2 minutes
Gardeners across the country are flocking to climate-resilient native plants as concerns about extreme heat, flooding, and pollinators grow. The post Once dismissed as weeds, native plants are now flying off the shelves appeared first on MinnPost.
Gardeners across the country are flocking to climate-resilient native plants as concerns about extreme heat, flooding, and pollinators grow. The post Once dismissed as weeds, native plants are now flying off the shelves appeared first on MinnPost.
12 minutes
Thousands of people are expected to attend two rallies in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday to protest what organizers call a concerted Republican effort to dilute the voting power of Blacks throughout the South. The All Roads Lead to the South National Day of Action is response to attempts by southern state legislatures to reconfigure […]
Thousands of people are expected to attend two rallies in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday to protest what organizers call a concerted Republican effort to dilute the voting power of Blacks throughout the South. The All Roads Lead to the South National Day of Action is response to attempts by southern state legislatures to reconfigure […]
15 minutes
This story was originally published in The 74. Sign up for their newsletters here.A year ago, there was speculation that the Nation’s Report Card was at risk under the Trump administration. Testing experts at the Education Department had been laid off and the board in charge of the program canceled several optional tests. But now, expansion is coming in the form of additional results that could give the public more information about how students in their states are performing.The National Assessment Governing Board approved a new testing schedule Friday that allows for state-level results in 12th grade math and reading, eighth and 12th grade civics, and eighth grade science. The vote was 16-3.NAGB, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, has long aspired to add more granular results, said Executive Director Lesley Muldoon.“That’s what helps drive actual policy action at the state level,” she said. The updated schedule would take effect in 2028 for eighth grade civics and 12th grade math and reading. The eighth grade science test would be administered in 2029 and 12th graders would take a civics exam in 2032. Participation is optional, but NAGB wants to know states’ intentions by this summer.The governing board isn’t alone in wanting NAEP to be more useful to state policymakers. In its recent report on the future of the American workforce, the Bipartisan Policy Center, led by former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, called for more state-level data in the same three areas and a shorter, six-month timeline between the assessment and the release of the results.Some observers say the board’s vote underscores the importance of NAEP.“This suggests an acknowledgment that standardized testing, and comparable data across states, still matters,” said Dale Chu, an education consultant who frequently writes about assessment. At the same time, in its fiscal year 2027 budget, the administration is requesting less for the program than Congress has appropriated in recent years, $137 million compared with $193 million.Muldoon told The 74 that if Congress maintains $193 million for the program, no additional money would be needed to expand testing at the state level. But if all 50 states want to participate, they might need more resources. State reactions to NAEP expansion could varyThe response from states, she said, has been positive, but she doesn’t expect all to sign up. Board Member Julia Rafal-Baer, who voted against the plan, said while she agreed with the science and civics schedule, she’s concerned about whether enough states would participate in the 12th grade assessments. The announcement, she said, would also come in the midst of a “charged environment.” “You can see it bubbling up now — public trust around testing, technology, AI, screens and student data,” she said during the meeting. “In this room, we understand all the differences. Parents right now do not understand the differences.” Others noted that with 39 governors’ races this year, those who show interest now might be out of office by the time they have to formally commit. But Board Member Ron Reynolds, formerly head of a California private school organization, said the elections shouldn’t affect the board’s decision.“I think we would cross a dangerous line if we began to anticipate what the political environment might be at a specific time and then make decisions in advance that might foreclose an opportunity to assess and report,” he said.States would need to identify a sample ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 students in each of the categories for which they want new results. U.S. Rep. Mark White, a Tennessee Republican and current NAGB chair, told The 74 that his state is among those that would likely “jump on the opportunity” to see how the state’s students are performing in science, civics and in their senior year.“Tennessee realized that our K-12 standards were not adequate in 2011 when we compared our performance to NAEP data,” he said. “We got busy.”In 2013, the state was the fastest improving in the nation, and this week earned recognition as a top performer in post-pandemic academic recovery.More American students are attending private school. Why do so few take NAEP?Angélica Infante Green, Rhode Island’s education commissioner, wants her state to participate in all of the assessments, but is particularly enthusiastic about state-level civics. The state passed a law in 2021 requiring students to demonstrate proficiency in civics to graduate.“It’s important, based on where we are as a country,” she said. “If our students don’t know how the government works and how our democracy works, that poses a challenge.”Chu said he wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Morath, state chief in Texas, or Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner also take “a keen interest,” but predicted that “in many other places the reaction would amount to little more than a shrug.”Former Florida Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. criticized the NAEP program after the 2024 fourth and eighth grade results were released. The state saw a sharp decline in reading scores, which he attributed to a sample of schools that he said was not representative of the state overall and included two of the lowest-performing schools. He also blamed the shift that year on the switch to a digital test on school district devices. The Florida Department of Education did not respond to questions about whether the state might participate. Revised NAEP could be ‘powerful source of information’Chu and others, however, question whether state-level data on 12th graders would be that useful. “Low student motivation has long been a cloud hanging over 12th grade,” he said. “I’m not sure bringing those results to the state level adds much unless that issue is addressed.”Muldoon disagreed that motivation is a challenge, but said that getting a large enough national sample of 12th graders can be. Seniors, she said, are sometimes off campus for internships or college trips. Some states, like Nevada, require students to take the ACT for graduation. But Jhone Ebert, superintendent of the Clark County School District, and former state chief, said a college entrance exam might not be the best way to measure the skills of students planning to go straight into the workforce. NAEP, she said, would offer a fuller view of students’ skills.