As someone who has helped launch nearly 1,000 esports programs, I've seen how they draw students to school, and how districts can set up teams at little or no cost.
District leaders cite declining enrollment, rising costs and the end of COVID-19 funding for the historic $110 million budget shortfall they're facing.
The upheaval comes as the district's finance officials have floated tapping a heretofore lightly-used program that allows public agencies to borrow money against future revenues that must be repaid in the short term, with interest.
The Minneapolis district has seen its enrollment drop by nearly 20,000 students since 2000-01. In St. Paul in the last five years, enrollment has fallen by more than 5,000 students and the district, which is the second-largest in Minnesota, currently enrolls 60% of the school-aged children who live in the city.
At Maysville High School in Maysville, Mo., population 1,100, classes can be a little tough for the squeamish. Course work can involve assigned reading and algebra, but also a serious amount of blood and guts.
A substantial number of Black students have the aptitude but not the access to in-demand STEM and CTE fields. This exposure gap is even wider for Black girls, a new report warns.
"It's a perfect setup," Waterford Graded School District Superintendent Tony Spence says. "It's not just an outreach to members of the community who are already in the schools, it's an outreach to those who are beyond."
While students with learning disabilities and English language learners often have interventions targeted to their individual needs, it's not uncommon for schools to take a one-size-fits-all approach to academic growth and instruction.
Inflation is slowly declining. However, overall costs are much higher than they were in previous years, according to the authors of a new report. Here's what to look out for.
