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Betsy DeVos Confirmation Process Stalled
The confirmation process for U.S. Secretary of Education nominee Betsy
DeVos
stalled this past month due to
concerns surrounding
DeVos's
far-reaching financial ties, delayed ethics filings, and
rocky performance
at her confirmation hearing.
DeVos's
confirmation hearing was
pushed back
from January 11th to January 17th following an outpouring of concerns from Democratic
Senators regarding her
incomplete ethics review
. Following the rescheduled hearing, where each Senator received
five minutes in which to question
DeVos
, Democratic members of the Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee requested another hearing to allow more time to delve into
DeVos's
qualifications. While that request has been publicly denied by Senator Alexander (Chair of the committee), the committee vote on
DeVos
has been
delayed until January 31st
to allow Senators time to review her letter to the Office of Government Ethics, which outlines her plans to avoid conflicts of interest should she be confirmed.
Many civil rights advocacy organizations have weighed in on the
DeVos's
qualifications for the role of Secretary of Education. Read their statements below.
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Letter from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
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Letter from the Southeast Asian Resource Action Center
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Letter from the Center on Law and Social Policy
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"Our commitment to [our children's] education means giving them the knowledge they need to thrive and lead. ... The future belongs to the nation that best educates its people. If we continue building on the progress we've made ... I'm confident we will continue to be that nation."
- President Barack Obama, May 3, 2016
Cabinet Exit Memo (January 5, 2017)
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By Jeff Hawkes (Jan. 24, 2017)
NCSD Research Advisory Panel member Richard Kahlenberg gave keynote remarks at
Pushing the Boundaries of Diversity: A Town Hall on Socioeconomic School Integration, which took place on January 24th in Lancaster County, PA. The town hall focused on whether magnet schools would be a good fit for Lancaster residents, and featured a roundtable discussion between
Mark Hare, Pedro Rivera, state Rep. Mike Sturla of Lancaster, Jane Pugliese, , and Tim Mahoney, the chair of the Department of Educational Foundations at Millersville University.
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U.S. Department of Education Updates
Officials in the Obama Administration's Department of Education actively continued to craft and implement programs to benefit all students until their final hours in office. See below for highlights from their final month.
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On January 5
th
, t
he Department released an end-of-administration memo,
"
Giving Every Student a Fair Shot,
"
detailing progress made under the Obama
Administration with regard to improving student achievement and expanding educational opportunities.
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The Department released guidance for states regarding the ongoing implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. The consolidated guidance can be seen here.
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Member Update: Magnet Schools of America
Magnet Schools of America will be hosting its annual
National Policy Training Conference in Washington, DC from February 15-17.
Some highlights for attendees of this conference will include opportunities to:
- Meet with their members of Congress on Capitol Hill,
- Participate in grant writing workshops,
- Discuss emerging classroom issues and network with colleagues,
- Hear from Trump Administration officials regarding implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act,
- Learn about upcoming grant programs that will support magnet schools.
Also from Magnet Schools of America: remember, February is Magnet School Month! You can celebrate Magnet School Month with a different activity each week:
- Week 1 - Awareness Week: send out press releases, post to social media, write letters to the editor of your local paper, and contact your local media outlets to raise up the great work magnet schools are doing in your community.
- Week 2 - Scream Your Theme Week: organize special events at your school this week highlighting your unique theme.
- Week 3 - Bring Your Elected Officials to Work Week: invite your local, state, and federal representatives to observe your magnet program in person. Check out this guide for a suggested approach.
- Week 4 - Show Your Appreciation Week: show your appreciation for the people who make it happen - think of creative ways to say thank you to your teachers, principals, magnet coordinators, administrators, and staff.
Click the image below to read Magnet Schools of America's National Magnet Month Proclamation.
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A Teachers College, Columbia University Summer Institute for Teaching for the New Majority (July 17-20, 2017)
As the public school student population becomes increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, educators need to reimagine teaching and learning to assure all students reap the multiple educational benefits of this diversity.
Last July, teachers, principals, superintendents, graduate students and faculty of education from all over the country gathered at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City to "Reimagine Education" for children in our country's racially, ethnically and socio-economically diverse schools and classrooms. For four days, they engaged ina summer institute for professional development and graduate credit to learn how to best reach and teach students for the 21st Century.
The "Reimagining Education: Teaching and Learning in Racially Diverse Schools" Summer Institute was organized about the four themes of "Why Reimagining?," "Racial Literacy," "Equity Pedagogy," and "Culturally Sustaining Leadership."The Institute included dynamic presentations and panels, interactive workshops, and intimate dialogue sessions.Keynote speakers included Sonia Nieto, of theUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst, Ali Michaels of the University of Pennsylvania, and well-known Teachers College faculty, including Christopher Emdin, Yolanda Sealey-Ruizand, and Amy Stuart Wells.
Using words like "mind-blowing,""necessary,""exhilarating," and "life-changing" to describe their experience, participants came away with new skills, knowledge, and strategies to put into practice immediately in classrooms and schools where they work, bolstered by a renewed sense of hope, responsibility and possibility.
This
summer,
from July 17-20,
the Reimagining Education: Teaching and Learning in Racially Diverse
Schools Summer Institute will take place
once again
at Teachers College. For more information, please
visit
www.tc.columbia.edu/ReEd
or
contact
ReimagineEd@tc.columbia.edu
.
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Upcoming Events of Interest
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National Coalition on School Diversity
c/o Poverty and Race Research Action Council
Website: school-diversity.org
Email: school-diversity@prrac.org
Mailing Address: 1200 18th St. NW #200 Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-544-5066
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