Minority students are the new majority in America’s public schools 

Posted on by Jeffrey L "Jeff" Salisbury

There’s a new majority in America’s public schools.

In 2014, students of color outnumbered non-Hispanic white students for the first time in public school classrooms.

It’s a demographic shift that’s outpaced changes taking place in the general U.S. population. And it stands in stark contrast to the demographic makeup of the teacher workforce, which is 80 percent white.

So how to bridge the gap?

Read and listen to the full report here: Take Two | Minority students are the new majority in America’s public schools | 89.3 KPCC

Big Education Ape: Mindless Underfunding Of Schools Continues, Doing Irreparable Harm To Kids

Posted on by Jeffrey L "Jeff" Salisbury

High school graduation season is in full bloom in many communities around the nation, but in some places, parents with kids still in schools have to be worried about the conditions of their schools they’ll return to in the fall – or even if the schools will open at all.

As states wrap up their budget seasons, many lawmakers are proving they simply aren’t up to the task of adequately funding schools.

State spending, which accounts for about half of most public school districts’ budgets, has been in steep decline for a number of years in most states, leaving most local taxing authorities, which provide about the other half, unable to keep up unless the populace is wealthy enough to withstand higher property taxes. (Federal spending accounts for less than 10 percent of school funding, historically.)

Many of these lawmakers say the problem with the nation’s education system is…

Read the rest of this post here: Big Education Ape: Mindless Underfunding Of Schools Continues, Doing Irreparable Harm To Kids

Kansas Republicans to state courts: You’re not the boss of us!

Posted on by Jeffrey L "Jeff" Salisbury

School closing threat spurs move to cut Kansas courts’ power

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Republicans, irked by a court’s threat to keep public schools closed until legislators change the way they’re funded, are considering an amendment to the state constitution blocking such rulings…

Read the whole story here: School closing threat spurs move to cut Kansas courts’ power

Green Party’s Dr. Jill Stein to Bernie Sanders supporters: ‘There’s a plan B here’ – CNNPolitics.com

Posted on by Jeffrey L "Jeff" Salisbury

As the Democratic primary winds down to a close, Green Party likely nominee Dr. Jill Stein said she wanted Bernie Sanders supporters to “know that there’s a plan B here to continue to fight that revolution.”

“America: Democratic Party elites have done their best to sabotage your revolution, but you don’t have to settle for Clinton/Trump.” – Dr. Jill Stein

Source: Green Party’s Jill Stein to Bernie Sanders supporters: ‘There’s a plan B here’ – CNNPolitics.com

CURMUDGUCATION blog post:     Common Core Standards (Still) Don’t Cut It

Posted on by Jeffrey L "Jeff" Salisbury

The slightly-cranky voice navigating the world of educational “reform” while trying to still pursue the mission of providing quality education.

Common Core Standards (Still) Don’t Cut It

Posted by Peter Greene: 10 Jun 2016 09:15 AM PDT

Every few years the ACT folks unleash a big ole survey to find out what’s actually going on Out There in the world of school stuff. This year’s survey drew at least 2,000 respondents each from elementary and secondary schools, as well as college and workplace respondents. The whole package is eighty-eight pages, and I’ve read it, and while you don’t have to, you might still want to.

There are several themes that emerge, but the big one is pretty simple–

Common Core is a bust.

Not news, I know. But still always comforting to see further confirmation. Let’s break this report down section by section and see what we’ve got…

Read the full blog post here: CURMUDGUCATION