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Tag: educator

  • San Francisco teachers’ strike ends as union and school district reach tentative deal

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    A San Francisco teachers’ strike that closed public schools for some 50,000 students this week ended Friday as the union reached a tentative agreement with the cash-strapped school district, which will provide pay raises and improved healthcare benefits.

    The tentative contract between the San Francisco Unified School District and United Educators of San Francisco includes a 5% raise over two years for teachers and fully funded healthcare for union members and their families starting in 2027, according to the union.

    “We won!” the union said in a statement just after 5:30 a.m. Friday.

    “We know our work is not done,” the statement read. “While we didn’t win everything we know we deserve, this strike allowed us to imagine our schools and classrooms as they should be with staffing levels high enough that our students can learn and thrive.”

    Schools have been closed since the strike began Monday, leaving families to scramble for child care and meals as teachers rallied for their first strike since 1979.

    Campuses will not reopen until Wednesday. The district called Friday a “transition day” for staffers, who were expected to return to their work sites. The district said schools would remain closed Monday for Presidents Day and Tuesday for Lunar New Year.

    “I recognize that this past week has been challenging,” San Francisco schools Supt. Maria Su said in a statement Friday.

    She added: “I am so proud of the resilience and strength of our community. This is a new beginning, and I want to celebrate our diverse community of educators, administrators, parents, and students as we come together and heal.”

    Teachers took to picket lines despite last-minute pleas from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and prominent lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), to keep classrooms open while contract negotiations — which began in March 2025 — continued.

    The union said it had been clear about its timeline.

    The San Francisco teachers’ strike could portend more labor unrest in California, where educators in other major districts, including Los Angeles, have signaled that they, too, are prepared to strike for higher pay, smaller class sizes and more resources.

    Last year, the California Teachers Assn., the statewide teachers’ union, launched the “We Can’t Wait” campaign, urging union chapters to band together to be forceful in labor negotiations.

    Members of United Teachers Los Angeles voted overwhelmingly last month to authorize their leadership to call a strike, increasing pressure as negotiations stall and as the Los Angeles Unified School District is planning for likely staff layoffs and budget cuts.

    In San Diego, the teachers’ union voted before winter break to authorize a one-day unfair labor practice strike on Feb. 26 if the San Diego Unified School District does not improve special education staffing.

    Unions representing educators for at least two Sacramento-area school districts — the Natomas Unified School District and Twin Rivers Unified School District — also voted this month to authorize strikes.

    The labor tensions come as COVID relief funds have ended and public school enrollment in California has plummeted in recent years, leading to reduced state funding.

    The San Francisco deal comes as the district is facing a $102-million budget deficit and is under state fiscal oversight because of a long-standing financial crisis. The district has said that if layoffs are needed to close the gap, employees will be given notices this spring.

    San Francisco is one of the nation’s most expensive cities, where the average home sells for nearly $1.4 million and the average monthly rent of $3,700 is double the national average, according to Zillow.

    Cassondra Curiel, the teachers’ union president, said in a statement this week that “the affordability crisis for those of us devoted to San Francisco’s next generation is real.”

    Curiel said rising healthcare premiums were adding to the financial strain, pushing teachers and support staff out of the district, which has hundreds of educator vacancies.

    The tentative agreement falls short of the 9% pay raise for teachers that the union had asked for.

    The deal, according to the union, includes an 8.5% pay raise over two years for lower-paid classified employees.

    The agreement also includes so-called sanctuary school protections for immigrant and refugee students and limitations on the district’s use of artificial intelligence.

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    Hailey Branson-Potts

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  • An educator’s top tips to integrate AI into the classroom

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    eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #10 focuses on teaching strategies around AI.

    Key points:

    In the last year, we’ve seen an extraordinary push toward integrating artificial intelligence in classrooms. Among educators, that trend has evoked responses from optimism to opposition. “Will AI replace educators?” “Can it really help kids?” “Is it safe?” Just a few years ago, these questions were unthinkable, and now they’re in every K-12 school, hanging in the air.

    Given the pace at which AI technologies are changing, there’s a lot still to be determined, and I won’t pretend to have all the answers. But as a school counselor in Kansas who has been using SchoolAI to support students for years, I’ve seen that AI absolutely can help kids and is safe when supervised. At this point, I think it’s much more likely to help us do our jobs better than to produce any other outcome. I’ve discovered that if you implement AI thoughtfully, it empowers students to explore their futures, stay on track for graduation, learn new skills, and even improve their mental health.

    Full disclosure: I have something adjacent to a tech background. I worked for a web development marketing firm before moving into education. However, I want to emphasize that you don’t have to be an expert to use AI effectively. Success is rooted in curiosity, trial and error, and commitment to student well-being. Above all, I would urge educators to remember that AI isn’t about replacing us. It allows us to extend our reach to students and our capacity to cater to individual needs, especially when shorthanded.

    Let me show you what that looks like.

    Building emotional resilience

    Students today face enormous emotional pressures. And with national student-to-counselor ratios at nearly double the recommended 250-to-1, school staff can’t always be there right when students need us.

    That’s why I created a chatbot named Pickles (based on my dog at home, whom the kids love but who is too rambunctious to come to school with me). This emotional support bot gives my students a way to process small problems like feeling left out at recess or arguing with a friend. It doesn’t replace my role, but it does help triage students so I can give immediate attention to those facing the most urgent challenges.

    Speaking of which, AI has revealed some issues I might’ve otherwise missed. One fourth grader, who didn’t want to talk to me directly, opened up to the chatbot about her parents’ divorce. Because I was able to review her conversation, I knew to follow up with her. In another case, a shy fifth grader who struggled to maintain conversations learned to initiate dialogue with her peers using chatbot-guided social scripts. After practicing over spring break, she returned more confident and socially fluent.

    Aside from giving students real-time assistance, these tools offer me critical visibility and failsafes while I’m running around trying to do 10 things at once.

    Personalized career exploration and academic support

    One of my core responsibilities as a counselor is helping students think about their futures. Often, the goals they bring to me are undeveloped (as you would expect—they’re in elementary school, after all): They say, “I’m going to be a lawyer,” or “I’m going to be a doctor.” In the past, I would point them toward resources I thought would help, and that was usually the end of it. But I always wanted them to reflect more deeply about their options.

    So, I started using an AI chatbot to open up that conversation. Instead of jumping to a job title, students are prompted to answer what they’re interested in and why. The results have been fascinating—and inspiring. In a discussion with one student recently, I was trying to help her find careers that would suit her love of travel. After we plugged in her strengths and interests, the chatbot suggested cultural journalism, which she was instantly excited about. She started journaling and blogging that same night. She’s in sixth grade.

    What makes this process especially powerful is that it challenges biases. By the end of elementary school, many kids have already internalized what careers they think they can or can’t pursue–often based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status. AI can disrupt that. It doesn’t know what a student looks like or where they’re from. It just responds to their curiosity. These tools surface career options for kids–like esports management or environmental engineering–that I might not be able to come up with in the moment. It’s making me a better counselor and keeping me apprised of workforce trends, all while encouraging my students to dream bigger and in more detail.

    Along with career decisions, AI helps students make better academic decisions, especially in virtual school environments where requirements vary district to district. I recently worked with a virtual school to create an AI-powered tool that helps students identify which classes they need for graduation. It even links them to district-specific resources and state education departments to guide their planning. These kinds of tools lighten the load of general advising questions for school counselors and allow us to spend more time supporting students one on one.

    My advice to educators: Try it

    We tell our students that failure is part of learning. So why should we be afraid to try something new? When I started using AI, I made mistakes. But AI doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. Around the globe, AI school assistants are already springing up and serving an ever-wider range of use cases.

    I recommend educators start small. Use a trusted platform. And most importantly, stay human. AI should never replace the relationships at the heart of education. But if used wisely, it can extend your reach, personalize your impact, and unlock your students’ potential.

    We have to prepare our students for a world that’s changing fast–maybe faster than ever. I, for one, am glad I have AI by my side to help them get there.

    Latest posts by eSchool Media Contributors (see all)

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    Hanna Kemble-Mick, Indian Hills Elementary

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  • A smarter path to standards-based success: How Superior Public Schools united curriculum and data

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    Key points:

    Creating consistency between classrooms and ensuring curriculum alignment school-wide can be challenging, even in the smallest of districts. Every educator teaches–and grades–differently based on their experience and preferences, and too often, they’re forced into a solution that no longer respects their autonomy or acknowledges their strengths.

