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Children and adults gunned down in Connecticut school massacre

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

CNN - Dec. 14 (Breaking News) - Updates about the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT

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27 Dead, Including 20 Children, At Sandy Hook School Shooting In Newtown

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Hartford Courant - By The Hartford Courant Staff - Dec. 14 (Breaking News) - Twenty-seven people, including 20 children, are dead after a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The gunman killed himself inside the school. Another person was found dead at 36 Yogananda St. in Newtown, sources told The Courant. The shootings at the school took place in two rooms, one of which is a kindergarten classroom, sources said. One entire classroom is unaccounted for.

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Transcript: Obama’s Statement on Newtown Shooting - Washington Wire - WSJ

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

blogs.wsj.com - By Barack Obama - Dec. 14 (Breaking News) -

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FBI probes white powder in letters sent to DC schools

Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - May. 06 (News) - The FBI on Friday is investigating more than three dozen suspicious letters containing a white powdery substance sent to schools in the capital area, leading authorities to race across the city to check for possible threats.

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Virginia Teacher Holds Mock Auction Of Black Students To Teach Civil War Lesson

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:41:17 -0700

Talking Points Memo - By Jillian Rayfield - Apr. 14 (News) - A fourth grade teacher in Norfolk, Virginia is in trouble for getting a bit too real in a lesson on the Civil War, in which she held a mock auction of black students while letting the white students bid on them.

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Why Fire Teachers?

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Atlantic Monthly - By Megan McArdle - Mar. 08 (Opinion) - I think there are some jobs that are too important to let any consideration intrude other than the best way to get the job done. Nuclear power plants, firefighters, poison control--I don't want to let other social goals, no matter how laudable, hamper their mission. Teaching is one of those jobs.

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Wellesley schools chief apologizes for students' role in Muslim prayer service

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Boston Globe - By Erica Noonan, Katrina Ballard - Sep. 16 (News) - Wellesley’s school superintendent apologized today for allowing middle school students to participate in a prayer service during a field trip to a Roxbury mosque last spring. The apology to parents came after a group that has been critical of the Islamic Society of Boston Community Center — New England’s largest mosque and Muslim cultural center — released a 10-minute long video featuring footage of Wellesley students bowing their heads during a prayer service.

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Do School Lunches Plump Up Poor Kids? | Miller-McCune Online

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Miller-McCune - By Emily Badger - Sep. 02 (Special Report) - A program to ensure all American children get at least one good meal a day may lie behind their expanding waistlines. Oddly, a breakfast program does not.

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Teacher Chides Girl, 12, for Wearing Mexico Shirt in School, Activist Says

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Fox News - By Ed Barnes - Jun. 28 (News Report) - When Coral Avilez went to school on June 11, the seventh-grader knew two things: She would get to watch Mexico play South Africa on TV that day, and she would get to wear the Mexico shirt she had bought while on vacation earlier in the year. What the 12

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The underworked American

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Jun. 11 (Opinion) - American schoolchildren are unlikely to end up working as hard as the French, let alone the South Koreans, any time soon. There are institutional reasons for this. The federal government has only a limited influence over the school system. Powerful interest groups, most notably the teachers’ unions, but also the summer-camp industry, have a vested interest in the status quo. But reformers are also up against powerful cultural forces.

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A Radical Fix for Schools?

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

NOW on PBS - By David Brancaccio - May. 01 (Special Report) - How is Secretary of Education Arne Duncan going to spend $100 billion in stimulus money—almost twice the education budget—to fix our nation's schools? During his seven years running Chicago's public schools, Duncan went head to head with the teacher's union and skeptical parents by closing down low-performing schools, getting rid of all the teachers, principals, even the janitors, and reopening them with new staffs as "turnaround schools." It's a drastic step, but the results have been promising. This week, NOW travels to Chicago to investigate the collateral damage of a top-to-bottom school makeover, and to get a glimpse of what the future of education might look like for the rest of the country. "We have to be willing to experience a little bit of pain and discomfort, but our children desperately need it and deserve it," Secretary Duncan tells NOW. "Just as we have to do it, unions have to change, principals have to change, teachers have to change, parents have to step up... business as usual is not going to get us there."

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Class Breaks in Tokyo More Suited for Children

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

ednews.org - By Erin Irving - Feb. 06 (Editorial) - As the bell rang ending my first forty-five minute English lesson I expected the Japanese teacher to switch to the next lesson as would typically happen in an American elementary school. Instead, the third graders I was teaching immediately packed their notebooks into their desks, stood up, slid their chairs under their desks and scrambled down the stairs to the outdoor field as fast as they could. The teacher stayed in his desk and continued grading papers. I was confused. Could it be time for recess at 9:30 am? I followed the children outside to find that most of the 800 students in the school in urban Tokyo were running around completely rampant, jumping rope, playing soccer, climbing on the jungle gym and walking on stilts. Six teachers stood at designated places around the playground watching the children for injuries, but otherwise hundreds of kids ran around freely. Fifteen minutes into playtime, another bell rang. The kids hung the jump ropes and the stilts, threw the balls back into bins and ran back to class.

