[Weekly EdNews Round Up] How the Government Shutdown is Impacting Schools

No one knows better than educators about the importance of staying up-to-date. In Edmentum’s Weekly News Round Up, you’ll find the latest and most interesting education news, all in one place.

As America prepares to head into the fourth week of the longest federal government shutdown in history, school districts are making plans to cope with the impacts on students, families, and school operations, including school lunch and after school programs. Read all about this story and more in this week’s EdNews Round Up.

How the Shutdown Is Starting to Impact Schools
EdWeek
More than three weeks into what's now the longest federal government shutdown in history, school district officials are making plans to cope with the impacts on students, families, and their own operations should it drag on.

Los Angeles Teachers Strike For Smaller Classes, More Nurses And Librarians
npr
Teachers in LA, the second largest school district in the country, began a strike Monday morning. Union members there have been working without a contract for more than a year.

Study: $5,000 teacher retention bonuses up reading scores
Education Dive
A recent study published in the Economics of Education Review journal revealed the positive effect selective teacher bonuses had on students in low-performing and high-poverty schools in Tennessee.

Using Meditation to Mitigate Stress
neaToday
For educators, the list of stress and anxiety-inducing triggers is endless. Here's how meditation can help.

Community-College Students Succeed at Elite Schools—When They’re Admitted
The Atlantic
A new report finds that these students graduate from selective colleges at higher rates than first-time freshmen.

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.

New Setback for PARCC as Another State Abandons Test
Edweek
New Mexico has joined a long list of states that have abandoned the PARCC test, setting off yet another round of speculation that the exam will go the way of the dinosaur.

Indiana to tap reserves to free up $140M for teacher pay, Holcomb promises
Chalkbeat
Indiana plans to free up $140 million over two years for schools with the goal of increasing teacher pay, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb pledged Tuesday night in his State of the State address.

Arizona Risks Failing its Students in Trying to Limit Teachers’ Speech
The Hechinger Report
A proposed law in Arizona would completely limit the ability of Arizona schoolteachers to talk about politics and other “controversial issues” in schools. Schools can be political without being partisan.

Vermont's faulty data collection system delays test results
edscoop
The Vermont Agency of Education has failed to report school-level testing results within the typical timeframe due to an issue with the statewide data collection system, according to a department official.

Denver Public Schools offers 10 percent raises for teachers as possible strike approaches
The Denver Post
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susana Cordova said the district is offering approximately 10 percent raises to teachers this year, putting educators on a track to make as much as $100,000 annually.