Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Curriculum Associates’ Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Sonya Coleman Named to the National Alliance of Black School Educators Board of Directors

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., January 31, 2022— The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) recently named Sonya Coleman, vice president of strategic partnerships at Curriculum Associates, as the corporate representative on its Board of Directors. Coleman, who brings decades of educational experience to the Board, will help support the organization as it works to further the academic success of the nation’s children—particularly children of African descent.

“Sonya possesses a great blend of business acumen, organizational experience, and enthusiasm, which make her a great asset for NABSE,” said Dr. Nardos E. King, president of NABSE. “We welcome her to our Board and look forward to the continuation of a great and productive partnership.”

Founded in 1970, NABSE is dedicated to improving both the educational experiences and accomplishments of African American youth through the development and use of instructional and motivational methods that increase levels of inspiration, attendance, and overall achievement. The organization reaches a distinguished group of preeminent educators, including teachers, administrators, and superintendents, as well as corporate and institutional members.…Read More

Virtual, Interactive Expeditions for Black History Month Provide Students with a Diverse and Multi-Dimensional Look at African Americans Throughout History

North Mankato, Minn. (January 28, 2022) – The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration, a veteran expert and thought leader in the virtual learning space, today launched a Black History Month package of fresh and engaging virtual and interactive real-world expeditions for students that cover significant historical, cultural and societal events.

CILC’s 10 virtual fieldtrips transcend other well-intentioned, but often one-dimensional and overly simplified narratives of African American historical figures by providing students with a detailed look at the encounters, achievements, and heroism of everyday African Americans throughout history. In addition to the Civil Rights Era, the fieldtrips cover everything from the American Revolution and its relationship to enslaved African Americans to the impacts of sharecropping and homesteading for Black farmers and western communities to the struggle for racial equality in the military during World War II. These “trips” also examine the meaning of race, the history of jazz, and the myths and misconceptions of Africa.

“These interactive, virtual learning programs break down the walls of the classroom and transport students back into history to witness the generations of African Americans who both struggled and triumphed throughout our country’s history, while also bringing to light current situations that many Black individuals still experience today,” said Glenn Morris, CILC’s executive director. …Read More

When it comes to learning loss, don’t reinvent the wheel

As we head towards the last half of our second school year in a pandemic, there is no doubt that the impact of learning loss has exceeded all predictions. As reported by McKinsey,  students are behind an average of four months in reading and five months in math. Unfortunately, the pandemic widened preexisting opportunity and achievement gaps, hitting historically disadvantaged students hardest. In math, students in majority black schools ended the year with six months of unfinished learning; students in low-income schools with seven.  

Helping students catch up and keep up is a challenge many schools are just starting to tackle now that they’ve navigated the logistics of teaching and learning in a (hopefully) waning pandemic.  

Unfortunately, we are already seeing the best intentions and worst habits of problem-solving work their way into resolving student learning loss. Everyone wants to do something big and sweeping to ‘fix’ the issue.  …Read More

National Alliance of Black School Educators Names Audrey Muhammad as Inaugural Recipient of the 2021 NABSE $10,000 Scholarship Award

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., December 13, 2021—The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) recently named Audrey Muhammad, college success instructor at Durham Technical Community College in Durham, NC, as the recipient of the 2021 NABSE $10,000 Scholarship Award, which is sponsored by Curriculum Associates. This inaugural award, The Dr. Charles Mitchell, Jr. Leadership Scholarship, will help support Muhammad as she pursues an advanced degree in educational leadership at Wilmington University.

“We offer our congratulations to Ms. Muhammad on being the recipient of the inaugural award and wish her continued success in her educational endeavors,” said Dr. Fadhilika Atiba-Weza, executive director of NABSE. “NABSE is proud to present this scholarship in honor of Dr. Charles Mitchell, Jr., a founding member of our organization, whose recognition of the importance of leadership contributed to the formation of NABSE. In addition, we thank Curriculum Associates for its support and look forward to our continued partnership.”

Muhammad has been an educator for the past 28 years. Prior to her current role, she worked for Toledo Public Schools in Ohio and San Bernardino Unified School District and West Contra Costa Unified School District in California. During this time, she served as a high school English teacher, mentor teacher, and facilitator of various education workshops. She is also the author of numerous books, including How to Set Worthy Goals and Rhymes of the Times: Black Nursery Rhymes, and is the publisher of the inspirational Virtue Today Magazine.…Read More

Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education Invite High School Students to Win $30,000 in Prizes from the Trade Champions Challenge

Silver Spring, Md. (Monday, December 13, 2021) – Supporting students on their pathway to STEM success, Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education invite students to join the new Trade Champions Challenge. The Challenge introduces students to the unique opportunities offered through trade careers, encouraging them to consider a new career or education path. Participation in the Challenge is supported by a suite of digital resources to make student engagement possible in an in-person or virtual learning environment.

