News from New York City:
- Two state politicians have proposed giving more school control to borough presidents. (Post)
- Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is meeting with lawmakers to push her vision of mayoral control. (Post)
- More than 100 elementary schools can’t accommodate all of their zoned students. (Daily News)
- The DOE is raising class size to 25 in a number of overenrolled elementary schools. (Post)
- The UFT is planning to lobby against the fare hike planned by the MTA. (Post)
- City Councilman Eric Gioia is proposing a ban on new fast food restaurants near schools. (Times)
- A whistleblower says many schools lack basic fire safety mechanisms. (Daily News)
- Charter school advocates are pushing to get some of the state’s stimulus money. (Daily News)
- Beth Fertig reports on the differences between schools in Amsterdam and New York City. (WNYC)
- Because of violence in Mexico, the DOE cancelled a trip there for some Brooklyn students. (Post)
- The city is cutting funding for program that uses retirees as tutors. (Daily News)
- The Economist‘s education writer visits TFA founder Wendy Kopp and several NYC schools.
- The Post revisits last year’s political fight over whether test scores should be used in tenure decisions.
- Newest in the Post‘s series on mayoral control: The introduction of A-to-F progress reports.
- The principal of PS 272 in Brooklyn explains how the school went from an F to an A. (Post)
- The Post revisits the mayor’s prediction that chaos would follow changes to mayoral control.
Opinions:
- The Post grits its teeth and lauds Randi Weingarten’s MTA moves.
- In a letter to the editor, Joel Klein says the NAEP test isn’t a good measure of the city’s schools. (Times)
- Chancellor Klein makes the case against the status quo in a Daily News column.
- The Post wonders why the UFT is so “ill-disposed” when “they’ve never had it better than since 2002.”
- Lenore Skenazy, the mom who let her kid take the subway alone, reports on a lack of outdoor play. (Post)
- A Post columnist says some upstate teachers are being represented by a union against their will.
- Jay Greene: The UFT represents how teachers unions try to kill all school reform. (Wall Street Journal)
And beyond:
- As the number of autistic students grows, so do arguments over the cost of educating them. (Times)
- Representatives from 41 states attended a conference on national standards this week. (EdWeek)
- The idea of national standards isn’t new. (Time)
- Philadelphia’s school head wants to supervise the chief school investigator. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Jay Mathews describes an effort to give young teachers a voice in school reform. (Washington Post)
- Even good schools are focusing on “bubble kids,” Jay Mathews reports. (Washington Post)
- A new study shows that self-esteem boosts student achievement. (Times)
- Time Magazine brands Arne Duncan an “apostle of reform.”