Federal Omnibus Bill Includes Substantial New Funds for Education Research

A recent piece by Kevin Mahnken in The 74 summarizes recent developments that mean more funding for R&D in education.  A recently passed $1.7 trillion federal omnibus package includes a $70 million boost to the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), the Department of Education’s arm for statistics, research, and evaluation. Within that 9.6% bump, $40 Read more about Federal Omnibus Bill Includes Substantial New Funds for Education Research[…]

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7 Ways 5,000 Districts & Charter Networks Are Spending Relief Funds on Teachers

Writing for FutureEd, Phyllis Jordan and Bella DiMarco explore trends in federal COVID ed aid spending. Excerpts from the piece appear below: To understand state and local policymakers’ strategies for bolstering teaching resources in the wake of the pandemic, FutureEd analyzed the COVID relief spending plans of 5,000 districts and charter organizations, representing 74% of Read more about 7 Ways 5,000 Districts & Charter Networks Are Spending Relief Funds on Teachers[…]

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How Blue States & Red States Use COVID Relief Funds Differently to Aid Schools

Recently in The 74, Bella Dimarco and Phyllis Jordan reviewed the ESSER spending pattern of different states, according to their political persuasion. Excerpts from the piece appear below: As school districts have decided how to spend billions in federal Covid-relief aid, there has been more convergence on priorities—and even a few surprises, according to a Read more about How Blue States & Red States Use COVID Relief Funds Differently to Aid Schools[…]

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Sustaining Investments in Teachers beyond the American Rescue Plan

A recent fact sheet from the U. S. Department of Education outlines ways states and districts can sustain their investments in teachers beyond the use of American Rescue Plan funding.  Excerpts appear below: Federal investments are available to support states, districts, and schools as they work to address immediate teacher shortages exacerbated by the pandemic Read more about Sustaining Investments in Teachers beyond the American Rescue Plan[…]

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How Districts With Different Poverty Levels Are Spending COVID Relief Funds

Recently in The 74, Phyllis Jordan and Bella Dimarco reviewed a new FutureEd analysis of plans for spending ESSER III emergency relief funds, including more than 2,600 school districts serving 53 percent of the nation’s public school students. The analysis suggests that the higher the poverty rate in a district’s student population, the more likely Read more about How Districts With Different Poverty Levels Are Spending COVID Relief Funds[…]

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Getting Real About Sustainability & ESSER Funding

A new 90-second video can be used to help school systems explain their efforts to invest ESSER funds with a sustainable “Do Now, Build Toward” approach. It begins by walking through three approaches to ESSER spending and then digs into what sustainability looks like in this moment — thinking beyond using ESSER dollars for one-time Read more about Getting Real About Sustainability & ESSER Funding[…]

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Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students

The federal Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education has released a report outlining the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on America’s students. Major observations include the following: OBSERVATION 1 (K-12): Emerging evidence shows that the pandemic has negatively affected academic growth, widening pre-existing disparities. In core subjects like math and reading, there are Read more about Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students[…]

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Evidence Requirements of Federal COVID Aid

Recently, Nora Gordon explained the evidence requirements of federal COVID aid in an article for Future Ed. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The American Recovery Plan’s $123 billion Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund requires that educators spend a significant portion of the money on things that have been found through Read more about Evidence Requirements of Federal COVID Aid[…]

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Blueprint to Help Urban School Districts Effectively Spend New Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds

The Council of the Great City Schools has released a blueprint to help urban school districts spend new Covid-19 federal dollars strategically and effectively. It sets out overarching goals for the use of funds; articulates broad investment strategies; defines principles for the effective use of funds; articulates things that school districts should avoid doing as Read more about Blueprint to Help Urban School Districts Effectively Spend New Federal COVID-19 Relief Funds[…]

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Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help households struggling to pay for internet service during the pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, and virtual classrooms. The program is expected to begin in May. The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 Read more about Emergency Broadband Benefit Program[…]

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Moneyball for Education Policy

Given the urgent need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, increase economic mobility, and ensure racial justice, it is more important than ever for education leaders at all levels of the PK-12 education system to embrace evidence and data to inform their day-to-day decision-making. Results for America’s new report — Moneyball for Education Policy Recommendations Read more about Moneyball for Education Policy[…]

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Sources of Evidence for Educational Programs

State Departments of Education are receiving their third round of funding from the federal government, also known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds. This infusion of funding is the federal government’s largest ever single investment in our schools. When the money arrives at the state level, 90% of it will have to Read more about Sources of Evidence for Educational Programs[…]

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How Creative Youth Development (CYD) Programs Support Student Success

Education Commission of the States recently released a new report exploring the design and impact of Creative Youth Development (CYD) programs and providing policy considerations regarding CYD for states looking for ways to narrow the achievement gap and support student success. In CYD programs, young people create original work through arts experiences and apply their Read more about How Creative Youth Development (CYD) Programs Support Student Success[…]

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Dozens of Arts Programs Could Receive Funding Under Federal Education Law

A new literature review from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) explores research available on arts integration activities and finds 44 that could qualify for ESSA funding (10 studies met Tier I-III evidence standards for strong, moderate or promising evidence, while 34 met the Tier IV standard for having a research-based rationale). Interventions include those Read more about Dozens of Arts Programs Could Receive Funding Under Federal Education Law[…]

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The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking

The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking has issued its final report – The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking – which includes nearly two dozen bipartisan recommendations for how the federal government can use data and evidence to improve outcomes for all. Commission Chair Katharine Abraham, Commission Co-Chair Ron Haskins and the other Commissioners who spent 15 months carefully Read more about The Promise of Evidence-Based Policymaking[…]

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Fully Developing the Potential of Academically Advanced Students

A new AEI paper by Jonathan Wai and Frank C. Worrell, “Fully Developing the Potential of Academically Advanced Students: Helping Them Will Help Society” argues that gifted students are often left out of education reform conversations. In the $59.8 billion 2015 federal education budget, one dollar was spent on gifted and talented education for every Read more about Fully Developing the Potential of Academically Advanced Students[…]

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