December 28, 2010
The federal lawsuit filed by some Shawnee Mission School District parents against a state education funding cap just got more complicated. Another group of parents is asking to intervene in that case, contending the real problem is inadequate funding from the Kansas Legislature for all students. The motion to intervene was filed on behalf of […]
December 28, 2010
Children’s advocates bemoaned California’s failure Monday to win a share of at least $206 million in federal funding meant to reward states that took aggressive steps to enroll eligible children in government health programs. California missed its target of enrolling 352,000 additional children – falling about 24,000 shy – in Healthy Families and Medi-Cal, the […]
December 28, 2010
Increased access to health care services for children through the BadgerCare Plus program qualified Wisconsin for a federal bonus of $23.1 million for this year, federal officials announced today. The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides performance bonus payments to encourage states to enroll more uninsured Medicaid-eligible children and help offset […]
December 28, 2010
For the past three years, Katie Ward and Melanie McIver have worked as a team at Public School 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, teaching a fourth-grade class. But on the reports that rank the city’s teachers based on their students’ standardized test scores, Ms. Ward’s name is nowhere to be found. “I feel as though […]
December 28, 2010
A week before Christmas, Judy Powelson was awaiting her son’s first visit home in nine months with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Earlier in the year, the 17-year-old’s mental illness had spiraled out of control to the point that he attacked her, kicked a teacher in the groin and was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment. […]
December 28, 2010
Like the menu at a potluck supper, Chicago Public Schools has a dizzying array of offerings, from classical, magnet, selective enrollment and gifted schools to charters and contract schools and career and military academies. The smorgasbord is a testament to Chicago’s myriad attempts to fix broken schools and keep middle-class parents from fleeing to the […]
December 27, 2010
The widespread adoption of common-core academic standards is expected to accelerate a growing movement among educators to link individualized education programs for students with disabilities directly to grade-level standards. “Standards-based” IEPs allow individualized instruction in pursuit of a common goal: helping students with disabilities move toward meeting the same grade-level academic standards that general education […]
December 27, 2010
Vouchers for all students. Merit pay for teachers, but no tenure for new hires. Those are just a few of the wide-ranging recommendations for reforming Florida’s education system released this week by an 18-member panel advising Gov.-elect Rick Scott on his transition to becoming the state’s chief executive officer on Jan. 4. Some recommendations like […]
December 27, 2010
The financ ially strapped Detroit Public Schools is launching an effort to find alternative funding for programs to benefit students and staff. Three new entities — the DPS Foundation, DPS Alumni Association and DPS Volunteer Business Corps — will aim to identify private donors and nonprofit funding to help pay for costs such as classroom […]
December 27, 2010
Local educators say purse strings could tighten at both the state and federal levels when new Republican lawmakers take office in January. And that has some school officials concerned about funding and revenue limits. Mike Blecha, who sits on the Green Bay School Board and serves as its legislative liaison, noted that state rules limit […]