[Weekly EdNews Round Up] K-12 Trends to Watch in 2020 

No one knows better than educators about the importance of staying up-to-date. For the past year, In Edmentum’s Weekly News Round Up has brought you the latest and most interesting education news, all in one place. This year, we are striving to bring you news focused around the topics that matter most to you. That’s why we are shifting the Weekly EdNews Round Up to a Topical EdNews Digest. Look out for this month’s edition, coming soon. 

In this EdNews Round Up, find stories on five education trends to watch in 2020, why months of regular sleep can impact exam scores, and how “looping” could work to help students overcome adverse childhood experiences.  

5 K-12 trends to watch in 2020 
Education Dive 
New approaches to assessment, concerns over security and privacy, and reimagining what defines classrooms and instruction are among factors that will drive education in the coming year. 

What School Could Be If It Were Designed for Kids With Autism 
The Atlantic 
Tracy Murray’s kindergarten classroom in New York City has a unique approach to supporting students on the spectrum. 

Students Still Can’t Tell Fact from Fiction on the Internet 
NEA Today 
With the 2020 election less than a year away, a sobering new study finds that soon-to-be first-time voters are unprepared to assess online content. 

Exam Scores Benefit From Months of Regular Sleep 
Science Daily 
Sleep accounted for nearly one-fourth of the difference among students’ grades in a class, a new study shows. 

What if students returned to the same teachers the next year? 
The Hechinger Report 
How and why 'looping' works to overcome adverse childhood experiences. 

Puerto Rico Schools Shut Down After Earthquakes Strike Island 
EdWeek 
Puerto Rico's schools were closed Wednesday as the U.S. territory continued to take stock of damage caused by a series of earthquakes, including one that registered 6.4 in magnitude on the Richter scale early Tuesday. 

Aldeman: The 2010s May Be The Best Decade Ever in Terms of College Attainment. Don’t Dismiss the Value in That 
The 74 
It might be easy to get depressed about the current state of American education. We’ve just gone through a “lost decade” with flat math and reading scores and outright declines for low-performing students. But even as educational achievement has stagnated, educational attainment is up significantly. 
 

Education policy is often a topic of conversation in state and federal legislatures. Stay in-the-know with this week’s top stories regarding education reform at the state and national level. 
 
Hundreds of Unvaccinated Seattle Students Miss School 
U.S. News 
The school district told families that students who do not have current vaccinations by Jan. 8 will not be allowed to return to school. 

Report: Florida, Ohio called 'advanced leaders' in K-12 media literacy efforts 
Education Dive 
Advocacy group Media Literacy Now says 14 states have laws with "some media-literacy language" and others will consider bills this year, but some say progress "is too slow." 

Virginia School District To Give Students One Day Off Per Year For 'Civic Engagement' 
NPR 
One of the largest school districts in the country is trying something new: Starting next month, students in Fairfax County, Va., can take one day off per school year to engage in political activism. 

NY district launches facial recognition technology after addressing privacy concerns 
EdScoop 
After receiving concerns over possible student privacy violations from students, civil rights activists and state officials, the Lockport City School District in Upstate New York on Thursday activated its facial recognition, which is designed to detect and preempt threats to campus safety. 

Texas Education Agency unveils 'Do Not Hire' registry for teachers 
kiitv.abc 
Texas school administrators now have a new tool to use when looking for new teachers. In January, the Texas Education Agency unveiled its new "do not hire" registry. The registry tells district leaders if an applicant is eligible for hire or if they're under investigation for any kind of misconduct. If they are, by law, the district cannot hire them.