First Bell 1-4-13

yes Pamela Tatz / January 4, 2013

A first look at today's most important education news:

Representative Todd Rokita, a conservative and former secretary of state in Indiana, has been named Chairman of the House subcommittee on K–12 education policy. (Politics K–12)

Parents of students currently attending the D.C. public schools slated to close (if Chancellor Henderson’s plan is approved) must become educated on their many choices, which include charter, traditional, virtual, and magnet schools—not to mention the voucher option. (Washington Post)

The Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Education Department, is moving forward with research on systemic changes that can be made to improve schools. (Inside School Research)

Indiana State Senator Scott Schneider, a Republican, is proposing legislation to withdraw his state from the Common Core. If this legislation wins approval, Indiana would become the first state to withdraw from the common standards. (Curriculum Matters)

A study from the UK’s University of Salford found that a school’s physical design could have a significant effect on students’ academic performance. (Huffington Post)

New Jersey’s teacher union is suing to close Merit Prep, a charter school with the mission of “raising the academic performance of low-income minority students, for its use of blended learning. (Hechinger Report)

Eight Catholic schools in the Bronx, at least one of which is over one hundred years old, are at risk of being closed by the Archdiocese of New York. (New York Daily News)

Category: First Bell