education Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Passing The Baton: Professor of Flute and Music History Dr. Sophia Tegart

By Anjuli Dodhia June 17, 2021

The last time orchestras had a regular concert season, few works by female composers were played. In fact, less then 9% of music programmed by the top orchestras in the U.S. were by women composers. Where are all the women? Dr. Sophia Tegart, professor of flute and music history at Washington State University is making sure they take a prominent place in her classroom. Read More

Extremism Expert Calls Idaho Critical Race Theory Debate A ‘Cynical’ Effort To Rally GOP Voters

By NWPB News June 14, 2021

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin speaks at an anti-mask protest on the steps of the Idaho Capitol Tuesday. Nik Streng/Idaho Education News

A national expert on race and extremism said a recent spate of attacks on “critical race theory” in Idaho are part of a growing effort by conservative Republicans to exploit anxiety and engage voters in upcoming elections.Read More

Passing The Baton: Oboist And WSU Professor Of Music Dr. Keri McCarthy

By Anjuli Dodhia May 21, 2021

Music is a tough business, but a diverse one. Not everyone can take center stage in the concert hall. At Washington State University, Dr. Keri McCarthy is one of the professors encouraging her students to think about their future roles in society as musicians– as music consumers, creators, and educators -- by looking to the past.Read More

President Biden Dissolves Controversial Trump Orders On Race And Culture

By NPR News May 16, 2021

Then-President Donald Trump holds up a Bible outside St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., last June after days of anti-racism protests against police brutality. President Biden has rescinded several orders Trump made during his last year in office, including moves to protect Confederate statues targeted by protesters. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden has revoked a number of executive actions taken by former President Donald Trump in the last year of his administration, mostly in response to the protests over systemic racism and police violence.Read More

State Says All Washington Public Schools Must Open In Full For Fall, With Masks Required

By NWPB News May 13, 2021

File photo. Hand sanitizer, wipes, and surgical masks rest on a desk in a fourth-grade classroom at Elk Ridge Elementary School in Buckley, Wash. State authorities said May 13, 2021, all schools in the state must provide full-time, in-person education for students for the 2021-22 school year and that students and staff will still be required to wear masks as a COVID-19 mitigation effort. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren / AP

Washington authorities said Thursday all schools in the state must provide full-time, in-person education for students for the 2021-22 school year and that students and staff will still be required to wear masks.Read More

Passing The Baton: Susan Speicher

By Jessie Jacobs May 7, 2021

Like traditional classroom education, Music education has evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic - new boundary breaking virtual approaches, problem solving how to get students music and supplies, and fast tracking more advanced techniques simply to get through a lesson. Read More

On Nez Perce Reservation, Lapwai Addresses Mental Health By Understanding Kids’ Culture

By NWPB News April 19, 2021

Lapwai School district students dressed in traditional clothing of the Nez Perce Tribe

The 500-student Lapwai School District takes an all-bases-covered approach to student well-being, including leveraging partnerships with the Nez Perce tribe and local community to address youth mental health. The small North Idaho district is among only nine rural districts in the state to provide four key behavioral health supports for all of its students, according to an Read More

Idaho Budget For Teacher Salaries Stalls After Pushback Over Social Justice And Race Theory Education

By NWPB News April 13, 2021

Rep. Matthew Bundy, a school teacher and Mountain Home Republican, debates for the teacher salary bill Tuesday, April 13, 2021. CREDIT: Idaho Education News/screenshot

The state’s K-12 teacher salaries budget fell Tuesday on a 34-34 tie vote after more than an hour of volatile debate — ranging from anecdotes about good teachers and “bad actors” to accusations that educators are being forced to include critical race theory in their coursework. Stories from teacher-lawmakers on both sides of the issue focused on the content’s presence — or Read More

White House Announces $10 Billion For COVID-19 Testing In Schools

By NPR News March 17, 2021

A student gives her coronavirus swab to Helenann Civian, the principal of South Boston Catholic Academy in Boston in January. The White House announced $10 billion to expand testing in K-12 schools. CREDIT: Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will spend $10 billion to expand testing for schools, to aid in the president's goal to get schools open once again.Read More

