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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.

New Collegiate Partnerships with Central High School Advances Student Learning Opportunites

Phenix City, Ala.— In the upcoming school year, high school students will have a selection of dual enrollment courses offered by new collegiate partnerships. Phenix City Schools partners with five colleges for the 2022 to 2023 school year: Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Auburn University, University of Alabama, Troy University, and Alabama State University.

These partnerships create additional learning opportunities for students interested in getting a headstart on earning college credits and seeking more challenging academic experiences. Some of these options are also open to Central Freshman Academy. Along with the new dual enrollment courses, students can enroll in new Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Central High School now offers 12 AP courses, such as AP World History, AP Environmental Science, and AP Macroeconomics. Teachers new to teaching AP courses will be AP-trained and receive three Continuing Education Units (CEU) or 30 hours of professional learning credits.

These new courses and learning avenues to Central High School’s curriculum joins a long list of classes and extracurricular activities. Central High School currently offers 14 Career and Technical Education classes in its CTE Academy and over 40 clubs and organizations. …Read More

High-Achieving Black Students from Colorado Receive More than $2 Million in Sachs Foundation Scholarships Over the Past Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 19, 2022 — The Sachs Foundation, an organization that has provided college scholarships to Black Coloradans since 1931, announced today that it has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to talented Black students in the Centennial State over the past year. Sachs Foundation scholars are pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees from universities and colleges in Colorado as well as top institutions from coast to coast, including Yale, Stanford, MIT, Harvard and Cornell and prestigious historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Howard University.

The foundation awarded 52 scholarships over the past year to exceptional Black students from all around Colorado, including Aurora, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Denver, Fountain, Gypsum, Lafayette, Lakewood, Lamar and Woodland Park. The students who received Sachs Foundation support this year are not only accomplished in academics but have already made a positive impact in their communities through their achievements in the arts, athletics and volunteer activities. More than half of the students are the first generation in their family to attend college.

To celebrate the students’ excellence this year, the foundation sponsored a brunch for the 2022 Sachs Foundation Scholarship Program students and guests at the Penrose House in Colorado Springs. The guest speaker was Clint Smith, a journalist, educator, New York Times best-selling author, popular YouTube host, award-winning poet and staff writer at The Atlantic.   …Read More

School Superintendents of Alabama and Curriculum Associates Recognize Students and Educators with $12,000 in Scholarships

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., May 11, 2022—Curriculum Associates recently sponsored the 2022 School Superintendents of Alabama (SSA) scholarship program to help recognize and support students and educators throughout the state. The 12 scholarship recipients—eight high school seniors who intend to pursue a degree in education from one of Alabama’s public colleges or universities as well as four educators who plan to pursue a degree in school administration from one of the state’s public colleges or universities—will each receive $1,000.

“One of SSA’s top priorities is to promote high-quality public education throughout our state. This has become even more critical as we face a teacher shortage crisis not only in Alabama but across our nation,” said SSA Executive Director Ryan Hollingsworth. “It is our hope and belief that these scholarships will aid in the process of rebuilding our workforce by assisting these qualified students and educational leaders in achieving their career goals. These recipients have demonstrated a commitment to quality in our schools and we, alongside Curriculum Associates, are proud to be able to assist them as they pursue their degrees.”

Selected by superintendents who were chosen as district finalists for the SSA/Schneider Electric Superintendent of the Year Award, this year’s SSA Student Scholarship recipients are:…Read More

Kajeet Announces Launch of 2022 Homework Gap Grant Program for K-12 Schools and Districts, Colleges and Universities, and Public Libraries

MCLEAN, VA. (PRWEB) JANUARY 13, 2022 — Kajeet®, a leading provider of IoT connectivity, software and hardware solutions that deliver safe, reliable and controlled internet connectivity to nearly 3,000 customers, today announced the launch of its 2022 Homework Gap Grant Program. This funding opportunity will allow K-12 schools and districts, colleges and universities, and public libraries to connect students to safe, reliable internet outside of the classroom.

“At Kajeet, we believe internet access is a basic human right and are fully committed to efforts aimed at closing the digital divide,” said Daniel J. W. Neal, chairman, CEO and founder of Kajeet. “Providing a more equitable future for students everywhere is a top priority at Kajeet and we are thrilled to once again offer a grant opportunity that will help schools and libraries provide critical resources.”

