Rise & Shine: City's gifted classes are overwhelmingly female

By 
Philissa Cramer
 | June 1, 2010, 10:45am UTC
  • Students at Manhattan’s New Design HS earn gym credits by selling movie snacks. (Daily News)
  • Local parents and politicians say New Design’s gym credit policy is a problem. (Daily News)
  • In a school system that’s 51 percent male, 56 percent of students in gifted classes are girls. (Times)
  • The city hired convicted criminals, including a rapist, to referee school sporting events. (Post)
  • Race to the Top’s second round inspired a nationwide wave of fast-tracked education legislation. (Times)
  • City teachers will perform at the Apollo Theater this week for an educators-only Amateur Night. (Times)
  • A new charter high school in Harlem will open with 30 percent special education students. (WSJ)
  • Researchers hope to stem low-income students’ “summer slide” by handing out free books. (USA Today)
  • The state officially raised the charter cap to 460. (GothamSchools, Times, WSJ, Daily News)
  • Of the 260 new charter schools, as many as 114 can be in New York City. (NY1)
  • State Sen. Bill Perkins, an outspoken critic of charter schools, voted in favor of the bill. (Post)
  • Perkins’ vote isn’t stopping schools from being a central issue in his reelection challenge. (WSJ)
  • The charter cap deal almost fell apart in its final hours over the chancellor’s authority. (Daily News)
  • Chancellor Klein: Parents made the change between Race to the Top’s first and second rounds. (Post)
  • The Daily News and Post say the charter cap deal is great for the state and its Race to the Top chances.
  • The number of special education students in the city is continuing to rise, somewhat inexplicably. (NY1)
  • Costly clauses in the teachers contract are just one example of benefits city unions have won. (Post)
  • Six top city students won scholarships from the New York Times, down from 20 in the past. (Times)
  • A Hebrew language charter school hopes to open in Philadelphia this fall. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
  • D.C. teachers are expected to ratify their controversial new contract this week. (Washington Post)
  • Some private schools are running ads that emphasize that they’re not slashing budgets. (Times)