All Washington K-12 Students To Soon Have In-Class, Hybrid Option, Inslee Says

By NWPB News March 13, 2021

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks during a news conference, March 12, 2021, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Inslee said he will issue an emergency proclamation next week that will require all public schools in the state to offer students an in-person learning option starting in April. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

All public schools in Washington will be required to offer students an in-person learning option starting next month — with school districts having to meet an average of at least 30% weekly in-class instruction by April 19 — under an emergency proclamation Gov. Jay Inslee said he will sign next week.Read More

Inslee: Washington Educators Now Eligible For COVID Vaccine Following White House Directive

By NWPB News March 2, 2021

Kristin May, an EMT with the Seattle Fire Dept., gives the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a City of Seattle community COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood in February 2021. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says that following President Joe Biden's direction to states to prioritize vaccinating teachers, preK-12 educators, school staff and licensed childcare workers have been added to the current vaccination tier. Read More

Study: University Of Idaho Gets High Grades For Educating And Training Teachers

By NWPB News February 22, 2021

The University of Idaho’s teacher preparation program is among the nation’s best at maintaining high admissions standards while still establishing a racially diverse student body, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank says.Read More

Governor Signs $2.2B COVID Relief Package For Washington Schools, Businesses, Renters, Immigrants

By Austin Jenkins February 19, 2021

Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that two regions of the state will be moving into Phase 2 on Monday.

A fresh round of federal aid will soon be flowing to Washington businesses and individuals hit hard by the COVID pandemic. On Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a $2.2 billion relief package funded with money approved by Congress in December.Read More

5 Things Every Family Should Know About Paying For College

By NPR News February 17, 2021

Book cover - The Price you pay for College by Ron Lieber

For many families, paying for college is one of the biggest financial decisions they'll make. College tuition is the highest it's ever been — and the financial aid process is anything but clear. American journalist Ron Lieber's new book, The Price You Pay for College aims to take the black box of college financials and, "turn it lighter and lighter shades of gray."Read More

Should Civics Have A More Prominent Place In Washington Schools?

By Doug Nadvornick February 16, 2021

Advocates for police accountability and racial justice rallied on the steps of the Washington Capitol in June 2020. Now the Washington Legislature is taking up those issues as it welcomes a record number of lawmakers of color. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

This is the first academic year when districts in Washington are required to teach a stand-alone civics education course, not just something embedded in existing social studies classes. It’s the result of a bill approved by legislators three years ago.Read More

U.S. Education Dept. Launches First Federal Effort To Track School Reopening

By NPR News February 6, 2021

School children wearing facemasks walk outside Condit Elementary School near Houston in December. The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that it will begin collecting data on the status of in-person learning during the pandemic. François Picard/AFP via Getty Images

Ever since the pandemic closed the nation's schools in March 2020, there has been no official national source for understanding where schools have reopened, how many hours of live instruction students are getting online and just how unequal the access to learning has been over the past 11 months.Read More

Washington State Lawmakers Consider Banning Native-Themed Mascots In Schools

By NWPB News February 6, 2021

The Chieftains mascot at Columbia River High School in Vancouver, Washington, is on the way out following a unanimous vote of the school board. CREDIT: Molly Solomon/OPB

Public schools with Native American-themed mascots and logos would need to find new team names under a proposal that drew supportive testimony to the Washington Legislature on Friday. The pending phase-out bill hews closely to an earlier, hard-fought policy in Oregon to change names and mascots. Read More

With Vaccine Questions Looming, Washington Schools Struggle With Reopening

By NWPB News February 3, 2021

Paraeducators Jerilie Biery, left, and Nadia Ulyanchuk, right, administer required health check-ins with students before school starts at Chief Moses Middle School on Jan. 11, 2020. CREDIT: Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut

News reports and social media feeds have been crowded lately with demands by teachers in Seattle and elsewhere around the state and the country to be vaccinated before they step from behind the computer screen and back into the classroom. Vaccine availability is something not even the governor can guarantee, but teachers are in one of the groups in line for vaccination in Read More

Miguel Cardona, Biden’s Education Secretary Nominee, Is New To D.C. — But Not To Classrooms

By NPR News February 2, 2021

On Wednesday, lawmakers will have some tough questions for Miguel Cardona, President Biden's nominee to be the next U.S. education secretary. The Connecticut educator will no doubt have to navigate the choppy policy waters of school choice, how to close opportunity gaps and, most critically, how he would help schools reopen as the pandemic rages.Read More

