First Bell: 12-3-12

yes Pamela Tatz / December 3, 2012

A first look at the most important education news from this weekend and today:

Starting in 2013, ten school districts in five states will add up to 300 hours of learning time to their school calendars. (New York Times, Huffington Post, and Associated Press)

Ruling that the state “could not use funds set aside for public education to pay private-school tuition,” a state judge shot down Louisiana’s school-voucher program on Friday. Governor Bobby Jindal is expected to appeal. (Reuters, Times-Picayune, and Wall Street Journal)

The Wall Street Journal highlights the effects of demographic shifts and charter-school competition on school closures in the District of Columbia.

Hechinger Ed puts the new federally compiled graduation rates, which show a wide achievement gap, in context.

School Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s plan to close twenty under-enrolled schools in D.C. was up for discussion last week. (Wall Street Journal and Washington Post)

On Friday, the Los Angeles teacher union reached a tentative deal with the public school district to include student-achievement metrics in teacher evaluations. (Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times)

Teacher Beat discusses the short-term curriculum challenges posed by Common Core adoption.

Category: First Bell