Later today three big-time education journalists -- the Post's Jay Mathews, the LA Times' Beth Shuster, and USA Today's Greg Toppo -- are going to weigh in on what they think are the big stories of the past month, what got too much coverage (or not enough), and what the big stories are going to be in June.

But what do they know, anyway? you can get a head start by looking over the cheat sheet that I sent them -- a list of stories and blog posts -- and see what you think. Let us know, or listen along when I post the audio from the conversation later today and see what we missed.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Besides the spelling bee, that is...

A struggling school finds reason for hope CSM
By forming community partnerships, Hope High School in Rhode Island and other struggling public schools are showing signs of improvement.

Narrowing The Grade-School Standards Gap CBS Evening News
After five years of No Child Left Behind, it's time for a report card. What's evident is that schools are focusing on testing, but it isn't an even playing field, becuase each state defines "proficiency" differently

Most Americans want 'No Child' law left behind Scripps News
A survey of 1,010 American adults reveals that nearly two-thirds of them want Congress to rewrite or outright abolish the landmark No Child Left Behind Act that mandates nationwide testing of elementary students to determine whether public schools are performing adequately.

How Nebraska Leaves No Child Behind Time
Eschewing the Washington-created remedy, they have developed a homemade model called the School-based Teacher-led Assessment Reporting System (STARS) that has yielded impressive results, been praised by education scholars and attracted interest from Edward Kennedy, NCLB's Senate custodian.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

There's a lot of talk about "human capital" these days, and that talk can get awfully dry. Out there in the real world, perhaps no one else besides Tomas Hanna epitomizes this trend. 

A former career principal in Philadelphia, Hanna was brought into the central office to revamp teacher recruitment and retention, with the help of community groups and others that had focused on the teacher retention crisis.  Now in Providence, Hanna is trying to do the same thing as [deputy] superintendent. 

I met him recently, and he seems to have that elusive combination of school-level credibility and central office savvy, and knows how to switch back and forth to get things done.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:37 AM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Over at the AFT Blog, they're still mulling over whether NCLB-caused teacher firings are a myth (as I contend) or not. Most recently, they've found someone who was fired and declared that, therefore, teacher firings are real (here). But that doesn't change things, really. Sure, handfuls of teachers have been fired through NCLB closings and conversions in San Diego and Chicago, among other places. But there are 3 million teachers out there. Teacher firings due to NCLB are still a myth, to me at least, until one percent get pink slipped. And we're nowhere near that.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Maybe I'm the last person to hear about this, but there's a new-ish mockumentary about new teaches that came out last month called Chalk that seems to be the antithesis of the sappy inspirational education movies that we all can't stand (but watch anyway). Check out the trailer here -- it might make you giggle:

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

What’s the solution to this problem? “The National Assessment of Educational Progress could serve as a model for a test that judges students’ ability to apply their knowledge and thus discourages [sic] rote coaching. But recent experience … argues against making test results the sole trigger of federal sanctions.”

This is a bit of a muddle. The feds should create a new test for reasons unclear but the test results are not to be the “sole trigger” for accountability.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Well, not really that big...

A Bush Brother Spreads His Vision NYT
Neil Bush, brother of the President of the United States, is behind a teaching method that is intended to bypass textbooks.

Putting His Wealth to Work To Improve Urban Schools Washington Post
He counts the Prince George's County school superintendent and D.C. school board president among his disciples. He has advised the D.C. mayor on cuts in school system bureaucracy.

With lawsuit looming, Spellings discusses No Child Left Behind Danbury News
US Education Secretary Margaret Spellings vigorously defended the No Child Left Behind Act today in Connecticut, which has filed a federal ...

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Report Card: No Child Left Behind Good Morning America
So on its report card, ABC News gave No Child Left Behind's central element — testing students to meet standards — an A-. The standards themselves got a C. Equal money to schools got a D. Improving teacher quality earned a C. The handling of special needs and non-English speaking students got a C. Rescue plans for failing schools got a D.
Standardizing the Standards NYT
Testing has never been more important; inadequate annual progress toward “proficiency” triggers sanctions on schools. Yet testing has never been more suspect, either.

Charter Schools Look to Address Educational Woes NPR
Charter schools are an increasingly popular alternative to traditional public schools. Ted Hamory, co-founder of New City Public Schools, and Jennifer Stern, a partner in the Charter School Growth Fund, talk to Farai Chideya about whether these schools are living up to their hype.

Assessment Industry Faces a Test of Its Own Washington Post
One in an occasional series on the culture of testing.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:45 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

On The Hill/Campaign 2008
Early Childhood Proposals, Realistic and Otherwise
Why Are Miller & Kennedy Not Calling Beth Ann Bryan?

USDE
Spellings Is To Gonzales As "I Don't Recall" Is To Lunchables
Five Questions For Jon Stewart To Ask Spellings Tonight
The Secretary's Necklace: Too Bad It Wasn't Larimar
Spellings Suck-Up, Part 234

NCLB News
Growth Models For Everybody!
How NCLB Is Like A Russian Novel
Does More Reading Make For Better Social Studies?
The "Lost Teacher Jobs" Myth

Policy Trends
Check Registers: Do They Help?
I Find It, You Read It: The Failed Takeover Story In LA
Utah Puts Seven K12 Admins On HIgher Ed Boards

School Life
Now They're Outsourcing Your Kids' Fast Food Jobs, Too
Finding The Hidden Gems In The System

Media Watch
Snap Judgements In Education Reporting
Watch Out, Cambridge
Now I Know Your Home Phone Number

Site News
More Misogyny And Anger (And Irony, Too) At The HuffPo
Mother Jones Mention
The Worst Blog On EdWeek

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:15 AM | Permalink | 4 Comments | Recommend

Here's an interesting and apparently newfangled way to get your PK-16 system integrated: put lots of K-12 folks including your state supe on the state board of regents and the college board of trustees. That's what Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has done with seven state higher ed spots, according to this Deseret News article (School Chiefs To Join Regents, College Boards). "The idea is to make for a seamless education system for kindergartners through college graduation."

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:26 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

How to Fix No Child Left Behind TIME
It's countdown time in Philadelphia's public schools. Just 21 days remain before the state reading and math tests in March, and the kids and faculty at James G. Blaine Elementary, an all-black, inner-city school that spans pre-K to eighth grade, have been drilling for much of the day.

Teachers Lacking Certification Are Told They Will Be Terminated Washington PostA D.C. public schools official has notified more than 300 teachers that they will be terminated next month if they do not have the proper credentials to remain in the classroom.

U.S. spends average $8,701 per pupil on education CNN
The United States spent an average of $8,701 per pupil to educate its children in 2005, the Census Bureau said Thursday, with some states paying more than twice as much per student as others.

Scoring error raises questions Miami Herald
Human error inflated last year's third-grade FCAT reading scores, state education officials said Wednesday -- an admission that again called into question the state's controversial high-stakes testing system.

Nebraska repeals racially charged breakup of district CNN
The governor signed a bill Thursday repealing the planned breakup of the Omaha school district into three districts, largely along racial lines.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Over at Eduwonk, Andy's Spellings suckup continues with his typically belated and rose-colored recap of Spellings' appearance on TV. According to Rotherham, Spellings "looked good, and came off well, pragmatic and not ideological...they should send her out to big-time TV more, would help their case.". Excellent. Hey, why read about it here when you can read a less critical version of it three days later over there?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:09 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:22 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

OK, here's the deal: I find the articles, you read them. This time, it's a long look at Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's repeated failed efforts to win control over the district schools in a recent New Yorker (Fault Lines). Looks like a fascinating story of politics, ambition, and -- now -- onward and upward to gang violence as the new issue of the day.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Schools for Pregnant Girls in New York Will Close NYT
Created in the 1960s, when pregnant girls were such pariahs that they were forced to leave school until their babies were born, the city school system’s four pregnancy schools — or P-schools, as they are obliquely referred to — have lived on, their population dwindling to just 323 students from 1,500 in the late 1960s.

