Survey: U.S. higher education must change to remain globally competitive

Nearly half of all Americans have a dim view of the quality of U.S. higher education, and most think it’s not only too expensive but also only a fair or poor return on their investment, according to the results of a new survey.

Harvard University (photo by Justin Snider)

Most of those surveyed—particularly college-aged Americans themselves—agree that U.S. higher education must change to remain globally competitive, though not everyone is convinced that increasingly popular online courses are as effective as conventional ones.

“These findings are a wake-up call for those of us in higher education,” said Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, which commissioned the study.

Forty-six percent of respondents consider the state of U.S. higher education “fair” or “poor,” and 61 percent said the same thing about its value for their money. Nearly nine out of every 10 say cost is a major barrier to obtaining a college degree.

Three-quarters of younger people say they’d be happy with a “no-frills” education that forgoes such amenities as athletic facilities and dormitories, and almost the same proportion would have been willing to spend a year or two working in public service in exchange for a break on tuition.

Two in three say cuts in government funding have lowered the nation’s standing as a global leader in higher education, and more than four in five—including majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents—believe that government should invest more in it.

While Americans want more innovation by colleges and universities, slightly more than half aren’t convinced that online education is as good as the conventional kind. But more than two-thirds think online degrees will be equally recognized by employers within the next five to seven years.

The poll, conducted for Northeastern by FTI Consulting, surveyed 1,001 respondents by phone in mid-October as well as 250 people aged 18-30 on the Internet. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.

Mississippi pushes for literacy, merit pay over pre-k

Mississippi will probably not fund or create public pre-kindergarten opportunities next year, but will prioritize teacher merit pay, literacy, and dropout prevention, according to the proposed budget released Tuesday by Gov. Phil Bryant.

Gov. Phil Bryant

The proposal asks for more than $3 billion in education funding, a $24 million increase over this year and addresses some of the state’s biggest education pitfalls. But it falls short of what pre-k advocates, and even the state’s Department of Education, had hoped for. The Department of Education requested $2.5 million in their July budget request for an early education pilot program, but their request was left out of Bryant’s proposal. A promising, privately funded pre-k program, Mississippi Building Blocks, also requested $5 million in state funding. Bryant recommended $3 million for the program, which he said can provide valuable data to the state as it determines how to get more involved in early childhood education.

The biggest chunk of the new funding, $15 million, is poised to go toward addressing what Bryant called a “literacy crisis,” by providing literacy training for classroom teachers and supplying schools with reading interventionists. Bryant also vowed to support legislation that would require most students to be proficient in reading before moving on to fourth grade. Only students with learning or testing disabilities would be exempt. Mississippi cannot continue to allow status quo social promotion,” Bryant wrote. “[It] speeds our children down the path to poverty and trampled opportunity.”

Currently, nearly 80 percent of fourth graders in the state are not proficient in reading, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a non-profit child advocacy organization. While many experts point to the early years as the optimum time to build literacy skills, Mississippi remains one of 11 states, and the only state in the south, without state-funded pre-k. “This is ultimately the parents’, not the state’s responsibility,” Bryant wrote.

The remaining money would be distributed among dropout intervention efforts, a pilot merit pay program, and a data system that will gather and analyze teacher and student data. Republican lawmakers have also vowed to renew the push for charter schools, a contentious issue that sparked heated debate at last year’s legislative session. While charter schools were not addressed in the budget, Bryant has expressed support for school choice legislation.

The 2013 legislative session will begin Jan. 8 and is expected to focus mostly on education-related issues.

A second chance for Mississippi charter schools

Republicans in Mississippi intend to fight for charter schools during the 2013 legislative session, renewing a contentious battle from last year’s session.

Past charter school legislation failed in Mississippi after heated legislature debates over funding and teacher quality provisions. (Photo by Jackie Mader)

At a Mississippi Economic Council gathering in late October, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves vowed to support school choice legislation that would create more avenues for charter schools to open in the state, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.

Proponents say there may be a better chance of passing legislation in 2013 because the state’s failing school system has received increased attention from the media, and lawmakers came close to passing a law during last year’s legislative session. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has touted charter schools in neighboring Arkansas and Louisiana as models of success, and said charter schools are “desperately needed,” especially in failing districts.

