AFT President Randi Weingarten on March 28 delivered an address titled “In Defense of Public Education” that delved into such issues as gun violence, school voucher programs and culture wars.
Here are select quotes from Weingarten’s address:
• “Today we renew our call for common-sense gun safety legislation, including a ban on assault weapons. … It’s an epidemic that our great nation must solve.”…
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Ten music teachers will each receive a $200 gift card to Music K-8 and a one-year subscription to Music K-8 magazine through a program sponsored by Plank Road Publishing.
Deadline for entries is March 29 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Winners will be announced April 5 on WeAreTeachers.com. For rules and to enter, click here.
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Join Chronicle of Higher Education senior writer Katherine Mangan on March 28 as she hosts the virtual forum “Mentoring Programs for First-Gen Students.”
Mangan and a panel of college mentoring experts will talk about how to establish an atmosphere that encourages mentoring bonds.
The session starts at 2 p.m. ET on March 28. For more info and to register, click here.…
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For its spring 2023 webinar series, Amplify Education will present sessions designed to improve literacy instruction. Among the scheduled webinars:
• March 24 at 1 p.m. ET: “Supplemental Reading Educator Roundtable” — hosted by literacy specialist Charissa Snyder and professional learning specialist Cynthia Shields
• March 27 at 1 p.m. ET: “Literacy Is Opportunity” — with Mitchell Brookins, an educational consultant and former school administrator
• April 10 at 1 p.m.…
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Join Chronicle of Higher Education senior writer Scott Carlson on March 21 as he hosts the virtual forum “In Defense of Libraries.”
Topics of discussion will include how librarians make the case for the library and how they align themselves with strategic goals of their institutions.
The session begins at 2 p.m. ET on March 21.…
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As she navigates her rookie year as a teacher, South Dakota’s Audra Lynam says she’s been in need of strategies that would “build up my stamina and resilience.” With fellow first-year teachers in mind, Lynam has written a column for Edutopia in which she offers five coping methods that have worked for her.
Read Lynam’s pointers here.…
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New Jersey City University faculty and students, along with labor leaders, members of various unions, elected officials and others, convened March 13 for the Fund NJCU Rally, presented by AFT Local 1839 inside the campus’ Gilligan Student Union Building.
Here are excerpts from select rally speakers:
“For 93 years, NJCU has provided tens of thousands of students from Jersey City, Hudson and surrounding counties with educational opportunities … In 2029, NJCU will begin its second century.…
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The Perth Amboy Board of Education on March 9 held its first meeting since the stabbing of 11-year-old Smailyn Jimenez on Feb. 22 by a fellow Samuel E. Shull Middle School student and the subsequent community outcry about school safety.
In an op-ed posted by Perth Amboy Now on March 11, Perth Amboy Federation President Pat Paradiso wrote about a “raucous and uncomfortable” atmosphere during the March 9 meeting’s public session.…
In the U.S. government budget for fiscal year 2024, revealed March 9, President Joe Biden has requested $90 billion for the Department of Education, $10.8 billion more than the 2023 enacted level.
Some of the investments within that $90 billion are:
• $20.5 billion for Title I (a $2.2 billion increase above the 2023 enacted level)
• $578 million for more school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers and other health professionals in K-12 schools and to support colleges and universities develop campus-wide strategies to address student mental health needs, including hiring additional providers on their campuses
• $132 million for the Teacher Quality Partnership program (a $62 million increase above the 2023 enacted level)
“President Biden’s latest budget proposal calls on Congress to act with urgency and provide our schools with the resources needed to raise the bar in education by promoting academic excellence and rigorous instruction, improving learning conditions, and answering unmet challenges like the educator shortage and the mental health needs of our students,” U.S.…
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Gov. Phil Murphy on March 2 visited Montgomery Upper Middle School in Skillman to highlight K-12 school funding in his fiscal year 2024 budget, which he unveiled Feb. 28.
“As I told New Jerseyans on Tuesday, this next New Jersey is going to be grounded on three central tenets: affordability, responsibility and opportunity,” Murphy said.…
