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Journey to Inclusion Project by David Jespersen discusses the Nebraska Department of Education’s announcement that the first week of December will now be celebrated as Inclusive Schools Week annually. This week serves as a celebration of the progress that Nebraska schools have made in being inclusive and offering all of the resources needed to those that need them to ensure their success. It then goes on to list different ways the Journey to Inclusion project benefits students, teachers, and families by offering accessible materials, a guide of evidence-based strategies to aid students with disabilities, and special training for teachers. I think that the Journey to Inclusion Project is great and has a lot to offer students and schools. When it comes to performance on testing, it is shown that disadvantaged students and students with disabilities are in need of more aid, so I think that it is great to see action being taken in a way that is well-informed and accessible.

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News Release

December 5, 2022

JOURNEY TO INCLUSION PROJECT

The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) announced today the start of Inclusive Schools Week. Inclusive Schools Week is an annual event held each year during the first week of December to celebrate the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students with disabilities. NDE has been recognized as a trailblazer in its efforts to create inclusive schools through its Journey to Inclusion project.

"When we looked at our state level data, it became clear that we needed to look more closely at the education that students with disabilities were experiencing in our schools. Only 26% of our 4th grade students with disabilities were proficient on the ELA assessment as compared to 54% of our 4th graders without disabilities," said Amy Rhone, Special Education Administrator from the NDE. "As we dug deeper, we realized the need to focus on the unique needs of students with disabilities in accessing grade-level learning."

The Journey to Inclusion project does just that. It is based on the premise that all students, including students with disabilities, deserve access to a high-quality education that prepares them for future success. The NDE recognizes that students are best served when they have access to effective instruction on a high-quality, grade-level curriculum that is tailored to their learning needs.

"Nebraska is leading the nation in increasing the capacity of districts to provide teachers with high-quality, standards- aligned instructional materials. The Journey to Inclusion project supports that work to ensure all students are able to access these materials", said Dr. Deborah Frison, Deputy Commissioner of The Nebraska Department of Education.

Through the Journey to Inclusion project, NDE released its Equity for All Learners: Inclusion at Every Level guide. This guide is designed to provide districts, school leaders, educators, and families with evidence-based strategies that support inclusive services for students with disabilities that can be leveraged during their planning process.

The project also includes two pilot sites where schools from Scottsbluff Public Schools and Blair Community Schools have been engaged in professional learning and ongoing support to look at shifts that can be made to school structures and classroom practices to create opportunities for students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers. For example, prioritizing common planning for general and special education teachers to collaborate can inform the type of support students might need during general education instruction so that they can remain in the classroom, rather than being pulled out to another setting.

"The in-person trainings have just been hands down phenomenal- some of the best training my teachers will say that they've received", said Megan Harding, principal of Blair Primary School.

As a result of the pilot participation, SBPS and BCS are experiencing encouraging signs of meaningful change. School teams are coming together to address the needs of students with disabilities in new and innovative ways. NDE plans to build on these successes and provide training to additional schools in the future. Find updates about this work on our website and through our social media channels.

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News Release December 5, 2022 The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) announced today the start of Inclusive Schools Week. Inclusive Schools Week is an annual event held each year during the first week of December to celebrate the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students with disabilities.

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Equitable Dress Code Missing from Schools (11/14)

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Equitable Dress Code Missing from Schools (11/14)

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Equitable Dress Code Missing From Schools by Lilly Behbehani talks about how K-12 schools have restrictive dress codes that can have a negative impact on students. A study by the government Accountability Office shows that female students, students of color, and LGBT+ students are more likely to be affected than their classmates. Rules on “revealing” and “distracting” clothing can be vague and up to the interpretation of the teachers, which can be unfair. Students of color are more likely to be dress coded over their hair and head coverings, and LGBT+ students are likely to be dress coded for things like nail polish and makeup that they use to express themselves. It then ends on how the dress codes can effect students by removing them from the classroom and making them feel as though their school is not fair or safe, and how this problem might be fixed. I think that dress code can be really complicated in the eyes of schools, however, it can often be overused and I agree that students should have a little more freedom in their attire. There should be specific, set rules for public schools that are fair, appropriate, and foster an accepting environment.

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Nearly all K-12 public school districts have restrictive dress codes that impact female students, students of color and LGBTQ+ students more than their classmates, a recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found.

For example, while 90 percent of dress codes prohibit at least one clothing item typically worn by girls, such as strapless tops or yoga pants, about 70 percent prohibit an item typically worn by boys. Additionally, almost all school districts use subjective language, such as "revealing" or immodest, which are more often associated with clothing worn by female students and leave enforcement up to interpretation.

The GAO study also found that Black and Hispanic students are more likely to suffer strict consequences for dress code violations, as four in five predominantly Black schools and nearly two-thirds of predominantly Hispanic schools have codes that remove students from class for dress-code violations, compared to one-third of predominantly White schools.

Such removal policies, enforced by about 44 percent of school districts, tend to be vague and "informal," with unclear disciplinary measures once a student is removed for a dress code violation.

Compared to other regions in the country, schools located in southern states are more likely to enforce strict dress codes.

Rules on Hair Styles and Head Coverings

Students' hair is a specific target of many dress codes, as an estimated 59 percent of dress codes contain restrictions about students' hair.

Such dress codes may disproportionately affect Black students, GAO researchers learned through interviews with district officials. One in five dress codes include subjective language in rules about student hair, such as "natural," "clean," "well-groomed," or that the students' hair must not be distracting.

The study found that some dress codes even prohibit shaved lines in hair and include rules specific to natural, textured hair or "excessive curls," which also disproportionately affect Black students.

Additionally, more than 80 percent of school districts prohibit head coverings, and only one-third of the dress codes specify that they allow coverings for religious or medical exemptions, despite many head coverings holding religious or cultural significance for students.

Impact on LGBTQ+ Students

Some LGBTQ+ students are also restricted by dress code policies.

In 2019, 18 percent of LGBTQ+ students reported that their school prevented them from wearing clothes that did not match with administrators' vision of appropriate attire for their gender.

GAO's review also found that 15 percent of dress codes specify different rules, based on perceived gender, for things like nail polish or makeup, attire, and hairstyle.

None of the GAO-reviewed dress codes with gender-based policies protect transgender or nonbinary students' ability to dress per their gender identity.

