AM News: NJ Gov. Finally Signs Tenure Overhaul Bill

Christie Signs Bill Overhauling Job Guarantees for Teachers NYT: It will be harder for public-school teachers in New Jersey to get tenure and easier to fire bad ones under legislation signed on Monday by Gov. Chris Christie that overhauls the state’s century-old tenure law.

Transparency Watch: Ed. Dept. More Open Than Most Federal Agencies? PoliticsK-12: The Obama administration came into power pledging a new era of openness, but by The Washington Post's account, it may be keeping more secrets than before.

Nobody Asked If U.S. Special Ed Transition Programs Work, Report Says Huffington Post:  roblems stem from having four uncoordinated federal agencies -- the departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, as well as the Social Security Administration -- handling related initiatives with little communication. 

Connected Educator Month events Philadelphia Notebook: As teachers gear up to return to schools, the U.S Department of Education is launching Connected Education Month (CEM) in August 2012. Throughout the month, there will be online events and activities designed to help teachers develop skills to enhance their personal learning networks.

Milton Hershey School Reverses Admission Decision, Will Accept HIV-Positive Student AP: A Pennsylvania school for lower income and socially disadvantaged students said Monday it will now treat HIV-positive applicants the same as all others and has offered admission to a previously rejected Philadelphia-area teenager.

Comments

[Sarah]

The fact that a school discriminated against an HIV-positive student in the first place is sickening. And it doesn’t sound to me like they truly think it was wrong to... more that they know they can’t get away with it. My mom was saying that this happened back in the 80s, and she's shocked it's happening again so many years later. Apparently, the world learned nothing from Ryan White.

[Sarah]

And the tenure system certainly needed reform. It’s good to see someone reforming the outdated idea that being at a school longer necessarily makes you a better teacher. Speaking from student experience, the reality was often reversed.