HotSeat Interview: NYC Educator Describes Book Experience
A young charter school administrator named Jessica Reid (pictured) played a small but important role in Steve Brill’s book, Class Warfare, both in illustrating how some of the higher-performing charter schools do things and in highlighting the wear and tear that such efforts can create.
What’s it been like for her to be part of the book – her second stint as a character in a nonfiction account of school reform – and what does she think about key issues such as sustainability, ending LIFO, and unionization? Read the interview below. You might be surprised.
Did you have any idea that you and your career decisions were going to be such a hotly-debated part of debateAM News: First Day Of School Edition
Michele Bachmann suggests axing the Department of Education HuffPost: Bachmann told a forum today that if elected president, she would consider cutting several federal programs and institutions, including the Department of Education -- reiterating a stance she's mentioned before.
What school district budget cuts mean for students NPR: As the new school year begins, many districts face tighter budgets and difficult choices about what programs to cut, which teachers to keep, and what school supplies to provide.
Technology in Schools Faces Questions on Value NYT: Schools are embracing digital learning, but evidence is scarce that the expensive technology is improving educational outcomes. [ALSO: Many U.S. schools adding iPads, trimming textbooks USA Today: Many public secondary schools this fall will move away from textbooks in favor of the lightweight tablet computers.]
Education reform coming to the Maryland suburbs Baltimore Sun: All school districts will begin a transition to new standards and teacher evaluation system -- refroms funded by federal government.
Houston public schools mimic charters NYT: In the first experiment of its kind in the country, the Houston public schools are testing whether techniques proven successful in high-performing urban charters can also help raise achievement in regular public schools.
MORE NEWS ITEMS BELOW
Teachers and other labor union adjust to new reality under Obama HuffPost (AP): Public employee unions are in a drawn-out fight for their very survival in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states where GOP lawmakers have curbed collective bargaining rights.
Bullying linked to lower school performance Washington Post: The research shows that high school campuses with more reported bullying had lower passing rates on Virginia’s standardized tests.
Mass. steps up efforts to cut school bus pollution Boston Globe (AP): Massachusetts environmental officials are starting the school year by celebrating a program that fitted more than 2,100 school buses with devices designed to cut air pollution from diesel engines.
Elite private schools reconsidering admissions policies NYT: Broadly speaking, the schools want to take siblings and legacies, both because it makes life easier for families and because it deepens relationships, which many believe results in long-term generosity. But as schools look to bolster endowments amid the poor economy, some have begun to question that approach.
Mass. school battered by tornado keeps the faith Boston Globe (AP): The school was heavily damaged June 1 by the twister that churned through Western Massachusetts, leaving Cathedral and the surrounding residential neighborhood in shambles. Then Irene doused the region last weekend and left water dripping through already-leaky tarps.
Chicago students return to school after summer of controversy Chicago Tribune: A majority of Chicago's public school children return to school Tuesday, bringing to close an acrimonious summer filled with budget cuts, union strife and a citywide debate over longer school days.
MetLife loses L.A. unified contract over flap with board member L.A. Times: A Los Angeles school board member persuaded his colleagues to kill a multimillion-dollar contract with an insurance company last week after he claimed he was wrongly billed and then received lousy customer service.
Before the First School Bell, Teachers in Bronx Make House Calls NYT: A month before school started, a group of teachers from a South Bronx school canvassed poor immigrant neighborhoods to meet students and their families on their own turf.
