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 10, 2011
Kindergarten classes in the city are the biggest they’ve been in more than a decade – and some parents say their kids are paying the price. There are 7,616 kindergarten students learning in classrooms with more than 25 children, up from 5,414 last year – a 40% increase – according to preliminary Education Department statistics. […]
January 10, 2011
A new report shows that the achievement gap between white students and African American and Latino students in California will take years to narrow – and that boys are falling further behind girls. In 2009 there was a gap of 27 percentage points between fourth-grade white students and African American students, and a gap of […]
January 7, 2011
A new bill, if passed, would set up a task force to study ways to make the state’s $3 billion-a-year special-education system more effective and accountable, according to the measure’s sponsor. "The state needs to take a more proactive role in ensuring that the special-education programs and services in New Jersey are both efficient and […]
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 […]