In New York:
- Officials are encouraging outside teachers promised jobs not to give up hope. (GothamSchools)
- Obama is open to endorsing a NYC mayoral candidate, maybe Thompson. (Daily News, Times)
- Governor Paterson said he wants to preserve mayoral control after adding parent input. (Post)
- Joe Williams says don’t tweak mayoral control; instead, hold mayor’s “feet to the fire” better.
- Test scores are up moderately, and the achievement gap is narrowing. (GothamSchools)
- Surprisingly, city middle schools made the largest gains on proficiency scores. (Post)
- Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse have all made larger gains than NYC since 2006. (Times)
- A high school teacher says students coming to her don’t seem to be getting smarter. (Daily News)
- The News editorial board says the reading scores make the case for retaining mayoral control.
- Aaron Pallas says don’t make judgments about the scores until we see NAEP data.
- The teachers unions spent $6.6 million last year on lobbying, including 20 lobbyists. (Post)
- Bob Kerrey is stepping down as president of the New School, which he expanded and shook. (Times)
- A Scarsdale mother apologized for dropping her children on the street and driving away. (AP)
Beyond:
- Obama’s proposed budget is seen as a signal that he “wants teaching shaken up.” (Wash Post)
- The budget also includes no more funds for abstinence-only education. (Daily News)
- David Brooks reports on a Roland Fryer study of Harlem Children’s Zone charter schools.
- The Washington Post edit board says that D.C. charters get the short end of the funding stick.
- Josh Greenman says, on education, Obama is “filled with the siren song of the new school.”