Tag: Teacher Effectiveness
Our Schools: Balancing Urgency with the Long View
August 15th, 2011
This blog post was originally published on "Town Square Delaware" as part of its August education series. My career in public education began in the classroom, teaching special needs students and working with a lot of students who didn’t see much of a future for themselves. I think of those years often and about the impact I had, hoping that...VIEW ARTICLE
Teacher Preparation Expanding, Policies Improving
August 11th, 2011
Nearly one-third of new teacher hires throughout America (compared to 15% in Delaware) are trained by alternative certification programs, according to a recently released report by the National Center for Alternative Certification. These programs, which bypass traditional higher education preparation routes, recruit and select talented...VIEW ARTICLE
Plugging the Summer Brain Drain
August 10th, 2011
Average American students lose approximately one month of learning in both math and reading over summer vacation, a recent RAND Corporation study finds, with low-income students losing at least two months of reading knowledge while their upper-income peers actually gain a month. However, good summer programs – those with small classes...VIEW ARTICLE
Where are Race to the Top Dollars Headed?
July 12th, 2011
The Delaware Department of Education recently approved all 19 districts’ Race to the Top plans, which reveal their priorities and stipulate how they will use their funds to increase performance in these areas. An initial analysis of the plans yields a couple data points, including: The average Delaware district will use 43.7% of their...VIEW ARTICLE