By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Mark Moran for Big Sky Connection reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration In Montana, high schools and colleges are working together to build a pipeline of homegrown talent for the classroom. High school students interested in a career in education are part of teaching teams at elementary schools. The Teachers of Promise Pathways (TOPP) brings together the Havre and Great Falls school districts with Montana State University-Northern (MSU) and Great Falls College Montana State University (GFCMSU) with dual enrollment opportunities for juniors and seniors. .
California has just given approval for signature-gathering for a proposed state ballot measure to create education savings accounts, with $17,000 a year per student usable at any accredited private school in the country. Opponents say the move would hurt public schools. Kevin McNamee, a community college professor spearheading the proposal, countered low-income families should have choices not limited to their local public school. .
A top legislative priority for Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott did not get across the finish line last Friday, despite a fourth special session called this year to address it. A school voucher bill supported by the governor would have allowed some parents to use tax dollars to send their children to private and religious schools. .
During a public hearing on improving school funding, the Pennsylvania Basic Education Funding Commission heard from people who stressed the need to set fair and adequate funding targets for every school in the state. Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and a 4th and 5th grade teacher at Stroudsburg Area Middle School, testified at the most recent hearing. He said it is important for the new plan to be transparent and sustainable, and fix the funding inequities across the state. .