Top News Arkansas Education Board OKs multiple new charter schools Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The Education Board voted to accept the recommendations of the state's newly reconfigured Charter Authorizing Panel that last month approved the five school plans for Little Rock and Pine Bluff and denied four other applications for charter schools. Read more>> Top News Charters and urban districts still struggling in Ohio school report cards WOSU Ohio’s latest school report cards are out, and the state says achievement is increasing across all subjects and subgroups, with graduation rates also improving. But there are mixed grades for individual districts, and mostly bad ones for charter schools. Read more>> Top News Improving parent involvement among the issues facing Detroit superintendent CBS Detroit Detroit has seen a big comeback in recent years, with new businesses and residents moving in. But the new superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District says Detroit can’t really become a world-class city without a better school system. One of the issues plaguing the district is chronic absenteeism. Read more>> Top News Minnesota’s new school accountability system up for federal review Pioneer Press After making some modest changes, the Minnesota Department of Education submitted a new plan Monday to the U.S. Department of Education for how state officials will ensure all students receive a quality education. State education leaders spent a year writing the plan, a process that included about 300 public input meetings across the state. Read more>> Top News Thousands of Montana students returning to school after cyber-threats Associated Press via ABC News Classes are scheduled to resume Tuesday in northwestern Montana's Flathead Valley after more than 30 public and private schools canceled classes last week because several schools received cyber-threats. More than 15,000 students have stayed home because of the closures. Read more>> Top News Rocklin charter schools OK transgender books in elementary school The Sacramento Bee The California district's school board voted to retain the policies that allowed a book about a transgender child to be read in kindergarten, but adopted a provision to forewarn parents of potentially controversial subject matter. The vote followed months of controversy that erupted over the book. Read more>> From DA Magazine Guns in school? Laura Carno and Deborah Gordon Klehr As more states consider allowing staff to be armed in the classroom, we present two perspectives. Read more>> Opinion & Analysis School lunch without shame The New York Times Missing meals and experiencing hunger impede a child’s ability to learn and achieve. Yet a new survey of 50 large school districts by the Food Research and Action Center, a national nonprofit group, shows that many school meal policies are quite retrograde on this front. Read more>> Opinion & Analysis How public schools are failing foster kids New York Post But for the 5,000 or so school-age foster kids around New York City and the thousands more who have spent time in the system, the educational options offered by the city and state are insufficient to mitigate the trauma and turmoil they’re experiencing at home. Read more>> Opinion & Analysis Why teachers need their freedom The Atlantic Teacher engagement and autonomy aren’t a cure-all. But does a top-down trickle of scripts and mandates detached from students’ day-to-day lives really improve a teacher’s effectiveness? It could have the reverse effect, forcing educators who might otherwise gain a real knack for teaching to rely on others to make decisions for them. Read more>> Industry News Michigan district commences new partnership Discovery Education All of Dundee Community Schools' K12 classrooms will receive access to Discovery Education’s Streaming Plus digital content service. Educators will participate in the district’s Educational Technology Teacher Leader Corps initiative, which is powered by Discovery Education’s Digital Leader Corps professional development model. Read more>> Industry News Helping Boston Public Schools improve bus transportation system SAS As the new school year starts in Boston, the city is expecting to see fewer, but more efficiently assigned bus stops—resulting in less bus traffic on its busy roads. This is due in part to a data-driven initiative, led by SAS and developed in collaboration with DataKind, to help Boston Public Schools improve its busing system. Read more>> Industry News Building energy efficiency improvements will transform school-operated facilities Johnson Controls Johnson Controls announced the start of construction on a $4.17 million energy savings performance contract project with Scott County School District in Mississippi. The school district is guaranteed $284,243 in savings for the first year and more than $5.4 million in savings over the life of the 16-year project. Read more>> View more news at District Administration's PR Portal People Watch Pennsylvania district picks Robert L. Scoboria to lead Reading Eagle The Wyomissing School Board appointed Robert L. Scoboria as the district's new superintendent. He has served as assistant superintendent in the Boyertown School District since 2005. Earlier this year, Julia R. Vicente resigned as Wyomissing's superintendent to accept the same post in the Eastern Lebanon County School District. Read more>> People Watch Connecticut board chooses Norwalk administrator as new superintendent Hartford Courant Middletown's board of education selected Michael Conner, a chief academic officer for the Norwalk school system, as its new superintendent of schools. He will begin in November when current Superintendent Patricia Charles retires after five years in the lead position. Read more>> People Watch Promoted to superintendent position for Arizona district East Valley Tribune A divided school board named Tempe Union Associate Superintendent Kevin J. Mendivil as the next superintendent of the high school district, effective next July 1. He will replace Superintendent Kenneth Baca, who is resigning at the end of the school year. Read more>> |