News: FLA Lawsuit, $87 Per Kid, Income Not Race, & More

Florida Officials Fail to Provide Quality Education, Suit Claims NYT
The American Civil Liberties Union, citing low graduation rates, says officials are violating a requirement in the Florida Constitution.

Race to the Top education grant propels reforms USA Today
If distributed to each of the USA's schools, which educate an estimated 50 million students, it would equal only $87 more per student.

Obama Offers States Rewards For Overhauling Schools NPR
In order to qualify for the money, schools may have to grade not only students, but also teachers.

More districts use income, not race, as basis for busing USA Today
More than 60 school systems now use socioeconomic status as a factor in school assignments. Students in Champaign, Ill.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Louisville have returned this year to income-based assignments.

Military to Debut Virtual School US News
A new online curriculum is in the works to ease school transitions for itinerant members' children.

More report cards go online USA Today
Districts in Louisiana, Colorado, South Carolina and Texas are among those that have gone paperless since 2008.

News: Sacto Changes, Election Impact, Stimulus Trickle, VA Charters

California Senate OKs school changes to seek federal funds Sacramento Bee
These measures address the criteria President Barack Obama and US Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said would make a state competitive in vying ...

Election Offers Varied Impact for Education EdWeek
From ballot measures with funding implications to high-profile mayoral races, school issues factored into a number of state and local races.

Charter school supporters sound warnings over union win in Denver schools CO Independent
Even as charter school supporters swept the Douglas County School Board election Tuesday, charter school advocates were losing power in the Denver Public School Board election, according to unofficial election results.

Stimulus Money Trickling Into the Classroom PBS NewsHour
John Tulenko of Learning Matters Television explores how stimulus money is making its way into classrooms in upstate New York.

Va. dip toes in charter school waters, as D.C. student numbers soar Washington Post
The number of charter schools in the District has skyrocketed over the past decade, and charters are on track to claim 38 percent of public school students in the city. The charter scene is a comparative desert in Virginia and Maryland, but that might be changing.

Foundation giving is expectedto drop more than 10% in '09 Washington Post
Foundation giving is expected to drop more than 10 percent this year from 2008 and to continue falling next year, according to a survey conducted in September of almost 600 large- and mid-size organizations by the Foundation Center.

Obama In Madison: Distraction From NJ & VA Election Results

Obama coaxes states to change with school dollars AP
Obama is visiting Wisconsin, where lawmakers are poised to change a law to boost their state's chances at $5 billion in education grants, the most money a president has ever had for overhauling schools.

Obama Puts Spotlight on Education Grants NYT
The decision to highlight Race to the Top makes political sense for the president: the competition, which has drawn favorable reviews from some Republicans, is already prompting states to change their education practices – even before any money is handed out. Under the draft criteria for the competition, states must not prohibit the use of student achievement data in evaluating teacher performance.

Obama to spotlight education reform efforts Washington Post
President Obama on Wednesday will highlight education reform efforts in 10 states where governors and lawmakers are maneuvering for a piece of the $4.35 billion to be awarded in the "Race to the Top" competition that will begin in the next several weeks.

News: Stimulus Jobs, Suicide Clusters, Nosy Administrators Sued

Report says aid kept, added 7,000 area education jobs Washington Post
Education spending accounted for a large portion of the overall federal economic stimulus package, which injected $159 billion in grants and loans into the economy and had created or saved about 640,000 jobs, according to the board.

Madison School Prepares to Welcome Obama WBAY TV
Staff and students say they're not sure why the White House picked their school.

Anguish Over Calif. Teen Suicides Spurs Action AP
A fourth Palo Alto teen had died after stepping in front of a commuter train in less than six months.

Stunned students grieve for slain classmate LA Times
Mourning students at Long Beach's Wilson High School gathered Monday by the pavement where classmate Melody Ross was shot after the homecoming football game.

Has Fame Spoiled the 'Slumdog Millionaire' Kids? TIME
After school attendance fails and reports emerge of "attitude" problems, the child stars' trust threatens to cut off their allowance.

School sued for punishing teens over MySpace pix.
The American Civil Liberties Union, in a federal lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the girls, argues that Churubusco High School violated the girls' free speech rights when it banned them from extracurricular activities for a joke that didn't involve the school. 

News: Missing Test-Takers, Boston Debate, Hawaii Hot Seat

Case of the missing juniors Chicago Tribune
There were 34,000 students -- about 20 percent of the original sophomore class -- either dropped out, transferred out of state or, most likely, simply were not counted as juniors.

A remarkable turnaround at Pasadena's John Muir High School LA Times
The campus that for years was under state monitoring has improved test scores, attendance rates and student participation.

Educational Video Games Mix Cool With Purpose NYT
A series of games may have overcome the “chocolate-covered broccoli” model that prevailed in the 1980s and 1990s.

Racial Achievement Gap Still Plagues Schools NPR
Black and Latino students consistently have lower test scores and attendance rates than their white counterparts. Placing struggling students in remedial classes has been a standard way to deal with the issue, but this method is coming under fire.

Mixed results as confidence in schools appears to erode Boston Globe
Asked by Flaherty in a debate to rank the system, Menino gave it a “B,’’ saying “I’ll be generous.’’ Flaherty gave it an “F.’’

School Nurse On Sniffly Front Lines Of Swine Flu NPR
One school nurse in Sacramento, Calif., is at the center of the H1N1 swine flu epidemic, dabbing the noses of sick kids and comforting panicked parents as they push for vaccine, information and support.

Stimulus choices draw fire Honolulu Advertiser
State officials have asked Duncan to judge Hawaii based on the potential to enhance teaching and student achievement, "not on the budgetary actions taken by the state's Legislature and governor."

