2017 has rolled in, and following on the new year’s heels will be a new presidential administration, with President-elect Donald Trump taking office January 20. In anticipation of his inauguration, Education Week provides us with “ Donald Trump and K–12 Education: Five Things to Watch in 2017,” three of which are highlighted below:
Betsy DeVos’ confirmation process
Trump’s education secretary-designate and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos still needs to get the seal of approval from the U.S. Senate before she can start her new job. Ultimately, the GOP megadonor will probably get confirmed.Education Department Staffing
DeVos may head up the U.S. Department of Education, but it will be just as important to see who ends up in other key positions, especially because the focus of DeVos’ K–12 work has been so singularly on school choice. Picks like the deputy secretary, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, assistant secretary for planning evaluation and policy, and even chief of staff could matter a lot.Every Student Succeeds Act Implementation
The Trump administration gets to make some early decisions that are important for implementation of ESSA.
Policy predictions aren’t the only thing swirling ahead of Trump’s inauguration: The Los Angeles teachers union announced it plans to launch a “tweetstorm” against Trump the day before he’s inaugurated. The teachers’ efforts are aimed at protesting the Trump/DeVos administration, but the worst that will likely happen is a Trump response tweet.
SOURCE: Education Week, Breitbart.com
IN THIS ISSUE:
- NEW MEXICO: New Mexico’s secretary of education speaks out against a proposal to place a two-and-a-half-year moratorium on charter schools in the state.
- ARIZONA: Charter school enrollment is rising in Arizona, jumping by 8,000 students in one year.
- ARKANSAS: A growing number of Northwest Arkansas students are taking advantage of education options, including open-enrollment charter schools, virtual education, private schools, and home-schooling.
- MISSOURI: A small, rural school in Missouri makes up for its sleight size with big successes.
Common Core and Curriculum Watch
- ASTRONOMY: NPR reports planetariums are an endangered species in most modern schools.
- WOMEN: Despite dominating the teaching profession, women fill less than a quarter of superintendent positions in the United States.
- TEACHERS: Montana implements programs to attract and retain teachers, among them making it easier to become licensed and offering rural student teachers scholarships.
- BAIL OUT: The Oakland, California Unified School District has been bailed out once already, but it’s facing a financial crisis again.
- CHICAGO: The debt-ridden Windy City is considering building a new school with a price tag of $75 million.
- REWARDS: North Carolina teachers whose students did well on 2016 exams are set to cash in on $14 million in merit bonuses.
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