AdoptAClassroom.org continues to keep a close eye on K-12 education news so we can best understand and serve the needs of our principals, teachers, and students across the country. We want to keep you updated on our findings, so check back each month for our News Bulletin Board series.
Read what’s happened recently in the world of K-12 education:
Oakland Principals Stand By Teachers
In response to Oakland teachers going on strike in February, K-12 Principals in the Oakland Unified School District showed their teachers that they support their decision to leave the classroom for the picket line. Seventy-five principals signed an open letter calling for the community and the state of California to support teachers and their students by increasing funding to pay for increased salaries, smaller class sizes, and the hiring of more support staff.
Oakland teachers have since reached an agreement with the Oakland Unified School District, and will receive an 11 percent salary increase over four years, a three percent bonus, and smaller class sizes.
Read the open letter that shows just how much principals care about their school’s teachers and students.
Arts Education Helps Students Thrive
According to a recent study by The Kinder Institute for Urban Research, arts education for young learners increases compassion and writing scores, while lowering discipline rates. Unfortunately, the arts aren’t prioritized at many schools, as nearly a third of elementary and middle schools at Houston ISD reported lacking a full-time arts teacher.
Read more about the benefits the arts have on young learners.
This month, we merged our Arts Fund and STEM Fund to create the AdoptAClasstoom.org STEAM Fund, to better serve students in need. Visit our new STEAM Fund to see how you can bring the arts to classrooms across the country.
School Principals Impact Student Progress
School principals have a big impact on student success. A study by RAND Corporation found that students scored higher in math and English language arts when their school’s principal was trained and supported by the education leader program New Leaders.
It’s vital that we support our nation’s K-12 principals with the training and materials they need so they can help teachers and students succeed. That’s why we launched our new School Program that allows principals to fundraise for the materials or services they need, like professional development.
Read more about the impact professional development had on these K-8 principals.
Education: America’s #1 Social Issue
According to a report released by Catalist, one of the leading cause-marketing agencies, education is the number one social issue Americans support. And, it ranks as the number one social issue Americans want companies to support.
AdoptAClassroom.org was founded to support education, so we’re excited to see that many Americans are also passionate about funding teachers and schools. We’re currently developing new ways we can partner with businesses who are also passionate about supporting education, to fund classroom across the country.
Read more about Catalist’s report and how businesses can partner with AdoptAClassroom.org to support education.
Parent-Teacher Communication Strategies
We hear from teachers everyday, and many are looking for resources to help improve their parent-teacher communication strategies. AdoptAClassroom.org guest blogger, and former special education teacher, Danielle Martin spent years developing her methods for communicating student progress to parents, and she shared them with us.
Read more about Danielle’s tips for communicating student progress with parents.
Thank you to all of our passionate, hardworking teachers and administrators who are on the front lines in education. Teaching is the most important job that exists, and we’re excited for another year of funding classrooms to give every child the tools they deserve to succeed in school.
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