News: Big Stories Of The Day

Drop the Mask! It’s Halloween, Kids, You Might Scare Somebody NYT
Deeming some Halloween traditions too scary or offensive, schools across the country are limiting what costumes are acceptable.

Federal Researchers Find Lower Standards in Schools NYT
A study shows that nearly a third of the states lowered their academic standards to avoid the penalties under the No Child Left Behind law.

States set low bar for student achievement AP
Kids do far better on state tests than they do on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, which is much more challenging.

Which states have the highest standards for students? Christian Science Monitor
Each state comes up with its own standards for student achievement. A new study from the National Center on Education Statistics compares them. Here are the top and bottom five.

Absences surge at region's schools due to flu outbreaks Washington Post
Waves of swine flu and flu-like illnesses are surging through Washington area schools, doubling the normal absence rate in several school systems and leaving some campuses with as many as one-fifth of students out sick.

Could Texting Be Good for Students? US News
Some teachers say the cellphone habit can have positive applications in the classroom.

News: Closings, Online Education, ELL Problems, Jobs?

Report Questions Duncan’s Policy of Closing Failing Schools NYT
Education Secretary Arne Duncan closed dozens of schools when he headed Chicago’s public school system, but most students saw little benefit, a study says.

Boston publisher enters new chapter in textbooks Boston Globe
Houghton will be providing a computer-based teaching system it developed with Microsoft Corp. that will connect teachers, students, and administrators. It’s a radical shift away from the classic textbook publishing model and represents an industry transformation, as technology supplants books.

Many L.A. students not moving out of English language classes LA Times
Almost 30% of those placed early on in such programs in L.A. Unified were still in them when they started high school, study says. The sooner students moved on, the more they excelled.

Shortage of Vaccine Poses Political Test
Despite months of planning and preparation, a vaccine shortage is threatening to undermine public confidence in government, creating a very public test of Mr. Obama’s competence.

Stimulus jobs overstated by thousands AP
The errors could be magnified Friday when a much larger round of reports is released. It is expected to show hundreds of thousands of jobs repairing public housing, building schools, repaving highways and keeping teachers on local payrolls.

News: Big Stories Of The Day

After Complaints, Gates Foundation Opens Education Aid Offer to All States NYT Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recruited his chief of staff, Margot Rogers, and one of his assistant deputy secretaries, James Shelton, from the Gates ...

Federal complaint: Filipino teachers held in 'servitude' USA Today USA Today
More than 300 teachers have been imported to Louisiana from the Philippines since 2007, a group of educators who say collectively they paid millions ...

L.A. Unified to allow parents to initiate school reforms  LA Times
For the first time in Los Angeles, parents will be able to initiate major reforms at low-performing individual schools, rather than waiting for the school district to make changes, under a plan unveiled Tuesday.

Former NBA Coach Switches Gears At Charter School NPR
The former NBA strength coach has given up the big league to teach gym at the innovative charter school where the kids are only somewhat impressed with his NBA credentials.

Morning News: Kindles, Start Dates, Mouth Tape, Sharpton

School chooses Kindle; are libraries for the history 'books'? USA Today
Library watchers say it could be the first school library, public or private, to forsake ink and paper in favor of e-books. It also represents the first time a school has placed its students' intellectual lives so fully into the hands of a few online publishers and makers of electronic devices.

School start date up in air Journal Gazette (IN)
Right now, the decision is left to individual districts, with many starting in early to mid-August. Schools say it’s necessary to meet the state’s 180-day instructional requirement.

Colo. school worker accused of taping boy's mouth AP
Police say 45-year-old administrator Jennifer Carter was being held Monday for investigation of child abuse and false imprisonment, both misdemeanors. A jail official said a bond amount had not yet been set.

Rev. Sharpton appears with Chicago parents AP
Sharpton appeared Monday at Altgeld Gardens public housing with parents of Fenger High School students. The parents have organized a two-day boycott of the high school because they say it isn't safe.

NCLB Suit Dismissal Stands as Appeals Court Deadlocks EdWeek
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals spent 10 months deliberating on the suit filed by NEA and nine school districts.

News: Big Stories Of The Day

Duncan Scolds Hawaii on School FurloughsWall Street Journal
As the state awoke to "furlough Friday," Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote in an opinion piece in the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper ...

Chances of Race to the Top money slim The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
While several states are scrambling to change their laws to comply, Montana isn’t one of them. Instead, Montana wants to change the rules of the race.

Bill Gates sways govt dollars AP
Education Secretary Arne Duncan welcomes the foundation's involvement.

Hawaii: Protesting School Closings AP
Angry parents are protesting the loss of education for their children on the first day of Hawaii’s statewide public school closings.

Think tank to develop teacher-improvement plan Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh school board Wednesday approved a $1.8 million contract with a New Jersey think tank that's going to help the school district develop a pay-for-performance plan for teachers.

2 teens admit to role in Ore. school shooting plot AP
Two Oregon teenagers have admitted their role in an alleged plot to shoot students and administrators at schools in the Willamette Valley farming town of Turner....

News: Friday Furloughs, Detroit Dollars, PA Exam Hike

Suit Filed to Stop Teacher Furloughs in Hawaii AP
The lawsuit alleges that the furloughs constitute an unlawful unilateral change in the programs and services these children receive.

Detroit mayor supports $500.5M schools bond issue AP
The financial manager for Detroit's public schools has enlisted — and received — the support of the city's mayor on an ambitious $500.5 million building plan expected to extend taxes for district capital projects through 2039.