The Trade Champions Challenge asks high school students to create a 30-60 second video explaining to their peers why they aspire to be a trade professional. Open through April 15, 2022, the entries will be judged on content, effective communication, and presentation skills by a panel of educators, as well as Discovery Education and Stanley Black & Decker representatives. Each of the top three winners will receive a Stanley Black & Decker prize pack, in addition to $15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place, and $5,000 for third place aimed at supporting their continued education. Learn more about the Trade Champions Challenge here.

The Trade Champions Challenge builds upon a Stanley Black & Decker and Discovery Education educational program – Innovation Generation – igniting, engaging, and empowering students to become makers through no-cost dynamic digital resources. Through real-world explorations in STEM, Innovation Generation cultivates students’ collaboration, problem solving, and creative thinking.…Read More

BetterLesson’s ‘Empowered Algebra Learning For All’ Named 1 of 11 Grand Challenge Grantees

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 — BetterLesson, a leading provider of high quality virtual and in-person K–12 professional learning, announces that the company’s “Empowered Algebra Learning For All” solution is one of only 11 grantees chosen for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge. Algebra 1 is among the most important on-track indicators of students’ future success. In fact, students who do not complete Algebra 1 have just a one-in-five chance of graduating from high school.

The content of Algebra 1 tends to reflect the inequities experienced by Black and Latinx students, thereby failing to engage their strengths, and inhibiting learning. BetterLesson will collect input from students to develop and test new activities on the Desmos platform that provide multiple access points and engage through creativity, exploration, and collaboration, such as sketching and free-form writing.

In addition, BetterLesson’s Empowered Algebra Learning for All solution will provide 17 hours of professional learning support for Algebra 1 educators through a mix of virtual and in-person support from BetterLesson Coaches. BetterLesson Coaches will work with educators to deepen their work over the course of the year, as educators move from a focus on identity and self-reflection, to student agency and engagement and cultural connections and inclusivity.…Read More

3 ways to teach about Juneteenth all year long

Research shows that only 8 to 9 percent of class time, equivalent to 1-2 lessons, is currently dedicated to Black history. Juneteenth being established as a federal holiday is an opportunity for educators to make a shift and expand upon the history, cultures, and experiences discussed in the classroom.

Celebrated annually on June 19, Juneteenth marks the date some of the last enslaved people in the Confederacy became free. While mainstream awareness of Juneteenth is somewhat recent, it is a long-celebrated event that should be a core part of history–social studies and other courses.

Here are three tips for incorporating discussion of Juneteenth throughout the school year.…Read More

Job-related stress threatens the teacher supply

Nearly one in four teachers may leave their job by the end of the current (2020-’21) school year, compared with one in six who were likely to leave prior to the pandemic, according to a new RAND Corporation survey. Teachers who identified as Black or African American were particularly likely to consider leaving.

U.S. public-school teachers surveyed in January and February 2021 reported they are almost twice as likely to experience frequent job-related stress as the general employed adult population and almost three times as likely to experience depressive symptoms as the general adult population.

These results suggest potential immediate and long-term threats to the teacher supply.…Read More

Exceptional Black Students from Colorado Receive $2.44 Million in Sachs Foundation Scholarships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June23, 2021 — The Sachs Foundation, an organization that has provided college scholarships to Black Coloradans since 1931, announced today that it has awarded $2.44 million in scholarships to talented Black students from the Centennial State over the past year. With funding from the Foundation, Black Coloradans are pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees from prestigious institutions nationwide, including Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale, with about 20% attending prominent historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Howard University.  

Founded during the Great Depression by Pikes Peak resident Henry Sachs, the Sachs Foundation has provided scholarships to thousands of Black Coloradans. Mr. Sachs was inspired to create the foundation when he witnessed firsthand how economic and educational discrimination affected Black citizens, including his friends the Stroud family, whose son Dolphus Stroud received the first Sachs Foundation scholarship. In the years since, the Foundation has funded top Black scholars who’ve gone on to distinguished careers in medicine, science, engineering, public service, the arts and other fields. …Read More

5 ways to keep equity at the center of teaching

If school system leaders are to make equity a priority as education moves forward during this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, teacher work environments will have to evolve.

The pandemic struck in the middle of social unrest as U.S. citizens called for action to combat racism and economic inequities. The pandemic highlighted existing educational inequities, drawing attention to large gaps in internet and device access along with differences in family structures and parents’ ability to work from home and help their children with virtual learning. Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students and their families have been disproportionately impacted.

A new report from 100Kin10 pulls from teachers’ experiences during the pandemic and identifies changes that can improve teaching environments to make the profession more resilient and adaptable.…Read More