Afternoon Announcements: AFTPresident Randi Weingarten Says Teachers Need Time with Common Core

“Although the two of us have disagreed about several school-reform issues, we strongly believe that the Common Core State Standards, voluntarily adopted by 45 states, is one of the most promising education initiatives of the past half century.” A powerful opinion piece from two scholars. Wall Street Journal

American Federal of Teachers President Randi Weingarten explains how she would teach the Common Core. First, she reiterated that teachers are supportive of the new standards but they need time and practice to get it right before they should be evaluated on teaching them. State Impact

The Buena Vista School District in Michigan succumbed to budgetary restraints and closed their schools for the year, even though the academic year shouldn’t end until the middle of June. Students will attend “skills camp.” Huffington Post

More than half of college graduates surveyed in a recent study said they would choose a different major or “do things differently if they had to do it all over again.” The study, conducted by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in conjunction with online student hub Chegg, involved more than 4,900 graduates. CNBC Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: An Argument in Favor of Gap Years

Many countries have long touted the usefulness of a “gap” year spent living abroad between finishing high school and entering college, but the U.S. has never been one. That thinking may be changing as more students take a year off and extoll the virtues of learning more about themselves and their interests before entering college. USA Today

Lawmakers on the House education committee are trying to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, which hasn’t been renewed for more than six years. The last renewal attempt was thwarted by partisan divisions, and the same may happen this time. Politics K-12

According to a survey from the Maryland State Education Association, teachers in the state feel unprepared to teach the Common Core Standards are asking for more time to meet the demands of the new evaluation system and higher standards. Washington Post

The broke Buena Vista School District in Michigan is closed for a few days this week because it can’t pay its teachers. The district has laid off staff. “I know everybody is hurt. We’re trying to get these answers. Our hands are pretty much tied. We’re trying to go after every option we have,” school board President Randy L. Jackson said. Education Week Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: PBS Special Looks at Deeper Learning in Action

An increasing number of assessments will be taken digitally in the coming years, and the ACT college admissions exam joined the list today. Starting in the spring of 2015 the test will be administered online. “We are moving to a computer-based version, but for the foreseeable future, we will also have the paper and pencil test as an option for schools that don’t have the technological capability,” said Jon Erickson, the president of ACT’s Education Division. New York Times

Buena Vista School District in Michigan might be small, but its teachers are mighty. The school district has run out of funds to pay its 27 teachers, but they voted to continue teaching until the end of the year on June 23rd. Huffington Post

Speaking of teacher pay, a new report released this week shows a large majority of teachers in the nation’s largest school districts took pay cuts or say their pay frozen at least one year between 2008 and 2012. New York Times

The PBS NewsHour special, "Problem Solvers" aired last night. Special correspondent John Tulenko of Learning Matters reported on a public middle school in Portland, Maine that takes a unique approach to teaching. Teachers incorporate deeper learning competencies - focusing on comprehensive science curriculum that emphasizes problem-solving. The video and transcript are available online. PBS NewsHour

Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: Common Core's Beginnings

The Common Core State Standards began with a group of state leaders, not at the federal government level. Governors began meeting to discuss an idea for a bipartisan effort to transform the standards by which students were taught and learned. Philanthropy Magazine

Detroit Public Schools embraced a new strategic plan that aims to keep the district competitive with charter schools and employ budget friendly measures. The plan’s title is “Neighborhood-Centered, Quality Schools,” and calls for longer learning times, expanded pre-kindergarten programs, and fewer school closings. Education Week

Should students be required to take and pass algebra II in order to graduate from high school? This question is at the center of debates on graduation requirements in Texas. The state legislature is considering more flexible requirements that would not include the advanced math course. The Texas Tribune

Tenacity and self-control are learning competencies that some schools and districts will emphasize in coming years. New research shows that fortitude may be a key to student achievement. Philly.com Read Entire Post

Afternoon Announcements: Bill Gates Wants Fairer Teacher Evaluations

Bill Gates ties the NFL to teacher evaluation systems in an interesting way. He also offers some thoughts and insights on how teachers should be evaluated… and how they shouldn’t in an editorial. Washington Post

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber says dreamers’ dreams should come at the price of in-state tuition. Earlier this week he signed into law a bill granting in-state tuition to undocumented Oregon high school graduates who meet set criteria. The Oregonian

Has the US Department of Education’s website been hacked? Just in case it has, the Department’s website is down this week. Politics K-12

A high school senior with a stack of rejection letters says students often get rejected because they’ve been lied to about the admissions process. Being yourself, she says, only matters to colleges if you are perfect. She takes a snarky look at what she could have done differently. Wall Street Journal

Michigan is struggling with a growing homeless student population, having seen a 66 percent rise over the last four years. The state may receive additional federal funds to help the students in need. Education Week Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: Students take a la carte classes

According to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only half of 8th-graders nationwide know the vocabulary they’ve expected to have learned by their age. Fourth-graders fared even worse, averaging a score of 218 words correct out of 500. Wall Street Journal

Students in Louisiana, Arizona, Michigan and Utah can or will soon be able to opt out of some traditional classroom instruction for more specialized teaching. Students can choose from “a la carte” classes offered by businesses, online courses, charter schools, tutors and other specialists. Yahoo! News

The so-called fiscal cliff threatens education funding nationwide. Education advocates are organizing sit-ins, protests and calling and writing their Congress members to try to prevent the cuts. Here’s a roundup of what organizations and others are doing to stop these cuts. Politics K-12
Read Entire Post

Morning announcements: Is $1.7 billion too much or too little for the nation to spend annually on standardized testing?

