TWEET OF THE WEEK
WHS TV christened their new wave Media desk today in the studio. Thank you Urban Construction & Stark Glass! pic.twitter.com/itcVFbfBTw
— WHS (@MassillonCTE) August 28, 2018
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WEEK
Recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced more than $90 million in grants toward the Networks for School Improvement, groups of middle and high schools from around the country. The networks will be groups of schools to work directly with supporting organizations such as nonprofits, districts, charter management organizations, universities, or community-based organizations. They will work together to address barriers to student success. Overtime they will use data to assess their efforts. Learn more here.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Mississippi Construction Education Foundation Launches Statewide Awareness Campaign
We know that despite the many benefits of high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) there are challenges with changing outdated perceptions of CTE programs. The Mississippi Construction Education Foundation understands this barrier to attracting learners to theses programs and is launching a statewide awareness campaign to help solve this problem.
In Mississippi there is a need for nearly 80,000 craft professionals in the construction and manufacturing industry. The initiative, called Trade Up will focus on learners seeking hands-on training and high-skill, high-wage and in-demand career opportunities that do not require a four-year college degree. The initiative is also focused on educating parents.
Watch this video to learn more.
RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
Report: Taking the Long View: State Efforts to Solve Teacher Shortages by Strengthening the Profession
According to the report, states identified shortages of teachers in mathematics, special education, science, world languages, career and technical education, and teachers of English learners. The cause of these shortages include declining enrollments in teacher education. It also notes that teachers leave the profession for reasons such as a lack of adequate preparation and mentoring, pressures of test-based accountability, lack of administrative supports, low salaries, and poor teaching conditions.
This report focuses on six evidence-based policies that states are pursuing to address these shortages and how they are investing funding to create long-term solutions. These policies are:
• Service scholarships and loan forgiveness for teacher education
• High-retention pathways into teaching such as teacher residencies
• Mentoring and induction for new teachers
• Developing high-quality school principals
• Competitive compensation
• Recruitment strategies to expand the pool of qualified educators
States are looking to create a stable teaching profession for the future. The report notes specific programming and investments states are making to address this issue. Highlighted states include North Carolina, Nebraska, Indiana, Nevada, Iowa, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado and more. The resources used for the report include submitted and approved Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plans, reviews of recent, relevant state legislation; publicly available program documents; and administrative data.
Read the full report here.
Nicole Howard, Communications Associate