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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis:
Center for Ed. Reform Takes Aim at CREDO Study
The Center for Education Reform has released a statement criticizing a recent study by a Stanford University research center about the growth and replication of charter schools, calling the report “highly misleading.” (Education Week – Charters and Choice)
D.C. debates growth of charter schools
It’s the latest sign that the District is on track to become a city where a majority of children are educated not in traditional public schools but in public charters: A California nonprofit group has proposed opening eight D.C. charter schools that would enroll more than 5,000 students by 2019. (Washington Post)
Center For American Progress Proposes Preschool-For-All Plan
Days before President Barack Obama outlines his agenda for the coming year, a think tank with close ties to the White House is outlining a plan that would provide preschool for all children within five years. (Huffington Post)
Maryland:
Montgomery schools wrong to balk at evaluation proposals
Maryland established its credentials as a leader in education reform by insisting on making schools accountable for their results. That certainly was the hallmark of now-retired state schools superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, whose lengthy tenure pioneered reforms that are now established education policy. So it is heartening that her successor is showing similar devotion to accountability in the face of predictable pushback. (Washington Post)
Board Proposes Copyrighting Work By Students, Teachers
A Maryland county school board is considering a proposal to copyright student- and teacher-created work, reports The Washington Post. This would mean that any work done during school hours using school resources—a paper written by a high school student, a lesson plan developed by a teacher, even a picture drawn by a kindergartner—would be property of the school district. The proposal by the Prince George’s County board of education also extends to work created for the school on a student’s or employee’s own time and with the use of their own materials. (Education Week – Teaching Now)
View Point:
Justin Reich: Failure is Mandatory: Creating a Culture of Innovation
I recently had a piece posted at Edudemic, Failure is Mandatory: Creating a Culture of Innovation, co-written with my EdTechTeacher co-founder Tom Daccord. It pulls together a number of themes that we’ve been talking and thinking about over the last five years, especially the idea that teacher experimentation is a vital part of innovating with technology integration. If teachers feel like there’s no room for error, then they will make no room for risk, and we’ll have no change. (Education Week – Ed Tech Researcher)