August 23, 2019
BACK TO SCHOOL
Many students and teachers across the nation are back to school. Others are preparing to return over the next couple of weeks. The Department’s
Back to School web portal offers resources for students, parents, and educators to help make this school year one of the best.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) compiled
back to school facts and figures that give a snapshot for the coming year (blog post).
The What Works Clearinghouse’s
Back to School feature provides educators with some helpful resources to start off the school year.
Already missing the summer? Three new Department-produced videos highlight young students
visiting their mom’s workplace at the Department (where they met with Assistant Secretaries Frank Brogan and Scott Stump),
participating in the Junior Ranger Program, and
visiting Frying Pan Farm Park in northern Virginia (see also “A Day at the Farm,” a guide to help make a student’s trip to a local farm
a great hands-on educational opportunity). These videos underscore learning outside of the classroom and throughout the year.
EDUCATION FREEDOM SCHOLARSHIPS
In the latest
Education Next survey of public opinion, published jointly by the Education Next Institute and the Harvard Kennedy
School of Government, support for charter schools and private school vouchers for low-income students has increased -- by nine and 12 points, respectively. But the most popular education freedom option among respondents was tax credits for donations to organizations
that award education scholarships to low-income students -- up from 53% in 2016 to 58% in 2019. Secretary DeVos’
Education Freedom Scholarships proposal would provide a $5 billion annual federal tax credit for voluntary donations to state-based scholarship programs that empower families to
choose the learning environment and style that best meets their students’ unique needs. (Note: The survey’s nationally representative sample of 3,046 adults includes an oversampling of teachers, African-Americans, and Hispanics.)
“The results are no surprise to those of us who believe in students and trust parents and teachers,” the Secretary emphasized in a
statement on the survey.
“American families want more control and more options when it comes to education, which is why every poll conducted shows the growing, bipartisan support for
education freedom. This research is just the latest indication that voices of parents are growing louder in demanding something other than a government-assigned, union-controlled school for their children. Behind each percentage point in the column for education
freedom is the face of another forgotten voter who has been taken for granted for far too long. I hear it from students who want to learn more and learn differently but are constrained by their assigned school building. I’ve heard it from parents across
this country who worry that this generation won’t be prepared for the modern economy. And I hear it from teachers who are denied by the one-size-fits-all system the freedom and flexibility to teach in the ways they know will be most effective.
“Clearly, our Education Freedom Scholarships proposal is the solution American families want. This common sense approach puts students and parents in control,
without taking a single cent from
public schools or teachers. It’s time opponents of education freedom tamped down their overheated political rhetoric and, instead, focused on improving student
outcomes. They should take note that this poll shows students rank the quality of their own schools lower than anyone else does.
“Education freedom is on the march across this nation. Congress would be wise to heed the call of America’s families.”
SECOND CHANCE VISITS
Last week, Secretary DeVos traveled to Indiana to observe second chance education programs in action.
First, she visited Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility (photos
1 and
2). There, The Last Mile
teaches young adults front-end software engineering, so, upon completion of the one-year program, they will have the skills to be qualified for entry-level computer coding positions. So far, the recidivism rate
for graduates of the program -- which started at San Quentin State Prison in California in 2010 and has expanded to Indiana and three other states in the last year -- is zero.
Later, the Secretary visited Westville Correctional Facility, a
Second Chance Pell experimental site (photos). There,
Holy Cross College hosts the
Moreau College Initiative, with classes taught by professors from both Holy Cross and the University of Notre Dame. Holy Cross has been offering Associate of Arts degrees at the site since 2014 and conferred
its first six Bachelor of Arts degrees in 2018.
PERSONNEL FOR ALL
The Department’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recognizes many states experience personnel shortages in their educator workforce. In
April, through its 2019 Symposia Series
-- “Effective Personnel for ALL: Attract, Prepare, and Retain” -- OSEP kicked off a concentrated effort to support states in their work to address personnel shortages. This series
focused on three critical areas: attracting new personnel to the field, preparing them for a successful career, and retaining them longer term.
Each symposium explored what is known from existing evidence and established best practices, as well as innovative approaches throughout
the country that are making a difference.
