Two Head Start reports find problems and some hope
The benefits children reap from Head Start, the preschool program for low-income families, disappear almost completely by third grade. While social support for children in the program is high, academic supports are low. Nearly all of children in the program live near the poverty line, more than half do not live with their fathers, and […]
A nation reacts to horrific school shooting in Connecticut
Americans are again mourning and grappling with the question, ‘Why?’ after a gunman shot and killed multiple children at an elementary school in Connecticut on Friday. Twenty-eight were killed–20 of them children–at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., according to law enforcement officials. It will likely rank as the nation’s second deadliest shooting at a […]
A happy ending for a school hit hard by hurricane
It was chaotic and cold at many schools in the region hit hard by Superstorm Sandy as classes resumed for many on Monday, while thousands stayed home from schools that were too damaged to reopen. But staff and students at one school severely damaged in the storm will celebrate a happy ending on Wednesday after […]
School for troubled teens hit hard by Sandy
The students who attend Liberation Diploma Plus, which is only three blocks from the beach in Coney Island, are by definition survivors. They’re young people who have considered dropping out of school after dealing with the trauma of poverty, family troubles, gangs, violence and other problems that get in the way of academic success. Each […]
Schools transformed into shelters in wake of Hurricane Sandy
Classes were cancelled at many schools in the path of Superstorm Sandy for a third day this week, as schools continued to house people driven from their homes in the aftermath of the disaster. Downed trees—which crushed cars, blocked roads and knocked out power lines—along with stalled mass transit systems meant it would have been […]
Are new online standardized tests revolutionary? Decide for yourself.
New high-tech standardized tests are coming soon to schools across the country, but will these new tests really revolutionize how we measure whether children are learning? The designers of the new tests, which a majority of states plan to adopt in two years, are allowing a sneak peek at sample questions, so you can decide […]
America’s math problem: Should we get rid of algebra?
Is math holding the United States back? Last week, a community-college student from Harlem, speaking at a meeting of educators and community activists, told a harrowing story about his battle to get a degree. Raised by a single mother in a neighborhood wracked by violence, he had struggled to make it through high school. Then […]
More states requiring students to repeat a grade: Is it the right thing to do?
Thousands of third-graders may have a sense of déjà vu on the first day of school this year: The number of states that require third-graders to be held back if they can’t read increased to 13 in the last year. Retention policies are controversial because the research is mixed for students who are held back, […]
Some states resisting Obama administration ed-reform requirements
This week the Obama administration announced it had released a total of 33 states from some No Child Left Behind requirements with the approval of Nevada’s application for a waiver from the law. “While well intentioned, the law’s rigid, top-down prescriptions for reform have proved burdensome for many states,” a statement from the U.S. Department […]
Can Twitter replace traditional professional development?
Twitter and Facebook might soon replace traditional professional development for teachers. Instead of enduring hours-long workshops a few times a year, teachers could reach out to peers on the Internet in real time for advice on things like planning a lesson (or salvaging a lesson that’s going wrong), overcoming classroom management problems, or helping students […]
