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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
I’m a card-carrying member of three parent school associations. I write the weekly newsletter for the special-education parents’ group and help organize social events for disabled kids. But my involvement is minimal compared to the extraordinary efforts by others who raise money for schools in our town. With fundraising skills honed by former careers in business and law, these parents tap into the deep pockets of residents to collect large sums of money, which purchase items as small as a doormat in front of the school for muddy boots to costly gifts, like Chromebooks for every child. These groups also assist those in the community who are less affluent, providing college scholarships and helping create social connections for marginalized families with special-needs children. (The Atlantic)
The number of states that require high school students to complete a course in economics has dropped over the last two years, and mandates for personal finance education in the upper grades remain stagnant, a new survey shows. (CNBC)
Several new ratings reports from Moody’s Investor Service that landed in my e-mail inbox this week give plenty of clues about where higher education is headed in the United States. (The Washington Post)
Federal regulators took aim at another major for-profit chain of colleges Wednesday, suing DeVry Education Group Inc. for allegedly running false television and online advertisements about the employment success and earnings of its graduates. (The Wall Street Journal)
New York
Statewide exams given to third- through eighth-grade students in New York will no longer be timed, the State Education Department said on Wednesday, ending the call of “pencils down.” (The New York Times)