Recess round-up: July 8, 2010

A daily dose of education news around the nation – just in time for a little mid-day break!

Teacher training: The Answer Sheet‘s Valerie Strauss interprets an independent report on Teach For America. Among other things, University of Texas, Austin professor Julian Vasquez Heilig recommends pressing recruits to commit for five years instead of just two.  (Washington Post)

Teacher training, part ii: Brendan Lowe, a Teach for America corps member who just completed his second year, wants to stay in the classroom. (GOOD)

Student loans: National Public Radio goes modern by shortening its name to NPR, and it has an interesting story about a group trying to help veterans pay off their student loans and get on with their lives. (Washington Post and NPR)

Start time: A new study in July’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine suggests a later start time for high schoolers can work wonders. (Boston Globe)

School funding: Money to help high school dropouts return to school won’t be cut this year in Chicago. (AP via Chicago Tribune)

School funding, part ii: A grand jury in Northern California recommends merging school districts to save millions of dollars. (Mercury News)

Technology and education: The parents of internet-savvy kids in California’s Central Valley get schooled in social networking and email. (Merced Sun-Star)

Susan Sawyers