« Spare Us the Spin (Neal McCluskey) | Main | Morning Shots »
May 29, 2007
Education News for Tuesday, May 29
On Reading, Charters Outperform - The most recent round of reading tests show students attending charter schools in the city outperforming other public schools on reading tests.
Parents, Teachers Protest Principals' Styles - Principals at two well-regarded D.C. public schools have become the target of demonstrations and organized efforts to oust them because parents, and in one case teachers, too, have lodged complaints about their management styles.
House scuttles charter school reform - A measure to shutter the state's lowest-performing charter schools and reward the best with financial incentives fell apart in the House on Friday.
A second separation - For the second time in less than a year a charter school has proposed to open in Twin Falls, and once again the school district has decided to separate itself from that charter school.
Two N. Phila. schools win accolade in Time - Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia has collected national accolades for improving student test scores, hosted a visit by U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, and been profiled in a new book from Harvard Education Press.
Themed schools still a draw, but not all are magnets - Calypso singer Cyril Paul tried three times before most of the kids in his audience at Birch Grove Elementary waved their arms and swiveled their hips at the right time while singing ... all ... the ... lyrics ... clearly.
City Officials Squabble Over Takeover Plan - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's high-stakes effort to seize control of the District's struggling public school system has set off a fight for influence and power among the city's top elected leaders.
Standardizing the Standards - “I know you’re restless today, but I need to see you sitting at your desks. Angel, that means you, too!” In the second-grade classroom at the Washington school where I volunteer, the teacher turned to me and said with a sigh, “It’s testing week.”
School's creed helps boys believe in themselves - D'Angelo Gardner didn't like it when staff members at Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men started telling him to tuck in his shirt, pull up his pants, straighten his tie.
Charter school talks over campus an issue - Talks on whether a construction-themed charter school could open on the former Lincoln Middle School campus are expected to continue over the next several weeks after a narrow vote by the Vista Unified school board Thursday night.
Vouchers courtbound? - In a move to clear up school voucher confusion as swiftly as possible, opponents want to send the crux of the voucher issue straight to the Utah Supreme Court. Friday Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, submitted a "request for agency action" asking the State School Board to issue an emergency order that would declare the voucher amendment law, HB174, invalid and unable to stand on its own apart from the original voucher bill, HB148.
Texas' dropout problem probably worse than reported - Sunday after Sunday, Sarah Luna's prayer never changed. With about a month to go until graduation, the 20-year-old Lanier High School senior pleaded with God for one life-changing miracle that seemed hopelessly out of reach: her diploma.
Core Classes Not Enough, Report Warns - It's no secret to most high school students that taking the required courses, getting good grades and receiving a diploma don't take much work. The average U.S. high school senior donning a cap and gown this spring will have spent an hour a day on homework and at least three hours a day watching TV, playing video games and pursuing other diversions.
‘Middle School Syndrome’ Undergoes a Reversal - Scores on state tests at Westlake Middle School were disappointing for years, and school officials had largely written them off as “middle school syndrome,” a mysterious decline in achievement between elementary school and eighth grade that seemed to afflict most schools in the state.
Nation’s charter school leaders focus on N.O - With 57 percent of students in Orleans Parish now enrolled in charter schools, New Orleans is ground zero for charter school monitors nationwide.
State warns KIPP school to shape up or be closed - Buffalo’s KIPP Sankofa Charter School, considered a promising alternative for inner-city middle school students when it opened in 1993, is plagued by failure and is fighting for its life.
More schools are ditching final exams - Instead of late-night cramming and tutorials on how to ace multiple-choice tests, Joshua Koenig prepared for finals by rehearsing a PowerPoint presentation on the challenges of trading stock options and what he learned while attempting to climb Mt. Rainier with his father.
Encourage community input by advancing charter school - Educators consistently identify parental and community involvement as indispensable assets in the critical mission of improving public schools. That makes the turnout of approximately 250 people for Tuesday night's public forum at Burke High School highly encouraging.
A Civics Lesson for D.C. Students to Skip - Editorial: Let's hope D.C. public school students are too busy with their studies to pay much attention to the officials overseeing their school system. Goodness knows those adults are teaching lessons that students should never learn.
Tucson charter school in Newsweek's top 10 list - BASIS Tucson, a charter high school, is again ranked in the nation's top 10 by Newsweek magazine in the May 8 issue, said the school's director, Gloria Mitchell.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.edspresso.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/1479
