Editor’s note: This Education Week article is one result of a partnership between EdNews Colorado and the weekly education journal, allowing us to provide in-depth stories from a national perspective.
By Christina A. Samuels
Education Week
After decades of what seemed to be an inexorable upward path, the number of students classified as learning-disabled declined from year to year over much of the past decade —a change in direction that is spurring debates among experts about the reasons why.
The percentage of 3- to 21-year-old students nationwide classified as having a “specific learning disability”
Albany's charter schools have created a second school system that is almost entirely segregated.
Virtually all of the schools' students -- 96 percent -- are black or Hispanic, according to a Times Union analysis of data from the 2008-09 school year, the most recent available. AchievementAcademy Charter School had only one white student and Albany Preparatory Charter Schoolenrolled just 16 white students, the highest number of any charter school in the city.
The privately run schools are funded by the Albany City School District, where the minority enrollment has been steadily increasing. According to the latest available figures, 80 percent of the
As Ramadan comes to an end, Michelle and I extend our best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. For Muslims all over the world, Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of a holy month of fasting and prayer. It is a time of self-reflection focusing on the values that Muslims and people of all faiths share - charity, community, cooperation and compassion. This year’s Eid is also an occasion to reflect on the importance of religious tolerance and to recognize the positive role that religious communities of all faiths, including Muslims, have played in American life.
On this Eid, those devastated by the recent floods in Pakistan will be on the minds of many around the world. To help in the tremendous relief, recovery, and reconstruction effort for the floods, all Americans can participate by donating to the Pakistan Relief Fund at www.state.gov.
On behalf of the American people, we congratulate Muslims in the United States and around the world on this blessed day. Eid Mubarak.
It seems the headlines have been filled with controversy over the state of education, and more specifically, the quality of teachers, these days. The LA Times sparked it off by obtaining seven years of math and English test scores from the Los Angeles Unified School District and using the information to estimate the effectiveness of L.A. teachers. In the first installment of analysis, they found that some kids were getting low-performing teachers repeatedly (the bad news), but that, “contrary to popular belief, the best teachers were not concentrated in schools in the most affluent neighborhoods, nor were the weakest instructors bunched in poor areas” (the good news).
| At $4.3B, federal school funding an enormous waste |  |  |  |
| Written by Ann Richardson |
| Thursday, 09 September 2010 11:15 |
Teachers have a tremendous impact. Through the years they help not just educate, but mold, shape and encourage children to become successful adults and more importantly, good people. After all, what good is it if a child can memorize facts and figures and pass a test, but has never learned what it means to be kind and compassionate, to take turns, work well with others, share or be a good friend and a caring person? My first teacher at the old Wesley Avenue School was “Mrs. Ritter.” Anna Ritter, the warm and wonderful kindergarten teacher touched a lot of lives. She wore her white hair in a bun and with a hefty dose of kindness, helped every one of her students get off to a good start. Everyone has a “Mrs. Ritter” in their life. I couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Ritter and like-minded great teachers – including many of my friends – when former education commissioner Bret Schundler kicked |
Robert Samuelson’s Washington Post op-ed has it backwards: if schools have made little academic improvements over the years, the fault lies with existing schools and existing structures, rather than the attempts to change those things. This isn’t just about today’s popular reforms like expanding charter schools or raising teacher quality; he lumps class size reductions and curricular improvements
As California students head back to school, they will be boarding a ship sinking below constitutionally minimum levels of quality and fairness. Once the envy of the nation with one of the best-funded and highest-performing school systems, today California is racing to the bottom – 44th of 50 states in per student spending levels and 46th in education spending as a percentage of personal income.
Starved for funding, districts cannot afford to hire adequate staff. California has the lowest staff-to-student ratio in the nation, taking together teachers, administrators and support personnel like counselors, librarians and nurses. Our classrooms last year had 7.5 more students per teacher and were over 50 percent larger than
Posted: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 4:12 pm | Updated: 5:00 pm, Wed Sep 8, 2010.
Posted on September 8, 2010
Every year, a wave of pink slips goes out from school districts to teachers. But oftentimes, those same teachers don't actually end up getting laid off. How come? In our latest San Diego Explained, we explain the annual threat of teacher layoffs, with partners NBC
