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First Bell: 11-6-12
A first look at the most important education news from this morning: States will be voting on critical charter-school initiatives, Colorado may revoke SIG grants from failing schools, and more.
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First bell: 11-5-12
A first look at the most important education news from the weekend and this morning: Romney adds education to his closing argument, NYC schools begin reopening, and more
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The history of unrequited love: U.S. presidents and K-12 education
Why is education rarely mentioned among presidents' accomplishments?
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Let a new teacher-union debate begin
Examining the power—and the impact—of education’s 800-pound gorilla
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Jacques Barzun—A personal remembrance
Guest blogger A. Graham Down remembers the cultural critic and author of "From Dawn to Decadence"
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What’s more powerful than Hurricane Sandy? Hurricane Randi!
The lessons of Fordham's new study, How Strong are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State by State Comparison.
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How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions?
This timely study represents the most comprehensive analysis of American teacher unions' strength ever conducted, ranking all fifty states and the District of Columbia according to the power and influence of their state-level unions. To assess union strength, the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now examined thirty-seven different variables across five realms: 1) Resources and Membership 2) Involvement in Politics 3) Scope of Bargaining 4) State Policies 5) Perceived Influence The study analyzed factors ranging from union membership and revenue to state bargaining laws to campaign contributions, and included such measures such as the alignment between specific state policies and traditional union interests and a unique stakeholder survey. The report sorts the fifty-one jurisdictions into five tiers, ranking their teacher unions from strongest to weakest and providing in-depth profiles of each. Download the report: http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/how-strong-are-us-teacher-unio…
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Report
Governance, Teachers & School Leaders
How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions? A State-By-State Comparison
This timely study represents the most comprehensive analysis of American teacher unions’ strength ever conducted, ranking all fifty states and the District of Columbia according to the power and influence of their state-level unions.
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Summiting the mountain
My introduction for Teach for America Founder Wendy Kopp at yesterday's White House Fellows Annual Leadership Conference
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First bell: 10-26-12
A first look at today's education news: A new edu-agenda in Florida, caps on superintendent pay in Jersey, and more
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Exam Schools: The Ups and Downs of Selective Public High Schools
The plight of low-performing students dominates our education news and policies. Yet America's high flyers demand innovative, rigorous schooling as well, particularly if the country is to sharpen its economic and scientific edge. Motivated, high-ability youngsters can be served in myriad ways by public education, including schools that specialize in them. In a new book from Princeton University Press, Exam Schools: Inside America's Most Selective Public High Schools, co-authors Chester Finn and Jessica Hockett identify 165 such high schools across America. In this Fordham LIVE! conversation, they and others will examine some of the issues that selective-admission public high schools pose. Who attends them? How are their students selected? Are such schools the future of gifted education or do they unfairly advantage a select few at the expense of most students? Just how different are they, anyway? Authors Finn and Hockett will be joined by a pair of educators instrumental in the creation of two of the "exam schools" profiled in the book: Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, president emeritus of George Washington University and a key player in the establishment of D.C.'s selective School Without Walls, and Geoffrey Jones, founding principal of Alexandria's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
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Indiana and the Common Core: Tony Bennett got it right
Setting the record straight on the Hoosier State
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Charter Schools
When private schools and common standards collide
What the Common Core may mean for accountability
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First bell: 10-23-12
A first look at this morning's most important education news: Teachers in the foreign-policy debate, school-funding suits in Texas, and more
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Collective impact or Tragedy of the Commons?
The challenge of sharing responsibility while preserving responsibility
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First bell: 10-22-12
A first look at the most important education news from the weekend and this morning: Education op-eds abound, from Tom Friedman's to Wendy Kopps'
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First bell: 10-19-12
A first look at today's most important education news: A teacher-evaluation suit in L.A., "Smart Drugs" under fire, and more