With the Vergara v. California lawsuit shining a spotlight on teacher tenure, it’s easy to forget that for many places, tenure isn’t the issue. The bigger problem is too many new teachers just don’t stay.
Roundup From 2013 Higher Education Seminar in Boston
More than 50 journalists joined EWA for last week’s annual Higher Education Seminar, held Sept. 27-28 at Northeastern University in Boston. As always, we look forward to the coverage inspired and informed by the event. So far, we know about the following stories:
Has anyone heard of campus police departments in your area organizing a “strike team,” or a group that roams campus in plain clothes and apprehends suspicious persons who “shouldn’t be there”?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! We’re doing a follow-up after N.C. Central University officers fatally shot an armed suspect Monday night.
Following up on its award-winning reporting on a cheating scandal in Atlanta’s public schools – which spurred the retirement of Beverly Hall, the district’s superintendent. Subsequently, 36 people were indicted on criminal charges related to the cheating, including Hall. the AJC is now looking at testing errors that occur before and after the questions are put to the students. Veteran reporter Heather Vogell of the AJC’s investigations team spoke with EWA.
A new poll of California voters found strong support for using standardized testing as a way to measure student performance, and as a factor in teacher evaluations. Just over half of respondents also agreed that performance bonuses for educators would improve public school quality.
A new report highlighting the growing rate of poverty among suburban residents warns that traditional policies aimed at combating indigence aren’t designed to address the problem adequately.
In an era of gridlock, in a town full of standoffs, a poll was released Wednesday that showed overwhelming bipartisan public support for one cause: boosting early childhood education.
The Center on Education Progress, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., surveyed education officials in states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards and found the majority said it was unlikely their state would reverse, limit or change the decision to participate in the nationwide initiative.
The landscape for teacher evaluations is quickly evolving, as policymakers and educators wrangle with the public’s rising demand for greater accountability – and measurable gains – by public schools.
Currently at least 24 states have adopted policies making “classroom effectiveness” a factor in measuring a teacher’s performance. Here’s one indicator of just how quickly these reforms are moving: In 2011, just 15 states required teacher evaluations of any kind, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality.
As accountability pressures on the nation’s teaching force mount, scrutiny of colleges of education is intensifying as well. There is also a growing focus on teacher preparation as a critical component to school improvement. The Hechinger Report teamed up with news outlets nationwide to consider these critical issues. Here’s a roundup of the reporting:
Teachers unions are facing new challenges to their influence, even as pressures mount on their members to demonstrate their effectiveness on the job. In a joint project, The Hechinger Report and GothamSchools teamed up to explore the shift sphere of teachers unions, with a special focus on New York City, the nation’s fifth-largest school district. Here’s a roundup of the coverage:
I’m working on a piece on coordinated approaches to school health and how schools are realizing that healthy kids do better academically. I’m looking for specific examples from around the country of programs that work. For example, a program near where I live and work is a partnership with a local hospital and surrounding school districts.
If you read one education book this year, it should be John Hattie’s Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. A meta-analysis is an article that quantitatively sums up the effect sizes of multiple studies about a particular topic. As Hattie points out, meta-analyses are not perfect but, well-constructed, they are almost always an improvement over relying on a single study. So you can imagine the power of a book that summarizes more than 800 different meta-analyses! The book is very readable and down-to-earth.
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Common Core State Standards, with critics mounting a flurry of attacks and proponents working hard to shore up support.
EWA President Stephanie Banchero sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman for a wide-ranging discussion on innovation and education. Recorded May 2, 2013, at EWA’s 66th National Seminar at Stanford University.
A project that took 10 years of persistence to document disturbing patterns of absenteeism in Chicago Public Schools won EWA’s Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Rep…. The Chicago Tribune received the award for “An Empty-Desk Epidemic,” which demonstrated how students racked up missed days of school even as early as kindergarten. School officials ignored the problem.
The first-ever TED Talks Education television program debuts Tuesday as part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen project, and focuses on ways to improve public education. The speakers, following the format popularized by TED through digital mediums and in-person conferences, includes students, teachers, and famous faces such as Bill Gates and Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Geoffrey Canada.
How can advocates connect more effectively with journalists? Reporters and editors describe their reactions to press releases and emails, and offer advice on what works best to cut through the clutter.
U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s “best” high schools are out, and there’s an interesting mix of traditional campuses, specialized programs, magnets and charter schools. Robert Morse, U.S. News’ director of data and research, spoke with EWA about what’s new this year, what sets the rankings apart from those produced by other news outlets, and what’s next for quantifying a school’s achievements.
The High Cost of Teacher Turnover
With the Vergara v. California lawsuit shining a spotlight on teacher tenure, it’s easy to forget that for many places, tenure isn’t the issue. The bigger problem is too many new teachers just don’t stay.
Higher Ed Roundup: Sen. Warren on Student Loans, Demographics & More
Roundup From 2013 Higher Education Seminar in Boston
More than 50 journalists joined EWA for last week’s annual Higher Education Seminar, held Sept. 27-28 at Northeastern University in Boston. As always, we look forward to the coverage inspired and informed by the event. So far, we know about the following stories:
Politico: “Elizabeth Warren’s higher ed agenda”
Campus crime “strike teams”
Has anyone heard of campus police departments in your area organizing a “strike team,” or a group that roams campus in plain clothes and apprehends suspicious persons who “shouldn’t be there”?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! We’re doing a follow-up after N.C. Central University officers fatally shot an armed suspect Monday night.
