News From the Field
Catch top headlines sharing relevant news and stories about Linked Learning practices, schools, and students.
Giving disadvantaged teens a mix of high school and college in one place
A 15-year study of 19 early colleges in North Carolina found students with early college access did better than similar teenagers attending regular high schools. The early college group had higher levels of engagement with their studies, better English language arts test scores, completed more courses worth college credit by the end of 12th grade, were more likely to get high school diplomas, and were three times as likely to get community college two-year associate degrees.
The crisis of student mental health is much vaster than we realize
Nationally, adolescent depression and anxiety — already at crisis levels before the pandemic — have surged amid the isolation, disruption and hardship of covid-19. Even as federal coronavirus relief money has helped schools step up their efforts to aid students, they also have come up short.
More high schoolers should be allowed to learn on college campuses
Unlike the 80 percent of dual enrollment students who take such courses at their high schools, Minnesota high school students can attend the courses free at nearby college campuses.
In urban districts, a new embrace of career and technical programs
There is a rising national profile of high school career and technical education, or CTE. Large urban districts are rethinking and expanding these programs in the wake of the pandemic as students look for more direct, debt-free routes to in-demand careers.
Back to school with a catastrophic teacher shortage
On this episode of “Post Reports,” why school districts across the country are facing a critical teacher shortage this fall.
‘Never seen it this bad’: America faces catastrophic teacher shortage
Rural school districts in Texas are switching to four-day weeks this fall due to lack of staff. Florida is asking veterans with no teaching background to enter classrooms. Arizona is allowing college students to step in and instruct children. The teacher shortage in America has hit crisis levels — and school officials everywhere are scrambling to ensure that, as students return to classrooms, someone will be there to educate them.
Behavioral issues, absenteeism at schools increase, federal data shows
More than 80% of public schools reported that the pandemic has taken a toll on student behavior and social-emotional development, while nearly as many schools say they need more mental health support
What’s better for disadvantaged students, trades or college?
Public high schools advertising themselves as models of vocational and academic instruction have often been weak in both areas, writes Jay Matthews. But Massachusetts has made great strides since its 1993 Education Reform Act required that vocational students be taught with the same academic standards and tests used by regular public schools.
Students this year need summer school. Some districts can’t staff it.
As school systems open for summer sessions, some are seeing the fallout of a punishing pandemic school year. Many would argue that the 2021-2022 school year was among the toughest they’ve experienced — with extreme staffing shortages, clashes over masking and quarantines, political tumult nationally, widespread exhaustion, students who needed extra support, and, as one school leader put it, “uncertainty around every corner.”