Clinton Pitches Pre-school Access for All NPR
Sen. Hillary Clinton said this week that if she's elected president, she will ensure access to high-quality pre-school for all families in the United States. Advocates say the effects of quality pre-school last far beyond elementary school.

City Schools To Tie Principals' Pay to Performance Pittsburgh Post Gazette
In what Superintendent Mark Roosevelt called a major part of his turnaround agenda, the district is doing away with annual step increases that principals received without regard to performance.

Merrifield's blog comments on education reform assailed Rocky Mountain News
Two Republican lawmakers who sponsored a bill to strengthen math and science standards this year are accusing the former House Education Committee chairman of taking cheap shots at them in a blog.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:22 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Over at the Mother Jones blog, Gary Moskowitz goes off on Spellings for shedding responsibility too easily and gives me a little shout-out for the Spellings-Gonzales comparison (despite the fact that I've been mis-spelling the AG's name for weeks now). Money quote: "In the first 30 seconds of her Daily Show interview last night, [Spellings] laughingly deferred Jon Stewart's joke about Lunchables to agriculture officials, and Stewart's food pyramid question to Health and Human Services. But her "hands are tied" arguments are wearing thin."

Posted by Alexander Russo at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Boy who slept in trash is student of the year MSNBC
For much of his life, 11-year-old D.J. Graffree was a cocky kid who didn't need any adults to look after him or tell him what to do. Now he is an example for other children.

How to avoid pesky NCLB testing requirements EIA Intelligencer
Just start measuring fingers.

Washington state teen wins geography bee MSNBC
What city, divided by a river of the same name, was the imperial capital of Vietnam? The answer won 14-year-old Caitlin Snaring from Redmond, Wash., a $25,000 college scholarship Wednesday at the 19th annual National Geographic Bee.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Forget what I have to say (below), and check out the video yourself:

That face she makes when asked about smiting the teachers unions is good, as is the wink she gives when offering her "I don't recall" answer.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:54 AM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

EdWeek's recent NAEP test results story (Test Gains Reigniting Old Debate) does a good job exposing the ritualized response that follows the release of NAEP scores as various folks try and make sense of the results (and, often, bolster their cause).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:43 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Integration compromise is reached Omaha.com
Lawmakers took major strides Monday toward creating a metro-area school integration plan that would settle lingering disagreements and keeps the Omaha Public Schools intact.

Literacy Push Starts Earlier Washington Post
By pushing for all children to read before the start of first grade, Montgomery school leaders have embraced an emerging goal in public education. In essence, kindergarten has become the new first grade.

Immigration Raid Leaves Sense of Dread in Hispanic Students NYT
After a sweep yields 49 arrests in one Minnesota community, students head to class fearful their parents will be targeted next by government agents.

Role of Teacher-Coaches Grows Teacher Magazine
Eager to help more students pass the state's standardized math test, some school districts are turning to instructional coaches to give teachers real-time advice as they try to sharpen students' skills.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

For anyone who's not an education geek, the real fun of last night's Daily Show wasn't EdSec Spellings' appearance but rather the show's hilarious coverage of the current immigration debate going on in Congress, which included one segment in which a correspondent says reform opponents are worried about the US becoming a "backup" country for illegal immigrants -- "like Wesleyan," and another correspondent, this one tall white and balding, goes to Mexico and try and get back into the US illegally with the help of his burro "Smuggly." Hilarious, over the top, can't-believe-they-said-that kind of stuff that's usually found on the Colbert Report, not The Daily Show.

Asked about NCLB's alleged curriculum-narrowing, Spellings responded with the usual talking point ("kids need to read to learn social studies"). Asked whether she would want to smite the teachers unions on the head if she were Education God for a day, Spellings smirked and paused -- and then perhaps sensing that she was on the verge of pulling a Rod Paige -- said "kidding!" Asked about the student loan scandal, Spellings said it was complex or something like that and Stewart -- clearly knowing and caring little about the topic -- let it pass.

Over all, it was a harmless exercise, neither particularly humorous nor scathing. Stewart treated Spellings with a combination of kid gloves and that mystified air that most folks display when talking about education (why is it so hard, what is the problem, etc.) Spellings did fine.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:16 AM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:07 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:28 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Here are some questions you might ask Secretary Spellings tonight on the show:

In an all-out brawl between you and Secretary of State Condi Rice, who do you think would win, what is your preferred fighting style, and can I watch?

People have said you use your charm and pleasantness to defuse tense situations and deflect criticism. Is that fair to say? If so, who do you think is hotter, Kennedy or Miller? Hey, did you just wink at me?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In even the most troubled big-city school systems, I like to think that there are at least a few folks who have a combination of institutional knowledge, big-picture savvy, and organizational and interpersonal skills to get useful things done.

Sometimes these gems are old hands who have been in the system forever and somehow managed not to get crushed or narrowed or made mean. All they need is to have their energies and inner entrepreneur unshackled. Sometime they are newcomers, fresh out of biz school or somewhere else who manage to pick up what they need to know about how things really work (and a little humility for those who have come before them) while still pushing for changes that would otherwise not get done. They are generally marked by their ability to work up and down the system -- with the office next door, outside folks, school and classroom staff, and community groups.

However, they are few and far between -- and I know about precious few of them. I know a couple of folks at Chicago Public Schools who seem to fit the model. There's that new Denver superintendent and his deputy, who some think are a good mix. I hear about some folks inside the NYC Department of Education who might fit that bill. And I remember that there was someone in Philadelphia who got brought in from a school leadership position to do teacher recruitment. But that's about it. Anyone got any ideas?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:41 AM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Always looking for vivid details to open and close their otherwise mundane education stories, reporters and their editors often glom onto little things that may or may not really make much of a difference to students' lives and school improvement. In this reporter's notebook, NPR's Larry Abramson comes clean about his own tendencies towards snap judgments and first impressions, and the effects reporters' feelings have on their coverage. He compares his impressions of two New Orleans schools, one favorable and the other not so favorable, and wonders how much his first impressions really matter and whether they cloud his ability to see beyond things like how children are greeted or whether there's toilet paper in the bathroom. If only everyone else -- reporters, researchers, and policymakers -- were as honest. Or at least that's my impression.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

For a while now, especially in Texas, reformers and advocates like Peyton Wolcott (here)have been calling on school districts to publish their check registers online so that everyone can see what they're spending their money on. However, as this Dallas Morning News article points out, not every district that is participating does it for the right reasons -- and not every check register is easy to find or to understand (here). Does your district post its checkbook online, and if so what does it tell you about how they're spending their money?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Parents of Disabled Child Win Ruling NYT
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that parents of disabled children do not have to hire lawyers to sue school districts when they attempt to ensure that their children's special needs are adequately met.

Education put to the humor test USA Today
With twin scandals nipping at her heels, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings tonight appeals directly to America's youth: She appears on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

Documentation for the Undocumented? Inside Higher Ed
Immigration reform package would offer path toward permanent legal status to college students lacking residency rights in U.S.