This
blog post
is meant to further these efforts by soliciting further feedback; sharing your challenges and successes can make a difference for others.
RELIEF FOR ELIGIBLE VETERANS
On August 21, President Trump signed a
Presidential Memorandum to significantly streamline the process to erase federal student loan debt for totally and permanently disabled veterans. Through a process called Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge, veterans will have their student
loan debt discharged unless they decide to opt-out of the process. The Department anticipates notifying more than 25,000 eligible veterans and continuing the discharge process on a quarterly basis (press
release,
fact sheet, and video).
The memo builds on improvements to the TPD discharge process implemented by Secretary DeVos and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie. In April 2018, the Departments
of Education and Veterans Affairs established a data matching program to identify totally and permanently disabled veterans who are eligible for student loan relief. Since that time, this process has resulted in more than $650 million in student loan relief
for over 22,000 eligible veterans.
Veterans retain the right to weigh their options and decline loan discharge within 60 days of notification of their eligibility. They may decline loan relief either because
of potential tax liability in some states or because receiving relief could make it more difficult to acquire future student loans. Those who do not opt-out will have their remaining student loan balance discharged and be reimbursed for any loan payments
made following the date of their TPD discharge.
ODDS AND ENDS
·
Angela Morabito is the Department’s new Press Secretary. Current Press Secretary Liz Hill has been promoted to Director of Communications.
·
In a
letter to Chief State School Officers and higher education institution leaders, Assistant Secretaries Frank Brogan and Bob King shared an update on the additional supplemental appropriations for disaster relief signed into law by President Trump on June
6, 2019. The law provides $165 million for education-related disaster recovery activities, in response to hurricanes, typhoons, wildfires, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions that occurred in 2018 and tornadoes and floods that may occur in 2019 in those areas
for which a major disaster or emergency has been federally declared.
·
The Department’s Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center recently released a fact sheet on
wildfire preparedness for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.
·
“Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto NAEP Scales,” the seventh in a series by NCES,
places state standards for proficient performance in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and mathematics onto the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scale. State standards for both grades and subjects mostly mapped at or above the NAEP Basic
achievement level. Moreover, the report shows that, since 2007, the difference between state scores for proficiency and the “NAEP equivalent” has grown smaller. The same holds true since 2015, with the exception of state scores
for proficiency for eighth-grade math.
·
Don’t miss these other reports out of NCES, covering
characteristics of public and private schools,
trends in undergraduate non-federal grant and scholarship aid,
changes in undergraduate completers’ borrowing rates and loan amounts by age (notably, the borrowing rate for
undergraduates age 50 or older increased by 45 percentage points over 20 years),
classroom instruction for reading, math, and science (examining associations between students’ engagement in specific types of instruction
and performance on the NAEP), and “The Feasibility of Collecting School-Level Finance Data”
(blog post).
QUOTES TO NOTE
“I think there is increasing support [for second chance education programs]. I think the more we look at results over the past decades, the more we know the way we continue
to do things has not worked. Too many are re-offending. Too many come out with no hope and no real prospect for employment…. We want to really target those who really show promise in these areas.”
-- Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (8/15/19), in an
interview with radio show host Tony Katz
“Supporting and caring for those who have sacrificed much in service to our country
is a priority for President Trump and the Administration. I appreciate the President’s strong leadership on this issue and his willingness to provide much-needed student loan relief. We will continue to prioritize the needs of our nation’s veterans and provide
them the help and support they have earned and deserve.”
-- Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (8/21/19), on
discharging totally and permanently disabled veterans’ federal student loan debt
UPCOMING EVENTS
The U.S.
Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools has conducted a Green
Strides Tour since 2013, allowing schools, districts, and postsecondary institutions to celebrate their achievements and share their work with community
leaders and policymakers. This year’s tour, October 28-30, will spotlight honorees in Washington State. All are welcome to join and see how green schools support the needs of the whole child, facilitating hands-on learning about sustainability, natural resources,
the environment, design, construction, and agriculture, preparing students for life-long success and careers not yet imagined.
ED Review is
a product of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Communications and Outreach, State and Local Engagement
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