3 steps all colleges should take after the admissions scandal

Reviewing paths in, increasing fraud protection and exploring new ways to give applicants a fair shot can help rebuild trust in the process.

AUTHOR

Hallie Busta@halliebusta

The revelation earlier this month that a few dozen parents may have paid millions to secure their children spots at elite universities sent the higher ed news cycle into overdrive. The alleged national conspiracy — which was met with a mix of shock, validation and perhaps a little bit of pleasure at the prospect of justice being served — threw the spotlight on areas of the admissions process vulnerable to exploitation.

It also raised questions about the degree to which colleges trade on their own selectivity, whether admissions are tamper-proof and how money can legally buy access to higher education, whether through better preparation or donor connections.

READ-SHARE-DISCUSS-LEARN more here – https://www.educationdive.com/news/3-steps-all-colleges-should-take-after-the-admissions-scandal/551174/

Parkland, Newtown suicides reveal ‘systemic’ lack of mental health supports

Health and school safety experts say the apparent suicides of two student survivors and a shooting victim’s parent are a glaring sign things must change.

AUTHOR

Jessica Campisi@jessiecampisi

Many months, or even years, after two communities were rattled by school shootings, a string of suicides among those tied to the tragedies have resurfaced the devastation.

Sydney Aiello, who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, died by suicide last week. Aiello, 19, survived the Parkland, Florida, shooting that killed 14 students and three staff members, and she reportedly struggled with survivor’s guilt and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

About a week later, a second survivor and current Stoneman Douglas student, 16-year-old Calvin Desir, took his own life. And on Monday, Jeremy Richman, whose daughter was one of 20 children and six adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, died in an apparent suicide.

“It’s tragedy after tragedy and just compounds that sense of devastation,” said Amy Klinger, co-founder and director of programs for the Educator’s School Safety Network. “It really speaks to the need for supports and interventions and recovery, which is oftentimes not addressed.”

READ-SHARE-DISCUSS-LEARN more here – https://www.educationdive.com/news/parkland-newtown-suicides-reveal-systemic-lack-of-mental-health-supports/551317/

Friday, March 29, 2019: What Did We Learn From DeVos Hearings This Week?

So during Betsy DeVos’s terrible horrible no-good very bad week of hearings, what did we learn?

Opposition Parties Matter

This is the third budget in which DeVos tried to zero out Special Olympics. The third. So why so much fuss this time around? Perhaps because somebody made her go before Congress and explain herself (or not) in some exchanges that made for insta-viral hits.

Just imagine what it would be like if more legislators acted more like actual defenders of public education more often.

READ-SHARE-DISCUSS-LEARN more here – https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2019/03/what-did-we-learn-from-devos-hearings.html

 

With One Reply, Betsy DeVos Told Us Her Real Plan for America’s Public Schools

by Nancy Bailey

In one of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s most troubling responses of both days of testimony, she responded to an inquiry by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) about this nation’s crumbling school infrastructure. It comes about 1:09:45 into the tape (below) from the PBS News Hour. It’s important to remember that she has always said that public […]

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