This week the White House launched “National Week at the Labs,” where more than 50 National Labs in more than twenty states are opening their facilities to thousands of students from local neighborhoods to allow children to participate in hands-on activities and work directly with scientists and engineers to learn about STEM careers. The White House is also encouraging local communities to host their own Week at the Lab events at schools, libraries and organizations to support STEM learning. The initiative is in partnership with White House Council on Women and Girls (CWG) and the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Task Force.

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The education hearings continued yesterday, when Acting Education Secretary John King appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee for his confirmation hearing, and the House Education and the Workforce Committee for an oversight hearing on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

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Preparing all of California’s students, especially traditionally underserved students, for college and career after high school through multiple pathways became the mission of the James Irvine Foundation and other leaders across the state in 2005. This movement eventually became known as Linked Learning, an approach to high school redesign that encompasses four core elements:

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Throughout the week there have been a series of hearings on Capitol Hill on key elements in the education world, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the budget request from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for fiscal year 2017.

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The New York Times tells the story of two sixth grade children who spend each night outside of the local elementary school to connect to the school’s free Wi-Fi and complete their homework. The two students do not have internet access at home because their family had to cut back on costs and can no longer afford the service. They now join the ranks of the five million other Americans without access to broadband service at home.

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The White House recently announced a new national effort to eliminate chronic absenteeism through the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Success Mentor Initiative and an Ad Council campaign. A fact sheet released by the White House detailing the new effort noted “chronic absenteeism is a nationwide challenge with devastating consequences for more than five to seven million students, and in low-income communities, the impact is even more prevalent.”

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To achieve deeper learning outcomes for students, teachers must exchange the “instructor” role for that of “learning strategist” says a new white paper from the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) and ConsultEd Strategists. eSchool News reports on the new paper, explaining how it describes a new vision for teaching, and outlines strategies for how teachers’ roles and conditions can support and enable deeper learning for students. Teachers have successfully achieved deeper learning with students when they “personalize learning experiences, apply real-world knowledge to learning, and use technology in a way that enhances and empowers student learning,” the article notes.

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The Hechinger Report dives into the issue of college remediation, noting that although high school graduation rates are at an all-time high, many students are not prepared for college-level coursework and must take remedial courses. The article pulls data from the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, which shows that nearly 60 percent of students at two-year colleges take remedial courses, which can be both costly and time-consuming, to strengthen their skills before entering into college-level classes. Not only are they expensive and time-intensive, this remedial education can be a “black hole” for these college students, says the piece, as only one in five manages to move on to college-level courses. “For many, just the prospect of remedial classes is discouraging enough that they drop their college aspirations altogether.”

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Yesterday the Alliance hosted the fifth annual Digital Learning Day (DLDay), showcasing innovative teachers, leaders, and programs that are improving student learning experiences through the effective use of technology. There were over 2,300 DLDay events across the country, including celebrations in classrooms, libraries, and afterschool programs. DLDay was celebrated across whole schools and districts, in all fifty states, and in fifteen countries across the world.  To see a map of the over celebrations throughout the U.S. and across the world, visit http://www.digitallearningday.org/domain/25.

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A new report shows that although 94 percent of low- and moderate-income families are connected to the internet in their homes, many are “under-connected,” with access to the internet only through a mobile device and not a computer. The study, called Opportunity for All? Technology and Learning in Low-Income Families, was released by Rutgers University and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and is explored in an article in the Alliance’s Straight A’s newsletter focused on the consequences of this disparity in access as it relates to education.

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