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Secondary Education
To build community this fall, think of your class as a team
Before COVID-19, it was easier for teachers to build community within their class. How can teachers do that meeting virtually?
High school students lead ‘Maskathon’ during remote summer program
A virtual Maskathon showcased high school students’ problem solving, product development, and creativity with their tech-integrated face masks.
Children’s literature as ‘seed work’
Penn GSE’s Ebony Elizabeth Thomas discusses the importance of more diverse books for kids and the challenges that continue to stifle early anti-racist learning. She also shares a curated list of recommended books for youth catered to this particular moment.
Penn launches no-cost, online summer program for rising high school seniors
PennRSSA has the capacity to reach thousands of School District of Philadelphia students with content meant to boost academic, career, and postsecondary preparation.
Creating a civics curriculum with Philly students that can be taught online or in person
A research course on community engagement had been collaborating with Philadelphia teachers to create a curriculum about the importance of voting. Then the classroom experience moved online.
High school meets business with Bridges 2 Wealth
Bridges 2 Wealth, a financial literacy program that celebrated its one-year anniversary with the Netter Center in February, collaborates with Penn students and Philadelphia schools to close the wealth gap.
A ‘Collective Climb’ to combat poverty
With the President’s Engagement Prize, seniors Hyungtae Kim, Kwaku Owusu, and Mckayla Warwick will work to combat poverty in West Philadelphia through education, shared resources, and community collaboration.
Ten years later, dental mentorship program holds strong
Penn Dental Medicine students and faculty connect with Randolph high schoolers through the School District of Philadelphia’s Oral Health Academy.
How do you homeschool kids? The pandemic has lots of parents asking
Penn GSE’s Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher’s new podcast offers guidance on juggling work and homeschooling, and how to focus on what kids and parents truly need during the pandemic.
Parents asked questions about living in lockdown. Penn GSE experts answered
Stay-at-home orders, closed schools, and pandemic-induced anxiety are taking their toll on families. Penn GSE’s Caroline Watts offers insights and resources for families requesting online resources.
In the News
American Education Week: Philly schools highlight initiatives to motivate, inspire students
Faculty from Penn recently taught students at Henry C. Lea Elementary School in West Philadelphia for the second year in a row.
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Drilling into a model of a skull: a ‘cool’ taste of doctoring for Philly high schoolers
The “Pipeline Plus” summer program at Penn Medicine, run by the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, is designed to teach Philadelphia high school students about careers in the health sciences.
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Schools in poorer neighborhoods struggle to keep teachers. How offering them more money and power might help
Richard Ingersoll of the Graduate School of Education says that giving educators more authority at their workplace makes them feel like respected professionals.
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Lego, martial arts and dance classes: How one school tackled school absenteeism
A 2022 Penn study found a return of three dollars for every dollar invested in City Connects, a pilot project that links students with support for basic needs and enrichment activities.
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How gross inequalities in institutional wealth distort the higher education ecosystem and shortchange the vast majority of middle- and lower-income undergraduates
Penn is noted for its pledge to contribute $100 million over 10 years to renovate decrepit Philadelphia schools, potentially assisting a more diverse student body.
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Texas has taken over the Houston school district. Educational outcomes have not always improved in other states that have done so
Jonathan Supovitz of the Graduate School of Education says that there’s evidence in both directions on the question of whether state takeover of individual districts can improve student learning.
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