Introducing Deputy Secretary Darling-Hammond
Michael J. PetrilliOK, I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I'm hearing a lot of chatter that indicates that Linda Darling-Hammond is almost certainly getting the Department of Education's #
Less money + more reform = a better deal
Michael J. PetrilliIt almost seems too good to be true, but lo and behold, a ???gang??? of moderate Senators from both sides of the aisle are pushing to reduce the amount of money in the stimulus package going to schools.
Senate to strip most education funding from the stimulus bill
Michael J. PetrilliThat's the word on the street (and on the hill). As I explain below, that's not such a bad thing.
Krauthammer on the stimulus
Stafford PalmieriCharles Krauthammer takes a swing at the stimulus today in the Washington Post. Of note, he uses education to illustrate the wastefulness of the unstimulating stimulus:
President Obama: That's the best you've got?
Michael J. PetrilliPresident Barack Obama takes to the pages of the Washington Post today to defend his stimulus plan .
Russlynn Ali: Too hot?
Michael J. PetrilliOur Reform-o-Meter is getting a workout now that the Obama Administration is announcing new Department of Education appointees daily.
ConnCAN launches a new blog
Stafford PalmieriWe love the blogsophere over here at Flypaper, which is why we want to tell you about a neat new blog launched today: Mind the Gaps.
Read your Gadfly, kids
Stafford PalmieriWe know you wait, every week, with bated breath for your RSS feed to tell you that the Gadfly has arrived. Well, wait no longer. In the top spot, find a thought-provoking (and chillingly true) editorial from Raegen T.
Good education reform idea, Ted!
Emmy L. PartinWe've pointed out some of the provisions of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's education plan that we aren't too fond of.???? But that's not to say the entire plan is without merit.
2008 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: What States Can Do To Retain Effective New Teachers
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.National Council on Teacher Quality2008
K-12 Online Learning: A 2008 Follow-up of the Survey of U.S. School District Administrators
Anthony G. Picciano and Jeff SeamanSloan ConsortiumJanuary 2009
Test-taking, such a drag
Deandre M. Ellis most certainly had other things on his mind than vocabulary words and Number 2 pencils last week as he prepared for the New York Regents exam. No, Ellis, a former Schenectady High School student, was probably more concerned with whether his wig was on straight, his eyelashes curled, and his apparel appropriate--and if he'd get caught by the test monitor.
No labor (union) of love
Are Florida teachers channeling Wall Street arrogance? Unlike others who've been hit by the recessionary storm, teachers in the sprawling Miami-Dade district apparently believe themselves immune from the effects of economic decline.
Strickland goes to school
Terry RyanOhio Governor Ted Strickland's hot-off-the-presses education-reform plan is nothing if not audacious.
Hurricane Wagner
Unlike other, balmier breezes, the "wind of change...blowing through the Fayetteville School District" is reason to batten down the shutters. Why?
Class size commando
Known for his brawn, the Terminator may soon be known for his flexibility, too. He still can't touch his toes (so far as we know) but he is trying to give districts more wiggle-room when it comes to school spending.
Land of 10,000 bonuses
Too taxing to decide who deserves a raise and who doesn't? Here's a simple if inane solution: remunerate everyone. That's the thinking, at least, in Minnesota, where the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune found that in 22 districts, only 27 of roughly 4,200 eligible teachers were left empty-handed under the state's Q Comp merit pay program.
Time to retire "last hired, first fired"
Raegen T. Miller, Robin ChaitEvery day, sometimes several times a day, the media report more rounds of layoffs at major American firms, from Microsoft to Caterpillar to Fidelity to Macy's and beyond. But the private sector is not the only one hemorrhaging jobs in the current recession; school districts from coast to coast are letting go of employees, too.
Governor's education plan: great politics/mixed policies
Terry RyanGov. Ted Strickland's hot-off-the-presses education-reform plan is nothing if not audacious. Gutsy, even, in its way, and wider-ranging than most people expected, it tackles a multitude of topics-sometimes in incompatible and contradictory ways-and picks up on dozens of ideas, some of them sound.
Education voucher data misleading
Terry RyanIn 1975, the United States went metric with the signing of the Metric Conversion Act by President Gerald Ford. Despite this federal law and millions of dollars spent on conversion efforts, Americans never bought into the metric system. More than 30 years later we still use miles per hour as opposed to kilometers per hour.
Energy, economy, and STEM concerns top state science survey
Mike LaffertyAlternative energy, the economy, and STEM education are the three top science-and-technology-related worries according to an Ohio Academy of Science survey of state and local public officials, including those in the governor's office (see here).
Fordham's national Flypaper blog
In the last week, on Fordham Institute's Flypaper blog (see here), Terry Ryan blogged about front-loading compensation for new teachers; Emmy Partin discussed Gov.
Is that a wocket in Ted Strickland's pocket?
Michael J. PetrilliThe Ohio governor released his biennial budget yesterday, and there's a colorful surprise lurking inside.
Carmel Martin gets the Reform-o-Meter treatment
Michael J. PetrilliLast Friday, the U.S. Department of Education announced that President Barack Obama intends to nominate Carmel Martin to be Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.