Education leaders identify strategies for improving school climate in new report

With local educational agencies facing growing challenges related to issues like chronic absenteeism and student mental health concerns to political tensions around curriculum, funding, staffing shortages and teacher burnout, a new report from ThoughtExchange explores the role of a positive school climate in alleviating the difficulties education systems are facing.

Cooling schools to protect students’ cognitive abilities over time

The article “Cumulative exposure to urban heat can affect the learning capacity of students and penalize the vulnerable and low-income young population: A systematic review,” which was recently published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLOS Climate, considered seven studies spanning 61 countries and roughly 14.5 million students on the subject as communities around the globe continue to face more extreme climate-related event.

Santa Cruz COE encourages environmental stewardship through federal parks pass

Thousands of fourth graders in Santa Cruz County have received free, all-access annual passes to more than 2,000 sites including national parks and other federally managed land thanks to a partnership between the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and the Bureau of Land Management California Central Coast Field Office. 

School climate affecting LGBTQ students likely also impacting LGBTQ teachers

The rapidly shifting political and legal climate impacting LGBTQ students in schools may also adversely impact their teachers, especially those who identify as LGBTQ themselves and provide much-needed support for students, according to a recent report published by the Brookings Institution. President Donald Trump has […]

How LEAs can prepare for extreme weather events

More than 725,000 students were affected by the wildfires that devastated Southern California communities in January. As blazes become more frequent and destructive occurrences across the state, a new report by EdTrust and UndauntedK12, The Impacts of the Los Angeles Wildfires on Students: Lessons for Schools Nationwide, offers a look at the repercussions that the fires had locally and provides proactive recommendations for education leaders.

New report details rise in number of school districts combatting misinformation

Nearly all members of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) — 96 percent — consider the spread of false information a problem for school districts, up from 81 percent in 2020. The latest NSPRA survey compiled responses from 364 school communication professionals in January […]