Watch: School goes makeup-free for one day
How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? According to a student-made video by the teens at Plano Senior High School in Texas, girls…
School Reform News
Arizona House passes anti-federal education bill
Dozens of public schools would be able to throw out federal education policy regulating academic standards, teacher evaluation requirements and student tracking systems under a measure approved by…
Advocacy group to monitor reform efforts in public schools
Diane Ravitch, the historian and former assistant education secretary who has become an outspoken critic of those who favor high-stakes testing, tenure reforms and other controversial measures aimed…
Teacher-turned-lawmaker wants two diplomas to graduate high school
Missouri state Rep. Bryan Spencer, R-Wentzville, is a teacher by trade and a freshman lawmaker in the General Assembly. Spencer introduced House Bill 294 in mid-February which requires…
Schools shift from textbooks to tablets
Well before the cleanup from Superstorm Sandy was in full swing, students could read about the weather system that slammed the East Coast in their textbooks.
8 ways high schools are helping students de-stress
Do you feel like most of the kids at your school are stressed out? With mounting academic pressure and increasing competition for college admissions, high schools across the…
K-12 student database jazzes tech startups, spooks parents
An education technology conference this week in Austin, Texas, will clang with bells and whistles as startups eagerly show off their latest wares, Reuters reports.
Early education in Nordic countries: Can we learn anything?
Nordic countries, which score high on international education benchmarking tests, have provided successful preschool education programs for decades—success that has prompted U.S. education leaders to wonder what policies…
What to consider when flipping the K-12 classroom
Flipping the classroom is one of the top trends in school reform, with more and more teachers trying the approach in an attempt to boost student engagement and…
If students designed their own school… it would look like this
“It’s crazy that in a system that is meant to teach and help the youth there is no voice from the youth at all.” That’s the opening line…
Teachers ditch student desk chairs for yoga balls
In 11 years of teaching, ditching students' desk chairs in favor of yoga balls is one of the best decisions Robbi Giuliano thinks she ever made, the Associated…
Commission: Pre-K for poor students within decade
An Education Department commission is recommending pre-kindergarten programs for every poor student within 10 years, adding a timeframe to President Barack Obama's similar call to help the least…
14 recommendations for taming the ‘wild, wild West’ of ed tech
A disruptive factor exists today in educational technology, according to a new report, because while virtual schools, personal digital devices, and open-source materials are transforming education, these forces…
Coming soon: A national superintendent certification program
The American Association of School Administrators is about to reinvent itself. As part of this effort, AASA will be unveiling a national vision statement and launching a National…
In Alabama, a model for Obama’s push to expand preschool
President Obama’s call in his State of the Union address to “make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America” rallied advocates across the country who have…
Open letter to Arne Duncan from Chicago teachers
A coalition of teachers from public and private schools — including the school that Education Secretary Arne Duncan attended as a child and where President Obama’s daughters were…
Hawaii school teachers need a contract
Hawaii's school teachers have their work cut out for them. Hawaii's kids continue to lag behind national averages on standardized tests for reading, science, and math, says a…
High school turns to puppies for stress relief
The four-legged member of the counseling team at the high school in suburban Chicago waits patiently, as a crush of students fills the hallways. Her tail wags with…
Rhee: ‘Probably’ shouldn’t have fired school principal on national TV
During her three years as Washington D.C. public schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee raised eyebrows with her tough-love approach to fixing a failing school system, ABC OTUS News reports.
School turnarounds prompt community backlash
The federal government's push for drastic reforms at chronically low achieving schools has led to takeovers by charter operators, overhauls of staff and curriculum, and even school shutdowns…
Four steps to flipping the classroom
The flipped classroom, in which students watch a video explaining a particular lesson or topic at home and then come to school prepared to complete assignments related to…
Gay rights ‘social justice teach-in’ ‘hit home’ for students
Picture this: You're changing in the locker room. Another student, who is gay, walks into the room. What do you do? That's how the script began in an…
The economic implications of not cultivating our top low-income students
The furor over student debt in this country takes aim at a noble cause -- quality education at a good price -- but obscures an even nobler cause,…
GOP lawmaker wants to tie welfare benefits to report cards
Tennessee state Rep. Stacey Campfield (R) introduced a bill this week seeking to make welfare benefits contingent upon the grades of a would-be recipient's children, the Huffington Post…
New partnership aims to transform teacher education
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Tennessee tries innovative approach to boosting student achievement
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Watch: Farm-to-school program serves up healthy lunches, educates students
President Bill Clinton has stepped alongside First Lady Michelle Obama in the fight against childhood obesity by taking his message to schools, the Huffington Post reports.
Teachers’ test boycott draws growing support
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Los Angeles teachers agree to student test scores in evaluations
Teachers in Los Angeles have agreed to have test scores factored into performance evaluations in the nation's second-largest school district, their union said on Saturday in a concession…
No deal on teacher evaluations between New York City, union
New York City and its teachers union failed to reach a deal on a teacher evaluation system, making it all but certain the city will miss a midnight…
Will longer school year help or hurt U.S. students?
Students might get their wish of more holiday time from school off under proposals catching on around the country to lengthen the school year calendar. But there's a…
Mississippi debate over school reform evokes broader racial divide
Mississippi lawmaker Kenneth Wayne Jones, a Democrat, briefly became a political pariah last winter when he voted in favor of a proposal to expand charter schools in his…
Nine templates to help educators leverage school data
Educators and administrators are collecting an enormous amount of data about the progress of their students and schools. Now that this information has been collected, how can it…
Commission recommends core changes to education
Students seeking admission to SUNY schools of education should be required to have grade-point averages of at least 3.0, with the aim of boosting teacher quality, a blue-ribbon…
Heroic actions bring change in tone on teachers
At schools last week, many teachers got extra thanks from parents and students who were reminded in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., massacre of just how much…
NAACP launches biggest education push since Brown v. Board
The NAACP is going on the offensive on education, deploying volunteers across the country in its biggest push for a public education overhaul since the nation's classrooms were…
Watch: Florida education department retracts botched teacher evaluations
Florida's Department of Education released the first results of a sweeping new teacher evaluation system Wednesday morning that sought to provide more accurate data on teacher effectiveness and…
Watch: Chicago schools start to see fruits of new Common Core
As a guinea pig in a nationwide experiment, Chicago's Philip D. Armour Elementary School is seeing drastic improvements in student performance, the Huffington Post reports.
Teachers union calls for certification exam
School teachers should have to pass a stringent exam—much like the bar exam for lawyers—before being allowed to enter the profession, one of the nation's largest teachers unions…
Chicago teachers union report highlights flaws
Nearly two months after a contentious labor battle between Chicago teachers and the city, the Chicago Teachers Union is striking yet another blow in a report that calls…