November 7, 2012

National News

Education Week
Report: Scrap one-size-fits-all approach to teaching ELLs  
A new Alliance for Excellent Education policy brief offers recommendations for how state policy governing curriculum, assessment, and teacher preparation could be improved to support the changes in classroom practices that English-learners will need to tackle under the Common Core standards as they develop their language skills.

Ed overhaul is easily Idaho’s top 2012 poll issue
Public schools chief Tom Luna spent the final days of the campaign to preserve his “Students Come First” education overhaul promoting this message: Teachers unions are putting their interests above those of Idaho’s children. Meanwhile, foes of Luna’s changes also stayed on the offensive as voters streamed into the polls, encouraging them to reject the changes on grounds they were forced on teachers. On Tuesday, Luna and Mike Lanza, chairman of the “Vote No on Propositions 1,2 and 3, had just hours to wait before learning who would come out on top. The campaign is among the most expensive in Idaho history, topping out at some $6 million combined.

Bennett loses Indiana chief’s post, charters win in Georgia
Indiana schools chief Tony Bennett, a Republican who implemented major changes to teacher evaluations and school accountability since taking office in 2008, was unseated Tuesday by Democratic Glenda Ritz, among the state-level electoral outcomes nationwide with implications for education policy. Bennett’s defeat came on a day when voters in Georgia approved creation of a new commission to approve charter schools, Maryland voters backed its version of the so-called DREAM Act, and high-profile fiscal and school reform measures made their appearance on the ballot in a number of states, including California and Idaho.

Obama wins second term as president
President Barack Obama—who pushed through an unprecedented windfall of education funding in his first term and spurred states to make widespread changes to K-12 policy through competitive grants—has been re-elected, the Associated Press reported tonight.

Related Topics: Arne Duncan, Common Core, School Boards