Snow day cancellations. Parents and teachers reached out to me this week to report that some school districts did not put their snow cancellation on tv until 5:45 AM on the day of the cancellation. One district waited this late and their teachers are expected to be there at 7:20. Municipal leaders need to know that people need to plan. Some educators actually still have children even though the profession has become increasingly more time intensive over the past few years.
An answer from a public school teacher on useful training for teachers and other issues. With an increase in students accessing special education services one teacher said, “Over the past few years we have seen an increase in IEPs and other special education services that we are required to implement. I am not against these services, but I would like to learn specific examples of how to be of service to these students. We talked about doing a seminar on ADHD once and 5 years later I am still explaining basic info to people about it. Also, facts about autism are important for us to know. I’d like to see a RETELL or SIOP on special education topics. Also, I’d love for legislators and policy makers to look into potential legislation for special education services. Some teachers have a really high percentage of students requiring special education services while others have none. More thinking needs to be done on the number of students requiring differentiated services in one classroom at the same time”.
DESE still interviewing for Commissioner. Please see here for my guest post on EduMom that includes a wish list for the traits of the new Commissioner of Elementary & Secondary Education.
Report to Address Inequities in Public School Funding. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights came out with a report this week with recommendations on how to address inequities. I can’t wait to dig in. Please see the report here: http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018-01-10-Education-Inequity.pdf
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