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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is perhaps best known for funding global health programs, but in the U.S., it has focused largely on education. The foundation has strongly backed the national education guidelines known as the Common Core. The standards in math and English that specify what skills a student should have for every grade. (NPR)
Campbell Brown used to host a program on CNN with a tough-sounding subtitle, “No Bias. No Bull.” Brown was an equal-opportunity skeptic — “spunky-yet-shrewd,” as the New York Times once described her — who called out liberals and conservatives alike during her hour on the air each weeknight. (Washington Post)
New York
A charter school researcher says an upcoming study will clear New York City charter schools from criticism that they systematically “push out” high-needs students. (Chalkbeat)
City officials have boasted for years about their success in creating hundreds of small high schools that have higher graduation rates than many of the large schools they replaced. Now, a new report has singled out what makes the best of these small schools so exceptional. (WNYC)
North Carolina
Lawmakers in North Carolina agreed Wednesday to come up with an alternative to the Common Core State Standards in math and reading. Sort of. (Washington Post)
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia’s public-school system and its teachers union are clashing over whether the district can bypass seniority in deciding layoffs and other staff changes, a dispute that echoes a renewed national debate about teacher tenure. (Wall Street Journal)