October 19, 2010
With 168 students, the Lancaster (Minn.) School District has about half the enrollment that it did at its peak 30 years ago. This has caused a steep decline in its state aid, which is based on a per-pupil formula. Minnesota’s school-funding plan also isn’t kind to Lancaster in another way, at least when compared with […]
October 19, 2010
Educators seeking new ways to personalize instruction for students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities are turning more and more to e-readers such as Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iPad, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and the Intel Reader. But the jury is still out on just how effective those digital tools are in helping struggling readers. And […]
October 18, 2010
Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams has been telling television reporters that the district may be forced to lay off as many as 900 district employees during this school year because of state decisions regarding pensions and charter school funding. But a written report Williams delivered to the school board last week counters that assessment, […]
October 18, 2010
Hesperia Unified is losing five days out of its school year, in response to the California legislature’s latest budget cuts. At their Oct. meeting, the HUSD school board voted 4-1 to cut back from 180 day school year to a 175 day school year, effectively extending the winter break for five more days in January. […]
October 18, 2010
Better facilities and equitable funding are the key challenges faced by charter schools, the president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools said Friday. Some of the nation’s charter school students attend classes housed in church basements, storefronts and even nursing homes, said Peter Groff, president of the group. “These facilities impede our academic […]
October 18, 2010
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced three awards totaling $27 million for projects to improve educational opportunities for young learners through innovative technology. Grants will be used to develop and deliver high-quality, age-appropriate, educational content to increase the early literacy and mathematics skills of young children age two through eight years old. The […]
October 18, 2010
In “Waiting for Superman,” the new education documentary, the union leader Randi Weingarten is portrayed, in the words of Variety, as “a foaming satani c beast.” At a two-day education summit hosted by NBC News recently, the lopsided panels often featured Ms. Weingarten on one side, facing a murderer’s row of charter school founders and […]
October 18, 2010
Secondary students in the Santa Fe district are required to wear badges on campus that track their whereabouts using radio frequency identification technology. School officials issued the badges this fall to en sure student safety and achieve more accurate attendance reporting. Attendance rates haven’t been an issue in the district, but a reliable reporting system […]
October 18, 2010
Zach Neff is all high-fives as he walks through his college campus in western Missouri. The 27-year-old with Down syndrome hugs most everybody, repeatedly. He tells teachers he loves them. "I told Zach we are putting him on a hug diet — one to say hello and one to say goodbye," said Joyce Downing, who […]
October 15, 2010
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that Wyoming will receive $17.5 million to support education jobs. "There is a huge sense of urgency to get these funds out the door," said Duncan. "These education dollars will help Wyoming keep teachers in the classroom working with our students this school year." The $10 billion […]