“Not everybody’s going to college,” said Ebert, also on the board. “That doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be successful participants in our society.”National results from 2024’s 12th graders were discouraging. Twenty-two percent tested at the proficient level in math, a 2 percentage point decline since 2019. In reading, 35% were proficient, also a drop. As with fourth and eighth graders in recent years, the percentage of high school seniors scoring at the below basic level increased. But those results don’t tell states anything about their specific strengths and weaknesses. State-level data could be a “really powerful source of information,” Muldoon said. “There is no other nationally representative assessment of high school students’ achievement.” Broader interest in civics education drove NAEP updatesThe same is true for civics. The last NAEP civics test was in 2022, and just in eighth grade. Average scores on the 300-point scale fell by two points, the first-ever decline in the 25-year history of the test, which measures students’ knowledge of government, the founding documents and politics. Twelfth grade results in civics haven’t been available since 2010. The 2032 civics test in 12th grade will also be an updated version. Patrick Kelly, chair of NAGB’s assessment development committee, told the members Friday that while the “bones are good,” the design of the civics assessment is old.The last time the test was updated, “our president of the United States was playing saxophone on late night,” he said. Shawn Healy, chief policy and advocacy officer at iCivics, a nonprofit that provides civics lesson plans and online games, called the state-level results and the update “a big win for our field.”The results, he said, will offer insight into the success of civics education policies at the state level, such as requiring a dedicated course or completion of student projects, or offering diplomas that recognize achievements. This year, he’s tracked 240 civics education bills in 40 states.“That speaks to the interest in this issue across blue and red states,” he said.NAEP scores in 8th grade science drop, gender gap returnsIn science, 2029 won’t be the first time state results will be available. Most states voluntarily participated in 2015. But now, under a new design, the questions will more closely match what states expect eighth graders to know in science, said Christine Cunningham, senior vice president of STEM learning at the Museum of Science in Boston and a NAGB member. Large school systems, those in the Trial Urban District Assessment group, would also be able to opt in to that science exam. Currently, only national data is available for those subjects and grades.“At a time when science and engineering are having such a profound impact on our lives, it’s important to understand how our students are doing,” she said. “Education leaders continue to see value in expanding opportunities for state-level reporting beyond reading and math.” Did you use this article in your work?We’d love to hear how The 74’s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us how Linda Jacobson is a senior writer at The 74. You can reach her at @lrj417 and at Linda@the74million.org.
This story was originally published in The 74. Sign up for their newsletters here.A year ago, there was speculation that the Nation’s Report Card was at risk under the Trump administration. Testing experts at the Education Department had been laid off and the board in charge of the program canceled several optional tests. But now, expansion is coming in the form of additional results that could give the public more information about how students in their states are performing.The National Assessment Governing Board approved a new testing schedule Friday that allows for state-level results in 12th grade math and reading, eighth and 12th grade civics, and eighth grade science. The vote was 16-3.NAGB, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, has long aspired to add more granular results, said Executive Director Lesley Muldoon.“That’s what helps drive actual policy action at the state level,” she said. The updated schedule would take effect in 2028 for eighth grade civics and 12th grade math and reading. The eighth grade science test would be administered in 2029 and 12th graders would take a civics exam in 2032. Participation is optional, but NAGB wants to know states’ intentions by this summer.The governing board isn’t alone in wanting NAEP to be more useful to state policymakers. In its recent report on the future of the American workforce, the Bipartisan Policy Center, led by former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, called for more state-level data in the same three areas and a shorter, six-month timeline between the assessment and the release of the results.Some observers say the board’s vote underscores the importance of NAEP.“This suggests an acknowledgment that standardized testing, and comparable data across states, still matters,” said Dale Chu, an education consultant who frequently writes about assessment. At the same time, in its fiscal year 2027 budget, the administration is requesting less for the program than Congress has appropriated in recent years, $137 million compared with $193 million.Muldoon told The 74 that if Congress maintains $193 million for the program, no additional money would be needed to expand testing at the state level. But if all 50 states want to participate, they might need more resources. State reactions to NAEP expansion could varyThe response from states, she said, has been positive, but she doesn’t expect all to sign up. Board Member Julia Rafal-Baer, who voted against the plan, said while she agreed with the science and civics schedule, she’s concerned about whether enough states would participate in the 12th grade assessments. The announcement, she said, would also come in the midst of a “charged environment.” “You can see it bubbling up now — public trust around testing, technology, AI, screens and student data,” she said during the meeting. “In this room, we understand all the differences. Parents right now do not understand the differences.” Others noted that with 39 governors’ races this year, those who show interest now might be out of office by the time they have to formally commit. But Board Member Ron Reynolds, formerly head of a California private school organization, said the elections shouldn’t affect the board’s decision.