TOP NEWS KSHB The Kansas legislature is considering scaling back suicide training requirements for staff at public schools. As of 2016, all school employees were required to receive at least one hour of suicide prevention training. Some in support of the bill to not require all to go for training say every staff member does not come in contact with students. Read more>> Sponsored Sponsored by DreamBox Learning The DreamBox Learning 2018 Grants Guide contains links to more than 55 organizations and foundations currently offering cash or in-kind donations to help fund STEM programs for K8 students, new technology for classrooms and professional development for educators. Read more>> The Indianapolis Star The gap in funding for Indiana's public schools is larger than lawmakers predicted. First it was estimated to be more than $9 million. Then $12 million. Then $16 million. With final counts of enrolled students and those in need of additional services still not in, the hole is now expected to top $22 million. Read more>> WMAR The Maryland school system is one of the latest school districts in the Urban Food Alliance to remove polystyrene items, in hopes of helping the environment. The non-profit organization was able to work with tight budgets in school meal programs to create a compostable plate that was affordable. Read more>> New York Post Parents are so desperate to get their children into coveted New York City public middle and high schools that they are sending them in sick—even with dangerous flu symptoms—because absences count when it comes to admissions, an advocacy group said. Read more>> WCVB Dracut school administrators will be allowed to test students believed to be under the influence of alcohol with breathalyzers. Although students can be tested on a regular school day, administrators say this is mostly for events such as prom. Read more>> The Morning News Four state representatives introduced legislation that would establish prayer in public schools, but the bills are in committee. One bill would allow teachers to take part in student-led prayer while the second would enable teachers to conduct school-led prayer. Read more>> From DA Magazine Tim Goral In Grant Lichtman's book, Moving the Rock, the former administrator outlines seven “levers” that schools or districts can use to begin to pry that rock free and introduce a “deeper learning” model. Read more>> OPINION The Hechinger Report Some of the most celebrated education reform efforts today serve to make instruction more difficult. Personalized learning, project-based learning, mastery-based learning—they all require more work of teachers and of students. But are these reforms more the evolution of an education system that, in the scope of human history, is still quite young? Read more>> The Herald-Sun Unfortunately, North Carolina's K3 class-size mandate did not include additional funding or appropriate timelines for developing the staffing, facility and program resources needed to ensure successful long-term implementation. Staffing and budget cuts made over the past several years exacerbated the problems created by this legislation. Read more>> Education Dive Fortunately, our focus on how to develop teachers has evolved. Personalized learning for students has long been a priority; many school districts across the country are now exploring more customized approaches to professional learning for teachers to learn and advance their skillsets. Read more>> INDUSTRY NEWS Scantron/ASSIST Education ASSIST Education announced the recent integration of Scantron Performance Series, a computer-adaptive K12 diagnostic student assessment, published by Scantron. Students are now able to seamlessly access assessments in reading and math, and educators are able to instantly pinpoint proficiency levels of students. Read more>> Follett Corporation The new version includes upgrades to Destiny Library Manager, now providing easier reporting of Follett digital content usage. Improvements to Destiny Resource Manager enable more efficiencies in distributing learning resources to classes. Destiny Analytics, Collections by Destiny and Destiny Discover also have upgraded features. Read more>> Edgenuity/eDynamic Learning Edgenuity had added more than 50 new career and general elective courses to its platform. Middle and high school students can engage in a range of interests and skills—from journalism to forensic science—through courses provided by eDynamic Learning. Read more>> ✭ Visit the District Administration's PR Portal ✭ | 