SPOKANE, W1ash. – La Semana de la Educación en la Ciencia de Computación, un festejo del aprendizaje basado en las computadoras, continúa en las escuelas.

Durante esta semana, los estudiantes del Estado de Washington reciben educación en computación después de que termina su día escolar. En Spokane, todas las 34 escuelas elementales tienen Clubs de Codificación después de clases.

Lisa White es la directora de programas para después de clases y de los campamentos de verano del STEM (siglas en inglés para Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería y Matemáticas), en las escuelas públicas de Spokane. Ella comenta que hay pequeños que apenas cursan Kindergarden y ya participan en estos clubes. Los estudiantes además aprenden ciencia de la computación fuera de pantalla.
 
“A muchos niños les gusta hacer la parte que es en línea, estar en la computadora, pero a muchos más les gusta algo que puedan tocar y sentir y con lo que puedan hacer algo – hacerlo moverse, si quieres.”

White dice que el Club de Programación utiliza actividades como robots programados por computadora para mostrar a los niños lo que es la codificación en la vida real.

Afirma que la ciencia, la tecnología, la ingeniería y las matemáticas, o sea los campos del STEM, todavía sufren de falta de diversidad –y los programas para después de clases tienen una posición única para cambiar esto.

Según un estudio de la Alianza Después de Clases (“Afterschool Alliance”), es doblemente probable que los niños negros participen en programas para después de clases, en comparación con los niños blancos; y los hispanos, dos y media veces más probable. White opina que la clave para diversificar el campo de STEM es llegar pronto a los pequeños.
 
“La manera en que logramos eso en nuestro programa es real y está literalmente bajando a preescolar y kindergarden, y logrando que los niños amen las matemáticas y la ciencia, nos sentimos increíblemente confiados de eso.”

Agrega que hay buena evidencia para afirmar que esos programas reditúan incluso antes de que los niños se gradúen.

“Tenemos un equipo en una de nuestras escuelas elementales –son de cuarto, quinto y sexto grado– y ya registraron dos patentes en los últimos dos años, para elementos de diseño que ellos crearon.”

Los estudiantes crearon lo que llamaron el “Compactor 3000”, para comprimir recipientes de leche vacíos de un galón de los puestos de café, y así reducir la cantidad de espacio que ocupa esta basura.


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Indiana is rolling out a series of new education laws aimed at helping students succeed in and beyond the classroom.

The changes affect everything from attendance and academics to teacher pay and cybersecurity.

Tami Silverman, president and CEO of the nonprofit Indiana Youth Institute, said lawmakers responded to schools' concerns about chronic absenteeism.

"It was exciting to see that the legislature was really listening to the schools," Silverman explained. "Because we've heard, and schools have said repeatedly, that chronic absenteeism continues to be an issue."

New laws require schools to clearly define excused absences, publish attendance policies and offer better student support. High schoolers can now earn an Enrollment Honors Plus seal, combining academics, life skills and work experience. Students who earn it will be guaranteed admission to Indiana's public colleges.

Some educators said the new requirements may strain already limited school resources, especially in smaller districts that face staffing or funding challenges.

Silverman noted the changes are designed to help more students succeed, by doing such things as streamlining applications for college admission, military financial aid and paid internship programs.

"This is really exciting because we do know that sometimes those application processes can be a barrier," Silverman observed. "We want to remove those by setting kids up for success in high school."

Other laws raise the minimum teacher salary to $45,000 dollars, expand access to paid internships and require math screenings in early grades. Cybersecurity upgrades will be phased in by 2027.


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Many Texas students lose nearly 40% of what they learned during the year on summer break.

A new program in Arlington is helping kids avoid the "summer slide" by engaging them with creative projects which extend into the new school year.

Monroe Farbes, a 16-year-old International Baccalaureate participant, recently landed at the top of Amazon's list of young adult poetry with her new book "All I Know." She said the goal she set for herself last summer was to learn how to publish a book.

"Choosing to learn something and creating a product based off of what I learned, it helped me to learn critical thinking skills, research skills, time management skills, communications skills that were really, really useful," Farbes explained.

The International Baccalaureate program aims to prepare students for the future with real-world skills, global awareness and a love for learning, not just memorizing facts. After writing her first 20 poems last summer, the program gave Farbes time during the school day to write 35 more and then complete the formatting, marketing and other challenges involved with self-publishing.

There are many ways parents can help students avoid learning losses over the summer, and the Texas School for the Deaf offered tips. They recommended kids get outside and away from screens and they suggested parents give kids everyday lessons, like asking them to estimate the final bill while grocery shopping.

Farbes encouraged other young people to take on creative projects and to be curious about the world around them. She noted by the time you get to the end of her book, you realize the main character does not know everything.

"And that's OK, she's figuring it out," Farbes stressed. "Sometimes all you know is that you are just on your process to figuring it out. But make sure you remember everything that you learn."

Farbes's collection includes insights into the complexities of biracial identity, the joys of summer and sisterhood and the challenges of gardening. Here she reads her title poem, "All I Know."

"Familiar with myself, is the greatest gift on the shelf. Comfort in my own skin, who I am within, is all I'll have in the end. In that end, past all time, will I still be able to look myself in the eye?"


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Proposed federal legislation would expand school choice options for families to send their students to private schools or home educate them and the move could affect Arizona's current scholarship accounts.

Public school officials are pushing back. While Arizona parents can already get reimbursed for private and homeschool expenses, the Educational Choice for Children Act would create a tax credit for a similar purpose.

Brian Jodice, national press secretary for the American Federation for Children, said the measure is not a voucher program but a donor-driven initiative to provide families with more schooling options.

"It doesn't impact state budgets. It doesn't impact the federal budget. It allows people to donate to these scholarship granting organizations and get a tax credit, so (it) incentivizes the donors to go do that, which we think is a good thing," Jodice explained. "It also incentivizes families to be able to go apply for it and let their students benefit from it."

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said at least 138 million people nationwide could be eligible for the tax credit. States must opt in to participate.

Arizona public education officials have said its private school funding comes at the expense of K-12 schools. Demand for the program far outpaced what the state had budgeted in the first year alone and demand has continued to grow.

Maura McInerney, legal director at the Education Law Center, called the national program a tax shelter to benefit wealthy people at the expense of public schools.

"We've seen this occur in other states and there's no accountability for these dollars and how they're spent," McInerney pointed out. "The only criterion for receiving a voucher is actually a high family income limit. So essentially this money will potentially benefit students who are already in private schools."

The nationwide program would cost the federal government at least $100 billion per year.


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