College Presidents Campaign Against "Misleading" US News Rankings Washington Post
A group of college presidents, fed up with the annual U.S. News & World Report list of top colleges, has begun pressuring colleagues to limit the information they provide to the magazine and eliminate any mention of the list when promoting their schools.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

On Monday, Sen. Clinton came out with a $10 billion early childhood proposal that (Clinton Pushes Pre - Kindergarten Proposal). Apparently designed by Catherine Brown and Jake Sullivan on the Clinton domestic team, it looks pretty vanilla to me, but wins a speedy approval from the Ed Sector's Sara Mead, who says about the Clinton plan that it is "right on the merits and also plays well politically." Oh, goody.

Over at Early Stories, Richard Colvin takes a slightly broader look around, pointing out that neither Clinton nor the Ed Sector are alone in the early childhood space (New America, Obama, and Pelosi are others), that there are complicated politics to expanding the federal role in early childhood (ie, Head Start), and that the Clinton plan includes some unaddressed and unrealistic elements (ie, college-educated teachers in early childhood classrooms).

For some early childhood ideas that are more closely connected to existing legislation and that have some more realistic ideas for where to get the money, check out New America's event and new paper on early childhood, also released today. And I'm not just saying that because I did some editing work on it. The event includes tasty new comments from Mead, Sullivan, and Bel Sawhill.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:41 AM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

The AFT blog links to a song that's apparently going around via email these days (Not on the Test) and then pretty much simultaneously debunks and scaremongers about the idea that teachers' jobs might depend on student test scores: "Thankfully, for the most part, and for now, this is not really true. Teachers are not yet losing their jobs because of students’ poor test performance. But it is a frightening concept. A teacher’s career and livelihood could depend upon the performance of a bunch of eight-year olds. Think about any eight year-old that you know. Even the best kid is probably a spaz."

Funny, yes, but it's easy to read this and end up thinking that teachers are losing their jobs over kids' test scores. They're not.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Over at Eduwonk, Andy says that the wrangling over an immigration reform bill may anger conservatives and scuttle chances for anything constructive on NCLB reauthorization (The Conservatives Are Revolting!), but I think that would only be the case if NCLB 2.0 was closer to being ready to go. If immigration reform gets done, its main effect will be on the families of schoolchildren whose parents aren't here legally. Either way, it seems to me that there'll be enough down time -- and enough differences when it comes to committee jurisdiction -- that NCLB reauthorization (I'm still betting '09) won't be adversely affected.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It seems a little frivolous, given her current circumstances. I mean, shouldn't she be hanging out close to home, fixing student loans and Reading First instead of indulging herself? But then again, Stewart will probably fall for the charm like everyone else does. That woman can do no wrong when it comes to charming the press.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Evolution Opponent Is in Line for Schools Post NYT
A member of the Kansas school board who supported its efforts against teaching evolution is running unopposed for the National Association of State Boards of Education.

What If Every Child Had A Laptop? Sixty Minutes
Are Intel and other computer giants helping or hurting the worldwide One Laptop initiative?

Fiscal Chill Puts Squeeze on Several States Ed Week
In all, 11 states were taking in fewer dollars than they had expected as of February of this year.

Schools can't agree on what to do with twins Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dawn Lynch had mixed emotions when she found out administrators at McClellan Elementary School had assigned her twin sons to separate first-grade classes without consulting her first.

The Index: Why They Are the Best Newsweek
The Challenge Index list of America's best high schools, this year with a record 1,258 names, began as a tale of just two schools.

Africa’s Storied Colleges, Jammed and Crumbling NYT
Far from being a repository of the continent’s hopes for the future, Africa’s decrepit universities have become hotbeds of discontent.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Washington Watch
Reading First Scandal Moves Up The Media Food Chain
Why Spellings (Probably) Won't Get Canned
Kame’enui KO'd: Reading First Official To Leave ED

Campaign 2008
Edwards Rolls Out College Aid Plan
Top Dem 2008 Candidates Have UPK Fever
Candidates Begin To Talk Education...

NCLB Notes
Everyone's Got Different Takes On NAEP Scores
Hey, Let's Convene, Says Spellings To The Hill
Big Surprise: Chicago Hates Tutoring
A Recruiting Campaign That Would Make Joe Camel Proud

School Life
Headline Of The Week: "Love Me Tenure"
The Dangerous Book For Boys

Media Watch
One Student Dead Every 10 Days In Chicago
US News Reporter Moves To NY Sun
Former Ed Reporter Heads West

Site News
Complaints & Misunderstandings

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Now that Wolfowitz is out at the World Bank, and Gonzalez seems poised for his own departure from Justice, it might seem logical that Spellings would be next. And, to some, her departure would be an appropriate result given the current spate of scandals plaguing the Education Department.

However, there are a number of reasons why Spellings won't get canned, for practical, political, and other reasons. For starters, the Democratic lust for blood is likely to be sated somewhat by the Wolfowitz and Gonzalez departures. Ditto for the media. No lawmaker has taken the lead on the Spellings issue -- out of fear of Kennedy and Miller or insufficient evidence of harm. Kennedy hasn't even scheduled a hearing.

Then there's the fact that the two main victim/accusers in the Reading First situation (Doherty and Slavin) are both somewhat unsympathetic characters. Doherty apparently lied about his wife's working for a DI company. Slavin has been a remarkably successful proponent of SFA for at least a decade.

Last but not least, the evidence is still thin and our tolerance is high. A revolving door between the USDE and the loan industry? Sure. Poor oversight of major programs? OK. But we're used to all that at this point, given Iraq and New Orleans. Financial gain for Bush friends? Yeah.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:57 AM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

So here are instructions on how to skip stones, fold a paper hat, make a battery, and hunt and cook a rabbit. It includes a description of the Battle of Thermopylae, but also how to play Texas Hold 'Em poker, and use the phrases "Carpe diem" and "Curriculum vitae."

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

GAO report: Schools need more training on handling emergencies USA Today
Eight years after the Columbine High School shootings and nearly six years after Sept. 11, 2001, many of the nation's public schools are short on both the equipment and expertise they'll need in case of a full-scale terrorist attack, natural disaster or biohazard emergency, a government report says.

Principals Act in Plan to Reduce Bureaucracy NYT
Chancellor Joel I. Klein is challenging New York City’s public school principals to free themselves as much as possible from outside oversight under a new reorganization.

Bullying teen gets public punishment MSNBC
A seventh-grade girl got suspended from school for a week for bullying another student. Then Mom got involved, and things got worse for Miasha Williams.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:50 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:00 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

There's not much detail -- or surprise -- in this post from AFT John about Sen. Obama Addressing the AFT's Executive Council, but we'll take what we can get. Sounds like Obama has UPK fever. Ditto for Clinton. Do you have any signs of UPK fever? If so, see instruction sheet for self-care guidelines.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

I'm not sure I agree with everything in this piece about how educators view the media (Elephants in the Room), but it's an important perspective:

"City teachers brace themselves when a school-related story makes the front page. The news usually isn't good. When mainstream media report on urban schools, the real story is often what goes unsaid."

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The Gonzalez echoes continue today with the accusation that Education officials may have used unofficial email addresses to communicate about Reading First, just like it was said White House and Department of Justice officials might have done about firing those poor attorneys. In that case, officials were accused of using their Republican National Committee email addresses, in part to avoid having their communications stored on government computers or available to groups that wanted to FOIA the communication.

Maybe the RNC email system just works better? And what about personal preference? I mean, I like Gmail, but some folks like AOL or Earthlink.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

See below for NAEP and Reading First stories.

The Black And White Of "Ho" Culture Washington Post
In a new twist in American race relations, a federal court has ruled that a white teacher in a predominantly African-American school was subjected to a racially hostile workplace.

Positive Outlook Aids New Orleans School Recovery NPR
Students and teachers at a New Orleans charter school damaged by Hurricane Katrina and, later, a tornado have pushed ahead by focusing on the positive.

