Modern CTE facilities will boost prospects in rural Idaho – By Darren Svan, ID ED News
The state’s bold move to build new career technical education facilities in rural communities like New Plymouth could be transformational.
State-of-the-art CTE facilities offer opportunities for increased industry certifications, partnerships and training internships. The effect will be a growing number of teenagers prepared to enter the workplace or attend a career technical trade school.
“This is significant for a small town. We will feel the impact for generations to come,” said Chase Shoemaker, a New Plymouth High School CTE teacher and local bison rancher. He’s the only agriculture teacher on staff, overseeing about 160 students each year.
“Once you’re a skilled tradesman, that’s highly transferable to other trades,” Shoemaker said.
Florida schools have a teacher shortage. Why are they cutting jobs? – By Jeffery Solochek, Tampa Bay Times
The big story: Florida schools have made no secret of their inability to find enough qualified candidates to fill jobs ranging from bus driver to teacher.
To help with a shortfall of school psychologists, the University of South Florida this week announced it would offer a new degree program to prepare more of them. The three-year program will be provided through the College of Education.
It might seem odd, then, to see school districts preparing to cut jobs and possibly let staffers go at the end of the year. Volusia County is among the systems adjusting its staffing model downward. Funding is the issue.
Money from federal coronavirus relief grants expires in the fall. And so far there’s not a similar amount to replace it. As a result, districts are looking to cut positions the grant paid for, at the same time they talk about the need to find more people. Officials have expressed hope that the changes won’t result in layoffs.
CT lawmakers want $100 million for child care ‘trust fund’ – ByErica Phillips, CT Mirror
A bipartisan group of Connecticut lawmakers wants to use state money to seed and sustain a trust fund designated solely to cover early childhood education.
The proposal, House Bill 5002, would direct an initial $50 million in bond funding and up to $50 million more from the state’s projected budget surplus this fiscal year into the Early Childhood Care and Education Fund. Private donations, local and federal grants and other public and private contributions could augment the fund, which would be overseen by an advisory commission of state officials, child care industry leaders and representatives from industry and philanthropic organizations, among others.
State Rep. Kate Farrar, D-West Hartford, said H.B. 5002 builds on the recommendations of a Blue Ribbon Panel convened by Gov. Ned Lamont last year, which produced a 5-year strategic plan for the state’s child care system.
“It proposes to transform this work … with public and private investments and create a structure that ensures we have funding now and into the future,” Farrar said at a press conference at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on Thursday.
Federal coordinating council formed to support K-12 cybersecurity – By Anna Merod, K-12 Dive
The federal government is ramping up support for K-12 cybersecurity with a Government Coordinating Council for the Education Facilities Subsector, announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Education facilities fall under the Government Facilities Sector, which is one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors outlined as a security priority in Presidential Policy Directive 21. In 2013, the national directive called on all levels of local and federal government, in addition to the private sector, to strengthen and secure critical infrastructure from both physical and cyber threats.
The new council is aimed at expanding collaboration among federal, state, tribal and local governments to bolster schools’ cyberdefense. Government coordinating councils participate in the development of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, which details how the government and private sector can best mitigate risks and improve security outcomes, according to CISA.
The education facilities coordinating council will hold ongoing conversations between various stakeholders and share best practices for protecting K-12 schools from cyberattacks, according to the Education Department.
