New York State education officials and the state teachers’ union reached an agreement on a new teacher evaluation system, reports School Book, within hours of the deadline imposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. According to those involved in the negotiations, Cuomo threatened to break the impasse by imposing his own way to judge the quality of a teacher’s work.
Archive for the ‘Education News’ category
New York education officials and teachers’ union agree on teacher evaluation system as Gov. Cuomo’s deadline looms
February 22, 2012Private school choice and the Turner decision
January 27, 2012It is serendipitous that the Missouri Legislature has gone back to work this month, just in time for the kick-off of national School Choice Week (Jan. 22). One of the many challenges our lawmakers face is what to do regarding the St. Louis and Kansas City public school districts. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in the Turner decision that students in unaccredited school districts have a right to enroll in a nearby accredited district. Unfortunately, the suburban districts have made it clear that they will not accept these students in any significant numbers. Thus, thousands of city students and their parents are in limbo while lawsuits are litigated.
City firefighters sue to force county schools to accept their children
January 27, 2012Missouri’s Outstanding Schools Act says that when a school district loses accreditation, as St. Louis Public Schools have, district residents are entitled to transfer to nearby accredited schools. The home district is supposed to pay for tuition and transportation, and the receiving district is supposed to accept students without regard to how many want to transfer.
Can Apple Technology Save Education?
January 20, 2012The education crisis in the United States has made headlines for quite some time. While education underperforms and stays largely behind other industries in its technology uptake, many of us have been looking to the promise of personal digital learning to revolutionize the classroom and education.
Guest commentary: A to-do list for legislators
January 20, 2012The problems in St. Louis and Kansas City are enormous, but don’t make the mistake of assuming the state’s education woes only are located in the big cities. In 2011, only 32 percent of Missouri eighth-graders scored proficient or above in math, and only 35 percent scored proficient or above in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation’s report card. We believe there is much room for improvement.
Teacher Unions, Mac the Knife, and Dollar Power
January 18, 2012The poor can be bought for little or nothing, the charming scoundrel Macheath (“Mac the Knife”) discovered when his old favorite, Jenny, was persuaded by the Peachums to turn him in for a pittance. True of the 18thCentury beggars celebrated in the “Threepenny Opera,” the principle applies no less well to struggling 21stcentury nonprofits.
Charter school bill seeks broad-based changes
January 18, 2012If a bill filed for the new session of the Missouri legislature passes, charter schools could spread to more areas of the state, be sponsored by more universities, have access to more buildings and have a new commission to add to the mix. But with other education issues in play — vouchers, teacher tenure, what to do about students who want to transfer out of unaccredited school districts — winning passage for the charter bill now in the Senate, is far from assured.
StudentsFirst in Missouri
January 5, 2012StudentsFirst members across the state and bipartisan leaders in the General Assembly have asked us to join their effort to enact essential education reforms in Missouri.
