June 3, 2016
By: Shaina Cavazos
Source: chalkbeat.org It’s not yet clear how Indiana plans to resolve problems with its test for students with severe disabilities, but state education officials say they’ve learned a lesson. The test, which was given to approximately 7,000 students with severe cognitive disabilities across the state this year, had two major design flaws according […]
June 3, 2016
By: Ellen Berkovitch
Source: theatlantic.com In a room redolent with ancestral and political histories, Michelle Obama recited four generations of her ancestors’ names as she delivered her second-to-last commencement speech as First Lady to an all Native American high school. Obama stood on a stage bedecked with drums, rugs, beadwork, embroidery, baskets, and pots as […]
June 3, 2016
By: Erica Reischer
Source: theatlantic.com Children who read regularly for pleasure, who are avid and self-directed readers, are the holy grail for parents and educators. Reading for pleasure has considerable current and future benefits: Recreational readers tend to have higher academic achievement and greater economic success, and even display more civic-mindedness. But recreational reading is on the decline. […]
June 3, 2016
By: Valerie Strauss
Source: washingtonpost.com Sound familiar? After spending several billion dollars attempting to reform public education over nearly 20 years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is saying that, oops, the job is harder than its leaders had thought. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, foundation chief executive officer, wrote this in a newly released annual letter: We […]
June 3, 2016
By: Michelle Diament
Source: disabilityscoop.com For the first time, people with disabilities can open special accounts where they can save money without jeopardizing their government benefits. This week, Ohio became the first state to offer accounts made possible through the Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, Act with the launch of its program. ABLE […]
June 2, 2016
By: Amy Nile
Source: reviewjournal.com They might be in the mood for George Gershwin or grooving to the Goo Goo Dolls. Whatever playlist Douglas Trinkle’s class chooses, he’s focused on relaxing students with autism and helping them overcome troublesome sensory experiences. Trinkle, 43, also keeps his kids at Variety School going with fist bumps and his contagious grin. […]
June 2, 2016
By: Elizabeth Green
Source: chalkbeat.org A private debate about the role of race in the community of people who call themselves “education reformers” lept into public view this week. The (ongoing) conversation is worth reading. Marilyn Anderson Rhames, a black journalist and educator, launched the debate with a piece in the Education Post about her experience at […]
June 2, 2016
By: Glenda Negron
Source: edsurge.com Many people think they know exactly what “professional development” is. But do they, really? Let’s start by giving “professional development” a definition. PD is a process that responds to a phase of personal growth and self-realization experienced by each individual. Professional development allows the person to establish an itinerary of […]
June 2, 2016
By: Nichole Dobo
Source: hechingerreport.org Roger Cook, a superintendent in rural central Kentucky, took a risky path to becoming a champion for academic success. By his own admission, this former high school football coach says some of his methods broke the rules. He believed his students needed personalized help to be successful in school – […]
June 2, 2016
By: Shaun Heasley
Source: disabilityscoop.com A major American automaker is looking to tap the potential of workers on the spectrum. Ford Motor Company said it is launching a pilot program this week designed to employ people with autism. Through the initiative dubbed “FordInclusiveWorks,” the company said it will establish five new positions in product development […]