March 5, 2013
Local News
The News Journal
An editorial
Start high-quality learning in preschool
In “Child care is a small-business issue,” Ms. Abrams presented a compelling list of reasons why small businesses should support high-quality preschool programs for young children, noting the benefits not only to the young child but also to the parent(s) who work and to their small-business employers.
National News
Huffington Post
Student database backed by Gates Foundation jazzes tech startups, spooks parents
An education technology conference this week in Austin, Texas, will clang with bells and whistles as startups eagerly show off their latest wares. But the most influential new product may be the least flashy: a $100 million database built to chart the academic paths of public school students from kindergarten through high school. In operation just three months, the database already holds files on millions of children identified by name, address and sometimes social security number. Learning disabilities are documented, test scores recorded, attendance noted. In some cases, the database tracks student hobbies, career goals, attitudes toward school – even homework completion.
Inside Higher Ed
Hours in the classroom
Ohio Gov. John Kasich has proposed in his budget bill that boards of colleges and universities be given the ability to unilaterally increase the workloads of faculty members. The increased workload would become the new minimum for faculty members to maintain. The proposed change is the latest in a string proposals that Kasich has argued will save taxpayer funds and make institutions more effective.
Washington Post
Sequester-related education cuts hitting schools on reservations, military bases
The Window Rock School District, in the heart of the Navajo nation in Arizona, is proposing the unthinkable: closing three of its seven schools as a result of the federal sequester. The schools are among 1,600 public schools on Native American reservations and military bases that are feeling the impact of federal cuts now, months before the rest of the country’s classrooms see the effect of reduced dollars from Washington.
Education Next
Do we need a new education policy for Hispanics?
Over the past two decades, the Hispanic population has become the nation’s largest immigrant group and has accounted for 56 percent of total U.S. population growth. In a forum released today by Education Next, Nonie Lesaux of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and Juan Rangel of a Chicago charter school organization, UNO, discuss whether these changing demographics call for substantial reforms in the current instructional practices designed to address Hispanic students’ needs, or whether improving education practices across the board is the best way to meet the needs of Hispanics.
Education Week
Best and worst teachers can be flagged early, says study
New teachers become much more effective with a few years of classroom experience, but a working paper by a team of researchers suggests the most—and least—effective elementary teachers show their colors at the very start of their careers. The study tracked the individual effectiveness of more than 7,600 incoming New York City teachers in mathematics and English/language arts. Each of the teachers taught 4th or 5th grade from 2000 to 2006.
Related Topics: Data Coaches, Higher Education, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Preparation