17 November 2015 – Workers with post-secondary education are more likely to be unemployed in lower-income countries, reflecting a “mismatch” between skilled persons and the number of available jobs matching their competencies and expectations, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
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Garland Independent School District, a fast-growing suburb northeast of Dallas, has undergone a dramatic demographic shift. Like districts across Texas, Garland schools are blacker, browner, and more racially diverse than a generation ago. The multicultural panorama in Garland schools is reflected in its academic offerings. Still, in a school district with a Hispanic majority, and a state where more than a third of residents are Spanish speakers, Garland chose Mandarin Chinese as the focus of its newly launched language-immersion program at Weaver Elementary School. Increasing Garland students’ marketability in a global economy was the rationale. “It’s preparing students for the future and hopefully, lots of possibilities as they get older,” the school’s principal, Jennifer Miley, told the Dallas Morning News.
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Becky Sipos wants you to know that character education is thriving in schools around the U.S. — and beyond.
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When the Obama administration agreed to erase the federal loan debt of some former students at Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit school that filed for bankruptcy in the face of charges of widespread fraud, education officials promised to “protect students from abusive colleges and safeguard the interests of taxpayers.”
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The Connected Educator Month (CEM) initiative announced an exclusive global media partnership with the MindRocket Media Group.
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Join in on Connected Educator Month this October..Getting StartedFive Ways to ConnectDo-It-Yourself Professional DevelopmentMore Resources From EdutopiaAdditional Resources on the WebConnected Educator Month (CEM) is a celebration of online communities of practice originally developed by the U.S. Department of Education with partners. As with previous years, October 2015 includes an array of rich opportunities for informal professional development, both for educators with established professional learning networks (PLNs) and for those just getting started. Whether you participate formally in the month or not, consider using some of the resources below to engage in do-it-yourself professional development all year long.Getting StartedVisit CEM: Getting Started and consider downloading the Connected Educator Starter Kit by Powerful Learning Practice, a guide with 31 days of online activities — including relevant tips, tutorials, and ideas — that will help you along your professional-learning journey, no matter where you’re starting from. As you build your PLN, make sure to click the +Follow button on Edutopia’s Personal Learning Network page to receive email updates about additional guidance and tips. Linked from that page, “My Journey Into Connectedness,” by Rafranz Davis, and “How Do I Get a PLN?” by Tom Whitby, are two great places to start.Visit the CEM calendar to pick and choose among the events that are most meaningful for you. In addition, you might want to consider attending an edcamp. Why? In “Why Edcamp?” Kristen Swanson discusses how these educator-driven “unconferences” present invaluable opportunities for learning, growing, connecting, and sharing. You can find the complete edcamp calendar on the edcamp website or on Edutopia’s events page, updated weekly.If you miss one of the hundreds of events during CEM 2015, visit the CEM Archives for access to recordings, transcripts, and other professional-development resources from October. The archived events are searchable by audience, event type, and topic. The Connected Educators website also maintains a showcase of opportunities for sustained professional development in the form of courses, classes, and clubs.
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WebbAlign, the widely accepted and highly valued approach to evaluating alignment of standards and assessments, announces a new partnership program to help K-12 educational publishers validate the rigor of their curriculum and assessments. The WebbAlign Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Partner Program is available for publishers committed to implementing the framework through an ongoing process guided by Dr. Norman Webb and his team.
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In a high-profile speech Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan urged states to shift a healthy share of local and state correctional spending on nonviolent offenders to teachers—especially to raise teachers’ salaries at high-poverty schools and help stop the “school-to-prison pipeline.”
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Blue Sky Alternative Investments — Wednesday, September 30, 2015Math Curriculum Provider Receives Major Investment To Boost Presence in U.S. MarketSt. Charles, MO. (Sept. 30, 2015) – Blue Sky Alternative Investments (ASX:BLA) has stamped the education-technology sector as one to watch after securing a multi-million dollar stake in ORIGO Education through its private equity division.“ORIGO Education is leading the market in innovative learning,” stated Lachlan McMurdo, investment director for Blue Sky Private Equity. “The key competitive advantage lies in the high quality of their resources, written by an expert team of authors. Educators worldwide seek out ORIGO’s founders because of the impressive intellectual property they have developed over the years.”The capital investment will enable the company to increase research and development across its existing suite of products. ORIGO creates resources that empower teachers, engage students, and promote a deep level of mathematical understanding. Its elementary mathematics solutions are tailored to local curricula through cloud-based digital products. ORIGO has won several long-term contracts over the past two years, boosting revenue by 400 percent in 2014. The company’s core product, Stepping Stones, is used in over 100 school districts across the US including three of the top 50 largest – reaching half-a-million students. “The fact prominent school districts have selected ORIGO’s products over other established education publishers has strengthened our reputation both in the U.S. and internationally,” said James Burnett, co-founder of ORIGO Education. “ORIGO’s successful expansion in the massive U.S. market is proof of the global scalability of the business. Its recurring revenue base gives us and our investors a great deal of confidence,” said McMurdo. The K-5 math instructional materials market in the U.S. alone is worth $1.3 billion in revenue each year, according to research by the investment firm. “We are excited about the opportunities this partnership brings,” said Burnett. “Our expanded capacity will drive the development of products and services that disrupt the status quo to positively impact students in the classroom. It will also equip us with the resources to cultivate new territories and product markets, and gain widespread adoption of our core curriculum.” To learn more about ORIGO Stepping Stones, visit .About ORIGO Education ORIGO Education covers all facets of elementary mathematics education, from traditional printed products to digital interactive resources and professional learning. ORIGO’s web-based curriculum, Stepping Stones, is a comprehensive, core mathematics curriculum for grades K–5. The technology-rich program blends online resources with traditional printed materials, resulting in a classroom that is engaged and provides differentiated learning. Professional development videos are embedded within the online program, giving teachers the confidence and knowledge they need to be successful. For more information about Stepping Stones, visit .
