Tag: officials

Education officials seek flexibility on student testing

by  on  in Education News

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico education officials say they want flexibility in federal testing requirements for students who have been learning remotely during the coronavirus pandemic after the U.S. government denied a blanket waiver.

New Mexico is one of nine states that sought the testing waiver. The U.S. Department of Education said Monday that it would work with states to allow flexibility but stressed the importance of testing to identify and address student needs. It exempted states last spring as the virus took hold and schools turned to virtual teaching.

One area where the New Mexico Public Education

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State education officials pledge to reduce discipline disparity between Black, white students | News

by  on  in Education Publishing

Public schools in West Virginia have suspended Black students at twice the rate of white students over the past five years, underscoring a disparity highlighted in 2015.

State education officials earlier this month pledged to partner with minority leaders, study the problem and review statewide discipline policies.

“We’re going to make sure that we’re providing for opportunities for mentoring processes in there, restorative practices in there, structures in there that our schools and districts can use,” said state Education Department official Drew McClanahan.

But the Rev. Matthew Watts, a long-time community activist on Charleston’s West Side, is skeptical. He has

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Officials plan broad based vaccine education effort as ‘skepticism’ remains in low-income, minority communities

by  on  in Education Publishing

Local leaders are readying broad-based public education campaigns to encourage as many people as possible to get their shots as the state and nation begin down the road to recovery with the first doses of coronavirus vaccine expected to reach Massachusetts on Monday.

“It’s a huge step — we’ve been through a lot. There is light at the end of the tunnel — but the tunnel has many more challenges to go,” said Boston Health Chief Marty Martinez.

Pfizer vaccines — granted an emergency use authorization by the FDA on Friday — will reach select hospitals around the state sometime

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Top NYC Education Department officials quit as city braces for unprecedented school year

by  on  in Education Publishing

As the city attempts to pull off a school year full of unprecedented challenges, top Department of Education officials are heading for the exits.

Ursulina Ramirez is set to step down as the DOE’s chief operating officer next week. Earlier this summer, Cheryl Watson-Harris quit as first deputy chancellor. Tomas Hanna, who was chief human capital officer, also jumped ship.

While Mayor de Blasio named a replacement for Watson-Harris last month and there’s another official acting in Hanna’s role, it wasn’t immediately clear how Ramirez’s vacancy will be filled — and whether the departures will hamper efforts to keep kids

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