4 under-the-radar data points to track as schools reopen

One of the most powerful tools in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has been data. Data analytics has informed what we can do, when we can do it, and has kept us safe. As more schools reopen their doors, data is also playing a vital role in ensuring they do so safely.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued key indicators for dynamic school decision making, which include measures of underlying community transmission as well as a measure of adherence to key mitigation strategies. While these indicators provide a solid foundation for establishing and maintaining in-person plans, they aren’t always inclusive of the data that parents, teachers, and staff need to feel comfortable about returning to the classroom.

To gain buy-in from these stakeholders and help inform plans as schools reopen, schools districts must also consider four under-the-radar-data points. Let’s take a look.…Read More

7 ways to focus stimulus spending on students with disabilities

Schools and districts are poised to receive an influx of federal dollars that should support students with disabilities and make equity a priority, ensuring that outdated and ineffective special education systems are updated and held to high-quality standards, according to a new report from the Center for Learner Equity.

Students with disabilities and those with special needs are some of the worst-hit during the pandemic, with virtual learning preventing students from accessing vital in-school therapies and programs.

In March, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which invests $130 billion into education–including $3 billion for IDEA–and gives schools and districts access to funds to directly meet student needs, including students with disabilities and those impacted by socio-economic constraints.…Read More

Lexia Learning and Voyager Sopris Learning Recognize Structured Literacy Champions with ‘Dr. Louisa Moats Award’

Cullman City Primary School in Alabama Awarded Grand Prize Celebrating Schools and Districts Teaching Literacy Based on Science of Reading

DALLAS, May 4, 2021 Lexia® Learning and Voyager Sopris Learning® today announced three awardees and three finalists of the first-ever “Dr. Louisa Moats Award for Excellence Implementing the Science of Reading.” The award celebrates schools and districts for their excellence using the science of reading and LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), a professional learning solution that provides K-5 educators with the knowledge to be literacy and language experts.

Cullman City Primary School in Alabama is the grand prize awardee and will receive a $5,000 cash prize. The first runner-up, Enid Public Schools in Oklahoma, will be awarded $2,000. The second runner-up, Cedar Rapids Community School District in Iowa, will get a $1,000 prize. All three awardees will also receive a handmade ‘M’ trophy engraved with their school name, a certificate of award signed by Dr. Louisa Moats, 30 LETRS Champion T-shirts, and 30 LETRS Champion journals.…Read More

.Tech Domains Partners with Code.org & Domain Industry Giants to Bridge the Widening Gender & Race Gap in Computer Science

100% of .Tech Domain Sales Made Through Domain.com, GoDaddy Pro & Namecheap to Go Towards Enhancing K-12 CS Curriculum

 .Tech Domains, the leading new domain extension for the tech ecosystem, is today announcing that it is collaborating with Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools, and several other domain industry leaders to address the widening gaps that exist when it comes to young women and students from underrepresented communities participating in computer science.

The collaboration, which includes domain registrars Domain.com, GoDaddy Pro, and Namecheap, will facilitate a campaign through which .Tech Domains donates all sales proceeds for every standard one-year .Tech domain registered through any of the participating partners during the program period to Code.org.

The campaign comes as the rapid acceleration of digitization compels all industries to embrace innovation, increasing the importance of coding skills and overall investment in STEM. In particular, advancements in computer science have been nothing short of a lifeline during the COVID-19 crisis, empowering technologists to expedite the delivery of vital vaccines whilst supporting heroic healthcare workers to do more with less on the frontlines.

However, Code.org data shows that as of 2020, less than half of high schools in the United States teach foundational computer science, despite the fact that the number of job openings in the space have been multiplying year over year. This lack of access is something that has disproportionately affected students from already underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, especially during COVID-19 when millions of students and teachers have been placed in remote or socially-distanced classrooms.

“We are proud to join forces with Code.org to support its mission of ensuring that everyone has access to the type of education and skill sets that will set them up for future success,” said Suman Das, Sr. Director of Brand Operations, .Tech Domains. “This is something that closely aligns with our own vision at .Tech Domains, as we continue to strive to build a more sustainable and inclusive tech ecosystem of the future.”

“The fields of software, computing, and computer science are historically plagued by stark underrepresentation by gender, race, ethnicity, geography, and family income,” said Hadi Partovi, Code.org CEO and co-founder. “We are grateful and excited to collaborate with .Tech Domains on this campaign to engage a top level domain used by startups and developers to help bridge this gap and drive our mission to increase diversity and equity in K-12 computer science.”

Built around the theme of #MyStartinTech, the campaign is designed so that people can not only contribute to the cause by buying a .Tech Domain, but also by helping increase awareness about the lack of access to computer science education. Individuals from the tech industry can participate by visiting http://www.startin.tech and sharing how they got their start in tech and the role computer science played in their journey, as well as the importance of increasing access to computer science, especially for young women and students from marginalized communities.

For more information on the partnership, how to donate to Code.org or participate in other ways, visit http://www.startin.tech.

About .Tech Domains
Launched in 2015, .TECH is a leading new domain extension for the tech industry. Over 300K domains and 5 years later, .TECH is in use by some of the world’s most cutting-edge startups and businesses; as well as widely-known industry leaders, content creators, and tech communities. .TECH is owned and operated by Radix, one of the world’s largest registries for new domain extensions. For more information, visit http://www.get.tech or @dottechdomains.

About Code.org
Code.org® is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by young women and students from other underrepresented groups. Our vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education. The leading provider of K-12 computer science curriculum in the largest school districts in the United States, Code.org also created the annual Hour of Code campaign, which has engaged more than 15% of all students in the world. Code.org is supported by generous donors including Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, the Infosys Foundation, Google and many more.

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Why AI is the future of Socratic learning methods

Every student and teacher across the globe experienced the massive challenges that evolved so ubiquitously as COVID-19 led to the shutdown of schools and a complete transformation of daily routines.

Educators had to swiftly adjust to online learning, adapting classroom techniques to their new digital settings. A multitude of training sessions and workshops were held by individuals and institutions as teachers desperately attempted to get on board with the new normal.

Keeping students engaged in online learning, whether synchronous or asynchronous, has been one of the greatest struggles educators have had to face. Ensuring that each learner is accommodated, supported, and engaged on a platform that is no longer a classroom with walls, or borders, or exclusivity, is the conundrum teachers are facing at this very moment.…Read More

How to use technology to address vaccine gaps in the classroom

Though it’s not the end of the school year, academic institutions across the country are already thinking about reopening their doors this fall due to vaccine rollout. Yet, many — including parents — are worried about how schools will address vaccine gaps in this new learning environment.

Institutions will address these gaps by implementing a series of safeguards and leveraging technologies to bring teachers back to the workplace safely, even if they’re unvaccinated. Savvy institutions are investing in digital contact tracing tools, which provide schools with the data needed to plan, prevent, and react precisely to mitigate risk to faculty and students.

Each school’s return strategy is unique depending on student composition, state mandates, and overall risk tolerance. Administrators need to determine which tools meet their needs, the processes required to roll out the technology, and how to meet safeguards that ensure the safety of students and staff, all while easing the minds of parents.…Read More