Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Joy Resmovits: Walmart Founders' Philanthropy Sponsoring Chicago Closure Hearings, Portland Special Ed Lawsuit: Ed Today

Joy Resmovits: Walmart Founders' Philanthropy Sponsoring Chicago Closure Hearings, Portland Special Ed Lawsuit: Ed Today:


Walmart Founders' Philanthropy Sponsoring Chicago Closure Hearings, Portland Special Ed Lawsuit: Ed Today

Walmart-Backed Engagement? Catalyst Chicago has reported that Chicago's community hearings on school closures are being underwritten by the Walton Foundation. Catalyst notes that Chicago Public Schools officials have said they "don't want to link the volatile issue of school closings with the equally volatile issue of charter school openings," but Walton is a major backer of charter schools. Media isn't allowed to attend these community sessions. "This grant is allowing us to initiate what is probably the most inclusive and rigorous outreach to parents CPS has done to include their voice at the front end of this process," a CPS spokesperson told Catalyst.

Portland Special Ed Trouble? A former Portland public schools employee has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the school district, reports OregonLive. The suit charges that the former occupational therapist was pushed out of her job after pointing out problems with the way her school was treating students with disabilities.

Charter Schools That Start Bad Stay Bad, Stanford Report Says

WASHINGTON -- When it comes to charter schools, the bad ones stay bad and the good ones stay good, according to a report on charter school growth released by an influential group of Stanford University scholars on Wednesday.

"There are very predictable lanes on quality, and once you get into a lane, a new school tends to not move very much," said Macke Raymond, the economist in charge of the university's Center for Research on Education Outcomes institute and an author of the report. "High stays high and low stays low."

The report, "Charter School Growth and Replications," found that, with some exceptions, charter schools that start strong are likely to stay that way, just as low-performing schools usually remain at the bottom. The study