Consequences of Dress Codes

In addition to learning loss, which results when students are removed from their classrooms for dress code violations, dress codes may have other unintended consequences.

Officials from national organizations and districts interviewed by GAO researchers found that mandatory school uniforms may create obstacles for low-income families who struggle to afford the specific, required clothing. Nearly three-quarters of predominantly Black schools and more than half of predominantly Hispanic schools require uniforms, compared to just 2 percent of predominantly White schools.

School districts often say the intent of their dress codes is to keep students safe, GAO researchers found. However, as such policies emphasize what students look like or what they wear, dress codes also can foster a less equitable environment for those adversely affected by the policies.

Since many dress codes require teachers to touch students-typically female students-as they measure a student's body to ensure the dress code is complied with, female students do not feel as safe at school, they told GAO researchers.

For example, one suburban charter district's policy suggests a measurement of "no straps smaller than three adult fingers." Another states its test for dress-code compliance is this: ""The test: No bare midsection or back is revealed when arms are stretched over head."

Possible Solutions

Making matters worse, educators who try to revise dress code policies often have trouble finding guidance on how to create equitable dress codes, researchers found. By offering information on how to revise dress codes to promote safe school culture, the U.S. Department of Education has an opportunity to act on its goal of promoting an equitable, supportive learning environment, GAO suggests.

The report provides three major recommendations:

The Department should include dress code information within its existing resources for safe and supportive schools;

The Department should offer resources on equitable enforcement of dress codes;

The Department also should provide information on the effects and prevalence of informal removals of students from classrooms and disseminate alternatives to exclusionary discipline to states.

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Equitable Dress Codes Missing From Schools | NEA

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Nearly all K-12 public school districts have restrictive dress codes that impact female students, students of color and LGBTQ+ students more than their classmates, a recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found.

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Statewide Assessment Results Show Pandemic Impact, Highlight Areas To Focus Support (11/23)

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Statewide Assessment Results Show Pandemic Impact, Highlight Areas To Focus Support (11/23)

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Statewide Assessment Results Show Pandemic Impact, Highlight Areas to Focus Support by David Jespersen discusses the results of a statewide assessment that shows that Nebraska students didn’t have as much of a setback as others in the nation and scored well across the board on testing. It goes on to list how Nebraska schools compared to other states on testing in English, science, and math, but the main point I drew from this article was that there is a dire need for more focus on marginalized groups and their education, especially after the impact of Covid-19. Disabled students, students of low income, as well as English learners all saw a decline and were all below 31% proficient in math. Because of the results of the assessment, the state prioritizes certain schools, which means that they receive more materials and funding to ensure student success. 15% of schools were classified as in need of support to improve. It ends with a statement by Commissioner Blomstedt, saying that there are certain groups of students that aren’t performing as well as they could and that there needs to be a focus on those students so they get the resources and aid they need. Despite being hard to understand in a way, this article is very informative of how students are doing in the state and I think that it is interesting to see what percentages of proficiencies are like in different grades, It is good to see that assessments are being made so that the student grups struggling get the extra support they need.

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News Release

November 23, 2022

STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT RESULTS SHOW PANDEMIC IMPACT, HIGHLIGHT AREAS TO FOCUS SUPPORT

The Nebraska Department of Education released the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) results and the Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow, or AQuESTT classifications today. Both reports provide insight into how students are performing academically on Nebraska's rigorous college and career readiness state standards. The results, which closely match those recently released from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, show while Nebraska student performance dipped during the pandemic, the state didn't have as large of a setback as others in the nation.

"Three weeks ago, NAEP showed us what we were expecting," said Commissioner of Education Matthew Blomstedt. "Nebraska public schools, while impacted by the pandemic, remained strong. Our statewide assessments are showing similar trends and now is the time for schools to focus supports on the areas that have the most need."

The NAEP results showed that while student scores dipped slightly, no other state scored higher than Nebraska in fourth-grade math. Only one state scored higher in eighth-grade math. Only three states outscored Nebraska in fourth grade reading and only seven states scored higher in eighth grade reading.

NSCAS English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics and Science are rigorous assessments with high expectations for postsecondary readiness. NSCAS ELA and Mathematics are given in grades three through eight. NSCAS science assessments are given in fifth and eighth grades and Nebraska juniors take the ACT assessment.

The following are among the key findings from this year's NSCAS:

47% of Nebraska students across all grade levels were considered proficient in English Language Arts (performing at the On Track or Advanced level), and 46% were proficient in Math.

More than 66% of Nebraska students were proficient on the NSCAS Science assessment, a new assessment this year that measures against the state's rigorous science standards.

In 2020-21, almost 8,500 students did not take the NSCAS assessments, lowering Nebraska's assessment participation rate to just below 95%. This year, Nebraska's traditional high participation rate returned to its pre-pandemic level of over 99%.

At the high school level, Nebraska's juniors were 46% proficient in ELA, 44% in Math, and 48% in Science.

Moving forward, Nebraskans must focus on historically marginalized student groups that were particularly impacted. Achievement gaps present before the pandemic were widened by disruptions in teaching and learning.

19% of students with disabilities were proficient in English Language Arts, and 18% were proficient in Math

30% of students who qualified for free or reduced lunch were proficient in ELA and 27% for Math.

English learners saw the greatest declines in assessment results: 5% of this student group were proficient in ELA, and 8% were proficient in Math.

In addition to assessment results, Nebraska released accountability ratings. State and federal law require the NDE to annually classify and designate schools to provide signals for specific supports. Nebraska's system, AQuESTT - helps ensure all students across all backgrounds and circumstances have access to opportunities and access. AQuESTT annually classifies schools and districts as Excellent, Great, Good, and Needs Support to Improve.

A breakdown of classifications indicated that 144 (13 percent) of schools were classified as Excellent, 356 (32 percent) were Great, 430 (39 percent) were Good, and 166 (15 percent) were designated as Needs Support to Improve.

The state also updated schools that are listed for Comprehensive School Support (CSI), Targeted School Support (TSI) and Additional Targeted Support (ATSI). Those designations allow the state to focus resources and support in schools that need it most. Details on those designations can be found at https://www.education.ne.gov/csds/school-improvement/csi-tsi-atsi/.