“I think we would cross a dangerous line if we began to anticipate what the political environment might be at a specific time and then make decisions in advance that might foreclose an opportunity to assess and report,” he said.States would need to identify a sample ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 students in each of the categories for which they want new results. U.S. Rep. Mark White, a Tennessee Republican and current NAGB chair, told The 74 that his state is among those that would likely “jump on the opportunity” to see how the state’s students are performing in science, civics and in their senior year.“Tennessee realized that our K-12 standards were not adequate in 2011 when we compared our performance to NAEP data,” he said. “We got busy.”In 2013, the state was the fastest improving in the nation, and this week earned recognition as a top performer in post-pandemic academic recovery.More American students are attending private school. Why do so few take NAEP?Angélica Infante Green, Rhode Island’s education commissioner, wants her state to participate in all of the assessments, but is particularly enthusiastic about state-level civics. The state passed a law in 2021 requiring students to demonstrate proficiency in civics to graduate.“It’s important, based on where we are as a country,” she said. “If our students don’t know how the government works and how our democracy works, that poses a challenge.”Chu said he wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Morath, state chief in Texas, or Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner also take “a keen interest,” but predicted that “in many other places the reaction would amount to little more than a shrug.”Former Florida Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. criticized the NAEP program after the 2024 fourth and eighth grade results were released. The state saw a sharp decline in reading scores, which he attributed to a sample of schools that he said was not representative of the state overall and included two of the lowest-performing schools. He also blamed the shift that year on the switch to a digital test on school district devices. The Florida Department of Education did not respond to questions about whether the state might participate. Revised NAEP could be ‘powerful source of information’Chu and others, however, question whether state-level data on 12th graders would be that useful. “Low student motivation has long been a cloud hanging over 12th grade,” he said. “I’m not sure bringing those results to the state level adds much unless that issue is addressed.”Muldoon disagreed that motivation is a challenge, but said that getting a large enough national sample of 12th graders can be. Seniors, she said, are sometimes off campus for internships or college trips. Some states, like Nevada, require students to take the ACT for graduation. But Jhone Ebert, superintendent of the Clark County School District, and former state chief, said a college entrance exam might not be the best way to measure the skills of students planning to go straight into the workforce. NAEP, she said, would offer a fuller view of students’ skills.“Not everybody’s going to college,” said Ebert, also on the board. “That doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be successful participants in our society.”National results from 2024’s 12th graders were discouraging. Twenty-two percent tested at the proficient level in math, a 2 percentage point decline since 2019. In reading, 35% were proficient, also a drop. As with fourth and eighth graders in recent years, the percentage of high school seniors scoring at the below basic level increased. But those results don’t tell states anything about their specific strengths and weaknesses. State-level data could be a “really powerful source of information,” Muldoon said. “There is no other nationally representative assessment of high school students’ achievement.” Broader interest in civics education drove NAEP updatesThe same is true for civics. The last NAEP civics test was in 2022, and just in eighth grade. Average scores on the 300-point scale fell by two points, the first-ever decline in the 25-year history of the test, which measures students’ knowledge of government, the founding documents and politics. Twelfth grade results in civics haven’t been available since 2010. The 2032 civics test in 12th grade will also be an updated version. Patrick Kelly, chair of NAGB’s assessment development committee, told the members Friday that while the “bones are good,” the design of the civics assessment is old.The last time the test was updated, “our president of the United States was playing saxophone on late night,” he said. Shawn Healy, chief policy and advocacy officer at iCivics, a nonprofit that provides civics lesson plans and online games, called the state-level results and the update “a big win for our field.”The results, he said, will offer insight into the success of civics education policies at the state level, such as requiring a dedicated course or completion of student projects, or offering diplomas that recognize achievements. This year, he’s tracked 240 civics education bills in 40 states.“That speaks to the interest in this issue across blue and red states,” he said.NAEP scores in 8th grade science drop, gender gap returnsIn science, 2029 won’t be the first time state results will be available. Most states voluntarily participated in 2015. But now, under a new design, the questions will more closely match what states expect eighth graders to know in science, said Christine Cunningham, senior vice president of STEM learning at the Museum of Science in Boston and a NAGB member. Large school systems, those in the Trial Urban District Assessment group, would also be able to opt in to that science exam. Currently, only national data is available for those subjects and grades.“At a time when science and engineering are having such a profound impact on our lives, it’s important to understand how our students are doing,” she said. “Education leaders continue to see value in expanding opportunities for state-level reporting beyond reading and math.” Did you use this article in your work?We’d love to hear how The 74’s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us how Linda Jacobson is a senior writer at The 74. You can reach her at @lrj417 and at Linda@the74million.org.