In this high school class, it is rocket science Christian Science Monitor
Brett Williams has his students build a rocket each year as a hands-on way to learn science and engineering - and they've set flight records.

Educators Repeatedly Flunk Required Exams Fox News
Testing is a part of life. Most professions require some sort of test and you only get so many tries. But a News Station Investigation shows - when it comes to teaching or running a school, for thousands of North Texas educators its try, try and try again…and again.

Federal Math, Science Programs Faulted EdWeek
Currently, only a small number of math and science programs –– 10 out of 115 programs and individual projects reviewed –– hold themselves to "scientifically rigorous evaluations" that have produced measurable results.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Everyone's got slightly different things to say about the NAEP history and civics scores released yesterday: Basic scores are up, but not proficient or advanced. NCLB is holding history back, or helping kids read better. Younger kids are doing better than last time, but not older kids. You get the idea.

Students Gain Only Marginally on Test of U.S. History NYT
More than half of high school seniors still showed poor command of basic facts like the effect of the cotton gin on the slave economy or the causes of the Korean War.

More Students Know Basics of History SF Chronicle
More students are learning the basics when it comes to history and civics, but they aren't rising to the next level, national tests show.

Fourth-Graders Improve History, Civics Scores Washington Post
The nation's fourth-graders have shown significant gains in U.S. history and civics test scores, federal researchers reported yesterday, a development that -- coupled with similar recent advances in reading, math and science -- experts attribute in large part to an intense national focus on reading.

Social Studies: Can't Get No Respect? AJC
The percentage of students scoring in the “proficient” range in U.S. history at each grade level was basically the same as the previous exam. That stagnant pattern also held true in civics. Although, on each test, some improvement was made in the percentages of students scoring at the “basic” level.

US students aren't history whizzes, but they're improving Christian Science Monitor
The latest national report card: younger students are gaining, while high-schoolers show little progress.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

UPDATE: Group Wants Probe of Education E-Mails
A private watchdog group asked the Education Department's inspector general on Wednesday to investigate the possible improper use of private e-mail accounts to conduct official department business.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

After a short but successful stint covering national stories, fast-moving former US News education reporter Elizabeth Weiss Green has now made the move to the New York Sun, where her first story has just appeared (Klein Relieves Some Critics' Concerns About Arab School). She's going to focus on NYC reform efforts, competing against the big boys at the Times, etc. Congrats, condolences, as usual.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

While The Ed In '08 folks are concerned there's not enough edutalk in the debates (No Room for ED?), the AFTies report that Sen. Biden and other candidates are talking to teachers (Sen. Biden Talks Education) and Inside Higher Ed rounds up candidates higher ed plans (Higher Ed and 2008).

What I want to know is who is doing the candidates' policy development work? I know one former USDEr who's doing some work on the side for one of the R candidates. And I've reported previously that Cassandra Butts from the Center on American Progress may be doing education and civil rights work for Senator Obama on the side (More Obama CAP Connections). But I'm sure every think tank and at-loose-ends policy analyst in town is trying to get in with the eventual winner (Think Tanks Battle For Candidates' Ears). Anyone know more specifics?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"District administrators had hoped the recommended logo — three student figures in red, white and blue beneath five stars in the frame of a big blue "D" — would bolster their efforts to improve the Dallas Independent School District's image. What came out, though, was "dull, busy and marred by student figures reminiscent of Pillsbury Doughboys," according to some trustees at DISD's board briefing." (Brand New: Dallas gets a "D" in Design)

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:16 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Calculators tell teachers which pupils need help USA Today
Texas Instruments, whose calculators helped make the company a household name, has found a way to help teachers quickly identify students who may be failing math, Chief Executive Rich Templeton said Monday.

Glitch Forces Students in Va. to Stop Mid-Exam Washington Post
Thousands of Virginia students who took state standardized tests online yesterday were forced to stop because of a computer problem and will have to retake the exams, state education officials said.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Study Finds College-Prep Courses in High School Leave Many Students Lagging NYT
Only a quarter of high school students who take the core courses are well prepared for college, the study says.

Romney hearts No Child Left Behind First Look MSNBC
Romney was just asked to name a policy shift he's made that MIGHT not be popular with the GOP base. Romney named his support for No Child Left Behind. (To be honest, we didn't know he supported it.)

House Freshmen Could Be Pivotal on NCLB Renewal Ed Week
Some opposed the law on campaign trail, but have refined their views.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:06 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Some Chicago-area students put together this video about kids being bullied. The song isn't great, but the visuals and the message are pretty powerful:

via think:lab

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:47 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Hmmm. A big-city district (Chicago) examines a provision in NCLB that it has long detested (SES tutoring) and finds that 30-60 hours of tutoring per year (six to 12 days of school) has a minimal benefit (but won't release the study). Big surprise. Check it all out here: $50 million -- for what? (Chicago Sun-Times).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Thankfully someone's paying attention to the Edwards campaign, or else I would have missed the new college plan, which TQATE's Erin Dillon posts about (here) as a plan that would increase and simply the college aid process, but might send aid to those who don't need it most. "I worry that this program would end up leaving out the students who need the most help, and inadvertently shift grant aid to students who tend to receive more in other forms of financial aid, like tax credits, loans, and merit-based institutional aid."

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Former AP education writer Anjetta McQueen is leaving the Brookings Institute, where she worked in communications, to head out to LA and be a lawyer. She's joining an LA firm that represents unions in the motion picture industry, journalism, and the public sector (yes, including teachers). After leaving AP, McQueen worked at the NEA and then Brookings. Congrats. Condolences. Etc.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In a letter from EdSec Spellings sent the day after she appeared in front of the House education committee, Spellings urges the committee leaders to...get back to work on NCLB?

"I acknowledge your committee’s oversight function. I look forward to answering your questions and those of other members, and to meeting with any members who would like to discuss these matters in further detail...I am hopeful that the pursuit of oversight will not delay moving forward legislatively on these two important laws."

Full text below.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Whatever you decide to do, please remember that this is a blog -- an online column, basically -- not an attempt to cover anything comprehensively or with excruciating even-handedness. That's EdWeek's job. Speaking of which, please remember that I even though my site is now hosted on the EdWeek page, I am not an employee of EdWeek.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Affirmative Action For the Obama Girls? Washington Post
Barack Obama doesn't think anyone should cut his two daughters any slack when they apply to college -- not because of their race, at least. Via EdNews.org.

U. of Texas Fires Officer Over Tie to Loan Company NYT
The University of Texas has fired the director of financial aid at its Austin campus for improper conduct.

NCLB Rules on ‘Quality’ Fall Short EdWeek
Advocates vary in how they suggest the teacher-quality mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act has fallen short.

Rank This, U.S. News LA Times
Under the headline "Rank this, U.S. News," Trinity University President Patricia McGuire explains why her university is boycotting U.S. New & World Report's annual college rankings.

Two suspended over fake attack on students AP
During the last night of a weeklong trip to a state park, staff members convinced 69 sixth-grade students from Scales Elementary School that there was a gunman on the loose. (Watch student recount incident, mother react )

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

For a while now, the LA Times' School Me blog has been a much-admired newspaper education blog, what with its fun graphics, combo of commentary and superlocal news, and all the rest. Now comes news that the site is going on haitus. It's hard to tell whether this is temporary or permanent, but my honest guess is the latter. It's nothing more than a guess, though, and I hope I'm wrong. Either way, thanks to Bob and Janine for giving the edusphere a look at what a well-run blog could look like.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:47 PM | Permalink | 8 Comments | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:42 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

While others may insist on praising her performance for a little while longer, at least the NYT editorial page has joined the fray in pointing out that Spellings' "it's not my fault" excuse is neither satisfying nor particularly plausible.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

First they outsourced manufacturing. Then call centers. Then tutoring. Now someone wants to outsource news coverage (Pasadena Paper May Outsource 'Local' Coverage). What next? Think tanks. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:24 PM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

Educating the Education Secretary NYT
“It’s not our fault.” That’s what Education Secretary Margaret Spellings seemed to say while testifying before Congress last week about her department’s failure to halt the payoffs, kickbacks and general looting of the public treasury by a lending company that collected nearly $300 million in undeserved subsidies.

