I'm told there was a bit of pushback on the concept of "comparability" in Title I schools at a recent New America Foundation event. In short, Title I funds are supposed to provide additional services for disadvantaged students, so districts must ensure "comparability" of resources between their sc... Read Full Post >
Not long ago, I did a story pointing out that some states have passed laws that basically prohibit the linking of student- and teacher-data systems. New York and California are the high-profile examples. Presumably, these data could inform a variety of different initiatives, both low- and high-stak... Read Full Post >
Columbus has inked a new teacher contract with a pay program that's designed to move highly effective teachers into challenging schools, according to this story (hat tip to Emmy over at Flypaper.) After reviewing student growth data, a principal's recommendation and an application, the district sup... Read Full Post >
The Obama administration just ran into its first major roadblock in its attempts to more than quadruple the $97 million Teacher Incentive Fund program: Soccer-mom-turned-Senator Patty Murray, of Washington. Read Full Post >
Washington sources offer their take on the Obama administration's prioritization of the Teacher Incentive Fund over other federal teacher programs. Read Full Post >
I keep bugging Duncan's peeps about whether they're going to require these incentive-pay plans to be collectively bargained. Jo Anderson, a senior adviser at the Education Department, said that issue hasn't been worked out or decided on yet. Read Full Post >
Lots of interesting teacher details in the Obama administration's newly released FY 2010 budget request. The biggest surprise here is a $517 million request for the Teacher Incentive Fund, which would give the program more than $700 million in all for next year if you include the stimulus funds. T... Read Full Post >
Just what kind of say will teachers and teachers' unions have on how the various stimulus dollars are spent, especially the $5 billion in competitive grants meant to spearhead new reform efforts? That was one of the main themes at a seminar held yesterday by the Albert Shanker Institute, a think-t... Read Full Post >
Andy Rotherham has a thoughtful post on the teacher-evaluation reporting proposal that the Education Department will soon be opening for public comment. Rotherham's worry, and it's a legitimate one, is that this new reporting requirement in and of itself won't have much of an effect: "Federal poli... Read Full Post >
It's turning out to be a day of wonk-tastic posts at Teacher Beat, but when there are billions of dollars hanging in the balance, details really do matter. Case in point: The accountability principles in the stimulus bill require districts that receive Title I recovery funds to "report a school-by-... Read Full Post >
Recent Comments