Ed Dept guidance covers teacher prep, training and recruitment

The non-regulatory guidance released Tuesday explains how increased flexibility in the Every Student Succeeds Act can apply to schools interested in revising their Title II, Part A spending habits.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 28, 2016

Boston's top high school downgraded because of opt-outs

Some 40 white students who missed last year’s state exam pushed that subgroup under the 95% threshold mandated by the state, causing a downgrade for Boston Latin School.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 28, 2016

The modern kindergarten asks more of students, parents

Today’s kindergarten classrooms are much more academic than those that came before, and parents face the pressure to get their children ready for such environments.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 27, 2016

Ed Dept guidance outlines effective ELL services under ESSA

The guidance is aimed at helping schools, districts and states better serve English language learners and improve outcomes among a fast-growing sub-group of public school students.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 27, 2016

Florida may end bonuses for teachers with high ACT/SAT scores

The Best and Brightest bonus distributed an average of $8,500 to eligible teachers with positive evaluations from their schools and their own high SAT and ACT scores.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 26, 2016

California court rules against mandatory test scores in teacher evals

Northern California judge Barry Goode ruled against Students Matter in its effort to force 13 school districts into using standardized test scores to measure teacher performance.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 23, 2016

Mississippi funding mistake limits after-school opportunities for kids in need

The state over-committed its 21st Century Community Learning Center funds, and corrective actions will mean some organizations face the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 23, 2016

Dignity in Schools Campaign wants police out of schools

More than 100 education and community organizations from 27 states recommend removing school resource officers entirely, whether they are there full- or part-time.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 23, 2016

Big changes ahead for federal Head Start program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made its first comprehensive revision of the rules governing Head Start since 1975, trimming down regulations for a sharper focus.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 22, 2016

House hears more debate over ESSA funding rule

There is strong opposition to the proposed rule because it might force districts to move teachers from one school to another at the start of the academic year.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 22, 2016

New York City pre-K even more segregated than K-12

A new report from the Century Foundation finds the first year of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s championed preschool expansion featured especially homogenous classrooms by race.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 21, 2016

Guidance counselor impact limited by massive caseloads

In high-poverty schools where students need the guidance offered by counselors the most, especially when it comes to college decision-making, large caseloads are hard to overcome.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 20, 2016

Sequestered middle school may be detrimental

Researchers from Syracuse University and NYU studied 90,000 students in more than 500 New York City schools and found early teenagers have it easier in K-8 schools than either 6-8 or 6-12.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 20, 2016

8 California districts to share data of 1.7M students

The CORE Data Collaborative, made up of districts in the California Office to Reform Education, plans to compare state-mandated data as well as metrics like school climate and social-emotional skills.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 20, 2016

Texas high schools engage in stadium arms race

The football team in suburban Dallas’ Allen High School competes in a $60-million stadium, but nearby McKinney has plans for a new, nearly $70-million stadium for its three high schools.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 19, 2016

High-poverty school in DC saw big test score bumps last year

Ketcham Elementary School staff members respond to a range of nonacademic needs of students, all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and 14% of whom are homeless.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 19, 2016

No federal mandate for Common Core, but it's likely here to stay

ESSA requires high-quality standards that prepare students for college and career, and while they don’t have to be Common Core, states that have it will probably keep it.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 19, 2016

Literacy, CIOs and teacher evals: The week's most-read education news

Stay ahead of the class with the latest on the cost of campus carry, a new survey detailing educators' tech dislikes and more.

By Roger Riddell • Sept. 16, 2016

Racial achievement gaps persist even when controlled for income

An analysis of the Evanston, IL, school system finds white students performing significantly above national averages and black students performing below them — and it’s not just about class.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 16, 2016

Report: Improve retention to solve the teacher shortage

Two comprehensive reports from the Learning Policy Institute examine the teaching profession, shortages, minority teacher recruitment and retention.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 16, 2016

Connecticut AG to appeal judge's call for education overhaul

Attorney General George Jepsen is appealing to the state supreme court, arguing Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s sprawling decision is an overreach by an unelected judge.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 16, 2016

Power of computer science push in computational thinking, not coding

Stanford University computer science professor Mehran Sahami writes that initiatives to offer the subject to all high schoolers are about much more than filling a skills gap in the economy.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 16, 2016

Miami-Dade schools partner with Sandy Hook Promise on violence prevention

The Florida district is working to train all middle and high school students and teachers skills that will allow them to identify and intervene with at-risk individuals.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 15, 2016

Teacher evaluations no longer required, but useful with changes

While the Every Student Succeeds Act removes the federal mandate to evaluate teachers, the nonprofit New Teacher Center says new systems can help with school improvement.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 14, 2016

Student advocates target Michigan in federal suit over Detroit schools' shortcomings

The state and Gov. Rick Snyder are being sued for extremely low achievement levels at five Detroit schools, as well as unsafe building conditions.

By Tara García Mathewson • Sept. 14, 2016