Readers: Here’s how educators really spend their summers
The phrase ‘summer vacation’ often implies exotic destinations, way too many hot dogs, and unfortunate tan lines, but for educators around the country, it’s also a time to…
Community Relations
Tom Vander Ark’s New York-area charter schools falter
After years spent directing the distribution of more than $1 billion from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation into hundreds of schools across the nation, Tom Vander Ark…
How school districts facing cheating allegations are moving forward
According to the Huffington Post, three year-round elementary schools opened for classes in Atlanta today without problems, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Environmentalists, school board oppose plans to mine under high school
A subsidiary of the second-largest coal company in the United States is seeking permission to mine directly underneath a high school in West Virginia, reports the Huffington Post.
State creates website to educate parents about vouchers
The state Department of Education has created a website to help parents figure out how to receive state money to send their children to private school--and whether they…
Readers: Here’s how we’d change ESEA
With Education Secretary Arne Duncan warning Congress that he'll take matters into his own hands if lawmakers this year fail to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act…
Teachers in middle of debate over immigrant kids
When an award-winning journalist recently revealed he's an illegal immigrant, two of the key players in his tale turned out to be educators who helped keep his secret.…
Inner city parents protest NAACP, teachers’ union
According to the Daily Caller, minority parents in New York have a message for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Federation…
Wisconsin teachers react to Gov. Scott Walker’s newly signed budget
This weekend, Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) signed into law a budget that scrapped $800 million in education funding following an earlier law that reduced collective bargaining rights to…
Petitioners hit the streets to stop tuition breaks for illegal immigrants
The red-and-white placards outside the Motor Vehicle Administration office in Frederick strike some as an invitation: "Sign petition here. No in-state tuition for illegal immigrants," reports the Baltimore…
2011 best high school rankings released by Newsweek
These are challenging times for secondary education. Cash-strapped school districts are cutting back; No Child Left Behind mandates test results; parents and students stress unabated.
The NEA and WWE’s new anti-bullying campaign
What if I told you that World Wrestling Entertainment had partnered with the National Education Association to do an anti-bullying campaign? Would you think it was a bad…
Mennonite College no longer plays national anthem
Goshen College will no longer play The Star-Spangled Banner at sporting events, school leaders announced, reversing last year's decision to allow the use of the national anthem for…
School with 85 percent homeless rate gives kids clothes, food
Charlee Morrow, 10, is described by her principal as an old soul with modest dreams, reports CBS News.
Las Vegas high schooler wins car for good records
A Las Vegas high school senior has won a new car for having good grades and no unexcused absences, the Associated Press reports.
City, state, school district sign ‘Education Accountability Agreement’
In a show of solidarity, dignitaries gathered at City Hall yesterday to celebrate what they described as an "unprecedented" coming together of city, state and school officials to…
Punish the parents for failing students?
Some time ago I wrote a blog post in which I argued, contrary to the current political wisdom (is that an oxymoron?) and education policy that the problem…
Religion, and controversy, always part of U.S. education
Religious freedom has always been a given in American life, but religious education has had a different road--a path rarely without controversy as it tries to find a…
Study: Community job loss leads to decline in student achievement
Studies have long indicated that children whose parents lose jobs will falter academically. But new evidence shows that widespread job loss doesn't only affect the children of the…
Twitter chat hour reveals ed-tech insights
Readers who follow us on Twitter are especially interested in new eLearning tools, mobile devices, and game-based learning strategies, as evidenced by the questions we received during our…
Ten of the best school-reform ideas from readers
Recently, we asked readers: “If you could recommend only one idea for school reform, what would it be and why?” Here, we present the best, most original, and…
Activist South Bay students secure computers for schools, save teachers
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Mexican teacher, praised for protecting students during drug war fight
A kindergarten teacher in northern Mexico was honored Monday for her courage after a video showed her calmly instructing children to duck and cover as gunfire rattled outside…
eSN readers candidly discuss mobile learning trends
Every few years, new technologies—and the policies that go with them—make a splash in schools, and this year, Apple’s iPad and "bring your own device" (BYOD) policies are…
Web site to serve as hub for teaching web skills
A new Commerce Department website aims to give schools, libraries and job training centers the tools to help teach computer and Internet skills to Americans who are new…
Do school districts pick on poor parents?
In a report on a homeless Connecticut woman who is facing criminal charges for using a false address to enroll her son in a public school, the Associated…
Compassion in education theme of TED conference in East Bay June 11
Prospect Sierra has partnered with U.C. Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center to host a TEDx conference on the topic of compassion in education, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Calif. teachers protest budget at state Capitol
Hundreds of teachers from around California descended on the state Capitol Monday to make the case for extending tax hikes as a way to stave off deep budget…
A graduation gift for college seniors: Jobs
Hamza Afzal had such a hard time finding an electrical engineering internship during the recession that he delayed his graduation, took pre-med classes, and applied to law school,…
Loss of schools tears at communities across Ala.
Every morning since the beginning of the year, Hackleburg High School senior Wynn Knowles woke up thinking about his graduation. He already had a rough draft of his…
Readers: How to stop cyber bullying
In a recent story, we reported on new efforts by the Obama administration to help curb cyber bullying. But many readers say these efforts don't go far enough—and…
Mayor counters teachers’ ads with his own
After being pilloried for weeks in advertisements from the city’s teachers’ union accusing him of threatening to fire teachers, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hit back on Tuesday by…
US student quits over ‘appalling’ Japan rant
A US student whose "appalling" anti-Asian and anti-Japanese rant went viral on YouTube announced she was quitting college, after receiving death threats, reports the AFP.
Facebook can help in disasters: academic
An Australian academic Friday praised the increasing use of social media during disasters, saying there had been a "beautiful display of humanity" on Facebook during recent catastrophes, reports…
Will Smith helps Philly school replace computers
Will Smith is donating replacements for 30 stolen computers to a high school in West Philadelphia, where he was born and raised, the Associated Press reports.
Home schooling’s appeal spreads to mainstream
Studying at Harvard, meeting for group French lessons, volunteering at a hospital and spending a day in the wilderness are just a glimpse into a typical day of…
Thousands gather for Ind. Statehouse union rally
Union workers, teachers, lawmakers and labor organizers said at a huge Statehouse rally Thursday that Indiana Republicans and GOP leaders nationwide have gone too far in pushing an…
Kansas schools try separate lunches for sexes
Middle school lunch periods can be a free-for-all of teasing, rough-housing and flirting among boys and girls trying to impress or intimidate, Reuters reports.
Memphis voters OK city schools merger with county
City voters chose Tuesday to dissolve the Memphis school system and force the county--whose students are accustomed to much more success in the wealthier suburbs--to take over its…
Wis. GOP bypasses Dems, cuts collective bargaining
At least two dozen protesters spent the night just outside the Wisconsin state Assembly chamber in anticipation of a late Thursday morning vote on explosive union rights legislation…