Education Research Report: Study Suggests Intervention for Overcoming Reading-Comprehension Difficulties in Children

Education Research Report: Study Suggests Intervention for Overcoming Reading-Comprehension Difficulties in Children

Study Suggests Intervention for Overcoming Reading-Comprehension Difficulties in Children Ω Effective reading requires recognizing words and also understanding what they mean. Between 7-10 percent of children have specific reading-comprehension difficulties. These children can read text aloud accurately but do not understand what they have ...

New national study examines US high school sports-related fractures Ω The popularity of high school sports in the United States has continued to increase over the past decade, with more than 7.5 million athletes participating in school sports during the 2008-09 academic year. A new study conducted by the Center for ...

Certification Requirements for Preparing General Education Teachers to Teach Students with Disabilities Ω With more than half of children with disabilities being educated in the general education classroom, and federal education law requiring improved learning outcomes for these students, preparing general education teachers to work effectively with all ...

Eduflack: Dual Enrollment for All!

Eduflack: Dual Enrollment for All!

Dual Enrollment for All!

by Eduflack

When most discuss the merits of dual-enrollment programs in our high schools, thoughts immediately turn to those classic over-achievers who are looking to earn a high school diploma along with two or three years of college before they turn 18. We talk of how K-12 systems and higher education systems struggle to work together. And sometimes, we even discuss how we shouldn't rush our kids and deprive them of a "traditional" high school experience.

Meanwhile the high school dropout rate has remained steady for decades (and Eduflack is one who believes that the dropout rate is, unfortunately, close to one-third.) Drop-out factories remain prevalent in many of our urban

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: New Mexico charter schools

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: New Mexico charter schools

New Mexico charter schools

by The Perimeter Primate

REPORT TO THE LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE: PROGRAM EVALUATION OF NEW MEXICO CHARTER SCHOOLS, July 23, 2010, New Mexico Public Education Department

[From the Executive Summary]

…Charter schools have high costs to the state and have similar levels of student performance as traditional public schools. Current costs to the state are driven by favorable education funding formula adjustments for charter schools that total $34.7 million. The small school site format of charter schools means that less of the state’s education funding is spent on instruction. Charter schools have to undergo an application process before opening and a charter renewal process every five years. The application process needs increased rigor to ensure only quality schools

Public Waldorf Schools - Is It TIme? - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Public Waldorf Schools - Is It TIme? - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

There are a lot of Chicago parents who love them some Waldorf. But so far at least there haven't been many Waldorf options that aren't costly ones (see here for a list of schools in the area). That may be changing, however, according to this EdWeek article about the spread of public Waldorfs in places like

NYC Public School Parents: UAE Blackberry Ban Hits Home

NYC Public School Parents

Independent voices of New York City public school parents

NYC Public School Parents: UAE Blackberry Ban Hits Home

UAE Blackberry Ban Hits Home

by Gary Babad

August 3, 2010 (GBN News): A controversial move by the United Arab Emirates toblock most Blackberry services in the country may have repercussions in the New York City area. While the official claim is that the ban is for “security reasons”, Emirati sources told GBN News that the real reason for the ban is the fear that disgraced NY City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein might try to enter the country and take over the school system.

While Mr. Klein has tried to put a positive spin on recent revelations that his highly touted schools reforms are a fraud, Emirati intelligence sources have learned that he secretly plans to flee the U.S. to avoid repercussions over his disastrous

Surprise, Surprise! Study Finds Achievement Gap Progress Stops In Eighties (When Poverty Rates Begin To Rise) | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Surprise, Surprise! Study Finds Achievement Gap Progress Stops In Eighties (When Poverty Rates Begin To Rise) | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Surprise, Surprise! Study Finds Achievement Gap Progress Stops In Eighties (When Poverty Rates Begin To Rise)

by Larry Ferlazzo

The Washington Post has a report on a new study from The Educational Testing Service.
It finds that:
“…there was a steady narrowing of the achievement gap from the 1970s until the late 1980s. Scores essentially

My First Mini-Van The Women's Conference.

My First Mini-Van

My First Mini-Van

08/3/10 | Liberty Bradford | 0 Comments

Liberty Bradford

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The time had come. My beloved VW Passat, the car I’d bought with the last vestiges of my trust fund, was dead. After nine years, her charming Windsor Blue exterior (with just a hint of eggplant) belied the fact that she was no longer a smooth ride. And with two kids, a persistent influx of visiting relatives to ferry about, not to mention play dates, I simply needed a bigger vehicle.

