hire more mental health specialists, and support students' academic needs. 🏫 🏆 It's time to prioritize our educators and invest in the future of our children. 77% of school districts in Florida pay a starting salary below $50,000. Read about this: https://lnkd.in/g6TRGSYt Let's stand with our teachers and demand better pay and resources! 🌟 #SupportFloridaTeachers #EducationMatters #InvestInOurFuture

In the past 48 hours School Districts across the nation are reporting laying off teachers in historic numbers from Rochester NY to Salem OR, Texas included. The overall insight from Superintendents from state to state is the lack of student enrollment and attendance is to blame, when in fact it has been a complete failure of all schools and districts in supporting their #teachers and creating a zero tolerance policy for all of the violence, disrespectful behavior and abuse from students. Teachers are on the chopping block for students disenrollment when all #leadership of these institutions should be held accountable. Educators want to educate and our #publicschools have adopted #business models, #advertising and a pure checks and balances perspectives therefore leading to this disaster of #American #education for an entire generation. We cannot afford any further loss of education as a United Nation. The People have spoken, #Parents disenrolled their #children from broken systems, not education. Educational #Administration should be renewed in favor of #jobs #communityengagement, and most importantly #students. 🇺🇲 https://lnkd.in/gWG-iASx

Reform-minded school boards need reform-minded superintendents who will serve the board and not undermine them and the will of local voters. When there's a shortage like this, we need to be innovative. https://lnkd.in/eTP-u-ca

#Texas public schools rank 41st in per-student funding, and that may not improve anytime soon. A large education funding package failed in the legislature last year, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said he won't get onboard unless lawmakers also agree to voucher programs that can be used to subsidize students' private education. As a result, Eli Melendrez - government relations associate with the American Federation of Teachers in Texas - said public school district improvements and teacher pay raises fell by the wayside. "You can see it on the ground, you can see it as a teacher looking at your paycheck, you can see as a parent of a student in the public school system," said Melendrez, "that funding is not adequate." The state provides school districts with a base level of funding that is just over $6,000 annually per student - a funding level that hasn't increased since 2019. In last year's legislative sessions - one regular and four special - public school superintendents, teachers, and parents listened for hours as Texas lawmakers debated the voucher question - a push that eventually failed. Melendrez said stakeholders came to the Capitol in Austin from across the state to advocate for better working conditions, adequate pay and general respect for educators. Many went home feeling unheard. Disclosure: American Federation of Teachers contributes to our fund for reporting on Education, Health Issues, Livable Wages/Working Families, Social Justice.

Thanks for sharing this article on how budget challenges are prevalent in nearly every district across the State due to a variety of factors. While the State needs to further address fully funding education in the next biennium budget, district administrators also need to think creatively with how to continue to serve students with fewer resources. I believe that AI in general, and some new Microsoft tools in particular, could help administrators, teachers and staff with creating efficiencies, while still focusing on students. For example, Microsoft's Reading Coach https://lnkd.in/gfAP4Uaa is a accelerator tool that can help teachers differentiate their instruction and support for striving readers. And, Microsoft's productivity boosters like Generate Rubrics and Generate Classwork seem like game-changers! Check out this blog for more ideas on how educators to maximize resources, and better serve our students. https://lnkd.in/gX2eXiRr #AI #Microsofteducation

Stating that state schools have the capacity to handle an influx of children leaving private schools is both disingenuous and irresponsible. The FT article outlines that data shows there is enough PHYSICAL space to bring in 20-30% more children. Whilst factually this may be correct, it completely missies the point. Having enough physical space does NOT ensure that those 30-35 children in the classroom will get the right support and education from the teachers. The class sizes are already broadly speaking too big, state schools have been FORCED to increase intake in the last 5 years and the teachers are too stretched already. I know this from personal experience having several teachers in my family, and one daughter in the state school system. Any sudden increase will inevitably impact the next 3-5 years, thats the majority of a generation of kids education! Add to this the complete lack of support available to the neurodiverse (again something I experience directly in my family) AND the increasing number of neurodiverse students that need more support makes the whole Labour policy around private school fees irresponsible. Increase fee's by adding VAT by all means, but ensure the state school system is appropriately supported BEFORE these changes come into affect.

I’ll be voting yes on the Lamar County Schools bond issue. Our teachers & students deserve nice, new facilities that can accommodate more students as we continue to grow our region’s economy. Our schools are reflective of the pride in our community. While Lamar County is an “A” rated school system, some of our facilities are far from an “A.” The facilities that would be replaced are extremely tired, fully depreciated, and not indicative of a school system leading the way in MS. The current facilities are also not large enough to accommodate future enrollment increases. We continue to lead the state in job growth and this year achieved the lowest unemployment rate in the United States among 389 metros. The accelerator is down, so job growth and population growth will continue in Lamar County. The question is, will we be prepared to accommodate it? The choice is ours! Join me in voting in favor of the bond issue so that our kids and grandkids receive a quality education in first class facilities. Each day, we’re educating the #NextGen workforce. #Education = #EconDev! #VoteYes

A good first step in reforming Ofsted!

🧐We are living through the greatest education realignment in modern American history. 💪 But obstacles create opportunities. 💡This is an opportunity to rethink how and why we do everything. ❓What will you do to ensure the education of future generations? I bulleted the points from the article for clarity. "1. Inflation means schools are paying significantly more to cover basic costs like materials, fuel, electricity and insurance. 2. Enrollment nationwide is down — a combination of a hangover from pandemic withdrawals and birthrate declines. 3. One-time federal pandemic relief funds amounting to $2.6 billion for Washington schools have come to an end. 4. Some districts are also facing local levy failures, 5. and others have mismanaged funds." #futureofwork #futureofeducation #futureofschool