    When Superior Public Schools (SPS), a district of 450 students in rural Nebraska, defined standards-referenced curriculum as a priority of our continuous improvement plan, bringing teachers in as partners on the transition was essential to our success. Through their support, strategic relationships with outside partners, and meaningful data and reporting, the pathway from curriculum design to classroom action was a smooth one for teachers, school leaders, and students alike.

    Facing the challenge of a new curriculum

    For years, teachers in SPS were working autonomously in the classroom. Without a district-wide curriculum in place, they used textbooks to guide their instruction and designed lesson plans around what they valued as important. In addition, grading was performed on a normative curve that compared a student’s performance against the performance of their peers rather than in relation to a mastery of content.

    As other educators have discovered, the traditional approach to teaching may be effective for some students, but is inequitable overall when preparing all students for their next step, whether moving on to more complex material or preparing for the grade ahead. Kids were falling through the cracks, and existing opportunity gaps only began to grow.

    SPS set out to help our students by instituting standards-referenced instruction at both the elementary and secondary levels, allowing us to better identify each child’s progress toward set learning standards and deliver immediate feedback and intervention services to keep them on the path toward success.

    Take it slow and start with collaboration

    From day one, school leaders understood the transition to the new curriculum needed to be intentional and collaborative. 

    Rather than demand immediate buy-in from teachers, administrators and the curriculum team dedicated the time to help them understand the value of a new learning process. Together, we took a deep dive into traditional education practices, identifying which set students up for success and which actually detoured their progress. Recognizing that everyone–teachers included–learns in different ways, administrators also provided educators with a wide range of resources, such as book studies, podcasts, and articles, to help them grow professionally.

    In addition, SPS partnered with the Curriculum Leadership Institute (CLI) to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices across all content areas, schools, and grade levels. On-site CLI coaches worked directly with teachers to interpret standards and incorporate their unique teaching styles into new instructional strategies, helping to ensure the new curriculum translated seamlessly into daily classroom practice.

    To bring standards-referenced curriculum to life with meaningful insights and reporting, SPS integrated the Otus platform into our Student Information System. By collecting and analyzing data in a concise manner, teachers could measure student performance against specific learning targets, determining if content needed to be re-taught to the whole class or if specific students required one-on-one guidance.

    With the support of our teachers, SPS was able to launch the new curriculum and assessment writing process district-wide, reaching students in pre-K through 12th grade. However, standards-reference grading was a slower process, starting with one subject area at a time at the elementary level. Teachers who were initially uncomfortable with the new grading system were able to see the benefits firsthand, allowing them to ease into the transition rather than jump in headfirst. 

    Empowering educators, inspiring students

    By uniting curriculum and data, SPS has set a stronger foundation of success for every student. Progress is no longer measured by compliance but by a true mastery of classroom concepts.

    Teachers have become intentional with their lesson plans, ensuring that classroom content is directly linked to the curriculum. The framework also gives them actionable insights to better identify the skills students have mastered and the content areas where they need extra support. Teachers can adjust instruction as needed, better communicate with parents on their students’ progress, and connect struggling students to intervention services.

    Principals also look at student progress from a building level, identifying commonalities across multiple grades. For instance, if different grade levels struggle with geometry concepts, we can revisit the curriculum to see where improvements should be made. Conversely, we can better determine if SPS needs to increase the rigor in one grade to better prepare students for the next grade level.

    While the road toward standards-referenced curriculum had its challenges, the destination was worth the journey for everyone at SPS. By the end of the 2024-2025 school year, 84 percent of K-5 students were at or above the 41st percentile in math, and 79 percent were at or above the 41st percentile in reading based on NWEA MAP results. In addition, teachers now have a complete picture of every student to track individual progress toward academic standards, and students receive the feedback, support, and insights that inspire them to become active participants in their learning.

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    Tricia Kuhlmann and Jodi Fierstein, Superior Public Schools

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  • Chatbot Crackdown: How California is responding to the rise of AI

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    California is quickly becoming a national leader in figuring out how families, educators, and lawmakers should adapt to life with artificial intelligence. From new classroom conversations to the state’s first major chatbot regulations, many are grappling with how to keep up with technology that moves faster than ever.Families Navigating AI at HomeRemember the dial-up days? Today, technology evolves in an instant—and many parents are struggling to keep pace.David and Rachelle Young have set strict rules for their 7-year-old daughter Dyllan’s online use.“Kids have a lot of access to the internet, and they can be shown something that we wouldn’t normally approve of, and that’s really scary,” Rachelle Young said.David says his daughter’s world looks nothing like what he had at her age—making parental guidance more important than ever.Lawmakers Respond: A New Chatbot CrackdownConcerns about children talking to AI-powered chatbots have reached the state Capitol.Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson co-authored SB 243, signed into law this fall, marking California’s first major attempt at regulating chatbot interactions.The new law requires companies to: Report safety concerns—such as when a user expresses thoughts of self-harm Clearly notify users that they are talking to a computer, not a person“They don’t want you to turn your phone off. They want you to think that you’re talking to a real friend, but they don’t have that same level of morality,” she said. Her concerns stem from real-world consequences: last year, a 14-year-old in Florida took his own life after forming what his family described as a “relationship” with a chatbot.Inside the Classroom: Understanding AI’s InfluenceAt UC Davis, Associate Professor Jingwen Zhang is tackling these issues head-on. She created a course examining how social media, artificial intelligence and chatbots shape human behavior.”Children used to form social relationships by talking in person or texting. Now they’re having similar levels of conversations with chatbots,” she said.Zhang says SB 243 is a strong first step but believes more protections are needed—especially for minors.She recommends future regulations that: Create stricter guardrails for what topics children can discuss with AI Limit exposure to sensitive or harmful content Add tighter controls for minor accountsA Rapidly Changing LandscapeParents, educators, and policymakers all agree: keeping up with AI will require constant learning.“We have to get to a place where companies are rolling out things that will not hurt the future generation,” Sen. Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson said.What’s Changing NextParents told KCRA 3 they want schools to start teaching more about AI safety and digital literacy.Starting this month, the popular Character AI platform is rolling out several major changes: Users under 18 will no longer be able to participate in open-ended chat Younger users will face a two-hour daily limit See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    California is quickly becoming a national leader in figuring out how families, educators, and lawmakers should adapt to life with artificial intelligence.

    From new classroom conversations to the state’s first major chatbot regulations, many are grappling with how to keep up with technology that moves faster than ever.

    Families Navigating AI at Home

    Remember the dial-up days? Today, technology evolves in an instant—and many parents are struggling to keep pace.

    David and Rachelle Young have set strict rules for their 7-year-old daughter Dyllan’s online use.

    “Kids have a lot of access to the internet, and they can be shown something that we wouldn’t normally approve of, and that’s really scary,” Rachelle Young said.

    David says his daughter’s world looks nothing like what he had at her age—making parental guidance more important than ever.

    Lawmakers Respond: A New Chatbot Crackdown

    Concerns about children talking to AI-powered chatbots have reached the state Capitol.

    Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson co-authored SB 243, signed into law this fall, marking California’s first major attempt at regulating chatbot interactions.

    The new law requires companies to:

    • Report safety concerns—such as when a user expresses thoughts of self-harm
    • Clearly notify users that they are talking to a computer, not a person

    “They don’t want you to turn your phone off. They want you to think that you’re talking to a real friend, but they don’t have that same level of morality,” she said.

    Her concerns stem from real-world consequences: last year, a 14-year-old in Florida took his own life after forming what his family described as a “relationship” with a chatbot.

    Inside the Classroom: Understanding AI’s Influence

    At UC Davis, Associate Professor Jingwen Zhang is tackling these issues head-on.

    She created a course examining how social media, artificial intelligence and chatbots shape human behavior.

    “Children used to form social relationships by talking in person or texting. Now they’re having similar levels of conversations with chatbots,” she said.

    Zhang says SB 243 is a strong first step but believes more protections are needed—especially for minors.

    She recommends future regulations that:

    • Create stricter guardrails for what topics children can discuss with AI
    • Limit exposure to sensitive or harmful content
    • Add tighter controls for minor accounts

    A Rapidly Changing Landscape

    Parents, educators, and policymakers all agree: keeping up with AI will require constant learning.

    “We have to get to a place where companies are rolling out things that will not hurt the future generation,” Sen. Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson said.

    What’s Changing Next

    Parents told KCRA 3 they want schools to start teaching more about AI safety and digital literacy.