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Classrooms Where Odds and Ends Are the Textbook

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Jennifer Buske - Feb. 06 (Special Report) - Spaghetti, crumpled cereal boxes and other household goods have become teaching tools in some Manassas classrooms as educators deviate from traditional methods and seek innovative ways to challenge students in the 21st century. "In the 20th century, it was all about memorizing content, but today it's not just about that. It's about being able to integrate other skills like critical thinking, communication and technology skills," Ken Kay, president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, said in an interview. "Parents, educators and policymakers all know things have changed over the last 50 years, and we need a new model in education to match those changes."

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New African-American history course stretches student minds

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - By Joe Smydo - Feb. 06 (News Report) - Pittsburgh Oliver High School teacher Ken Smith doesn't want students to take history; he wants them "doing history." And so the Pittsburgh Public Schools' new African-American history course is designed to stretch students' research, writing and thinking skills while taking them far behind the scenes of a people's struggle for freedom. The district yesterday kicked off Black History Month by gathering civic leaders and school supporters at the Senator John Heinz History Center to introduce the course and a program bringing black artists into three schools. The initiatives are intended to promote achievement among black students who, as a group, trail white students academically. "We have to connect with the kids. We have to be relevant to them," history center President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Masich said.

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Miami-Dade schools chief unveils budget plans

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Kathleen McGrory - Feb. 05 (News Report) - Miami-Dade Schools Chief Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday unveiled a plan to save the district $56 million -- and balance the budget -- before the fiscal year ends in June. The proposal, discussed at a meeting with The Miami Herald's editorial board, includes $21 million in cuts to nonschool spending and $8 million in cuts to schools. Carvalho also said he would ask employees to defer payment for an unspecified number of work days until the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. The overall savings to this year's budget from the deferred payments would be $27 million. ''We believe we've found a solution that protects educational programs and the workforce and provides financial viability for the school system,'' Carvalho said. But the plan may meet resistance from the teachers union, United Teachers of Dade President Karen Aronowitz said.

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The Associated Press: Free kindergarten eludes the children of a NH town

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - By Travis Andersen - Feb. 05 (Special Report) - Walk into a public school in Hudson, and you'll see no kindergartners finger-painting, pushing around building blocks or practicing their ABCs. This city of 25,000 is apparently the only place in the lower 48 states where public kindergarten isn't a given, and school district officials are demanding more money from the state before offering it. It's believed to be the nation's first lawsuit by a district seeking to block public kindergarten in its schools, and its critics say Hudson is denying the town's children a foundation for success. "It's a well-established principle that kindergarten is an essential part of an adequate education," said state Rep. Emma Rous, chairwoman of the House Education Committee. A 2007 state law requires free kindergarten statewide by this fall, and the nine other districts without it plan to begin programs soon. Hudson remains the sole holdout, with its school board voting Monday to affirm its opposition to starting kindergarten without more state money.

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In Central New York's multiage classrooms, children help each other

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Syracuse.com - By Debra J. Groom - Feb. 03 (Special Report) - Kathryn and Jazmine are in different grades, but they are in the same class in the Mexico school district's New Haven Elementary -- a multiage classroom called the Beehive.

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HISD plan could pay best teachers $100,000 a year | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Houston Chronicle - By Erica Mellon - Feb. 03 (News Report) - “It all sounds great, but it all hinges on the accuracy of the value-added data,” Fuller said. “I really like the part about trying to lure teachers into the lowest-performing schools. I think that’s necessary.”

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To Close a School - A Decision Rooted in Data, but Colored by Nuance

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Javier C. Hernandez - Feb. 02 (News Report) - On a recent December morning, a trio of education higher-ups arrived unannounced in the principal’s office at Public School 90 in the Bronx. The school would be gradually shut down, they told the principal, Patricia West. Incredulous, Ms. West, who has been at P.S. 90’s helm for six years, asked them to repeat themselves. “I knew we had to improve, but I was shocked,” she said. “It’s like being told you are arrested and you go to jail. Everybody says, ‘But I didn’t do it!’ ” Parents and community members immediately questioned the decision. While P.S. 90 got an F this year on its report card from the city, 11 other schools had worse scores overall, and many of them were staying open.

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More States Considering Tax Breaks to Woo Jobs

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Stephanie Simon - Feb. 02 (News Report) - Mr. Ritter's most recent corporate courtship ended with Charles Schwab Corp. agreeing to bring 500 jobs to suburban Douglas County in exchange for up to $1 million in state incentives. The deal left child-welfare advocate Megan Ferland with mixed feelings. Stable jobs are essential for stable families, she said. But she worries that those families will falter if the state does not adequately fund education, health and child care. The Douglas County school district is grappling with a budget shortfall and considering raising class size and cutting teacher training, sports and music programs. "Bringing in jobs absolutely makes sense," but if education and child-care funds are sacrificed in the process, "that's like putting families in a neighborhood that doesn't have a road from the house to the job," said Ms. Ferland, president of the nonprofit Colorado Children's Campaign advocacy group.

