“Oklahoma PTA Unanimously Calls for End to High-Stakes Testing”
Oklahoma PTA Unanimously Calls for End to High-Stakes Testing is from Diane Ravitch’s blog. Here’s an excerpt: Over 340 delegates at the Oklahoma PTA’s annual convention voted unanimously to adopt resolutions that call for a ban on policies that force the state’s public schools to rely on high-stakes testing and put an end to mass administration of field tests. Wow! Wouldn’t it be nice if other st
“10 things teachers wish parents knew before the school year begins”
10 things teachers wish parents knew before the school year begins is from The Today Show. It’s a decent list working a fairly well-worn genre of “wishing what parents knew” pieces. If you want to see a terrible example of this kind of list, check out one of my previous posts, Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking?
One Good Thing Comes Out Of Ill-Conceived CA District NCLB Waiver: LAUSD Not Subject To Parent Trigger
The U.S. Department of Education has granted eight California school district and ill-conceived waiver from No Child Left Behind. Fortunately, our Sacramento district — one of those eight — withdrew from the group earlier this year. The whole thing is doomed to fail. However, at least one good thing has come out of it — the Los Angeles Times writes about how, because of the waiver, those district
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Video: Teachers Visiting Parents’ Homes In North Carolina
WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather If the embed code is not working, you can go to the news site directly to see the video.
“How to develop a strong parent/teacher relationship”
How to develop a strong parent/teacher relationship is an article in a New Jersey newspaper that offers decent advice to both parents and teachers. You might also be interested in The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.
My Best Posts On “Conditional Cash Transfers”
Conditional Cash Transfers are payments made to families to encourage them to do things like go to doctor appointments, and to children for increased school attendance and higher standardized test scores, and have been in the news lately. I’ve published a number of posts about them, and I thought readers might find it helpful if I brought them all together: Politico Asks:”Can You Fight Poverty by
Useful Follow-Up Article On White House Family Engagement Conference
I’ve previously posted about the recent White House conference on family engagement (see “White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement” Was Held Today). Carla Thompson from the Kellogg Foundation, who sponsored the conference, just published a piece at The Huffington Post about it. Check out Family Engagement: The Top of Everyone’s Back-to-School Checklist.
Politico Asks:”Can You Fight Poverty by Paying Kids to Go to School?” The Answer Is “No”
I’ve previously published several posts on this blog about the concept of Conditional Cash Transfers, which are basically programs that provide money to low-income families to “incentivize” certain behaviors. As I shared in those previous posts, I’m all for getting more money into the hands of low-income people and, though I think there are more effective ways to combat poverty, who am I to criti
Ridiculous British Policy Of Punishing Parents For Student Vacations Continues — 64,000 Fines Issued
I’ve previously published a number of posts about the ridiculous British policy of punishing parents for taking their students on vacation during the school year. Here are two new resources: Number of parents fined for term-time holidays soars by 70 per cent is from The Telegraph. School holiday fines in England ‘unfair’, say parents is from The BBC.
“More Denver Public School teachers reaching out through home visits”
More Denver Public School teachers reaching out through home visits is the headline of a recent article in the Denver Post. Here’s an excerpt: In the past few years, kindergarten teacher Kori Leaman-Miller can’t think of any student who cried on their first day of school. She hadn’t given it much thought, but officials who are growing home-visit programs in school districts say it may not be accid
“L.A. literacy program unites families, boosts kids’ reading skills”
L.A. literacy program unites families, boosts kids’ reading skills is the headline of an article in today’s Los Angeles Times. Here’s an excerpt: The program, which has operated for nearly 20 years, brings families together for reading lessons, adult education opportunities and parenting techniques. The program aims to provide parents with the skills and knowledge to be successful at school, work
Parent Group Organizes In Chicago
In These Times has just published an article headlined ‘Bad Ass Moms’ Defend Chicago Public Schools. Here’s an excerpt: Though there are a number of parent organizations fighting for educational justice in the city—including Parents 4 Teachers (P4T) and More Than a Score (MTS), whose membership overlaps with BAM’s—BAM concentrates on a breadth of issues rather than advocacy around any one particul
“These Teachers Visit Every Student Before School Starts”
These Teachers Visit Every Student Before School Starts is a nice Ed Week article, including a number of links, about an annual home-visiting program by teachers in Kentucky. You can read more about it here. I’m adding the links to The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits.