AM News: Politicians Back Parent Trigger Laws, DC Vouchers

Mayors Back Parent Trigger Seizing Control of Schools Reuters: The U.S. Conference of Mayors, meeting in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday unanimously endorsed "parent trigger" laws aimed at bypassing elected school boards and giving parents at the worst public schools the opportunity to band together and force immediate change.

Deal Discussed on DC Voucher Program  PoliticsK-12: Congressional lawmakers have released a document saying they have reached an agreement with the Obama administration to "fully implement" the District of Columbia's controversial school voucher program—but the president's team is describing the accord in much more limited terms. HuffPost: White House Softens Position On D.C. Voucher Program

Senate Panel Would Allow Use of After-School Funds for Extended Day  PoliticsK-12: Under the proposal, which has not yet been put forward in the U.S. House of Representatives, states could allow schools to use money from the $1.15 billion 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to add "significant" time to the school schedule.

Teachers' Union to Open Lesson-Sharing Web-site NYT: Now the AFT is forming a partnership with TSL Education, the British publisher of the weekly Times Educational Supplement, to create a Web site where teachers can share curriculum materials with one another.

Districts Experiment with 'Weighted' Funding EdWeek: In moving to a "weighted student-funding formula," Boston joins other districts, such as Baltimore, Denver, Rochester, N.Y., and New York City, that believe this method better serves student needs and creates more transparency and fairness in district finances. 

Los Angeles Schools Struggle with Curriculum Overhaul EdWeek: That disappointing track record—and the looming deadline to fully implement the more demanding graduation requirements—has prompted leaders in the nation's second-largest school district to partly scale back the plan that was adopted in 2005.

Comments

[Sarah]

Parents should also be active in their schools. The problem is that many simply don't have the time because they're working at least one full-time job, often two or three, and trying to balance household chores, homework help, and their work. I think that's truly one of the biggest issues in today's world. Decades ago, it was easy for a mom to stay home and raise her kids while her husband's income supported the family. That's no longer possible.

[Sarah]

As for extending school days, I'm not really sure it would improve education. Most students in my former high school tired out by 2:30 - 3pm because they've had to get up at 6am to catch buses, etc. for the 7:30 start time. And our high school was two campuses separated by about 500 yards and a sports complex 1/2 mile away, so lots of walking from building to building, up and down stairs or to the buses to get to the sports complex for gym classes.

Add in homework that teachers pile on, and many nights I would have 3-4 hours of homework. I'd get home at 6pm with after-school sports, be up until 11pm getting dinner and getting homework done. Extending the school day would have to take all of that into consideration.