Early childhood education funds restored by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards – By John Dupont, Plaquemine Post South
Iberville Parish School Superintendent Dr. Louis Voiron said last Friday he applauded a decision by Gov. John Bel Edwards to restore funds slashed from early childhood education.
Edwards’s decision funneled $7.5 million back into the program, which covers education for children 0-3.
“We are more than pleased with funds being restored by Gov. Edwards for Early Childhood Education,” Voiron said in a statement to Post/South. “The earlier children receive educational services, the better their later outcomes will be.
“The Iberville Parish School System has a strong early childhood program and partners with daycare centers in our parish for birth to 3 programs,” he said. “Thanks to the governor for recognizing the significance of early childhood education and providing the necessary funds to move forward.”
Department of Education outlines plans for new state-approved charter schools – By Aedan Hannon, Wyoming News Exchange
The Legislature’s school facilities panel met Thursday to wrestle with the state’s responsibilities and the repercussions of a concerted push to expand public charter schools in Wyoming.
The hearing was a significant step as lawmakers begin to iron out some of the details of how the state will handle both the logistics and the costs of adding more charter schools in Wyoming.
Yet it was a presentation from the Wyoming Department of Education that captured the attention of lawmakers and opened up a broader discussion about charter schools.
It’s one of the first times that Degenfelder and the Department of Education have shared a clear plan in which new state-approved public charter schools are overseen directly by the state with little involvement from local school districts.
Shanor told lawmakers that the Department of Education also hopes to see other changes in how the state governs charter schools as Wyoming follows other conservative states that have sought to boost charter schools amid a campaign for greater school choice.
Detroit Evening Report: Wayne State University receives $260K from GM for STEM education programs – By Nargis Rahman, Detroit Evening Report Podcast (on WDET)
Wayne State University’s College of Education was awarded $260,000 from General Motors to fund science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.
The awards go toward three new programs:
- STEM camp for high schoolers to prepare for college.
- Residency program to bring mid-level career STEM professionals into schools.
- STEM research program to work with Detroit schools.
The programs focus on increasing student access and quality education. It’s also a way to increase the number of STEM teachers in schools during a regional teacher shortage.
“General Motors has a long history of working with Wayne State to cultivate talent in our hometown,” Terry Rhadigan, vice president of corporate giving at GM, said in a statement. “This new project is building a groundswell of STEM innovation by engaging students and investing in teachers. In turn, this is an investment in our region and collective future.”
From Bus Stops to Laundromats, Cities Embrace Play to Help Kids Learn – By Greg Toppo, The 74
Philadelphia and other cities are quietly building installations like the “Urban Thinkscape” to layer on learning where families already spend time.
On a tiny triangular lot in the city’s Belmont neighborhood, kids waiting with their parents for the No. 40 bus can also work on their executive functioning skills, playing a hopscotch variation designed to train their brains.
In Chicago, a wooden game mounted on the wall of a laundromat teaches children, in two languages, how to find color patterns in a lineup of detergent bottle tops.
And in Santa Ana, Calif., a basketball court doubles as a giant, real-time fractions lesson.
These are three examples of an unusual model of on-the-fly learning mixed with urban design, one that has emerged from decades of research on the role of play in kids’ lives.