Panel approves Keystone Exams for Pa. schools Philly.com
State regulators signed off Thursday on tougher graduation requirements for Pennsylvania students, a move designed to improve the value of a high school diploma that critics called costly and unnecessary.

State cuts school bus inspections Detroit News

State budget cuts are forcing some school districts to decide if they'll stop running buses as soon as Nov. 2, when the legally required Michigan State Police inspection program ends.

Cellphonometry Fast Company
In last year's pilot, students in the Project K-Nect group scored higher on state Algebra I proficiency tests than their nonconnected counterparts did.

PLUS:
Theodore R. Sizer, 77; educator, author worked to improve public schools WPost
Theodore R. Sizer, Leading Education-Reform Advocate, Dies at 77 NYT
Education Reformer Theodore Sizer Dies At 77 NPR

News: Teacher Hiring, School Attacks, H1N1 Spread, Homeschooling

Veteran L.A. substitute teachers losing work LA Times
Veteran substitute teachers, who have recently lost teaching assignments because of an effort to help laid-off full-time instructors, won't be getting the work back any time soon, Los Angeles school officials confirmed this week.

Police: NY teen planning school attack was bullied AP
A 15-year-old boy accused of stockpiling gasoline, propane and a machete for a planned school attack on the anniversary of the Columbine school massacre burst into tears and admitted to police he was upset about being bullied, according to the detective who interviewed him....

Pressure to improve schools Journal Gazette
“The problem is just speed,” he said. “How do you turn around a 35,000-some student system that has teachers and unions and adopt project-based programs that encourage highly motivated students? It’s very hard to break inertia.”

Delays in Swine Flu Vaccine Trouble SenatorsKansas City infoZine
... Homeland Security's Janet Napolitano and Education's Arne Duncan - about what they are doing to thwart the spread of H1N1, also known as swine flu. ...

H1N1 spreads fast in schools this week USA Today
The USDE on Wednesday reported that 198 schools in 15 states had closed due to high absentee rates from the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

A Child Left Behind Seattle Weekly
Per the guidelines of the Riverview School District's homeschooling program, Pomeroy attended Carnation Elementary two days a week—often enough for at least two of her teachers to notice the slightness of her frame. while these start-ups find their footing.”

News: ED Chastises 3 States, Budget Cuts, & More

Are states following stimulus plan rules for schools? CNN
In a recent memo, the Department of Education's inspector general's office warned Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania about not following the rules.

Recession prompts Hawaii to close schools on Fridays AP
Only 11 US states have school years less than 180 days long, with North Dakota -- at 173 days -- coming closest to Hawaii's 163.

Teacher inequalities still haunt Nashville schools Tennessean
Students attending schools at the center of Metro Nashville controversial rezoning plan are more likely to be taught by inexperienced teachers, despite incentives to attract and retain staff at the high-poverty schools.

Tutoring dollars harder to come by Post and Courier
Competition for millions of federal dollars is getting tough among companies that provide tutoring services to low-income children in struggling schools. Diane Knich, The Post and Courier, Oct. 19, 2009

Nearly 60,000 spankings in Miss. schools last year Clarion Ledger
Kent's district, like many districts statewide, practices corporal punishment. Mississippi has one of the nation's highest rates of corporal punishment.

Wake schools to take new path News & Observer North Carolina
A new school board majority that wants to end busing for diversity will bring changes as soon as next school year.

News: A Presidential Photo Op and Jobs (Lost and Found)

In Hawaii, school's out for recession AP
As President Barack Obama  pushes for more classroom time, his home state has created the nation's shortest school year under a new union contract that closes schools on most Fridays.

Stimulus saved 6,000 education jobs in L.A., report says LA Times
According to the report, more than 6,000 education jobs in Los Angeles were saved by stimulus funds. New York City was able to retain 4,000 positions, while 7% of the teaching corps in Scottsbluff, Neb -- 18 people -- kept their jobs.

L.A. Unified takes anti-truancy effort door-to-door LA Times
Los Angeles' top education official went door to door Monday to urge teens to return to school, netting about a dozen students with the effort and drawing attention to a growing problem.

Nevada to Sit Out 'Race to Top' Start EdWeek
Nevada schools chief Keith Rheault says that state won't apply for the first round of $4 billion in Race to the Top grants because of the state's firewall.

Findings: For Decades, Puzzling People With Mathematics NYT
Martin Gardner is the world’s best-known recreational mathematician, and has probably introduced more people to the joys of math than anyone in history.

Obama makes surprise visit to Silver Spring school Washington Post
President Obama paid a surprise lunchtime visit to Viers Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring Monday.

News: Monday Morning Update

Superintendent spreads the gospel of 'value-added' teacher evaluations LA Times
In Tenn. and N.C., Terry Grier adopted and expanded a statistical method of tracking student progress. Union resistance scuttled more modest efforts in San Diego, mirroring a brewing national debate.

First Lady for Teachers TIME
Michelle Obama pens Thursday op-ed calling for "a new generation of leaders... in our nation's schools."

Grants aplenty, but can matching funding be found?
Las Vegas Sun
If Clark County teamed up with another district on the grant application with the intent of sharing best practices, it might improve the odds of getting the requisite matching funding.

Chicago Talks
A controversial program that paid over $2 million to students for good grades has been quietly scrapped due to lack of funding, said Michael Scott, president of the Chicago Board of Education.

Lesbian student fights for tuxedo photo MSNBC
Everyone at Wesson Attendance Center knows 17-year-old Ceara Sturgis is gay because she's never tried to hide it.

Teen Arrested for Creating Website to Bully Other Teen Wired
A Missouri ninth-grader has been arrested for creating a website that disparaged another teen, the most recent arrest in a series of crackdowns by Missouri authorities on so-called cyberbullying.