Five Questions For … Heather Vogell of the AJC on Cheating, Testing, and Digging into Data
Following up on its award-winning reporting on a cheating scandal in Atlanta’s public schools – which spurred the retirement of Beverly Hall, the district’s superintendent. Subsequently, 36 people were indicted on criminal charges related to the cheating, including Hall. the AJC is now looking at testing errors that occur before and after the questions are put to the students. Veteran reporter Heather Vogell of the AJC’s investigations team spoke with EWA.
Story Ideas About Principals to Steal
Don’t forget to check out the recording of five story ideas in our webinar, “Principal Ideas: Stories on School Leaders.”
Those five story ideas were:
New PACE/USC Rossier Poll: California Voters Support Student Testing, Local Control of Schools
A new poll of California voters found strong support for using standardized testing as a way to measure student performance, and as a factor in teacher evaluations. Just over half of respondents also agreed that performance bonuses for educators would improve public school quality.
As Poverty Spreads, So Do the Challenges for Schools
A new report highlighting the growing rate of poverty among suburban residents warns that traditional policies aimed at combating indigence aren’t designed to address the problem adequately.
Support for Early Childhood Education, with a Catch
In an era of gridlock, in a town full of standoffs, a poll was released Wednesday that showed overwhelming bipartisan public support for one cause: boosting early childhood education.
Five Questions For … CEP’s Diane Rentner, on State Education Officials’ Support for Common Core
The Center on Education Progress, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., surveyed education officials in states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards and found the majority said it was unlikely their state would reverse, limit or change the decision to participate in the nationwide initiative.
Teacher Evaluations: States Moving Quickly to Increase Expectations, Accountability
The landscape for teacher evaluations is quickly evolving, as policymakers and educators wrangle with the public’s rising demand for greater accountability – and measurable gains – by public schools.
Currently at least 24 states have adopted policies making “classroom effectiveness” a factor in measuring a teacher’s performance. Here’s one indicator of just how quickly these reforms are moving: In 2011, just 15 states required teacher evaluations of any kind, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality.
With School Performance Under Scrutiny, States Turn Focus to Teacher Preparation
As accountability pressures on the nation’s teaching force mount, scrutiny of colleges of education is intensifying as well. There is also a growing focus on teacher preparation as a critical component to school improvement. The Hechinger Report teamed up with news outlets nationwide to consider these critical issues. Here’s a roundup of the reporting:
Programs Offering Alternative Routes to Teacher Careers Grow
May 16, 2013
Hechinger Report, GothamSchools Explore Challenges to Teachers’ Unions Influence
Teachers unions are facing new challenges to their influence, even as pressures mount on their members to demonstrate their effectiveness on the job. In a joint project, The Hechinger Report and GothamSchools teamed up to explore the shift sphere of teachers unions, with a special focus on New York City, the nation’s fifth-largest school district. Here’s a roundup of the coverage:
Healthy Schools
I’m working on a piece on coordinated approaches to school health and how schools are realizing that healthy kids do better academically. I’m looking for specific examples from around the country of programs that work. For example, a program near where I live and work is a partnership with a local hospital and surrounding school districts.
If you read one education book this year….
If you read one education book this year, it should be John Hattie’s Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. A meta-analysis is an article that quantitatively sums up the effect sizes of multiple studies about a particular topic. As Hattie points out, meta-analyses are not perfect but, well-constructed, they are almost always an improvement over relying on a single study. So you can imagine the power of a book that summarizes more than 800 different meta-analyses! The book is very readable and down-to-earth.
Common Core Under Fire: How Strong Is Support for New State Standards?
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Common Core State Standards, with critics mounting a flurry of attacks and proponents working hard to shore up support.
Tom Friedman at the National Seminar
EWA President Stephanie Banchero sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman for a wide-ranging discussion on innovation and education. Recorded May 2, 2013, at EWA’s 66th National Seminar at Stanford University.
2012 Winners of the National Awards for Education Reporting
A project that took 10 years of persistence to document disturbing patterns of absenteeism in Chicago Public Schools won EWA’s Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Rep…. The Chicago Tribune received the award for “An Empty-Desk Epidemic,” which demonstrated how students racked up missed days of school even as early as kindergarten. School officials ignored the problem.
Five Questions For … ‘TED Talks Curator Chris Anderson on `Re-Imagining Education’
The first-ever TED Talks Education television program debuts Tuesday as part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen project, and focuses on ways to improve public education. The speakers, following the format popularized by TED through digital mediums and in-person conferences, includes students, teachers, and famous faces such as Bill Gates and Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Geoffrey Canada.
Background Reading for THURSDAY of EWA National Seminar at Stanford University
Advocates Session – Reporters’ Roundtable (10:00-11:15 a.m.)
How can advocates connect more effectively with journalists? Reporters and editors describe their reactions to press releases and emails, and offer advice on what works best to cut through the clutter.
Panelists:
Dave Murray, Mlive.com;
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed;
Daarel Burnette, Atlanta Journal Constitution
Moderator: Dakarai Aarons, CommunicationWorks
Five Questions For … U.S. News & World Report’s Robert Morse on New `Best High School’ Rankings
U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s “best” high schools are out, and there’s an interesting mix of traditional campuses, specialized programs, magnets and charter schools. Robert Morse, U.S. News’ director of data and research, spoke with EWA about what’s new this year, what sets the rankings apart from those produced by other news outlets, and what’s next for quantifying a school’s achievements.