"Our accountability results illustrate that not every student group is performing at their highest level. It is our role to give all students the resources they need to succeed and move all students toward excellence" noted Commissioner Blomstedt. "In speaking with schools, I am confident they are using their resources, including the historic appropriations through the American Rescue Plan to target funds to support unfinished teaching and learning."

State Senators Lou Ann Linehan and Lynne Walz joined Commissioner Blomstedt at the press conference to highlight the need to work together as a state to find solutions and strategies to support schools and students moving forward.

"I appreciate the support from Senators Linehan and Walz," said Blomstedt. "Their commitment to improving Nebraska's schools will be a vital part of the work to come. We must collectively own where we are and commit to the next steps as a state. All Nebraskans need to continue to support schools, educators, and students through positive engagement and partnership like tutoring, mentoring, volunteering, or other support."

More information on assessment and accountability results can be found on the Nebraska Education Profile, nep.education.ne.gov.

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STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT RESULTS SHOW PANDEMIC IMPACT, HIGHLIGHT AREAS TO FOCUS SUPPORT

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News Release November 23, 2022 The Nebraska Department of Education released the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) results and the Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow, or AQuESTT classifications today. Both reports provide insight into how students are performing academically on Nebraska's rigorous college and career readiness state standards.

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The Culture Wars are Pushing Some Teachers to Leave the Classroom (11/13)

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The Culture Wars are Pushing Some Teachers to Leave the Classroom (11/13)

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The Culture Wars are Pushing Some Teachers to Leave the Classroom by Scott Neuman talks about James Whitfeld, the principal of a predominantly white school in Dallas-Fort Worth. After George Floyd’s death, he wrote an email to his frends and colleagues about systematic racism and what can be done about it. Due to laws in motion that relate to critical race theory, gender identity, sexual orienation, etc., Whitfelt put himself in a touchy situation despite receiving good responses at the time. A year later he was accused of promoting innappropriate ideas and his contract was not renewed. The article goes on to discuss how the politics surrounding education are pushing many out of or away from the profession. Whether it be the conservitive or liberal agendas that push them away, teachers are feeling as though they can’t speak without repercussions or being fired. There are many examples in this article, like Matthew Hawn, who was fired for discussing white privilege or Alexander Ingram, who defended LGBTQ+ students and was accused of being a pedophile and groomer. I think that while every educator should be cautious of what they talk about, discussing LGBTQ+ identities as an idea and things like race and politics should not result in someone losing their job or being labeled as a pedophile by parents that don’t support the LGBTQ+ community. When it comes to these decisions I think that open-mindedness and broadening horizons should stay in the forefront of our mind. It is important for children to be exposed to these ideas in an educational way.

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The culture wars are pushing some teachers to leave the classroom

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Teachers and administrators, already facing long hours and low pay, now find themselves under pressure from politicians, parents and even their own school districts.

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What's in the So-Called Don't Say Gay bill that Could Impact the Whole Country (10/21)

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What's in the So-Called Don't Say Gay bill that Could Impact the Whole Country (10/21)

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What's in the so-called Don't Say Gay bill that could impact the whole country by Laurel Wamsley explains what is in the new legislation that has been introduced and what it could mean for institutions and literature across the nation. The bill, “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act”,  was introduced and co-sponsored by 32 Republicans wth the goal to prohibit the use of federal funds to fund any sexually-oriented program or literature for children under the age of ten. Any discussion of sexual education, gender identity, being transgender, or sexuality will be prohibited. This is expected to go nowhere in the system as of yet because Biden would veto it, however, this is a dangerous bill that can result in the marginalization of LQBTQ+ children and their families. I believe that yes, parents should have a say in what they want their children learning, however, this bill can go further than it seems to on paper, and may result in children never being able to learn about identity and orientation in school. Learning about the LGBTQ+ community can help broaden students’ perspectives and make them more open minded, as well as help them in the on journey of seld-identity.

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House Republicans have introduced legislation that some critics are describing as a national "Don't Say Gay" bill - inspired by the controversial Florida law that bans instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade classes.

If the federal bill were to become law, which is unlikely in the current Congress,its effects could be far more sweeping, affecting not just instruction in schools, but also events and literature at any federally-funded institution.

Here's what's in the bill - and what people are saying about it.

The bill's language is broad and consequential

The measure was introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., and co-sponsored by 32 other Republicans.

"The Democrat Party and their cultural allies are on a misguided crusade to immerse young children in sexual imagery and radical gender ideology," Johnson said in a statement, calling the bill "commonsense."

The bill, called the " Stop the Sexualization of Children Act," aims "To prohibit the use of Federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10, and for other purposes."

The language in the proposed legislation lumps together topics of sexual orientation and gender identity, with sexual content such as pornography and stripping.

It would prohibit federal funds from being used to support any "sexually-oriented" programs, events, and literature for children under 10; ban federal facilities from hosting or promoting such events or literature; and allow parents and guardians to sue government officials, agencies and private entities if a child under 10 is "exposed" to such materials.

The bill complains that some school districts have implemented sex ed programming for kids under 10, and that "[m]any newly implemented sexual education curriculums encourage discussion of sexuality, sexual orientation, transgenderism, and gender ideology as early as kindergarten." It also calls out events such as drag queen story hours in libraries, which it describes as "sexually-oriented."

The bill follows GOP-driven "parental rights" measures in Florida and elsewhere

The proposed federal measure is framed in terms of parents' rights, a rallying cry on the right that in the last couple years has included battles against schools' COVID-19 vaccine requirements and fervent activism against critical race theory in classrooms.

In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the "Parental Rights in Education" bill, which bans public school personnel from conducting classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in "kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

Critics of the measure dubbed the Florida law "Don't Say Gay" and argue that its intent is to marginalize LGBTQ people and their families. A cascade of other states quickly introduced similar legislation, and Alabama passed its own version of the bill into law.

Among the proposed legislation's definition of the "sexually-oriented material" that it would limit, it includes description and depiction of sexual acts and "lewd or lascivious depiction or description" of human genitals.

But it also prohibits a full range of topics related to the LGBTQ community - "gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual orientation" - that are largely about identity.

The bill's prospects are nil while Democrats control the White House and Senate

The bill would not pass in the current Congress, given that such legislation is solely a Republican effort and Democrats have a functional majority in each chamber.

