Education in Focus

A teacher who started work at a New York City charter school after she was terminated from her position at a public school has been fired after Chalkboard inquired about her previous employment.  The former teacher’s ability to start working at a charter school after a report was sent to the New York City Public Schools District from its Special Commissioner of Investigation points to what appears to be an information gap between charter and public schools in the city. Atmosphere Academy, a public charter school in the Bronx, confirmed to Chalkboard that Raylissa Rivera “no longer works” for the school after Chalkboard asked about an investigation conducted last year into inappropriate texts she sent a student. 

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A report from a teacher effectiveness organization on how well the nation implements best practices to help students learn how to read found that 19 states do not currently implement critical policies to promote literacy. The National Council on Teacher Quality report shows that precisely half of states do not have “specific guidelines to teacher prep programs about what they should teach aspiring teachers in reading.” The issue comes as the debate over the science of reading has seen a resurgence in state legislatures as lawmakers hope to improve literacy rates.

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As gun violence remains a significant threat across the country, states, districts and schools debate ways to increase safety. But policies allowing teachers to carry weapons in school remains controversial. A school in Ohio made news last week after signs posted outside the school announced that teachers were armed, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Survey data from last year shows staff approved of the measure in that district, pointing to wider educator approval that has surprised experts. 

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A special education teacher from the Bronx was found to have acted inappropriately by New York City Public School’s watchdog agency and was subsequently terminated last summer. Then, a few months later, she took a position at a nearby charter school that says the investigation into her wasn't flagged. The Bronx’s Atmosphere Academy says the teacher was fingerprinted and underwent a background check, raising questions about whether gaps that put student safety at risk exist between the nation’s largest school district and charter schools in New York City. 

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Chicago Public Schools says it is “reviewing” its approach to school safety as the board of education has reportedly considered removing school resource officers from buildings in the city. CPS is expected to “provide updates in the coming months,” according to a statement from a district spokesperson. But reports say the board has already decided to remove police officers from schools and could vote on the action as soon as this month. 

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Gradebooks may be less alphabetical in Georgia after the state recently released school accountability numbers for the first time since the pandemic. This suggests the state may be transitioning away from A-F grades. Instead, schools have their content mastery test scores instead of letter grades. Georgia is the latest state to consider eliminating traditional letter grades for public schools in favor of different accountability metrics.

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The Biden administration has proposed sweeping changes to expand the nation’s law prohibiting sex discrimination in the nation’s schools to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Final action on the rule is not expected until at least March next year, but legal challenges would likely arise upon its implementation. The Department of Education says that the rules protect students and try to strike a balance between concerns over fairness and safety with the benefits of allowing transgender students to play. Critics, however, say the rule burdens girls and illegally rewrites the law.

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Earlier this year, Chalkboard News highlighted how students can cheat on online classes and assignments using social media platforms and other new tools. But do social media platforms prohibit academic dishonesty? TikTok has clarified that videos promoting academic dishonesty violate its community guidelines and will be removed. Meta, which owns Instagram, did not respond to Chalkboard’s request for comment on its policies despite the proliferation of accounts offering to complete student’s work for a fee. 

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The parent of a student who faced persistent antisemitism at a Westport, Connecticut school says administrators tried to silence him and his family through the terms of a settlement.  Andrew Goldberg, the parent of a middle-school student at Westport Public Schools, said in an opinion piece in Newsweek last week that administrators offered to pay for a year’s worth of tuition at a private school if he and his family would never talk about what led up to the settlement. The school’s attempt to sweep the incidents under the rug received pointed criticism from Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. 

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The Chicago Public School Board of Education isn’t planning on shutting down charter schools in the city yet, but is poised to direct money away from those schools between 2025 and 2029 in a broader effort to move away from ranking schools against each other. The board adopted the resolution in a unanimous vote on Thursday during its regular meeting, signaling the districts “transition away from privatization.” Board members said school choice pits schools and students against each other and said the district would reimagine the system to promote equity. Advocates and students of charter schools in the city spoke to the board, highlighting the impact charter schools have had for those in the city seeking a high-quality or specialized education. 

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