Rhee evaluating teachers
The Post writes up Chancellor Rhee's attempt to overhaul the District's teacher evaluation system. ????This is tougher work than it may seem.
The Post writes up Chancellor Rhee's attempt to overhaul the District's teacher evaluation system. ????This is tougher work than it may seem.
Lynne Munson of Common Core has the latest low-down, here.
The Cincinnati Enquirer has been running a powerful series of articles about the troubles facing that city's generous public pension systems. The newspaper's editorial board says enough is enough:
As Mike noted, the third-year report on the DC voucher program, showing statistically significant benefits for scholarship recipients, presented a challenge for the folks at ED, who responded by using the time-honored tactic of releasing unwelcome news on a Friday afternoon.
Think of all of the energy that some folks are putting into killing the $13 million DC voucher program. Then consider the following:
While the name "No Child Left Behind" might be history, the law's animating principles are here to stay. So it appears from Secretary Arne Duncan's recent policy letter. Note this passage:
After sitting idle for a week, our Obama Administration Reform-o-Meter is about to get a workout. That's because things are finally happening over at 400 Maryland Avenue.
Releasing bad news on a Friday afternoon is a time-honored tradition among governments of all political leanings. (The public is distracted by weekend plans; few people read the Saturday paper.) The Obama Administration is showing itself to be no different; it's no coincidence that the latest (very positive) findings about the D.C.
The third-year evaluation on the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program reports that students who received vouchers outperformed their non-voucher peers in reading. There was no difference in math.
This time I'm not making an April Fool's Day joke. If you give Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's new??letter about the Title I regs* a good look, you'll notice a subtle linguistic shift:
Confirming Mike's post from last night, Kerri Briggs is the new state chief for Washington, DC.
It's been rumored before, but I'm hearing that it's a done deal: John Easton,
Watch out Massachusetts; your little neighbor to the south is poised to become the next big school reform powerhouse.
This morning, the Department of Education posted all the information you could ever want about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (phew). But we're still interested in exploring budget cuts and whether they can catalyze education reform. Are you?
We got a bit ahead of schedule this week so we thought we'd publish a day early. You know what they say about that early worm... or early bird? Whatever.
Two Ohio lawmakers on opposite sides of the political aisle say it is critical for the state to address a looming pension crisis among teachers and other public-sector employees."There have been rumblings about pensions for some time. We've seen bloated pension benefits take down companies like GM," said Rep. Seth Morgan (R-Huber Heights).
Much has been much written about the challenges of understanding Gov. Strickland's school-funding plan. For example, the Akron Beacon Journal asked, why some "wealthy districts receive more state money than much poorer ones?
National Center for Education StatisticsMarch 2009
Very encouraging article out of Newark, NJ about the growth of high-quality charters in that city and other urban areas in the state.
Fred Hiatt pens a very good piece in today's Post about Bill Gates' priorities for K-12 education reform and how these align with the positions of the president, secretary of education, and DC schools chancellor.
When I talk to friends or suburban audiences about urban education, the conversation nearly always turns to the role of parents. ????The consensus is that disinterested, disengaged parents are to blame for the discouraging results of inner-city public schools. ????From this, they typically infer that these schools will never turn around until parents shape up.
During my time at the Alliance, I got to know and greatly respect the work of ConnCAN, a nonprofit education research and advocacy organization in Connecticut.
Lynne Munson of Common Core offers the inside scoop on the Partnership for 21st Century Skills's pep rally held at the NEA yesterday.
The NYT reports on a new study finding that if a school is within a block of a fast-food restaurant, its students are more likely to be obese. ????I've been fascinated by obesity studies since I read that 100 years ago the wealthiest quartile in America was the heaviest but today the poorest quartile is.
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...is here.??First up, take a closer look at our new voucher and accountability paper.