Daily News Roundup—July 16, 2010

EEP News

In case you missed it, the EEP Co-Chairs penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, entitled “Obama’s School Reforms are a Priority.”  Well worth a read!

National

EdWeek reports that a House appropriations subcommittee voted in favor of extending Race to the Top through fiscal year 2011.  The bill would also extend the now-$650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program for another year. This preliminary vote is the first step of many before the bill gets passed into law.

Dropout Nation tries to answer the question “does teacher turnover matter?” identifying the shortcomings of teacher recruitment, teacher effectiveness, and the slow pace of reform.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s full remarks from the NAACP Annual Meeting can be found on the Department of Education website.

Paul Hill and Marguerite Roza released a report this week from the Center on Reinventing Public Education entitled “Curing Baumol’s Disease: In Search of Productivity Gains in K–12 Schooling,” offering a five-step agenda for utilizing lessons from other sectors to make the education system more efficient and effective.

Politico reports that the Senate Appropriations committee cut $14 billion from President Barack Obama’s budget requests Thursday, even as Democrats signaled little hope for salvaging added Edujobs spending in the House-passed war funding bill, adding that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) was “pessimistic that the education money can survive” based on the sheer size of the budget.

EdReformer highlights an analysis of 51 different studies that found “on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” The full report can be found here.

From the States

New Jersey

EdWeek reports that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie proposed capping the salaries of top public school administrators and basing future raises on student achievement, a move he said was necessary to help districts lower costs and keep property tax increases in check.

New York

NBC New York reports that 58 new schools (27 charter, 31 DOE schools) will be opening in New York City this fall.  Chancellor (and EEP co-chair) Joel Klein said in a statement, “This agreement is a huge victory for parents and students who have been looking forward to new schools opening in the fall. Our new small schools have been proven to outperform the struggling schools they were set to replace…”

Of the 58 new schools, WNYC reports that seven will be located inside other school sites or in new spaces being leased by the Dept. of Ed. And seven others will be allowed to operate from inside 19 low-performing schools that the city had sought to close.

GothamSchools writes about the challenges of regulating charter school demographics according to new charter law that forces charter schools to enroll more students with disabilities, learning English, and living in poverty.

California

EdWeek reports that a special California commission late last night wrapped up its work considering the new Common Core standards in mathematics and English/language arts, ultimately voting to recommend that the state adopt them, potentially joining the other 25 states that have already adopted these standards.

Connecticut

ConnCAN analyzes the results of the 2010 Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT), finding that the state saw slight improvements over the past year in closing American’s worst achievement gap.  The changes, they found were largely driven by improvements in the large cites of Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport.

A press release from Achieve Hartford! shows that a third year of positive gains in student achievement in the city of Hartford indicate “that the reform strategies implemented by the School District and Board of Education are making a real difference.”

Maryland

The Baltimore Sun reports that Maryland is now wrestling with complex questions about how student test scores will be used to evaluate teachers, having recently passed an ambitious education reform law.

Washington, D.C.

A Washington Post editorial Thursday looks at the bigger picture of D.C. school improvement in light of the recent decline in elementary school achievement this year, reminding readers that D.C. students are still performing better than three years ago. Quoting Michael Casserly, Executive Director of the Council of Great City Schools (and an EEP Signatory), the editorial stressed that improvement doesn’t happen in a straight line.

Public Schedule of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

The Week Ahead: Monday, July 12-Sunday, July 18

Monday, July 12

No public events scheduled.

Tuesday, July 13

Noon

The Secretary will read to local school children at the Department’s Let’s Read. Let’s Move. summer reading program. Washington Redskin and education activist Chris Draft will also participate. U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, July 14

11 a.m.

The Secretary will address the NAACP annual convention, Kansas City Convention Center, 301 W. 13th St., Kansas City, Mo.

Thursday, July 15

4:50 p.m.

The Secretary will address the College Board’s AP Annual Conference, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Friday, July 16

9:15 a.m.

The Secretary will address the CCSSO and SHEEO (Council of Chief State School Officers and State Higher Education Executive Officers) joint annual meeting, Graves Hotel, 601 1st Ave. North, Minneapolis, Minn.

Saturday, July 17

No public events scheduled.

Sunday, July 18

No public events scheduled.

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Categories: Daily News RoundUp