Education Week - August 17, 2022 - 2

Monitoring Software
May Hurt Students
More Than It Helps
Big Brother is definitely watching and perhaps for
the wrong reasons.
Monitoring programs on school-issued digital devices
that are meant to keep students safe and ontask
are more often being used for other, sometimes
harmful purposes, finds a report by the Center for
Democracy & Technology.
The software allows educators to keep an eye on
students' emails, documents, and search queries to
scan for mental health problems or violent threats
and to pinpoint when students have logged onto their
device and for how long.
But, in fact, 78 percent of teachers whose school
uses the software said it has helped identify students
for disciplinary purposes. Just 54 percent said the
programs have been used to connect students to a
counselor, therapist, or social worker for help.
Districts have also used the software to identify
students as part of the LGBTQ community without
their consent. Thirteen percent of all students
at schools that use student-activity monitoring said
they or a student they know has been outed because
of it.
All of this is having a chilling effect on students'
online behavior, the survey found. About half of students
said they agreed with the statement, " I do not
share my true thoughts or ideas because I know what
I do online may be monitored. "
" We've found that nearly every school in the country
is giving devices to students-and monitoring is
hurting them, " said Alexandra Reeve Givens, the
center's president and CEO. " When you combine
the resurgence of violence in schools with the mental
health crisis among kids, schools are surveilling
students' activities more than ever. But these efforts
to make students safer more often result in disciplining
students instead. "
What's more, just 31 percent of teachers say they
have gotten guidance on how to use the monitoring
systems securely.
In response to the findings, the center and other organizations
sent a letter to Catherine E. Lhamon, the
assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department
of Education, urging her to " curb [the] harms "
to student privacy and mental health as a result of the
monitoring software through guidance and, if necessary,
enforcement.
Catching kids up in school after
disruptions to learning during
the pandemic
Addressing how issues
related to race and gender
are being taught in schools
Don't know
19
SOURCE: Democrats for Education Reform
MORE INFORMATION: Read the online article Voters Want Republicans and Democrats to Talk
About Learning Recovery, Not Culture Wars > edweek.org
48
21
25%
33
54
Electorate Sees Politicians as Off-Base on Education Priorities
A poll finds politicians from both parties are devoting more attention to cultural issues than to what voters see
as their top priority: helping students get back on track with academics.
Which of the following do you think DEMOCRATS / REPUBLICANS are more focused
on right now when it comes to education?
Forget One-Off Bonuses and Paid Leave. Teachers
Want Compensation Increases Tied to Inflation
Even for teachers, money talks.
Given a choice of different ways to increase compensation,
teachers say the prospect of salary increases that keep up with
inflation are more likely to keep them in the classroom than other
financial perks-including more generous family-leave policies.
Meanwhile, one-off bonuses don't seem to be much of a draw
at all, unless districts are really prepared to shell out for them.
So finds a new survey from the EdWeek Research Center.
" $1,000 is nice, but it reinforces the idea that small amounts
are the units of compensation for teachers. They need to feel
like they are much more respected-and that districts are willing
to do more for them with the money that's there, " said David
Rosenberg, a partner at Education Resource Strategies, a nonprofit
consulting firm that advises districts on how to spend their
money effectively.
Finances are only one part of the retention piece, though, he
and other experts noted: Teachers want to work in missiondriven
places where they enjoy collaborative relationships with
peers and support from their principals.
Teachers say the financial strategy that would most encourage
them to stay is to offer increases that exceed the cost of living
and, in second place, salary increases that keep pace with the
cost of living.
Nearly 4 in 10 teachers said that an increase in their pension
or defined-benefit retirement plan would persuade them to stay.
Housing and paid leave-even maternity or paternity leave-
were far less popular responses, despite skyrocketing housing
costs nationwide and increased awareness about the family-care
challenges that crop up in the women-dominated teaching profession.
The
survey found that bonuses paled next to the other, more
substantial forms of compensation. In fact, just 5 percent of
teachers said that bonuses less than $2,000 would be apt to keep
them in the profession. About a quarter said larger bonuses, of
$5,000-$10,000, could encourage them to stay.
And a minority of teachers, 7 percent, said no financial policy
would make a difference because their reasons for wanting to
leave didn't hinge on that issue.
Citing Shortages, Arizona and Florida Crack Open
The Door to Teachers Without Bachelor's Degrees
What a premium policymakers in Arizona and Florida are
placing on education. Starting now, the teacher at the front of
the classroom in those states doesn't need a bachelor's degree.
Given the teacher shortage in pockets across the country, some
states have eased certification requirements but none like this.
In Arizona, people can have their own classrooms if they are
enrolled in college and are supervised by a licensed teacher-unless,
of course, there's not a teacher around to supervise them.
And in Florida, military veterans can receive a five-year teaching
certificate as long as they have at least 60 college credits, a 2.5
grade point average, and can pass a subject-area-knowledge test.
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of
Teachers, called Arizona's new law " dangerous " and an example
of " the disrespect for knowledge in this country. "
" They do not care about children's knowledge if they are watering
down credentialing so that you do not have people who know
their content, know how to teach, " she said.
Critics also warn that less-experienced teachers are more likely
to end up in schools that serve more students of color and children
from low-income families.
In contrast, Tonya Strozier, the principal of the Holladay Fine
Arts Magnet Elementary School in Tucson, Ariz., said she thinks
the policy change is an opportunity to diversify the teacher pipeline
and better meet the needs of students of color.
Nearly fully staffed, her school doesn't need to hire any teachers
without a bachelor's degree this fall, but she said she would be
open to doing so because they need to be trained anyway. " When
I get a teacher, I generally make a significant investment in training
them-they don't come ready, " she said.
Florida districts have long looked to veterans as strong candidates
for a second career in the classroom.
Still, said Andrew Spar, the president of the Florida Education
Association, lowering the standard of entry is not the answer to
teacher shortages. " There's a lot more to being a teacher than
being a student, or being a CEO, or being former military personnel.
You need to understand the concept and the pedagogy
of teaching and you need to be able to, in a really powerful way,
build relationships with students. "
BRIEFLY STATED CONTRIBUTORS: Associated Press, Apoorvaa Mandar Bichu, Alyson Klein, Libby Stanford, Stephen Sawchuk, and Madeline Will. Edited by Karen Diegmueller.
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