[Weekly EdNews Round Up] Top 10 Round Up Articles of 2019

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 2019 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on what a big year it’s been for educators in the news. In this week’s EdNews Round Up, revisit some of the most read news stories we’ve shared over the last year.  

1. Will Educators Get the Student Loan Forgiveness They Deserve?
   NEA Today
   As the 2010s draw to a close, teachers are left reeling from massive shifts in policy and practice that have affected their everyday work over the past decade, yet many say they're still cautiously optimistic about the direction the profession is heading.

2. How a Kids’-News Outlet Is Explaining Impeachment
   The Atlantic
   When explosive political allegations arise, Time for Kids is there to translate them for young audiences.

3. Unraveling the Myths Around Reading and Dyslexia
   Edutopia
   Teachers are seeking new training to understand the brain science around dyslexia, the most commonly reported disability among children.

4. What parents of dyslexic children are teaching schools about literacy
   PBS News Hour
   Fewer than 40 percent of fourth and eighth grade students nationwide are proficient readers. Now, led by parents of children with dyslexia, some states are trying to change how reading is taught. In Arkansas, a group of determined advocates have upended traditional reading instruction.

5. Classroom background noise especially distracting to young students
   Education Dive
   Neuroscientists found students ages 6 to 9 have a harder time tracking and distinguishing voices amid background noise, just as they're learning to read.

6. Elizabeth Warren Wants To Erase Most Student Loan Debt
   npr
   The senator's higher-education proposal for her 2020 presidential run goes further than just free college and would forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in existing loans.

7. A Whole New World of Disney-Inspired PD
   EdWeek
   With sessions that involve pickle ball, scavenger hunts, and LEGOs, one district is has developed professional development experiences that are so informative—and so much fun—that teachers line up to attend them, for fear of missing out.

8. ACT to Allow Students to Retake Individual Test Sections
   S. News
   Students taking the ACTnext year will have the option to retake individual sections of the college entrance exam instead of the entire exam, making it easier for students applying to college to submit a higher score.

9. Attorneys General Sue Trump Administration Over School Nutrition Rollbacks
   npr
   A coalition of state attorneys general is suing the Trump administration for weakening the federal nutrition standards for school meals that are fed to about 30 million children across the country.

10. Here’s What Happens When Schools Start Later
    NEA Today
    Starting school later allows adolescents to get more sleep, thus improving student’s physical and mental health, attendance, and academic performance, according to new research published by Science Advances.