posted on
Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis:
Education Week Special Report Examines Common-Core Literacy
Love them or hate them, the Common Core State Standards are beginning to exert a powerful influence on the way teachers think about and teach literacy. In a special package of stories out today, the Education Week staff reports on how the standards—and other key dynamics—are shifting the literacy landscape. (Education Week – Curriculum Matters)
Teacher Evaluation Systems Not Fully Supported In Many States: Center For American Progress Report
A recent report out of the Center for American Progress examines the state of teacher evaluation reform in six early adopter states, including Colorado, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Tennessee. (Huffington Post)
Preschool Education Deserves Expansion, Investment: National Education Policy Center Brief
In a brief released Tuesday, National Education Policy Center managing director Dr. William Mathis urges policymakers to invest in high-quality preschool education, citing its universally acknowledged economic and social benefits. (Huffington Post)
Idaho Teachers To Get Performance Bonuses, Despite Proposition 2 Repeal
Even though voters overturned the Students Come First laws, teachers who earned merit pay during the last school year can expect a payment by Dec. 15.
The Idaho State Department of Education announced Tuesday that 499 schools around the state qualified to receive pay-for-performance money. (Huffington Post)
New Jersey:
Teachers Clear Newark Pact
The Newark Teachers Union approved a groundbreaking contract Wednesday that introduces a form of merit pay and gives teachers input into each others’ annual performance evaluations. (Wall Street Journal)
New York:
NYSUT spent $4.5M to be heard at the polls
Stung by electoral defeats in 2010 and the passage of several bills they found objectionable, New York State United Teachers spent roughly $4.5 million in this year’s elections, union officials told the Times Union. (Times Union)
Pennsylvania:
Pennsylvania School Boards Move To Denounce State Education Chief Ron Tomalis
Fed up with what they perceive as a series of unfair laws targeting public school funding and testing, two local school boards are considering resolutions denouncing state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis and his agency. (Huffington Post)