January 10, 2011
This week Pennsylvanians will get a look at a plan to use state money to give low-income families alternatives to public school. State Sens. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, will release their proposal for a tuition voucher system mid-week. Parents could use the money to send their […]
January 10, 2011
Four new preschool special-education classrooms are being built at Franklin Park School and will be ready for use in September. The district currently has special-education classrooms at Franklin Park School and Hillcrest School, but more are needed as the township’s population grows. Franklin Park School was chosen because it has the most room for expansion, […]
January 10, 2011
The long-awaited hearing on a case that could decide whether Charleston charter schools receive millions more each year will happen later this month. &#x 0D; The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Charleston County School District’s lawsuit against the state on Jan. 18. The district sued the state on the constitutionality of Act 189, […]
January 10, 2011
As California crams more kids into classrooms, students are sitting in aisles and on windowsills. Fewer are paying attention and more are certain to be left behind. Teachers are spending more time lecturing and less time leading experiments and devising creative lessons. Caught in a budget meltdown, the state is forcing schools to abandon one […]
January 10, 2011
The Obama administration has released guidance meant to spell out what kinds of amendments it will accept to plans submitted by states that won a share of $4 billion in grants under the federal Race to the Top competition—and the types of changes that would put the awardees’ funding at risk. In documents sent to […]
January 7, 2011
Anticipating state cuts to school funding, two Williamson County school districts Thursday announced plans to make up the difference by chopping job positions and possibly a campus. Round Rock Superintendent Jesús Chávez announced an immediate hiring freeze. Hutto Superintendent Doug Killian said the district is considering cutting 80 positions and closing a school — something […]
January 7, 2011
New state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson joined with education leaders in Sacramento on Thursday to call attention to what he called an education funding crisis. The message was not new but Torlakson said Californians need to understand just how bad things are: 30,000 teachers laid off statewide, as well as 10,000 support staff; […]
January 7, 2011
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met for the first time with a coalition of District of Columbia education leaders and held a panel discussion including parents, teachers, and students at a D.C. middle school that is producing dramatic gains in student achievement. The event also was the first time Secretary Duncan met with the […]
January 7, 2011
The fate of the Memphis, Tenn., school district remains up in the air following a move last month by the city’s school board to merge the 105,000-student system with neighboring Shelby County schools. The Memphis school board voted 5-4 on Dec. 20 to surrender its charter to the 45,000-student Shelby County district, pending approval from […]
January 7, 2011
Florida education officials have proposed reducing state funding to school districts and laboratory and charter schools by about $43 million as penalties for violating class size limits. Figures released Thursday show the Department of Education is seeking approval for such fines against school districts ranging from $1,308 for Walton County to $16.6 million for Palm […]