Depending on the November election results, the makeup of the House and Senate could shift. Still, it's not clear how many Republicans would support the bill, even if it is popular among a certain strain of the party.

Even if the proposed legislation were to pass in a Republican-controlled House and Senate, it would be vetoed by President Biden. So don't expect this bill to go anywhere, for at least a while.

LGBTQ groups condemn the bill and warn against its potential effects

The Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for the rights of LGBTQ people, decried the proposed legislation.

"Extremist House Republicans like Mike Johnson are continuing their assault on LGBTQ+ Americans' ability to live their lives openly and honestly. A federal 'Don't Say Gay or Trans' bill ... is their latest cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize the community, not in an attempt to solve actual problems but only to rile up their extremist base," Human Rights Campaign Government Affairs Director David Stacy said in a statement.

Activist Erin Reed, who tracks anti-transgender legislation, argues that the comparison to a "Don't Say Gay" bill minimizes the potential effects of this proposed legislation.

"Don't Say Gay/Trans was focused on 'classroom instruction' which was bad enough," she wrote on Twitter. "This goes WAY beyond the classroom, and WAY beyond 'instruction.' "

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What's in the so-called Don't Say Gay bill that could impact the whole country

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If the bill were to become law, it could affect not only schools but also programs, events and literature at any federally-funded institution. But its prospects are dim for now.

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Out-of-Pocket Spending on School Supplies Adds to Strain on Educators (10/14)

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Out-of-Pocket Spending on School Supplies Adds to Strain on Educators (10/14)

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Amanda Litvinov’s Out-of-Pocket Spending on School Supplies Adds to Strain on Educators goes over how educators are having to spend their own money on school supplies that their students need to succeed, and the amount of money they will need to spend a year is expected to go up. This strain on their wallet is adding strain to their job and even turning some away from the profession. It is estimated/found that educators are spending anywhere from $300 to $800 on supplies for their students. Thankfully, educators can take up to $300 on their deductions, however, there is more that needs to be done to assist schools and educators in purchasing these things rather than out of pocket having to be an option. It really blows me away how much teacher spend, and I never would have thought of all that goes into a classroom that they have to buy it if weren’t for this class. It is really scary to imagine having to spend that much to work, and it shows that there is far more that needs to be done to bring funding into classrooms.

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Many educators are seeing heftier credit card bills this month. That's because educator out-of-pocket spending on school supplies is most concentrated as they are setting up their classrooms at the beginning of the academic year.

When NEA Today asked educators to tell us what they had spent money on so far this year, they had a lot to say: Paper and notebooks, binders and clipboards, crayons and pencils, dry erase markers, glue sticks, and organizing bins came up a lot. Some said they have to purchase their own soap and hand sanitizer to supplement what is provided by the district.

Well over 90 percent of teachers spend their own money on school supplies and other items their students need to succeed. Just before the pandemic, educators on average spent around $500 of their own money on classroom supplies over the course of the year, as the New York Times reported. Despite the offset of a modest tax deduction, having to pay for their own supplies adds to educator fatigue and worsens their own economic picture.

But the bulk of educator out-of-pocket spending hardly seems optional.

Too many classrooms wouldn't have a library if they didn't buy the books and shelves themselves. Michigan teacher Liz Jorgensen has spent hundreds of dollars already, adding to her self-funded classroom library. "It's worth it to have focused, engaged students during independent reading time rather than off-task students due to the fact that they don't like their book."

Some teachers purchase subscriptions to online reading and science programs that their students can access all year. Others need lab equipment and other materials for hands-on lessons that help keep students engaged.

Spending on the Rise

All of this spending by teachers and support professionals quickly adds up.

One analysis estimates that this academic year, educators will spend more than $820 out-of-pocket on school supplies.

Colorado art teacher Rozx Gallegos says she's already spent "$300 this year on organizing bins, new brushes, canvas boards.....and the year is young. I'll spend another chunk before end of year." Incredibly, one year, she even refinanced her house to purchase technology for her classroom.

In high-needs districts, educator spending routinely goes beyond classroom supplies. Some teachers have to purchase fans because their classrooms have no air conditioning. High inside temperatures can leave staff and students alike drowsy and distracted. A number of educators mentioned that they spend a lot on snacks because if they don't, they routinely see students who are too hungry to focus on their schoolwork.

"Snacks are the biggest thing that drain my cash," said Washington teacher Wendy Van Skyhawk, who works in a district where more than 60 percent of families are low-income. "Sometimes a granola bar provides just enough energy to fuel brains."

If educator out-of-pocket spending really does reach an average $820 this year, educators nationwide could end up subsidizing schools to the tune of $3 billion.

Unrealistic Expectation

Educators who spend their own money on school supplies feel it's essential to helping their students learn and feel comfortable in the classroom. But for many educators, that annual spending does take a toll.

Retired teacher Cheryl Park of Michigan says every year she spent between $1,000 and $2,000 on her classroom. That's "about $40,000 over the course of a 25-year career" she noted. Throughout that time, she and her colleagues endured a number of pay cuts.

In a white paper released this month, the National Education Association cited that under resourced schools and the unstated expectation that educators will spend their own money on supplies and equipment are factors that drive educators away from the profession.

Another major factor driving the educator shortage crisis is low pay, which makes the out-of-pocket spending even more outrageous.

The "teacher pay penalty" is the percentage by which public school educators are paid less than comparable workers. According to the Economic Policy Institute, this gap reached an all-time high this year. Teachers on average now earn 23.5 percent less than comparable college graduates.

But educators say they feel compelled to buy essential supplies and make their classrooms welcoming and comfortable for students.

"Here's the deal," explained Virginia teacher Janine Vaughn. "My classroom is my home away from home and my students' too. I want it to be comfy, attractive, and functional. So, I spend my own money to make it that way."

A Step Forward

This year, educators can deduct up to $300 of qualified out-of-pocket expenses on their taxes. This represents a $50 increase over the deduction allowed between 2002-2021. Classroom supplies and equipment and professional development related to the curriculum in which the educator provides instruction are all qualified expenses.

The educator expense deduction is particularly valuable, because it is claimed "above the line," meaning it can lower an educator's adjusted gross income, and it is available to those who itemize deductions as well as those who don't.

