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Expensive, Grueling Fights in Store for US Special Education – AcceliBEAT Weekly Round Up

April 28, 2017

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This week brought good news for NYC children and their families, with Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing the extension of free full-day PreK programs for all 3-year-olds. But do these programs work? A new report explores that question. In other news, teacher shortages remain a real issue, especially in special education and there’s no easy-fix. Finally,  Indiana’s English-language learners are set to receive $12 million in additional funding. All this and more in this week’s AcceliBEAT!


Expensive, Grueling Fights in Store for US Special Educationspecial ed parent
Lisa Connor felt her disabled daughter should have been making more progress in school, yet annual meetings with the district to set services and goals sometimes felt like a tug of war.



teacher shortages

There Are No Quick Fixes for Teacher Shortage, Report Warns
If you think raising teacher salaries is the way to attract talented young people into the profession, well, that sort of easy-fix, across-the-board solution to the teacher shortage problem will just not do, according to a new report.



Mikayla Holmgren

Beauty Pageant Contestant With Down Syndrome Set To Make History
When Mikayla Holmgren applied for the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, she submitted a lengthy résumé that highlighted her past pageant experience, her status as a triple-threat athlete and her work as a mentor for other young women like her.



Prek StudentNew York City Mayor Announces Plan to Provide Free Pre-K for All 3-Year-Olds
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that his administration will soon launch an effort to provide free, full-day prekindergarten programs for all 3-year-olds in the city by 2021.



racial segregation in schools

His Teacher Told Him He Wouldn’t Go To College, Then He Did
One day Ronnie Sidney, from Tappahannock, Va., was goofing off with his classmates in math when one of them threw a paper football at the board — and it landed a little too close to the teacher. Sidney says the eighth-grade teacher, visibly frustrated, turned around and said, “None of you are going to college.”



student looking at goldfish bowlWhat Do We Really Know About the Value of Prekindergarten?
A task force of interdisciplinary scientists reviewed the evidence on the impact of state-funded prekindergarten programs and issued a report on its findings, which is the subject of this post by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham.



Born This Way Cast With New Season, Down Syndrome Reality Show Broadens Focus
A reality television show about a group of young adults with Down syndrome is set to return with a new season that will also explore the experiences of children with the chromosomal disorder.



ELL Student$32 Million Is Headed to Indiana Schools to Educate English-Learners
The state budget, passed last week and awaiting the governor’s final approval, sets aside about $32 million for English-language learners, up from about $20 million in 2015.





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