Alex Zimmerman

Chalkbeat
The first time many school administrators heard about a shelter-in-place directive was when a top Education Department official emailed at 1:56 p.m.to tell them it “has been lifted.”
Students in 133 schools that serve about 63,000 students were given secondary screeners during the last school year that identify students who are at risk of dyslexia or other reading challenges. The effort, while relatively small, is set to be expanded.
The Department of Education must take 40 specific actions to resolve decades-old delays in providing or paying for special education services to students.
The gap in services is particularly acute in The Bronx, where more than two-thirds of children did not receive all of the therapies they could have.
Lucy Calkins wrote a popular reading curriculum used in hundreds of NYC elementary schools that encourages independent reading. But the model has come under fire from schools chancellor David Banks and others.
Grading was done centrally for over a decade to reduce score manipulation, but state policy is changing again.
Education officials said it’s part of an attempt to tackle the mental health crisis gripping schools, but some teachers described the move as a “lackluster, inefficient way to really address social-emotional needs.”
The reasons for enrollment declines are complex, and appear to include the lure of new school construction on one hand, and the high cost of living on the other.
Schools chief promises pay and better support for community groups educating youngsters.
Use this searchable tool from our partners at Chalkbeat to find your school’s test scores.
Mayor Eric Adams scrapped the requirement on Tuesday along with the vaccine mandate for private employers.
The Adams administration opposes the proposal, but Hochul says she has just to work out ‘a few more details’ with the mayor.
The program involved pulling students out of class, sometimes for up to 30 minutes — but the majority of students did not consent to testing, which left some children getting swabbed repeatedly.
Many parents and educators have urged return to instruction matching sounds to letters to teach kids to read, a move Mayor Eric Adams says will especially help kids with dyslexia and other learning challenges.
The education panel rejected NYC’s funding formula in what is normally a routine vote. What does that mean for schools and the city?
Just over one-third of eligible students are expected to get extra tutoring and services — with many sitting out because of transportation problems, too-long school days or schools phasing out sessions.
Some health experts say the data is useful, but others argue that the money would be better spent on vaccination efforts and improved ventilation.
A majority of NYC’s public school students are fully vaccinated against COVID, but deep disparities remain.
Some education advocates called it a “scarcity” budget, with one group saying it would cause “irreparable harm” to students.
Graduation rates in New York City ticked up to 81% last school year, about 2 percentage points higher than the previous year.