While the increase is a step in the right direction, NEA's advocacy on the issues of educator pay and protecting the educator expense deduction are ongoing.

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Out-of-Pocket Spending on School Supplies Adds to Strain on Educators | NEA

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Many educators are seeing heftier credit card bills this month. That's because educator out-of-pocket spending on school supplies is most concentrated as they are setting up their classrooms at the beginning of the academic year.

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Make Voter Registration a Priority at Your High School (10/13)

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Make Voter Registration a Priority at Your High School (10/13)

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In this article from The Educators Room, Sarah Styf discusses educating students on the importance of voting. She begins by describing the cycle of hearing that young people aren't turning up to vote every election, before explaining that rather than judge the kids themselves on not voting, she focuses on educating students on the importance of voting and choosing elected officials by voting in presidential and local elections. By doing so, educators are ensuring that students know the change they can make as voters. Styf encourages educators to do things like register their students to vote as soon as they are old enough, start a civics club, and thoroughly explain how to vote. She ends this article with an important fact - students properly taught about voting in high school are more likely to become active voters. I think that this article makes a fabulous point that learning about voting is just as important as voting because students need to know what they are doing and why it is important to them.

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Every two to four years, we hear about the need to register young people to vote. Pundits bemoan the low turnout numbers that we see from 18 to 25-year-olds. Experts hypothesize about why they do not choose to exercise their constitutional right to have a say in their elected leaders. And older citizens just go on about "kids these days."

As someone who has spent the last 20-plus years with this age group and finds every opportunity to mention the importance of participating in democracy, I try to stay away from critiquing the kids themselves.

Instead, I spend a lot of time thinking about what we can do as educators. We need to ensure our students understand the importance of voting and enable them to participate in selecting the leaders making life-changing decisions for them on a regular basis. After all, it's local elections that impact them the most, something I wish I had understood when I was 18. I didn't vote until I was 21 because I believed that the only thing that mattered was presidential elections. But, in fact, it's in local elections that we see just how much our vote can matter.

If our job as educators is to prepare our students for citizenship, then educating our students about how and why to vote must be a priority.

The Time to Participate in Democracy is Now

Organizations such as Rock the Vote and Campus Vote Project have done important work in getting college students around the country registered to vote at least every four years. Their work seems obvious because every American citizen attending a college or university should be old enough to cast a ballot in their state.

Even so, about a quarter of high school students around the country are eligible to vote in every election. Our oldest students deserve to participate in democracy as soon as they are eligible. Once they graduate, many students will not attend college immediately following high school graduation. Instead, they will head off to the military and trades, careers significantly impacted by state and national policy.

This is why it is important to know that more than half of all states require schools to either provide students with registration forms or help them to register. Regardless of your state's policy (or whether your district complies), educators should take the lead and help their students register to vote. Start a civics club that helps students register to vote during school hours. Put National High School Voter Registration Week on the calendar and participate every year. Do a social media series of student selfies with the "I voted" sticker. Registering our students shows them that we believe their voice matters.

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Voter Registration and Voting Can Be Confusing

But registering students is only one step. Not all of those who attend college will be attending college in their home state. I was one of those students. I didn't understand how absentee ballots for Michigan worked and didn't know if I was doing it correctly. I wasn't aware of the deadlines for requesting my ballot and delivering it to a Nebraska post office. Students who are attending college and will not be able to return home need help understanding how they can still vote.

Our students also do not realize that there is more at stake than who is going to be president. If they vote, they get to select school board members, sheriffs, judges, city council members, and much more. Some of these races can be decided by double-digit vote counts. Many of our students may take government or civics courses after an election has already passed. Providing multiple opportunities for them to see a ballot, research candidates, and practice the process can help them see the impact that their vote can have beyond student council elections. There are several organizations that can help teachers and students prepare for this process, including My School Votes and the League of Women Voters.

Voting Gives Education a Real-World Purpose

Do they care about climate policy after learning about Climate Change in Biology? Local officials can be the first roadblock or pathway to changing local business practices, improving public transportation, and increasing recycling options. Do they have health concerns? They can help select state officials that will set policies that will improve their personal outcomes. Do they care about their own education and the educational future of their siblings? They can have a hand in selecting school board members who will work to improve outcomes for local education instead of stunting progress.
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The truth is that most of our students are closer to many of the issues facing our country than their parents or grandparents because it directly impacts them. Despite the confusion of adults, our students have been using "new math" for years and understand its place in educational policy. When the Parkland shooting happened in 2018, the school's AP, mass media, and speech and debate students decided to use what they were learning to raise awareness about gun violence and mass shootings. Some of them are still actively involved in politics and appear to have bright futures. And recently, thousands of Virginia high school students walked out of their buildings to protest the governor's trans proposals. They saw how those policies could affect their friends and classmates and made their voices heard the only way that they could, for now.

While the voter registration date has passed in many states ( deadlines can be found here), it is not too late to implement strategies that prepare students for voting in the future. It starts with showing them the impact of midterm elections as they are happening in our states and around the country and should be a regular discussion every two years. If you live in an area with an off-year election, you can use that as a teachable moment as well. And you can do all of this without ever mentioning a political party or personal preference. Teaching always has been a political act, even if we know that particular students will not vote the way we would prefer.

Students who learn about the voting process and receive practical instruction while in high school are more likely to become engaged voters. If we educators want to teach our students how to be active citizens that are going to make their world better, we need to give them the training to make that a possibility.

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Registering High School Students to Vote - The Educators Room

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Have you signed up for The Educator's Room Daily Newsletter? Click and support independent journalism! Every two to four years, we hear about the need to register young people to vote. Pundits bemoan the low turnout numbers that we see from 18 to 25-year-olds.

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New Federal Data: Too Few Applicants in K-12 Schools (9/27)

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New Federal Data: Too Few Applicants in K-12 Schools (9/27)

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This article by Lauren Camera discusses the struggling school system in the United States because K-12s throughout the nation don't have enough qualified individuals applying for open positions. Because of this, schools are having a hard time keeping up with all that they need to do teaching and non-teaching-wise. Math, special education, transportation, and custodial are among the hardest roles to fill. In response, schools, the government, and institutions are working on making getting qualified to teach easier as well as trying to make teaching look like more of an appealing career. Lastly, people are calling for school-employees to be treated and paid more fairly for all of the hard work that they do. I think that this article does a great job of going over how the lack of employees affects them. I do think they should touch on more reasons why people aren't applying, however, I guess that is implied by "make it look more appealing" and "pay them better". Teaching and working for schools is extremely hard work and it is nice to see that plans are being implemented to attempt and aid schools in staffing and running. I have hopes that these plans will get more people to consider education as a career.

