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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
A nonprofit group has begun a public relations campaign to defend Teach for America against critics of the program that places newly minted college graduates in teaching jobs in some of the country’s most challenging classrooms. (The Washington Post)
Speaker John Boehner’s September announcement about leaving Congress was a shock to lawmakers who had been deep in painstaking negotiations for months on a bill to replace No Child Left Behind, which President Barack Obama signed into law this week. Getting a new federal education law was hard enough, given the many warring constituencies involved. With the exit of the speaker — a key supporter — lawmakers’ plans were again jeopardized. (Politico)
The Georgia Institute of Technology turned heads in 2013 when it announced plans to offer an inexpensive, online version of its master’s degree in computer science to what top administrators predicted would be a “massive” audience. (The Wall Street Journal)
In response to rising rates of depression among students and increased demand for therapy, many American universities have been ramping up their mental-health services. These colleges surely want to take care of their students, but it has other benefits too: Mental-health disorders can hinder educational outcomes, lowering grades, delaying students’ graduations, and causing students to drop out. (The Atlantic)
For two hours Saturday at the city’s public education headquarters in Dudley Square, officials with impressive titles outlined how Boston public schools struggle to educate black and Latino boys. (Boston Globe)