In Denver, they’re bringing in a marriage counselor…
[...]
Follow with BoardBuzz for just a moment and picture the happenings with this story: Three groups of children are in three separate classrooms carrying on with regular daily activities. Two toys are introduced into two of these rooms in the morning, each of which is contaminated with a different “germ,” [...]
If your vocabulary doesn’t yet include “sexting,” add it now. The act of sexting—sending promiscuous or pornographic material via cellphone or portable devices—is beginning to have a real impact on schools. This week, the parents of an 18-year-old girl who committed suicide after her classmates passed around her nude [...]
In early December, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released the final requirements that states must use to award $3.546 billion in School Improvement Grants (SIG) to local school districts. Although the final notice governs the $3.546 billion appropriated in FY 2009 (including funds allocated under the American Recovery [...]
Chairman Harkin has named two people named Smith to run the majority-side HELP committee. Dan Smith and Pam Smith (unrelated) are new names to me, and neither looks like they're education people in any narrow staff. But that's not necessarily a bad thing for a staff' [...]
As January approaches, education organizations in Washington are starting to lay the groundwork for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, whose current version is the No Child Left Behind law. And that includes the contingent of Democrats who are skeptical of standardized testing.
One of the groups on [...]
Consultants are profiting from telling the obvious to Arkansas schools, writes Brian Kisida of Mid-Riffs.
Fayetteville School District’s new Phi Beta Kappa curriculum audit will bear an uncanny resemblance to a Dilbert cartoon, Kisida predicts.
Of course, Phi Delta Kappa’s report will turn community members’ idea [...]
As Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) becomes more influential, critics charge it’s a way for high-tech companies to influence schools, reports Education Week.
“The closer we look, the more P21’s unproven educational program appears to be just another mechanism for selling more stuff to schools,” Lynne Munson, [...]
Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott surely has not won his state any bonus points in the Race to the Top competition.
He's charging that the Obama Administration's efforts to support the state-led creation of common standards is nothing more than a desire for a "federal takeover" of public schools. [...]
This week New York City announced that it was closing four public schools. It’s rather unusual to hear of a school system closing schools for any reason, let alone justifying it on academic, as opposed to population and enrollment-related, grounds. Yet, that’s exactly what they did. In a detailed [...]
It’s another take a kid fishing edition.
This is the son and daughter of Susan Oliver. She’s a public relations professional in the education reform space. You can follow her on Twitter here. But, since one of her primary clients is the [...]
Texas education head warns of 'federal takeover'
Embrace of 'common standards' by Obama administration is first step to losing local control, Scott says.
States Seek Stimulus Funds Tied to Education Reform
PBS NewsHour
A report today says most [...]
More than a quarter of young people have been involved in sexting — “sharing sexually explicit photos, videos and chat by cell phone or online” — according to an Associated Press-MTV poll. One third of young adults also say they’ve sent or received explicit photos.
. . . 14 percent [...]
My series on Sweating v. Growing will proceed as planned for next week, but in the meanwhile.....
Debra Viadero's article in today's online edition of Education Week (Study Casts Doubt on Strength of Charter Managers) is worth reading if you are trying to determine the extent to which EdSector manipulated [...]
Low-income and minority students lag in college enrollment and graduation at two- and four-year public colleges, concludes Charting a Necessary Path, an Education Trust report.
Two years ago, 24 public higher education systems educating 40 percent of four-year students pledged to halve the achievement gap in college access [...]
The U.S. Department of Education put out the final version of the regulations on the School Improvement Grants. And even though there were 180 comments filed on the draft regulations, not much has changed, or at least not substantially.
If you'll remember, the draft regulations, released back in' [...]
Updates on the Race Education Optimists
State by state roundup.
Race to the Top Versus the Money Chase Ed Next Blog
This enormous cash nexus that swamps anything any business
entity has contributed creates a huge problem for Arne Duncan.
In Confessions of a Twilight Addict, English teacher Jennifer Morrison compares the popular teen vampire series to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Like an 18th century novel of manners, Twilight criticizes social assumptions and regimented ideas of appropriate behavior. In an interesting twist, whereas Austen’s heroines single-mindedly protect their [...]
DonorsChoose, which lets givers fund public school teachers’ requests, now offers gift cards. For example, the recipient might choose to help a high school teacher buy fun books for a class library.
In some cases, donations will be matched by the Gates Foundation.
[...]There’s been a lot of different higher education things going on lately, so here’s a few figures to consider:
80 Score out of 100 given to the Direct Loan servicing in 2008 on a test of customer satisfaction given by CFI Group. (Scores represent satisfaction, satisfaction relative to expectations, [...]Michael Kenneth Williams (the actor who played Omar Little on The Wire) grew up in East Flatbush but went to Westinghouse House school.
His mom “didn’t want me going to my zone school, so she doctored the address on my form,” says Williams in this New [...]
"If you don't understand the experience of boyhood," [Way] says, "you'll never understand the achievement gaps." (The Puzzle of Boys Chronicle)
Epic Adventures Are Often Uncomfortable is hosting Educarnival v2. To submit to next week’s carnival, use this form. The deadline is Monday at 6 pm EST.
The Carnival of Educators deadline is Sunday night. The form is here.
Andrea is hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling.
[...]To assist those hardworking educators who have had their Social Security benefits unfairly reduced to offset their government pensions, NASSP is supporting the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 235/S. 484).
Sponsored by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the legislation would repeal the government pension offset [...]
The best practice for a high school teacher being evaluated is to instruct students beforehand who know the answers to raise their right hands, and those who do not know the answers to raise their left hands. Even if I taught my students to silently raise [...]
Some West Michigan lawmakers, educators lukewarm on state's race to make ... Grand Rapids Press
... US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has said he hopes to see, and the state House Education Committee has bills expected to come to a vote Thursday. ...
A common argument used by advocates of the death penalty is that the threat of capital punishment serves as a crime deterrent because the fear of such a harsh sentence scares potential perpetrators from breaking the law. That logic does not work for crime, so why should [...]
New CEP report looks at what’s happening with stimulus dollars around the country. Couple of items worth paying attention to inside.
[...]Americans say it’s important to know about the American Revolution, but 83 percent failed a basic test by the American Revolution Center with multiple-choice questions such as: What battle ended the Revolutionary War? The average score was 44 percent.
[...]
Loooooong article in the StarTrib (via TWIE) on Minnesota charter schools and lease aid. The gist: A few hacks are profiting off of it.
An illustration of how an activity can bomb in one class and rock in another:
Hint Hint! Any students lurking out there? Hehehehe.The Department of Education is backing away from its decision to use National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results to measure states’ progress, reports Flypaper, citing Education Daily. Instead of using a single national measure, the department will factor in results from state exams.
“Race to the Top” is a [...]
You can check out the new Brookings paper on education news coverage (or more precisely the lack thereof) and see a video of the release event. Should they have called it “Cover Me” instead? Maybe David Brooks would have written on it then…In any event you have to [...]
Deloitte 2009 Education Survey shows a “disconnect” between what students and parents want from high school and what teachers believe is their responsibility.
Preparing students for college is the primary mission of high school, say 42 percent of low-income parents and 48 percent of low-income students. But teachers’ top priorities [...]