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Banned Books Week is a Time for Educators to Fight Censorship (9/18)

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Banned Books Week is a Time for Educators to Fight Censorship (9/18)

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This article by Emma-Kate Schaake discusses the banning of books and how there have been 681 attempts to ban 1,651 different books. She explains that these attempts are a clear attempt to silence marginalized groups and stop children from learning about people and situations unlike themselves. Schaake goes on to say that 9 out of 10 of the banned books of 2021 feature a person of color or LGBTQ+ member. To combat this damaging movement, she recommends that we continue to support intellectual freedom and that people go to their local libraries and request books that are banned or by authors of color or LGBTQ+ authors. I completely agree with Schaake and think that there should be a fight to keep a diverse canon of books in our libraries and used in schools. It is so important that young readers are given an opportunity to learn about the things/people around them, respectively.

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Have you signed up for The Educator's Room Daily Newsletter? Click and support independent journalism
Banned Books Week is an annual effort to fight for intellectual freedom. This year the theme is "Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us" and the fight could not feel more urgent.

Banned Books By the Numbers

This Friday, the American Library Association (ALA) reported that between January and August of this year, there have been 681 attempts to ban or restrict 1,651 unique library materials. This is up from 1,597 titles last year, which was the most in the ALA's 20 years of record keeping.

ALA's President Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada explains these bans across the country as targeted and silencing.

"The unprecedented number of challenges we're seeing already this year reflects coordinated, national efforts to silence marginalized or historically underrepresented voices and deprive all of us - young people, in particular - of the chance to explore a world beyond the confines of personal experience."

There have actually been fewer incidences of bans (681 this year compared to 729 in 2021), but this speaks to the sweeping nature of the bans. It's not really about any supposed "harm" that one specific book could cause a young reader. Nor is it just about individually upset parents or school board members who make headlines.

As of this spring, all but fourteen states have introduced or passed legislation attempting to limit the reading materials in schools and libraries, bringing ban attempts to another level.

Librarians and teachers are worried (and should be!) because this type of coordinated effort is attempting to silence entire communities, most of which are marginalized voices.

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Which Books Are Being Banned?

Of the top 10 banned books from 2021, all but one (Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl) were written by and prominently feature people of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

For example, Gender Queer, which tops the list at number one, is a graphic memoir by a nonbinary author banned for "sexually explicit images."

According to the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom, the top three reasons books are banned are due to being "sexually explicit," "unsuited to any age group," or containing "offensive language."

These categories are vague, which leaves the door open for broad interpretations, political agendas, and fear-mongering. It allows challengers to deem any LGBTQ+ sexuality as explicit and any discussion of race as unsuitable for students in school.

In these views, the use of the N-word and racial stereotypes in To Kill a Mockingbird are okay because it's canon, but The Hate U Give's challenge of racism and police brutality is "indoctrination of a social agenda."

Why Ban Books?

So, why are we seeing rampant book banning? To put it simply, political propaganda.

In July, I wrote about Christopher Rufo (the man largely responsible for lighting the Critical Race Theory fire) and his new campaign against so-called gender ideology. He's using fear tactics to strike a nerve with conservatives and parents, and once again blaming schools for indoctrination.

Books in libraries and school libraries are the perfect target, just as lessons on racial diversity and true history were for CRT.

News sources (Rufo regularly appears on Fox shows like Laura Ingraham) are telling viewers that their children are being "forced to change their gender" instead of the truth about life-affirming care for LGBTQ+ students.

Conservative media and pundits are working to inflame fear and anger against queer people and people of color. And in the process, they're offering viewers an easy target: books.

So What Can We Do to Fight for Banned Books?

There are clear freedoms outlined in the Library Bill of Rights to combat these book bans, which include school libraries, which should be spaces to promote, foster, and support "intellectual freedom." Here are a few of these rights:

Collection materials should represent diverse viewpoints.

Patrons, including students, should not be discriminated against based on age or perceived maturity or literacy level.

Personal, social, political, or religious views should not constrict library materials, and librarians should resist pressure from outside groups to alter their collections.

Parents can advise their own children on library materials they want them to access, but they don't have the right to restrict all materials for all children.

Our school libraries and classrooms should be spaces of intellectual freedom that represent the diversity of lived experiences. Librarians, educators, parents, and community members need to, once again, use their voices to fight censorship.
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To celebrate this Banned Books Week, especially amidst record-breaking bans and upcoming midterm elections when everything seems daunting, don't let fear silence the authentic voices we all need.

An action list from Book Riot encourages us to show up at our local libraries and request banned books and more titles by people of color and LGBTQ+ folks. We need to attend our local school board meetings to advocate for diverse, enriching titles in our libraries and in curriculums. Make sure to research school and library board elections and turn out to vote.

Because in the words of the often banned The Perks of Being a Wallflower author, Stephen Chobosky, "Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight."

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Banned Books Week is a Time for Educators to Fight Censorship - The Educators Room

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Have you signed up for The Educator's Room Daily Newsletter? Click and support independent journalism Banned Books Week is an annual effort to fight for intellectual freedom. This year the theme is "Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us" and the fight could not feel more urgent.

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Anne Frank's Diary Speaks to Teen Girls in a Secret Kabul Book Club (9/11)

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Anne Frank's Diary Speaks to Teen Girls in a Secret Kabul Book Club (9/11)

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In this article by Diaa Hadid, she discusses a secret book club of about a dozen teenagers in Kabul, where the Taliban has taken control and restricted education. In this book club, they read Anne Frank and deeply connected with her story, having to hide, reading and writing in secrecy, and living in dangerous, oppressive environments. Volunteers organize the book club hoping that reading and writing will help these young students cope with what they have witnessed in Kabul. Multiple girls speak on how they connect to Anne Frank's story and how one even wants to write their own story so people know what the Taliban has done to women like her. I think this article does a fantastic job of pointing out the importance of education and literature and the consequences of oppression in the government. Everybody deserves an opportunity at education and despite what is "allowed", these people continue to learn knowing that it is important.

