Study considers effect of later school start time
After Seattle high schools pushed back their start times from 7:50 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., sophomores started getting better grades, according to a study. Researchers had students wear activity trackers, which revealed the teenagers were getting more sleep “closer to their natural sleep pattern on weekends,” said one of the lead study authors, Gideon Dunster, who also is a graduate student at the University of Washington.
Full Story: Science News
Educators: Theater teaches students soft skills
Districts are increasingly focusing on STEM, but educators say students can learn a lot from theater programs, too, which have been shown to improve students’ social and emotional learning and academic performance. Julie Cohen Theobald, executive director of the international Educational Theatre Association, says theater also prepares students for the real world by teaching skills such as deadline management and accountability.
Full Story: Education Dive
Can surveys help improve SEL in schools?
Teachers in a California school district who had access to surveys from students about social and emotional learning made adjustments in their classrooms to help students speak up more and develop a sense of belonging, according to a report by Future Ed at Georgetown University. The report notes that researchers will not know whether the teachers’ changes adequately addressed concerns until this year’s survey.
Full Story: Education Week (tiered subscription model)
Librarians, teachers object to “obscene” book bill
Some librarians, teachers and advocates are speaking out against a Maine legislative proposal that would restrict access to certain kinds of books in public schools. Under the bill being considered, student access to books determined to be “obscene” would be limited — a definition that school librarian Cathy Potter said she worried could be applied to some classic works, including those by Toni Morrison and Margaret Atwood.
Full Story: Maine Public Broadcasting Network
Intervention program boosts students’ grades
Students at a Missouri middle school have had fewer failing grades after teachers implemented an intervention program during the school’s fourth period, principal Shaun Fischer says. As part of the program, teachers provide frequent assessments to students, reteach material to those struggling and offer enrichment activities to students who don’t need extra help.
Full Story: News Tribune (Jefferson City, Mo.)
Audrey Altmann is an editorial assistant at SmartBrief.
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