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The Uvalde School shooting is still, sadly, in the news. We also cover some local news, vouchers, teacher mental health, and Bill Gates.
SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
Student voices on Uvalde: Our leaders ‘are just not going to protect us’
More children were killed. Will our "leaders" do anything about it this time?
From Chalkbeat*
In their lifetime, there have been thousands of mass shootings, including those in Philadelphia and Chattanooga, Tennessee this past weekend. There have been hundreds of school shootings, too, but no new and significant federal gun control laws. (Bipartisan talks on firearm restrictions are again underway.) Because of pervasive gun violence, students say they have learned to scan every classroom for places to hide from an active shooter, plan out escape routes, and contemplate whether and how they might help stop a shooter in their school.
Some teens say they have become desensitized to news of mass shootings because there’s no time to process one massacre before another occurs. Other students say the American gun violence epidemic keeps them in a constant state of high alert and that they are traumatized and exhausted.
ALLEN COUNTY INDIANA LOCAL
FWCS to honor retired superintendent
From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**
A Fort Wayne Community Schools facility that supports families and encourages community involvement is becoming a namesake. Going forward, it will honor retired Superintendent Wendy Robinson.
The new name – Wendy Y. Robinson Family and Community Engagement Center – will be unveiled at a ceremony Monday afternoon, the district said Thursday. The downtown facility, 230 E. Douglas Ave., was established under Robinson’s leadership. It opened in 2016.
NACS board officially hires new superintendent
From WANE.com
Northwest Allen County Schools (NACS) on Tuesday officially welcomed a new superintendent.
Wayne Barker will serve the district as superintendent beginning July 1. He has experience in the role from two other districts and has twice been named “Superintendent of the Year.”
“We’re thrilled to bring such a solid superintendent to continue the NACS legacy,” said Dr. Steve Yager, the district’s temporary superintendent. Yager served as the superintendent of NACS for 19 years, returning for the past five months to help the district secure its next leader.
NH: Don't Worry, Be Happy
Instead of help, teachers are told to "take care of yourself."
From Curmudgucation
Teachers and parents have heard plenty about self care over the past two years. Now New Hampshire's leaders have decided to make a big fat "fix yourself" PR campaign out of it.
The whole self-care message depends a great deal on context. Self care is a good thing, a practice that everyone should follow in dealing with the stresses and pressures of life.
But when the message comes from the people who have power over that stress and pressure, it takes on a whole new meaning. That meaning is roughly, "You had better take care of your own interests and health because I'm not going to [be] doing a damn thing about it." It comes perilously close to telling a person who's angry at your misbehavior to calm down and stop being so hysterical.
VOUCHERS: OHIO
Ohio: Two of Three Voucher Students Never Attended Public School
Public funds should go to public schools.
From Diane Ravitch
No more nonsense about “saving poor kids from failing public schools.” The voucher program is simply a transfer of public funds to parents who never sent their children to public schools. It’s a giveaway of public dollars to parents whose children are in private schools. And public schools are better than the private religious schools that get public money. The public schools have certified teachers, more advanced classes, a broader curriculum, and extracurricular activities that religious schools do not offer.
BILL GATES AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Message to Bill Gates: Where Is the Accountability?
From Diane Ravitch
This is the third in the series of investigative articles about Washington State’s largest charter chain, written by Ann Dornfeld for Station KUOW in Seattle.
As we have seen over the dozen years, Bill Gates is an accountability hawk. He wants everything measured. He wants teachers and principals to be held accountable, usually by the test scores of their students. He has invested heavily in charter schools. But as Dornfeld shows, the charter schools that Bill Gates created in Washington are accountable to no one.
*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.
**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information, go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/ [NOTE: NEIFPE has no financial ties to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette]
†Note: NEIFPE's In Case You Missed It is posted every week except holiday weekends or as otherwise noted.
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