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

53 House Republicans Seek Removal of Obama Schools Official NYT
The administration has stood by Mr. Jennings, whom Education Secretary Arne Duncan has called “uniquely qualified for his job.” Mr. Jennings has expressed regret over one episode that has enraged his critics.

Chicago gives Fenger students option to transfer ABC7
"The day when the city of Chicago decides to divide schools by gang territory, that's a day when we have given up the city," said Daley last week.

Report Suggests Bloomberg’s School Promotion Policy Works NY Times
The RAND report, released Thursday, found that students who were kept in the fifth grade for an additional year showed significant improvement in standardized tests over the next three years compared with low-performing students before the policy went into effect.

Race, class — and new school map Seattle Times
The Seattle School District's transition to a neighborhood-based enrollment plan and away from a system of multiple choice raises issues raises issues for most constituencies.

News: Wed-Nes-Day

Teachers benefit from job-saving stimulus spending AP
Teachers appear to have benefited most from the effort to save jobs with the $787 billion recovery package, which sent billions of dollars to states that were on the verge of ordering heavy layoffs in education.

Odd couple join forces for schools Politico
Former Virginia Gov. and Sen. George Allen, a Republican, and former Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Paul Goldman are this week launching a campaign to broaden the federal rehabilitation tax credit, which offers businesses and individuals a 20 percent tax credit for purchasing and restoring aging buildings.

Boy suspended over utensil gets reprieve AP
The school board voted Tuesday night to reduce the punishment for kindergartners and first-graders. PLUS: After Uproar on Suspension, District Will Rewrite Rules

Alexandria Boy Put on School Bus by Mistake, Then Left Alone Washington Post
A 5-year-old boy was mistakenly put on a bus at his Alexandria school last week and dropped off at an unfamiliar stop, where he wandered the streets crying before he was returned to his parents unharmed.

UCLA's Lab School expansion is postponed LA Times
In a sign of challenging economic times, UCLA has put on hold indefinitely plans to open a second campus of its experimental laboratory school, a project that had been touted as a major effort to expand its mission to low-income communities beyond Westwood.

NBC vs. Glee: Battle of the Network Stars
What with all the singing and dancing and costumes, you would think that the cast of Glee and a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float would go together like turkey and cranberries.

News: Big News Of The Day

Tuesday that feels like a Monday:

Students Paid to Go to Class and Get Good Grades TIME
France is launching a controversial pilot program: students at severalschools in Paris's disadvantaged suburbs will be paid -- handsomely -- for attending class and getting good grades.

Obama song video prompts school protests AP
It's an elementary school where students were seen in a video from earlier this year, singing a song in praise of President Barack Obama.

School goes from worst to among best AP
Nationally, Native American and low-income fourth graders score lower than their peers in reading and math. But one New Mexico school is making gains using praise and pizza.

States Stung By Criticism on Use of Stimulus Aid EdWeek
Singled out by the Education Department’s inspector general, states defend use of the money for plugging budget holes rather than reform.

Catholic Schools: How to Fix Parochial Schools' Decline TIME
A new generation of Catholic leaders hopes to bring a halt to decades of parochial school closures.

Is Columbus Day Sailing Off the Calendar? WSJ
Twenty-two states don't give their employees the day off, according to the Council of State Governments.

News: Big News Of The Day

Schwarzenegger OKs school bill required by US law AP
California is removing a legal ban on using the results of student achievement tests to evaluate teachers, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger....

Columbus' darker side emerges in classrooms AP
Columbus' stature in U.S. classrooms has declined somewhat through the years, and many districts will not observe his namesake holiday on Monday.

U.S. Standards Initiative Seeks to Equalize Benchmarks Washington Post
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, as it is known, is an attempt to fashion de facto national standards for math and English without calling them that.

'Striving Readers' Tough to Measure EdWeek
Striving Readers, which the Obama administration wants to expand, has not shown impressive student-achievement results so far.

NM school goes from worst to among best in 3 years AP
Fifth grader Darius Yazzie's after-school chores include hauling water for horses and feeding chickens, while his classmate, Shanika Begay, rides a bus 15 miles each way through the rolling hills of this impoverished corner of the Navajo Nation....

Inner-City School Founder: No Miracle, Just Teaching NPR
For the last 30 years, Providence St. Mel, a parochial school in Chicago's inner city, has sent each of its graduates off to college. A new documentary called The Providence Effect profiles the school and its founder, Paul J. Adams, who says there's no magic formula to St. Mel's success. It's all about teaching.

News: Big News Of The Day

Testing Experts Cautious on 'Race to Top' Rules EdWeek
The Board on Testing and Assessment, a part of the National Research Council, wrote in an Oct. 5 letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan that he and the ...

Proposed National Academic Standards Sidestep Debate Washington Post
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, as it is known, is an attempt to fashion de facto national standards for math and English without calling them that. The Education Department is not drafting the standards, and Congress will have no vote on approval.

Carey Mulligan gets 'An Education' LA Times
The room isn't hers, even for the night, and neither are the clothes. Practically everything touching her skin is borrowed -- except for the air of giddy excitement.

Third grade test scores do not predict later prison Substance
Remember how you "knew" that you could "predict" the future prison population on which kids "failed" their third grade "standards" test? Well, it never happened, except in cyberspace and the minds of the hoaxious mythologizers (our coinage from several years ago) in charge of the propaganda mills of corporate "school reform."

CPS Hires Ex-Cop to Look into Costly Theft Chicago Tribune
CPS documents show that from January 2006 until August 2009 crooks have been stealing just about anything that isn't nailed down -- computers, TV's, radios, DVD's, lawn mowers snow and leaf blowers, salt spreaders, and fishing equipment.

