Because Hawaii comprises a single school district (which is not categorized as rural), there is no data available on our district-level indicators. Nearly one in six of Hawaii’s schools are located in rural areas and 18% of school-aged children in rural areas live below the poverty line. NAEP performance in rural areas is lower than in every state but New Mexico, and the rural-non-rural gap in performance is more extreme than anywhere else in the country. Hawaii is excluded from four of the five gauge rankings, and is not part of the overall state ranking.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Less than two weeks into the school year, some Leon County teachers say they’re overwhelmed trying to teach both in-person and online.

The Leon Classroom Teachers Association shared these concerns with the school board during Tuesday night’s board meeting, saying the hybrid teaching model is too much.

LCTA says many teachers knew that taking on both forms of teaching were going to be difficult, but some are now saying they’re thinking about calling it quits.

In the classroom or working from home, Leon County students need a teacher. But, some teachers say the hybrid teaching model is too much.

To ensure the health and safety of our colleagues and our school communities, our annual Counselor Workshops are moving online for 2020. These workshops are occurring live August 27–October 8 but can be viewed on demand as well and will continue to provide timely information and resources to support your work with students and families.

This year’s workshops will cover key updates on:

This year our online workshops include two nationwide and international offerings and a series with a state focus that will provide more localized information. In addition, this year a newly designed New Counselor workshop is also provided to share extra college planning information.

All workshops are free and all attendees are eligible for CEUs upon completing a short quiz after the event. We know this year is particularly challenging and hope that the flexibility of being virtual allows you to choose when to consume the information when it fits best into your schedule. See below to register for your selected workshops—whether you plan to attend live or want to receive the recording to view at your leisure.

Here’s an unusual proposition tucked in districts’ back-to-school newsletters this year: Parents, would you be willing to find alternative transportation for your kids if you get some cash up front?

One of the most complicated and expensive aspects of reopening buildings during a global pandemic has been figuring out how to get kids to and from school.

Now, a growing number of districts are offering to pay parents in an attempt to reduce crowding on buses and slash away at a growing pile of COVID-19-related costs. At the same time, other districts are requiring parents to pony up for a ride on the bus in order to cover their rising transportation costs.

In Philadelphia, parents can get up to $1,500 this school year for opting out of their school bus ride. Watertown schools in South Dakota is offering parents 42 cents a mile if they can manage to get their kids to school on their own, on average a 30-mile round trip. And Mark Twain Union Elementary School District in Angels Camp, Calif., is adding $10 to the annual $130 parents pay this year for transportation costs.

In 2016, the National Rural Education Association (NREA) released its Research Agenda 2016-2021 identifying ten rural education research priorities. As the Research Agenda draws to a close, it is time to take stock of the state of research within these ten priority areas and to identify new research directions. In addition, recent political, instructional and health challenges suggest that new research is needed to support rural education in a post-COVID-19 world. For this special issue we invite scholarship that synthesizes research in an area of education either within or beyond the ten priority areas including:

In particular, we seek work that summarizes, synthesizes and critiques the current state of research in an area pertinent to rural education. Research reviews should point to new directions and shifting understandings of rural education contexts and intersections with the broader field of education. Reviews may be aligned with one of the ten priorities or they may make the case for new priorities for rural education research. In considering rural salience, authors are encouraged to address four questions:

Send completed manuscripts and any questions to Erin McHenry-Sorber at ecmchenrysorber@mail.wvu.edu.

More than $50 million worth of broadband expansion projects will start this month in 23 counties around the state to help close the internet service gap exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The shovel-ready projects are being made possible, in part, with funding from the CARES Act, federal coronavirus aid that must be spent by the end of the year. The dollars will help internet providers expand service to areas where it may take longer to turn a profit.

As of Thursday, the Office of Regulatory Staff, a state agency tasked with providing internet connections to needy state residents during the pandemic, has approved 71 projects to expand broadband in 23 counties, including Orangeburg, Lancaster, Lexington and Fairfield counties. The agency will reimburse broadband companies 50% of the project costs, said Nanette Edwards the director of ORS.

Thinking about college? Sign up now at virtualcollegefairs.org and start exploring! Click on your favorite colleges and set a reminder to attend their live sessions on Sept. 13. Log in on that date and drop into the Zoom sessions to listen, connect, ask questions, and pursue your college dreams. Here’s the list of college exhibitors on Sept. 13.