Latest news with #publicschools
Fox News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
The war on reading: Children in the crosshairs
When people talk about war, they picture overseas battlefields, not elementary school hallways. But America is embroiled in a civilian crisis – a war that's quietly destroying children's brains and our future. The battleground is our public school system. The casualties are the minds, dreams and potential of an entire generation. Leaving aside the tremendous indoctrination in our country's schools in the alphabet (LGBTQIA++) ideologies, the actual alphabet has suffered. Over the past century, America's literacy rates have cratered. A new study flags that 28% of U.S. adults perform at the lowest literacy level – around third-grade reading level. Worse still, the share of adults reading below a sixth-grade level clocks in at around 54%. Our kids fare even worse. NAEP reading scores dropped in 2024 – fourth- and eighth-graders lost two more points since 2022, deepening a trend that began before the pandemic marking the lowest reading proficiency in 32 years. That's not a blip – it's a nosedive. The fallout: weaker critical thinking, poorer job prospects and citizens unable to parse even basic news headlines. And while we're losing ground in literacy, we are paying a lot more money. Inflation-adjusted revenue for K–12 rose about 25% per student from 2002 to 2020. In 2020–21, public schools spent a whopping $16,280 per pupil, culminating in a staggering $927 billion overall. What a waste! The extra money built the bureaucratic administration while learning outcomes declined. It's like upgrading your Ford to a Ferrari with no engine. Despite billions spent on tech to teach literacy, reading is plummeting. Only 42% of 9-year-olds and 17% of 13-year-olds read for pleasure "almost daily." This marks the lowest in 40 years. We gave them Kindles and Chromebooks but forgot to court their curiosity. One in three eighth-graders can't read a textbook well enough to pass a history quiz. And that's just "basic," which isn't what basic used to be, either. Indeed, the "educators" degraded the very word "proficiency" so they could pile a bunch of lower achievers onto it to see if it floated. Then, to cover their tracks, they shifted the national conversation from "What do our kids know?" to "How do they feel?" They prioritized soft skills over hard knowledge. Participation trophies replaced performance incentives and inflated grades substituted for real learning. Kids left high school more emotionally confused than intellectually prepared. They even coined a new term, "adulting," because mature behavior became such a foreign concept. The schools have been producing eternal children for too long. They're also teaching kids to outsource thinking. (Just Google it.) Artificial intelligence and calculators might help with homework, but they also train in dependency. Students memorize less, understand less and rely more. The question becomes whether America can afford to outsource our intellect. The U.S. once led the world in innovation, from the cotton gin to the traffic light. Now most of our students are meandering toward complacency and mediocrity. Our unlimited imaginations were fueled by reading, not by consuming the visual pablum of our streaming services. This isn't a partisan jab. NAEP scores were falling before COVID, before any woke curriculum debates, before anyone warned about "too much technology." They've been falling since we started the Department of Education and since schooling began. Pandemic interruptions worsened things, but the rot was already there. If we don't reverse course, we're writing an obituary for American exceptionalism. We may be eclipsed by a world that takes competition seriously. There are simple steps to regain that entrepreneurial spirit that provided the engine for nearly the greatest triumph in human history. Instead of sending our healthy children into institutions that essentially mimic prisons, revert back to trusting children's intuitive and curious character – their natural drive to learn. Parents' voices must matter more in our schools. Parental involvement is the number one predictor of academic achievement. They must be included in any dialogue about children's learning. We must teach phonics instead of the failed "whole word reading method" that is pushed in our schools. Standards should be clearly defined: if you can't read above eighth-grade level, you don't graduate. No more participation awards for mediocrity. Show kids that effort matters, not just feelings. Money should flow to classrooms: textbooks, tutors, coaches – not more diversity officers. Streamline school budgets and cut costs to superfluous administrator overhead. Invest in logic, rhetoric and debate. Teaching kids how to argue and dissect arguments will train them to think deeply, which beats shallow scrolling every time. Make books sexy again. Family reading nights. Library trips. Book "flirtation," not forced indoctrination. We've effectively taught kids to edit their selfies, but not their sentences. We aren't doomed – but we're dangerously adrift. The war on reading – the war on thinking – is real, but the front line is in living rooms and school board meetings. America's destiny isn't lost. It lies in the courage to demand more – for our children, and our country. America's future shouldn't be scripted by bureaucracy – but by bright, curious, literate kids. Let's fight back.
