First Bell 5-1-13

yes Pamela Tatz / May 1, 2013

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

Yesterday, the parent-trigger bill failed in the Florida Senate for the second year in a row. (Education Week)

The Walton Family Foundation has furnished StudentsFirst with $8 million. (Los Angeles Times and Charters & Choice)

The nonprofit NewSchools venture fund, which directs donations to charters and other education groups, has teamed up with a for-profit venture fund. (New York Times)

The final Next Generation Science Standards are attracting criticism. (Curriculum Matters)

The MOOC provider Coursera will offer teacher-education courses for K–12 instructors. (All Things D)

Technology tools and applications to teach students “grittiness” are emerging. (Digital)

Online testing problems have frozen Indiana’s statewide standardized testing for a second straight day. (Digital Education)

A new survey finds that the Department of Education is the fifteenth-most innovative mid-size agency, out of twenty; NASA topped the list. (Politics K–12)

» Continued

First Bell 5-1-13

First Bell 4-30-13

yes Pamela Tatz / April 30, 2013

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

In the face of mounting resistance to the Common Core, AFT president Randi Weingarten warns that the standards are being poorly implemented—and calls for a moratorium on stakes attached to standards-linked tests. (Washington Post and Curriculum Matters)

State financing for preschool has fallen more than $1,100 per student since 2001–02, although financing overall has increased 48 percent; Mike Petrilli points out that we are increasing enrollment and spreading money around, rather than targeting it at the poorest students. (Hechinger Report, Associated Press, and New York Times)

The New York Times profiles the successful incorporation of an M.I.T.-developed MOOC in Boston community college course.

The din over Governor Jerry Brown’s weighted-funding plan for California’s schools is growing louder, with richer districts crying foul. (Wall Street Journal)

Twenty New York City schools will experiment with longer school days. (Wall Street Journal)

Eight civil-rights groups urge Secretary Duncan to reject nine California districts’ NCLB waiver applications. (Huffington Post and Politics

» Continued

First Bell 4-30-13

First Bell 4-29-13

yes Pamela Tatz / April 29, 2013

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

As the Obama administration invests ever-larger sums into “turning around” failing schools, the evidence mounts that such strategies are less efficient than starting from scratch. (USA Today)

Policymakers seek to overturn Texas’s truancy laws, alleging that they are “redundant and overly punitive.” (New York Times)

An education bill recently passed by Minnesota’s Senate eliminates the high-stakes test attached to procurement of a high school diploma. (Star Tribune)

Most of New York City’s mayoral candidates favor lifting the Big Apple’s ban on cellphones in public schools. (Wall Street Journal)

In Los Angeles, it’s the teacher union versus the classroom breakfast program. (Los Angeles Times)

Governor Quinn has halted Illinois’s funding of the UNO charter operator, following a conflict over whom the charter operator hired for construction projects. (Education Week)

A bill to “pause” Indiana’s Common Core implementation has passed the state legislature and is headed to the governor. (State EdWatch)

» Continued

First Bell 4-29-13

First Bell 4-26-13

yes Pamela Tatz / April 26, 2013

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

State Superintendent Tony Bennett has indicated that Florida will not limit its Common Core–aligned test options to PARCC. (StateImpact Florida and Curriculum Matters)

In protest of the country’s recent reforms, dissident teachers in Mexico’s Guerrero state attacked the offices of four different political parties, setting fire to the ruling PRI’s state headquarters. (New York Times and Huffington Post)

After months of hearings on Chicago’s school-closure decision, the crowds at those hearings are thinning. (Chicago Tribune)

A Hechinger Report editorial contends that racial segregation still affects the quality of education in Mississippi and across the land.

Lawmakers in Texas consider offering free breakfasts to all students in low-income areas, not only those who qualify under federal parameters. (New York Times)

A report suggests that teachers ought to be surveyed on whether the new teacher-evaluation surveys are supporting and strengthening their instruction. (Teacher Beat)

A preliminary report from the Florida Department

» Continued

First Bell 4-26-13