Now Is A Good Time To Talk To Kids About Civics

By NPR News January 19, 2021

If you've been riding an emotional, politics-fueled rollercoaster in 2021 (not to mention 2020), believe us: Your kids have noticed. Here's a quick primer from Life Kit on how to talk with your kids about politics — and, even get them thinking about civics.Read More

What It Takes To Open Washington Schools During The Pandemic

By NWPB News January 15, 2021

As school districts across the state scramble to transition their classrooms safely from the online world back to the real world, they may benefit from the advice of the dozens of Washington districts that welcomed students back into their halls this past fall.Read More

Idaho K-12 Teachers And School Staff Cleared To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

By NWPB News January 14, 2021

Gov. Brad Little at an Oct. 26 news conference remanding Idaho to stage 3 of his reopening plan. CREDIT: Sami Edge/IdahoEdNews

Idaho’s teachers and school staff serving students in grades pre-K through 12th are cleared to start receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Brad Little and public health officials announced Tuesday afternoon.Read More

Where Is It Safe To Reopen Schools? New Research Offers Answers

By NPR News January 10, 2021

A first-grader raises her hand at Mary L. Fonseca Elementary School in Fall River, Mass., in November. Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe via Getty Images

Since the beginning of this pandemic, experts and educators have feared that open schools would spread the coronavirus further, which is why so many classrooms remain closed. But a new, nationwide study suggests reopening schools may be safer than previously thought, at least in communities where the virus is not already spreading out of control.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Two Science Professors On The Importance Of Mentorship

By Sueann Ramella December 30, 2020

Rachel Jameton, left, and Jane Finan, right

Rachel Jameton struggled as a new teacher at Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. Her colleague, Jane Finan, co-taught biology with her. The two talk about mentorship and how disappointing a teacher can be transformative for a student, in this episode of StoryCorps Northwest, recorded virtually.Read More

Schools Face A Massive Challenge To Make Up For Learning Lost During The Pandemic

By NPR News December 29, 2020

An open door into a school classroom with a Zoom meeting in progress sign

Some school districts are reporting a higher level of failing grades this fall. A report from the consultant McKinsey & Company estimated that students were three months behind in math when they started the school year. And another study said learning losses were minimal, but left out many students from the analysis.Read More

Idaho Colleges Stayed Largely In-Person This Fall. Here’s How The COVID Case Numbers Looked

By NWPB News December 21, 2020

Idaho’s colleges and universities logged more than 5,400 coronavirus cases during a turbulent fall semester. All 11 public and private colleges and universities managed to maintain some form of face-to-face learning during the semester — but not without problems:Read More

Rural Idaho District Under Pressure To Stay Open, But School Board Refuses To Mandate Masks

By NPR News December 19, 2020

Elementary school teacher Sariah Pearson contracted COVID-19, suffering a fever and other symptoms for close to six weeks. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

Case numbers have shot up lately in rural America, which skews older and tends to have huge inequality gaps in health care. But there's still resistance in places such as Bruneau, Idaho, which has a population of 500. Here, there's also a pervasive sense in the community that kids need to be physically in classrooms for their education and well-being yet stiff opposition Read More

Idaho Universities Make Nearly $1M Investment In A Joint Cybersecurity Major

By NWPB News December 7, 2020

Idaho’s four college and university presidents — Idaho State University President Kevin Satterlee, University of Idaho President C. Scott Green, Boise State University President Marlene Tromp and Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton — had discussed a possible tuition freeze since spring. Sami Edge/Idaho Education News.

