Morning Announcements: November 17, 2010

Groups such as the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association are eyeing regulatory relief under No Child Left Behind, Education Week reports.

The Grand Rapids editorial Board calls for teacher unions to work with the Michigan Legislature to reform teacher tenure laws.

The Detroit News editorial board argues that Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb’s plan have the state make $400 million in tobacco settlement payments available to Detroit and the other troubled school districts is not the answer.

In New Hampshire, a special legislative committee voted on Monday to divide between schools and the state $41 million in emergency federal funding intended to protect teachers' jobs, according to the Associated Press.

Morning Announcements: November 12, 2010

The Washington Post editorial board discusses the lack of diversity at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia. Meanwhile, CBS News focuses on how young black males face difficulties in obtaining an adequate education. The story highlights a group of black males at the California Academy of Mathematics and Science in South Los Angeles that call themselves the "Nerd Herd" and are determined to earn a college degree. Check out the video below:

Morning Announcements: November 1, 2010

On Saturday the Wall Street Journal ran a piece by Michelle Rhee and Adrian Fenty entitled The Education Manifesto. In the essay, they wrote , “Four years ago, we both found a cause that inspired us to work hard every day. Reformers nationwide need to take up that mantle. Now is not the time to go soft on tough decisions. Fixing our schools will require courage and persistence, but young lives are at stake. What could be more worth the risks?”

The Boston Herald reports that the number of Massachusetts children attending charter schools has more than doubled in the past decade, reflecting national trends.

A story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution examines the costs of remedial education at Georgia’s colleges. 

One month after school districts in New Jersey received their share of $268 million to bring laid off teachers back to the classroom from the Education Jobs Fund, most districts have not hired anyone and are socking the money away for next year, according to The Star-Ledger.

Morning Announcements: October 8, 2010

The Minnesota Post reports that underperforming MPS schools try longer days but experts say success will depend on how the extra time is spent.

The Las Vegas Sun reports on the life of homeless students in Clark County School District.

In the Wall Street Journal chairman and CEO of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch explains how American Idol has tougher standards than the American school system.

The Washington Post editorial board reflects on the Education Jobs Fund writing, “So urgent was the supposed need for Congress to forestall a catastrophic loss of teacher jobs that the House was called back from its summer recess and money looted from the food stamp program. That money is now flowing to the states, but since, for many, the crisis was less dramatic than had been described, local school districts are now looking for creative ways to use the money. Let's hope that they are smarter than those who engineered this boondoggle and that they do not waste taxpayer dollars on programs that can't be sustained or policies that don't work.”

Morning Announcements: September 23, 2010

The New Times in Connecticut takes a look at the Latino Scholarship Fund which provides role models of successful Latinos and financial and emotional support to those who want to pursue an education beyond high school.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, school funds don't match teacher layoffs and districts that didn't take hits are looking for ways to spend federal job money.

California’s $34 million student database system is a year behind schedule, the Sacramento Bee reports. “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to pull the plug if the new system can't reliably relay data by the end of the year. The failed California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System is cited as a key reason why the state has twice failed to qualify for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top funds.”

The Black Voice News writes about the high school dropout crises and opens up their story with a 15-year old named Tevon who thinks “School ain’t for me. I’ve been failing since I was in the sixth grade.”

Morning Announcements: September 9, 2010

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to invest up to $250 million over the next eight years to develop "next-generation instructional tools" that will help states and districts implement the common core state standards, the foundation said in its annual report.

Some charter schools are struggling to tap into the federal money provided by the Education Jobs Fund bill because their teachers are employees of a charter management organization or an educational management organization, not a school district according to Education Week.

According to the Sacramento Bee, California charter schools are growing in popularity.

When every teacher is rated 'great,' students suffer, according to the USA Today editorial board. Click here to read the opposing view by A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

In today's Wall Street Journal, columnist William McGurn writes, "When it comes to shaking up the status quo, however, the most potent education reform may be the one that's too often considered a side issue: pension reform."

