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We will keep it short and sweet: Data decisions can be tricky for districts to navigate — sometimes downright mind-numbing. We have heard from some of you about the challenges and benefits of working with data. Take our survey to communicate your experiences with data and how these experiences impact your decision-making.//

Photo Credit: Daniel X. O’Neilby Fran Spielman and Lauren FitzPatrickWANTED: CEO for nation’s third-largest public school system to replace chief forced out by federal investigation.Read the rest of the story at the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sal Khan discusses Khan Academy’s impact, growth mindset, and how personalized, mastery-based learning is transforming education and SAT prep access.

In 1963, kids in the 10th percentile of income fell behind children in the upper echelon of wealth by about a year or so. Today, that gap is closer to four years.by Sarah GarlandOn a weekday afternoon in July, Jessica Klaitman pulled her 16-month-old daughter Hannah out of a stroller in the lobby of the New York Kids Club, a “child-enrichment center” with four classrooms, a dance studio, and gym space in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.Read the rest of the story at The Atlantic.

Student access to relevant information and news continues to expand with technology advancements. I had the opportunity to interview Matthew Gross, CEO and co-founder, of Newsela. The Newsela team brings students current events and news aligning with current standards expected in today’s classroom.

by Thomas KaplanIn a campaign-style tour meant to put pressure on lawmakers, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo visited churches and a yeshiva on Sunday to promote a bill to give tax credits to families of students at private schools, including religious ones.Read the rest of the story at The New York Times.

Bullying remains a serious issue for students and their families, and efforts to reduce bullying concern policy makers, administrators, and educators. According to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, “As schools become safer, students are better able to thrive academically and socially. The Department, along with our federal partners and others, has been deeply involved in the fight against bullying in our nation’s schools.” This is why we are so pleased to share that, after remaining virtually unchanged for close to a decade, new data indicate that the prevalence of bullying is at a record low.Read the rest of the story at the Homeroom blog at the U.S. Department of Education website.

by Arianna ProtheroA Michigan lawmaker’s push to regulate home schooling in the wake of a horrific case of child abuse is stoking anew a broader debate over the rights of parents to educate their children at home with little oversight from school and government officials.Like Michigan, few states obligate home-schooled students to meet regularly with mandatory reporters—people such as doctors, certified teachers, or clergy members—who might catch signs of abuse and report it, according to the advocacy and research group Coalition for Responsible Home Education.Read the rest of the story at Education Week.

by Jennifer GreenOver the last two weeks, teachers in Baltimore have worked tirelessly to support their students, their schools and their community. I have two words for them: thank you.Ashley Smith, a fourth grade teacher at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Southwest Baltimore, used her classroom as a safe harbor where her students could openly express their reactions to the Baltimore riots through their writing. “I knew the students would be coming into class… with a lot of questions about what had taken place,” she told ABC News. Ashley relied on her skills as an educator to encourage an open, healthy dialogue among her students. She not only gave them a space to share their feelings by writing essays, but also established an open communication channel between peers. It was through this channel that her students’ discussed the power of peaceful protests and the tragedies that often result from violent uprisings.Read the rest of the story on the Huffington Post.