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Seattle-area Somali community unites to embrace state's new child-care standards

John Higgins

July 09, 2016 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

When Washington state introduced higher standards for child care, many feared that home-based centers, including those run by women from Somalia, would close. But a group spearheaded by nonprofit Voices of Tomorrow arranged for training and materials in East African languages, helping a stunning 94 percent of providers to acquire the necessary license and to keep their centers - vital especially for low-income, immigrant families - open for business.

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We expel preschool kids three times as often as K-12 students. Here's how to change that.

John Higgins

May 21, 2016 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

A national study revealed that expulsion rates of preschool students - especially Black males - were startlingly high, especially compared to any other K-12 grade. The pattern was also shown to create a vicious cycle, exacerbating the likelihood of suspension in later grades. But a remedy was already in place in Connecticut, where a mental-health professional was kept on-hand to provide behavior coaching for teachers, drastically reducing expulsion rates. Seattle looks to replicate their model.

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Risky change in teaching pays off at Bellevue's Sammamish High

John Higgins

April 09, 2016 |

The Seattle Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

With help from a federal grant, a Bellevue high school asked its teachers to work with the University of Washington to redesign over 30 AP courses. An independent evaluation found that the move from traditional lecture test prep to "problem-based learning," or hands-on instruction, improved students' scores on AP tests.

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Will more money for schools really help kids? New study may have long-term answer

John Higgins

February 13, 2016 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Evanston, Illinois

While research is mixed on whether increases in school spending lead to better results for students, a study suggests that influxes of dollars from court decisions lead to higher graduation rates and earnings, especially for low-income students.

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In class, out of court: How one school district triumphed over truancy

John Higgins

November 19, 2015 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Spokane, Washington

Traditional truancy punishments have done little to keep kids in school. One school in Washington state created a truancy board to investigate the reasons behind every student's chronic absences, and to make appropriate adjustments to meet his or her needs.

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Seattle's special-ed mess: Who's in charge of what?

John Higgins

September 01, 2015 |

The Seattle Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Seattle risks losing about $12 million annually in federal funds unless it fixes problems that include failures to update student learning plans, deliver services outlined in those plans and provide services consistently from school to school.

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‘It's just math': Preschoolers can do more than we might think

John Higgins

August 02, 2015 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Due to recent brain development research, educators are working to add more math education into pre-school and kindergarten classes. Studies show that children of this age are actually extremely receptive to numbers and learning geometry.

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Bellevue schools teach emotional smarts to help boost academic success

John Higgins

May 05, 2015 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bellevue, Washington

Many schools across the Bellevue, Washington school district have integrated social-emotional learning curricula into their daily lesson plans. Using a program called RULER (Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate Emotions) developed by Yale researchers, teachers have seen decreasing suspension rates. Most notably, teachers have noticed promising results across schools, with students at predominantly low income schools responding similarly to those at high income schools.

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Classroom observers using new tools to make teachers better

John Higgins

February 22, 2015 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Throughout Washington, administrators have rolled out new preschool teacher evaluation methodology. Called "CLASS", instructors are observed at length and judged on their interactions in categories including emotional, social, and intellectual growth. The model, which moves away from principal evaluation, has been shown to improve both teaching and student performance. Now the state is piloting similar programs in K-12 classes. One researcher writes of the importance of the right assessment tool, “People say that teaching isn’t rocket science and I would argue that it's actually more complicated..."

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Does class size matter? Research reveals surprises

John Higgins

October 28, 2014 |

The Seattle Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Research in the U.S. suggests that a small class size is not enough but in combination with teacher training it leads to a change in achievement.

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