- Digital-game-inspired instruction isn’t the only thing that makes one New York City charter school unique. At Quest to Learn, professional development is focused on helping teachers infuse technology with instruction, and it isn’t just a one-off session. Every Wednesday kids are sent home two hours early so that teachers can begin their weekly training sessions, known as Studio Q. Sounds like a fun place to teach.
- Do quirky but still precocious students get overlooked by school gifted programs in place of more outgoing kids? Turns out that social and emotional skills play a role in whether kids are to gifted programs, a fact that this Out of Left Field blogger weighs in on.
- Here’s a bit of NOLA news we like. A group of students is taking matters into their own hands to help rebuild Valena C. Jones School in New Orleans The school fell victim to Hurricane Katrina, and was left abandoned and boarded up along with surrounding neighborhoods. Students are now working on a new vision and design for their school, one that includes solar panels and a school garden. The hope is that by fixing up the school, people will want to move nearby, helping to jumpstart the community once again.
- We know that many Ohio districts are resorting to teacher layoffs as a way of reducing costs, but what else are districts doing to save? According to this graph -- how about a four-day school week, cutting electives, or suspending maintenance? For more ways that districts are getting creative to deal with budget cuts, check out this Wall Street Journal article.
- Loving the World Cup and wanting even more? Check out this US vs. the World info-graphic highlighting the differences between the US and other contenders as it relates to education (broadly). Did you know that Yemen ranks highest for percent of total government spending on education (32.8 percent), or that more students in Ireland than anywhere else find school to be boring?