News: Big News Of The Day

Obama playing basketball with cabinet, House members Sun Times
The evening game includes 11 male House members and four male members of the Obama cabinet HUD's Shaun Donovan; Education's Duncan; Treasury's Tim Geithner and Interior's Ken Salazar.

Two ways Chicago can curb its youth violence epidemic CS Monitor
Between 2002 and 2007, the number of homicides involving black male juveniles as victims grew by about 30 percent and, as perpetrators, by more than 40 percent, says James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston. At the time, overall crime rates were going down or staying flat.

Chicago Student's Death Echoes Loudly on Issue of Youth Violence PBS
The recent beating death of a Chicago high school student in the city's south side drew national headlines and calls for a new dialogue on youth violence. Jeffrey Brown speaks with a Chicago reporter for more.

Holder: Student's killing 'a wake-up call'
Attorney General Eric Holder says the beating death of a 16-year-old Chicago high school student is a "stark wake-up call" to the nation to confront youth violence.

Mississippi mandates civil rights classes in schools
All students will study the nation's racial troubles and progress in US history courses.

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Duncan, Holder will meet with families of victims Sun Times
The two Obama cabinet members will breakfast with Mayor Daley at 7:30 a.m. joined by a selection of aldermen and religious and community leaders.

School closings feeding teen violence? AP
Activists say the escalating violence among Chicago's teens may have roots in an unlikely place — an ambitious plan to improve education that's also thrown rival gangs together in a volatile mix.

Chicago Targets Teen Violence After Deadly Brawl NPR
Chicago school officials defend the Renaissance plan and argue that there are much deeper, underlying problems leading to urban youth violence.

School Stimulus Funds Not Used As Intended NPR
The IG's office found that over a dozen states are inappropriately using stimulus dollars to replace the money they're cutting from education. It specifically cited Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Stimulus Dollars For Schools Miss The Mark ProPublica
ED said steps included asking states to show, as part of their application for the $5 billion Race to the Top fund, whether their total education spending had gone up or down in 2009.

Education Chief Duncan to Give Innovation Grants NYT
Grover Whitehurst, a former head of the Education Department’s research arm who is now at the Brookings Institution, said some educational ideas heralded in past administrations as “innovations,” like accelerated middle school programs, had since been proved effective.

Arizona school closes with flu outbreak AP
Health officials suspect an outbreak of swine flu has caused an Arizona school to shut down after more than a third of the students called in sick....

Schools Selling Fewer Sugary Snacks AP
A new government report finds that fewer American high schools and middle schools are selling candy and salty snacks to students. PLUS:   'Meatless Monday' in city schools earn kudos from PETA Baltimore Sun

Home-Schooler in S.C. to Run Again for Post as Chief Education Officer EdEWeek
A small-business owner who home-schools her children said last week she's running to be South Carolina's education superintendent.

News: Big Stories Of The Day

 Morning, everybody!

Panel approves new SC scoring system for schools EdWeek/AP
A South Carolina oversight panel has approved a scoring system that would mean more of the state's schools meet federal education goals.

Teachers union’s objection bolstered Boston Globe
The state Division of Labor Relations has determined that a strong likelihood exists that the Boston School Committee violated the union contract when signing an agreement with the highly regarded national program.

Metro Nashville school workers abused expenses
School officials said many of the purchases were necessary to keep the 75,000-student system running.

Memphis City Schools plans to hire teachers early
More than half of MCS teacher applicants have GPAs of less than 3.0 and as a whole, score in the bottom quartile on the state teacher licensure test.

Museum Posts Only Known Footage of Anne Frank Slate
Amsterdam's Anne Frank Museum has uploaded what it says is the "the only existing film images" of the young diarist, who died in a Holocaust concentration camp, to its new YouTube channel.

Higher Rate of Autism in Children: Is New Number Real? TIME
New studies are revising the long-standing federal estimate of autism rates to 1 in 100, but experts are debating whether the rise reflects a genuine increase in cases

News: Big Stories Of The Day

Plus a few from the weekend:

Study critiques schools over subjective grading LA Times
An education expert calls for greater consistency in evaluating students' work.

Former Student Defends Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar Against Allegations FOX
The ex-student at the center of a controversy involving "safe schools czar" Kevin Jennings is defending the U.S. Education Department official against accusations he failed to report an alleged underage sexual relationship between a former high schooler and "an older man."

Some schools surpass, fail standards simultaneously North County Times
Like more than 20 other campuses in the region with sparkling reputations and high-performing students, Sunset Hills excelled this year in the state's school-ranking system, but missed the mark set by the federal No Child Left Behind program.

Texas Board's choice of investment consultant takes heat Dallas Morning News
Over the past year, board members have twice spurned the investment advice of the school fund's professional staff by hiring consultants that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more than their competitors.

An education problem looms LA Times
Faced with severe budget cuts, school districts last spring issued more than 27,000 pink slips.
PLUS:  D.C. Schools Lay Off More Than 220 Teachers, Lose 300 Guards Washington Post

News: Big Stories Of The Day

Friday, Friday, Friday!  

States are not boosting aid for schoolsThe Associated Press
A new report said some states are flouting the president's wishes.

Achievement gaps narrowing in US schools since No Child Left BehindCSM
new study looked at student performance in all 50 states since 2002, when No Child Left Behind Act took effect. The focus: achievement gaps for minority and low-income students.

D.C. Launches Rigorous Teacher Evaluation SystemD.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has launched a rigorous evaluation system that will make some District teachers among the first in the nation to have their job security tied to standardized test scores.