    Starting this month, the popular Character AI platform is rolling out several major changes:

    • Users under 18 will no longer be able to participate in open-ended chat
    • Younger users will face a two-hour daily limit

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Natomas teachers ready to strike over contract disputes

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    Educators in Natomas have informed the district of their readiness to strike if a new contract is not secured, marking a significant development in ongoing negotiations.The Natomas Teachers Association, representing more than 600 educators, has been working without a contract since June. Outside the Natomas Unified School District Wednesday evening, dozens gathered in support of the Natomas Teachers Association, chanting, “We can’t wait!” and “When we fight, we win!” They are advocating for a new contract with fully paid benefits and competitive wages.Ashley Battle, a parent of a student in the district and the wife of a teacher, said that educators are the backbone of the district and are being underpaid. “If you’re not paying them, how are they supposed to support their family? You want them to support everyone else’s child, but you don’t want to pay to help them support themselves?” Battle said. Battle brought these concerns to the board meeting, where dozens of teachers, parents, and students filled the room. Nico Vaccaro, president of the NTA, also spoke to the board, urging the district to use its millions of dollars in reserves to pay teachers more.”We know they have the ability to reprioritize their budget with the resources that they have. And that’s what we’re asking for,” Vaccaro said. KCRA 3 reached out to the district about the ongoing contract negotiations. They replied with an emailed statement reading:“We value our employees and prioritize providing competitive salaries and high-quality programs for our students. Even with the staffing crisis across California and the nationwide shortage of teachers, Natomas Unified has a high fill rate with 98.4% of our classrooms filled with credentialed teachers. For the classroom positions that are not filled, fully credentialed contractors or substitute teachers serve our students while recruitment efforts continue and candidates are in the hiring process.While prioritizing employee compensation, we are committed to being good stewards of our district finances. Our reserve protects us against unexpected expenses or changes in funding. This allows us to continue to pay staff, utilities and other basic services, all while maintaining consistent support to students. Reserves should not be used to fund ongoing salary or benefit increases, as reserves are one-time funds that are gone once they are spent, much like a savings account. In NUSD, the category that NTA leadership frequently refers to as the budget for “consultants” or “contractors” covers a wide range of professional services for the district. These funds provide more than just training and professional development to teachers and contractors who fill vacant certificated staff positions. They actually include expenses for essential services such as fire and safety requirements, heating/air conditioning maintenance, routine and preventative pest control, needed classroom repairs, vital health services for our students, after-school programs, staff training to implement state-required curriculum and assessments, and general district operations. Without allocating funding for these areas, we would not be able to provide these necessary services for our students and staff.”Vaccaro presented the board with a copy of the union’s strike readiness petition, which he said more than 90% of their members have signed. “While we do not want to strike, we are ready to strike if that’s what it takes to reprioritize the NUSD’s budget for our schools and our students,” he said. The Natomas Teachers Association will return to the negotiation table on Dec. 10.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Educators in Natomas have informed the district of their readiness to strike if a new contract is not secured, marking a significant development in ongoing negotiations.

    The Natomas Teachers Association, representing more than 600 educators, has been working without a contract since June.

    Outside the Natomas Unified School District Wednesday evening, dozens gathered in support of the Natomas Teachers Association, chanting, “We can’t wait!” and “When we fight, we win!” They are advocating for a new contract with fully paid benefits and competitive wages.

    Ashley Battle, a parent of a student in the district and the wife of a teacher, said that educators are the backbone of the district and are being underpaid.

    “If you’re not paying them, how are they supposed to support their family? You want them to support everyone else’s child, but you don’t want to pay to help them support themselves?” Battle said.

    Battle brought these concerns to the board meeting, where dozens of teachers, parents, and students filled the room.

    Nico Vaccaro, president of the NTA, also spoke to the board, urging the district to use its millions of dollars in reserves to pay teachers more.

    “We know they have the ability to reprioritize their budget with the resources that they have. And that’s what we’re asking for,” Vaccaro said.

    KCRA 3 reached out to the district about the ongoing contract negotiations. They replied with an emailed statement reading:

    “We value our employees and prioritize providing competitive salaries and high-quality programs for our students. Even with the staffing crisis across California and the nationwide shortage of teachers, Natomas Unified has a high fill rate with 98.4% of our classrooms filled with credentialed teachers. For the classroom positions that are not filled, fully credentialed contractors or substitute teachers serve our students while recruitment efforts continue and candidates are in the hiring process.

    While prioritizing employee compensation, we are committed to being good stewards of our district finances. Our reserve protects us against unexpected expenses or changes in funding. This allows us to continue to pay staff, utilities and other basic services, all while maintaining consistent support to students. Reserves should not be used to fund ongoing salary or benefit increases, as reserves are one-time funds that are gone once they are spent, much like a savings account.

    In NUSD, the category that NTA leadership frequently refers to as the budget for “consultants” or “contractors” covers a wide range of professional services for the district. These funds provide more than just training and professional development to teachers and contractors who fill vacant certificated staff positions. They actually include expenses for essential services such as fire and safety requirements, heating/air conditioning maintenance, routine and preventative pest control, needed classroom repairs, vital health services for our students, after-school programs, staff training to implement state-required curriculum and assessments, and general district operations. Without allocating funding for these areas, we would not be able to provide these necessary services for our students and staff.”

    Vaccaro presented the board with a copy of the union’s strike readiness petition, which he said more than 90% of their members have signed.

    “While we do not want to strike, we are ready to strike if that’s what it takes to reprioritize the NUSD’s budget for our schools and our students,” he said.

    The Natomas Teachers Association will return to the negotiation table on Dec. 10.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • AI, CTE are key to preparing students for future careers

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    This press release originally appeared online.

    Key points:

    Educators are embracing AI and career and technical education (CTE) as keys to preparing students for their future after high school, according to the 2025 Savvas Educator Index from K-12 learning solutions provider Savvas Learning Company.

    The annual national survey of K-12 teachers and administrators offers a pulse check on what educators see as the most pressing challenges and promising solutions in U.S. education this coming school year and beyond.

    “Educators are embracing new possibilities for student success and are eager for innovative tools that empower more effective, relevant learning experiences,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “This year’s Savvas Educator Index highlights a collective demand for solutions that meet the moment, including AI and CTE, without compromising durable, essential skills like critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.”

    AI in classrooms? Only if it builds real-world skills

    Educators are cautiously optimistic about AI, with 66 percent planning to increase AI use in the 2025-26 school year–up from 57 percent last year. Of those who teach or oversee high school, more than half (56 percent) believe understanding AI is “very” or “extremely” important for students’ future success.

    But that optimism is tempered by concern.

    • Only 5 percent of educators are confident that their students know how to use AI responsibly and critically.
    • The majority (70 percent) of educators say they have received no professional development to support students in learning to use AI for schoolwork.
    • Nearly half (43 percent) of all educators believe current AI use is negatively impacting students’ development of durable skills like communication and critical thinking. This increases to 51 percent among grade 6-8 teachers and 68 percent among high school teachers.

    The disparity between educators’ optimism around implementation and concern around students’ durable skills sends a clear signal: educators want AI tools that come with guardrails, guidance for implementation, and controls meant to develop those skills, not create shortcuts.

    CTE Is the leading model for future workforce readiness

    While traditional academic routes like Advanced Placement (AP) courses have fallen behind in educator favor, CTE is the clear frontrunner when it comes to preparing students for life beyond high school, according to the survey.

    • More than double the number of educators selected CTE (63 percent) as the top program to best prepare students for success after high school compared to those who selected AP courses (26 percent).
    • Among educators who believe CTE programs help students be successful after high school, 87 percent identified job-ready skills and technical training and 79 percent identified early exposure to career pathways and interests as the key benefits students gain from participating in CTE programs while in high school.
    • Among teachers who believe CTE programs help students be successful after high school, 77 percent said CTE enhances students’ employability after high school; that number jumps to 79 percent among administrators.

    Dual enrollment is a critical bridge to success

    As part of the broader shift toward workforce readiness, the survey found dual enrollment programs are also powerful tools to help students prepare for college and career pathways. Among high school educators whose schools offer these courses, the benefits are clear and compelling.

    • The opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school was cited by 88 percent of educators as a major advantage.
    • Reduced tuition costs followed closely behind as a major advantage at 75 percent, and a smoother transition to postsecondary education at 70 percent, underscoring dual enrollment’s role in making higher education more affordable and accessible.

    Beyond cost savings, educators emphasized the importance of early exposure to college-level work and future career pathways, aligning with a national push to introduce students to postsecondary options earlier in their academic journeys.

    Without relevance, students struggle to stay motivated

    Educators are also sounding the alarm on a persistent and systemic issue: student motivation.

    • Three-fourths of educators surveyed (75 percent) cited lack of motivation as a leading challenge for the coming school year, with half of those respondents saying it is the top challenge students face.
    • Sixty-four percent of high school educators said motivation is a major barrier to earning a living wage after high school, and 45 percent said it hinders students’ college success.

