#tellEWA Member Stories (September 15-21)

“How she had an A in reading, I don’t know.” A mother was shocked to discover her second grader was reading at a kindergarten level. Citing a survey, Silas Allen of Fort Worth Star-Telegram says many parents believe their children are on track. He filed records requests and discovered several school districts awarded third graders As and Bs for reading and language arts, but state test results showed students scoring below grade level.

Across Fort Worth, most kids are behind in reading. But their parents don’t know, because report cards tell a different story. https://t.co/gwJya0NHuP #tellewa

— Silas Allen (@SilasAllen1) September 21, 2023

Tampa doesn’t track if its multimillion-dollar racial justice- and equity-focused educator training program changes teachers’ behaviors or student outcomes. Reporting for USA Today, Katherine Reynolds Lewis says 42 large districts don’t measure the impact of their training and explains why effective teacher training is important in today’s political climate.

Wow. Millions poured into equity-centered PD for Tampa’s teachers, and not a single attempt to measure its impact on educator beliefs, teachers’ behaviors, or student outcomes. (Hint: it’s not just Tampa.)

This piece by @KatherineLewis is my #TellEWA nom of the week. https://t.co/2qf35K0F8i

— Angelina Liu (she/her) (@EWA_Angelina) September 14, 2023

After noticing how multilingual students had gotten very little attention in public debates about how students should learn to read, Becky Z. Dernbach of Sahan Journal visited a second-grade class for English learners. In this in-depth first-person piece, she reports on local schools that already adopted practices from the science of reading in advance of Minnesota’s new literacy law.

As the science-of-reading revolution arrived in Minnesota, readers have asked me: What will this mean for English-language learners? Here’s what I learned. #TellEWA https://t.co/Zf5RaRsJuk

— Becky Zosia Dernbach (@bzosiad) September 14, 2023

A San Antonio school board canceled its partnership with a nonprofit that oversaw operations at its elementary schools. Two nonprofit employees were accused of wrongdoing (they deny this). San Antonio Report’s Isaac Windes explains the “bizarre case,” such as how the local school district’s partnership with an outside organization came to be and why each side believes they’re right.

NEW: A charter partner with San Antonio ISD opened a “micro-school” in partnership with another ISD, staffed by 2 educators on SAISD’s payroll.

The bizarre case comes as a showdown in Austin looms over vouchers and school choice. #tellewa https://t.co/YKkB3qlLip | @SAReport

— Isaac Windes ☀️ (@isaacdwindes) September 15, 2023

Three U.S. senators wrote to the University of Idaho’s president, urging Scott Green to NOT purchase the University of Phoenix. The senators cited Phoenix’s “record of poor student outcomes, deception of veterans, and entanglements in federal investigations” among other reasons for Idaho to avoid the $685 million purchase. Idaho Education News’ Kevin Richert bullet points important issues raised in the letter and illustrates why these are concerns.

Analysis: For-profit schools in general — and Phoenix in particular — have piled up years of baggage with the feds. That baggage is part of what the U of I buys, if the $685 million Phoenix purchase goes through. #idedu #idleg #idpol #tellEWA https://t.co/cmisZW5Y3y

— Kevin Richert (Never Been Checked) 🇺🇦 (@KevinRichert) September 14, 2023