The renewed push for charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately run, comes after voters in Georgia passed an initiative on Tuesday that will allow charter schools to open. Ballots are still being counted on a similar initiative in Washington State, which would allow 40 charter schools to open over the next five years. Charter schools are currently allowed in 41 states and the District of Columbia.

A 2010 state law in Mississippi makes it possible for failing schools to be converted to charter schools beginning in the 2012-13 school year if more than 50 percent of parents vote in favor of the conversion. Currently, 35 failing schools are eligible to be converted, but none have begun the process to transform into charters yet.

But even supporters of charter schools say the current law wouldn’t change schools for the better, because it fails to give parents much power. A parent board can govern each converted school, but the local school board still has ultimate control and the State Department of Education has veto power over most decisions made. The parent board can hire a charter management organization, but that organization cannot control hiring of teachers or choose curriculum.

“It’s a parent trigger [law] that triggers nothing,” said Rachel Canter, the executive director of the non-profit advocacy group Mississippi First.

Canter says that new legislation would most likely preserve parent-triggered conversion, but would also allow new charter schools to be created from the ground up. She says a new proposal would let nonprofit organizations run charters and give them autonomy over decision-making.

Last April, a similar proposal failed by one vote after five Republicans in the House Education Committee broke rank and voted against the bill. And while Mississippi’s state Senate is majority Republican, there was resistance from Republican lawmakers who are concerned that charters will siphon money away from successful public schools in their counties. Canter says that the law also may have failed in April because many people didn’t know what a charter school was.

“I think people in the legislature have made a commitment to back up, and give people that time and space to talk about [charter schools] and think,” she said.

Under current Mississippi law, only failing schools can be converted to charter schools if a majority of parents approve. (Photo by Jackie Mader)

But opponents of charters in Mississippi are concerned that charter schools could become segregated if they end up catering to students who would otherwise be in private schools. Democratic leaders have criticized House Speaker Philip Gunn, who recently announced plans to remove a Democrat from the Education Committee and fill the position with a Republican, who is a known charter school supporter. Brandon Jones, a former House member, called the move “unprecedented,” and accused Gunn of changing the rules to ensure the legislation will be passed. Opponents have also protested parts of past charter school legislation that would have exempted teachers from holding state certifications.

“Lawyers all have to get licensed and certified and so do doctors,” said Kevin Gilbert, president of the Mississippi Association of Educators to the Jackson Free Press. “There’s not a hospital around here or a law firm that’s going to hire 50 percent of lawyers who don’t have their degree.”

The renewed push for charters adds to an increasing list of potential education initiatives up for discussion when the state’s legislative session convenes in January.

The state consistently posts some of the lowest test scores in the country, and Reeves called for higher academic standards at the Mississippi Economic Council meeting. Legislators will also consider requests to fund early childhood education for the first time in the state. Mississippi is the only state in the South that does not provide state-funded preschool, which many say could help reduce the achievement gap.

“We all know that public education in Mississippi is terrible,” Canter said, adding that although policy hasn’t changed yet, just seeing legislators focus on education has been encouraging. “We all know we have to do something.”

Controversial new child care attendance system examined in Mississippi

Mississippi parents will have to scan their fingerprints every time they drop off and pick up their children at daycare when a new program goes into effect next year. But childcare providers have been protesting the system for months, saying that it stigmatizes low-income families and may ultimately take away income from already cash-strapped centers.

Child care providers in Mississippi say the new attendance system may discourage low-income parents from enrolling their children in daycare. (Photo by Kim Palmer)

On Wednesday, the House and Senate Investigate State Offices Committee listened to concerns from a representative of the non-profit Mississippi Low Income Childcare Initiative, reports The Clarion-Ledger, in what has become a contentious battle between child care centers and the state government.

Under the new system, Mississippi eChildcare, parents who receive child care vouchers from the state will have to scan their fingers so the state can track their children’s attendance at daycare and preschool. Childcare providers say they fear that the fingerprint scanners could lead to a payment system in which the state would only reimburse them for the time a child is at their center. Providers say costs to run a center and pay staff remain constant even when children are absent.