17 minutes
Guerras, bloqueios econômicos, militarização e avanço da extrema direita fazem parte de uma mesma reorganização imperial do mundo, marcada pela disputa de territórios, destruição de soberanias nacionais e aprofundamento das desigualdades sociais. A avaliação foi compartilhada por lideranças da Palestina, Cuba e Brasil durante a mesa “Imperialismo, guerra e desordem global: uma resposta da esquerda”, […] Fonte
Guerras, bloqueios econômicos, militarização e avanço da extrema direita fazem parte de uma mesma reorganização imperial do mundo, marcada pela disputa de territórios, destruição de soberanias nacionais e aprofundamento das desigualdades sociais. A avaliação foi compartilhada por lideranças da Palestina, Cuba e Brasil durante a mesa “Imperialismo, guerra e desordem global: uma resposta da esquerda”, […] Fonte
19 minutes
伊朗国家电视台周五报道称，伊朗革命卫队海军允许更多船只通过霍尔木兹海峡。前一天，伊朗革命卫队已允许30多艘船只通过这条重要的贸易通道
19 minutes
伊朗国家电视台周五报道称，伊朗革命卫队海军允许更多船只通过霍尔木兹海峡。前一天，伊朗革命卫队已允许30多艘船只通过这条重要的贸易通道
19 minutes
伊朗國家電視台周五報道稱，伊朗革命衛隊海軍允許更多船隻通過霍爾木茲海峽。前一天，伊朗革命衛隊已允許30多艘船隻通過這條重要的貿易通道
19 minutes
伊朗國家電視台周五報道稱，伊朗革命衛隊海軍允許更多船隻通過霍爾木茲海峽。前一天，伊朗革命衛隊已允許30多艘船隻通過這條重要的貿易通道
20 minutes
Nos dias 20 e 21 de junho, será realizada a Vivência Agroecológica Sem Terra, no Lar de Pesquisas Agroecológicas Abacateiro, localizado no Assentamento Agroecológico Egídio Brunetto 01, em Lagoinha, no Vale do Paraíba (SP). A atividade – organizada pelos formandos de Técnica em Cooperativismo do Instituto Educacional Josué de Castro de Viamão (RS) – tem […] Fonte
Nos dias 20 e 21 de junho, será realizada a Vivência Agroecológica Sem Terra, no Lar de Pesquisas Agroecológicas Abacateiro, localizado no Assentamento Agroecológico Egídio Brunetto 01, em Lagoinha, no Vale do Paraíba (SP). A atividade – organizada pelos formandos de Técnica em Cooperativismo do Instituto Educacional Josué de Castro de Viamão (RS) – tem […] Fonte
20 minutes
Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.New York City’s public school system has long been defined by inequities of concentrated wealth and poverty, and nowhere is that more pronounced than in parent-teacher association fundraising. Of the money PTAs raised last year, the top 30 schools, or just 2.5% of them, raised nearly half of the total amount of the 1,540 schools included in recently released Education Department data for the 2024-25 school year. Meanwhile, roughly 390 PTAs — about a third of the schools — reported no income last year, suggesting their parent-teacher associations are inactive or struggling. Another 330 PTAs appear to have failed to report anything to the Education Department. Though schools are mandated to have PTAs, some may not have the capacity to sustain such groups.PTA money can fund enrichment, not core classroom teachers, and is often used to bolster things like the arts or fund teaching assistants. When a school can use PTA money to cover these costs, it could free their school up to pay more for core classroom teachers.That could, in turn, make a school more desirable, said Carolyn Abott, a Baruch College assistant professor of political science who has been researching PTAs. It could create a snowball effect, she said, attracting families to a particular school zone and potentially even pushing up housing prices.“And you are pulling those politically and community active families away from schools that are already sort of resource-deprived, which again, exacerbates the situation,” Abott said.Noah Strote, a parent of a fourth grader at P.S. 199, an affluent school on the Upper West Side in Manhattan’s District 3, said the funding disparities can show up in different ways, from the number of air conditioners or bathroom supplies to the quantity of enrichment programs. “They can also fund all the little things that add up, such as teacher and staff appreciation events with food and drink and gifts, that help create a culture where those people want to stay year after year,” Strote wrote in an email. “It’s obviously not the only factor contributing to outcomes for children, but it’s definitely not an insignificant one.” P.S. 199, which is typically a high-rolling PTA, failed to report any data to the Education Department, revealing some of the shortcomings of the public data. The data, which is self-reported, appeared to have some errors and inaccuracies. (For example, P.S. 60 in Woodhaven, Queens, was among the top 10 for reported income, reportedly bringing in more than $2 million. But looking at the school’s full balance, that appeared to be a decimal error, and the school likely only brought in about $20,000.)Drilling down on the dataFourteen schools brought in more than $1 million each, led by P.S. 29, an elementary school in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill; New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math, a K-12 gifted and talented school on the Lower East Side; and P.S. 8, or The Emily Warren Roebling School, an elementary school in Brooklyn Heights. Another 14 schools raised more than $500,000. Looking at the data on the district level reveals another set of extremes. PTAs in Manhattan’s District 2, which includes such affluent areas as the Upper East Side, Greenwich Village, and TriBeCa, brought in the most money, with nearly $18 million in total income. That was 600 times greater than what PTAs raised in District 23, which spans Brooklyn’s high-poverty neighborhoods of Ocean Hill/Brownsville. PTAs in District 23, which is also one of the city’s smallest districts, brought in about $29,000. Because school funding formulas send more money to schools with higher-need students, more affluent schools tend to spend less per pupil — an argument that some PTA fundraiser powerhouses point out. P.S. 29, for instance, spent $17,310 per pupil last year, compared to P.S. 150 in District 23, which spent $46,198 per pupil, according to public data. About 4% of the school’s funding, or $154,000, came from federal dollars given to schools with more than 60% student poverty. Education Department spokesperson Chyann Tull said the city recognizes that PTA fundraising varied “significantly” across school communities and reiterated that the city’s funding formula aims to allocate additional resources to schools serving kids with the greatest needs. “We remain committed to ensuring equitable access to resources through the funding streams we directly control,” she said. With executive boards turning over each year, newly minted PTA members might not know what they’re getting into and lack training and the understanding of the PTA’s role, said Antonia Martinelli, the PTA Link coordinator at Appleseed, which helps fill the “information gap” for PTAs. Though the rules governing PTAs make it clear they can supplement, rather than supplant, school budgets, PTAs can change their schools’ ability to hire more teachers, Martinelli echoed. “Now they’re inadvertently impacting the academic outcomes of the students,” she said.Martinelli also raised concerns about the end balance of the city’s PTAs, which totaled about $46.5 million. “PTAs are supposed to target their fundraising to a specific goal,” she said. “They are not supposed to be running quasi endowments.” Efforts to bolster PTA fundraisingPTAs raise money in various ways: direct appeals, bake sales, or carnivals, galas, and other events. Some schools raise money by organizing after-school programs, like P.S. 20, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, which raised more than $1.16 million last year, putting the school in the top 10 citywide. About 85% of the PTA’s income came from P.S. 20’s “wildly successful” after-school program serving kids from prekindergarten through fifth grade, said PTA co-president Sarah Durand McGuigan.At P.S. 20, it covers an art teacher, pays for a gardening and beekeeping program, and helps fund arts residencies, Durand McGuigan said. It helped the school build a library as well as facility upgrades. It pays for full- and part-time school assistants working in the cafeteria, office, and hallways. It also covers the costs of teacher professional development training. P.S. 20, which had nearly 700 students, sits in District 13, a racially and socioeconomically diverse district that schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels previously oversaw as superintendent. And while it’s not among the most affluent like some of the other elementary schools in the top 10, with just 38% of students from low-income families, the school is still among the top 100 schools in the city with the smallest share of students in poverty. Citywide, about 75% of students come from low-income families. The school community is aware of the different needs of families, offering scholarships to the after-school program, for instance, and the PTA jumped into action last year when public food assistance was going to be restricted, raising about $10,000 for grocery gift cards to families in need, Durand McGuigan said.“The haves and the have nots in the New York City public school system are huge,” she said. “We have people living in $3 million brownstones, and we have people in public housing.”The PTA at Arts & Letters 305 United, also in District 13, was among the top 30 fundraisers, bringing in more than $546,000 last year. It used the money to support tutoring, school trips, stepping-up ceremonies, enrichment teachers, and for many community-building events, said LaMeane Isaac, PTA president at the Bedford-Stuyvesant school where Samuels had led a merger between a popular affluent school and an under-enrolled one serving more low-income families.The school’s PTA also helped provide about $2,000 in seed money for a districtwide fund bringing together families, local businesses, and community organizations to support 28 under-resourced schools across the district that lacked PTA funding. “We are willing to help and commit towards supporting other schools who may not be as financially fortunate as we are,” Isaac said.“If we can be helpful and supportive to other schools, everyone wins, right?” Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.
Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.New York City’s public school system has long been defined by inequities of concentrated wealth and poverty, and nowhere is that more pronounced than in parent-teacher association fundraising. Of the money PTAs raised last year, the top 30 schools, or just 2.5% of them, raised nearly half of the total amount of the 1,540 schools included in recently released Education Department data for the 2024-25 school year. Meanwhile, roughly 390 PTAs — about a third of the schools — reported no income last year, suggesting their parent-teacher associations are inactive or struggling. Another 330 PTAs appear to have failed to report anything to the Education Department. Though schools are mandated to have PTAs, some may not have the capacity to sustain such groups.PTA money can fund enrichment, not core classroom teachers, and is often used to bolster things like the arts or fund teaching assistants. When a school can use PTA money to cover these costs, it could free their school up to pay more for core classroom teachers.That could, in turn, make a school more desirable, said Carolyn Abott, a Baruch College assistant professor of political science who has been researching PTAs. It could create a snowball effect, she said, attracting families to a particular school zone and potentially even pushing up housing prices.