How a Texas teacher became Grammy's music educator of the year 🎶
How a Texas teacher became Grammy's music educator of the year 🎶
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5 THINGS TO KNOW
Start your week off with the biggest headlines in education:
🧠 Biden reignites call for youth mental health funding, child tax credit
In President Biden's recent State of the Union speech, he emphasized the importance of bipartisanship and touched on education talking points such as improving student mental health, tackling social media companies targeting children, and creating universal preschool. According to a poll of parents and guardians, a majority of respondents support direct funding to families of public school students for mental health support and the reinstatement of the child tax credit. (K-12 Dive)
🎓 Free college keeps growing — at the state level
After the defeat of President Biden’s nationwide free community college plan a year ago, some momentum for the idea moved to the state level. Now, more states such as Virginia and Michigan are jump-starting their own programs, and ones that launched last year are looking at potential expansions. (K-12 Dive)
📝 Education Dept. may miss Oct. 1 deadline for redesigned FAFSA form
The U.S. Education Department may miss its October 1 deadline to launch its redesigned Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, sparking concerns among college access and aid groups. The delay could affect students from lower-income households who rely on the form for federal and state financial aid. Although the department has not committed to a launch date, it pledged to deliver a "stable and secure" FAFSA and keep financial aid officers updated on the rollout. The changes, part of a 2020 government funding bill, aim to simplify the FAFSA by reducing the number of questions and making it easier to receive financial assistance. (Washington Post)
🎶 How Texas teacher Pamela Dawson became Grammy's music educator of the year
The Grammy Awards recognized Pamela Dawson, AKA "Mama Dawson," with the Music Educator Award in part for making her class a home for future professional musicians at an urban school where few students can afford private music lessons, and where many of the teens are navigating mental health challenges and other struggles. (USA TODAY)
⚫️The College Board strips down its A.P. curriculum for African American Studies
The College Board released on Wednesday an official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies in response to criticism from Governor Ron DeSantis. However, the curriculum was stripped of much of the controversial subject matter that had caused upset among the governor and conservatives. The College Board removed the names of prominent Black writers and scholars connected with critical race theory, the queer experience, and Black feminism, and also excluded politically sensitive topics like Black Lives Matter from the official curriculum. (New York Times)