The system has already been piloted in 20 childcare centers in the state, and was supposed to expand to 38 counties on Nov. 1 and the remaining 42 counties on Feb. 1. In October, a state judge placed the system on hold because the Mississippi Department of Health (DHS) failed to publish a required economic impact statement on time. That statement was published in late October.

The Department of Health has contended that the main use of the system is to better track attendance of children receiving federal vouchers for childcare and reduce “attendance related payment errors.” In the released economic statement, the state said it could save up to $18 million annually by reducing false attendance claims by childcare providers.

“If we have a family that’s putting their child in care for half a day a week, that’s something we’ll look at,” Jill Dent, director of Mississippi’s Division of Early Childhood Care and Development, told Mississippi Public Broadcasting. “We won’t necessarily jump up and go cut them off, we just want to be able to make sure that we’re serving the people that need the services the most.”

Wednesday’s committee meeting was the latest concession childcare providers were able to extract from the state. On Oct. 12, after petitioning and being granted a public hearing, the providers received a letter from DHS saying they would extend the pilot period to allow the Division of Early Childhood Care and Development and Xerox, the company which has provided the fingerprint scanners to “explore strengthening the process.” Training sessions for childcare centers on how to use the new system were also cancelled on that date. On Oct. 24, a state judge put the program on hold and ordered DHS to release the economic impact statement and sit down with childcare providers to hear their concerns.

Carol Burnett, executive director of the non-profit Mississippi Low Income Childcare Initiative, says the new system will make it more difficult for families to access early education in a state where the need for it is great. There are currently more than 8,000 Mississippi children on a waiting list to receive vouchers for childcare. The state’s median income is $24,000, and childcare costs without vouchers can account for up to 26 percent of a single mother’s salary, according to Child Care Aware of America, a non-profit childcare advocacy organization. And while many say early childhood education could be the first step to closing the achievement gap for the many disadvantaged children in Mississippi, childcare in the state’s 1,700 centers varies in quality and lacks uniform educational standards.

In current pilot sites, enrolling in the eChildcare system has been a lengthy process for families. According to a two-page letter from DHS, parents must first obtain an email address, watch an online training video, and then attend training at a local DHS county office before they can sign up their child. When neighboring Louisiana instituted the same system in August 2010, the number of families receiving vouchers dropped 35 percent.

Burnett fears the same will happen in Mississippi, especially among parents who need quality childcare the most. “[The] imposition on the parents is pretty heavy in light of the fact that they’re in low-wage paying jobs that don’t have much flexibility,” Burnett said. “The logistics of it are just crazy.”

Sen. Albert Butler, the committee’s Senate chairman, told The Clarion-Ledger that the committee is “empowered to make sure procedures are followed” as DHS moves forward with the system. The Department of Health will hold another public hearing on Nov. 16 to hear responses to the economic statement. The system is now estimated to begin rollout in February.

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 a traumatic week.

School supplies were destroyed in the flood, along with computers, student files, and books. (Photo by Sarah Garland)

The nearly 200 students who attend Liberation Diploma Plus, an alternative school for students at risk of dropping out, will be able to return to their own building in Coney Island this week.

The Hechinger Report described the destruction at the school in an article Monday; flood waters wiped out the first floor and ruined furniture, books, supplies and student files, so the New York City Department of Education had planned to reassign the students to another building temporarily. The decision worried the school’s principal, April Leong, who said the disruption would be a major setback for her students—already some of the most vulnerable in the city—and that some would fall through the cracks.

But after a herculean effort by staff and volunteers over the past few days to clean up after the storm, the New York City Department of Education announced that the school can reopen.

“The dedicated staff … pumped out the flooded basement and repaired boilers, and the hardworking custodians cleaned the school to get it ready for students tomorrow,” said department spokeswoman Erin Hughes in an email to The Hechinger Report. “Really an amazing story.”

Leong was ecstatic. “Students came in today and were so happy when they heard the news,” she said in an email. Classes will be held on an upper floor of the building that wasn’t damaged by the storm.

