VIEW FROM THE TOP
The U.S. Department of Education is reviewing the process by which teachers are assigned to schools to ensure that highly qualified and experienced teachers are equally staffed at both high-poverty schools and those of greater means. States are being sent OCR data about teacher experience, certification, absenteeism, and salary, and asked to develop plans for their schools to comply with federal law mandating equal access to high-quality instructors. It’s the first time such plans have been solicited in almost a decade.
MEET THE NEW BOSS
In an interview with NPR this morning, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander described the education policy agenda of the newly Republican-controlled Senate. The former education secretary emphasized the need for more local control and declared that fixing No Child Left Behind is among his highest priorities.
EDUCATION SNAPSHOT
Students at a Boston Cristo Rey high school gain real-world work experience that boosts confidence and gives them a competitive edge in the workforce. The Catholic school network’s work-study program sends students, who primarily come from low-income families, to local companies for five days a month in exchange for a portion of the student’s tuition. It’s an innovative model that was recently profiled in an exceptional piece in the Atlantic.
TEACH YOUR TEACHERS WELL
Ed schools are rethinking math teacher prep in light of the new Common Core standards: The Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership (MTEP) brings together university and community-college faculty with K–12 educators for an intensive Common Core math preparation project that will help teachers develop lesson plans and emphasize a deeper understanding of the standards. For more about preparing teachers to teach in accordance with the Common Core, see Victoria Sears and Ellen Alpaugh’s magisterial review of Education First’s report on professional development.
