Worried union talks will fail, city plans to “restart” schools
Days before the deadline to decide how it plans to overhaul low-performing schools, the city is considering going in a new direction.
Over the last year that the city has been deciding which of four federally mandated school improvement strategies to use in these schools, it has only publicly discussed two plans: transformation and turnaround. Both of them call for major changes in school personnel and how schools use time, meaning that both of them have to be negotiated with the teachers union.
But with the deadline for the city to submit its proposal only four days away, and the city yet to reach a deal with the teachers union, the Department of Education is considering a third option.
Known as the “restart” model, the plan involves closing a school and reopening it under new management — either as a charter school or as a district school run by a school management organization (for example, New Visions). Because this plan does not require the city to fire teachers or principals, it can be used without the
Remainders: Bloomberg says there’s no choice but layoffs
- Bloomberg told people he maybe thought were teachers he’s sorry about the budget. (Daily Politics)
- Somehow, Educators 4 Excellence emailed principals about happy hours for teachers. (Ed Notes)
- School cooks can — with difficulty — make healthy food even in half-broken kitchens. (GS Community)
- A teacher reports funny business in the online Open Market System, which lists no jobs. (JD2718)
- The high school admissions process is defined by excessive demand and inadequate supply. (EdVox)
- Ruben has gimmicks to get his students ready for the state tests but wonders why. (GS Community)
- Are the high-stakes Teacher Data Reports biased against teachers with good students? (Edwize)
- Whole Foods dashes the argument that schools, like grocery stores, can be distributed better. (Scocca)
- A worldwide tour of school lunches includes fish sausage in Japan and moules in France. (Buzzfeed)
- Megan McArdle: Too few acknowledge that most kids just don’t learn to read and add well. (Atlantic)
- A debate is raging over the propriety of legacy admissions to elite colleges. (The Choice)
- Unlike most other big cities, Baltimore has managed to avoid the word “layoffs” this year. (Inside Ed)
- One priority of Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst venture seems to be private school vouchers. (Russo)