“Every child in a District of Columbia public school has a right to a highly effective teacher — in every classroom, of every school, of every neighborhood, of every ward, in this City. That is our commitment. Today . . . we take another step toward making that commitment a reality.’’ —Michelle Rhee, D.C. Schools [...]
Reason TV notes that out of the tragedy and devastation of Hurricane Katrina came at least one good thing. It meant a fresh start for schools–and kids– in New Orleans. Most of the new schools built since the hurricane are charter schools and, so far, their results look quite promising.
Sharon Cohen reports for AP about Urban Prep, an all-boys charter school in Chicago. There are many things that make Urban Prep different, but perhaps the most important one is that 100% of its first graduation class is headed to college. Along the way, boys’ lives have been changed — and very possibly saved. Urban [...]
Sam Dillon at the NYT reports on the cost of trying to turn around a failing school. Readers of Donna Foote’s Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America will remember the problems at LA’s Locke High School, a school that has been described as the worst of the worst high schools [...]
The Washington Post reports on the new contract ratified by the union yesterday. Some highlights from Bill Turque’s article: The contract, a product of nearly 2 1/2 years of contentious negotiations, combines a rich traditional financial package with unorthodox initiatives historically resisted by unionized teachers. It includes a five-year, 21.6 percent increase in base pay [...]
Bob Herbert over at the NYT is writing about the violent deaths of school children in Chicago and asks why there is no outrage. The column Herbert wrote this week sounds eerily familiar. In fact, education activist Jonathan Kozol could have been describing the same scene in 1991. There is a difference though. While Kozol [...]