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Bid for flexibility in use of class-size reduction funds criticized

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Seema Mehta - Jan. 31 (News Analysis) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal to allow school districts to use state class-size reduction funding any way they choose is alarming teachers unions and community activists, who say it will inevitably lead to ballooning classrooms in the state's neediest communities. "What's most offensive is that eliminating class-size reduction won't save the state one dime," said David A. Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Assn., which is launching a television ad blitz this weekend urging Californians to call Schwarzenegger and their legislators to oppose the proposal. "Districts will continue to receive that funding from the state, but won't have to spend that money on class-size reduction, or frankly, even in the classroom."

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The Guy with 'The Best Job in Public Education'

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

voiceofsandiego.org - By Emily Alpert - Jan. 30 (Interview) - Despite being the son of a principal and a schoolteacher, Jed Wallace says he stumbled into teaching to pay the bills. But what started as just a job at a massive Los Angeles elementary school became a passion and eventually convinced him that solutions lay outside school districts in charters: publicly funded schools that are independently run and free from the rules that gird school districts. The idea germinated after Wallace helped Hooper Avenue Elementary School boost its test scores "overnight" simply by clamping down on teacher and student turnover. Teachers agreed to stick it out at the school instead of climbing the career ladder to more comfortable schools; an area superintendent allowed Hooper to keep enrolling students who had moved a few schools away when a parent got sick or lost a job. But then a new leader came into the school district and parents were told they had to go back to their home schools. Wallace found himself standing outside the school facing furious families. He calls it one of the worst days in his professional career. "I said, 'I will not put myself in a situation where I do not have greater control over my professional destiny,'" Wallace recalled. "And it was clear to me that the charter school movement was in fact that place." Fifteen years later he has seen charters from nearly every angle: as a classroom teacher and charter founder, as a San Diego Unified manager overseeing charters, and as the executive director and later the chief operating officer of High Tech High, a lauded system of charter schools that use projects to engage students in their classes and now trains its own teachers. He was tapped in December to lead the California Charter Schools Association, a group that advocates for quality charters statewide.

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Lawmaker wants to change kindergarten age - Salt Lake Tribune

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Salt Lake Tribune - By Lisa Schenker, Kirsten Stewart - Jan. 30 (News Report) - Before his teacher finished explaining a reading lesson Tuesday, kindergartner Jaydon Arslanian read the word "fox" aloud. "Jaydon, you read it before I put it up!" Christina Stout, a student teacher in the kindergarten class, said with a smile. Jaydon, who turned 6 in November, is one of the older students in his class at Hayden Peak Elementary School. Freshman Rep. Laura Black, D-Sandy, believes older students such as Jaydon enjoy developmental advantages over their younger peers. That's why Black is sponsoring a bill this session that would require children to be older before starting kindergarten. Now, Utah children must be 5 years old before Sept. 2 to start kindergarten. Black's bill would move the deadline to July 1. If the bill passes, the new dates would go into effect July 1, 2010.

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Rural teachers ford the educational gap

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

VietNamNet Bridge - Jan. 27 (Special Report) - Many young teachers dream of spacious schools with modern equipment, but after graduating university, Hoang Thi Huong ventured to remote Rao Tre Village, where she had to swim across a river every morning just to reach her students. Food or education After graduation Huong found herself inspired by the plight of the province’s Ma Lieng ethnic people, who live in poor conditions in a remote area of the province. These children are often unable to take advantage of educational opportunities, since they are needed at home to help their parents work or take care of their younger siblings. "When I saw the city children going to school, I often wondered why Ma Lieng children didn’t have that opportunity," Huong says, "I began to ponder this question and instead of applying for a job in the centre of the province, I decided to become a teacher in Rao Tre Village." The Huong Lien kindergarten was founded by Headmistress Tran Thi Linh. Hoping to bring education to the most remote areas of the province, she gathered a group of teachers who shared this dream and opened the school in 1995.

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Teach for America comes back to Compton

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Seema Mehta - Jan. 27 (Special Report) - LaShawnda Henderson graduated from college last spring, and this winter she's right back where she started -- sleeping in her childhood home in Compton, eating her mother's cooking every night and returning every day to her elementary school, three blocks away. Henderson, 22, is a new teacher at her old school, Dickison Elementary, one of 13 Teach For America members in Compton, the first new contingent in the city since the district stopped hiring them five years ago. She abandoned her initial plans to become a pharmacist or a lawyer and decided her life's ambition is to improve education in her hometown. "I really wanted to go back to my community," she said. "I'm making a difference in someone else's life." Teach For America, a highly selective program that assigns recent college graduates for two years to low-income, underperforming schools across the country, had a long history in the Compton Unified School District. But after the 2003-04 school year, the district ended its relationship with the organizationreportedly because of declining enrollment.

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