The Teachers Who Cheat San Francisco Chronicle
Some help students during standards test -- or fix answers later -- and California's safeguards may leave more breaches unreported.

Parents withdraw students from state tests Scripps Howard News Service
Albert attends a program for hearing-impaired children at Loma Vista School in Ventura, Calif. Last year, he and his classmates sat through six days of tests, only to find out months later that their scores wouldn’t be counted.

The Sting of the Bee May Not Prove Helpful Washington Post
Despite their rising popularity, some teachers say that spelling competitions aren't good instructional tools.

Teachers stage fake gunman attack MSNBC
The mock attack was intended as a learning experience. Parents were not amused.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Campaign '08
Dem. Candidates Pilgrimage To NOLA (Again)
EdCheck.Org -- Fact-Checking All The Spin

Site News
We're On NPR!
Russo Bullies Vallas
Latest Huffington Post: "Spellings Pulls A Gonzalez"

Foundation Follies
The Sundance Of School Reform
Can Education Entrepreneurs Crack Public Education?

Greeding First (& Student Lending, Too)
Miller Gets Worked Up At Spellings Explanations
Special Treatment For Spellings
Behind The Scenes: Spellings, Miller, & Kennedy
What About Beth Ann Bryan?

NCLB News
States Complain About NCLB

Urban Education
The Two Pauls In New Orleans
Kool-Aid Pickles, And Cute Drug Names Too

School Life
The Sound Of Cell Phones
One Killed Over A PlayStation At Fresno State
Carseats And School Buses -- A Parent's Confusion

Media Watch
EdWeek Reporter To New Leaders
Vivid Doesn't Mean Accurate
Colorado (Education Blog) Is In The House

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

I heard last week that EdWeek associate editor Jeff Archer recently left for a new job at New Leaders for New Schools. Speaking of new jobs, former Philly Enquirer star Dale Mezzacappa was walking around at EWA with the Philly Notebook on her badge, signaling that she's likely to be doing more work for them in the near future. I had the pleasure of meeting reporter Amy Waldman down in NOLA, so I assume that means she's working on a followup to her terrific Atlantic piece. I also heard that somebody is working on a biography of Paul Vallas, or maybe it's a ghosted autobiography. I also ran into Tom Toch, who said that a new piece from him would soon be coming out in The Washington Monthly. Last but not least, I hear that one can't-be-named-yet national reporter is leaving the beat to cover the NYC schools. Crazy, or brilliant.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Welcome to Schools For Tomorrow, the new blog from HeadFirst Colorado, the education magazine that describes itself as "education on the edge." Already in its first week, the blog has tackled topics as diverse as the Tough Choices report and the exodus of students from Denver Public Schools. And, lest you think Colorado is some sort of school reform wasteland, remember that Ed In '08 honcho Roy Romer used to be governor there, much-touted outsider superintendent Michael Bennett is pushing hard there (especially on the ELL and charter fronts), and that the Gates Foundation's first major debacle, the failed conversion of Manuel High School, took place there.

UPDATE: I have written for HeadFirst and may do some work for them in the future.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The Times (Spellings Rejects Criticism on Student Loan Scandal) and Post (Education Secretary Defends Loans Record) both take it pretty easy on Spellings, whose performance was to my view neither particularly effective or especially believable.

I think that this is in part due to the ongoing tendency in the press to take it easy on her and also because it was mostly Miller and other Dems, not Republicans, who challenged her. This is in a stark contrast to the treatment that, say, Alberto Gonzalez is getting during his Hill appearances, where it is Republicans who are ridiculing Gonzalez as much as anyone else.

You can watch a video of the testimony from yesterday here.

UPDATE: EdWeek notes Spellings' uncertainty and refusals to take strong action on the Reading First front here.
How much longer will the Congressional Republicans defend her, and when will the press get out from under the Spellings spell?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

New Figures Show High Dropout Rate Washington Post
First lady Laura Bush and national education leaders yesterday unveiled an online database that promises to provide parents across much of the nation the first accurate appraisal of how many students graduate from high school on time in each school system.

For Community Colleges, 'Seduction' in Marketing? Washington Post
Dear Extra Credit: I am writing to tell you about what I call the Montgomery College Seduction.

McKeon Bill to Stress Tutoring CA Signal
McKeon's bill is part of an effort in each party on the House Education and Labor committee to introduce legislation reflecting their core priorities for the final No Child Left Behind reauthorization bill.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

States say that they don't have the capacity to implement the school turnaround provisions of NCLB, according to a new national report based on surveys and interviews with state ed officials (link here). There's some news coverage here:  Federal education mandates faulted.

As in the past with this series, I appreciate the information and respect the source, but wish that it didn't rely so much on self-reported data. What do districts, federal officials, and outside observers say about state performance in terms of implementing NCLB?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Wearing a somber black top and pearls, EdSec Spellings endured repeated interruptions, refutations, and harrumphs from a worked-up Chairman Miller in the first leg of this morning's oversight hearing (now on break, video here).

Essentially, Spellings is claiming that the student lending program is complex and not entirely under her jurisdiction, and that taking lenders to court would have been difficult. For show or for real, Miller is lambasting the USDE for not having told the lenders to stop, and pointing out that many lenders did so without going to court.

"Nobody at the Department of education showed up at the front door and said you can’t do this," said Miller, who called Spellings' arguments a crutch, not plausible, and unacceptable. And we haven't even really gotten to Reading First yet.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:11 AM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Drug dealers' gimmicks target kids Dallas Morning News
Pot Tarts. Strawberry Quick. Cheese. The names are cute and hip, but the products drug dealers are peddling with them are deadly nonetheless, according to police who are struggling to keep up with the latest gimmicks aimed at getting young kids hooked on narcotics.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

I love all the infighting and maneuvering that's going on behind the scenes leading up to Thursday's student lending and Reading First hearing. It's so very familiar and delicious. On Tuesday, the USDE announced that its top student loan officer had resigned -- giving Spellings the chance to tell Miller that appropriate action has already been taken on that front. (Nearly everyone associated with Reading First is already gone.) Then she gave some sort of a friendly pre-interview to Andy Rotherham on Wednesday, where she apparently repeats much of her defense from EWA last week -- some of it word for word. On Wednesday, Kennedy's office released its own Reading First report (EdWeek, AP), reminding everyone that it's not just Miller who's on the case -- and perhaps pressuring Miller not to ease up on the gas pedal.

UPDATE: Some more stories:
Four Officials Profited From Publishers, Report Finds Washington Post
House Passes Ban on Gifts From Student Lenders NYT
Federal Student Loan Official Is Resigning NYT

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Copying School Plan a Mistake, Fenty Says Washington Post
D.C. Mayor says the administration made a mistake in lifting sections of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., school system's "strategic plan."

Charter chain shows results, ambitions Dallas Morning News
The preferred term is "promotion ceremony," for the record. But whatever you do, don't call what's about to happen at KIPP TRUTH Academy an "eighth-grade graduation."

