January 24, 2011
President Barack Obama, who has adopted such traditionally Republican principles as charter schools and teacher merit pay, will meet resistance in a divided Congress over spending and the reach of government in the classroom. He will showcase his argument for an education overhaul in his State of the Union address tomorrow, Education Secretary Arne Duncan […]
January 24, 2011
As a group, Illinois’ public school children are fewer in number, increasingly poor, more diverse and more likely than in recent years to spend the entire school year at the same building, according to new data. Nearly half of the state ‘s 2.1 million public school children came from families who were considered low-income during […]
January 24, 2011
In a case that pits the constitutional rights of students against the job protections of teachers, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge approved a groundbreaking settlement Friday that limits the effect of layoffs on the district’s most vulnerable students. Up to 45 Los Angeles Unified School District campuses will be shielded from teacher layoffs […]
January 24, 2011
Conversations are quietly under way around the Capitol about creating a new panel to look at school funding. House Education Committee Chairman Brooks Coleman said Thursday that the goal will probably be to draft some ultimate recommendations next year. The current formula is more complex than simply granting each district a set amount for each […]
January 24, 2011
U.S. governors and legislatures facing deficits of more than $140 billion are slashing local school budgets, cuts that may mean jammed classrooms, fewer teachers and libraries without librarians. The Texas Legislature is considering a 13 percent reduction in education funding and South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard recommended taking 10 percent out of per-pupil spending. Cuts […]
January 24, 2011
Parents of special education students in Stamford schools are threatening to file a civil rights complaint against the district if Superintendent Joshua Starr’s proposed cuts to the programs are passed. "I am promising that I am going to file a formal complaint with the office of civil rights, because (Starr) is asking for all the […]
January 24, 2011
As Francine Wade watched a school security guard being lifted into an ambulance last year, after trying to break up yet another student brawl at P.S. 41, she vowed her daughter would never, ever go there. “I’m determined to find somewhere else,” Wade said recently, while waiting for her daughter’s number to be called in […]
January 24, 2011
Kelly Oswald regularly helps the diabetic students at her school draw blood and determine whether their glucose levels are within normal range or whether further steps must be taken to stabilize them. And in the course of her school week, she knows she may be called on to administer medication to a child having a […]
January 21, 2011
Grade inflation — a term normally associated with students — is widespread among Bay Area teachers, who receive so many favorable evaluations that it is impossible to tell how well they are performing, some educators say.
 ; For the 2009-10 school year, just 40 out of 1,924 teachers — or 2 percent — reviewed by […]
January 21, 2011
A pilot program for school vouchers moved one step closer to reality Thursday, after a New Jersey Senate committee released the bill following hours of heated debate. The legislation, which is supported by Gov. Christie, would create "opportunity scholarships" that would allow children from low-income families who live in areas with "chronically failing" public schools […]