    These concerns further reinforce the demand for learning that feels connected to students’ lives and futures, and educators overwhelmingly point to intentional use of AI-powered tools and CTE offerings as ways to deliver student success beyond their K-12 education.

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    ESchool Media Contributors

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  • Why AI’s true power in education isn’t about saving time

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    Key points:

    As a former teacher, educator coach, and principal, I’ve witnessed countless edtech promises come and go. The latest refrain echoes through conference halls and staff meetings: “AI saves teachers X hours a week.” While time is undeniably precious in our profession, this narrative sells both educators and students short. After years of working at the intersection of pedagogy and technology, I’ve come to believe that if we only use AI to do the same things faster, we’re not innovating–we’re just optimizing yesterday.

    The real opportunity: From efficiency to impact

    Great teaching has never been about efficiency. It’s iterative, adaptive, and deeply human. Teachers read the room, adjust pace mid-lesson, and recognize that moment when understanding dawns in a student’s eyes. Yet most AI tools flatten this beautiful complexity into task lists: generate a worksheet, create a quiz, save time, done.

    The question we should be asking isn’t, “How do I get through prep faster?” but rather, “What would I try if I didn’t have to start from scratch?”

    Consider the pedagogical best practices we know drive student success: timely personalized feedback, inquiry-based learning, differentiation, regular formative assessments, and fostering metacognition. These are time-intensive practices that many educators struggle to implement consistently–not for lack of desire, but for lack of bandwidth.

    AI as a pedagogical ally

    When AI is truly designed for education–not just wrapped around a large language model–it becomes a pedagogical ally that reduces barriers to best practices. I recently observed a teacher who’d always wanted to create differentiated choice boards for her diverse learners but never had the time to build them. With AI-powered tools that understand learning progressions and can generate standards-aligned content variations, she transformed a single instructional idea into personalized pathways for 30 students in minutes, then spent her saved time having one-on-one conferences with struggling readers.

    This is the multiplier effect. AI didn’t replace her professional judgment; it amplified her impact by removing the mechanical barriers to her pedagogical vision.

    Creativity unleashed, not automated

    The educators I work with already have innovative ideas, but often lack the time and resources to bring them to life. When we frame AI as a creative partner rather than a productivity tool, something shifts. Teachers begin asking: What if I could finally try project-based learning without spending weekends creating materials? What if I could provide immediate, specific feedback to every student, not just the few I can reach during class?

    We’ve seen educators use AI to experiment with flipped classrooms, design escape room reviews, and create interactive scenarios that would have taken days to develop manually. The AI handles the heavy lifting of content generation, alignment, and interactivity, while teachers focus on what only they can do: inspire, connect, and guide.

    Educators are the true catalysts

    As we evaluate AI tools for our schools, we must look beyond time saved to amplified impact. Does the tool respect teaching’s complexity? Does it support iterative, adaptive instruction? Most importantly, does it free educators to do what they do best?

    The catalysts for educational transformation have always been educators themselves. AI’s purpose isn’t to automate teaching, but to clear space for the creativity, experimentation, and human connection that define great pedagogy. When we embrace this vision, we move from doing the same things faster to doing transformative things we never thought possible.

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    Melissa Serio, GoGuardian

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  • Study shows challenge for educators to live where they work, Byers affordable housing shows long-term success

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    BYERS, Colo. — A new study is shining a light on just how hard it is for Colorado educators to afford to live where they teach.

    The Keystone Policy Center, a nonprofit organization that researches possible solutions to policy challenges, recently conducted a survey of 3,200 teachers in 10 school districts across Colorado.

    You can explore the full story below.

    “We found, regardless of where they are, that housing is a huge challenge for them if they don’t already own a house,” explained Van Schoales, senior policy director at Keystone Policy Center. “You need to have great teachers that are well-trained, committed and live hopefully near the school and know the community.”

    In some districts, the study found more than half of educators spent 40% of their income on housing while 58% said they would be interested in district-provided affordable housing.

    “It was an interesting question to ask teachers how would they feel if their employer was also their landlord — how did people feel?” asked Denver 7’s Danielle Kreutter.

    “This was a huge surprise for me,” Schoales answered. “I expected that most people would say, ‘Well, I’m not so comfortable with this.’ And in fact, we found that 70% of those surveyed said they were fine with it, and I think that speaks to what a challenge it is.”

    Some Colorado school districts are finding out that it just might be necessary to offer housing for their staff. As Denver7 highlighted earlier this month, Denver Public Schools has even offered a housing lottery for teachers, with the promise of free rent for a year.

    About 40 miles east of Denver, in Byers, teachers are facing the same struggles. But after a school district consolidation in the 1960s, the Byers School District had a bold idea for how to use the funds.

    Denver7

    “We have 10 apartments ranging from one-bedroom apartments up to three-bedroom apartments. Then we have two houses,” Tom Turrell, superintendent of Byers School District, explained about the affordable workforce housing.

    He said hundreds of teachers have benefited over the years from this option.

    Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, depending on how long an employee has been with the district, can be as low as $200 a month. The price has stayed the same for decades.

    “The goal is to get their feet underneath them and then have enough for a down payment to stay in the community and purchase their own home. I mean, that’s ultimately the goal. And many, many staff members have done that,” Turrell said.

    This is an investment into Byers’ future, he said. And it allows teachers like Nathan Phipps to be a part of their students’ community.

    Byers School District_affordable housing.jpg

    Denver7

    Phipps is a high school social studies teacher in the Byers School District and moved to Colorado from out of state.

    “Coming straight out of college, there was very limited options when it came to housing, even renting on a teacher’s salary,” he told Denver7. “It makes a huge difference. You see what your students are going through, who they are. I mean, the amount of times that kids ride through here on a dirt bike or on a bicycle and say, ‘Hi, Mr. Phipps, how’s it going?’ and I’m sitting out on the front porch — I think has really helped build relationships.”

    Denver7 asked Turrell how the school district makes money from the housing units and he said it is “not a money-making venture for us,” and instead is all about retaining teachers.

    He explained the properties are already paid for, and the affordable rents cover the utility bills.

    If other districts have the resources to consider this option, or something similar, as a solution, they definitely should, he said.

    “I don’t think you pass up the opportunity and if you wait until tomorrow, you’re kicking the can down the road, and the need is now,” he said.

    DANIELLE CALL TO ACTION.jpg

    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Danielle Kreutter

    Denver7’s Danielle Kreutter covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on affordable housing and issues surrounding the unhoused community. If you’d like to get in touch with Danielle, fill out the form below to send her an email.

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    Danielle Kreutter

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  • The joy of teaching and educator well-being  

    The joy of teaching and educator well-being  

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    Key points:

    Across the country, teachers like you are decorating classrooms, creating lesson plans, and preparing for new students. You have invested numerous hours planning how to help students learn and thrive. While teachers know how to prepare to help their students succeed, too often we forget to focus on what we need to prioritize our overall well-being so we can hold on to the joy of teaching. This back-to-school season is the perfect time to commit to you.

    I recently gave a presentation for Utah-based teachers called The Joy of Teaching: How to Sustain Your Professional Passion. I spent time talking with teachers about the importance of creating practical strategies that were centered on them, their well-being, and how to cultivate joy.

    As teachers, putting everyone else first and caring for yourself last is going to make it hard to sustain your passion for the teaching profession, much less sustain your mental health and overall well-being. The work that teachers do touches every profession and impacts every community. 

    You matter. So, talking about educator well-being and cultivating the joy of teaching must matter too.

    Joy matters not just because it feels good. That’s a bonus. It matters because it is good for you. There is ample research that shows us joy can increase our emotional resiliency, it can increase job satisfaction, can help protect our body from the effects of stress and pain, and can have an overflow factor where it spreads to other people and aspects of our lives.

    But how do we find and embrace joy in our busy worlds?

    We choose to cultivate a mindset that endures over time. In order to do this, we need practical strategies that we can apply no matter the season of life or how many years we have been in the classroom.

    To get started, be clear about your core values. Core values can be our guide and help us be our best selves. Ask yourself these questions:

    What matters to you?

    What is your lived experience?

    Who are your role models and why do you look up to them?

    What gets you up in the morning?

    Intentionally make time to build community with other educators. Communal care is integral to cultivating joy in teaching.  Having a mentor, being a mentor, and getting connected to professional organizations can help you sustain your joy in teaching.  We need safe professional relationships that make space for us to grow and ask for help. 

