What We’re Reading: Week of June 20, 2022
We recognize this was a difficult news week for many, with Supreme Court decisions impacting issues important to the field of education and our communities. Today, we reflect on stories covering the transitions from middle to high school, then college and career. We also read about the teacher pipeline, career-technical education, and college pathways. Have a restful weekend and, as always, thank you for reading with us.
College & Career Readiness
Reading, writing, and exploring career pathways, Working Nation
Sabari Raja, co-founder and CEO of Nepris, an education technology company connecting K-12 school classrooms with industry professionals, sits down with WorkingNation to share more about the critical importance of connecting young people to college and career readiness opportunities.
Blurring the Lines Between Education and Workforce, Hechinger Report
After the disruption of the pandemic, people in the field of education are more open to rethinking traditional ways of doing business in order to better serve students. One idea that’s been gaining steam since last year is to break down barriers between high school, college and career to create a system that bridges all three.
What's Better for Disadvantaged Students; Trades or College?, Washington Post
Public high schools advertising themselves as models of vocational and academic instruction have often been weak in both areas, writes Jay Matthews. But Massachusetts has made great strides since its 1993 Education Reform Act required that vocational students be taught with the same academic standards and tests used by regular public schools.
Equity
How the ‘Computer Science for All’ Movement Fits In Broader History of Social-Justice Battles, EdSurge
The stakes are high when it comes to equity in computer science education and in the broader tech industry. That’s not just because tech is a key to economic opportunity in America these days, but it’s also because of the social good that comes when everyone has a chance to have a seat at the table to build a better future.
Higher Education
Improving Community College Transfer Pathways Could Help with Teacher Shortages, Inside Higher Ed
In response to teacher labor shortages, Michigan’s Department of Education recently issued a series of policy recommendations for the state Legislature. These recommendations include relaxed regulations on out-of-state teachers who apply for in-state teacher certification, student loan repayment for college graduates committed to the teaching profession, and efforts to improve the teacher preparation pipeline, each of which is laudable in their own right. But the proposals overlook one important source for future teachers: community colleges.
Middle School
How Can Middle School Leaders Ease the Transition to High School?, K-12 Dive
To better prepare students for the more demanding work they’ll face in high school, districts and schools should focus on building a transition action team and developing a statement of need, Gene Bottoms, former director of the High Schools That Work Initiative for the Southern Regional Education Board, writes for ASCD.
Teacher Pipeline
Diversifying Teacher Education: Moving Beyond Recruitment, Diverse Education
If those of us charged with improving the quality of public education are serious, we must be intentional about recruiting and retaining teachers of color, writes Dr. Katherine E. L. Norris, Chair for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Howard University.
School’s Out for Summer and Many Teachers Are Calling It Quits, Wall Street Journal
Many teachers have packed up classrooms for the last time as schools break for summer, leaving a profession where stresses have multiplied as a national teacher shortage threatens to grow.
Push Is on to Grow and Nurture Latino Teacher Pipeline, EdWeek
National initiatives to boost the number of teachers of color have advanced thanks to an increasingly multiethnic student population and research on the benefits of a diverse educator workforce. Now, there are new efforts to address the recruitment and retention of Latino educators to serve the growing culturally and linguistically diverse Latino student population.
To Counter Educator Bias, We Need More Black teachers in our Classrooms, Hechinger Report
Our system fails too many Black students. We can and must do better, writes Orville Jackson and Robert J. Hendricks III.
This week's What We're Reading was brought to you by Stella Malone, the Linked Learning Alliance's Communications Intern.