In the News

I needed a good idea for this month’s column, so I did what any red-blooded American would do… I Googled education facility news. What topped the list was a number of stories on failed bond issues and waning public support for education.

Although not a new idea, a story in USA TODAY talks about how, nationwide, financially struggling schools are increasing the volume of advertising that children see in order to fill the school’s money gap. School administrators are saying that with a public unwilling to adequately fund K-12 education, they’re obligated to find new ways to keep teachers in classrooms.

In another story, posted in Reuters, Louisiana is taking steps to privatize public education. This bold experiment will have the state shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children.

Starting this fall, poor and middle-class kids will get vouchers covering the full cost of tuition at more than 120 private schools. The following year, students of any income will be eligible for mini-vouchers to pay private-sector vendors for classes and apprenticeships. Officials have not estimated the price of these programs, but expect to save money in the long run. Whether those savings will materialize is unclear.

If you think we are alone in our challenge to educate our kids, think again. This story appeared in an international news report from Manila, where their department of education (DepEd-9) implemented a K-12 program this school year. The program consists of the mandatory inclusion of kindergarten in the six-year elementary education curriculum, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school.

This program, and explosive population growth, added one million students to this year’s public school enrollment. Despite the construction of nearly 20,000 new classrooms in metro Manila, the schools are still scrambling to find a way to accommodate students. In one case students attend school in three shifts. Grade one students that are part of the first shift attend school from 6 a.m. through 10 a.m. The last shift runs from 2 p.m. through 6 p.m. At another school, the hallways house three classes, using blackboards as dividers. An area high school chose two shifts with 60 students per class. And, according to their department of education, “this year’s nationwide classroom shortage is estimated at 48,000, a drastic improvement over last year’s shortage of 66,000.”

Are we making progress? Is it happening fast enough? Are we doing the right thing for our kids? Losing a generation of children while we get our act together cannot be an option. 

Featured

  • UC Riverside Completes $285M, Multi-School Student Housing Development

    The University of California, Riverside, recently announced the completion of a $285-million student housing complex offering 1,568 beds across 429 units, according to a news release.

  • Allegion US Partners with Two Colleges for Mobile Credential Technology

    Allegion US recently announced a partnership with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Denison College, in conjunction with Transact + CBORD, to install mobile credential technologies campus-wide, according to a news release. Implementing Mobile Student ID into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will allow students access to campus facilities, amenities, and residence halls using just their phones.

  • Pittsburgh High School Upgrades Athletics Facilities’ Technology

    Plum Senior High School in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently partnered with South-Dakota-based Daktronics through the We’re All Mustangs Here Foundation to upgrade the technology in its athletics facilities, according to a news release. Daktronics designed, built, and installed new LED video displays and finished the project in time for the beginning of the 2025 high-school football season.

  • Construction Begins on East Austin CTE-Focused High School

    The Del Valle Independent School District recently announced that construction has begun on a new CTE-focused high school in Austin, Texas, according to a news release. Del Valle High School will measure in at 473,338 square feet and have the capacity for 2,400 students.