My husband released his inner price-gouger along with our neighbor who worked for a dealership and trawled for a screamin’ deal to meet our family-of-four-plus needs. He returned with a sardonic glint in his Irish eyes.

“You’re getting a mini-van.” I gasped. No! Never! Mini-vans are just so… Un-sexy. Boorishly maternal. Fat. Not that the Passat was all that cool, but getting a mini-van felt akin to a form of female castration. A talisman that my disco shoes would be hung up forever. Let’s slap on

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Love is in air in the Ownership Society

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Love is in air in the Ownership Society

Love is in air in the Ownership Society

by Mike Klonsky

They're not the Clintons, but...

KJ/Rhee wedding on Labor Day (irony) is at home of billionaire real estate speculator Angelo Tsakopoulos (no irony). He got KJ to run for mayor of Sacramento and bankrolled his campaign. He also owns most of California and is Wal-Mart's land developer.

Does this mean Broad Foundation darling, Rhee is leaving D.C.? Definitely if

The Answer Sheet - Report: When/why progress in closing achievement gap stalled

The Answer Sheet - Report: When/why progress in closing achievement gap stalled

Report: When/why progress in closing achievement gap stalled

Progress seen over several decades in narrowing the educational achievement gap between black and white students has remained stalled for 20 years, according to data analyzed in a new report. Called “The Black-White Achievement Gap: When Progress Stopped,” the report by the Educational Testing Service examines periods of progress and stagnation since 1910 in closing the achievement gap. Anybody who thinks that the achievement gap will be closed by throwing more standardized test scores at kids and without addressing health and social issues should read the report and think again.

CCSSO Unveils Draft Teaching Standards - Teacher Beat - Education Week

CCSSO Unveils Draft Teaching Standards - Teacher Beat - Education Week

CCSSO Unveils Draft Teaching Standards

by Stephen Sawchuk

A group convened by the Council of Chief State School Officers recently released a draft of professional teaching standards that outline what practices, essential knowledge, and dispositions teachers should embody to help students succeed.
Developed by the CCSSO's Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium, the new set of standards contains some notable differences from the prior set, released in 1992. For one, the standards are no longer limited to beginning teachers; instead, they're meant to guide teachers at all levels of their career, with more-

AM News: Reprieve For JV Sports? - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

AM News: Reprieve For JV Sports? - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

AM News: Reprieve For JV Sports?

by Alexander Russo

CPS board saves non-varsity sports Southtown News: Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said Monday that "no final decision" has been made to save the sports but said "the goal is to restore junior varsity and sophomore sports to normal levels."... CPS Approves Funding for Mentorship Programs in SchoolsChicagoTalks: The CBOE and a Blue Ribbon Panel Committee chose 20 of those bidders to fulfill mentorship duties in 13 high schools designated as "high-risk" by the Chicago Police Department...McCormick Foundation Invests Over $6 Million in Early Care, Education A complete list of grants can be found here... Angry mom refuses to bail out teen son accused of car theft Sun Times: When Chiampas set Hutchins' bail at $25,000, his mother told the judge "I've got [the money to bail him out], but he's staying here, locked up!" and stormed from the courtroom...Hair nets and hollandaise? Lunch ladies going gourmet as nation focuses on better school foodAP: They still wear sensible shoes, but the nation's lunch ladies are trading in their hair nets for chef toques as they undergo a gourmet makeover...10-day tax break on school gear beginning Friday Sun TImes: Local sales taxes, such as those charged by the county and city, remain in effect.

... Public Waldorf Schools Booming in Sacramento--But Are They Legal? EdWeek: Sacramento is the epicenter of the debate over whether the Waldorf system--whose educational philosophy goes back 100 years--is appropriate for a public school.

Decision Delayed on Struggling Schools voiceofsandiego.org

Education

Decision Delayed on Struggling Schools

The state Board of Education put off approving which low achieving schools would be awarded money for plans to turn themselves around and improve student achievement.

That leaves the fates of four county schools that applied for the funds up in the air.

"This is not a 'done deal' yet it appears," Alyson Evans wrote to me. She oversees grants at San Diego Unified, where the sole school to apply, Burbank Elementary, was not slated to win funds.