“And you are pulling those politically and community active families away from schools that are already sort of resource-deprived, which again, exacerbates the situation,” Abott said.Noah Strote, a parent of a fourth grader at P.S. 199, an affluent school on the Upper West Side in Manhattan’s District 3, said the funding disparities can show up in different ways, from the number of air conditioners or bathroom supplies to the quantity of enrichment programs. “They can also fund all the little things that add up, such as teacher and staff appreciation events with food and drink and gifts, that help create a culture where those people want to stay year after year,” Strote wrote in an email. “It’s obviously not the only factor contributing to outcomes for children, but it’s definitely not an insignificant one.” P.S. 199, which is typically a high-rolling PTA, failed to report any data to the Education Department, revealing some of the shortcomings of the public data. The data, which is self-reported, appeared to have some errors and inaccuracies. (For example, P.S. 60 in Woodhaven, Queens, was among the top 10 for reported income, reportedly bringing in more than $2 million. But looking at the school’s full balance, that appeared to be a decimal error, and the school likely only brought in about $20,000.)Drilling down on the dataFourteen schools brought in more than $1 million each, led by P.S. 29, an elementary school in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill; New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math, a K-12 gifted and talented school on the Lower East Side; and P.S. 8, or The Emily Warren Roebling School, an elementary school in Brooklyn Heights. Another 14 schools raised more than $500,000. Looking at the data on the district level reveals another set of extremes. PTAs in Manhattan’s District 2, which includes such affluent areas as the Upper East Side, Greenwich Village, and TriBeCa, brought in the most money, with nearly $18 million in total income. That was 600 times greater than what PTAs raised in District 23, which spans Brooklyn’s high-poverty neighborhoods of Ocean Hill/Brownsville. PTAs in District 23, which is also one of the city’s smallest districts, brought in about $29,000. Because school funding formulas send more money to schools with higher-need students, more affluent schools tend to spend less per pupil — an argument that some PTA fundraiser powerhouses point out. P.S. 29, for instance, spent $17,310 per pupil last year, compared to P.S. 150 in District 23, which spent $46,198 per pupil, according to public data. About 4% of the school’s funding, or $154,000, came from federal dollars given to schools with more than 60% student poverty. Education Department spokesperson Chyann Tull said the city recognizes that PTA fundraising varied “significantly” across school communities and reiterated that the city’s funding formula aims to allocate additional resources to schools serving kids with the greatest needs. “We remain committed to ensuring equitable access to resources through the funding streams we directly control,” she said. With executive boards turning over each year, newly minted PTA members might not know what they’re getting into and lack training and the understanding of the PTA’s role, said Antonia Martinelli, the PTA Link coordinator at Appleseed, which helps fill the “information gap” for PTAs. Though the rules governing PTAs make it clear they can supplement, rather than supplant, school budgets, PTAs can change their schools’ ability to hire more teachers, Martinelli echoed. “Now they’re inadvertently impacting the academic outcomes of the students,” she said.Martinelli also raised concerns about the end balance of the city’s PTAs, which totaled about $46.5 million. “PTAs are supposed to target their fundraising to a specific goal,” she said. “They are not supposed to be running quasi endowments.” Efforts to bolster PTA fundraisingPTAs raise money in various ways: direct appeals, bake sales, or carnivals, galas, and other events. Some schools raise money by organizing after-school programs, like P.S. 20, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, which raised more than $1.16 million last year, putting the school in the top 10 citywide. About 85% of the PTA’s income came from P.S. 20’s “wildly successful” after-school program serving kids from prekindergarten through fifth grade, said PTA co-president Sarah Durand McGuigan.At P.S. 20, it covers an art teacher, pays for a gardening and beekeeping program, and helps fund arts residencies, Durand McGuigan said. It helped the school build a library as well as facility upgrades. It pays for full- and part-time school assistants working in the cafeteria, office, and hallways. It also covers the costs of teacher professional development training. P.S. 20, which had nearly 700 students, sits in District 13, a racially and socioeconomically diverse district that schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels previously oversaw as superintendent. And while it’s not among the most affluent like some of the other elementary schools in the top 10, with just 38% of students from low-income families, the school is still among the top 100 schools in the city with the smallest share of students in poverty. Citywide, about 75% of students come from low-income families. The school community is aware of the different needs of families, offering scholarships to the after-school program, for instance, and the PTA jumped into action last year when public food assistance was going to be restricted, raising about $10,000 for grocery gift cards to families in need, Durand McGuigan said.“The haves and the have nots in the New York City public school system are huge,” she said. “We have people living in $3 million brownstones, and we have people in public housing.”The PTA at Arts & Letters 305 United, also in District 13, was among the top 30 fundraisers, bringing in more than $546,000 last year. It used the money to support tutoring, school trips, stepping-up ceremonies, enrichment teachers, and for many community-building events, said LaMeane Isaac, PTA president at the Bedford-Stuyvesant school where Samuels had led a merger between a popular affluent school and an under-enrolled one serving more low-income families.The school’s PTA also helped provide about $2,000 in seed money for a districtwide fund bringing together families, local businesses, and community organizations to support 28 under-resourced schools across the district that lacked PTA funding. “We are willing to help and commit towards supporting other schools who may not be as financially fortunate as we are,” Isaac said.“If we can be helpful and supportive to other schools, everyone wins, right?” Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.