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Anne Frank’s diary speaks to teen girls in a secret Kabul book club

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The Taliban banned secondary education for girls. In one secret book club, teens gather to discuss a book from another era that they find deeply relevant: Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl

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Virtual Charter Schools See Enrollments Rise (9/8)

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Virtual Charter Schools See Enrollments Rise (9/8)

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"Virtual Charter Schools See Enrollments Rise by Valerie Strauss discusses the rise in enrollment in online charter schools since the beginning of Covid-19. Despite the benefit of having an option of alternative schooling, charter schools online have proven to be the worst in regard to performance. These students that attend alien charter schools are shown to have performed significantly less than students at brick and mortar schools, and on top of that, there is less participation in state testing and attendance could be taken weekly or monthly - or manipulated since attendance determines how much money the charter schools get. I think that it is clear charter schools need to be held to a higher standard if they are to run because student success rates need to be high. There should be action being made to ensure that if these students want alternative online schooling, they are still receiving a good education and engaging with their studies enough and adequately.

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Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are operated outside publicly overseen school districts, sometimes by for-profit companies. Charter advocates say these schools offer choices to families that want alternatives to troubled neighborhood schools. But charter schools have become increasingly controversial in recent years, with critics saying that in many places, they take money from district schools that educate the vast majority of American children and do not on average have better student outcomes than traditional public schools.

Charter schools experienced a jump in enrollment during the coronavirus pandemic, but as this post shows, much of that jump was in virtual charter schools, which have long been the worst-performing schools in the charter sector. This past spring, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a concerning report about virtual charters.

This post provides new data on the rise in virtual charter enrollment and digs into the GAO report. Part of the piece is technical, which is important to explain how the findings were reached.

The following was written by Carol Burris, an award-winning New York school principal who is now executive director of the Network for Public Education, a nonprofit advocacy organization that opposes charter schools. Burris has written extensively about charter schools and other school reform efforts for more than a decade on The Answer Sheet.

By Carol Burris

Last October, this post examined state 2020-21 enrollment data indicating that large numbers of students had during the coronavirus pandemic moved to virtual charter schools, which are notorious for being the lowest performing schools in the charter sector. Researchers and advocacy organizations, including the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, had previously been highly critical of virtual charters.

The final numbers are now in from the Common Core of Data, and the findings are confirmed. During the 2020-2021 school year, an additional 175,260 students enrolled in virtual charters, bringing the total enrollment in virtual charters to 483,871. Even more important, that shift accounted for over 70 percent of the increase in charter school enrollment between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, an increase that was heralded as a victory by school-choice advocates.

Will these students remain at home learning over the internet, or will they return to brick-and-mortar schools? That remains unknown. What we do know is that families are being aggressively courted by for-profit charter operators that include national chains like Stride K12 (formerly K12 Inc.) and Pearson's Connections Academy as well as smaller for-profit organizations that are marketing their own online charter schools.

Why charter schools make public education advocates so angry
Background
The Common Core of Data (CCD) is the U.S. Department of Education's database on public elementary and secondary education. As described by the U.S. Department of Education, the CCD is "a comprehensive, annual, national database of all public and charter elementary and secondary schools and school districts."

The database includes a table generator that allows the public to create tables of information on topics of interest, including school types, enrollment, and demographics. We used that generator to compare the growth in online school enrollment between 2019-2020 with 2020-2021 enrollment.

Four choices describe a school's virtual school status. A Full Virtual school delivers all instruction over the internet. A Face Virtual school delivers instruction virtually but provides the opportunity for some in-person meetings among students or with teachers. A Supplemental Virtual school offers some virtual courses, but online learning is not the primary means of delivering instruction. The fourth possibility is Not Virtual, meaning that all instruction is provided within a brick-and-mortar school.

For our analysis, we included the first two categories of schools - Full Virtual and Face Virtual. These were the two types included in the March 2022 report on virtual charters by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

For the 2019-2020 school year, the CCD identified 349 charter schools as being Full or Face Virtual. There were four coding errors leaving a total of 345 schools. Enrollment in those schools ranged from 0 to 12,693. The total enrollment in virtual charter schools that school year was 308,611 students, representing 9 percent of the total 3,432,494 students enrolled in charter schools that year.

Using CCD data, we followed the same procedures for the following year, 2020-2021. California, Utah, Texas and Illinois did not provide their schools' virtual status. Therefore, we used the California Department of Education's database to identify exclusively (full) and primarily (face) virtual schools in that state. We then used the 2019-2020 CCD database to identify the rest of the schools in the other three states. If the school was open and still virtual, it was added.

The CCD identified 3,681,958 students as being enrolled in charter schools in 2020-2021, which indicated that student enrollment in virtual charters had jumped from 9 percent to more than 13 percent of charter school enrollment.

The number of virtual charters increased from 345 schools to 384 - a modest increase. But the capacity of virtual schools, especially for-profit-run virtual schools, to expand without facility concerns allowed the massive enrollment surge to be absorbed with only a modest increase in the number of schools.

What President Biden should say to critics of his charter school reforms

Charters operated by the for-profit online giant Stride K12 increased from 72,474 students in 2019-2020 to 110,767 in 2020-2021. Its strongest competitor, Pearson's Connections Academy, experienced even stronger proportional growth, from 53,673 to 85,749.

Overall, the for-profit-run charter sector enrolled more than 50 percent of all students registered in virtual charters during both years.
Why is this a problem?
Those who believe in market-based schooling see the expansion of low-cost virtual schools as a victory. Others who believe in high-quality schools view the expansion of virtual charters as a cause for serious concern.

In March 2022, the GAO issued a blistering report on virtual charter schools. The analysis showed that virtual charter students lagged behind their peers in brick-and-mortar charter schools, and even further behind students in brick-and-mortar public schools in publicly overseen districts.

When the GAO reviewed student proficiency in math and reading, they found "the national average math proficiency rate for virtual charter schools was 25 percentage points lower than the rate for brick-and-mortar traditional schools" and "the average reading proficiency rate for virtual charter schools was 9 percentage points lower than brick-and-mortar traditional schools."