In another surprise recovery, John Dewey High School, which was described as one of the most damaged schools in New York City after it caught fire during the storm, will also reopen on Wednesday. The fire “burned through the building’s electrical system,” according to Gothamschools.org, but the website reported that a generator installed at the school means the building will be operational.

Many schools have not fared as well, however. In New Jersey, the state hardest hit by the storm, more than half of schools across the state were still closed as of Monday. “In my 40 years in education in New Jersey, I have never seen anything like this,” Lawrence Feinsod, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association, told NJSpotlight.com. “Nothing like this, it’s by far the worst.”

In New York City, 48 schools were too damaged to reopen on Monday (down from 57 on Sunday), and 19 had no power, Gothamschools.org reported. It total, 75,000 students missed school for the sixth school day in a row on Monday. At some reopened schools, parents were told to bundle their children in sweaters because the heat wasn’t working yet. At others, classrooms were half empty. “We can’t learn in these conditions,” Manny Rivera, a high-school sophomore who attends the Seward Park Educational Campus in Lower Manhattan, told The New York Times. “Conditions are really uncomfortable.”

Ed in the Election: Education became an unexpected star in the campaign

Education may not have topped the average voter’s priority list this year, but that didn’t stop the presidential candidates from making it a focus throughout the long campaign season. As most Americans cast their ballot Tuesday worrying mainly about the economy and the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, both candidates are no doubt hopeful that voters will also remember their frequent messages about how they plan to help the country’s students.

President Obama and Mitt Romney at the second presidential debate on Oct. 16. (Photo by Scout Tufankjian/Obama for America)

President Obama has asked for another four years to continue the policies he started, frequently alluding to his Race to the Top initiative which pushed 46 states to undertake education reforms in hopes of winning federal grant money. Going forward, he’s outlined plans for increasing the pool of math and science teachers and improving training programs at community colleges.

Mitt Romney agreed with some of the policies Obama has promoted, like merit pay for teachers. But he has maintained that states should make the majority of education policy decisions, not the White House. His education platform centers on increasing school choice by creating a nationwide voucher system for low-income and special needs children.

In the last two months, the differences between Obama and Romney’s education policies became more crystalized and the Obama campaign increased its efforts to draw a distinction between the two candidates and their willingness to invest in education. The drive to highlight Obama’s education platform resulted in off-topic debate answers, a series of attack ads and lots of talk about education on the campaign trail.

The Democrats have sought to portray Obama as the candidate who views investing in education as a priority, in contrast to his opponent, who they argue views it as an expense. Yet Romney surprised many educators by announcing point blank during the first debate that he will not cut education funding and disagreeing with his running mate, Paul Ryan, who supports  shrinking the Pell Grant program for low-income students attending college.

The campaigns repeated their respective arguments that their candidate would be the one to repair the country’s school system in the final weekend before Election Day.

Michelle Obama spoke to students at Ohio’s Miami University Saturday, and highlighted her husband’s investments in Pell Grants. “When it comes to giving young people the education they deserve, Barack knows that like so many of you, we couldn’t have attended college without financial aid,” she said.

Romney has woven education into his last-minute pitch, tying Obama to teachers unions in his stump speech. It’s not the first time the Republicans have tried to connect the president to the unions.

“You know that if the president is re-elected, he will say every good thing he can about education, but in the final analysis, he will do what his largest campaign supporters – the public sector unions – insist upon,” Romney said during a speech in Wisconsin on Friday. “When I am president, I will be a voice of the children and their parents. There is no union for the PTA.”

Although Obama’s education policies, such as supporting the expansion of charter schools and tying teacher evaluations to test scores, have rankled teachers and union leadership, union support for his reelection does not seem to have diminished. Both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have spent months targeting undecided voters in swing states and trying to convince them to vote for Obama.

“President Obama’s vision for the kids in America and the role education will play in their lives – I have no doubt that is absolutely in sync with ours,” National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel told The Hechinger Report in September. “What we disagree with him at times is how to get there.”

Report: Excessive teacher absences hurt students and budgets

Too many teachers across the country are missing work too often, and their absences are taking significant academic and financial tolls on schools, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit analyzed teacher attendance rates at more than 56,000 schools across the country in “Teacher Absence as a Leading Indicator of Student Achievement.” The report found that nearly 40 percent of teachers nationally missed more than 10 days of school during the 2009-10 school year, costing districts at least $4 billion in substitute-teacher and administrative fees.