Students aren’t seeing much of an effect, at least not yet. But by spring, they could start tapping into internships and apprenticeships at the University of Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University.Read More

‘Fauci Effect’ Drives Record Number Of Medical School Applications

By NPR News December 7, 2020

Sam Smith, a University of Colorado Boulder grad who is applying to medical schools, says he has been inspired by the example of health care workers during the pandemic. He plans to specialize in infectious diseases. "I want to be on the front lines of the next one," he says. CREDIT: Meredith Nierman

The pandemic put a spotlight on health care workers and inspired many to pursue a career in medicine. The record number of applicants comes as the U.S. faces a projected shortage of physicians.Read More

Education Department Extends Student Loan Payment Freeze Through January

By NPR News December 4, 2020

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos appears in Phoenix in October. On Friday, the Education Department announced an extension of pandemic relief measures for federal student loan borrowers. Matt York/AP

Congress hit pause on federal student loan payments in the CARES Act. The latest extension of this relief will last until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.Read More

New Report Offers Clearest Picture Yet Of Pandemic Impact On Student Learning

By NPR News December 1, 2020

A student raises his hand while attending an online class from home in Miami on Sept. 3. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A new report offers the clearest picture yet of pandemic learning loss among U.S. students. But researchers warn that many of the nation's most vulnerable children aren't represented in the new data.Read More

National Summit Hosted By Idaho University Leaders To Focus On COVID-Caused Student Struggles

By NWPB News November 30, 2020

On Tuesday, Boise State will host a national digital summit for Project Launchpad — an effort to support students who are struggling during the pandemic.Read More

Educators And Native Leaders Recommend Bringing Anti-Racism To The Thanksgiving Table

By NPR News November 26, 2020

Marchers perform a Stomp Dance in Pilgrim Memorial State Park during the 48th National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov 23, 2017. Since 1970, Indigenous people have gathered at noon on Cole's Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving. Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images

This year Thanksgiving comes as chronically under-resourced Native populations are contracting COVID-19 at record rates. In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Native Americans are 3.5 times more likely to get COVID-19 than white people.Read More

The Impact of Coronavirus on Education – A Dual Perspective

By Murrow News - Albert James November 19, 2020

Photo of an empty school looking through a fence

Education, a cornerstone of society, turned upside down by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.Read More

Appeals Court Rules Harvard Doesn’t Discriminate Against Asian American Applicants

By NPR News November 12, 2020

In 2014, an advocacy group first filed a lawsuit, saying that Harvard's race-based considerations for applicants discriminated against Asian American students in process. CREDIT: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

The panel of judges upheld a federal district court's decision from last year, teeing up a possible case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.Read More

Lucille Bridges, Mother Of Anti-Segregation Icon Ruby Bridges, Dies At 86

By NPR News November 11, 2020

U.S. Deputy Marshals escort 6-year-old Ruby Bridges from William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, in this November 1960, file photo. Lucille Bridges, Ruby's mother, died Tuesday at the age of 86. Uncredited/AP

In 1960, she braved death threats and racial epithets to accompany her daughter to the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, desegregating the school. Read More

Idaho Public School Enrollment Drops For First Time Since 1997, Virtual Schools See Big Gains

By NWPB News October 28, 2020

The Moscow School District decided earlier in March to close schools after its spring break, after Idaho Gov. Brad Little declined a statewide closure. CREDIT: Architect21c at the English Wikipedia / GFDL gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html

Idaho public schools are serving 4,554 fewer students than they did last school year, marking the first time since 1997 that the state has seen a decline in enrollment.Read More

America’s School Funding Crisis: Budget Cuts, Rising Costs And No Help In Sight

By NPR News October 25, 2020

School funding experts predicted a looming financial disaster for the nation's K-12 schools. CREDIT: LA Johnson/NPR

Budget cuts + rising pandemic costs + zero federal relief = a school funding crisis. Back in May, school funding experts predicted a looming financial disaster for the nation's K-12 schools.Read More

University Of Idaho Reports 9.5% Enrollment Decline Over Last Fall

By NWPB News October 20, 2020

University of Idaho students attend a College of Natural Resources class outside during the first day of classes on Aug. 24, 2020. Courtesy of UI

All told, the U of I reported fall enrollment of 10,791, a 9.5 percent decrease. But in a Tuesday news release, the university said the decrease was “reasonable,” given students’ reluctance to enroll or return to campus during the pandemic. The U of I reopened in August with a blend of face-to-face and online learning, and has continued face-to-face learning despite Read More

Idaho Colleges Look For Budget Help, Possible Enrollment Boost, During Pandemic Downturn

By Scott Leadingham October 19, 2020

Like most colleges, the University of Idaho in Moscow is dealing with how to control rising coronavirus cases around campus. Recent cases connected to the University’s Greek system have made the school push for more testing. Unlike nearby Washington State University in Pullman, the UI has a hybrid in-person and virtual model this fall semester.Read More

COVID Response, Sex Education Bill Define Race For Washington Superintendent Of Public Instruction

By NWPB News October 14, 2020

Maia Espinoza, a candidate for Washington state superintendent of public instruction, is shown at left in an undated photo taken by Monica Marchetti and provided by her campaign. Espinoza is challenging incumbent state superintendent Chris Reykdal, right, shown in an AP photo taken Oct. 2, 2020, in Olympia, Wash., in the upcoming November election.

