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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis:
Will Funding Flexibility for Schools Come With Sequestration Cuts?
So now that school districts are coping with a 5 percent across-the-board cut to all federal programs, thanks to sequestration, many advocates are asking the department for what they see as the next best thing to more money: Greater flexibility with the funds they actually have. (Education Week – Politics K-12)
Why Would Anyone Want to Be a School Leader?
School leadership is hard…especially now. There are point scales to contend with, evaluations based on test scores, and budget cuts that result in the lay-offs of teachers and administrative colleagues. Some leaders who have been in the position for a few years have seen cuts to programs, and have a constant need to find creativity in a very uncreative time. (Education Week – Finding Common Ground)
Paul Vallas Finds A Hard Road In Bridgeport
To hear some tell it, Paul Vallas is the savior of Bridgeport schools, a visionary working to turn around one of the state’s lowest-performing districts. Others contend that the schools superintendent is an arrogant reformer, making too much change too quickly, with an agenda to turn education into a profit center. (Hartford Courant)
Minnesota:
Study: Achievement gap a significant issue in Faribault, southern Minnesota
Minnesota has some of the worst academic achievement gaps in the nation between white kids and students of color. For example, Minnesota has the nation’s worst on-time graduation rates among Latinos and American Indians and is among the worst for black and Asian students. (Faribault Daily News)
New Jersey:
Christie to announce state takeover of Camden schools
Gov. Christie plans to announce Monday that he is taking the extraordinary step of putting the educational and fiscal management of the Camden School District under state control, The Inquirer has learned. (Philadelphia Inquirer)