Extreme candidates are running for school boards across Washington state, and if they win, opponents warned they could threaten the safety of some students. The far-right group Moms for Liberty has 10 chapters in Washington and has been influential in school board races across the country. Amy Nylen, vice president of the Ferndale Education Association, said the candidates running in her district are aligned with Moms for Liberty, although there is not a local chapter. .
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and in the near future North Dakota public school students will be more knowledgeable about the topic. The state recently adopted a law requiring such curriculum in K-12 schools. High schoolers will have to take either a computer science or cybersecurity course to graduate. .
The shortage of teachers and school staffers has reached crisis level in some Pennsylvania public schools, and is among the chief concerns of the new teachers union leader. Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and a 4th and 5th grade teacher at Stroudsburg Area School Middle School, noted in the past 10 years, there s been a 73% drop in applicants seeking first-year teaching certificates in the Commonwealth. Chapin pointed out Pennsylvania is already working to award scholarships and recruit future educators through a new community-based initiative. .
An expert on student loans said many college-bound high-schoolers should do themselves a favor and take a financial literacy class before they pursue higher education. Billy Hensley, president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education, said many students are not financially savvy, and do not understand the differences between scholarships and grants, or between federal and private loans, and can create an uphill struggle for themselves. "What we know, and what s very clear in the data, is that you will have a lower total debt meaning lower revolving debt like credit cards, lower student loan debt and you will graduate with a higher credit score, compared to those who don t," Hensley outlined. " .
Indiana is part of a new program created to help young people access early college credits, apprenticeships and certification programs. Many Indiana colleges and universities are seeing their enrollment numbers drop as high school graduates choose not to go on to college. LAUNCH is a national college and career pathways initiative to change that by helping states provide high-quality and equitable postsecondary pathways for students. .