The report’s author, Raegen Miller, writes that student achievement suffers when a teacher is frequently absent. “Every 10 absences lowers average mathematics achievement equivalent to the difference between having a novice teacher and one with a bit more experience,” Miller writes, referencing a 2008 study. “It’s plausible that achievement gaps can be attributed, in part, to a teacher attendance gap.”

Some states and individual districts have alarmingly high rates of absenteeism. In Arkansas, Hawaii and Rhode Island, nearly half of all teachers missed 10 or more days of school, compared with only 20 percent of teachers in Utah.

In New Jersey’s Camden City Public Schools, a district that has struggled with poverty and poor test scores, up to 40 percent of teachers are absent on any given school day, a figure that has forced the district to hire a private substitute-teacher agency to help ensure there’s an adult in each classroom.

Nationally, teachers are more likely to be absent if they’re female, teach in middle schools, or teach in public schools rather than charters. Schools with high proportions of African-American or Latino students, as well as those with more low-income students, also reported higher rates of teacher absences.

Differences in state policies also lead to disparities. Some states allow teachers as many as 15 paid sick days a year, for instance, while others allow just seven. The report found that teacher absences are often driven by district- or school-level factors, too. Teachers tend to be absent less when they’re required to notify their principals of an absence by telephone, and a separate study found that schools with stressful or negative staff cultures had higher absence rates.

The report recommends giving teachers at least seven paid sick days per year, but reducing the number of excused absences in districts that lean toward a “more permissive” policy. It also recommends that school districts use incentives to discourage “frivolous” use of paid leave, and adopt electronic systems to manage absences in more cost-effective ways.

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 ultimately found Liberation, and grabbed one last chance to earn a high school diploma.

Now the school is hanging on by a thread in the wake of a storm that officials say is the worst ever to hit New York City.

We’ve got a story coming soon on the school, but until then here are some photos from the campus

Ed in the Election: Ballot initiatives could transform state education policies

As millions of Americans head to the polls Tuesday, most of the attention will be on the tight presidential race. But there are a number of ballot initiatives across the country that could significantly impact state education systems. Here’s a look at how voters could change policies on school choice, merit pay and more. Check back with The Hechinger Report after Election Day to find out the results.

Maryland voters will decide whether to uphold a law allowing undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition to public universities. (Photo by Edward Kimmel)

Florida: A ballot initiative in Florida, if passed, will remove language from the state’s constitution that bans religious institutions from receiving taxpayer money. The measure does not explicitly reference education, but if it is successful, it will likely pave the way for private-school vouchers. While Florida currently has a voucher program for special education students and a tax credit scholarship program for low-income students, its statewide voucher program was ruled unconstitutional in 2006 because it gave taxpayer money to religious schools. If this language is removed, it seems likely vouchers could be reinstated.

Georgia: If Georgia voters approve a new constitutional amendment, the state will set up a special commission to authorize new charters. Such a commission existed until 2011, when the State Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Now, local school boards must first approve charter school applications. If the State Board of Education follows suit, the school can open. If the local school board rejects the application, would-be charter operators can still appeal to the state. The Georgia Board of Education can approve the charter, but it will only receive state and federal money – not local property-tax funds.

If the amendment passes, the state commission would be able to grant charters, regardless of local board support. Opponents say the change will take money and control away from local school systems. Proponents argue it will increase school choice across the state.

Idaho: A slate of controversial education laws could be overturned in Idaho on Election Day. The state’s teachers union is leading the charge against three recently passed laws through propositions on the ballot.

Proposition 1 aims to repeal a law mandating that 50 percent of teacher evaluations be tied to student growth – an increasingly common policy nationwide. The law also abolished teacher tenure, limited collective bargaining and eliminated incentives for early retirement. Proposition 2 would end Idaho’s new merit pay plan, which provides bonuses for teachers and administrators based on student growth on standardized tests. The law also allows for bonuses to be given to teachers who take hard-to-staff positions or leadership roles. And if a majority vote yes on Proposition 3, a law mandating that all students take two online classes before graduating high school will be repealed.