An estimated 12 million students in the U.S. and Canada lack home broadband access, putting a staggering number of school-aged children at a serious learning disadvantage. The 2022 Homework Gap Grant Program is part of Kajeet’s mission to provide students opportunities to access online educational resources anytime, anywhere.…Read More

Federal funding can help you install air purification systems in your school

Prior to the pandemic, many schools, colleges, and universities had indoor air quality challenges, but the past 18 months has brought a heightened awareness to a growing problem. Forty percent of the nation’s school systems need to replace at least half of their HVAC systems, according to a 2020 study by the Government Accountability Office.

Proper ventilation is a key prevention strategy for mitigating pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, as well as reducing dust, allergens, and VOCs to improve health and well-being.

Many school, district, and higher education leaders are working to improve indoor air quality for their facilities and the government has offered funding to supplement those costs.…Read More

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The role of no-code in back-to-school safety

The next challenge for educators as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic is safely returning to in-person learning. After over a year of forced shutdowns and adoption of an online workforce and remote learning, the logistics of safely returning to in-person learning are overwhelming. The challenge is even greater with the Delta variant of COVID-19 becoming more prolific, and K-12 districts, colleges, and universities are racing against the clock to figure out what their approach will be this coming fall.

Whether schools opt for a phased approach, stay with hybrid learning or proceed with fully in-person classes, the goal is the same: to safely, quickly and efficiently return to school. Further, higher education institutions have to be cognizant of their impact on the larger community. Colleges and universities are a hub–with thousands traveling to and from campus each year, mingling, cohabitating and more, what happens within an academic institution may reach far beyond the campus.

So what can be done to help leaders navigate these challenges? Enter no-code. The past year has highlighted the need for agility and the ability to adapt when change and disruption happens – which, as we know, is a constant. The adoption of no-code processes is vital to empowering organizations to adapt with change.…Read More

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The future is all about durable skills

The price of a college degree continues to creep higher across the country. But has the value of that degree kept pace? Students expect their investment in college to pay off in the form of meaningful employment. However, according to new data, both recent grads and HR managers believe that the absence of durable skills–including people skills–training in higher education offers an opportunity for colleges and universities to partner with students and employers in closing a critical skills gap. 

A new report from Mursion, From Skill to Instinct: How Higher Education Can Bridge the Gap Between Classroom and Career, found that while the hard, technical skills ingrained throughout traditional academia are critical to career success, these skills may not be enough to stand out in a highly competitive job market.

In fact, the data revealed that 44 percent of HR professionals would hire an applicant with strong durable skills, such as superior people skills, over an applicant with superior hard skills.…Read More

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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

Education needs to go back to school for cybersecurity

The education sector has not been immune to the digital revolution transforming businesses and organizations across the world. The year before the pandemic saw sky-high growth and adoption in education technology, with global edtech investments reaching €15.87 billion in 2019.

Many education institutions have their own bring your own device (BYOD) policies, while downloads of educational apps have risen by 130 percent over the past year.

Everything from laptops and mobile devices to interactive touchscreens and even virtual reality are becoming commonplace in schools districts, colleges, and universities.…Read More

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How will the edtech boom transform the existing education system?

For centuries, education has been confined to the walls of schools, colleges, and institutions. Enter the education technology (edtech) boom since 2020 and the very ideology around teaching and learning has been revolutionized. Edtech has completely redefined how knowledge is imparted and how skills are acquired. Highlighted by the coronavirus shutdowns, edtech has emerged as a viable–arguably superior–alternative to traditional education systems. At the very least, the technology has well and truly earned its seat at the table of valuable education methods. The question is, what does the future of edtech look like, and how will this boom fit into our existing education system?

The edtech boom accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic is just the beginning of a paradigm shift in the ways we view education and work. In fact, the need for a genuinely 21st century education system that reflects the needs of the economy is long overdue. Edtech companies are offering solutions to many of the issues–such as skills gaps, inequality, and unemployment–that have troubled economies globally for the past decade or more.

In the USA, the curriculum followed by education establishments centers around subject study, with students gradually honing down interests and passions to follow a set career path. But is this process adequately equipping our young people with the skills they need for today’s job market, much less tomorrow’s? What if ultimately, students are ill-prepared to meet their full potential and offer meaningful value to the working world?…Read More

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