Proposal offers high school diploma with associate degree – from the Associated Press

An education plan under development in West Virginia aims to have some students graduate with simultaneous degrees from high school and community college.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Kanawha County school system counseling and testing director Jon Duffy says the plan would allow students to attend a community college for free during their four years of high school and graduate with a high school diploma and an associate degree.

Duffy says participating students would be assigned to a high school, but would be transported each day by bus to the South Charleston campus of BridgeValley Community and Technical College.

Duffy said Wednesday that officials hope to start the program in August with about 60 students. He says the Pennsylvania-based Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation has donated $200,000 to help start the initiative.

 

CPS strike over, classes to resume Friday as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Teachers Union reach deal on makeup days – By Hannah Leone, Gregory Pratt, Elvia Malagon and Marie Fazio, The Chicago Tribune 

The Chicago Teachers Union strike is over after 11 school days, and students will return to class on Friday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the end of the walkout after a lengthy closed-door meeting with CTU officials, resulting in an agreement that five days lost to the strike will be made up.

As of late Thursday, CPS has not yet determined when the five makeup days will be scheduled.

That issue arose as an 11th-hour glitch late Wednesday when, despite the union’s House of Delegates approving a tentative contract deal, the CTU said it was contingent on teachers being able to make up all the lost school days.

 

LAUSD Sues E-Cig Maker, Alleging Contribution to Student Vaping Epidemic – From MyNewsLA.com

The Los Angeles Unified School District Tuesday announced the filing of a proposed class-action lawsuit against electronic-cigarette manufacturer JUUL Labs, accusing the company of contributing to a vaping epidemic among students that has drained district resources and threatened students’ health.

“We are here to join others in the cause to stop this epidemic,” LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner said in a statement. “The money we are spending to deal with the trauma vaping is bringing into our schools is money not spent on instruction. By filing this lawsuit today, we are taking a step toward ensuring those responsible will pay the price to repair the harm done to our students, our schools and the communities we serve.”

The lawsuit, filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court, contends that vaping among LAUSD students has increased tenfold since 2013. It alleges that vaping has affected student learning, contributed to a rise in student absences, which cost the district money in the form of state attendance-based funding.

 

Proposed Michigan legislation would require school board members to have training – By Brooke O’Daniel, WSBT.com

Thousands of children depend on their decisions, but it’s a job that you aren’t required to have any training or experience for.

School board members are often concerned citizens elected into office; that doesn’t mean they know about finances or budgets.

Proposed legislation in Michigan would require school board members to have training.

Imagine having zero experience and all of a sudden being in charge of a budget of more than $40 million. More importantly, if you make bad financial decisions, the impact could affect thousands of children for years to come.

Proposed legislation by a state senator in Michigan hopes to keep situations like that from happening.