| Call for Research Proposals |
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Battelle for Kids and the National Rural Education Association (NREA) are thrilled to once again host The National Forum to Advance Rural Education on November 12-13, 2020. This year’s conference will be a virtual event. Your experience will be different but the opportunity to connect and learn with a diverse community of national experts, K–12 and higher education practitioners, researchers, and policymakers remains the same. Call for Research Session Proposals Share your research about rural education issues – submit a research session proposal! Since the conference is virtual, research sessions will be different from years past. All research sessions will be pre-recorded and made available as on-demand content for viewing during and post-conference. Research sessions can be up to 30 minutes in length. A limited number of researchers who submit research session proposals will be selected to showcase their work during Day 1 of conference programming. Research session proposals are due July 31, 2020 and acceptance notifications will be sent in mid-September. If your research session proposal is accepted, you will be required to register for the conference. |
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Each week, NREA and the I Am A Rural Teacher Campaign share how vast rural America is. Check out our 50 States highlight on Facebook: facebook.com/iaartcampaign
Feel free to contact Hailey Winkleman, the NREA Advocacy Liaison for this campaign, at iaartcampaign@gmail.com with any questions about submitting your story. |
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The initial goal of SCORS will be determined by the membership at its first organizational meeting. The following are some suggestions for goals.
- Inform the legislature, administration, and other groups or agencies at the state level of the concerns, needs and conditions in the rural schools in South Carolina.
- Suggest legislation that would help to create a more equitable funding system in the state of South Carolina.
- Accumulate membership of all the rural school districts in the state of South Carolina.
- Develop the base through research and compilation of existing data sources.
- Provide data and information for rural schools that can be used to make useful decisions.
- Solicit support from membership for the goals of SCORS.
- Communicate by electronic and other means frequently.
- Understand that the goals of SCORS may change from time to time to reflect the current needs of our students in rural schools.
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| The new hybrid learning model outlined by the Minnesota Department of Education and state health officials requires schools to develop new master schedules to accommodate reduced capacity and strict social distancing for in-person instruction. The guidance from state education and health officials released June 18 places parameters on both in-school and off-site (distance) learning. - In-school parameters include the number of students who can be 6’ apart in instructional spaces with a maximum of 50% of occupancy, and transportation limits.
- Off-site (distancing learning) parameters include MDE membership and attendance guidance, and districts’ and families’ technology limitations.
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| The Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance (WiRSA) was formed to help rural school districts address the unique issues that affect rural schools as they strive to achieve the highest quality education for every student. Our members include a cross section of educators, school board members, rural community members, business leaders and other concerned individuals who want a strong voice for rural schools. WiRSA is supported by the Wisconsin Cooperative Education Services Agency (CESA) districts, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the UW System and rural school districts. |
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| #FundEducation Twitterstorm on Tuesday at 2pm ET – We encourage you to join a Twitterstorm on Tuesday to focus attention on the need for additional federal education funding to bring students, educators, and staff back in person or to provide education remotely this fall. The initiative is being organized by CEF member the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) with participation from CEF, a number of CEF members, and other groups. - Toolkit – We are sharing the preliminary toolkit of materials here now even though it will have more content on Monday so you have planning time. We hope you will share it with your grassroots networks and communications staff. The toolkit contains informational resources, messaging, and social media sample posts and visuals.
- Hashtags – The twitterstorm will be using multiple hashtags: #FundEducation #FundPublicSchools #FundtheFrontLines.
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House Democrats introduce bill to provide extra support for child care – Yesterday, House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) and other Democratic leaders introduced a bill to expand access to child care during the pandemic-caused recession. H.R. 7327, the Child Care for Economic Recovery Act, provides supplemental fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding for child care and expands child care-related tax benefits. The press released linked above contains links to a fact sheet, section-by-section, and the legislative text. House vote on veto override of Borrower Defense Rule – This afternoon the House will vote on a measure that would in essence require the Department of Education to reinstate the Obama-era borrower defense rule that forgives federal student loans for those who were defrauded by their institution. In a complicated series of negative statements, the vote is on overriding the President’s veto of a bipartisan Congressional Review Act resolution that overturns the Department’s overhaul of the original regulations. The House Education and Labor Committee has issued a report on the topic. Senate FY 2021 action still stalled – Senate Republicans and Democrats still do not agree on what should be included in FY 2021 appropriations bills, with disagreements about whether the bills should provide pandemic relief and whether to allow amendments on controversial policy issues when the Appropriations Committee wants to produce bipartisan bills. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) said that if there is no agreement on process, it’s possible there would have to be an extension of current FY 2020 funding – a continuing resolution – that might last until the 117th Congress is convened in January |
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| Rural School Reopening Information and Guidance |
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| The K-12 Education Recovery Task Force convenes education leaders from SREB’s 16 member states weekly as they consider issues related to reopening school buildings and returning to in-person instruction. The group is reviewing the challenges ahead, assessing critical needs and developing practical strategies in: - Governance and Operations
- Health and Safety
- Instruction
The task force is developing a playbook for states, districts and school. We will update its work in progress on these pages. |
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| This downloadable template provides a guide for districts and schools to plan to reopen all schools, based on recommendations made by SREB’s K-12 Education Recovery Task Force. The template includes three critical areas for planning — Governance and Operations, Health and Safety, and Quality Instruction. The template was developed to guide conversations around planning and provide action items for districts and schools to address. It is not meant to be used as a simple checklist. |
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| Our district upgrade program is designed to help you get ahead without increasing your workload. Whether you are in the midst of an upgrade or do not know yet if you need one, this program offers technical and procurement expertise to find sustainable and affordable Internet solutions for your schools. Our process begins with gaining a deep understanding of your technology needs. Next, we engage with the service provider community on your behalf to find you competitive options. Finally, we work with you to develop a strategy that supports your E-rate procurement process. |
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| Sharing Information From Our Partners and Sponsors: |
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| No one knows for sure what next year will bring - whether students will be in the classroom, online, or a hybrid of the two - but we know we need to start planning. As an interim principal and BetterLesson leadership coach, I have first-hand knowledge of the ambiguity and angst regarding how to plan for the 2020-2021 school year. Even while the science changes and states implement new and revised plans on a regular basis, school leaders must work with what is known. It is easy to focus on logistics, yet we know that education is a people business. The four steps below provide an intentional approach to communicating and collaborating with your staff and community. Attending to stakeholders can ease some of the anxious feelings that may exist when logistical questions cannot be answered. |
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