La. complaint filed against recruiter of teachersAssociated Press
A teacher union has filed complaints with state authorities alleging a company that recruits Filipino teachers for Louisiana schools is operating illegally in the state, and charging the teachers exorbitant, illegal fees.

Obama officials to discuss Chicago student beating The Associated Press
President Barack Obama is sending Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago next week to discuss the recent ...

 

News: Big Education Stories Of The Day

It depends on what you consider "education" (and of course "news"):

Panel votes to restore abstinence education money AP
A Senate committee voted Tuesday night to restore $50 million a year in federal funding for abstinence-only education that President Barack Obama has pushed to eliminate.

Incendiary device found outside Minn. high school AP
A suspicious package found outside an eastern Minnesota high school Wednesday contained an incendiary device, the school district's superintendent said....

Maine teacher accused of leaking test questions AP/EdWeek
The editor notified police after Fortier's mother, School Committee member Peggy Bean, threatened a reporter, telling her "you're dead" if the name was published.

Swine flu school closings could cost billions AP
Closing schools and day care centers because of swine flu could cost between $10 billion and $47 billion, a report by the Brookings Institution think tank found.

Detroit's 'Count Days' Entices Student Attendance NOR
Wednesday is one of two so-called "count days" in Michigan — the day enrollment numbers are tallied and sent to the state to determine funding.

Weighing the Risks of Mass Vaccinations TIME
The recent death of a 14-year-old British girl who received a cervicalcancer vaccine has renewed concern over the risks associated withinoculations. But is fear of the injections warranted, or is it justparanoia?

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Wicked Wednesday? I sure hope not.

Teen accused in threat on western Colorado school AP
Prosecutors say an 18-year-old man was plotting a "profoundly disturbing" attack on his western Colorado high school with weapons and explosives....

Cancer vaccine programme in disarray after death Times of London
The national vaccination programme to protect against cervical cancer was today in disarray after a 14-year-old girl died shortly after receiving the Cervarix jab.

D.C. Dumps Contractor Hired to Build Schools Database Washington Post
The District has fired the contractor hired to build a $12 million data repository for critical information about D.C. schools, citing missed deadlines, software defects and failure to make available the personnel it promised, officials said Monday.

MD Reports State Tests Caused Eleven Students Not to Graduate EdWeek
Maryland education officials say only 11 students did not graduate this year because they failed to pass state tests.

At School in Queens, Success Draws Crowd New York Times
Francis Lewis High is one of a number of New York City public schools teeming with students despite the system’s overall drop in enrollment.

Career Changers Find Way Around The Classroom NPR
Until a year ago, Beverly Harvey was more familiar with balance sheets than attendance sheets. Harvey had spent 25 years in the banking industry before switching careers and becoming an elementary-school teacher.

L.A. schools construction chief resigns LA Times
Guy Mehula, the highly regarded head of the Los Angeles Unified School District's massive school construction program, has resigned after an apparent power struggle with district leadership.

News: Big Stories Of The (Tues)Day

Here we go -- countdown to Copenhagen!

EPA tells schools to test aging caulk for PCBs AP: Hundreds of school buildings across the United States have caulk around windows and doors containing potentially cancer-causing PCBs, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

Out of fields, into class for migrant kids AP:  Elizabeth Pineda climbs out from bed, her 4-year-old son Adrian asleep nearby. She lays out a tiny pair of shorts and a white T-shirt for his first day of school, gathers her purse and tiptoes outside. Her cousin will get the boy up and off to class in a few hours.

New SC scoring system means more passing schools AP: Under the previous, four-category system, the state rated "basic" and above as passing. But No Child Left Behind judged schools only on the top two tiers — proficient and advanced.

New Dating Seminars Target Teen Violence NPR: School officials are worried that too many teens are hitting and slapping the person they're dating. Across the country, schools have opened this fall with programs to help kids understand that hitting is not the way to get your point across.

Students At 'Fame' School Nervous About Remake NPR: Many students at the school say they are afraid the new version will make LaGuardia students look lightweight.

News: Big Stories Of The (Mon)Day

A busy start to the education week:

Obama would curtail summer vacation AP
Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way.

Garfield High is eligible for takeover LA Times
Garfield High, which became nationally known as the real-life setting for the film "Stand and Deliver," will be among the initial 12 local campuses eligible for takeover. 

Rising test standards sink more Kentucky schools Courier Journal
For the third straight year, fewer Kentucky public schools met all their reading and math goals required by the federal accountability law.

Helping Our Teachers NPR
Over the next year, NPR will explore those efforts and take a look at the latest crop of teachers entering the profession.

Kids’ Obama song: Sincere or idolization?  AP
A school for kindergartners through second-graders in a Philadelphia suburb is the latest target of accusations by conservatives that children are being indoctrinated to idolize President Obama.

News: Big News Of The Day

Every morning, all in one place:

Obama's Education Plan Gets Mixed Reviews Washington Post
To the surprise of many educators who campaigned last year for change in the White House, the Obama administration's first recipe for school reform relies heavily on Bush-era ingredients and adds others that make unions gag.

Tyler Teacher Is Dead After Being Stabbed in Classroom NYT
A teacher was stabbed in a high school classroom in Tyler and later died. A 16-year-old student was arrested in the case.

While Unnecessary, Swine Flu Closes Schools  NYT
Some schools continue to close, believing it's the only way to slow the spread of the virus.

NBC's "Community": They will be untutorable NPR
The comedy world has eagerly awaited the arrival of Community...and community colleges have been getting ready too, hoping this show will not add to the image problems they face.

Author strives to echo Milne in 'Winnie-the-Pooh' sequel USA Today
Eeyore the donkey, still gloomy after all these years, is dubious, but he and others in A.A. Milne's children's classic,Winnie-the-Pooh, are in for some new adventures in the first authorized full-length sequel in more than 80 years.

