Latest News and Comment from Education

Show All

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

D.C. principal's hands-on tack transforms Sousa Middle but also ruffles feathers

D.C. principal's hands-on tack transforms Sousa Middle but also ruffles feathers

D.C. principal's hands-on tack transforms Sousa Middle but also ruffles feathers

GALLERY
Raising scores and expectations at D.C.'s Sousa Middle School
Sousa, one of a few middle schools in Washington to substantially improve students' test scores, used to have some of the lowest results in the city. Now, it's a model for others.
» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY


Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 6, 2010

It was 8 a.m., and 21 teachers had gathered in the library of Sousa Middle School for the meeting that Principal Dwan Jordon has convened nearly every morning for two years, part of his crusade to improve one of the District's worst public schools.
THIS STORY
They pulled out laptops, set down their coffee and, in the language of education reform, began assessing where the quest stood:
"Reading was 61, 62 and 65, and we did it with Test B and C," began Ronda Robinson, an instructional coach,




Fenty outlines plans to cut special-ed costs


Fenty said his office will study ways integrate special education students into public schools.
MORE ON EDUCATION


Rhee should get out of the mayor's race

Saying she would leave if Gray is elected is good news to those people who want Rhee gone. It is bad for the principals she has appointed, the teachers who share her commitment to raising achievement and the parents who are beginning to see the same teamwork, creativity and persistence in regular city public schools that they have found in many charter schools.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (TWP)

Posted by at

Quick Takes: July 6, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Quick Takes: July 6, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

New Effort to Save Dana College Dana College's board members -- backed by Nebraska leaders -- are trying to keep the college alive by finding a way to get its accreditor to let the accreditation transfer if private investors buy the institution, *The Omaha World-Herald* reported. ...
Softball Upgrade Settles Title IX Complaint at Lincoln Land Lincoln Land Community College has agreed to upgrade its softball facilities to settle a complaint filed with the U.S. Education Department under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars discrimination based on sex,* **The State ...
Positive Signs for New Public Law School The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth faced considerable skepticism when it agreed to take over a private law school -- the Southern New England School of Law -- with many questioning why a state with no obvious shortage of law schools needed ...
Posted by at

Schools' stimulus spending tough to track amid varied reporting rules | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Schools' stimulus spending tough to track amid varied reporting rules | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Schools' stimulus spending tough to track amid varied reporting rules



07:12 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 6, 2010

By JESSICA MEYERS and KAREL HOLLOWAY / The Dallas Morning News
jmeyers@dallasnews.com kholloway@dallasnews.com
Alongside textbooks and technology, Texas school districts have doled out stimulus money to car dealerships, Atmos Energy and neighboring cities.
Why? It's hard to tell.
Also Online
Districts must report whom they've paid when they spend at least $25,000 in stimulus funds, but don't have to say what they've purchased. Anything less than that doesn't require federal reporting.
The state education agency asks districts to explain how they will spend their share of $7.1 billion, but the public can't obtain the information easily. Since few districts break down the purchases, most taxpayers don't know how their stimulus money gets spent.
"It's terribly complicated for most people, even parents who work in the business world," said Sandy Maddox, the deputy








MORE EDUCATION NEWS

 Get feed

TEXAS EDUCATION

Get feed

U.S. EDUCATION

Get feed
Posted by at

To Stop Cheats, Colleges Learn Their Trickery - NYTimes.com

To Stop Cheats, Colleges Learn Their Trickery - NYTimes.com

To Stop Cheats, Colleges Learn Their Trickery

By TRIP GABRIEL
Jeremy Baumann monitored cameras that were trained on students at the testing center at the University of Central Florida.
Steve Johnson for The New York Times
Jeremy Baumann monitored cameras that were trained on students at the testing center at the University of Central Florida.
At the University of Central Florida, a testing center uses cameras and computers to try to cut down on cheating.

Teachers’ Union Shuns Obama Aides at Convention

By SAM DILLON
In a sign of the Obama administration’s strained relations with teachers’ unions, no federal official was scheduled to speak at either union’s convention this month.
Andy Tureff working with International Baccalaureate students at Greely High School in Maine.

International Program Catches On in U.S. Schools

By TAMAR LEWIN
The International Baccalaureate, an alternative to the Advanced Placement program, is offered in 700 schools.