Psychiatrists, Children and Drug Industry's Role NYT
When Anya Bailey developed an eating disorder after her 12th birthday, her mother took her to a psychiatrist at the University of Minnesota who prescribed a powerful antipsychotic drug called Risperdal.

English Language Learners as Pawns in the School System’s Overhaul NYT
The transformation of a large Bronx high school into small schools has meant the end of adequate English as a Second Language classes for hundreds of students.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

There was no really big news at the NSVF summit in New Orleans, but I did learn some things, large and small: For example, Internet access at the Ritz costs $275 per person but a secret helper helped me out (thanks!).

There was lots of talk about engaging with the public side, but there were few public-sector (SEA, LEA, school-level) folks there to provide a reality check. There was lots of talk about a "diversified provider" model of school district (ie, district plus charter schools). However, no one can really agree on what a "turnaround" school is yet (they're working on it). I still don't understand the difference between venture philanthropy and the regular kind, except that it is younger, whiter, and has much cooler clothes.

What about the people? Well, everybody knew everybody else, except me (well some nice folks did come up and say hi -- Barbara Bennett, for example, and charter schools guru Nelson Smith). Lots of smarts in the room, that much was clear. So far, at least, Steve Barr from Green Dot won't start charters in the Valley, much less outside LA. Rick Hess changes clothes frequently. Ben Wildavsky is grantmaking up a storm in his newish job at Kauffman. New Leaders' Jon Schnur is living down here, temporarily, and just had a baby girl. Thad Nodine (from ISKME) knows all the best hangouts outside the Quarter. Michael Bennett (from Denver) seems to think out loud -- sometimes at length. Temp Keller is looking for a star to run RISE Chicago. It seems like Andy Rotherham is always thinking a mile a minute. Mike Petrilli wants to "swap" AYP for HQT (why not?). Paul Vallas might be John Lithgow's long-lost brother (credit: GT). Nice to see Lincoln Kaplan and many others.

What else? NSNO's Sarah Usdin throws a great Derby Party. Cochon just won a James Beard award for best restaurant in the South (great drinks, too). Crawfish boils on a cool night are a good thing (thanks, ML). Next year, they're going to be in DC.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:03 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Federal Student Loan Chief Will Step Down Washington Post
The head of the U.S. Education Department's student loan office announced her resignation yesterday amid mounting criticism of the agency's oversight of the loan industry.

Government Slow To Address School Bus Emissions CNN.com
Day in and day out, children across the U.S. are riding to school on aging buses, breathing what some activists say is a dangerous brew of pollutants up to five times dirtier than the air outside.

Paying Brave Teachers What They're Worth Washington Post (Mathews)
Eighteen award-winning teachers have come up with a performance-pay plan for teachers. It is full of good ideas...So why am I having trouble accepting the whole package?

Debates as entertainment? Washington Times
The hallmark legislation of the Bush administration, currently up for reauthorization, is No Child Left Behind. Yet, not a single question on No Child Left Behind.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

After all these years, some education entrepreneurs are still struggling with the need to engage with "them" -- the public and political entities that govern public education. You'd be amazed (or maybe you wouldn't). For that reason, the tone was calm, but the challenges presented at the opening NSVF session that just finished this morning in New Orleans were actually quite pointed. Moderated by Andy Rotherham, the session focused on whether and how the education philanthropy community and its beneficiary groups can more so in the future engage with and make a difference in the rest of the education world, rather than working on the margins in single schools, programs, and networks. This challenge brought up issues of scale, human capital, and rhetoric, about which not everyone agreed. Former Virginia governor Mark Warner urged the community to get into the education system rather than just partnering with it or working around it. Denver superintendent Michael Bennett, recently profiled in The New Yorker, detailed the challenges of community engagement and called for reformers to turn charters back on the system as a reform lever rather than continue working on them as an escape valve. Dacia Toll from Achievement First responded that scale was not the problem for her and other charter proponents, but rather quality.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:09 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

There are two great fac t-check sites out there, but we need a third.

The first, FactCheck.org, is already up and running fact-checking the presidential candidates' claims and ideas. Amazing what those guys try and get away with if they think you're not going to know the difference. For this, the site just won 2 Webby "People's Voice" awards in the categories of politics and government categorie.

And now there's a new site, FactCheckED.org, because kids need access to accurate and unbiased information, too. It lists official sources, expert views, and flags potentially biased and unreliable sources.

The third site -- the one that doesn't quite exist yet but gosh and golly if it did -- is called EdCheck.org, and it does exactly the same thing, only focused on sifting through political and advocacy group spin from an independent and unbiased point of view. Come on, someone -- steal this idea.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:06 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

So to speak...

Obama takes US auto industry to task, offers help Detroit Free Press
He said he would add funding to help with the No Child Left Behind school accountability law, increase block grant funding to cities and organize nonprofits to build “innovative mixed-income housing.”

Teen arrested for essay is reinstated MSNBC.com
A high school senior arrested for writing a violent essay for an English class can return to school and will be allowed to graduate with his class, his attorney says.

To raise an alarm, use cellphones? Christian Science Monitor
Colleges weigh text messaging as a tool to warn students of danger, in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings.

50 Years Later, Little Rock Can’t Escape Race NYT
An Arkansas school district is still riven by racial conflict, and some question how much progress has been made.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

I'm down in New Orleans at the New Schools Venture Fund annual summit -- the Davos weekend of education, some would say. (Others would say it's the convening of fancy suits out to destroy public education, starting with NOLA.) So far, everyone's been nice to me, and I did have to beg to get an invitation, but of course that won't stop me from biting the hand that feeds me if the self-importance level gets too high (or my sugar level gets too low). So far, I've seen NLNS's Jon Schnur, tanned but not rested, he tells me, run into Lincoln Kaplan and Ben Wildavsky who I last saw at a Spencer Foundation event last summer, and many more who did not want to be named.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:33 AM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

A few DC insiders have written me saying that Sec. Spellings conspicuously left one name off the list when she basically hung out to dry all of those who were "responsible" for the Reading First fiasco at last week's EWA meeting: Beth Ann Bryan. Bryan, currently a lobbyist with Akin Gump, was a senior advisor to Paige and, according to some, was Spellings' plant in the Department and the contact person for Susan Neuman.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Whistle-Blower [Jon Oberg] on Student Aid Is Vindicated NYT
The whistle-blower’s story opens a window, lawmakers say, onto how the Bush administration resisted calls to improve oversight of the student loan industry.

Lieberman: More education funding needed Ct Post
For 100 percent of the nation's students to be proficient in reading and math as required by the No Child Left Behind law, the federal government has to cough up 100 percent of the funds it promised when it enacted the standards.

An Angry Mother's Battle for Information Washington Post
Many parents who complain about information blackouts after they report a problem with a teacher soon give up efforts to learn the truth. Not Dawn Henderson.

Torn From Parents, a Top Speller Vents His Anger, Letter by Letter NYT
Kunal Sah hopes that winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee will help bring his parents back from India.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posts Of The Week
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Spellings Denies Early Involvement In Reading First

Campaign 2008
Education Shut Out (Again) During Debate
What If Presidential Candidates Break Out Of The Mold?
Can $60 Million Make A Difference?

On The Hill
Executive Privilege Over Reading First?
Redacted Reading First Emails
Head Start On The Move

Think Tanks, Advocacy Groups, & Foundations
Joe Williams Joins Newish Pro-Charter Group
Think Tanks All Dressed Up & Nowhere To Go?
Is The Education Trust Too Influential?

Urban Education
School-Level Control Still Under Attack
Vallas To Run (Part Of) NOLA School System
Who's Got The Best School & District Data?
Is School Reform Getting Too Corporate?