News (Or What Passes For News)

I don't really understand why we're talking about news-starved things like speeches and staged events when we could be talking about more important things like that nice purple cap that Qaddafi was wearing at the UN yesterday (or who's going to end up as committee staff working NCLB for Chairman Harkin):

White House backs accountability of 'No Child' law AP
Mary Kusler, a lobbyist for the American Association of School Administrators, welcomes Duncan's bid at "re-energizing" No Child Left Behind reauthorization, which has slowed in Congress over the past year because of a "lack of consensus" on several questions.  But she worries about pushing the process along too quickly.

Fed education chief to dads: Turn off TV, read AP
Thomas Brennan, superintendent of Manchester schools, agreed. He also said administrators, teachers and other staff have not been taught to value fathers and their role in education, and that he himself has not considered that some fathers may not feel welcome in schools.

Duncan to Get Advice on ESEA Renewal PK12
"Two of our assistant secretaries, Carmel Martin of the policy office, and Thelma Melendez of the elementary and secondary office, will give an overview of next steps in the ESEA reauthorization process and outline a series of opportunities this fall at which your organizations will be able to offer input to the department."

Ok now we're done with the non-stories about Arne Duncan.  To celebrate, let me tell you that MMA fighter Quintin (Rampage) Jackson is going to star as Mr. T in the remake of the A-Team.

Coming Out in Middle School NYT Magazine
How 13-year-old kids are dealing with their sexual identity — and how others are dealing with them.

L.A. school district union agrees to furloughs LA Times
About 1,100 bus drivers will take six unpaid days off this fiscal year to help offset the budget shortfall. It is the first time in recent history that a district union has accepted such a concession.

WI low-income school population rises, includes nearly 4 in 10 elementary students Wisconsin Watch Nearly four in 10 Wisconsin elementary students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch last school year, and the proportion of low-income elementary students has climbed every year of this decade.

'Fame' schools struggling to survive recession Daily Herald
Nearly 1.5 million aspiring student actors, dancers and vocalists nationally, attend 1,670 performing arts schools seeking that spotlight of Fame.

News: Big News Of The Day

Things heating up midweek:

A political swirl on charter schools Boston Globe
The Patrick administration urged approval of a controversial Gloucester charter school earlier this year, over the fierce objections of city residents and the advice of state specialists, based not on its merits but because it would further the governor’s political agenda, according to a recently published e-mail.

White House to agencies: Don't overstep on grants EdWeek AP
The advisory came in response to an embarrassing incident last month in which a National Endowment for the Arts official asked artists on a conference call to coordinate with the Corporation for Public Service on ways to help bolster President Barack Obama's public service agenda.

GAO audit: Schools slow to get alerts about tainted food USA Today
Federal agencies that supply food for 31 million schoolchildren fail to ensure that tainted products are pulled quickly from cafeterias, a federal audit obtained by USA TODAY finds.

Latest Challenge in 'Race to Top' EdWeek
“This was the big issue with Reading First, and nobody got it at the time. There’s a certain amount of déjà vu with Race to the Top,” said Kate Walsh, the president of the Washington-based National Council on Teacher Quality.

Gun-wielding bird owner causes Pa. school lockdown AP
Police say a man using a BB gun to protect his birds from cats led to an elementary school lockdown in Pennsylvania....

Greening America's Schools Reuters
So far, over 1,700 schools have registered in LEED for Schools and nearly 200 have certified.

News: Big News Of The Day

If it only affects 11 kids statewide, is it still considered an exit exam?

Only 11 Md. Seniors Blocked by Exit Exams, Officials Say Washington Post
Only 11 seniors in Maryland's high school class of 2009 did not graduate last spring solely because they failed the state's new required exams, and the number of schools on a watch list for poor academic achievement declined, officials said Monday.

Revised Draft of 'Common Core' Standards Unveiled EdWeek
Language arts has been beefed up in the latest version of the document, and another standard, "mathematical practice," has been added.

Grand Canyon woman named best rural teacher AP
"Teaching in a rural school is not easy," said John Hill, director of the National Rural Education Association. "The resources are always limited, both in the school and out.

Atlanta floods prove fatal for some, cause school and road closings Breaking Tweets
Plenty of damage has already been done as there were a reported 11,000 people without power as of this afternoon and many schools in the metro Atlanta area will be closed tomorrow.

Cheyenne tribe files suit over school dress code MSNBC
Parents and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the school district from enforcing a dress code requiring ...

Students told to prove Texas residency or leave MSNBC
Students living in northern Mexico have skirted residency requirements to attend U.S. public schools for generations, but one superintendent in Texas is warning students they could face expulsion.

News: Big Stories Of The Day (A Monday)

There's always a lot of news to catch up on Monday mornings:

No Obama, no Bush and no field trips for these Texas students LA Times
A recent string of decisions by officials at the Arlington Independent School District in Texas has ensured that there will be no politics in the classroom there. And, apparently, there will be no fun, either.

Budget cuts push some classrooms way over capacity LA Times
Some L.A. Unified classes are crammed with about 50 students, leaving some pupils to sit on desks or the floor and their teachers to grade hundreds of papers while still focusing on improvement.

Apartheid Legacy’s in South African Schools NYT
Thousands of schools across South Africa are bursting with hopeful students, but the education system is often failing those who most need it to escape poverty.

Initiative Focuses on Early Learning Programs NYT
A legislative effort already passed by the House would provide $8 billion to encourage states to improve standards, training and oversight.

At Tony Bennett's $78M school, arts education trumps fameUSA Today
Tony Bennett is stuck in one of those trademark ...

