Wash Your Sheets! Plus Rolling Study Halls, Tribes, SEL And More!

Lina Bankert on lessons from Bellwether’s strategic growth institute.

Chad Aldeman looks into teacher health care benefits, are they really “Cadillac?” Phil Burgoyne- Allen on civics education.

Tom Kane looks back and forward on philanthropy and policy innovation.

OK, I had thought that the best way to communicate about SEL was to deploy an elaborate word salad that most people would be too insecure to say they didn’t understand. Turns out there is more to it. DQC has a brief out that is all about how to communicate about SEL and data.

Today in oh please…Last we heard from the conference planning department of the Network for Public Education they were backpedaling and over-explaining their decision to hold their annual conference in North Carolina despite a boycott of that state because of its anti-LGBT positions. The real reason was hard to release room blocks, of course, but we got treated to a whole song and dance routine about values.

Flash forward and now this year they’re in Indianapolis (great town, don’t miss St. Elmo’s and some fun live music venues). But, there is some concern that they might be holding their conference at a hotel where workers are on strike. That would obviously be awkward. Diane Ravitch writes about how relieved she is to learn there is no strike because, well, they surely don’t want to cross a picket line and people are very concerned…Fear not! There is no chance of a strike at this hotel because it’s NOT union. Again, thanks for living your values guys! (Don’t miss the comments about labor solidarity…)

The network is now apparently also going to ask attendees not to participate in Marriott’s “green” program. You’re probably familiar with these hotel initiatives, less washing of sheets and towels if you have an extended stay. And they help with, you know, clean water in a small but not insignificant way given the commercial washing process is more intense than what you probably do at home. The reasoning behind this is sort of indecipherable, but Randi Weingarten opposes these initiatives. Maybe the conference swag will be branded disposable plastic water bottles? Or little branded packets of bleach or industrial detergent you can take home?

Rolling study halls.

This Hidden Tribes report everyone is chattering about has some echoes in the ed debate.

Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard.