First Bell 1-30-13

yes Pamela Tatz / January 30, 2013

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

A teacher emphasizes the damage that “overparenting” can do to a child’s confidence and education, suggesting that teachers don’t just teach “reading, writing, and arithmetic”—they teach valuable life lessons, too. (Atlantic)

Two Republicans will step into key K–12 education roles in the next Congress: Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Representative Todd Rokita of Indiana. (Education Week)

An EdNext piece highlights unions’ discomfort with “teacher-voice” organizations.

Arne Duncan was bombarded with accusations of federal overreach at the National School Boards Association’s Washington meeting earlier this week. (Politics K–12 and Answer Sheet)

A study from the W.T. Grant Foundation outlines how research-practice partnerships can benefit school districts. (Inside School Research)

In light of the recent release of draft 2.0 of the Next Generation Science Standards, Education Week looks at which states might embrace them and which might not. (If you’re waiting with bated breath for Fordham’s analysis of the second draft, coming next week, take a look

» Continued

First Bell 1-30-13

First Bell 1-29-13

yes Pamela Tatz / January 29, 2013

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

The Education Department is investigating complaints that school-closure plans in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Newark discriminate against minorities and students with disabilities. (New York Times and Wall Street Journal)

Ohio released state teacher-preparation data, finding that one in ten graduates of teacher-prep programs struggles in the classroom; Fordham’s Aaron Churchill found that the students these programs admitted had lower ACT scores than the median Ohio State student. (Teacher Beat and Ohio Gadfly Daily)

Curriculum Matters reviews a few assessment-related bills currently under consideration in statehouses, including one in Virginia that would allow low-performing schools to skip some state-mandated tests.

The “flipped learning” classroom model, in which students watch online lectures at home and complete homework in the classroom, is gaining traction nationwide. (Huffington Post)

The Education Department will build on the Investing in Innovation program to make research and evidence “far more important factors” when awarding competitive grants. (Education Week)

Mississippi and Maine have become the latest states to consider holding school districts

» Continued

First Bell 1-29-13

First Bell 1-28-13

yes Pamela Tatz / January 28, 2013

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

Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who is perhaps the most powerful lawmaker with regards to education policy, will not seek re-election in 2014. (Politics K–12)

Teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle are boycotting the state’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test; that boycott is spreading. See Mike Petrilli’s take on the issue. (Wall Street Journal, Answer Sheet, and Flypaper)

Last week, ProPublica unveiled a new collaboration with the social-networking application FourSquare: “Checking in” at a school will allow FourSquare users to view the school’s socioeconomic data. (ProPublica)

A survey conducted from June to October 2012 found that 87 percent of districts expect to “fully implement” Common Core standards by 2014-15. (Curriculum Matters)

The Washington Post overviews security measures that Washington-area schools have taken in the aftermath of Sandy Hook.

» Continued

First Bell 1-28-13

First Bell 1-25-13

yes Pamela Tatz / January 25, 2013

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

D.C.’s recent wave of school closures is only the start of a concerted effort to make the school district more efficient. (Washington Post)

The Obama administration announces that students with disabilities have the right to play school sports. What does this mean for districts? (Huffington Post and Flypaper)

The big winners to surface from the New York bus strike thus far? Taxi companies. (New York Times)

The Detroit Public School system, in an effort to clear their deficit and hopefully emerge from state control for the first time since March 2009, has announced twenty-three new school closures. (CBS Detroit)

The National Center on Education and the Economy’s Marc Tucker warns that we may “wake up one day to find that the executive branch of the federal government has become our national school board.” (Hechinger Report)

The coalition has suggested a set of common standards for “artistic literacy.” (Curriculum Matters)

» Continued

First Bell 1-25-13