Five states to increase class time in some schools
For thousands of public school students, school is about to get quite a bit longer.
School Reform News
At NY school, a movement reborn with liberty and no testing for all
On a recent Wednesday morning at the Brooklyn Free School, a class was in session. Ten students, ranging in age from about 12 to 16, sat around a…
Jeb Bush, with cash and clout, pushes contentious school reforms
As former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush convenes a star-studded policy summit this week in Washington, D.C., he is widely regarded as one of the most influential education reformers…
Announcement marks a reality check for charter schools
Charter schools are about to get a reality check. As someone who has observed the breakneck pace of the growing charter school movement up close, Greg Richmond, who…
Writing bills, finding funds: Bush’s foundation at work
Soon after leaving office in 2007, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush launched the Foundation for Excellence in Education to "ignite a movement of reform, state by state," Reuters…
Ind. justices weigh largest school voucher program
Indiana Supreme Court justices weighing the legality of the nation's largest school voucher program made clear during a packed hearing Wednesday that the program's fate may rest on…
Feds: Pa. can’t give special treatment to charter schools
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Michigan takes big step forward in online testing of students
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Exclusive: Michelle Rhee takes aim at teacher tenure
When Michelle Rhee was the chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools in 2008, she was convinced that tenure was hurting her students, Takepart.com reports.
Idaho education board repeals online class obligation
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Texas education chief considers rating schools on minority progress
Texas’ new education commissioner Michael Williams is considering a new system for rating school success that would take into account how well districts are closing the achievement gap…
Newark teachers ratify ‘groundbreaking’ contract
Newark teachers have voted to ratify a tentative agreement that education officials have called "groundbreaking," the Associated Press reports.
Swedish school’s big lesson begins with dropping personal pronouns
At an ocher-color preschool along a lane in Stockholm’s Old Town, the teachers avoid the pronouns “him” and “her,” instead calling their 115 toddlers simply “friends,” the New…
Idaho teachers to get performance bonuses despite voter repeal
Even though voters overturned the Students Come First laws, teachers who earned merit pay during the last school year can expect a payment by Dec. 15, the Times-News…
Teacher evaluation systems not fully supported in many states
A recent report out of the Center for American Progress examines the state of teacher evaluation reform in six early adopter states, including Colorado, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,…
32,000 Chicago students were chronically absent in 2010-11
Nearly 32,000 — or approximately 1 in 8 — Chicago public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade missed four weeks of class or more during the 2010-11…
Georgia high school students, teachers earn cash for AP test success
Dozens of students at Howard High School in Georgia pocketed $100 each for every Advanced Placement English, math or science exam they passed with a 3, 4 or…
Michael Bloomberg gives $200K to education reform group
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave $200,000 to Education Voters of Idaho, a nonprofit group championing three education reform laws known as Students Come First, which will…
Ex-Intel CEO praises Arizona’s ‘massive’ educational transformation
Craig Barrett has expressed strong opinions on Arizona's education system, the Huffington Post reports.
Time, not calories, may leave high school students feeling hungry
High school students are grumbling over their school lunches--and so are their stomachs, U.S. News reports.
LA loses $40M in federal funds over union resistance to evaluations
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has just lost out on $40 million of free federal money because the teachers union has declined to sign the district's…
Audit: U.S. oversight of charter school funding is lax
An audit of the U.S. Department of Education's division overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in charter school funding has criticized the office for failing to properly monitor…
Hawaii plan would give all students computers
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New Jersey’s only all-boys public school prompts praise, criticism
Last month marked the grand opening of the Eagle Academy for Young Men of Newark, the city’s first and only public, single-sex school, the Huffington Post reports.
State boards of education weigh in on ed-tech policy
In a new set of recommendations aimed at advising state leaders on ed-tech integration, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) discusses how states are integral…
10,000 Ohio 3rd graders could be held back under new law
As many as 10,000 students across Ohio could be held back to repeat the third grade under the new "Third Grade Reading Guarantee" law, the Huffington Post reports.
Seeking aid, school districts change teacher evaluations
In an exercise evoking a corporate motivation seminar, a group of public school teachers and principals clustered around posters scrawled with the titles of Beatles songs. Their assignment:…
First ‘parent trigger’ moves to a crucial vote after court ruling
About nine months ago, at a small park playground a few hundred feet from their children's struggling school, a group of parents chanted, cheered and delivered passionate speeches…
Bidding delays laptops for Idaho teachers
The first round of more than 6,000 laptop computers, one for every high school teacher and administrator in Idaho, already was supposed to be delivered to Idaho's schools…
Florida officials want more than $400M to expand digital learning
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Ed-tech firms shaping education policy
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Plan to fund Chicago teacher contract heavy on one-time measures
The Chicago Public Schools would rely mainly on one-time measures to cover the $103 million, first-year cost of a new teachers' contract, under a plan the school system…
Pro-reformers want to pull union ad shot at elementary school
A commercial opposing Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna's controversial education reform measures in Idaho that was filmed at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Caldwell has drawn…
More Illinois teacher strikes?
The school board and teachers union in Evergreen Park School District 124 met Wednesday night in an effort to negotiate an end to a strike that began Tuesday,…
Eight economic facts about education
Earning a college degree increases one's earning potential and economic value significantly—yet the United States is being outpaced by many other countries in the percentage of students completing…
No Hollywood ending for real-life ‘Won’t Back Down’ school
Doreen Diaz left the red carpet movie premiere of “Won’t Back Down” in New York City last week feeling encouraged, says the Hechinger Report.
Education chief wants textbooks to go digital
Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Oct. 2 called for the nation to move as fast as possible away from printed textbooks and toward digital ones. "Over the next…
How to realize ed tech’s game-changing potential
During a recent webinar, the nation's director of educational technology highlighted how technology can support more effective instruction—and a North Carolina superintendent revealed how his district has successfully…
High school in less than four years?
In Arizona, hundreds of high school students are now being offered the opportunity to graduate after their sophomore year — as long as they prove their academic mettle,…
Two high school teachers may be better than one
Two heads are better than one, or so the saying goes. But in a high school classroom, are two teachers better than one? Asks U.S. News.