Budget Deficit and Wars’ Cost Draw Fire on the Home Front

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
The debate over an $82 billion war spending bill has opened up a clash between House Democrats and the White House over the deficit and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted by at

“Oral History Of The U.S. House Of Representatives” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Oral History Of The U.S. House Of Representatives” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Oral History Of The U.S. House Of Representatives” “Oral History Of The U.S. House Of Representatives” appears to be a surprisingly engaging and accessible site about….the U.S. House of Representatives. It has tons of multimedia features, lesson plans, the videos have accessible transcripts and an ...
“Robben Island Soccer League” Robben Island Soccer League is the title of a New York Times slideshow about the soccer league apartheid opponents organized at the infamous South African prison. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The World Cup.
Posted by at

New Media charter school satisfies SRC conditions for operating charter | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/05/2010

New Media charter school satisfies SRC conditions for operating charter | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/05/2010

New Media charter school satisfies SRC conditions for operating charter

By Martha Woodall
Inquirer Staff Writer
The New Media Technology Charter School in Northwest Philadelphia is finally getting its new operating charter.
It took more than a year, but with the departure of the acting board president Wednesday night, the troubled school has satisfied 23 conditions the School Reform Commission required to renew its operating charter.
The SRC acted after The Inquirer reported allegations of financial mismanagement and conflicts of interest involving the school's founders in the spring of 2009.
The school has a new seven-member board and a new chief executive officer, and has adopted a series of strict financial and ethics policies.
"The new board is focused on working for the best interests of the individuals they serve," Michael Frattone, a lawyer who represents New Media, said in a statement Friday. "Although it may take some time, they are eager to work through any ongoing issues as quickly as possible, and focus on providing a strong educational foundation for the students, administrators, and parents of New Media Technology Charter School."
The school, which opened in 2004, has 483 students in grades five through 12 on campuses in the Stenton and Germantown neighborhoods. The renewal allows the school to operate until June 30, 2014.
Even though New Media is getting a new charter, a federal criminal investigation is continuing, according to

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20100705_New_Media_charter_school_satisfies_SRC_conditions_for_operating_charter.html#ixzz0su1Nv7yH
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else



TOP STORY
Efrain Nieves of Philadelphia wears a sombrero to keep the sun out of his eyes on Tuesday morning near the corner of 3rd and Girard. (ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff)
Philly takes precautions as heat wave looms over area
With the National Weather Service calling for temperatures to reach a record-setting 100 degrees Tuesday, the Philadelphia School District has scheduled early dismissal for summer-school students and utilities will pay extra attention to the power grid.

Complete forecast
Gallery: Beating the heat

School's out early for heat
SPECIAL PROJECTS

Report Card on the Schools
The Inquirer's annual survey of education in the region, with a searchable database of school and district information, and multimedia profiles of area students and high schools.

A Doorway Back
With the dropout problem in Philadelphia at crisis proportions, a chance-of-a-lifetime program offers 40 select students a shot at breaking the cycle of failure. But can they take advantage?

RECENT STORIES

New Media charter school satisfies SRC conditions for operating charter
The New Media Technology Charter School in Northwest Philadelphia is finally getting its new operating charter. It took more than a year, but with the departure of the acting board president Wednesday night, the troubled school has satisfied 23 conditions the School Reform Commission required to renew its operating charter.

New Jersey camp inspires girls to think big
Ten-year-old Zoe Dillard, a 4-foot-tall self-proclaimed scientist, speaks confidently about a woman's role in the world and her plans to save the planet.
Posted by at

Local News | Seattle Schools superintendent sets ambitious agenda | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Seattle Schools superintendent sets ambitious agenda | Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle Schools superintendent sets ambitious agenda

Seattle schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, who just ended her third year in the city, is about to embark on a handful of academic initiatives, including a new school-improvement plan that will support and pressure schools to improve.
By Linda Shaw
Seattle Times education reporter
In her first three years in Seattle, schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson closed schools, oversaw a new student-assignment plan, added an exam that students take three times a year and revamped the way the district funds schools.
And she's just getting started. To date, much of what she's done has laid the groundwork for what's next: a handful of academic initiatives with the kind of accountability Goodloe-Johnson has talked about since she arrived.
One big one, to be rolled out this November, is a new school-improvement plan that will include a new scorecard for each school that measures both achievement and improvement in a number of areas — not just test scores, but also such things as credits earned and number of students in advanced classes.
Schools high in both will be able to continue much as before. But those with low scores and little improvement will get a lot of attention from the central office — more financial support, but also more direction.
The idea is not to rank schools — that doesn't help students, she says. But in an effort to infuse accountability throughout the school district, Goodloe-Johnson says she wants to make it clear where each school stands, and insist on improvement where it's needed.
"Accountability is key to success in anything we do," she said. "It's just like losing weight. Drink the water, exercise. Don't eat fat stuff. Then you hold yourself accountable by getting on the scale.
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)