K-12

To stem the loss of students looking for flexible or online learning options, the Vigo County School Corp. in Indiana wants to start a commercial, statewide program that could begin at the elementary level next year.

Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska have approved the purchase of more than 600 Chromebooks for its remote learning program, which the district has no plans to continue beyond the 2021-2022 academic year.

As the state legislature begins negotiations over next year’s budget, educators and elected officials are discussing whether to keep remote learning as an option once everyone goes back to school in the fall.

In partnership with the nonprofit Niswonger Foundation, the state will provide free online Advanced Placement courses to about 5,000 students. Officials say the program will reduce barriers to AP enrollment.

The state House has passed a bill that would require school districts to post teaching materials online, with critics raising concerns about the time commitment and parents meddling in curriculums.

As last year's drastic shift to online learning put technology front and center for school districts, many K-12 IT officials have found themselves in key advisory or leadership roles with growing responsibilities.

What started two years ago as a push for K-12 computer science education in the rural town of Phillipsburg, Kansas is now a statewide effort, including the state department of commerce and the nonprofit NetWork Kansas.

The ed tech company is looking for teachers and administrators to participate in its sixth annual State of Technology in Education survey, which will assess adaptations schools have made in the past year.

The K-5 elementary school will start the 2021-22 school year as Elolf STEAM Academy, the first tech-based magnet school and a potential feeder program in San Antonio's Judson Independent School District.

More virtual schooling has meant more network vulnerabilities, and a webinar this week recommended that K-12 districts consider monitoring tools such as ManagedMethods to accomplish what limited IT staff cannot.

The youth sports advocacy group has partnered with the educational nonprofit TeachAids to share its CrashCourse software curriculum with athletes, parents, coaches and administrators in NCYS programs nationwide.

Next Generation Academy in Greensboro, N.C. is launching 10 career pathways programs from the education company Woz ED, including coding, cybersecurity, engineering, robotics, artificial intelligence and drone piloting.

In an effort to retain students who learn better from home or have COVID-related health concerns, Hamilton Southeastern Schools in Indiana is preparing two virtual-only options for the coming school year.

Information technology is among the subjects in which students in the Texas school district can get certifications, through a program expected to recruit future business partnerships across the state.

Realizing the need for alternatives to one-size-fits-all education, Aberdeen School District in Washington plans to expand nontraditional options like career technical education, GED and online learning.

With money from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program, four schools in the South Carolina county will try to attract students in fields such as cybersecurity, computer science and network engineering.

The city of Danbury, Conn., has approved a new academy for middle- and high-school students that will teach cybersecurity, scientific innovation, medicine and global enterprise, among other things.

Advances in technology are changing what career and technical education programs need to teach, while the growing costs of equipment are increasingly hard for schools to afford. But they’ve never been more important.