May 11, 2011
Paul Pastorek, the state figure who upended the way troubled schools are run in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, and won both glittering accolades and searing criticism in his drive to inject competition and accountability into public education, resigned Tuesday after four years on the job. Pastorek announced in a tearful news conference […]
May 11, 2011
Samantha Sherwood had lofty aspirations when she settled on a family-studies major at the University of Connecticut, like redrawing welfare rules or weaving together a sturdier safety net for people in need. She figured that she could change the world in big, broad strokes, and that she might pick up a fancy title and ample […]
May 11, 2011
Federal legislation addresses the education needs of children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I DEA). States receiving federal funds under IDEA are required to provide a free, appropriate, public education for all children with disabilities, and this includes health-related services necessary for their participation in a standard educational setting. While IDEA […]
May 10, 2011
Education reform has been prominent in the media over the last year. Though the topic has taken many angles—Wisconsin’s battle over teacher unions, the public vs. charter school debate, Cathie Black’s abrupt tenure as Chancellor of New York City schools—the centerpiece of all these stories have a singular theme: are America’s children receiving the education […]
May 10, 2011
Top Los Angeles school officials vowed to move quickly to bring sweeping change to the nation’s second-largest school system, and, starting this week, Huntington Park High School is expected to become the laboratory for just how fast things can go. On Tuesday, the Board of Education is expected to approve a plan to replace at […]
May 10, 2011
In 11 short years, IDEA Public Schools has grown from one hastily arranged campus in an old Donna church house to filling nearly 20 state-rated “exemplary” schools with more than 6,800 students. With 14,000 other students on a waiting list and plans to operate 38 total sites by 2015 — not all of which will […]
May 10, 2011
Fewer metro Atlanta school districts are expecting multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls in 2011-12, welcome news for teachers and other school employees who last year faced job loss or fewer working days. This time las t year, about 1,500 metro Atlanta teachers were awaiting news about layoffs in what was an unprecedented budget year. Districts scheduled furloughs […]
May 10, 2011
The number of students in New Jersey public schools diagnosed with autism has almost doubled in the past five years, to more than 13,000 in 2010. More of these children are now being educated in their hometown schools. But as their number has grown, so has the debate about how and where to best educate […]
May 10, 2011
CHICAGO—A sweeping state education bill that passed the Illinois state Senate unanimously and had the support of teachers unions and education-advocacy groups could be derailed by claims it was altered at the last minute. The bill—which represents a compromise on some of the nation’s most divisive education issues—would make it easier for districts statewide to […]
May 9, 2011
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House on Thursday narrowly approved legislation that would cut state aid to public schools, community colleges and universities for the budget year that begins in October. The measure passed 57-53 in the Republican-led chamber mostly along party lines, with six members of the GOP joining Democrats in opposition. It was […]