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Tag: Local School in National News Total: 63 results found.
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LIFO in Today’s Education Climate
posted by: Alix | May 12, 2011, 10:44 am
With another school year winding down, we are again hearing stories about young, often first- or second-year teachers and their being laid off due to budget cuts. The fact that states across the country are facing historic budget shortfalls shouldn't be news to anyone. Clearly this sobering reality will have an impact on education budgets, but what if the union-backed policy of "last in, first out" punishes good teachers and impacts parents seeking a quality teacher for their child? Sadly, LIFO has become just that: forcing new teachers out without any regard to their performance.   Continue Reading...
Seniors Going Strong in the Classroom
posted by: Alix | April 15, 2011, 10:26 am

In a time when we continually hear about the challenges of maintaining a thriving teacher workforce, the thought of someone teaching until well past typical retirement age seems mindboggling. We are constantly bombarded with headlines and statistics about burn-out rates and shortages, but rarely do we hear success stories about educators who have truly committed their lives to helping students.

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We often mention advances in technology on the AAE blog. Stories ranging from students organizing online study groups to learning Chinese through remote video conferencing in Shanghai have all been making national headlines. This week a sick boy in Texas is all over the blogosphere for a new technology that lets him attend class without ever leaving his home.   Continue Reading...
New Developments in Online Learning
posted by: Alix | February 08, 2011, 12:04 pm
As we find ourselves in yet another brutal winter, the dust is settling on the harsh realities of the impact on our students and teachers. Spring breaks and summer vacations will no doubt feel the effects of these multiple snow days. While we have all heard of space age technologies involving pricey online learning programs, teachers are now accessing free online resources including social media and podcasts to keep in touch with students during winter storms.   Continue Reading...
Stranger than Fiction: School on MLK Day?
posted by: Alix | January 14, 2011, 11:05 am
We've had a brutal winter on the east coast this year, causing countless snow days especially in the ill-prepared southern part of the country. A few schools that have experienced too many snow days are landing national attention for their proposed way of making up instructional time. Schools near Charlotte, North Carolina, have decided to make up for lost time by teaching on the Martin Luther King holiday, drawing criticism from the NAACP.   Continue Reading...
Teacher-Run Schools Gaining Popularity
posted by: Alix | January 04, 2011, 10:26 am
A public charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota has been gaining national attention for its innovative vision and spin on learning. The Avalon School is a teacher-run school with no administrators, secretaries or even librarians. This school and others like it have been gaining steam as a means to challenge the classic public school environment, and according to a new study, are producing results.   Continue Reading...
Stranger Than Fiction: Inner-City Parents Take Over School
posted by: Alix | December 10, 2010, 10:16 am
This week, an elementary school in Compton, California is receiving national attention after a group of parents banded together to force improvements at the failing institution. Yelling "yes we can!" and "si se puede!" a busload of parents on Tuesday became the first in California to try to force reforms at their children's school using a new law designed to help parents take back schools.   Continue Reading...
Teach for America Getting Rave Reviews
posted by: Alix | December 06, 2010, 11:27 am
Teach for America, a non-profit organization that recruits recent college graduates and professionals to teach in high-need schools for two years, has been in the headlines recently as the school reform debate rages on. Both sides agree that finding highly effective teachers is the most critical component in improving student performance, Teach for America is seen as part of the solution.   Continue Reading...
One Utah School Ahead of the Digital Learning Pack
posted by: Alix | December 02, 2010, 11:44 am
In recent years, reformers and policy makers have stressed the need for incorporating technology in education. New technologies have revolutionized how we live our lives from shopping to business; why not incorporate them into the classroom? In November, the Department of Education released a technology plan through their Office of Educational Technology entitled, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. In presenting the plan to the public, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has recognized one digital school in particular as a model for others to follow, Open High School in Utah.   Continue Reading...
Stranger Than Fiction: Cheaters and Incompletes?
posted by: Alix | November 19, 2010, 11:17 am
What would school be like without "F"s or consequences for cheating? Students at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, VA are finding out, as their school has determined there is no need for the failing grades in their grading system.   Continue Reading...
Broad Prize Awarded to Gwinnett County, GA
posted by: Alix | October 22, 2010, 08:43 am
This week the Broad Prize for Urban Education was awarded to Gwinnett County School District in Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The annual award honors an urban school district that exemplifies not only student achievement but narrowing the gaps in achievement among diverse income and ethnic groups. Considered the most prestigious education accolade, the $1 million Broad Prize is awarded in the form of college scholarships to district graduates.   Continue Reading...
Teachers Boycott Back-to-School Night, Infuriating Parents
posted by: Colin | September 20, 2010, 04:50 pm