While many virtual charter operators claim that the students attending their schools are often already lagging, the GAO made sure to control for several factors that could impact these proficiency rates, including past academic performance and student mobility. Even after controlling for those factors, the GAO still found virtual students' scores statistically significantly behind brick-and-mortar public school students'. Not only that, fewer virtual students bothered to take state tests.

From the report: "The participation rate for virtual school students on state tests is substantially lower than for students in brick-and-mortar traditional schools and brick-and-mortar charter schools according to our analysis of EDFacts data."

The concerns of the GAO extended beyond academics to criminality. They reported that states have varied methods for accepting daily student attendance figures from virtual charters, leaving those figures vulnerable to manipulation and fraud. Their investigators found that some schools relied on students only logging into a portal or a program, regardless of how long they stayed. While some virtual charters took daily attendance, others took attendance only weekly or even monthly.

Attendance inflation and manipulation occur because enrollment data determines how much money virtual charter operators will get from our state and federal tax dollars. Such manipulation can significantly enhance end-of-year profits. Fraud, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, from enrollment schemes involving virtual schools has occurred with alarming frequency.

The story of a charter school and its for-profit operators

Notable cases include the A3 charter school network, EPIC charter schools, California Virtual Academy (CAVA), and Ohio's Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT).

Eleven people were indicted in the elaborate A3 charter scheme, which bilked California taxpayers out of $50 million. Perpetrators were accused of falsely and dually enrolling students in their charter schools, without the knowledge or consent of parents, to collect state payments.

After a decade of investigation, David Chaney, Ben Harris and Josh Brock of Epic charters were arrested in June of 2022 for cheating Oklahoma taxpayers out of tens of millions of dollars. The trio had regularly enrolled "ghost students," including students enrolled in home schools and private schools, created fake invoices, used school credit cards for personal items, and dipped deep into "learning funds" accounts to make political contributions to stall and obstruct the auditing of the school. During the 2020-2021 school year, this corrupt online chain, which has shed its management company and is now on probation, enrolled over 60,000 students.

Although CAVA has made its settlement to the taxpayers of California in compensation for sloppy attendance and deceptive practices, ECOT still owes the state of Ohio $117 million.
The allure of virtual schools
For those not interested in engaging in fraud, virtual charter schools are still a source of enormous profit, which is why for-profits operate over half of the sector. The GAO provides insight into why this is so. According to the report, "The student-teacher ratio across virtual charter schools was about 75 percent higher than for brick-and-mortar traditional public schools, according to 2017-2018 CRDC data." The GAO also found that while district public schools spent $13,646 per student on instructional staff in 2017-2018 (50 percent of all of their income), virtual charters spent only $8,295 per student (25 percent of all of their income).

This allows virtual charters to dedicate excess resources to attracting new students in addition to bottom-line profit. The GAO described the marketing operations of virtual charter schools as follows:

Officials in one state said the bulk of virtual charter school advertising tends to be seasonal. Schools launch multimillion dollar campaigns throughout the summer, including on television and billboards throughout the state, to encourage enrollment for the fall. Officials from one virtual charter school in Pennsylvania said they broadcast television ads on specific networks that appeal to parents and air the commercials in the mornings when parents might be struggling to get their children ready to go to school and in the evenings after children are in bed.

Perhaps the most disturbing marketing tactic is providing families financial incentives for enrolling their children in the virtual charter or for recommending other children to the school.

In 2016, I met Anaheim High School District Superintendent Michael Matsuda. Matsuda showed me a flier from Epic Charter schools, which was expanding from Oklahoma to his state of California at the time. It advertised that new enrollees would receive $1,500 for a "personal learning fund," along with free laptops, iPads, and internet service. According to the Woodward News, Epic was also handing out free concert tickets, vacations and other prizes for referrals of students to the school at a time when its four-year graduation rate was only 28 percent.

Such practices are not isolated to Epic. The GAO found that 31 percent of virtual charter schools' websites "specify that stipends are available to enrolled families, which can be used to pay for extracurricular activities, among other purchases." For cash-strapped families, this can provide a powerful incentive.
Conclusion
Although it is easy to blame the sharp increase in virtual charter enrollment on the pandemic, as the GAO notes, virtual charters have been the fastest growing sector of charter schools for years. Whether that enrollment trend will dip now that families feel it is safe for their children to return to in-person learning remains to be seen. Our preliminary research shows a drop in charter school enrollment during the 2021-2022 school year, but until the final NCES numbers are released, we will not know the final count - either overall or in virtual schools.

Now, small for-profit chains are opening virtual charters, with many of these schools coming online this year. The big brick-and-mortar for-profit chains, including Academica and Leona, have also opened virtual charters. Other for-profit-run charters are providing full virtual options as part of brick-and-mortar schools. Those enrollment numbers are hidden in school reports and, therefore, not included in our totals.

There may be a continued demand for virtual schools, which the market-based charter movement promotes and expands. However, studies beyond the GAO have demonstrated that online schooling is a flawed option for most students, with kids often returning to district schools far behind academically. Virtual schooling is the poster child for the failings of school choice. It is time that the public demand guardrails and extensive reform.

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Analysis | Virtual charter schools see enrollments rise

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Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are operated outside publicly overseen school districts, sometimes by for-profit companies. Charter advocates say these schools offer choices to families that want alternatives to troubled neighborhood schools.

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6 Ways to Involve Families in Elementary School Classrooms (8/18)

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6 Ways to Involve Families in Elementary School Classrooms (8/18)

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6 Ways to Involve Families in Elementary School Classrooms by Kaitlyn Fullerton lists and explains 6 ways that educators can encourage parent interaction. There are more simple things on the list like inviting them into the classroom to meet and talk and video conferencing, or more "fun" things like asking that they write a letter about their child as a person and student, have space in the classroom for pictures of students' families, send home cards with questions for parents to ask their children, or sending emails with good things about their student frequently. I really like this list and think these are all fabulous recommendations. My favorite is definitely sending home cards for the parents with questions to ask. All too often parents say "how was your day" and get the "fine" response. I think parents and students would be happy to have more initiative to converse. On top of that, I think sending "good thing" emails is a great idea. I absolutely love the idea of sending home affirmations and praise, and will definitely be taking this recommendation to the classroom.

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6 Ways to Involve Families in Elementary School Classrooms

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Building relationships with families early in the school year helps teachers create a strong classroom community.