October 16, 2013
Local News
The News Journal
State names award-winning schools
The state gave 17 schools its top academic honor Tuesday, rewarding them for either top performance or growth on test scores. Each school will get $50,000 to be used as it sees fit. “This is one of my favorite days of the year in this job,” Lt. Gov. Matt Denn said at Carrie Downie Elementary School in New Castle. “This is the day we celebrate excellence and the hard work our teachers are doing every day.”
National News
Education Week
School poverty – more than race – affects students’ college-going, study finds
High-poverty schools sent significantly fewer graduates to college in 2012 than higher-income schools, regardless of the schools’ geographic location or racial makeup, according to a new study by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Yet in the long-term, more students may be making it to college than previously realized
Needy students, higher taxes, and state power highlight Colorado election
The election with the most potent and intriguing mix of education-related ingredients in 2013 might be in Colorado. Voters will decide on a proposed change to the state constitution, Amendment 66, that would use an income-tax increase to add $950 million in funds annually to schools. Supporters say additional the money will be targeted to significantly improve student achievement.
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
Do teacher evaluations help out students?
The American Institutes for Research is conducting a two-year study to determine whether teacher and principal evaluations have an effect on student learning. As part of the study, educators in Laramie, Wyoming, were trained in a more rigorous evaluation methods. The results from the new method will be compared with progress made at schools that did not make changes to their evaluation systems.
Charlotte Observer
NC high court to hear case on pre-K program
The North Carolina Supreme Court is considering a case that could decide whether a prekindergarten program must be expanded to enroll every low-income 4-year-old, a move one estimate put at a cost of up to $300 million a year. North Carolina Pre-K enrolled about 25,000 children in 2012, down from about 35,000 in 2010 after lawmakers cut its budget by 20% and imposed other restrictions.
Dallas News
Texas merit pay plan for teachers quietly disappears
It was the largest program of its type in the nation a few years ago, but Texas’ once-vaunted teacher merit pay plan is no more. What remained of the plan after massive funding cuts in 2011 has been converted into a new program that will pay for innovative education in a few dozen poor schools. Nearly 180,000 educators received bonuses under the program two years ago for higher test scores and student achievement.
Related Topics: Angela Davis, Clay Robison, DATE program, District Awards for Teacher Excellence, Educator Excellence Innovation Program, Gov. Bev Perdue, Gov. Rick Perry, National Center on Performance Incentives, National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University, NEA-Dallas, North Carolina, North Carolina Supreme Court, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Teachers Association, Vanderbilt University