Step Up For Students

1 week ago | nextstepsblog.org | Matthew Ladner

Julius Caesar led Roman forces to victory in the decisive battle of the conquest of Gaul at Alesia. Having pursued the Gauls to a fortified city, Caesar first surrounded the city with a wall (to keep the Gauls trapped in Alesia) and then a second wall (to keep Roman forces protected from a relief army). Having completed these and other siegeworks, Caesar began the process of starving a surrender out of Alesia.

1 week ago | nextstepsblog.org | Travis Pillow

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case that could pave the way for religious charter schools. Zooming out, the conflict surrounding St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic School’s effort to open in Oklahoma is the kind that’s bound to arise as public education shifts into a new era. Charter schools allow private organizations to operate public schools that are open to all students and accountable to both parents and the government.

2 weeks ago | nextstepsblog.org | Matthew Ladner

Tim DeRoche featured the tale of an Arizona boy named Brayden in a Time Magazine piece on the shortcomings of open enrollment practice and law for students with disabilities:“In May 2022, an Arizona mom named Karrie got a heartbreaking message from the local public school: Her son Brayden wouldn’t be allowed to return as a second-grader in the fall. The reason?

2 weeks ago | nextstepsblog.org | Travis Pillow

Dan Fitzpatrick offers a useful mental model for thinking through the impact of artificial intelligence on education: Will it mostly support “linear” innovations, like automated tutors or teacher assistants, that help existing schools do what they already do? Or will it allow “nonlinear” innovations—fundamentally new, different and hopefully better approaches to teaching and learning that may look far different from existing schools?

2 weeks ago | nextstepsblog.org | Lisa Buie

The story: With less than a week to go before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments about the constitutionality of religious charter schools, supporters and opponents are making wildly different predictions about the possible effects. Supporters, who include advocates for religious education, are framing a win for their side as a victory for religious freedom and a logical extension of recent rulings that affirmed faith-based schools’ right to participate in publicly funded programs.