OCDE Education in the News

Friday, June 22, 2018

OCDE NEWSROOM

Video: Students showcase STEM skills at OC Maker Challenge

A year-long competition testing students’ ability to design and engineer products that can help address real-world problems culminated recently with the 2017-18 ocMaker Challenge. Teams of students from dozens of schools across Orange County showcased STEM-based designs that promoted creativity and innovation on May 11 and 12. Industry judges came to the event at Chapman University and evaluated the projects, awarding cash prizes and certificates to the top entries.

http://newsroom.ocde.us/video-students-showcase-stem-skills-at-oc-maker-challenge/

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Artificial turf fields are failing across Southern California, costing millions. Here’s why.

Across Southern California and the rest of the country, hundreds of FieldTurf customers — most of them taxpayer-supported cities and school districts — have been experiencing the same problems for years. FieldTurf has acknowledged it used defective fibers in its synthetic turf and has filed a lawsuit against its supplier.

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/06/19/artificial-turf-fields-are-failing-across-southern-california-costing-millions-heres-why/

LOS ANGELES TIMES

DAILY PILOT

United Way programs help Anaheim students with math, English and computer science

Every morning third-grade teacher Jennifer Swan-Altieri starts her students off with a motivational mantra: “What if it it’s too hard?” she asks. “We will push through,” the students respond. “What if it’s too tough?” “We will push through.” “What if it’s too rough?” “We will push through.”

http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-wknd-et-paul-revere-20180621-story.html

DAILY PILOT

Court documents detail sexual messages doctor is accused of sending to Newport Harbor High cheerleaders

A Newport Beach doctor accused of sending sexually charged messages through social media to two Newport Harbor High School cheerleaders told a detective in May that he likes to “appreciate” cheerleaders and give them money, according to court documents.

http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-haller-documents-20180621-story.html

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Report: Lottery revenues soar but contributions to schools remains flat

Contributions to California schools from the state lottery are unchanged from 12 years ago, despite revenue that has soared in recent years thanks to enormous jackpots, a radio station reported. Rule changes implemented by state lawmakers eight years ago eliminated the requirement that 34 cents of every lottery dollar go to education, KPCC-FM reported Tuesday.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Report-Lottery-revenues-soar-but-contributions-13011841.php

NEW YORK TIMES

A.P. World History Tries to Trim Thousands of Years, and Educators Revolt

No Roman Empire. No Mongols. No ancient Chinese dynasties or early Indian states. And you can forget about the Incan and Aztec empires before the Europeans dropped their anchors. That’s a sample of what would be missing from the Advanced Placement World History exam if the College Board, the nonprofit organization that owns the A.P. program, follows through with a plan to start the test material at the year 1450.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/us/ap-world-history-exam.html

WASHINGTON POST

How bad is teacher pay? Nearly 1 in 5 teachers works a second job, report says

They work as private tutors and soccer coaches, as waiters, grocery clerks and ride-share drivers. Across the country, 18 percent of teachers earn income outside the classroom, according to a National Center for Education Statistics report released Wednesday. The finding comes from a nationally representative survey of teachers conducted in the 2015-2016 school year.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/06/20/how-bad-is-teacher-pay-nearly-1-in-5-teachers-works-a-second-job-report-says/

EDSOURCE

Discipline reform gets boost in California budget

Tucked inside last week’s state budget deal was some good news for California’s school discipline reform advocates — an additional $15 million for tackling issues such as bullying and trauma students have experienced, and training teachers and administrators in alternatives to traditional approaches to discipline.

https://edsource.org/2018/california-youth-advocates-cheer-new-money-for-discipline-reform-continue-push-for-suspension-ban/599434

KPCC

White House Proposes Merging Education And Labor Departments

The White House unveiled a plan Thursday to merge the Education and Labor departments into a single Cabinet agency: the Department of Education and the Workforce. The proposal is part of a 132-page document outlining a broad restructuring of the federal government. The changes would require congressional approval.

https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/06/21/84188/white-house-proposes-merging-education-and-labor-d/

Making Schools Safer: Harsh Consequences, Or Second Chances?

The debate in many ways comes down to this: What's more important — cold steel or warm hugs? Harsh consequences or second chances? Do we achieve safety and security by making schools harder — or making them softer?

https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/06/22/84211/making-schools-safer-harsh-consequences-or-second/

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