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Lecturer in Discipline | Columbia University
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The billionaires lose one
Big money doesn't always win the day. At least it didn't in a school board race in Los Angeles in which a few million dollars showered on a favored candidate failed to overcome the poorly funded campaign of a fifth-grade teacher.
The serious risks of rushing new teacher evaluation systems
Increasingly we are hearing concerns from educators that new education reforms are being rushed, including the Common Core State Standards. At the same time, new teacher evaluation systems are being put into place as well. Here to evaluate the risks to rushing these systems are Morgan S. Polikoff and Matthew Di Carlo. Morgan is assistant professor in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Di Carlo is a senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C. This post appeared on the Shanker blog.
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NY principals: Why new Common Core tests failed
Teachers and principals in New York have expressed strong concerns about the new high-stakes standardized tests supposedly aligned with the Common Core State Standards that were recently given to students across the state. The following letter to New York Education Commissioner John King from a number of New York principals explains the depth of the problems educators found with the tests.
Montgomery middle school students see their films on the big screen
Downtown Silver Spring isn’t exactly Hollywood, but for Montgomery County middle school students, it was transformed into a scene as thrilling as any L.A. movie premiere Wednesday.
Silver Spring International Middle School students filled the seats of the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center to see their documentaries and films roll on the big screen, part of a two-day film festival that continues Thursday morning. The event is the culmination of the school’s “Lights, Camera, Literacy!” classes, designed to teach middle school students about storytelling and the elements of literature through movies and other visual media.
Read full article >>Steve Jobs’s Widow Sets Philanthropy Goals
Fairfax County School Board to consider discipline changes
As a year-long study of Fairfax County school discipline policies nears its end, some School Board members and parents are questioning whether any substantial changes will come out of it.
The board plans to consider revised regulations relating to student rights and responsibilities at a meeting Thursday, with a final vote scheduled to come in two weeks. Notable proposed changes focus on how parents are notified when their child is under investigation for possible discipline, and they would soften punishments for first-time marijuana possession.
Read full article >>Sergeant Accused of Secretly Filming Female Cadets
Despite Protests, Chicago to Close 49 Schools
Chicago to shutter 50 schools, largest mass closing in major U.S. city
Chicago’s board of education voted Wednesday to shutter 50 schools, the largest number of schools closed at one time by any major U.S. city.
The board, appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), opted to close 49 elementary schools and one high school after the current school year ends. It decided to keep open four additional schools that had been recommended for closure by Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett.
Read full article >>National Geographic Bee puts Mass. student on the map
Quick question: Name the peak in Ecuador with a summit that marks the point farthest from Earth’s center due to our planet’s bulge at the equator.
If you were Sathwik Karnik, a 12-year-old from Massachusetts, you’d know the answer is Chimborazo, and you’d have won the National Geographic Bee along with a $25,000 college scholarship.
Read full article >>Henderson shakes up two D.C. schools
More than 100 teachers and other staff members at two D.C. schools learned this week that they must reapply for their jobs after Chancellor Kaya Henderson decided to “reconstitute” the schools in an effort to spur improvement.
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