ABC News
15 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Union says principals urged to cancel teachers and combine classes as majority of ACT's primary schools blow budget
Union representatives say contracted teachers have lost their jobs because of ballooning public school budgets, despite the ACT government promising staff would not be cut. Last week, the ACT government revealed that 77 of 92 public schools in the territory were either already over budget or would be by the end of the school year. At the time, Education Minister Yvette Berry said the budget problem would not result in staff losses. Rather, she said savings would be found within the Education Directorate. However, Australian Education Union (AEU) ACT branch president Angela Burroughs said principals had been urged to combine classes and cancel teacher contracts, in conversations with Education Directorate staff. "We have heard instances where the message that's been received is 'rein in your casual staffing budget.'" She said there was confusion among schools because of poor communication. "It's a problem that was avoidable and could be easily fixed by just putting out some clear written advice," she said. "Everything at the moment is verbal briefings, so it's hardly surprising that people are taking away different messages." In a statement, the Education Directorate denied principals had been given such advice, and said it would work to address "any confusion and misunderstanding". "We will be providing principals with more information and guidance on implementing budget measures during semester two," the statement said. The statement said principals had been invited to an information sharing and workshop session, "which will include opportunity for principals to provide input and feedback". The high number of ACT public schools over budget this year has been attributed to several factors. A spokesperson for the ACT Principals Association said educating young people had become more complex since COVID-19 and that illness among staff and rising costs also contributed. Ms Burroughs said many schools had been over budget in recent years, but that this year there were less government funds to assist schools with their shortfalls. "We understand there have been rolling deficits for at least the last three years, perhaps not as widespread as is currently being experienced, but those deficits have been accommodated through either reserves or advances from government," Ms Burroughs said. Ms Berry confirmed the government would start a review of the ACT public school system resourcing to ensure it was "equitable for every student in every school". "The review will provide independent advice on the allocation of resources within the ACT public school system, including the needs of individual schools and supports that can be provided centrally," she said in a statement. "The review will also consider improvements to budget management systems and processes."
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Why more parents choosing private education for their children
For the last five years there has been an exodus from public schools to private schools even as cost of living pressures have soared. National education and parenting reporter Conor Duffy and Xanthe Kleinig produced this report
CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump administration will release more than $5 billion in frozen education funding
The Trump administration has decided to release the rest of the nearly $7 billion in funding for public schools that it had frozen, with little notice, earlier this month. A senior administration official told CNN they have finished a programmatic review, and the additional funds will be released to the states. The administration previously announced the release of $1.3 billion of the frozen funds. 'Guardrails are in place to ensure these funds will not be used in violation of Executive Orders or administration policy,' the official added. The nearly monthlong pause in critical funding set off a scramble in schools as they prepare for the fall and summer camps, which faced immediate impacts, with many worried about being able to keep their doors open for the duration of the summer. The funding for K-12 programs included money for teacher education and recruitment, English language programs, student enrichment and nonprofit learning centers that partner with schools, among other initiatives. Much of the money goes towards programs that serve some of the US' poorest children. A day before the funds were to be released, the Department of Education instead sent a letter to programs, saying that money was being held, pending a review. 'The Department will not be issuing Grant Award Notifications obligating funds for these programs on July 1 prior to completing that review,' the email to recipients said. 'The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities.' The administration alleged the money was being used to promote 'leftwing' ideologies and was conducting a review. It comes as the Trump administration is seeking to dismantle the Department of Education, with mass layoffs underway and severe funding cuts under consideration. Last week, after much outrage at summer camps and non-profits like the Boys and Girls Club that were facing immediate impacts of the frozen funds, the Office of Management and Budget decided to release the hold on $1.3 billion of the nearly $6 billion in funding that goes to 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) – affecting summer camp and after-school programs. But the rest of the funds were still frozen, until now. Earlier this month, some two dozen Democratic-led states sued the Department of Education in federal court to release the funds, which had already been approved by Congress.
CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump administration will release more than $5 billion in frozen education funding
The Trump administration has decided to release the rest of the nearly $7 billion in funding for public schools that it had frozen, with little notice, earlier this month. A senior administration official told CNN they have finished a programmatic review, and the additional funds will be released to the states. The administration previously announced the release of $1.3 billion of the frozen funds. 'Guardrails are in place to ensure these funds will not be used in violation of Executive Orders or administration policy,' the official added. The nearly monthlong pause in critical funding set off a scramble in schools as they prepare for the fall and summer camps, which faced immediate impacts, with many worried about being able to keep their doors open for the duration of the summer. The funding for K-12 programs included money for teacher education and recruitment, English language programs, student enrichment and nonprofit learning centers that partner with schools, among other initiatives. Much of the money goes towards programs that serve some of the US' poorest children. A day before the funds were to be released, the Department of Education instead sent a letter to programs, saying that money was being held, pending a review. 'The Department will not be issuing Grant Award Notifications obligating funds for these programs on July 1 prior to completing that review,' the email to recipients said. 'The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities.' The administration alleged the money was being used to promote 'leftwing' ideologies and was conducting a review. It comes as the Trump administration is seeking to dismantle the Department of Education, with mass layoffs underway and severe funding cuts under consideration. Last week, after much outrage at summer camps and non-profits like the Boys and Girls Club that were facing immediate impacts of the frozen funds, the Office of Management and Budget decided to release the hold on $1.3 billion of the nearly $6 billion in funding that goes to 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) – affecting summer camp and after-school programs. But the rest of the funds were still frozen, until now. Earlier this month, some two dozen Democratic-led states sued the Department of Education in federal court to release the funds, which had already been approved by Congress.
