alternatives

Ditch the big companies for your last-minute holiday shopping and support these small businesses instead. It’s that time of year again! Retail stores across the country are decked with twinkly lights and tinsel, advertising “the best deals” to eager shoppers as they scramble to get the perfect gifts for their loved ones (to the tune of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, of course.) This holiday season, shoppers are expected to spend an average of $1,536 per consumer. Giant corporations like Walmart, Target, and Amazon will take in a great portion of the $1.1 trillion retailers are projected to make. In 2017, during Thanksgiving week alone, Amazon made an estimated $15 billion. While patronizing these large corporations can get us the latest or biggest gadge...

The Education Department is letting states cancel standardized tests. The move is a practical one: School buildings across the nation are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, even though distance learning efforts are widespread. As a result, 2020 is the first year without federally mandated standardized testing in nearly two decades. Washington has required all states to use these tests to evaluate students, teachers, principals, schools and entire school systems, first in accordance with accountability measures shaped by the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act and later under the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act. Until now, students in third through eighth grade were taking standardized tests annually for language arts and math, and then at least once again in high school. In addition, they...

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8 Gift-Buying Alternatives To Amazon That Support Communities Of Color

Skipping standardized tests in 2020 may offer a chance to find better alternatives