Una nueva campaña pretende reavivar las escuelas públicas de Florida y Estados Unidos.

La campaña Real Solutions for Kids and Communities de la Federación Americana de Profesores pretende ayudar a las escuelas a reforzar el aprendizaje de los alumnos.

Uno de los elementos del plan es impulsar la lectura, ya que las habilidades lectoras van en declive en todo el país.

Según un estudio del Instituto Albert Shanker, Florida ha dado pasos decisivos para garantizar el florecimiento de la lectura entre sus alumnos.

La presidenta de la AFT, Randi Weingarten, afirma que las prácticas de lectura basadas en pruebas deben convertirse en la norma para los distritos escolares de todo el país, señalando que tienen multitud de beneficios.


"La ciencia de la lectura apunta a un enfoque sistemático que incluya la enseñanza de la fonética," explica Weingarten, "además de dar a los alumnos muchas oportunidades de leer libros interesantes y de calidad para desarrollar sus conocimientos previos y ampliar su vocabulario."

Sin embargo, Florida se ha convertido en un estado donde las prohibiciones de libros se han convertido en una nueva normalidad.

Aunque el gobernador Ron DeSantis ha afirmado que no se prohíben libros en su estado, un informe de Pen America revela que se han producido 357 prohibiciones de libros en Florida.

Además, los funcionarios electos están trabajando para implementar las declaraciones de derechos de los padres en las escuelas. Aunque algunos consideran que son formas de garantizar una mayor colaboración entre padres y escuelas, otros creen que crean restricciones en los planes de estudios.

El Secretario de Educación de Estados Unidos, Miguel Cardona, cree que la educación debe ser determinada por los educadores.

"Podemos ensenar las tragedias y los triunfos de la historia de Estados Unidos y seguir inculcando el orgullo por nuestro país," asegura Cardona. "Como padre, como profesor y como antiguo director, sé que las relaciones sólidas y productivas entre profesores y padres son vitales para el éxito de los alumnos."

Todo esto se produce en un momento en que la confianza de los estadounidenses en la educación ha descendido tras alcanzar máximos recientes en 2020. Según una encuesta de Gallup, el 28% de los encuestados confía en la educación pública, frente al 32% de 2021 y el 41% de 2020.

Ohio's charter schools have been a topic of debate for more than two decades, with strong opinions on both sides.

Charter schools operate independently of traditional public school districts, often promising more flexibility and innovation. However, concerns about funding persist.

Steve Dyer, former chair of the Ohio House Finance Committee and member of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, highlighted a new report exploring the significance of charter schools in Ohio which pointed out nearly half of all charters in the state have closed.

"Ohio's charter school experiment, which is now about 25 years old, has been an utter failure," Dyer asserted. "Because the state has so heavily invested in charter schools, the average charter school student gets more than double the amount of state funding that a kid in a local public school gets."

Dyer's concerns focus on the disparity in funding between charter and traditional public schools, with charter students receiving significant state support despite some schools underperforming.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, charter schools have higher closure rates, with nearly 50% of them closing by their 10th year. Critics argue the financial investment in a less stable educational system could take away from local public schools, which rely on a combination of state and local funding.

Others contended charter schools offer parents additional choices in educating their children.

William Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, stressed the quality of the options is critical.

"There's no qualifications established by the state of Ohio," Phillis pointed out. "Many operators have no clue as to what education is all about, have no clue in some cases how to operate a business. They just see it as a financial opportunity."

Ohioans remain divided on whether charter schools deliver on their promises. On one side, advocates believe in the value of offering educational options to parents. On the other, opponents question the sustainability and financial strain on the broader public education system.


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Following a Georgia high school shooting in early September, there's been a surge in school threats across the country.

In South Dakota, safety experts are teaching people to report threats - and teaching schools how to field them.

In mid-September, a threatening social media post caused the Meade School District to move into "secure" status.

After it was proven to be noncredible, County Sheriff Pat West pointed out that social media shares "spread like wildfire," and make investigations much more difficult.

Brett Garland is director of the South Dakota School Safety Program, within the Office of Homeland Security. He advised people to - "report, don't repost."

"We would prefer that schools, parents, students, community members, immediately get in touch with their law enforcement agency if they receive information regarding a threat," said Garland. "Definitely we would prefer they not share those threats in any way."

An anonymous tip line for concerns in South Dakota, called "Safe2Say," is available online or by phone 24/7.

Threatening a school, school transit or other place of assembly is a Class 4 felony in South Dakota.

The School Safety Center offers behavioral threat assessment training, teaching school staff and educators to recognize potential flags for violent behavior.

Garland said more than 200 schools have already participated.

"This training that will help schools," said Garland, "hopefully interrupt somebody on that pathway to violence, before it gets to any sort of active attack."

He said school staff learn to develop a "multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment team," to identify and evaluate threats before deciding on the right intervention.

But he added that there's no specific profile for someone who may be making threats.



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Custodians are often the unseen workers who ensure school buildings operate but in Washington state, understaffing can make their work difficult.

Custodians run a gamut of tasks in schools from cleaning to maintenance.

Amanda Shull, head custodian at Kentlake High School in Kent and a member of the American Federation of Teachers Kent Classified, said when there is not enough staff, they have to pick up more tasks during the day.

"I have to say that all the time: we are understaffed," Shull emphasized. "Somebody called out today and we weren't sent any help. So, it greatly affects us because receiving that extra task determines the rest of our day."

A report from the League of Education Voters found Washington state lawmakers are struggling to properly fund the state's 295 school districts. While the state has increased spending on staff, the costs for other items like food, repairs and natural gas have gone up at an even faster rate since the start of the pandemic.

Shull noted her staff often works out of sight of the rest of the people at the school.

"People see me but you never see the real ones that come after school is out, after the events are over, the quiet ones that clean up and make everything presentable for the next day so classes can happen," Shull explained.

Shull stressed the lack of proper funding affects custodians in other ways, such as with equipment shortages. She added she always tells her team when a teacher or student offers appreciation for their work.