How much do standardized tests costs? A new report from the Brown Center, that looks in detail at the costs of assessments, find that the U.S. spends $1.7 billion per year, or an average of $65 per students in grades 3-9 on testing. Education Week

And speaking of spending a lot of money, charter schools spend millions of taxpayer dollars every year on advertising to recruit new students. The information is gleaned from Kantar Media, based on advertising rates and buys. Huffington Post

During the 2009-10 school year, 69 percent of California's student-body were students of color or Native American. These students graduated on-time, at a lower percentage than their white peers. A new Alliance report calls for equity in education to close the achievement gap and ensure economic prosperity for individuals and the country. The Press-Enterprise

Michigan parents, teachers, PTA leaders and others – including the Detroit Public Schools superintendent – are up in arms over one of the US Department of Education’s picks for the Race to the Top-District competition finalists.Washington Post

The California State Treasurer would like to see a time out in education borrowing. He called for an overhaul of how the system uses capital-appreciation bonds, saying the system is relying too much on credit and has too many debt payments. Wall Street Journal

Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: Teachers should not be "part of some collective trade union bargaining process"

There’s some good news in the education world today. The biennial report card on American youth is out from The Josephson Institute of Ethics, and it finds that cheating, lying and stealing among high school student is on the decline – for the first time in a decade! Huffington Post

Who’s in charge of Detroit’s public schools? Teachers, parents and the like seem to be confused over the answer to this question. The confusion stems from the repeal of Public Act 4, a law that allowed the state to appoint its own leaders to run school districts. Huffington Post

It seems Education Secretary Arne Duncan is finalizing his second-term education agenda, and teacher quality if as at the top of his priority list. In a recent speech at the Foundation for Excellence in Education forum in DC, Duncan said we, as a country, need to work on teacher preparation. Politics K-12

Speaking of the Foundation for Excellence in Education – Jeb Bush’s foundation, Bush railed against teachers unions in his remarks. “We need to have a teacher evaluation system that is based on teachers being professionals, not part of some collective trade union bargaining process,” he said. Washington Times
Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: Obama's 2nd term focus on education

A new Alliance report calls for district and state leaders to create a systematic, strategic plan for integrating technology into schools within the next two years. Ed Week 

Education is one area in which republicans and democrats can, on occasion, agree. It shows in the polls. A recent Gallup poll shows that 68 percent of Americans believe Obama will improve education in his second term. Will we see reform, or will he stay the course on policies already put in place? The Week

In Michigan, K-12 students may not be tied to schools in their districts for much longer. A proposed bill would “remove district ownership of students.” They would have increased flexibility in choosing which schools to attend. Michigan Live

What if educators could sit down with President Obama and help influence his education policy? Teachers spoke out about what they would say. Ed Week

It looks as though Arne Duncan will stay on as Obama’s Education Secretary for his second term. “Let me, first, sketch the outlines, or provide a mini-preview, of a second-term education agenda,” Duncan said recently to state education leaders at the Council of Chief State School Officers conference in Atlanta. Huffington Post

The federal School Improvement Grant program (SIG) aims to improve educational outcomes at traditionally underperforming schools by granting them funds. The Department of Education released data showing that one quarter of schools in the program have seen gains after receiving the SIG funding. Ed Week

Read Entire Post

Afternoon announcements: October 23, 2012

In the last debate, Obama raised education during a question on gun control. He brought it up in this debate, focused on foreign policy, in a conversation on how America can remain competitive in the global market. The jump doesn’t seem as wide as with gun control. Obama attacked Romney on teaching hiring. Huffington Post

It seems as though Obama does still have the teachers’ vote. A few teachers sound off on their thoughts on the president and what they like and dislike about his policies. Education Week

A new law in Ohio – the “Third Grade Reading Guarantee” – could hold as many as 10,000 students back. The state is reviewing this law in an attempt to raise their reading standards. Some lawmakers and teachers believe it’s a good idea. What do you think? Huffington Post

In Michigan, the new, tougher Merit curriculum standards may be lowering their high school graduation rate. Some students are unable to meet the more rigorous demands. Education Week

Thomas Friedman, of the New York Time’s opinion page, wonders why Obama isn’t utilizing two of what he sees as his most innovative programs in this campaign – Race to the Top and ‘Race to the Top’ in gas mileage. New York Times

Neither Obama nor Romney have released papers or position statements with specifics for their early education plans. How will they both handle education if they’re elected? Huffington Post
Read Entire Post