    Cultivating joy requires self-reflection and self-regulation, in addition to sharing experiences with your community. Make it a point to pause to recognize and understand your emotions to nurture your emotional intelligence. Pausing helps you to see the good, even on the hard days.  It will make you resilient and is like a sponge for integrating joy into your life and your work.

    One question that I often ask teachers is what drains them and what fills them up throughout the day. It’s amazing how many people have not taken the time to reflect on this. Asking yourself this is like putting Google Maps on your mental health journey. You’ll have directions.

    We all have different answers. For me, I get filled up with meaningful connections, seeing students and teachers thrive, and practicing gratitude. I quickly lose energy and mindfulness when I’m in a cluttered workspace, working in isolation, or when I find myself very overcommitted to activities that prevent me from prioritizing my well-being.

    Do some reflection and try to decide each week how you can do more of what fills you and less of what drains you. It’s also useful to ask yourself what your unique contribution is to the teaching space. Pause to reflect on how your voice, knowledge, and experience benefit you as a teacher.  For some of us, it helps to take some time to remember your “why” for getting into this profession. What motivated you to become a teacher? Or maybe who motivated you to step into education? It’s time to get excited about that part again. And the great news is, teacher-leader joy helps your students succeed.

    Another way to hold on to your joy is to know your capacity. Have a plan for when you feel overwhelmed. You’re human. It’s going to happen. Knowing your capacity helps you to identify where to put your time and your focus when life is hard. Think about what you need to do, delegate, and delete.  Take some time to ask yourself if you have what you need to thrive. As flight attendants always say, put your oxygen mask on first before helping others. Focusing on taking care of you doesn’t make you selfish–it helps you be healthy.

    And with all of that, you’ll be ready for the parade of smiling faces coming your way. Thank you for being part of one of the most important professions in our country. Your work has a lasting impact. We respect you and we appreciate you. Be well.

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    Dr. Mamie L. Pack, Western Governors University

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  • MIND Education Enhances Flagship Math Program ST Math with Transformative Back-to-School Upgrades

    MIND Education Enhances Flagship Math Program ST Math with Transformative Back-to-School Upgrades

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    IRVINE, Calif. — MIND Education, a leader in neuroscience-driven math education solutions, has released transformative upgrades to the ST Math experience for students and teachers. The revolutionized curriculum introduces brand new games, an engaging island-themed student journey, an improved educator dashboard, enhanced puzzle talks to foster mathematical discourse, and comprehensive teacher workshops and professional learning.

    Drawing on over 25 years of neuroscience research, MIND’s approach in ST Math emphasizes learning by doing – an approach proven to foster critical thinking, creativity, and ensure deep conceptual understanding. These enhancements ensure learning experiences that are both engaging and effective at impacting positive outcomes.

    “ST Math’s new enhancements will accelerate math learning and conceptual understanding in less time,” said Jason Mendenhall, chief product officer at MIND Education. “Students will make remarkable progress with less ‘unproductive struggle,’ resulting in significantly improved math learning outcomes. Games that actively engage students help them avoid the passive learning trap of merely seeking the right answers, instead equipping students with the skills they need to tackle real-world problems.”

    The 34 new games for grades 3-5 offer: 

    • Low floor, high-ceiling learning to meet each student where they are; 
    •  Immediate formative feedback; 
    • Insightful, interactive virtual manipulatives; 
    • Visual reasoning challenges to develop strong problem-solvers; 
    • Exercises that facilitate conceptual grasp and sense-making; and
    • Tools to motivate students to tackle challenges, build perseverance, and boost their self-confidence as “math people.”

    ST Math’s new island-themed user experience is designed to empower, engage, and inspire students to embark on  their learning journey and bring their math objectives to life. Using a map, students can visually track their progress, celebrate achievements, and stay motivated by seeing their milestones come to life along an interactive pathway.

    The program’s upgraded, user-friendly teacher dashboard empowers educators to stay connected to student progress, providing quick access to a streamlined reporting system and easy access to student data. With expanded performance metrics, the advanced dashboard offers deeper insights to tailor instruction to meet individual student needs. 

    ST Math Puzzle Talks have been redesigned to better fit into fast-paced schedules, to be easier to find and use for teachers within the ST Math platform, and to be more accessible to all users. Similar to number talks or math talks, Puzzle Talks are designed to encourage students to communicate and deepen their mathematical understanding. They can be used to:

    • Leverage the visual puzzles of ST Math;
    • Launch or review a topic;
    • Offer intentional sequences of 3-6 puzzles;
    • Cover major grade-level topics and focus areas; and
    • Engage students in meaningful mathematical discourse.

    New educator professional learning packages seamlessly integrate ST Math into educators’ core instruction. The Curriculum Integration Package features dynamic, collaborative sessions to empower curriculum writers, enabling them to easily embed ST Math into their district’s core curriculum. The Math Discourse with Puzzle Talks package invites educators to participate in a multi-session workshop using a modeling package designed to empower educators in facilitating rich mathematical discourse. 

    Newly updated workshops will empower educators to maximize the instructional power of ST Math. The Facilitating Math Discourse with Puzzle Talks Workshop focuses on engaging students in meaningful mathematical discourse and problem-solving using ST Math’s completely redesigned Puzzle Talks. The Curriculum Integration & Targeting Standards Workshop allows educators to explore and experience the flexibility of ST Math within their core math program, while also building a deep understanding of how to target specific standards.

    To discover how ST Math’s new enhancements can transform math learning in your classrooms, visit ST Math – What’s New?. 

    About MIND Education

    MIND Education engages, motivates, and challenges students towards mathematical success through its mission to mathematically equip all students to solve the world’s most challenging problems. MIND is the creator of ST Math, a pre-K–8 visual instructional program that leverages the brain’s innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems; and InsightMath, a neuroscience-based K-6 curriculum that transforms student learning by teaching math the way every brain learns so all students are equipped to succeed. During the 2023-24 school year, MIND Education and ST Math reached more than 2.17 million students and 115,000 educators across the country. Visit MINDEducation.org. 

    eSchool News Staff
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  • Addressing Early Ed Issues

    Addressing Early Ed Issues

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    Any educator will tell you that when it comes to student behavior, the pandemic isn’t over yet, especially regarding early education. The upheaval of recent years has significantly affected kindergarten and pre-K students, leading to observable declines in self-regulation, social skills, and language development. 

    Becca Carter Ed., Pre-K Instructional Specialist at Virginia Beach City Public Schools sees it every day. eSchool News spoke to her and Srikar Dronam, Vice President of Product Innovation, at Hatch Early Learning, Inc. Both experts emphasize the importance of addressing these issues through enhanced early childhood education. Have a listen:

    Topics include:

    1. Screen Time: An increase in screen time during remote learning has had mixed effects. While technology is crucial, there is a need to balance its use to prevent it from becoming a crutch. Strategies include limiting screen time and focusing on hands-on learning experiences.
    2. Teacher and Faculty Adaptations: Educators have had to adjust their methods to accommodate increased screen use and the varying levels of readiness among students. Professional development is focusing on appropriate technology use and re-engaging with developmentally suitable practices.
    3. Family Involvement: The role of families has become more significant as parents are now more involved in their children’s learning due to remote education. Effective parent-teacher engagement and support are vital for continuity in learning and behavioral development.
    4. Future Outlook: Both Shrinker and her colleague are optimistic about the recovery and advancement in early childhood education. They advocate for expanded pre-K opportunities and the use of technology in developmentally appropriate ways to support children’s long-term success.
    Kevin Hogan
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    Kevin Hogan

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  • Renaissance Launches Powerful New Teacher Experience for the 2024‒2025 School Year

    Renaissance Launches Powerful New Teacher Experience for the 2024‒2025 School Year

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    BLOOMINGTON, MN – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology resources and insights, announces the launch of Renaissance Next, a uniquely powerful new teacher experience that aims to transform classroom instruction and empower educators with in-the-moment recommendations to support their most critical decisions.

    “We started out by asking the question that is on the mind of every educator as they consider what’s next in their classroom: ‘How do I provide each learner with the right support, help, or acceleration?’” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance. “That’s what led us to create Renaissance Next, which gives teachers actionable insights and quality instructional resources to meet their students’ needs.”

    Renaissance Next provides teachers with real-time recommendations in the classroom, combining accurate assessment, purposeful practice activities, and instructional data in a single view.

    Integrating key products from the Renaissance ecosystem, including Star Assessments, Freckle, Accelerated Reader, myON, and Lalilo, while surfacing recommended Nearpod resources based on math and ELA assessment performance, Renaissance Next harnesses the power of these tools to offer educators in-the-moment insights to guide teaching and learning. Teachers can quickly view students’ performance, understand each student’s progress and skill mastery, and review relevant lesson plans and activities to adapt, amplify, or adjust.

