Turning around a state’s lowest performing schools is a widely recognized challenge. Low-performing schools and districts can benefit from partnering with high-quality, external organizations that are experts in implementing and sustaining evidence-based turnaround strategies. However, these schools and districts typically have few opportunities to engage with educational experts and find the customized support needed for their specific challenges. This is where states can play a supportive role.
This brief outlines the key strategies states can use for connecting districts with high-quality school turnaround partners. It also spotlights three states that have successfully implemented these strategies.
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14 School Gadgets You Wish You Had Last Year
Get help with the morning routine, homework struggles, and fickle focus — all thanks to these brilliant tools designed for children with ADHD or LD.
Fun (and Functional) Fidgets
Students with ADHD may focus best when they are chewing, squeezing, picking, or — yes — spinning. Quiet and effective fidgets for your child to try »
Hi Dawn,
With National Coffee Day around the corner and the U.S. coffee industry currently valued at $48 billion, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019's Best Coffee Cities in America as well as accompanying videos, along with its list of top coffee deals and discounts offered by retailers during the holiday.
To determine the best local coffee scenes in America, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 14 key indicators of a strong coffee culture. The data set ranges from coffee shops, coffee houses and cafés per capita to average price per pack of coffee.
Top 20 Cities for Coffee Lovers
1
Seattle, WA
11
Philadelphia, PA
2
New York, NY
12
Atlanta, GA
3
San Francisco, CA
13
Denver, CO
4
Portland, OR
14
Las Vegas, NV
5
Los Angeles, CA
15
Orlando, FL
6
Chicago, IL
16
Minneapolis, MN
7
Washington, DC
17
Oakland, CA
8
Miami, FL
18
Tampa, FL
9
San Diego, CA
19
Pittsburgh, PA
10
Boston, MA
20
Austin, TX
Best vs. Worst
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
http://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-coffee-lovers/23739/
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Dear Dave,
I know you talk about having an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses set aside. My husband and I are having a difficult time agreeing on exactly how much we should set aside for emergencies. How do you determine the exact amount?
Erin
Dear Erin,
The exact you amount you have in your emergency fund—whether it’s three, four, five, or six months of expenses—is really more about peace of mind than anything else. Still, there are a few practical things to consider.
If you both have very stable jobs, you’d probably be okay saving three or four months of expenses. But if one of you is self-employed, makes most of their money through commissions, or only one of you works outside the home, it would make more sense to have five or six months of expenses set aside.
Of course, you can always compromise while leaving room for growth. There’s nothing wrong starting out with three months of expenses saved, then adding more as time goes by. The main thing is that you’re both in agreement, and you both feel safe with the amount of money in your emergency fund!
—Dave
(Understand your investments completely)
Word count: 266
Dear Dave,
I’m new to investing, and recently I began putting money into growth stock mutual funds inside a Roth IRA. On my last statement, it said that my investment had grown. Can you explain how it grew?
Matt
Dear Matt,
In most cases, you’ll have anywhere from 90 to 200 different company’s stocks in a growth stock mutual fund. Over a period of time, some of them will go up and some will go down. If the overall effect is that the group is worth more now than it was before, you made money. The value of that overall group of stocks went up, in other words.
Okay, now pay close attention to what I’m about to say next. I love the fact that you’re investing and thinking about the future. It shows wisdom and maturity to be able to grasp the need for a good financial plan now and in the years ahead. However, I’d advise you to not put any more money into that investment until you understand exactly what it is and how it works.
Talk to your financial advisor immediately, and let him or her know you’re not clear on things. A quality investing professional has the heart of a teacher. Someone like this will take as much time as necessary to better explain your investment, your options, and answer other questions so you can become an informed investor and, over time, make your own wise investing decisions.
Never put money into something you don’t fully understand!
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 16 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.
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WEEK 8: DOWNLOAD LEARNING APPS & TOOLS
Assistive Technology to Close the Learning Gap
The right technology, paired with the right teaching methods, can help your child become a better speaker, listener, reader, writer, planner, organizer, and class participant. How? Read on »
17 Assistive Learning Tools
These expert-approved apps are not games; they're tools. Use them to help with spelling, math, task management, and more. See the list »
