school reform Archives

States face challenges when it comes to school reform

August 17, 2011August 16, 2011 by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

With a renewed focus on student achievement and school reform, many state education agencies (SEAs) find themselves under pressure to change operations and show positive results, and a…

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Ind. schools chief suggests grades for districts

August 5, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Indiana's state schools superintendent wants to start giving school districts letter grades on an A-to-F scale to hold them accountable for how their schools perform, the Chicago Tribune…

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School voucher bills flood GOP-led statehouses

August 5, 2011 by From staff and wire reports

More states than ever before have considered school vouchers this year, driven by resurgent Republicans who see the lagging economy as an opportunity for a fresh push on…

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Ten common myths about teaching

September 20, 2011August 5, 2011 by From staff reports

It seems everyone has an opinion about teachers and their profession these days … and most of them aren’t teachers.

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What makes an effective school principal?

August 5, 2011August 4, 2011 by By Raishay Lin, Contributing Editor

Recent research shows that good principals in K-12 schools can create dramatic improvement, particularly in the lowest performing schools—but the consistency, fairness, and value of current principal evaluation…

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Editorial: Poised on the brink of opportunity

August 3, 2011August 3, 2011 by By Dennis Pierce, Editor

As in Joplin, Mo., the nation’s leaders have a critical opportunity to reinvent the future of education. Here’s hoping they have some of the same courage personified in…

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Matt Damon, others speak out to ‘Save Our Schools’

August 3, 2011August 1, 2011 by By Jenna Zwang, Assistant Editor

Teachers and their supporters turned out by the thousands July 30 for the Save Our Schools March in Washington, D.C. They came to protest budget cuts, the outdated…

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Five things students say they want from education

August 12, 2011July 28, 2011 by From staff reports

With so many education stakeholders debating the needs of today's schools, student voices aren’t always heard when it comes to what they want from their education.

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Principal: Why I’m marching to ‘save our schools’

July 28, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

We are awash in market-based school reform, says Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School, NY, and the School Administrators Association of New York State’s 2010…

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Replace ‘seat time’ with competency, report says

August 1, 2011July 28, 2011 by By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor

A new report says that competency-based learning is becoming more attainable for schools, and with some actionable policy steps, state education leaders can help schools personalize learning and…

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NYC awards tenure to fewer teachers under overhaul

July 28, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

New York City has slashed the number of public-school instructors receiving tenure this year--part of an effort to link teacher advancement to student performance, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced…

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Ending the ‘tyranny of the lecture’

September 23, 2014July 27, 2011 by By Dennis Pierce, Editor

Harvard professor Eric Mazur reveals how he uses peer instruction to make learning more dynamic—and how new software can facilitate this process.

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Scott promotes controversial education reforms

July 27, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Controversial changes that have rocked Texas higher education system may be coming to Florida, WCTV reports.

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Brizard to realign ‘mini-superintendents’

July 27, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Two months into his new role overseeing Chicago Public Schools, CEO Jean-Claude Brizard has begun reorganizing a school system he calls "fragmented," reports the Chicago Tribune.

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Teachers will not join Walker in education effort

July 25, 2011 by From staff and wire reports

Wisconsin's teachers union will not join Republican Gov. Scott Walker's effort to create a new state accountability system to replace the federal No Child Left Behind after lingering…

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Christie, education reformer announce partnership on Paterson schools

July 21, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Governor Christie’s plan to transform Paterson’s ailing public schools gets under way this fall and will be modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone, which has become a national…

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School officials and union agree on pilot program for teacher evaluations

July 18, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

In a step toward reshaping how all teachers in New York City’s 1,700 public schools are judged, the Department of Education and the city teachers’ union agreed on…

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Why Illinois might be a model for education reform

July 15, 2011July 15, 2011 by By Jenna Zwang, Assistant Editor

Illinois’ Senate Bill 7, passed in June, ushered in numerous changes designed to improve teaching and learning—and it demonstrates the power of collaboration between education policy makers and…

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Union chief faults school reform from ‘On High’

July 12, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Amid one of the most contentious periods in recent memory for teachers’ unions, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, on Monday called for education…

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Oregon education reform bills aim to create more flexible, individualized public schools

July 11, 2011 by From staff and wire reports

This article is no longer available.

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Readers: Here’s how we’d change ESEA

July 11, 2011July 8, 2011 by From staff reports

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…

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Report highlights importance of early childhood education

July 8, 2011July 7, 2011 by By Jenna Zwang, Assistant Editor

Children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten programs are more likely to graduate from high school, says a new report that calls on states and communities to build an aligned…

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All Korean textbooks to go digital by 2015

July 1, 2011July 1, 2011 by From wire service reports

This article is no longer available.

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Inner city parents protest NAACP, teachers’ union

June 30, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

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…

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Walton Family Foundation gives $157 million toward education reform

June 29, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

The numbers are in: the Walton Family Foundation invested $157 million in grants for K-12 education reform in 2010, a $23 million increase over its 2009 total of…

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Colorado holds lotto to help underprivileged children pay for private schools

June 29, 2011June 28, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Douglas County School District officials say their controversial pilot scholarship is going to move forward until a court orders it to stop, the Huffington Post reports.

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Brizard, Emanuel suggest CPS teachers make home visits

June 28, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

In a press conference coordinated with the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO)'s announcement that their organization, which oversees a network of charter schools, is adding instructional days to their…

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‘Instructional rounds’ approach flips classroom evaluations

June 27, 2011June 23, 2011 by From staff and wire reports

This article is no longer available.

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Florida’s teachers union sues state over pension reform, plans further action

June 22, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Florida's largest teachers union filed suit on Monday to stop the enactment of new pension reform laws, the first lawsuit of potentially many that seek to halt the…

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Worst of Detroit schools to be moved to new system

June 21, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

The worst of Detroit's schools will be pulled out of the district--which the nation's top education official calls the "bottom of the barrel”--and placed in a new system…

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Education laws in Ohio, Idaho subject of repeal campaigns

June 20, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Two states are pushing back against new education reforms by putting recently passed laws up for popular vote, the Huffington Post reports.

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How to cut special-ed spending without sacrificing quality

June 15, 2011June 15, 2011 by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

As school districts grow accustomed to doing more with less, special-education programs are dealing with their own unique set of challenges—and one expert has proposed several solutions to…

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Tea Party gears up for 2012 in contentious school voucher fight

June 14, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

The fight over school vouchers in Pennsylvania is a test of whether the Tea Party can transition from a protest movement into sustained political activism, reports the Huffington…

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Alliance: Keep spending rules in place with NCLB fix

June 13, 2011 by By Jenna Zwang, Assistant Editor

As Congress works to update the No Child Left Behind Act, members of the nonprofit Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) hold out hope that a bipartisan agreement will…

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NJ Governor Christie proposes public-private schools plan

June 10, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced a pilot program on Thursday that would allow private companies to run public schools in some of the state's chronically underperforming school…

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Idaho education firestorm sparks attempt at repeal

June 9, 2011June 9, 2011 by From staff and wire reports

Idaho carried out a sweeping overhaul of its public school system this year and stood out nationally amid a rancorous debate over education around the country. But the…

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Milwaukee’s voucher program discriminates based on disabilities, ACLU says

June 8, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

Milwaukee's voucher system, which allows low-income students to attend private schools using tax dollars, discriminates based on disability, according to a complaint filed Tuesday by the American Civil…

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NC lawmaker’s 3rd grader sends him protest letter

June 7, 2011 by Staff and wire services reports

A North Carolina lawmaker doesn't think it was right for his daughter and her third-grade class to write to him and other elected officials protesting possible cuts in…

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