The coronavirus pandemic and a controversial sex education mandate are casting a shadow over the race for Washington state education chief in the November election.Read More

COVID-19 Cases Rise At University Of Idaho, But School Will Stay With Hybrid Classes

By NWPB News October 5, 2020

Coronavirus cases are rising at the University of Idaho, but face-to-face classes will continue. The University of Idaho reported another 116 new coronavirus cases on campus last week. The outbreak still seems to be centered on fraternity and sorority houses.Read More

Once Most Impacted Washington Counties, Yakima And Tri-Cities Look Toward Schools Reopening

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa September 29, 2020

Pre-K students at Boise’s Garfield Elementary School work on writing their names. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho Education News

Some Washington counties hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are now looking toward the possibility of reopening schools for in-person classes. It’s thanks to metrics like hospital bed capacity and the virus incidence rate that continue to improve in Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties.Read More

In Internet Dead Zones, Rural Schools, Students And Families Struggle With Distanced Learning

By NPR News September 28, 2020

In numerous recent interviews, educators have told NPR they're concerned the rural-urban divide will only worsen if kids can't get online to learn. Tony Avelar/AP

Across the country as American schools struggle with whether to reopen or stay virtual, many rural districts are worried their students will fall even further behind than their city peers.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: From A One-Room School In Walla Walla To The GI Bill To Helping Students

By Sueann Ramella September 16, 2020

Robert Norwood of Walla Walla went to a one-room school then joined the Navy on a whim. After service he enjoyed a rewarding career as a school counselor. He talked to his son, Mike, about his schooling experience for StoryCorps Northwest, recorded virtually.Read More

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Loses Latest Fight Over Rerouting Aid To Private School Students

By NPR News September 12, 2020

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos backed a rule that would have increased private schools' share of CARES Act dollars from $127 million to $1.5 billion, according to one analysis. CREDIT: Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A federal judge says U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos overstepped in trying to send more CARES Act money to help students at private schools.Read More

For One Olympia Family, Going Back To School Means Rolling Up The Garage Door

By Austin Jenkins September 5, 2020

A few Ikea shelves and desks, rugs and a temporary plywood wall is what it took for the Swanson family to turn their garage into a classroom for four of their six children, plus two foster children.

It was common through the 1800s for American school children to attend a one-room schoolhouse. In 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Swanson family in rural north Olympia will attend a one-garage schoolhouse.Read More

Idaho Governor Says School Districts Will Decide Whether To Do In-Person Classes, Not The State

By Doug Nadvornick August 6, 2020

Gov. Brad Little adjusts his mask during a July 9 press conference at the Statehouse.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little says individual school districts will decide whether to bring students back to the classroom this fall. But he says the expectation is that schools will not be closed for an extended period.Read More

Washington, Idaho Outline Different Approaches For Schools; Moscow Goes Hybrid, Delays Start

By NWPB News August 5, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced new guidance for school district on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. CREDIT: TVW

Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday that schools in the majority of Washington’s counties should strongly consider online-only learning for students this fall due to COVID-19 and canceling or postponing sports and all other in-person extracurricular activities. In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little is urging schools to reopen where it's deemed safe.Read More

Spokane Area’s Largest Districts To Begin Year With Remote Classes; Palouse Region Schools TBD

By NWPB News August 3, 2020

The first electric bus for a Washington school district went to the Franklin Pierce School District in Tacoma. Courtesy of Washington Governor's Office

Spokane Superintendent Adam Swinyard says parents in his district can choose full-year distance learning or an option that allows for a transition to classroom learning, if that becomes possible later. Both would involve live instruction with teachers. For other districts, like Pullman, there's still an open question about what the fall term will look like, at least in the Read More