Denise R. Newsome

This is exactly why we have to find balance between chasing down cheating and cultivating a genuine desire to learn. Technology will always outpace our detection methods. Culture is the only long-term answer.

When are the grants coming to support math education and STEM teacher retention? If we want to solve the STEM pipeline problem, we cannot just focus on literacy, it’s both literacy and numeracy skills that need to be developed. The longer we focus on just literacy, the further behind we fall as a nation in advancing the K-12 system.

Today, ED and @USDOL took the next step in our partnership by launching the first joint K–12 grant competitions to improve literacy and support our nation’s teachers. Under @POTUS, we are making real investments where they matter. ed.gov/about/news/pre…

@FixingEducation This is 100% true. The 25% of students who are there because they really want to learn, suffer because of the disruptions made by the other 75%.

Schools are now structured so that the overwhelming number of student misbehaviors essentially have ZERO consequences. This is horrible for teachers…but it’s even worse for the students who want to learn!

@FLBaloney Just wow!! This is unbelievable in the era of high school grade inflation…I’ve added this to my list of papers to review.

"We conclude that High School GPA remains the most reliable signal of degree completion at broad-access public universities."

We have to start taking math education seriously in Florida…the consequences are greater than what our politicians understand right now!!

Want to attract more strong individuals to math and science teaching positions in Florida’s K-12 public schools? Pay Florida teachers what Texas pays teachers. bridgetotomorrow.wordpress.com/2026/01/11/wan…

@teachthemx3 The general public needs to know how bad it really is in our public high school la with students throwing tantrums like this!!

@MarioNawfal The crisis in math literacy and education is just as disturbing!!

🇺🇸 CRAZY IS RIGHT: AMERICA’S READING CRISIS IS SELF-INFLICTED Teaching English without phonics is like teaching math without numbers. Elon Musk summed it up in one word, “Crazy.” Across America, schools are abandoning phonics, the proven method for teaching kids to read, in favor of trendy “balanced literacy” programs built on guessing words from pictures or context. The approach sounds gentle, but it’s devastating. Children aren’t decoding language anymore, they’re memorizing shapes and guessing meanings. Phonics works. The National Reading Panel proved it boosts literacy across grades K–6, especially for struggling students. The Rose Report called it “the prime approach for beginners.” Yet many schools cling to “balanced literacy,” where kids guess words from pictures instead of decoding them. The result? Only one in three fourth-graders can read proficiently, and scores keep falling. Mississippi fixed it years ago, they mandated phonics and climbed from last place to the top. Teaching English without phonics is like teaching math without numbers. It makes no sense, and it leaves kids behind. Elon’s right, this isn’t a debate, it’s negligence. The science is settled. Bring phonics back or keep failing America’s children. Sources: Stanford University, International Literacy Association, ReadlingLeague

@teachthemx3 @barristerlawusa @donnies12 Thanks!!!

@MsNewsomesNotes @barristerlawusa @donnies12 Best of luck!

I have a student who transferred in halfway through the semester. They’ve shown up twice in two months and came in with a 23. Today, an administrator stopped by during my conference/planning period and strongly suggested I give this student a 60 so it’s recoverable next semester. I said I can’t ethically invent 37 points. Admin informed me that others have no problem doing so because it's in the student's best interest. Time to update the resume.

@teachthemx3 @barristerlawusa @donnies12 Hopefully, that isn’t going to be my fate…I maybe on my way to that after my meeting tomorrow, but I am not backing down!!!

@MsNewsomesNotes @barristerlawusa @donnies12 I used to teach AP Calculus. I refused to change an 88 to a 90 for a district employee. I had already offered this student multiple extra credit opportunities, which they declined. Long story short, I no longer teach any AP classes. I now have 3 preps.

@FLBaloney And they would allow us to address the grade inflation issues….and allow students to fail when they need to repeat a class.

"The bottom line: If Kamoutsas and other state officials truly believe in accountability, they’d demand it for all taxpayer-funded schools. And for all the students who attend them." orlandosentinel.com/2025/12/10/kam…

@barristerlawusa @teachthemx3 @donnies12 And this is exactly why I am taking a stand in my AP Calculus class. If they cannot do the work, they will not pass!

I had a student in my graduate program who was a PoC who was “passed on.” I told her she would need to drop my class so she could take a remedial reading/writing class. Her mother with the DOC made an appointment with the Dean who told me I had to come. I asked mom to read the paper I brought outload. She did and said this is garbage. She asked me who wrote this PoS. I said your daughter. She said, this is not even literate. I agreed. She asked her daughter what was going on. Her daughter cried and then the first truth came out. That’s the best she could do. A college graduate who was illiterate because her mother came in and threatened every teacher to pass her on. I said to the mother, if your daughter puts in the effort and brings her verbal up, she can retake my class and I’ll waive the fees provided the Dean agrees. The Dean agreed. That young lady took two years to get up to speed and she retake my class. She now has a PhD and I promise you she has no attitude and she tells this story to all her students. Do not pass a failing student on. It always comes back to hurt the student. 🥰

@teachthemx3 Would you be willing to host a Space with me and we could have a conversation about what we are seeing in the classroom and discuss some of the recent reports on students graduating without college level math skills?

@MsNewsomesNotes That’s great! People need to be aware.

@MsNewsomesNotes Agreed! I will be planning my exit soon. I am a rule-follower by nature and have a real problem just passing everyone along.

I just cannot keep going like this! We are lying to both students and parents about the math skills that students have. I have had the most challenging class of AP Calculus students this year. They all want a A, yet only about 35% of my class actually does the homework. The remaining 65% disrupt the learning of the 35%. We have a national crisis in math education at every level…however the most disturbing part is that our most “advanced” students are deficient in fundamental algebraic reasoning skills.

I love the biannual staff meeting where we’re reminded not to “fail the kids” and to mind our 9’s (79, 89) so admin doesn’t have to deal with parent phone calls. All delivered verbally, of course, because none of it can be put in writing. Veteran teachers should get an opt-out button for this propaganda we’ve heard a thousand times.

If only we could send high school graduates to college with strong math skills….there wouldn’t have to be a discussion on terminating math intensive STEM majors…and the worst part of this is the effect canceling physical sciences degree programs will have on producing the future STEM workforce…..