A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break!
Charter schools: A mainstay in New Jersey’s poorest cities, charter schools are competing for funds against affluent suburbs. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Class size: In 2002, Florida approved a constitutional amendment to limit class size from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. By 2010-2011, class-size averages will be calculated at the classroom level. But “the state’s official student count could mean painful funding cuts for public schools that exceed the strict student caps on core academic classes.” With that in mind, the state legislature has added a November ballot measure that, if passed, will cap the average number of students per class at the school-wide level. (Orlando Sentinel)
EduJobs: Despite the federal government’s allocation of $10 billion to preserve 160,000 jobs in the 2010-11 school year, some districts don’t want to spend money right away. (Education Week)
Homeschooling: About 300,000 children in Texas will be homeschooled this year; that’s up 20 percent from five years ago. (Houston Chronicle)
New Orleans: Tune in to Spike Lee’s If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise on the HBO network tonight and tomorrow. Lee documents ongoing efforts to restore housing and education in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. (The New York Times and GOOD)
School funding: The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger takes a look at some of the difficult choices facing the state right now, asking “Who will win the war over the future of public education in New Jersey?”
Teaching the teachers: Recent college graduates, with five weeks of supplemental training, begin to Teach for America. (The Washington Post)
Virtual schools: The Oregon Board of Education sets out to determine “who decides whether a child can attend an online-only school.” (The Bend Bulletin)
