Attending one year of an “academic-oriented preschool” boosts students’ learning in literacy and math, compared with peers who do not attend such programs, according to a study by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. The study considered trends among 6,150 students nationwide.
Fidget spinners may be both a distraction and a therapeutic tool, some experts say. Occupational therapist Claire Heffron cautions that use of such devices should not take the place of other movement or sensory stimulation.
The US Department of Education has launched a new website with information and resources about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The resource comes three months after the previous site crashed because of technical problems.
US Department of Education spokeswoman Liz Hill recently clarified that President Donald Trump’s proposed $250 million private-school voucher program is not a federal voucher program. “The [private school voucher] grant program would support states who apply for funding to develop school choice programs, and those States’ plans must adhere to Federal law,” she wrote in an email.
Some Minnesota schools offer heritage-language classes to assist with meeting the needs of students whose first language is not English. Programs in two schools seek to help Spanish-speaking and Somali-speaking students.
Melissa Greenwood is the director of education content at SmartBrief.
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