The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Supporting Diverse Students." Contents include: (1) Federal Departments of…

Financial literacy is ideally suited to be integrated into mathematics courses and taught in an interdisciplinary manner. Students learn best and are motivated when tackling real-world meaningful questions. This article shares how elementary mathematics was applied to better understand the debate about raising the minimum wage and the United…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Fair & Effective Education Policy." Contents include: (1) Community…

Civic skills need to be practiced to keep the democracy strong, and civic training materials should be exciting and linked to real-world activities. Today, teaching government and social studies can be, must be, about students' real lives. A unit of study on "Tracking Congress" would offer an opportunity to connect civics and government…

It is difficult to overstate the power of visual images, particularly historical primary source photos, to provide a window into the past. Here, the authors outline how educators can utilize historic photos to provide students with a deeper understanding of the past. When students do not see their heritage and culture represented in images, the…

The Federal Reserve (the Fed) is the central bank of the United States. It has a congressional mandate to promote maximum sustainable employment and price stability. In normal times, the Fed seeks to achieve this mandate by setting the position or "stance" of monetary policy, primarily by managing the level of short-term interest rates.…

Betsy DeVos, the new U.S. Secretary of Education, has a reform agenda to advance school choice. Her track record includes enabling charter school growth in Michigan at taxpayers' expense with little oversight or accountability. Although an effective advocate, DeVos represents a broader policy movement to privatize American education, much of it…

The social studies curriculum travels through time and space and is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. To an outsider, the social studies curriculum is a single line on a program of studies, 45 minutes of a student's school day. Those on the inside, however, know that the field covers history, geography, civics, economics, and much…

Tragic events in recent years underscore the need for school to be a safe and positive learning environment for every student. In the absence of a safe and positive learning environment, a student may feel disconnected, disregard consequences, and engage in bullying or other destructive behaviors. These conditions can foreshadow acts of violence…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Fair & Effective Education Policy." Contents include: (1) What Students…

This "Equity Dispatch" newsletter provides educators, administrators, and community stakeholders with an overview of American Indian education, provisions for Indian Education embedded in Title VI of The Every Student Succeeds Act, and research-based strategies for effectively meeting the unique educational needs of Indigenous students…

The Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is one of the most important financial institutions in the world. As the central bank of the United States, it influences the domestic money supply, credit, and interest rates with the goal of achieving stable prices and full employment for the world's largest economy. It provides a variety of services to…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Education Policy." Contents include: (1) Legislative Sessions Constrained by…

Teachers of children with disabilities know how greatly the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regulations influence their daily practices; and they no doubt have strong opinions about regulations that go too far or not far enough to allow them to help their students succeed. This article offers practical, nuts-and-bolts help for…

Many social scientists have recently commented on the high levels of income inequality in the United States. Indeed, the last time income inequality was as great as it is today was 1928, the year before the stock market crash ushered in the Great Depression. In this article, the authors offer a historical look at income inequality and taxation in…