November 18, 2010
Last month, the governor slashed funding for mental health services for special education students and suspended a state mandate to provide those services. Now, his decision faces a lawsuit that the Manhattan Beach Unified School District has joined in on. On Oct. 8, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed $133 million intended to pay counties for mental health […]
November 18, 2010
As state leaders grapple with a looming $1.6 billion deficit, thousands of teachers know they have a target on their backs. With K-12 education one of the state’s largest expenses, any funding cuts could put pressure on teacher compensation. Michigan educators, who get some of the nation’s best teacher wages and benefits, know their pay […]
November 17, 2010
Programs that train teachers need to be radically revised, according to a panel composed of some of the country’s top educators, and eight states, including Maryland, have signed on to adopt the recommendations, scheduled to be released Tuesday. Teacher-training programs have long been criticized for not putting enough emphasis on inside-the-classroom practice, and the recommendations […]
November 17, 2010
Some parents of children with autism are expressing anger over the elimination of certain special education programs. The New York State Board of Regents has voted down a long-time rule that mandated speech and language services for autistic kids. For more than 20 years, the Regents said kids with autism had to receive five days […]
November 17, 2010
Charter schools say they don’t receive equal state funding. Administrators, parents & state lawmakers have differing opinions. Horizon Science Academy’s Middle School is in Continuous Improvement status on its state report card, the same status as Colulmbus City Schools. But, the Director of Horizon says when it comes to funding, the similarities end. Charter schools […]
November 17, 2010
Local educators applaud a new plan to retool the way the state helps pay for schools, but some warn changes are a long way from coming to pass. Wisconsin school superintendent Tony Evers stopped at Chappell Elementary School in Green Bay on Tuesday to tout his Fair Funding for our Future plan. It was one […]
November 17, 2010
Photosynthesis may be an unlikely topic to inspire an opera or ballet, but in a 2nd grade classroom here recently, the children were asked to use dance to help them learn about that process. “Do you think you’re ready to use your whole body?” teacher Katie Wright-Sabbatino asked near the start of the lesson, which […]
November 17, 2010
In Switzerland, 12th-graders write essays analyzing John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s proclamation that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. In Ontario, Canada, eighth-graders create musical compositions and learn Italian musical terms. In Finland, fifth- and sixth-graders analyze how human life has changed since the invention of writing. In Hong Kong, fourth-graders visit an artist’s studio and study […]
November 17, 2010
Four years ago, Francis Parkman Middle School was spiraling downward with plummeting enrollment, abysmal test scores and notoriety for unruliness. Then teachers stepped out of the classroom and took charge of the school. Today, the rechristened Woodland Hills Academy, named for the school’s suburban location north of Los Angeles, is run by a teacher-controlled committee […]
November 16, 2010
Norma Mortimer moves about her high school classroom with confidence born of 41 years’ experience. Directions to students are clear; she knows when to push for an answer and when to let a question hang. The English teacher formerly taught music, composed and arranged marching band music, and performed at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. "It […]