NAfME News
State Advocacy Manager Job Posting
Matt Barusch has transitioned off the NAfME Staff. We are accepting applications for a new State Advocacy Engagement Manager. Candidates should send a cover letter and resume toLynnT@nafme.org on or before Monday, March 8, 2021.
NAfME Public Policy Team Office Hours
Join the NAfME Public Policy team on every Tuesday through March at 6:00 pm eastern for our office hours! During this time, NAfME staff will be available to meet with NAfME members and state leaders to answer your advocacy questions and have policy discussions. Click here to register!
March ALF Call
We will not hold an ALF call this month. ALF calls will resume in April—we can’t wait to hear about everyone’s MIOSM activities!
National MIOSM Events
Congressional Briefing: Arts Education and Social Emotional Learning
NAfME will co-host a briefing focused on the relationship between arts education and SEL for congressional staff Wednesday, March 24 at 3pm eastern time. We plan to stream the briefing live and will share a link soon!
Virtual All-National Honor Ensembles Concerts
The 2020 ANHE concerts streamed for the first time last night. The recordings are available on the NAfME YouTube channel and the program is available here.
State and Federal News
California’s new grading guidance aims to help teachers assess progress in distance learning
2/22/2021- ‘Teachers struggling to assess student progress in an online learning environment have one more set of tools to turn to. On Monday, the California Department of Education released new guidance and best practices for grading students during a pandemic and distance learning.’
Schools must still give standardized tests this year, Biden administration says
2/22/2021- ‘The Biden administration said Monday that states must administer federally required standardized tests this year, but schools won’t be held accountable for the results — and states could give shorter, remote, or delayed versions of the exams.’
3/2/2021- ‘Miguel Cardona easily won confirmation as the secretary of education on Monday, propelling the Connecticut schools chief into the center of a national effort to help America’s schools reopen and recover from a pandemic that has disrupted a year of learning.’
WV becomes first state to cover ACT testing costs for high school seniors
3/1/2021- ‘West Virginia is now the first state in the nation to cover the cost of ACT testing for high school seniors applying for the Promise Scholarship.’
Deal reached to get California children back in classrooms
3/2/2021- ‘The majority of California’s 6.1 million public school students could be back in the classroom by April under new legislation announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders. Critics panned the plan as inadequate.’
One year into COVID-19, Louisiana schools have ‘more mobile devices than kids’
2/28/2021- ‘COVID-19 brought with it the closure of schools and an increased need for technology in districts across Louisiana to offer remote learning.’
Research and Analysis
‘It’s Patchwork’: Rural Teachers Struggle to Connect in Pandemic
Kayden Rosebur’s first year of high school didn’t go as she expected. Instead of meeting new friends and dashing through the hallways between bells, the 15-year-old joins her classmates remotely from her house in the rural Mississippi Delta. Her unstable internet service keeps her disconnected.
State Funding for Student Mental Health
This Policy Brief explores and describes common sources of funding that states use to support K-12 school-based mental health programming. It includes a 50-state scan that displays how each state funds student mental health services.
Policy Roundup compiled by NAfME’s Matt Barusch and Rob Edwards.