Ariana Fine

Public school salaries fall short of average in nearly every state

By 2017, public school teachers' earnings topped the average in just Rhode Island. Since the early 1990s, public school teacher and staff earnings fell relative to the average worker in 42 states. The biggest relative drop came in Wisconsin, where pay is now only 90 percent of the workers' pay average statewide.

Educators to learn from

Actionable data can help educators make the connections that get students on grade level. See how district leaders leveraged insights from i-Ready to improve their schools and help their students.

New York City’s high school dropout rate hits record low

High school graduation rates rose 2 percent last year, with nearly 76 percent of students getting degrees. It's the first time in the history of the city schools that more than three-quarters of high schoolers completed their studies. Dropout rates have also fallen to a record low of 7.5 percent.

Will there be an Oakland teacher strike?

Oakland teachers and their supporters are pushing for decreased class sizes, a 12 percent pay increase for educators, the hiring of more counselors and more. A vote to strike has been scheduled from Jan. 29 - Feb. 1 for all Oakland Education Association union members.

Augmented reality health app empowers children

Color Quest: An ARt Adventure is a smartphone app developed to make health and nutrition fun to experience and explore. Once colored in, characters of fruits, vegetables and bodily organs are then activated using augmented reality technology.

Expanding partnership to help digital learning transformation

Oconee County Schools in Georgia has chosen to expand its partnership with itslearning. The district piloted the learning management system with 80 teachers and ultimately chose to roll out the system districtwide.

California district works on energy efficiency project

Schneider Electric and Vista USD have completed five phases of projects to modernize lighting, HVAC equipment and thermostat systems. The California district is expected to generate $785,000 in savings by the end of 2019. Schneider Electric is also working with students on STEM education.

Virginia school modernization referendum stopped by committee

The Senate Finance Committee has killed legislation calling for a statewide referendum on school improvements. The bill would have authorized a referendum in November, asking Virginia voters if they support a $3 billion bond issue for school construction and repairs.

Can mental health training for teachers reduce preschool suspensions?

Nationwide, studies show that early childhood mental health consultations can help curb suspension and expulsion rates in preschools. It's help teachers need. California's new legislation will increase the amount of money a preschool or child care center receives if that center provides these services.

What kids are reading (and not reading) in 2019

Join Dr. Gene Kerns of Renaissance and Dr. Alistair Van Moere of MetaMetrics for a live webinar on insights from the world's largest annual study of K12 student reading habits.

New technology alliances announced

The partnerships with Critical Links and Modern Robotics, Inc., respectively, will transform connectivity, empower teachers and inspire STEM learning for students. Partnerships will see the launch of Mimio MicroCloud to improve and extend classroom connectivity, and MyBot education platform to expand STEM offerings.

For his first Tennessee budget proposal, governor eyes career and tech ed

Gov. Bill Lee said that he wants to increase teacher pay and invest more money in programs for career, technical and agricultural education, but did not say how much that will cost. The leader expects to complete his first proposed spending plan in early February.

Enhancements released for math curriculum

Open Up Resources introduced the second edition of the Open Up Resources 6-8 Math curriculum. These enhancements make it a full-course OER math curriculum that is formally translated into Spanish and standards-aligned.

Commerce Middle School tech class builds CO2-powered dragsters

The Missouri school's technology students are working to make their classroom more interactive for students. The school's tech class is building CO2-powered dragsters students designed aerodynamically after performing sketches and research. Then they replicate those designs onto wood.

LED and laser projector lines debuted

The IN1100 Series and INL3100 Series feature a solid-state mercury-free design with virtually no color decay for images and a 30,000-hour light source. The IN1100 Series can wirelessly share users' content using the PC-less on-board document viewer with QuadView via an included wireless adapter, as well as enjoy AirPlay and MiraCast support.