Beth’s Briefings (7-6-15)

Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:

 

As a customer service consultant, I enjoy doing some of that consulting in noncommercial arenas where the terms “customer” and “service provider” don’t precisely fit: healthcare customer service (“patient satisfaction”), not for profits (“donor relations”) and so forth.  One of the most interesting of these arenas is public schools and public education, whether K12 or beyond. (Forbes)

 

President Barack Obama dearly wanted to get the government in the business of rating colleges and universities based on value and affordability, promising a new system by 2015. Now that goal is shriveling under the weight of a concerted opposition from universities, lawmakers and bureaucrats in Obama’s own administration. (PBS)

 

The AARP lobbies for federal spending on old people. Do young people need an analog? This week, I’m sharing responses to the question, “What insight or idea has thrilled or excited you?” This installment comes courtesy of Jim Steyer, a children’s advocate who wants America’s young people to be prioritized over its retirees. He traces his conviction that kids are the country’s most precious resource back to childhood, when the importance of early education was imprinted on him. (The Atlantic)

 

Got something to say about the state’s new reading and math tests, the new two-year education budget or other state education policies? Members of the Washington State Board of Education will listen to comments and concerns at a public forum on July 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Ave South in Seattle. Register here for the event (it’s not required, but space is limited). (The Seattle Times)

 

Employers  have considerable leeway to use unpaid interns legally when the work serves an educational purpose, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday, setting aside a lower court decision that the movie studio Fox Searchlight Pictures had improperly classified former workers as unpaid interns rather than employees. (The New York Times)

 

The collapse of for-profit Corinthian Colleges has been a calamity for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans who not only lost their chance at a college degree from the shuttered schools but also can’t get back tens of thousands in tuition covered by the GI Bill. (Politico)

 

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai wants world leaders to spend more money, on top of their earlier promises, to secure 12 years of free primary and secondary education for all children across the world. (Star Tribune)

 

Chicago public schools are going through some rough times right now. The city is projecting a $1.1 billion budget deficit for the next school year, largely due to teacher-pension payments. On Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced $200 million in budget cuts and 1,400 staff layoffs. Many of the cuts will come from the central office, although high schools  will also open and close 45 minutes later to save on transportation costs, and funding for elementary-school sports teams will be eliminated. The city is asking for state support and planning to raise taxes to help get rid of the deficit. (The Atlantic)