January 20, 2011
Gov. Jay Nixon is proposing to hold funding flat for Missouri’s public schools. A budget plan released Wednesday by Nixon would provide K-12 schools an additional $112 million during the current year, thanks to an influx of federal money. But it would cut schools by $112 million next year. Nixon’s budget director, Linda Luebbering, says […]
January 19, 2011
As Boston delves into contentious negotiations with its teachers union, the Boston Foundation yesterday released an analysis critical of the longstanding system of boosting teacher pay for longevity and coursework, instead of for bettering the academic performance of students. The analysis instantly angered officials of the teachers union and emboldened School Department leaders, who are […]
January 19, 2011
Republicans have said they don’t want to raise taxes but when it comes to balancing a budget that has a shortfall between $15 and $27 billion – major cuts are being proposed to the tune of $14 billion. Some of the biggest cuts are to education totally nearly $5 billion. In the first draft of […]
January 19, 2011
The school lunch line is about to get a long-awaited makeover. The United States Department of Agriculture is calling on school cafeterias to add more fruit, and cut back on starchy staples like french fries. "We have to keep in mind that the students have to eat the food, and so making it tasty and […]
January 19, 2011
Following through on his promise for more charter schools, Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday the approval of 23 new charter schools across New Jersey, including ones with single-sex classes or an emphasis on online learning or character-building. Seventeen of the new schools, as well as seven previously approved, are scheduled to open in September, bringing […]
January 19, 2011
The city announced on Tuesday that it had set aside $10 million to give extra help to tens of thousands of students who failed standardized exams last year after the state raised the standards for passing. The money will be distributed among 532 schools and will benefit nearly 50,000 fourth through eighth graders. The amount […]
January 19, 2011
Districts that have underperforming schools would be able to compete for $3 million to fund teacher performance-pay awards under a proposal advanced by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. McDonnell said at a news conference Tuesday that the pilot program, part of his budget amendments, would award incentives of up to $5,000 to teachers in about 190 […]
January 18, 2011
Detroit’s troubled school system remains in emergency management, its enrollment dwindling and its labor-management relations contentious. Yet in spite of those challenges, a school there is making a bid to innovate with many of the formal structures that have long guided not just teachers’ roles, but also how students are organized in classes. At Palmer […]
January 18, 2011
The Kansas City School District missed its chance while closing schools to ensure that it was putting its best teachers in its classrooms, says a study to be released today. A broken human resources department, combined with an “alarming” history of poor recordkeeping, has impaired a district that has pledged to make reforms but still […]
January 18, 2011
Legislation is in the works to overturn many aspects of former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan for public education, including a mandate that districts offer all-day kindergarten for free. The Columbus Dispatch reports the bill also would do away with plans for smaller class sizes and requirements that schools create family and civic engagement councils […]