Teachers & Teaching
Covering Teachers Unions -- A Balanced Perspective?
Do Teachers Hate SES As Much As The AFT?
Drunken Pirate Sues Over Denial Of Education Degree

Media Watch
Reversals Of Fortune / Media Messups
Teacher Magazine Goes Online-Only (Sort Of)
Who's Got The Best School & District Data?

Blogwatch
The Ideal Education Blog
Best Of The Blogs (Das Blog)
Student Terrorists & More

Site News
This Week In Education On The Huffington Post
This Blog Is Better Than Grad School

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Over at TQATE, Sara calls my analysis of the Gates / Broad thing overly long and way off base, but ducks (at length) the issue of whether she thinks ED In '08 is going to work or not. Ditto for Eduwonk, who's maintained an uncharacteristic radio silence on this one for over a week now. There's a good reason for this, of course. Only a crazy person would criticize an initiative funded by philanthropists as deep-pocketed as Gate$ and Broad.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

As predicted, Paul Vallas is headed to New Orleans to help turn around the schools there. The contract details aren't out, but apparently he's going to start in July, make less than he did in Philadelphia, and, according to someone close to the negotiations, spend "as much time [in New Orleans] as it takes to make it a success." That last element -- the part-time superintendency -- could be problematic, not only because Vallas doesn't fly. I'm also not entirely clear about what Vallas' role will be with charter schools outside of the RSD system, which have (I think) been monitored in the past by the state. Will Vallas be running all, or just part of the NOLA schools?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 3:30 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Check out education reporter Chad LIvengood's new newspaper-sponsored education blog (Taking Notes), which features some fascinating news about a student accused of being a terrorist. Welcome to the edusphere, Chad.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Last week, the Gates and Broad foundations announced that former Colorado Governor (and LA schools superintendent) Roy Romer would help lead a new $60 million initiative to make education a top issue in the 2008 presidential campaign – one of the biggest single-issue efforts ever mounted.

The next night, eight Democratic presidential aspirants debated for the first time, and the education issue was nowhere to be found. Ditto for the Republican debate last night in Simi Valley. It was a complete shutout.

So what will it take to make American voters – and the politicians who woo them – think about education as anything more than a big snooze or an opportunity for platitudes and sound bites?

UPDATE: Click below to read the rest of this post, or here to read it at The Huffington Post.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:13 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The Fordham Foundation's Mike Petrilli doesn't seem exactly sure what to say about the Ed Trust's recent NCLB recommendations (here), which include a provision that would give some states with stronger achievement a little more time past 2014 to get to 100 percent. He praises the Trust -- cautiously -- for finally seeing the light (as he so recently did that I still can't quite forget it). But he's worried about several other recommendations, and also about the Trust's inordinate influence over the process, which pushes other education groups right and left out of the way. What Petrilli's analysis leaves out is that the Trust is effective because it does what few others do: it rolls up its sleeves and works on the law , while everyone else sits back and writes commentaries from afar. If Fordham (or anyone else) wants to have the kind of influence the Trust has -- which I'm not actually sure it does -- it will have to do the same. It will have to work for it.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Skim the transcript of last night's debate (here) and you'll find tempting references to children left behind and grades and such -- but none of them used in reference to school reform. A few of the candidates said they didn't believe in evolution, though.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Educators re-examine who belongs in special ed classes AP
Many children in special education classes may not belong there, the government says. A new policy is aimed at intervening early with intensive teaching to give struggling students a chance to succeed in regular classrooms and escape the "special ed" label.

Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops NYT
A handful of schools are abandoning one-to-one computing programs as educationally empty — and worse.

Legal fight on vouchers brewing Salt Lake Tribune
It's doubtful but not impossible that Utah will have a functioning school voucher program by fall after the Utah Board of Education on Thursday opted to seek legal counsel before adopting rules to set up the program.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

"It would have been impossible for me to have been intimately involved with oversight of all those programs," she said, though she was "generally aware" of the status of the state plans. She said she met Doherty only after she became Secretary, adopted all of the recommendations of the OIG report, and that none of those responsible for oversight (she named Doherty, Neuman, Hickock, and Paige) are still at the Department.

At least she's not claiming to not remember. "I'm looking forward to it," she said about the upcoming hearing. "We've got a great story to tell."

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

I've seen good and bad SES, but it seems pretty clear that there's a near-impossibility of determining SES impacts on annual state test scores from 30-50 hours of tutoring per year. Imagine if we tried to measure classroom teachers (or schools) based on less than two weeks of teaching? Not to mention that many of the tutors are classroom teachers mooonlighting for what can be very generous wages.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Sometimes, the first-day stories don't get all of the story -- or get it right -- and then everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. Oops.

Teacher cleared of wrongdoing in urination incident CNN.com
"Less than five minutes into the class period, the student urinated into a bottle and discarded it in a trash can," the statement said. "Shocked at the student's actions, the teacher told the student to dispose of the bottle in the restroom and wash his hands."

M.I.T. Dean Who Resigned Has a Degree After All NYT
Marilee Jones, the former admissions dean at M.I.T. who resigned after admitting she fabricated her academic credentials, was awarded a degree in biology in 1973 from the College of Saint Rose in Albany.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

UPDATE: More information is coming in now -- including that the change involves layoffs at EPE, most of them from the Teacher Mag side of things -- and that there will still be a couple of hard copy issues.

UPDATE 2: Hard to find any specifics on the number of layoffs from EPE, but I'm told it's about 15 folks who got pinkslipped. Eduwonk laments the situation but hasn't yet announced the new Ed Sector version of Ed Next that many would like to see.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 1:51 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Gerald Bracey has an opinion piece in the Post (A Test Everyone Will Fail) arguing that NAEP achievement levels are not only too high, but also internally inconsistent and contradict other results. Bottom line? NAEP Bad.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:55 PM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

In the hotel lobby: A clean-cut guy reading "How To Bulletproof School Choice," reporters and PR folks wandering through looking for food, EWA staffers running around setting things up (apparently the Governator is coming, along with Spellings, Art Levine, Eli Broad and Roy Romer), someone doing a phone interview in a loud voice (we can all hear you).

As with most conferences, there are two or three subplots and strands -- Board members meeting to discuss the organization and plan for its future, reporters new and old learning about education issues, and PR and communications folks (called "associates" here) learning how to talk to reporters. Me, I'm here to learn how to write -- can't anyone teach me how to do that? The smart and ambitious among us are also doing interviews and visiting schools.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Why It Is NOT Harder to Get Into Top Colleges Washington Post
Please be careful to whom you show this column...It may render obsolete one of our most beloved newsroom traditions -- the college angst story.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Loan Firms Set to Regain Access to U.S. Student Data Wash Post
The U.S. Department of Education moved yesterday to restore loan industry access to a national database with confidential information on millions of students, two weeks after it was shut down amid allegations of data mining and privacy violations.

Maine Proposal Requires Students Apply to College Bangor Daily News
After Maine became the first state to use SATs instead of the state's own tests as an academic measuring stick for high school juniors, education officials expected to see a slip in scores. But they noticed that the drop was less than expected –– suggesting that more Maine youths than previously thought had college potential.

Most Va. Tech students skipping finals MSNBC.com
Finals at Virginia Tech begin on Friday, but most students aren’t buried in books. With the campus still reeling from the rampage that left 33 people dead, priorities have changed. “Classes seem so unimportant,” one student said.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

House Votes to End Test Central to GOP's Shift on Head Start Wash Post
The House dealt a blow to President Bush's chief early-childhood initiative yesterday, voting to end the standardized testing of 4-year-olds, which was at the heart of his efforts to refocus Head Start.