    “Renaissance Next gives me a quick glimpse of where my kids are, where they need to go, and what I need to do,” said Julia Witges, a third-grade teacher at Carbondale Elementary School District 95 in Illinois, and a Renaissance Next beta tester. “It provides all of these tools that make my job so much easier, including the ability to differentiate down to individual student needs.”

    Thousands of teachers with access to Renaissance products beta tested the new platform, which presents data that schools can use to inform decisions ranging from individual student learning to the district as a whole. The teachers’ feedback helped to shape the design of Renaissance Next, ensuring that it meets a wide variety of classroom needs.

    “We plan to embed insights from Renaissance Next across our district and systems,” said Janice Pavelonis, the superintendent of Carbondale Elementary School District 95. “Renaissance Next complements our strategic plan for the 2024–2025 school year, which involves students understanding their own data and progress, and setting their own goals, with support from and in consultation with their teachers.”

    The insights and recommendations for differentiated instruction offered through Renaissance Next are made possible, in part, through the strategic use of AI. During development, Renaissance leveraged AI to better catalog its large library of pre-K‒12 instructional resources and practice activities, so that this content would be more readily accessible to educators in the classroom.

    “The Renaissance database is a rich resource that incorporates over 38 years of real student and teacher data and insights,” said Brekhus. “The Renaissance Next platform brings those insights to teachers so they can truly see every student, and it leverages lesson and activity recommendations to accelerate learning for all.”

    Renaissance Next is now available for the 2024–2025 school year. To learn more, visit renaissance.com/renaissance-next.

    About Renaissance
    As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 100 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

    eSchool News Staff
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  • Leveraging connectivity to tackle K-12’s biggest challenges

    Leveraging connectivity to tackle K-12’s biggest challenges

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    Key points:

    Even before the pandemic, education leaders championed the necessity of strong internet connectivity in schools and communities. This need skyrocketed with the nation’s move to online and hybrid learning during peak pandemic years, and now, strong and reliable connectivity remains a must-have for every educator and student.

    A high-speed, reliable internet connection can elevate technology-driven learning and harness new learning potential, said Verizon experts during an eSchool News webinar on connectivity, moderated by eSN Content Director Kevin Hogan.

    The webinar delves into the current state of and future possibilities for technology-driven education, exploring solutions to elevate digital infrastructures while maximizing E-rate funding to foster inclusive, secure, and efficient learning environments. Paramount to the discussion is the critical role of increased bandwidth in empowering schools to harness the potential of new technologies.

    Cybersecurity is one of K-12’s biggest technology challenges–and strong connectivity can help meet this challenge. “One of the biggest things we learned during the pandemic is how we protect our kids now that we’re encouraging them to use online and digital tools. How do we make sure our kids are safe?” noted Kim Mirabella, Vice President, Business Development for Verizon.

    And with 17 million households still lacking internet access–leaving students unable to get online at home for research, homework, and other tasks–digital equity is another issue requiring a solution grounded in connectivity, particularly as funding programs expire.

    “We’ve had a lot of government programs, grant programs, and funding, but as those programs start to wind down, the problems don’t go away,” Mirabella said.

    Watch the full webinar here.

    Laura Ascione
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    Laura Ascione

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  • Equitable learning with small-group instruction and student-tracking

    Equitable learning with small-group instruction and student-tracking

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    Key points:

    In the realm of education, balancing instructional strategies like small-group instruction and student-tracking presents both challenges and opportunities for fostering equitable learning environments.

    While small-group instruction offers personalized learning experiences, student-tracking aims to tailor instruction based on abilities. However, both approaches have raised concerns regarding inequity and stigmatization. As an educator, navigating these complexities led me to employ a rotation-based approach that integrates both strategies to ensure all my students receive equitable learning opportunities over the academic year.

    My approach was informed by recognizing the inevitability of initial low performance data, which I attributed to factors like the summer slide. I prioritized targeted support and intervention strategies to address the diverse needs of students from the outset and aimed to mitigate learning loss and promote academic growth. Student-tracking, while offering tailored instruction, has been subject to criticism for perpetuating inequality and limiting exposure to diverse perspectives. Conversely, the personalized approach to small-group instruction fosters deeper engagement but may pose challenges in managing multiple groups and ensuring equitable access to resources.

    To address these concerns, I implemented a rotation-based model where each quarter focused on a different student group. This approach allowed for tailored instruction while ensuring all students received the same amount of instructional time by the year’s end. Specifically, I may have seen one group for more minutes during the first quarter, but then saw that group for fewer minutes in a future quarter. By the end of the school year, each group was seen for the same number of minutes (more or less).

    Flexibility and adaptability were crucial in adjusting instruction duration to meet the evolving needs of each group. By embracing inclusivity and flexibility, I aimed to foster an environment where every student felt valued and supported in their learning journey. By integrating both small-group instruction and student-tracking within a rotation-based framework, I aimed to strike a balance between personalized learning and equitable access to educational opportunities. This approach allowed me to address the diverse needs of my students while minimizing the potential for stigmatization or exclusion. Throughout the school year, the rotation-based model facilitated a dynamic learning environment where students received targeted instruction tailored to their individual needs. Whether focusing on remediation, enrichment, or skill development, each group received the attention and support necessary for academic growth.

    Upon reflection, the outcomes of this strategy have been overwhelmingly positive. Through dedicated efforts and personalized support, students experienced significant growth across various domains. Notably, there was an overall typical growth of about 144 percent in mathematical performance amongst my fifth graders; the end of year data also revealed that my students went from 0 percent proficient to 71.4 percent proficient or nearing proficiency. This indicates the effectiveness of the implemented strategies.

    This growth is a testament to the commitment of both students and educators alike and demonstrates the power of targeted interventions and a supportive learning environment in fostering progress and achievement. The journey of implementing tailored strategies and providing individualized support has yielded remarkable outcomes. Witnessing tangible growth in academic performance (with an overall mathematical increase of 144 percent) highlights the effectiveness of this effort. These results reaffirm the power of personalized education and the importance of fostering a nurturing learning environment via intentionality.

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    Dr. Yuvraj Verma, Jefferson County Schools

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  • Millbrook Magnet High educator named Wake County Public School System 2024 Teacher of the Year

    Millbrook Magnet High educator named Wake County Public School System 2024 Teacher of the Year

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    CARY, N.C. (WTVD) — A teacher at Millbrook Magnet High School was named 2024 Wake County Public School System Teacher of the Year on Monday evening.

    Ryan Berglund has been a Sustainable Agriculture Academy teacher at Millbrook since July 2019.

    He started teaching Career and Technical Education after working as a welder and equipment fabricator.

    He is also a graduate of Millbrook High.

    When sharing his approach to teaching, Berglund wrote, “Our students are able to build some amazing projects that show their true understanding of the objectives in the course. I always tell my students, ‘I will not be there in the real world to tell you how to build it, you will have to figure it out.’ This takes their understanding to a new level.”

    Berglunf holds a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Education from the University of Mount Olive but his secret weapon is that he is the only agriculture teacher in North Carolina who is an AWS Certified Welding Inspector.

    Because of his unique qualifications, he can provide his students with a welding certification that industry professionals equate to passing the bar exam to become a lawyer. Under his mentorship, 64 students have become certified welders ready to enter the workforce upon graduation.

    He said that his experience with educational differences has shaped how he interacts with his students.

    “In the third grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. In resource classes, I was able to see how students with disabilities have been given a different lens to look through that is not right or wrong, just different. This is a mindset I try to instill in all of my students,” Berglund said.

    As Teacher of the Year, Berglund will get to participate in the Go Global NC international study program in the Netherlands during the summer of 2025. The trip is sponsored by the Dan Royster Memorial Teacher Award, in honor of a former WCPSS science teacher.

    He will also have the opportunity to attend the Global Leaders Teacher Fellowship conference compliments of Participate Learning.

    Berglund also received an engraved award, a $100 gift card to Angus Barn, a $1,000 check from sponsors, a weekend stay at the Umstead Hotel and Spa, a $100 Amazon gift card and even autographed hockey gear donated by the Carolina Hurricanes, among other prizes.

    To top it off, he will also have the use of a 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe, compliments of Capital Chevrolet, for the next year.

    Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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    WTVD

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  • Educators Honored with YouScience® Innovative Educator Award

    Educators Honored with YouScience® Innovative Educator Award

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    AMERICAN FORK, Utah –  YouScience®,the leading technology provider dedicated to solving the skills gap crisis for students and employers, is proud to announce the recipients of the esteemed  YouScience Innovative Educator Award. This award celebrates educators who have implemented innovative approaches to empower the next generation of professionals through academic and career exploration. 

