Public Impact has launched the implementation phase of its effort to bring excellent teachers to every classroom. In this phase, the organization seeks to identify five “model” sites that can be used to extend the reach of these teachers beyond their own classrooms. Seeking to create what it calls an Read more
See below for two upcoming opportunities: “Mapping Curriculum, Planning Success: Integrating the Common Core Standards in Each K-12 Classroom” Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Time: 10:30am – 12:00pm EST This webinar, featuring author and expert Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, will focus on: –Upgrading and transforming education through the lens of Read more
The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) released a sweeping proposal last month to transform the state’s education system to better “place the ‘learner’ at the center of all strategy and action.” CAPSS identifies a set of complex problems, such as international and racial achievement gaps, low levels of Read more
In a recent article for The Atlantic, Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, reflects on wages and education. Using examples like Japan, Finland, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Tucker claims that until the U.S. finds a way “to educate our future work force to the Read more
The final budget for the Department of Education was finalized late last month, which will take the agency through September 30, 2012. Overall, the Department’s funding was cut by about $153 million over last fiscal year (total funding $71.3 billion), but President Obama was able to fend off the complete Read more
Last month, the Center for Education Reform (CER) released The State of Charter Schools: What We Know—and What We Do Not—About Performance and Accountability, a report analyzing the nation’s charter schools. The report found that historically, charter schools have a 15% closure rate. Charter school closure is usually the result Read more
TNTP, formerly The New Teacher Project, has launched a new prestigious award called the Fishman Prize. The $25,000 award will be bestowed annually to a select group of public school teachers and will give them the opportunity to complete a summer fellowship with TNTP. The prize will be awarded to Read more
In the new era of teacher evaluation reform, policymakers at all levels have instituted unprecedented changes in teacher evaluation with the goal of improving student outcomes. Though research has shown that many teachers do embrace adopting meaningful evaluation systems, their voices have remained largely unheard at the evaluation reform discussion Read more
The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) has taken action to “help restore the professional autonomy of teachers,” in exchange for agreeing to accountability measures. Earlier this month, MFT became the first teachers union in the country to open a charter school authorizer. “Conventional wisdom suggests that the interests of teachers Read more
The National Education Association’s (NEA) president, Dennis Van Roekel, recently announced a new action agenda for the nation’s largest teachers union. The plan aims to further the union’s goals of transforming the teaching profession and accelerating student learning, and utilizes proven best practices from teachers across the country. The three Read more
Larry Ferlazzo, an Education Week blogger and award-winning classroom teacher, recently addressed concerns from the teaching community on how to create a more supportive work environment. In the wake of high-stakes testing and high-pressure evaluations, morale in the teachers’ lounge appears to have taken a nose dive. One reader asked Read more
The annual turnover rate in rural Alaskan schools can be as high as 35%, compared with urban rates as low as 5%. A new program in rural Alaska seeks to halt this trend through a new program that pairs rural schools with big-city counterparts. Funded by a federal grant of Read more
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has proposed a new rule with regard to admission to teacher preparation programs: a minimum GPA. There are 32 teacher preparation programs in the state, and students would now need to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (a B average) to be eligible for admittance. According Read more
The New Teacher Project has changed its official name to its acronym, TNTP, and has announced several other important changes to the organization. Launched in 1997, TNTP has expanded its partnerships and training to 20 cities across the country, and has trained more than 46,000 new teachers. However, given the Read more
A report on a study of Chicago’s Pilot Teacher evaluation system was released last month by the Consortium on Chicago School Research. In 2008, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) launched the Excellence in Teaching Pilot (ETP), aimed at revamping the teacher evaluation system. The pilot was motivated by two factors: the Read more
John Tyler of the Center for American Progress released a report last month focused on the challenges of developing evaluation systems for high school teachers, and possible solutions. Tyler believes that special attention should be paid to high school educators for three reasons: 1) high school student performance lags behind Read more