~ Statewide closure intended to reduce the spread of novel coronavirus ~ RICHMOND—On March 13, Governor Ralph Northam ordered all K-12 schools in Virginia to close for a minimum of two weeks in response to the continued spread of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Schools will close from Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 27, at … Continue reading
by CUNEYT DIL and HOPE YEN Associated Press ELK GROVE, Calif. (AP) — Kiyana Esco needs free school lunches and breakfasts to feed her six children. But with schools shutting down over coronavirus concerns, she’s scrambling to pick up the meals, care for her kids and keep her job. Esco, a single mother who was … Continue reading
~ Virginia recognizes outstanding individuals, schools, programs, and partnerships ~ RICHMOND – Governor McAuliffe announced Friday, Oct. 27, the first recipients of the Governor’s Award for Excellence and Innovation in Education. This new initiative recognizes outstanding educators and leaders, schools, divisions, and community partners across five categories: closing the achievement gap, community partnerships and collaboration, innovation in education, … Continue reading
KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — School officials say there will be no more Civil War-related student dress-up activities at a Georgia elementary school after its “Civil War Day” sparked conflict among students, parents and others. Big Shanty Elementary School last month invited fifth-graders to dress up as characters from the war. The mother of a 10-year-old … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Buckle up, Virginia. That’s the message schools across the state hope to get across with a campaign this year aimed at getting more kids and teens to wear their seat belts. More than 70 high school and middle schools across the state are participating in the four-week challenge. Students will come … Continue reading
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Legislature narrowly approved a $617 million bailout and restructuring of Detroit’s debt-ridden school district early Thursday June 2nd, two years after the state spent less than a third of that amount to help the city government emerge from bankruptcy. The legislation goes to Gov. Rick Snyder, who hopes to … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Six decades after the Supreme Court outlawed separating students by race, stubborn disparities persist in how the country educates its poor and minority children. A report Tuesday by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found deepening segregation of black and Hispanic students at high-poverty K-12 public schools. These schools often offered fewer math, … Continue reading
DETROIT (AP) — A dozen Detroit principals and an administrator are accused of finding a way to bleed their struggling public schools of $900,000 — ordering chairs, writing paper and other supplies that in most cases were never delivered, even as investigators doggedly battled fraud in a district that lacks textbooks and even toilet paper. … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Republican-led Senate will soon consider a bill requiring schools to notify parents if their children will be assigned to read a book that includes sexually explicit material and provide an alternative if the parent objects. The measure is being pushed by a mother who tried unsuccessfully several years ago to … Continue reading
In most states, the big elections will come next year. But on Tuesday, November 3, voters in a few states are electing governors and legislators, some cities will select mayors, and a variety of major issues will be settled at the ballot box. The elections, although likely to draw fewer voters than next year’s … Continue reading
SINGAPORE (AP) — Billowing smoke from Indonesian forest fires has worsened Singapore’s air pollution, raising concern among organizers of this weekend’s widely anticipated Formula One night race, as well as in schools that reopened Monday after a weeklong term break. Large parts of neighboring Malaysia were also shrouded in the gray, acrid pall, and an … Continue reading
It was an unlikely display of protesters: nuns cloaked in white, a black-clad priest clutching a golden scepter and dozens of Arab schoolchildren picketing outside the hulking headquarters of Israel’s Education Ministry. Their message, raised high on large banners: “Take your hands off our schools.” Private Christian schools are among Israel’s highest ranked educational institutions, … Continue reading
PARIS (AP) — France is trying to shake up a top-down system of teaching, end an elite bilingual program and give schools more say in how students spend their time, saying entrenched inequality in education threatens the country’s future. The plan from the Socialist-led government came after an international study ranked France among the developed … Continue reading
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Randolph College has sold two more paintings from its collection. The News & Advance reports (http://bit.ly/1I8osH8 ) that the college has sold Ernest Martin Hennings’ “Through the Arroyo” and Edward Hicks’ “A Peaceable Kingdom.” The college says the paintings were sold privately, and the prices will not be disclosed. College spokeswoman … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Legislation that would allow school security officers to be armed with stun guns, pepper spray and similar weapons is advancing in the General Assembly. Security officers are not sworn law enforcement officers and are not allowed to be armed under current law. Del. Mark Cole is the Spotsylvania County Republican … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 