September 21, 2018

Need to Know

We hope everyone reading this is safe in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, but we know there are many in North Carolina who are only starting to grapple with the devastation wrought by Florence on their homes, property, and lives. There are many ways you can help those affected by the storm. EducationNC compiled a list of organizations accepting financial donations, including:

If you have a story or photos to share, you can text FLORENCE to 73224.

For Your Consideration

The opioid crisis is not new, but schools are just starting to see and feel the effects. Two articles this week drew my attention to the impact of the opioid crisis on our education system.

This Hechinger Report article highlights how recovery programs, once rare on college campuses, are becoming more common in response to the opioid epidemic. North Carolina is one of a few states that provides grants to colleges to run recovery programs. While colleges are starting to recognize the need for recovery programs, the report notes that many colleges remain in denial and don’t want to advertise recovery programs, thinking it would hurt their reputation.

An Education Week article looks at the increasing number of children being placed in special education as a consequence of the opioid epidemic. Many of us in the education space have heard anecdotal accounts of the impacts of the epidemic on education, but this is one of the first articles I’ve read with any data. Researchers looked at a group of Medicaid-eligible children ages 3 to 8 in Tennessee and found, “The children who faced opioid withdrawal as babies were more likely to be evaluated for special education services and, once evaluated, were more likely to be found eligible.”

Dropping Knowledge

Pew Research Center released a new report titled “Women and Leadership 2018” that looks at Americans’ perceptions of female leadership. The report finds wide gender gaps and even wider partisan gaps on the issues. For example, 33 percent of Republican or lean Republican respondents believe there are too few women in high political offices in the U.S. whereas 79 percent of Democratic or lean Democratic respondents believe that. Additionally, 70 percent of women compared to 48 percent of men believe there are too few women in top executive positions.

pew women

Food for Thought

The Upshot at the New York Times released an interesting interactive map of social networks earlier this week that is worth taking a look at. Using data from Facebook, they map how likely someone who lives in a certain county is to be friends with people from other counties across the country. The article highlights Onslow County, which has an unusually high degree of connections with other counties due to the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune located there. Check it out and find out how connected your county is to the rest of the country.

onslow nyt

 


  • Charlotte Shows How to Beat Flooding

    Bloomberg | 09/19/2018

  • The Unequal Distribution of Catastrophe in North Carolina

    The New Yorker | 09/18/2018

  • Educators look for next steps amid Craven County’s Florence aftermath

    EducationNC | 09/20/2018

  • Black Patients Miss Out On Promising Cancer Drugs

    ProPublica | 09/19/2018

  • Setting a maximum wage for CEOs would be good for everyone

    Aeon | 09/19/2018

  • By 2025, machines will do more work than humans, a new report says

    Quartz | 09/17/2018


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