Equipping students with the skills to enter the workforce and attracting and retaining good teachers should lead the next president’s public school priorities, Americans say. Welcome to this week’s TGIF Time-saver.
Takeaways for public school leaders
According to the latest Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools survey published this week, eight in 10 Americans chose these two items as priorities. Other policies attracted broad support too, including:
- Increasing focus on student mental health
- Helping students who have fallen behind academically
- College affordability
Lower down the list but still garnering majority support are protecting students from discrimination (58%) followed by the availability of preK programs (56%).
Furthermore, just four in 10 Americans would like their child to take up teaching in public schools as a career. When this question was first asked in 1969, that percentage was 75%.
You can look at the full report here.
Your chronic absenteeism briefing
Since the pandemic, schools have been battling one common issue: attendance. In its most recent Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 22% of 4th-graders reported being absent five or more days in the previous month. Eighth-graders cited similar habits.
In light of this research, the National Assessment Governing Board issued a new resource detailing how chronic absenteeism is captured on NAEP. The primer clarifies national attendance data and provides access to resources at the federal and state levels.
These federal resources for public school leaders include:
- The School Pulse Panel: A collection of surveys administered by the National Center for Education Statistics.
- The Office of Civil Rights: Reports “Chronic Absenteeism in the Nation’s Schools” by race, ethnicity, gender, English language status and special education status.
- EdData Express: Located within the U.S. Department of Education, it offers data on the 2021-22 school year, during which 14.7 million students were chronically absent.
You can take a look at this comprehensive resource here.
A successful state takeover?
Last year, we witnessed the controversial state takeover of the Houston Independent School District. Former Dallas school superintendent Mike Miles has caught flack several times since his appointment for making significant changes in the system, including budget cuts to make up for a $500-plus million shortfall and creating a “culture of fear” among his principals.
Now, unofficial accountability ratings suggest the district’s F-rated schools are making big gains. Out of its roughly 265 schools with ratings, 149 improved their A-through-F scores by one or more letter grade, the Houston Landing reports. Eighty-seven saw no change and 29 witnessed slips.
“We are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve in one year,” Miles said in a statement on Monday. “Across the district, schools delivered significant improvements in student achievement on state assessments.”
New from DA
As always, be sure to check out District Administration’s latest coverage, including our most recent episode of “The Talking Out of School Podcast” where we discuss how charter schools can improve special education.
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