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Teaching ‘action civics’ engages kids — and ignites controversy

The Hechinger Report

Under a first-in-the-nation law that took full effect this year, students from across the state must take part in at least two “student-led, nonpartisan civics projects” — one in eighth grade, and another in high school. Peyton Amaral, an eighth grader at Morton Middle School in Fall River, Mass., Credit: Christopher Blanchette.

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Giving students a say

The Hechinger Report

It seems to work: Vertus says that 71 percent of its students pass their Regents exams, required by the state of New York for graduation, compared to 38 percent in the Rochester City School District. While this was not a study of personalized learning, per se, but student choice more narrowly, the results are illustrative.

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Come for the computers, stay for the books

The Hechinger Report

Ray heads up Future Ready Librarians, part of Future Ready Schools — a network for sharing education technology solutions, which is sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based based education advocacy group. “It My schedule is rarely the same two days in a row,” he said. “I

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The overlooked power of Zuckerberg-backed learning program lies offline

The Hechinger Report

A network of charter schools in California and Washington developed the Summit Learning Program for their students almost a decade ago; the model got a boost in 2014 from Facebook engineers after Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, visited a Summit middle school. Now nearly 400 schools use it across 40 states.

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Forget civics class: Students want to make a difference in real life

The Hechinger Report

Mendoza’s involvement in civic participation started in middle school, when she signed up for the All City Council Student Union, a student-led group sponsored by the Oakland school district that gives students a voice in school district decision-making. Credit: Alison Yin for The Hechinger Report.

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Despite mediocre records, for-profit online charter schools are selling parents on staying virtual

The Hechinger Report

Murphy teaches business education at a middle school in a neighboring county. In most states, schools are funded based on how many students they enroll, regardless of whether those students succeed in school or even finish the academic year. Advocates want to move toward funding virtual schools based on performance.

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When the punishment is the same as the crime: Suspended for missing class

The Hechinger Report

Over the last five school years, it assigned nearly 12,000 suspensions to students who were either late to class or otherwise missed school without an excuse, making it among the most punitive in the state. Related: When typical middle school antics mean suspensions, handcuffs or jail.

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