Big Education Ape: Rise & Shine: Budget cuts could eliminate most Regents exams

Monday, March 8, 2010

by Philissa Cramer

News from New York City:

PTAs at 26 schools have raised more than $2 million this year to pay for extra teachers aides. (Post)
The Board of Regents is considering eliminating 13 Regents exams to save money. (Daily News,Post)
Parents say the Joel Klein-Eva Moskowitz e-mails should stop school closures for now. (Daily News)
State Sen. Bill Perkins is at odds with many of his Harlem constituents on education policy. (Times)
A member of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board says the teachers union should get out of Harlem.
A teacher is in the rubber room after being accused of choking a student at Life Academy HS. (Post)
Students at the Brooklyn charter school that parents say is too strict earn top test scores. (Post)
Parents and students protested against the impending closures of Catholic schools. (Daily News)
Students from Samuel Gompers HS competed in a memory competition this weekend. (Daily News)
This year’s Penny Harvest change drive will collect funds for Haiti. (NY1)
Bob Herbert backs the New York Civil Liberties Union’s safety lawsuit against the city schools. (Times)

And beyond:

Some think teachers can be made better with a new kind of teacher education. (Times)
Others argue that teaching is an innate skill, so more bad teachers should be fired. (Newsweek)
Ed Sec Arne Duncan said states shouldn’t change schools policy just for money. (GothamSchools, Post)
The Daily News says New York should still make changes to increase its Race to the Top chances.
The Wall Street Journal says Race to the Top will fail because it’s trying to be all things to all people.
Duncan is in Selma, Ala., today to unveil stepped-up civil rights initiatives. (Times, Wall Street Journal)
President Obama’s warm response to the Central Falls mass teacher firing was “tough love.” (Times)
Similar mass firings where teachers had to reapply for their jobs have helped some schools. (USA Today)
Educational and fiscal imperatives compete in districts’ move to four-day weeks. (Wall Street Journal)
Readers weigh in on Diane Ravitch’s changing education policy positions. (Times)
A Boston Globe columnist argues against the current drive toward national standards.