20 minutes
In 2025, the New Hampshire House and Senate split their education committees in two. One committee handled education policy related bills and the other education finance bills; leaders said the division was necessary to manage heavy workloads. This year, that instinct appears justified. Republican lawmakers have churned out a deluge of bills affecting public schools, […]
In 2025, the New Hampshire House and Senate split their education committees in two. One committee handled education policy related bills and the other education finance bills; leaders said the division was necessary to manage heavy workloads. This year, that instinct appears justified. Republican lawmakers have churned out a deluge of bills affecting public schools, […]
22 minutes
El senador Esteban Velásquez (FRVS) valoró la publicación del llamado a licitación internacional para el Nuevo Establecimiento Penitenciario de Calama, resaltando que la iniciativa es fruto de un trabajo de largo aliento. El parlamentario destacó el diseño y financiamiento impulsado durante la administración del expresidente Boric y agradeció la gestión del exministro Jaime Gajardo para "destrabar" esta inversión de 8,6 millones de UF, que será clave para la seguridad de la capital loína. Este artículo Senador Velásquez por nueva cárcel de Calama: “hablamos de un trabajo serio y coordinado que trasciende gobiernos” fue publicado originalmente en El Diario de Antofagasta.
El senador Esteban Velásquez (FRVS) valoró la publicación del llamado a licitación internacional para el Nuevo Establecimiento Penitenciario de Calama, resaltando que la iniciativa es fruto de un trabajo de largo aliento. El parlamentario destacó el diseño y financiamiento impulsado durante la administración del expresidente Boric y agradeció la gestión del exministro Jaime Gajardo para "destrabar" esta inversión de 8,6 millones de UF, que será clave para la seguridad de la capital loína. Este artículo Senador Velásquez por nueva cárcel de Calama: “hablamos de un trabajo serio y coordinado que trasciende gobiernos” fue publicado originalmente en El Diario de Antofagasta.
22 minutes
The Alaska Legislature passed a bill requiring the state to develop guidelines for mental health instruction in Alaska school districts. The aim is to place mental health education for K-12 students on par with physical education. House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 41 by a 27 to 13 vote late Thursday night, and the bill now […]
The Alaska Legislature passed a bill requiring the state to develop guidelines for mental health instruction in Alaska school districts. The aim is to place mental health education for K-12 students on par with physical education. House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 41 by a 27 to 13 vote late Thursday night, and the bill now […]
23 minutes
Conservative organizations — including one that helped with the West Virginia Legislature’s passage of a 2023 religious freedom law — have filed briefs arguing the law does in fact add religious exemptions to the state’s strict school vaccine mandates. The Alliance Defending Freedom and the Heritage Foundation are among the organizations that have filed amicus […]
23 minutes
Conservative organizations — including one that helped with the West Virginia Legislature’s passage of a 2023 religious freedom law — have filed briefs arguing the law does in fact add religious exemptions to the state’s strict school vaccine mandates. The Alliance Defending Freedom and the Heritage Foundation are among the organizations that have filed amicus […]
24 minutes
MOUNT PLEASANT — The State Ports Authority will move some of its vehicle export operations to North Charleston to help protect Upstate-built BMWs and other cars from flooding while also freeing up space at the Port of Charleston’s current — and low-lying — export hub for new cargo. The authority’s board of directors on Friday […]
24 minutes
MOUNT PLEASANT — The State Ports Authority will move some of its vehicle export operations to North Charleston to help protect Upstate-built BMWs and other cars from flooding while also freeing up space at the Port of Charleston’s current — and low-lying — export hub for new cargo. The authority’s board of directors on Friday […]
27 minutes
Debate continues over expansion of 340B discount drug program
Debate continues over expansion of 340B discount drug program
27 minutes
The ostensibly apolitical song contest is once again combining crystals and controversy. Cue the fire and violins. It’s Eurovision time. Cue the fire and violins. The post Are you ready to vote? It’s Eurovision time. appeared first on Good Authority.
The ostensibly apolitical song contest is once again combining crystals and controversy. Cue the fire and violins. It’s Eurovision time. Cue the fire and violins. The post Are you ready to vote? It’s Eurovision time. appeared first on Good Authority.
28 minutes
The first installment of the federal government’s promised $608 million reimbursements for the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” lockup will hit Florida in the coming days, newly obtained correspondence shows. “Your payment request … in the amount of $58,292,145 has been approved. The payment was accepted by our financial system on 5/15/2026,” reads a email sent Friday […]
The first installment of the federal government’s promised $608 million reimbursements for the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” lockup will hit Florida in the coming days, newly obtained correspondence shows. “Your payment request … in the amount of $58,292,145 has been approved. The payment was accepted by our financial system on 5/15/2026,” reads a email sent Friday […]
29 minutes
وزارت دادگستری ایالات متحده روز جمعه ۲۵ اردیبهشت از آغاز محاکمه محمدباقر سعد داوود السعدی، تبعه عراقی و عضو ارشد کتائب حزبالله خبر داد و او را به همکاری با سازمانهای تروریستی تحت حمایت رژیم ایران و هدایت حملات علیه شهروندان و منافع ایالات متحده متهم کرد.
وزارت دادگستری ایالات متحده روز جمعه ۲۵ اردیبهشت از آغاز محاکمه محمدباقر سعد داوود السعدی، تبعه عراقی و عضو ارشد کتائب حزبالله خبر داد و او را به همکاری با سازمانهای تروریستی تحت حمایت رژیم ایران و هدایت حملات علیه شهروندان و منافع ایالات متحده متهم کرد.