Maryland: Voters in Maryland will decide if undocumented immigrants will be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities. The Maryland legislature passed its own version of a federal bill that has yet to pass, the Development, Relief and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act, last year, which allowed undocumented immigrants who have attended high school in the state and first attend a community college to receive in-state tuition prices at Maryland colleges and universities. Opponents have argued the measure will encourage illegal immigration, but it looks likely the law will remain on the books. A Washington Post poll found 60 percent of voters supported it.

Washington: Washington is one of nine states that don’t allow charter schools. That could change if a ballot initiative passes that would allow the schools to open across the state. Such a measure has been rejected three times in the past. If the vote goes the other way this time, though, 40 charters may be authorized in the state over the next five years. A parent trigger provision is also written into the ballot. A majority of parents, or teachers, could vote to convert their traditional public school into a charter if the initiative passes.

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 nearly impossible for many students to get to school. And a large swath of the region hit by the superstorm, as meteorologists are calling the violent mix of weather that hit the East Coast this week, was still without power.

Hurricane Sandy flooding on Avenue C at East 6th Street, moments before the power substation blew and the neighborhood lost electricity. October 29, 2012. (Photo by David Shankbone)

Many education reporters were pulled off the schools beat to cover the storm, but here is an overview of storm coverage about schools from the week so far:

Bonnie Rochman, writing for Time, says Sandy demonstrates a big shift in how school systems respond to storms.

“There’s a constant stream of updated weather-related information. And it’s also easier to get the word out. Gone are the days of waking up early and plastering an ear to the radio to find out if school’s cancelled. Now, robo-calls and emails mean that parents learn of a superintendent’s decision within minutes.”

She concludes that the up-to-the-minute information systems can sometimes lead officials to close school unnecessarily. In the case of Sandy, however, most officials and parents will likely agree that the school closures were wise.

Before the storm hit, New Jersey education chief Chris Cerf strongly encouraged superintendents to close schools: “The decision remains a local one, but I cannot be any clearer: the effects of the storm are only going to get worse and it is in everyone’s best interest for districts and charters to cancel school.” The vast majority of school superintendents followed his instructions. According to the Newark Star Ledger, “of the state’s nearly 600 school districts, 467 reported being closed Monday and 574 reported that they would be shut down Tuesday, said state education department spokeswoman Barbara Morgan, who noted that more districts may be closed than what has been reported to the state.”

Indeed, in New Jersey, the state hardest hit, a report from Bloomberg News said about 4,500 people were staying in shelters yesterday, according to Gov. Chris Christie, and as many as 5,500 had evacuated to shelters on the first day of the storm. Many of those shelters are schools: “About 1,500 people from Moonachie and nearby Little Ferry went to a shelter at Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro. Many had been rescued after a tidal surge pushed the Hackensack River over its banks. They crowded into National Guard trucks and school buses carrying garbage bags filled with clothes, stuffed animals and other belongings.”

In New York City, the nation’s largest school system with 1.1 million children, schools were closed again on Wednesday, also in part because many are being used as shelters. Gotham Schools reported that “residents displaced from their homes continue to be housed at shelters inside 76 school buildings … suggesting that it could be some time before schools can reopen.” For some schools, it might take longer than others to reopen: “At least some schools have suffered … extensive damage. A video taken this morning showed what appeared to be an explosion inside John Dewey High School, located just blocks from the water in eastern Brooklyn. The fire started in Dewey’s basement, according to a Twitter feed that reports FDNY alerts, and efforts to assess the damage are underway now, according to a Department of Education spokeswoman.”

Newsday reported that schools across Long Island and the Hudson Valley were still closed, and elsewhere schools shut down as East Coast residents assess the damage, wait for the power to come back on and begin to rebuild.

Some children were sad to hear schools might not open for a few days. For those celebrating a day off on Halloween, Gotham Schools noted that “school days missed for inclement weather or other emergencies must be made up.”

(The Hechinger Report is located in New York City at Teachers College, Columbia University, which is closed due to the storm. Several members of our staff have been impacted by Sandy, but we’ll still be reporting on the election and other important news related to education in the coming week.)