W.V. governor signs virtual ed bill and vetoes vo-tech bill

Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill allowing public school systems to offer home-schoolers and other students full-time K12 virtual education, and vetoed legislation that would’ve let home and private school students attend public vocational education schools without being charged more than public schoolers. Read more>>

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas is calling for a state sales-tax hike to fund an immediate 11 percent teacher pay raise—five times the amount Gov. Doug Ducey proposed in his budget—and an additional $100 million a year for school repairs. Read more>>

Two dozen Detroit schools have been saved from forced closure after the Detroit Board of Education voted to enter into an agreement that will give it the ultimate authority to control the future of the schools. Read more>>

Matt Zalaznick

Most districts teach digital citizenship to show students how to behave responsibly online. We want to hear about the most innovative approaches that alert students to cyberbullying, internet predators and sharing posts that won't ruin their chances of getting into college. Please follow the link to connect with us. Read more>>

The House Public Education Committee is expected to hear the House’s version of a school choice bill. The new bill would create a system of education savings accounts loaded with state money—equivalent to 90 percent of what districts get from the state on average to educate a student—for students who are at risk of dropping out or have special needs. Read more>>

Nearly 300 teaching and administrative jobs in the Bayonne school district were eliminated by the board of education. The board has said the tax increase and layoffs were necessary to make up for a budget deficit of at least $6 million. Read more>>

District 87 students who are under stress could get some fur therapy at school. Trained therapy dogs would be allowed in District 87 schools under a proposal the school board is expected to consider. Read more>>

Jessica Ablamsky

Preschool math performance predicts future academic achievement more consistently than reading or attention skills, according to new research from New America and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Read more>>

Gov. Nathan Deal signed a law that creates a chief turnaround officer who will report to the state board of education but will be an employee of—and rely on resources from—the Georgia Department of Education while also getting funding from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. Read more>>

An action that has already been signed into law is the requirement for high school graduates to pass a civics test to receive his or her diploma. Why not require any potential graduate old enough to vote to provide proof that he or she has actually voted in order to graduate. That’s a true civics test. Read more>>

Illinois’ plan to hold schools accountable for student outcomes does some things right, and is a significant improvement on the state’s previous framework. However, it doesn’t do enough to meet the educational needs of high achievers—especially those growing up in poverty. Read more>>

A new Kentucky bill enhances the state and local partnership through which our common school system operates, particularly in the area of providing targeted assistance to those schools demonstrating greater needs. Most importantly, it keeps the focus on student learning, Read more>>

itslearning is introducing integrations to cloud apps, including synchronizing with cloud services such as G-suite by Google or Microsoft’s Office 365. Users will be able to work in Excel, Word and PowerPoint directly from within itslearning, without the need for an email account or for any user information to be shared. Read more>>

The Jed Foundation announced the launch of a new initiative, Set to Go, to help teenagers through the transition from high school to college and beyond. Students, families and high school educators can use the online resource as a guide to college readiness at different points throughout the college application, selection and enrollment journey. Read more>>

Dominion Resources's recent merger with Questar Corporation added public schools in four new states to the Project Plant It! family: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. The Project Plant It! environmental education program created by Dominion to educate children and plant trees provides STEM-based lesson plans, games, instructional videos and other resources. Read more>>

The Shawnee school board made it official, hiring retired Liberty-Benton Superintendent James Kanable as superintendent. Long-time principal Don Wade has served as the interim superintendent since July, when then Superintendent Mike Lamb unexpectedly passed away. Read more>>

The Union County-College Corner Joint School Board has selected Christopher Winchell to be the district’s next superintendent. He is currently the assistant principal at John Glenn High School in Walkerton. Read more>>

The position of superintendent of the Massachusetts school system has been offered to Ron Griffin, deputy director of the Foxboro Regional Charter School. Scituate’s current leader, School Superintendent John McCarthy, will be retiring after more than three decades in education. Read more>>

The school board picked William Harbron as the next superintendent of the Dover School District, replacing Superintendent Elaine Arbour. He has been superintendent of the West Muskingum school district for the last six years. Read more>>