AM News: Charters Still Short On Serving Disabled

Charter Schools Fall Short on Disabled WSJ: The report, published Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is the first comprehensive study focused on charter schools' enrollment of special-needs students, which has been a central issue in debates over those schools' rapid growth in the U.S. HUFFED: Charter Schools Discourage Students With Disabilities, U.S. Study Says, NYT:  In Charter Schools, Fewer With Disabilities.

Michelle Rhee Dealt Stinging Blow Huffington Post: In a surprising reversal, Change.org, the progressive online powerhouse that channels grassroots energy into petition-based activism, has dropped two anti-union clients, including Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision.

Duncan: Administration's Position Hasn't Changed on Vouchers PoliticsK-12: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a statement Tuesday reiterating that there is been "absolutely no change in policy" from the Obama administation on the District of Columbia's private-school voucher program—meaning the president does not favor expanding the program.

NAEP Reveals Shallow Grasp of Science EdWeek: Elementary, middle, and high school students failed to demonstrate a deep understanding of science concepts when they performed activity-based science tasks and investigations, concludes a study released today from the first national assessment of both hands-on and interactive computer-based science activities.

A New Union Battle as Chicago Teachers, Mayor Clash NPR: There hasn't been a school strike in Chicago for 25 years. But the current contract between Chicago teachers and the Chicago Public Schools expires at the end of next week, and tensions between the teachers union, the school district and Mayor Rahm Emanuel are ratcheting higher.

Suspended charter teacher cites student test scores in his defense Los Angeles Times: A teacher at the center of a dispute at a well-known charter school has launched a novel defense to save his job and that of a fired colleague: They're too good to be dismissed based on their students' standardized test scores.

Comments

[Sarah]

Science was my strong point in high school, but then I had teachers who were passionate about the subject. Oddly, almost all of my teachers were newer to the school and fresh out of college. I often wonder if being fresh out of college helps with the passion for teaching. The worst science teachers I had were those who'd been there for 30-40 years.

[Sarah]

As for the suspended teacher, I had to go see why he'd been suspended. If he truly was bullying colleagues, of course he had to go. Teachers are role models and if their methods involve bullying, they either need to agree to go through therapy/training to end that issue or step down. From the attitude in this article, I didn't really get the impression that he's willing to change.