29 minutes
(The Center Square) – A Florida judge on Friday heard arguments on a lawsuit to block a new congressional redistricting plan in Florida that could give Republicans a four-seat gain in the upcoming midterm elections. Opponents are seeking a temporary injunction barring the state from using the new districts. They say the plan violates a state constitutional amendment approved by voters that prohibits using redistricting for partisan purposes. Florida 2nd Judicial Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes did not issue an immediate ruling. Second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last month called a special session of the Legislature to approve his redrawn congressional districts, citing an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision. That ruling in a Louisiana case, was issued as the Legislature was debating the new maps. It limits the use of race in redistricting. DeSantis said the ruling “compelled” Florida to draw new districts, in part to correct “racial gerrymandering" in a South Florida district. Opponents of the plan say it violates a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2010. The Fair District Amendment that makes it illegal to use redistricting for partisan purposes. “This case is unusual because the map drawer admitted on the public record that the districts were drawn with partisan data and without the need to comply with the Fair District Amendment,” Christina Ford, attorney for Equal Ground Education Fund, a nonprofit group and one of the group’s challenging Florida the new maps, told the judge Friday. There is “staggering” evidence of partisan intent in the new lines, she said. “Defendants do not meaningfully even attempt to rebut that evidence,” Ford said. “They do not defend how a single line was drawn.” The case is also unusual because state leaders are not defending the Fair District Amendment of the Florida constitution. Mohammed Jazil, an attorney for the secretary of state, said that the Fair District Amendment was modeled after Section 2 and Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act. The groups challenging the recent Florida redistricting plan have suggested reverting back to the previous maps approved in 2022. The challengers have the burden of showing that the 2022 maps were constitutional in the way it used race as a factor, Jazil said. “They are going to show that by saying that race either was or not a factor or that race was appropriately considered,” Jazil said. He added that “there is no need to rush,” a decision in this case. “There should be a trial, there should be a proper assessment of the facts, a testing of the evidence, a testing of the expert witnesses before another plan is imposed other than the one the Florida Legislature enacted,” the attorney told the judge.
(The Center Square) – A Florida judge on Friday heard arguments on a lawsuit to block a new congressional redistricting plan in Florida that could give Republicans a four-seat gain in the upcoming midterm elections. Opponents are seeking a temporary injunction barring the state from using the new districts. They say the plan violates a state constitutional amendment approved by voters that prohibits using redistricting for partisan purposes. Florida 2nd Judicial Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes did not issue an immediate ruling. Second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last month called a special session of the Legislature to approve his redrawn congressional districts, citing an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision. That ruling in a Louisiana case, was issued as the Legislature was debating the new maps. It limits the use of race in redistricting. DeSantis said the ruling “compelled” Florida to draw new districts, in part to correct “racial gerrymandering" in a South Florida district. Opponents of the plan say it violates a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2010. The Fair District Amendment that makes it illegal to use redistricting for partisan purposes. “This case is unusual because the map drawer admitted on the public record that the districts were drawn with partisan data and without the need to comply with the Fair District Amendment,” Christina Ford, attorney for Equal Ground Education Fund, a nonprofit group and one of the group’s challenging Florida the new maps, told the judge Friday. There is “staggering” evidence of partisan intent in the new lines, she said. “Defendants do not meaningfully even attempt to rebut that evidence,” Ford said. “They do not defend how a single line was drawn.” The case is also unusual because state leaders are not defending the Fair District Amendment of the Florida constitution. Mohammed Jazil, an attorney for the secretary of state, said that the Fair District Amendment was modeled after Section 2 and Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act. The groups challenging the recent Florida redistricting plan have suggested reverting back to the previous maps approved in 2022. The challengers have the burden of showing that the 2022 maps were constitutional in the way it used race as a factor, Jazil said. “They are going to show that by saying that race either was or not a factor or that race was appropriately considered,” Jazil said. He added that “there is no need to rush,” a decision in this case. “There should be a trial, there should be a proper assessment of the facts, a testing of the evidence, a testing of the expert witnesses before another plan is imposed other than the one the Florida Legislature enacted,” the attorney told the judge.
29 minutes
Падзеі 16 траўня ў Беларусі і сьвеце.
Падзеі 16 траўня ў Беларусі і сьвеце.
30 minutes
2026年5月16日《VOA今日焦点》重点新闻内容包括：特朗普总统称美中元首峰会达成贸易协议 中国同意购买超过200架波音飞机；特朗普总统返国途中与日本首相高市早苗通话，两人重申美日同盟“坚定不移”；特朗普总统证实向中国国家主席习近平提出对台军售与人权议题。
30 minutes
2026年5月16日《VOA今日焦点》重点新闻内容包括：特朗普总统称美中元首峰会达成贸易协议 中国同意购买超过200架波音飞机；特朗普总统返国途中与日本首相高市早苗通话，两人重申美日同盟“坚定不移”；特朗普总统证实向中国国家主席习近平提出对台军售与人权议题。