Education News

Two dozen Virginia elementary schools, including one in Alexandria, have applied for waivers from the state Board of Education to free schools from mandatory state testing requirements in science and social studies for third-graders so they have more time to develop reading skills.

Read full article >>    

Fresh off his loss in April’s at-large D.C. Council race, Matthew Frumin is returning to his roots as an education activist.

Frumin is seeking to organize a new advocacy group devoted to unifying and amplifying the voice of parents in shaping D.C. schools policy. It’s a voice that’s too often been missing in debates about the future of public education in the city, he said.

Read full article >>    

When incoming Fairfax County superintendent Karen Garza begins her term July 1, she will be paid $265,000 a year through June 30, 2017, according to a copy of her contract.

Garza will replace Jack D. Dale, whose nine-year tenure ends in about a month. Since early May, Dale has been at home recuperating from emergency cardiovascular surgery after suffering an aortic aneurysm at work.

Read full article >>    

More than 30 state governments are organizing events to encourage enrollment in college savings and investment accounts.    

Evelynn M. Hammonds, the undergraduate dean, said her departure was not related to the e-mail searches that were carried out in the hunt for a leak.    

Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) will host a community forum Tuesday night at the South Bowie Branch Library to discuss the new governance structure of the school system.

The forum will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Read full article >>    

Amber D. Stanley, a Prince George’s County honors student who was gunned down in her home in August, will receive her high school diploma posthumously Tuesday.

Briant Coleman, a spokesman for the school system, said a diploma will be presented to Stanley’s family at the Charles H. Flowers High School graduation ceremony at the Comcast Center.

Read full article >>    

Graduation season is underway in Montgomery County, which means high school students will hear speeches from a variety of community members before receiving their diplomas. Athletes, political figures, and business leaders are all on tap to inspire grads with words of wisdom.

Read full article >>    

The first of 12 winning poems, from a girl in Texas, in our Fourth Annual Found Poem Student Contest.    

Illinois has put a one-year moratorium on new virtual charter schools outside Chicago at the urging of a handful of west suburban school districts.

What message did President Obama convey in his Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery?    

While there's ongoing debate about the most effective ways to teach English-language learners, the main focus of the debate in Nevada over the state's high ELL failure rate comes down to money.