Morning Announcements: September 8, 2010

In an op-ed in the Providence Journal, Massachusetts secretary of education Paul Reville writes, “By adopting the Common Core, we’ve set a clearer, higher target for educational success. Now it’s time to see that all our children reach it.”

The Governor of Michigan would like lawmakers to require the school year to last more than 180 days.

The Columbus Dispatch editorial board asks “How can overall better performance go along with fewer kids graduating?”

Stateline.org takes a look at how states are grappling with a provision in the fine print of the Education Jobs Fund bill.

The New York Times profiles a teacher-led schools around the country.

Inside Higher Ed looks at why rural community colleges have done significantly better than their urban and suburban counterparts in the percentage increase of associate degrees awarded to women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.

The New York Times magazine asks, "When Does Holding Teachers Accountable Go Too Far?"

The Washington Post writes about how D.C. schools might be affected if Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee decides to move on.

More than half of Hawaii's public school teachers leave within five years of being hired, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Morning Announcements: August 19, 2010

In California lawmakers are considering using the $1.2 billion from the federal Education Jobs Fund to shrink the state’s $19.1 billion deficit instead of saving teachers’ jobs according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Clarion Ledger editorial staff discusses the Education Department’s announcement that Mississippi will receive $47 million to help improve the state's most low-performing schools.

According to the New Jersey News Room, State Education Commissioner Bret Schundler told lawmakers Monday that many New Jersey school children could benefit from more days in school and more time in class.

The Las Vegas Sun editorial staff calls for state lawmakers to redo the school funding formula to ensure that every student who attends a public school receives a quality education, writing, “We can think of few greater accomplishments that lawmakers could achieve in 2011 than to help schools deliver the quality students deserve.”

Morning Announcements: August 18, 2010

New data shows that fewer than 25 percent of 2010 graduates who took the ACT college entrance exam have the academic skills necessary to pass entry-level courses, according to the Wall Street Journal. Check out this interactive graph, also by the WSJ, showing how prepared the class of 2010 is for college. Education Week reports on the same results and finds, “Far more students are taking the ACT, but Hispanic and black students were less likely to reach score levels that are predictive of college success.”

The New York Times takes a look at how states are deciding to use their share of the $26 billion federal aid package, writing:

As schools handed out pink slips to teachers this spring, states made a beeline to Washington to plead for money for their ravaged education budgets. But now that the federal government has come through with $10 billion, some of the nation’s biggest school districts are balking at using their share of the money to hire teachers right away.

The Los Angeles Times editorial staff defends the paper’s recent reporting on teacher performance in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The Detroit Press editorial staff weighs in on turnaround plans for Michigan’s 92-worst performing schools.

Two Delaware high schools will receive $3.1 million in School Improvement Grant funds to make curriculum changes aimed at raising student achievement on state standardized tests, according to Delaware Online.

Morning Announcements: August 17, 2010

Only 47 percent of America's black males graduate from high school on time compared to 78 percent of white males, according to a new report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education.

Los Angeles Unified School District posted gains in scores in annual standardized tests despite state budget shortfalls and massive teacher layoffs, according to a Los Angeles Times blog.

Through a federal initiative called "The Freedom Project: Turning Points and Learning Points in American History", two Delaware school districts have been awarded a grant of nearly $1 million to better train teachers of American history. Speaking of teacher training, in Denver, two nonprofit groups are supporting a program aimed at making sure the state’s students have an effective educator in every classroom, as reported by the Denver Post.

Also in Colorado, education reporter Jeremy Meyer from the Denver Post takes a look at two Colorado school and their progress in implanting major reforms. 

Chicago Schools CEO Ron Huberman hopes to use funds from the federal educator jobs bill to restore high school class sizes back to normal.

The Detroit News reports that 92 schools are on the Michigan Department of Education’s list of “persistently lowest achieving schools” and have 90 days to decide among four federally prescribed reforms: close, reopen as a charter school, reassign at least half the staff or transform academics.