Head Start may reach out to more kids Booth Newspapers
As early as today, the U.S. House is expected to approve legislation that would renew the program for another five years and require the 2,700-plus U.S. Head Start programs to open their doors to more children, extend the number of classroom hours and improve teacher quality.

Click below for a roundup of amendments by Fritz.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It's true. This blog is better than grad school. How do I know? A very kind reader said so: "I just wanted to let you know that I'm completely addicted to your blog. I feel like I've learned more about the "political landscape" reading your blog than in all my years of grad school." How do I know it's not from my mom? Well, because mom doesn't read my blog.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

You might find it hard to imagine sympathizing with military recruiters and boot camp drill instructors -- perhaps until you read The Army We Have in the upcoming Atlantic magazine ($), which details just how much "restructuring" military trainers are having to undergo in order to deal with the challenges they're facing in finding ways to motivate and shape a skill-lacking, individualistic, video-game generation of kids. Support the war or not, it's a story about difficult changes and reforms for a large, tradition-bound bureaucracy that has been long doing it it's own way. Sound familiar?

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Sensing a timely opportunity, Ed Next is rushing out its summer profile of EdSec Spellings to coincide with all the hullabaloo surrounding her upcoming appearance on the Hill, etc. Still, can a profile put out by folks (Finn, Petrilli et al) who are distinctly on the outs with Spellings be taken seriously -- and does the profile offer anything that we don't already know? Not from the press release, it seems. The fact that Spellings is on the hotseat is pretty clear, and we already know that Spellings was a hard-ass during the first few years, and then turned softie when she became Secretary in 2005. (I wrote about this nearly a year ago in the National Review Online.) But I'm sure former EdWeeker Michelle Davis has lots of new tidbits and information that will deepen and update the story, and, in fairness, the folks at EdNext have never done any ideological meddling in the articles I've written for them. Check it out and let me know.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Yield Documents, Lawmaker Tells White House NYT
Steve Forde, a spokesman for the committee’s Republicans said, “Overly broad and politically motivated fishing expeditions will not restore faith in these programs — programs that continue helping millions of students learn to read and attend college, even to this day.”

Vallas on deck in New Orleans Philadelphia Inquirer
His hiring as schools chief could come this week. By Susan Snyder Paul Vallas is set to be named superintendent of yet another struggling urban school district - hurricane-ravaged New Orleans - probably by the end of the week, sources say.

Spellings Called to Testify About Reading First€™ Complaints EdWeek
After the first hearing...some observers wondered why the secretary and other senior department officials hadn’t also been called to testify.

Harry Potter and the magic of reading Christian Science Monitor
With the final book due in July, teachers assess the impact the popular series has had on children's learning.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Congressman George Miller is peeved, it seems (or he's jealous of all the fun the folks on the Judiciary Committee are having)> He's asked not just the USDE but also the White House for all communications regarding student lending and Reading First, and submitted a list of folks whose emails and letters he wants to see. See below for the Miller press release, or click here.

He specifically asks for communications to and from former Education Secretary Rodney Roderick Paige; former Senior Advisor to Secretary Paige, Beth Ann Bryan; former Deputy Secretary William Hansen; former Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary Eugene Hickok; and present Chief of Staff David Dunn.

UPDATE: An eagle-eyed reader points out that it's Roderick, not "Rodney" Paige. That's what I get for cutting and pasting from Miller's press release (see below).

Posted by Alexander Russo at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

I rarely look at individual school- or district-level achievement data, and when I do I never know where to go. State and district report cards are often hard to find -- and not exactly user-friendly when you get there. The two sites I know about have strengths and weaknesses. There's the GreatSchools.net, which was funded in part by New School Venture Fund and is focused on parents, then there's SchoolMatters.com, created by Standard and Poor's with help from Gates and Broad. Then there's Just4Kids.

Which is better? Well, GreatSchools has the 2006 data for Chicago, while SchoolMatters has easy to find AYP information (for 2005). Just4Kids has 2005 information only, and an "opportunity gap" ratings system.

Someone told me GreatSchools gets 30 million pageviews a month. Wow.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 12:59 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Eduwonk says (jokingly, I think), "I don't see why this is so complicated that we need a guide, it's all about the kids you know." No word yet from the NEA or AFT, though I'm imagining there'll be some criticism of substance or tone.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Joe Williams, the freelance journalist, education writer, and author of NYC-focused blog The Chalkboard, is quitting mainstream journalism and the blogosphere (for now) and getting into politics as head of Democrats for Education Reform, a group that I never heard of until last week when "Who The Hell Is" Whitney Tilson told me about it.

Not to be confused with the Black Crusaders, Democrats For Education Reform are a "nascent political organization that aims to move the Democratic Party to embrace genuine school reform," according to Tilson. But it's not exactly new -- except to me. You can find out more about it from this 2006 presentation by Tilson at a Jackson Hole Institute conference. Robert Gordon is involved, directly or as inspiration. There's also a 2005 mention of DFER listing Amy Wilkins as ED, whose main focus as I recall was supporting pro-choice Democratic candidates and getting the charter cap raised in NY.

The charter cap in New York has recently been increased. Wilkins is back at the Ed Trust where she belongs. Williams will be that organization's executive director, trying to more formally work "to make the Democrats a little more interesting on the education reform issue." Congrats and condolences.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Such as they are...

Warnings on Student Lenders Unheeded Washington Post
The Bush administration killed a proposal to clamp down on the student loan industry six years ago following allegations that companies sought to shower universities with financial favors to help generate business, according to documents and interviews with government officials.

Montessori schools look to future LA Times
The methods are being used in a growing number of public schools, currently more than 300 in districts from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Want to know what big-time education reporters are thinking about -- what they think's interesting, and what they know and don't know? Check out the audio "Month In Review" for April 2007, featuring Greg Toppo from USA Today, Stephanie Banchero from the Chicago Tribune, and Jay Mathews from the Washington Post. There are some things everyone agrees on -- the drama of Virginia Tech, for example -- but many areas of difference and disagreement. What was the big story of the month, who were the month's winners and losers, what stories got over- and under-reported, and what's coming up for the month of May? Listen in and find out -- it's great background listening (mp3). The sound quality is rough and my hosting remains ridiculously bad, but the ideas come through. Thanks to all for participating.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The Education Writers Association is holding its annual conference in LA later this week, and will even post blog entries from the event. Yes, EWA is blogging. In fact, there’ll be lots about new media and multi-media packages, along with appearance by EdSec Spellings, Eli Broad, and new reports from EdSource, Art Levine on education research, and info on the student loan scandal. I'll be there, trying once more to learn how to report and write like a real journalist.

Posted by Alexander Russo at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Making a difference amid a school's culture of cruelty CSM
Anger is the unofficial mascot at my school...The acts of grace I've glimpsed, however, give me hope that the struggle against cruelty is well worth waging.

Diversity sours at Lakeside Joanne Jacobs
A push for diversity has backfired at a posh Seattle private school that happens to be the alma master of Bill Gates.

Views of Parents, Students and Teachers Sought NYT
New York City’s Department of Education has begun a $2 million citywide survey concerning attitudes about the public schools.

Barely Legal Field Trip Action The Chalkboard
Matthew Carr, Jay Greene, and Marc Holley look at field trips gone wild in the latest City Journal. Remember all this crazy stuff is going on in a nation where all we supposedly do from September to July is teach to the test.

Creeping Big BrotherishnessTQATE
Objectively speaking, I'm sure that new tools like Edline, which gives parents up-to-the-minute information about their children's academic progress--class attendance, quiz grades, the whole megillah--are probably a good thing. in high school

Posted by Alexander Russo at 7:08 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend