Governor Mike Dayton vetoed a proposal to overhaul teacher layoff rules earlier this month, a top priority for the state’s Republican lawmakers. In defense of his veto, the governor said the measure was “an example of prejudice against public school teachers” that singled out hard-working teachers by negating long-establish[ed] bargaining Read more
A new report from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) argues that principal evaluation systems should not be based only on student achievement gains, but on the quality of principal leadership and performance. Additionally, principals and other school-based leaders are being left out of education reform discussions. The report, called Read more
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing professional learning opportunities for teachers, policymakers, and other education leaders, has revamped its website to be more user-friendly. The site is more interactive and has more functionality for users, who can now: Perform a dynamic search of all Read more
Instructional approaches usually associated with special education are gaining traction as states and districts are faced with implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), reports Education Week. Two strategies, universal design for learning (UDL) and response to intervention (RTI), have been frequently cited in NCLB waiver requests for CCSS implementation Read more
The second round of waiver applicants, 26 states plus the District of Columbia, have received feedback from the Department of Education on their requests. Education Week examined 22 of the 27 letters sent to applicants, and found some common areas of concern: Almost every state needs to do a better Read more
As states begin to implement the Common Core, there has been an increased focus on English Language Learners, or ELLs, in the classroom. An estimated 25% of children in America live in households where a language other than English is spoken. How can “regular” classroom teachers support the needs of Read more
If you have not yet signed up for our newsletter, you missed Core Education’s first Issue Brief. This month’s Brief focuses on Principal Effectiveness, including: Best practices in preparing school leaders Current thinking about principal evaluations What makes a great principal Resources that may guide our thinking on these issues Read more
In a recent op-ed piece for the Huffington Post, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discusses his views on how to improve the teaching profession by sharing conversations he’s had with educators across the country. He captures a sentiment common among educators: they “love teaching though they wouldn’t mind a little Read more
In a recent post for the Shanker Blog, Matthew Di Carlo discusses the current policy focus on teacher quality as a way to improve schools. He observes that “some (but not nearly all) components of this all-hands-on-deck effort are perplexing to the many teachers, and have generated quite a bit Read more
The US Department of Education kicked off Teacher Appreciation Week by initiating a dialogue on improving teaching profession, as well as the public perception of America’s teachers. A vision document for reforming the teaching profession created by active classroom teachers working temporarily for the U.S. Department of Education was posted Read more
The two multistate organizations tasked with developing math and ELA assessment systems to support the Common Core, Smarter Balanced and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), have been hard at work over the past several months. To help keep interested parties updated on their activities, Read more
Education Week is again offering new “Spotlights on Education” for free. Spotlights are collections of recent articles grouped by theme to give readers an in-depth look at education issues. The currently offered Spotlights are: Implementing Online Learning Blended Learning Sports Variety of Approaches Spotlight Turns Toward Virtual Ed Accountability School Read more
Andrew Rotherham weighed in on this question last week. Although polls show that 67% of voters in swing states said education was “extremely important” to them, President Obama and Mr. Romney haven’t talked much about education. Why? Rotherham believes it is because “education reform doesn’t fit well with the overall Read more
Finland, with its high-achieving public schools, has been held up as a standard for the US as we slog down the path of education reform. However, are there things we can’t learn from Finland’s model? Pasi Sahlberg, author of Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Read more
What makes for an effective principal, and how can effectiveness be measured? Thirty states have recently passed legislation to improve principal evaluation systems and are now grappling with these questions. New legislation recognizes that leadership is the second most influential factor in student achievement, after classroom teaching, but there is Read more
TNTP has announced the first-ever winners of their Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice. This prize was created to recognize excellent teachers across the country and because “we believe our best teachers deserve far more attention for their hard work, dedication, and extraordinary outcomes with students.” The winners will each Read more