We discussed last week how PARCC, the standardized test born of the Race to the Top program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, has gradually fallen out of favor with schools and why. (We specifically discussed how it, like many standardized tests, can disrupt instruction and subject students to long slogs of test prep, while reducing teachers to proctorship).

As America sees the startling reality of what teachers will do for their students, it is difficult to understand why public school teachers are so poorly compensated. We know that there are reasons behind the lack of funding for teachers paychecks, but are these reasons enough to deny our children's caretakers a comfortable standard of living?

In 2009, in an effort to get a slice of the program’s $4.35 billion in federal funding, states were incentivized to adopt policies pertaining to things like common standards, performance-based teacher evaluation models, and “developing and implementing common, high-quality assessments.”

For the last seven years, the SXSW EDU conference has brought together teachers, students, administrators, ed tech companies, policy-makers, and entrepreneurs. The purpose of the conference is, according to the website, to “foster innovation in learning by hosting a community of optimistic, forward-thinking, purpose-driven stakeholders with a shared goal of impacting the future of teaching and learning.”

Students and families across the nation are facing the life-altering impact of sexual harassment and assault in schools. It’s a disturbing trend occurring in our nation, in our children’s schools, and on our college campuses.

In the time since, schools and communities have invested substantial amounts of time and resources both educating people about the value of recycling and creating programs to make the recycling of waste more efficient and ubiquitous.