Parents, you took time out of your busy day to come to your child's school, to get involved, to learn about what they are learning, and to meet their teacher.  But what if the teachers don't even bother to show up?That was the situation at one Pennsylvania school district when 150 parents arrived on back-to-school night only to find that the teachers, battling the district over a three-year contract dispute, decided to skip out on the annual tradition.  Continue Reading...

Nettleton Middle School in northern Mississippi has some pretty standard requirements for nominees for class officers. Students must be passing their classes, maintaining a B average, have good attendance and good moral character. And, if they're an eighth grader running for class president, they'd better be white. What!? Yes, at Nettleton Middle School only white kids can run to be class president. Don't worry, black kids can run to be vice president. However the seventh grade African-American students can only aspire to be secretary, as the top two slots are reserved for whites. And black sixth-graders better not set their sights above reporter, the lowest position.  Continue Reading...

A Queens school secretary charged over $6,000 to a Middle College High School procurement account by purchasing luxuries on Amazon.com for herself and her family. Over seven years, Debbie Rizzo used the school account to buy herself a Dell computer, flowers, an iPod docking station, expensive sweaters, car service trips, a washer and dryer, ceiling fans and other household items. Unrelated to her crime spree, Rizzo was laid off last year due to budget cuts.  Continue Reading...

Los Angeles Spends $1.2 Billion to Build Three Schools
posted by: Colin | August 23, 2010, 07:47 am

Next month, Los Angeles will unveil what some are calling the most expensive public school ever. The RFK Community Schools complex, built on the infamous Ambassador Hotel, where school-namesake Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic nomination, costs $578 million and will accommodate 4,200 students throughout its six pilot schools.  Continue Reading...

Trouble with Top-Down Federal Funding for Education
posted by: Colin | July 21, 2010, 09:47 am

Joyce Irvine is a casualty of bureaucratic necessity. A stellar principal by all accounts, Ms. Irvine was traded by her Burlington, Vermont school district for $3 million in federal stimulus funding. Despite a myriad of successes listed in a recent New York Times article, Ms. Irvine's couldn't significantly raise annual test scores during her six-year tenure as principal of Wheeler Elementary School. Under an Obama administration funding formula, Ms. Irvine has to lose her job if her school district is going to receive stimulus dollars.  Continue Reading...

Rap Your Way Through Algebra
posted by: Steph | June 28, 2010, 09:31 am

♪♫ I’m just a bill, yes I’m only a bill. ♪♫   Continue Reading...

UPDATE: Thanks to the efforts of David Morales's school superintendent, plastic green soldiers wielding the "tools of a profession or service" (i.e. guns) may be allowed in the school as student expression of patriotism and democracy. The superintendent acknowledged that the school's policy banning the army men had been misrepresented in this case, and the patriotism David displayed by gluing the toys to his hat ought to be protected. Thanks to the Coventry School District for reconsidering the policy and acknowledging the overly restrictive nature of it in this case. Schools are learning environments and function at their pinnacle when students learn from teachers and when administrators and teachers learn from their students, as well.  Continue Reading...

Earlier this week the Massachusetts legislature approved an amendment to save retired USMC Maj. Stephen Godin's job. The measure, which had been defeated by Democrats the week before, exempts public school JROTC teachers, like Maj. Godin, from having to pay union dues.  Continue Reading...

After logging 2,000 hours flying F-4 Phantoms and serving in five overseas deployments, retired USMC Maj. Stephen Godin decided to take on an equally demanding challenge–teaching public high school. For the past fourteen years, Maj. Godin has been teaching in the distinguished JROTC program at North High School in Worcester, Massachusetts. The principal of North High praises Maj. Godin as an "excellent" instructor. Maj. Godin also coaches the regional champion drill team and he's never missed a day of work.  Continue Reading...

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