THE Journal

A new survey of K–12 human resources professionals shows that districts’ top priorities have shifted from COVID-19 procedures and online learning to teacher recruitment, staff well-being, and teacher retention, amid a growing focus on professional development access for teachers and administrative tech solutions.

Infosys Foundation USA has launched a new Springboard digital skills initiative in the United States to provide educators, students, and aspiring professionals with free training and instructional content in computer science, and it includes expanded computer science, coding, and design lessons for K–12 students; streamable coding lessons for K–5 classrooms; and professional development content for teachers to learn how to teach computer science with no prior experience in the subject.

Follett School Solutions, one of the largest U.S. providers of educational materials and tech solutions for K–12 schools, this week unveiled new features and capabilities for its Destiny Resource Manager platform, the company said.

The U.S. Department of Education today announced it will award $35 million in competitive grants through the Teacher Quality Partnership program, intended to expand the pool of well-prepared new teachers, promote diversity in the educator workforce, and bring a wide range of experiences into the classroom to support students.

The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency this week released an updated CISA K-12 School Security Guide and School Security Assessment Tool, which include new aids and guidance to support K-12 school districts in strengthening physical security on school campuses and protect against targeted violence and other threats.

The latest Utah School Technology Inventory report just released by the Utah Education and Telehealth Network shows that the number of devices deployed in schools across the state rose by 31% since the pandemic began, and 65% of all student computing devices in Utah are now Chromebooks, according to UETN.

A day after K–12 curriculum provider Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co. announced it is being acquired by private investment firm Veritas Capital in a deal valued at $2.8 billion, one of HMH’s “significant” shareholders objected to the sale in a letter to the board of directors, saying it “will not be tendering its shares into Veritas’ offer.”

The need for robotics in education will help drive double-digit annual growth worldwide through 2028.

With school districts across the nation increasingly considering tutoring programs and apps to help students overcome pandemic learning loss, online tutoring platform FEV Tutor has announced a free webinar, “How to Evaluate High-Impact Tutoring Programs,” for K–12 curriculum decision-makers, administrators, and academic officers.

Carolina Biological, a supplier of instructional materials for science classes, on Tuesday unveiled new “certified” print and digital versions of OpenSciEd science instructional units for grades 6–8, including complete lab kits and flexible purchase options for schools, the company said in a news release.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co., a provider of K–12 core curriculum, supplemental and intervention solutions, and professional learning services, today announced it is being acquired by private investment firm Veritas Capital in a deal valued at $2.8 billion.

Online learning nonprofit VHS Learning will provide free online Advanced Placement courses in STEM subjects to up to 1,500 Massachusetts high school students students during the 2022-23 school year in a partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

K–12 learning solutions provider Savvas Learning Co. this week introduced a new Literacy Screener and Diagnostic Assessments for use with its core K–8 literacy programs.

Two U.S. senators have announced proposed legislation that would allow K–12 school districts to seek direct federal funding for comprehensive student mental health and suicide prevent programs from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Since COVID-19 turned the U.S. education system upside down, the movement to "reimagine education" seems to be having a moment, and SXSW EDU attendees can expect to hear a lot of discussion on remaking America’s public school norms when the event returns in-person March 7–10 in Austin with more than 350 in-person sessions, dozens of which will be streamed online as well for virtual attendees.

Banyan Software said this week it has added another enterprise software business to its family, acquiring DataDesign Solutions, whose education intelligence solutions help K–12 schools analyze student and back-office data.

In a new survey commissioned by learning technology firm D2L, only 20% of K–12 educators responding said they are “strongly satisfied” with the professional learning options, even as 94% agreed that ongoing professional development is important to a teacher’s effectiveness, D2L said Tuesday.

PresenceLearning, a provider of online counseling for schools and clinicians, on Tuesday announced a deal to to bring some of Hasbro’s children’s characters and classic games to the PresenceLearning therapy platform to help speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and behavioral and mental health professionals better engage with students during sessions.