    After reviewing nominations received from around the country, YouScience is excited to congratulate the following educators as the winners:

    • Darren Zink, Paige Kanaly, and Megan Holloway, a teaching team from Mountain View High School in Mesa, Arizona
    • Jessica McAllister from Lewis-Palmer School District in Monument, Colorado
    •  Zach Knapp from Vale Middle School in Vale, Oregon

    Shaping Future Pathways at Mountain View High School

    Members of the Freshman Academic Success Team (FAST) at Mountain View High School —Darren Zink, Paige Kanaly, and Megan Holloway – have been recognized for their collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to education. With over 20 years of teaching experience, Darren Zink, along with Megan Holloway (3 years) and Paige Kanaly (5 years), share a group of 90 students and help them connect what they’re learning in the classroom with the real world. By integrating YouScience into their curriculum, they have helped students explore their aptitudes and envision future career pathways. Their teaching philosophy revolves around fostering communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, while elevating student choice and voice in the classroom.

    Highlights of Accomplishments:

    • Integration of aptitude-enabled education and YouScience data to create personalized and relevant classroom curriculum and instruction for their students.
    • Utilizing interdisciplinary teaching systems to make core concepts, including English, biology, and mathematics, relevant for real-world applications and future career pathways.
    • Elevating student choice and voice for understanding and exploring career pathways based on their unique YouScience results. 

    “On behalf of ElevateEdAZ and our partnership with Mesa Public Schools, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Mountain View’s extraordinary ninth-grade academy teachers, Darren Zink, Megan Hollaway, and Paige Kanaly, on receiving the prestigious YouScience Innovative Educator Award. Thank you for your exceptional contributions to education and for setting a high standard for others to follow. Well deserved! A special thank you to those in the District who make this partnership possible: District Superintendent, Dr. Andi Forlis; Mountain View Principal, Mike Oliver; District Director of CTE and Innovative Partnerships, Marlo Loria; and College and Career Coach, Vicki Schomaker.” said Amir Law, EdD, District Director, Mesa Public Schools, ElevateEdAZ.

    Pioneering Innovation in Lewis-Palmer School District

    Jessica McAllister, the Secondary Programs Coordinator at Lewis-Palmer School District, has been lauded for her entrepreneurial leadership and forward-thinking approach. With over 23 years working in education, McAllister has spearheaded innovative practices, including the implementation of YouScience, to support students in finding their passions and preparing for future careers. Under her leadership, the district, encompassing three district-operated secondary schools, has embraced innovative programs to elevate career and college readiness, work-based learning opportunities, and community partnerships.

    Highlights of Jessica McAllister’s Accomplishments:

    • Integration of career and technical education (CTE) courses with academic programs, providing a comprehensive educational experience that prepares students for both employment and college.
    • Applying and winning numerous grants to meet the unique needs of her student population, including hiring critical staff and counselors for each of their schools as well as providing access to career exploration programs for the Innovative Learning Opportunities Program she oversees.
    • Focusing on a student-centric approach to education, she led the renovation of an existing building, leveraging district carpentry classes to get hands-on experience in renovation and rallying community members for support, to create a space for student-run businesses. The space now hosts several businesses including the production of goods and services available to our school district departments and eventually, the broader community. Each business is run like a real corporation with students fulfilling the roles of the C-suite, marketing, sales, customer service, and finance teams. 

    “Jessica’s forward and thoughtful thinking is impacting the futures of our students through career and college readiness, work-based learning opportunities, and community partnerships for lasting impact,” said Amber Whetstine, Assistant Superintendent of Lewis-Palmer School District 38.

    Empowering Students at Vale Middle School

    Zach Knapp, a CTE educator at Vale Middle School, has been recognized for his dedication to empowering students to explore career pathways and make informed decisions about their future. With 20 years of teaching experience, Knapp has integrated YouScience into his curriculum, guiding students to discover their aptitudes and interests and align them with relevant educational opportunities. His commitment to student success has led to increased career awareness and readiness among his students.

    Highlights of Zach Knapp’s accomplishments:

    • Introducing YouScience to help students identify their best-fit career paths and quantify their skills, empowering them to make informed decisions about their futures—whether that’s a traditional college pathway or an alternative route.
    • Recognizing the gap in Health Science education, Zach encouraged and supported the high school to pioneer a new high school CNA course, ensuring that students with aptitudes in this career cluster have continued education opportunities after they leave middle school.
    • Creating unique career exploration opportunities for his students, Zach organized a school-wide, full-day field trip, allowing his students to explore eight different local industries and paving the way for early career exposure in middle school.

    “As the Vale Middle School CTE teacher, Mr. Knapp’s innovative approach not only inspires but also empowers our students to reach their full potential. By incorporating YouScience into his curriculum for all 7th and 8th-grade students, he assists them in identifying their aptitudes and strengths, guiding them toward career and educational pathways that align with their skills. Thanks to his dedication, students transition to high school equipped with individualized 4-year academic plans tailored to their aspirations,” said Lisa Andersen, VMS Principal, Vale School District.

    Celebrating Innovation in Education

    The YouScience Innovative Educator Award celebrates educators who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and creativity in preparing students for the ever-evolving professional landscape. These educators exemplify the essence of innovation in education, leveraging technology and creative teaching methods to empower the next generation of professionals.

    “We are thrilled to recognize these exceptional educators for their dedication to innovation in education,” said Edson Barton, CEO of YouScience. “Their commitment to student success and readiness for the future is truly commendable, and we celebrate their accomplishments.”

    Educators, students, and parents are encouraged to nominate deserving candidates for subsequent awards by completing the submission form on the YouScience website.

    To learn more about YouScience, please visit  youscience.com.

    About YouScience

    YouScience® is the leading technology provider dedicated to solving the skills and exposure gap crisis for students and employers. Its end-to-end platform, YouScience® Brightpath, connects education with career applications designed to help students unlock their potential for future pathways. YouScience leverages proven research, artificial intelligence, and industry input to help individuals identify their aptitudes, validate their skills and knowledge, and get matched with real-world educational and career pathways in high-demand occupations.

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  • SchoolStatus Launches SchoolStatus Boost, an Innovative Educator Development Solution for Enhanced Teacher Growth and Development

    SchoolStatus Launches SchoolStatus Boost, an Innovative Educator Development Solution for Enhanced Teacher Growth and Development

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    RIDGELAND, Miss./PRNewswire/ —  SchoolStatus, a leader in K-12 data-driven solutions that empower student success, announced the launch of  SchoolStatus Boost, a collaborative platform for guiding and documenting equitable professional growth programs for educators, via goal-setting, coaching, and observations, to support schools in improving educators’ career growth and student success.

    SchoolStatus Boost is the latest addition to the  new SchoolStatus K-12 success platform , a user-friendly, fully integrated platform that includes  SchoolStatus Connect for personalized communications and  SchoolStatus Attend for attendance management. Together they empower families, administrators, and educators with data-driven insights for positive growth and student outcomes.

    With SchoolStatus Boost, K-12 school districts can promote educator growth through customized, collaborative development platform using:

    ●  Intuitive tools to record observation notes and provide timely, actionable feedback while saving ½ a day per week in paperwork
    ●  Centralized observation notes and rubric data customized for the district’s needs
    ●  Educator-driven goal-setting and documenting evidence portfolios that enable them to feel supported by their administrators
    ●  District and school level data-views to allow leaders to identify trends and opportunities for additional development

    “The most important people in a student’s educational journey are their educators. Our team wants to ensure that we are supporting educators so that they feel appreciated by their employer and are able to grow in their career,” said Russ Davis, SchoolStatus Founder and CEO. “It is critical that we invest in our educators through an educator-centric career growth platform, such as SchoolStatus Boost. We will always applaud the work of educators and continue to create ways to support them.”

    “Educators today are juggling many priorities within a limited amount of time. They’re working hard to provide the best instruction they can for all students, to connect with families, and to grow in their instructional practices. The influence teachers have on students’ educational journeys can’t be overstated—so any opportunity we have to save them time directly impacts classroom instruction. SchoolStatus Boost helps us support educators’ growth based on transparent collaboration and goal tracking that also meets state requirements. And that ultimately results in better outcomes for students and our school community. Our mission statement emphasizes a commitment to lifelong learning. Our partnership with SchoolStatus Boost greatly supports that mission,” said Patrick Burns, Principal, Robert A. Van Wyck M.S. 217Q.

    For more information on SchoolStatus Boost, SchoolStatus Connect, and SchoolStatus Attend, visit  www.schoolstatus.com. 

    About SchoolStatus
    SchoolStatus provides a comprehensive suite of communication and attendance solutions that enhance educator-to-family connectedness and support student success. Instant insight into student information and district attendance trends gives educators and administrators full visibility into all levels of the education ecosystem. Data-informed, multi-touch communications include calling, texting, video, and print materials centered around proactive intervention that improves student outcomes and family engagement. With millions of successful school-home interactions, SchoolStatus is improving student achievement by facilitating meaningful engagement between educators, districts, and families across the U.S. For more information, visit  schoolstatus.com.

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  • Elementary school substitute teacher accused of viewing ‘inappropriate images’ on phone

    Elementary school substitute teacher accused of viewing ‘inappropriate images’ on phone

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    A West Covina elementary school substitute teacher is under investigation after students alleged the educator viewed “inappropriate images” on his cellphone while on campus.

    The teacher, who was not identified, was immediately removed from the classroom Friday as the West Covina Unified School District conducts an investigation, the district said in a news release. School officials also alerted the West Covina Police Department and Los Angeles County Child Protective Services.

    In addition, Cameron Elementary School Principal Sylvia Fullerton sent an email to parents Friday night notifying them about what happened.

    “We are in full cooperation with law enforcement and child welfare authorities and are committed to implementing the necessary actions based on the outcomes of the investigation which remains ongoing,” according to the district’s news release.

    The West Covina Police Department could not immediately confirm what action was taken against the teacher. KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported the teacher was not arrested because of a lack of evidence.

    Outraged at the alleged incident, some parents are planning to protest outside the elementary school Tuesday morning. Parents can contact the district to request counseling services for any student who needs additional support.

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  • Bluepoint Wind Awards $10,000 in Grants to New Jersey Teachers for Renewable Energy STEM Kits

    Bluepoint Wind Awards $10,000 in Grants to New Jersey Teachers for Renewable Energy STEM Kits

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    Newark, NJ – Offshore wind company Bluepoint Wind is announcing today the winners of grants to further STEM education for 10 teachers from schools across New Jersey. Each educator chosen by the Company will receive $1,000 worth of interactive STEM kits from KidWind, an international leader in renewable energy education.

    “The next generation of renewable energy workers who will power New Jersey are sitting in middle school classrooms right now,” said John Dempsey, CEO of Bluepoint Wind, a partnership between Ocean Winds (OW), an international offshore wind energy company and joint-venture between EDPR and ENGIE, and New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners. “Bluepoint Wind is helping educators prepare students for a net-zero New Jersey and decarbonized world, all while supporting the state’s innovative climate change curriculum. We are proud to support New Jersey teachers who are instrumental in fostering students’ passions for STEM and its critical role in building our energy future.”

    Each of the 10 teachers will receive a $1,000 mini-grant funded by Bluepoint Wind and applied toward the purchase of interactive wind energy STEM kits from KidWind. KidWind will also provide the winners with training on how to incorporate the STEM kits into in-school and/or out-of-school learning environments.

    In addition to partnering with KidWind on this educator mini-grant initiative, Bluepoint Wind sits on their Career Pathways Ad Hoc Committee on Offshore Wind Energy Education to provide industry support around youth workforce development.

    “Offshore wind energy will be an important part of New Jersey’s decarbonization strategy,” said Michael Arquin, founder of KidWind. “While this technology is just starting to be installed in the U.S. it is important to help future scientists and engineers understand and get excited about this timely subject. We congratulate all of the educators who are receiving Bluepoint Wind mini-grants which bring wind energy education and resources to schools in New Jersey, and we look forward to supporting them as they implement KidWind curriculum and materials in their classrooms.”

    The winning educators are:

    • Vicki Cornell, Boonton High School
    • Emily Williams, East Side High School (Newark)
    • Allison Wiesel, Shrewsbury Boro School
    • Maura Simister, Manchester Township Schools
    • Oscar Acebo Macias, Union City High School
    • Jeannine Lanphear, Mid-Jersey Green STREAM Learning Ecosystem (serving the North Brunswick Schools)
    • Joseph Costello, Atlantic City High School
    • Kathleen Kalena, Dover Public Schools
    • Gerald Bruman, Millville High School
    • Michelle Albritton, Paterson Public Schools

    Teachers were selected from northern, central, and southern New Jersey, with consideration given to those working in schools in overburdened communities. The application was launched at the New Jersey Education Association’s Convention in November and applications were due on December 1st. All New Jersey educators who entered the competition but did not win the mini-grants will still receive a comprehensive guide on teaching wind energy to students in grades 6-12, filled with lessons and activities.

    “We were thrilled to have KidWind and Bluepoint Wind at the NJEA Convention this year,” said Sean M. Spiller, NJEA President. “There are few issues more important to our students’ future than our climate, so we applaud KidWind and Bluepoint Wind for both leading on that issue and providing our members with resources that help them prepare the next generation of energy and climate innovators.”

    “As a proud partner of Bluepoint Wind and KidWind on the advancement of wind energy education in the state, we congratulate the recipients of these grants,” said Dan Barnett, Chief Development Officer for Students 2 Science, Inc. “This initiative is a great step in ensuring that all students have access to the necessary tools to prepare them for future industries and careers in the state.”

    “As the first U.S. state to introduce K-12 standards addressing climate change, it is important to encourage and support school districts to use these standards to develop interdisciplinary climate change learning experiences that integrate an understanding of climate threats and implement community derived solutions for a sustainable future,” said Janice McDonnell, STEM Agent, Department of 4-H Youth Development at Rutgers University.

    About Bluepoint Wind:Bluepoint Wind is a partnership between Ocean Winds (OW), an international offshore wind energy company, and New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners. Together, these companies have a successful track record of over 50 years of experience in development, financing, construction and operation of renewables projects, including more than 15 years on offshore wind projects. Bluepoint Wind plans to build an offshore wind farm within its ocean lease area located 38 nautical miles (nm) off the coast of New York and 53 nm off the coast of New Jersey. At full capacity, this wind farm will be able to generate 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of clean wind energy – powering up to 900,000 homes and helping NY and NJ meet their ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals.

    About the KidWind Project:
    The KidWind Project, an international leader in renewable energy education, has been working with educators and students to integrate renewable energy into classrooms for over 15 years. Since 2004, KidWind has held more than 800 training events for more than 50,000 teachers all over the world. For more information about our trainings, challenges and curricular materials, visit www.kidwind.org.

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  • HSPA named a 5-Star Innovative School 2023 in The Educator report for Mastery Learning

    HSPA named a 5-Star Innovative School 2023 in The Educator report for Mastery Learning

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    MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA/EINPresswire.com/ —  Edalex, the company powering organisations’ single source of truth for skills and learning data, enthusiastically congratulates the Hunter School of Performing Arts (HSPA) for being named one of the ‘ 5-Star Innovative Schools 2023’ by The Educator for their work around mastery learning, credentialing and Learner Dashboard innovations, which were co-designed with Edalex and Learning Vault using the  Credentialate and openRSD platforms.

    According to Darren Ponman, Principal of HSPA: “We were excited to receive this recognition – particularly as we were nominated by another school! Our parents and students have been thrilled with the dynamic, 24/7 visibility that the Credentialate Learner Dashboard has given them. They can see at any moment the student’s achievements – both pending and achieved, what they need to do to ‘level up’ and where they sit in relation to the wider student cohort. Gamification was a key objective from the beginning of the project and has really worked to motivate the students to strive for mastery.”

    “We are so pleased that HSPA has been recognised for the implementation of its comprehensive Mastery Learning model, and honoured that we were able to provide the tech enablement of Darren’s vision. HSPA has been on a multi-year journey to implement an innovative pedagogy, and this is deserved recognition for the school leaders, teachers, parents and students of their efforts. Collaboration between education providers, education technology companies and others is the key to enabling success in the skills economy.”

    Now in its ninth year, the report recognises the schools at the forefront of change and innovation. Entries were open to all educational professionals who believe their school is pioneering a new direction in education and the report showcases schools reshaping the future of education. By the end of the judging process, the entries were narrowed down to 35 of the country’s most forward-thinking schools, making up the 5-Star Innovative Schools 2023 list.

    Chris Duncan, CEO of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), says, “An innovative school needs to approach innovation less for its own sake but for how it directly benefits students and their development. Real innovation leads to practices that fundamentally change the way we do things.”

    Take a tour of the HSPA Learner Dashboard –  https://huntperfor-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/mastery_learning_learner_dashboard.html

    Find out more about Edalex and their award-winning Credentialate and openRSD platforms at  https://www.edalex.com

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