Only two of the eligible San Diego County schools were slated to get funding, under

School District Sues, Wants to Be Able to Fire Teacher

San Diego Unified School District is suing an employee firing panel that disagreed with its decision to fire a teacher who was convicted of child molestation, then freed after his convictions were overturned.

Thad Jesperson, formerly a teacher at Toler Elementary, was automatically fired when he was convicted six years ago. He was put on trial three times, but ultimately his conviction was thrown out because of jury misconduct and inadequate legal representation, the

Just Two Struggling Schools Get State Money

Two of the four struggling San Diego County schools that vied for help turning their schools around are poised to get funding, if the state follows through on its recommendations today.

Earlier this year, the California Department of Education made a list of persistently failing schools that were eligible for up to $6 million if they set forth a convincing plan to improve student achievement. Six schools in San Diego County made the list.

To compete for the money, the schools had to choose from four options, which included

Education | Protests in England over tests for 11-year-olds | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | Protests in England over tests for 11-year-olds | Seattle Times Newspaper

Protests in England over tests for 11-year-olds

School test results for 11-year-olds were released Tuesday across England, and one result was certain: A large number of educators and parents consider the tests a waste of time.

The Associated Press

LONDON —

School test results for 11-year-olds were released Tuesday across England, and one result was certain: A large number of educators and parents consider the tests a waste of time.

The results of the Standard Assessments Tests, or SATs, revived a long-running debate about whether the government's determination to rank schools based on standardized tests does anything to improve education. The test has no relation to SATs in the United States, which are used to get into college.

The Department for Education said 4,005 of 15,515 English primary schools chose to boycott

Monday, August 2

Lunch ladies going gourmet as food gets new look

Wednesday, July 28

In the end, he was the best story | Jerry Large

Invasive mussels pose threat to dams

Teacher pay, staffing and shrinking budgets The Education Report

The Education Report

Teacher pay, staffing and shrinking budgets

By Katy Murphy
Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 5:28 pm in budget, teachers
3 Comments »

Few would argue that teachers are well paid. But because their pay and benefits make up more than half of a school district’s budget, and because those budgets are shrinking, compensation and staffing levels have become a sticking point in school systems around the state.

Given the current funding constraints and the grim fiscal outlook, what should school districts do? What are they doing? How are labor unions responding?

I spent months collecting

Two More Days of Calls to Congress | Intercepts

Two More Days of Calls to Congress | Intercepts

Two More Days of Calls to Congress

by Mike Antonucci

Sen. Harry Reid tabled his edujobs legislation when the Congressional Budget Office told him to redo his math. Evidently he needed

A family engagement primer | THE EDUCATION FRONT Blog | dallasnews.com

A family engagement primer | THE EDUCATION FRONT Blog | dallasnews.com

A family engagement primer

by William McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist

Here's a link to a Sunday Points interview that I did with Heather Weiss about ways in which parents can engage their children academically. She also talks about methods that districts and schools can use to reach parents. Weiss is familiar with what is going on around the nation since she studies family engagement as director of the Family Research Project at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.
I was particularly struck by the high-profile role that the Boston school district has given family engagement, including putting an assistant superintendent in charge of the effort. Weiss has made the point in previous

This Week In Education: Which Is Worse: Cheating Vs. Plagiarism

This Week In Education: Which Is Worse: Cheating Vs. Plagiarism

Which Is Worse: Cheating Vs. Plagiarism

by Alexander Russo

So apparently the Atlanta public schools aren't engaged in any systemic test cheating scheme, but kids individually and en masse are cheating on papers and such without fully appreciating what they're doing. Education" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">Cheating Inquiry in Atlanta Largely Vindicates Schools NYT: An independent commission found no evidence of “any district-wide or centrally coordinated effort to manipulate

The mysteries of IEA endorsements. Will any Republican do? � Fred Klonsky's blog

The mysteries of IEA endorsements. Will any Republican do? � Fred Klonsky's blog

The mysteries of IEA endorsements. Will any Republican do?

by preaprez

Democrat David Miller.

I don’t have a whole lot of interest in the Illinois comptroller race. I’m not exactly sure what the comptroller does or how it is different from the state treasurer. I slept through that class.
I also don’t have a clue as to how IEA state endorsements are made or why they are made.
Pat Quinn got the IEA endorsement for governor. That I get. Quinn is nobody’s favorite. But Bill Brady is so far to