AM News: Innovative Baltimore Contract Approved

U.S. education chief: DPS 'arguably the worst' Detroit Free Press:  Duncan made the remarks in response to a DPS-related question during a discussion today at the American Enterprise Institute Forum in Washington, D.C. The discussion was about the challenges associated with improving cost-effectiveness in K-12 education... School officials in Hub urge closings Boston Globe:  Boston school officials warned last night of devastating cuts at every school across the city if the district does not close schools and reduce transportation spending... Students may get iPads from Durham schools News Observer:  The plan is part of how Durham Public Schools propose to spend $4.5 million in federal Race to The Top money. It still needs state and federal approval... Yale Ending Several Teacher Programs:  As Yale launches a new program offering up to full state college tuition for certain New Haven students, the university is also shuttering several teacher education programs... Fast-growing academy gives public education a private-school feel Boston Globe:  While the 80,000-square-foot complex suggests an elite student body, inside is the publicly funded Innovation Academy Charter School, filled with students who have college on their mind... NH couple's break-up prompts high school unrest:  A New Hampshire school superintendent says the breakup of a high school couple in Manchester was followed by three arrests, a call for extra police and the postponement of a school dance... On Second Try, Baltimore Teachers Ratify Contract EdWeek:  The contract is important in the larger national conversation about teacher pay, too, because to date most experiments with pay have been with additive features, like bonuses, rather than changes to the base-pay salary grid... Class Sizes Grew in New York City Despite '07 Deal to Cut Them NYT:  But the class size reduction plan assumed there would be much more additional money than ever materialized, which is one reason its targets have faded from reach. [ps: NAEP scores are coming out today]