Catapult Learning EduBlog
What is Financial Literacy?
Did you know that more than 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck? When this is the case, how do people set themselves up for long-term financial security?
What is Tutoring?
Tutoring is extra academic learning and support that can be delivered by a teacher, other school staff, an experienced peer, or a professional tutor.
Making the Most Out of Your Investment in Educators
The most recent NAEP scores are not pretty…especially in reading and math, with the latter seeing its largest drop since 19901. But academics is just one issue facing educators today— non-academic barriers to learning are on the rise across all student populations.Many teachers are simply not prepared to handle the situations—both academic and non-academic—that arise in classrooms. Behavioral disruptions, mental health challenges, specialized learning needs…these are everyday realities in the general education classroom, and teachers must possess the tools to effectively address these scenarios. Catapult Learning’s integrated professional learning approach offers a holistic development approach that promises an effective solution to [...]
3 Keys to Teacher Retention
We’ve reached an inflection point regarding teacher retention, and education leaders must strategize on how to keep their best educators before it’s too late. Consider these 2022 statistics: 80% of teachers indicate that burnout is a serious problem.1 55% of educators now indicate that they are ready to leave the profession earlier than planned.2 76% of educators feel student behavioral issues are a serious problem.3 84% of educators support hiring more counselors and school psychologists.4 94% of educators want more student health and behavioral support.5 Only 10% of educators would strongly recommend the profession to a young adult.6 Only 30% [...]
Turning Summer Learning Loss into Learning Gains
Summer learning loss, summer slide—these familiar terms describe the loss of learning over the summer from the prior school year because of the lengthy absence from school. On top of that, we are now (unfortunately) dealing with COVID learning loss, which still lingers as a result of school disruptions and prolonged virtual learning. Combined, this loss of learning creates a dangerous and slippery slope that schools and students have been struggling to climb since the spring of 2020. But there is a way to combat summer slide and COVID learning loss. First, let’s look at some staggering data surrounding learning [...]
How California Schools Can Best Use Their EANS Funds
California’s student literacy rates are low, teacher stress is high, learning gaps are expansive, and student mental health is nearing crisis levels. There is hope to be found in the form of California Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS) funding. And there are plenty of areas in which this federal funding can be spent, in ways that will make a true impact in the classroom. Let’s look at how California non-public schools can best use their EANS funds. Types of California EANS Funding Before we get into the best ways to invest the funds, we’ll take a quick look at [...]
The Only Real Way to Recover from Learning Loss
The devastating learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been well-documented, and its effects still linger today. A recent survey shows that 59% of families are worried that their children will experience long-term academic struggles because of disruptions to their education (both academic and emotional) during the COVID-19 pandemic*. In addition, the most recent i-Ready assessments, for the 2021-22 school year, reveal that fewer children in the early grades (K-3) are developing essential phonics skills. Math scores aren’t much better; in grades 5 through 8, for example, fewer students than ever are developing essential math skills like understanding place [...]
Recent NAEP Test Scores Illustrate the Importance of High-Dosage Tutoring
Two decades’ worth of progress…gone. Just like that. Everyone was aware of the learning loss and intellectual damage done by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores offer grim, sobering insight on just how devastating the pandemic was to education—math and reading scores for 9-year-olds across the United States dropped dramatically between 2020 and 2022, resulting in performance in these subjects dropping to the levels of 20 years ago. NAEP Test Background and Insights For those unfamiliar, the NAEP test is a gold standard colloquially known as “the nation’s report card” and is [...]
Tips for bridging learning gaps and achieving positive student outcomes
Actionable strategies and solutions designed to prepare administrators for a successful new school year As the 2022-2023 school year kicks off, the obstacles facing faculty, staff, and students remain significant. In fact, the upcoming school year might be the most challenging yet. Administrators continue facing pandemic-induced hurdles such as substantial numbers of students struggling academically, emotionally, and behaviorally. Additional concerns include significant teacher and other school-staff shortages, teacher and staff retention and wellness, and overall widened achievement gaps. Now is a critical time for school leaders to further examine these issues and determine the best ways to meet students and [...]
How to Address Summer Learning Loss
Summer learning loss, also known as summer slide, has been a point of discussion and concern in K12 education for decades. While some experts claim that summer learning loss is a myth, assessment data and other evidence show otherwise. COVID-19 school closures and prolonged virtual learning have disrupted learning for millions of K12 students, leading to unfinished learning and, for many, increased academic, social, and emotional gaps. As we prepare for this summer, students face an unprecedented academic, social, emotional, and mental health crisis…so it’s important to ask: How can summer programming close academic gaps and improve students’ social skills [...]