News: Big News Of The Day

Friday!

Schools Deploy Arsenals of Sanitizers Against Swine Flu Threat WPost
Should the swine flu appear at Spark M. Matsunaga Elementary School in Germantown, a veritable arsenal of weaponry awaits.

NCAA Faces Choices After Loss Of Myles Brand NPR
He was the first university president to run the NCAA and was outspoken in calling for tougher eligibility standards for incoming freshman and current students.

Victim of sexual abuse by educator LA Times
The former student says ex-L.A. Unified administrator Steve Thomas Rooney ruined her life, according to a probation report. Another victim says Rooney 'had sex with me as often as he wanted.'

Controversial book allowed LA Times
A novel that had raised concerns because its teen protagonist deals with the aftermath of rape will be added to the core literature list for Temecula's high schools, trustees decided.

Texas activists: Chavez, Marshall must be taught Associated Press
Minority activists urged Texas education officials on Thursday to not minimize the importance of civil rights leaders Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall in public schools.

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Thursday morning education news:

Texas school district wins $1 million prize AP
A Houston-area school district where 84 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch on Wednesday won the nation's top prize in public education for making strides in student achievement.

Duncan Holds a (Somewhat) National Town Hall on NCLB Education Week
Remember that listening-and-learning tour that US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan embarked on to get a sense of what Americans think of the No Child ...

13-Year-Old Woodbridge Prodigy Enters College at George Mason University Washington Post
Most GMU students haven't serenaded Obama. Most haven't parlayed a passion into a Smithsonian exhibit and national TV exposure. And most aren't 13.

Teachers pact first ever with Mass. charter school Boston Globe
The first teachers contract for a Massachusetts charter school allows for performance-based merit pay for teachers and a longer school day.

Seattle schools may lower grade-point requirement for graduation Seattle Times
The Seattle School Board will consider a staff recommendation to roll back the requirement of a C average for students play on sports teams and to graduate ...

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

News for a Wednesday morning:

Arlington ISD cancels trip to Cowboys Stadium for 600 student Dallas Morning News
The district decided against showing President Barack Obama's education speech live last week, and that angered some when they found out that hundreds of Arlington ISD students were scheduled to attend an event at Cowboys Stadium featuring former President George W. Bush.

College, public schools swap tuition for property in Michigan USA Today
A bargain hatched by two school administrators over lunch will give a private Michigan university space to grow and local students a significant ...

Obama to Address AFL-CIO as Labor Faces Its Divisions Washington Post
What form reunification might take is unclear. Former Michigan congressman David Bonior presided over discussions this spring among the two federations and the National Education Association, which is independent.

Criteria Seen as Too Restrictive in Quest for 'Race to Top' Funds EdWeek
Federal education officials are urged in comments to eschew a one-size-fits-all approach in doling out $4 billion in grants.

Duncan Announces Achievement Awards for Local Schools Washington Post
More than a dozen public and private schools in Maryland, Virginia and the District earned one of the highest distinctions in American education Tuesday, as Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the 314 winners of the National Blue Ribbon School awards.

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Got bullying?  Probably you do.

Anti-bullying laws give scant protection. Associated Press
Forty-four states expressly ban bullying, yet few if any of those measures have identified children who excessively pick on their peers, an Associated Press review has found. And few offer any method for ensuring the policies are enforced.

Education Secretary: $100 Billion For Education Might Not Be Enough Talk Radio News Service
Education Secretary Arne Duncan touched upon the $100 billion that has been provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for education Monday ...

'Race to the Top' - we expected better San Francisco Chronicle
Now the president and Congress have provided Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with $4.35 billion to award to states for educational innovation. ...

Editorial: Feds shouldn't ease criteria for education grants The Detroit News
US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is being pressured to make it easier for states and school districts to use competitive stimulus money to maintain the ...

'The Principal Story' by Tod Lending and David Mrazek NPR
Michel Martin speaks with the two principals, Tresa Dunbar and Kerry Purcell, along with filmmaker Tod Lending.

News: Big Stories Of The Day

In the end, it seems like very few districts banned the Obama education speech, and very few parents pulled their kids from school in protest.  Plus other news:

District Relents on Obama Talk NYT
A Utah school district said its initial refusal to show the speech may have sent a message “that we do not respect the office of the president.”

Utah students improve in science, language arts Salt Lake Tribune
"You can't look at the data without saying, 'wow, good job,'" said John Jesse, state assessment director.

Class Size Brings Strike by Teachers NYT
Teachers are fighting for smaller class sizes, arguing that the district should spend some of the $21 million it has in reserve to alleviate overcrowding.

Cases of Flu Swiftly Spreading at Local College Campuses Washington Post
Swine flu has hit early and hard on campuses in the Washington region, spawning, at last count, 435 cases of flu-like illness at the University of Maryland, 95 at the University of Virginia and several dozen at other institutions.

News: Big News Of The Day

Friday morning's education news stories:

Five girls killed, 30 injured in Delhi school stampede Breaking News
Five girl students were killed and at least 30 injured Thursday morning in a stampede in a school in the capital sparked by rumours that electric current had leaked into the water that had flooded the school following heavy overnight rain, police said.

L.A. Schools Reopen After Summer Of Cuts NPR
Thousands of school employees got pink slips and summer school got canceled. Now that kids are back in class for a brand new school year, it's still unclear what impact those cuts will have.

Duncan Urges Colleges to Help Underperforming Schools More CHE
US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan urged universities on Thursday to get more involved in helping to improve underperforming schools, ...

They Will Come for the Pregnant Women First The Slatest
While testing on pregnant women might not seem like an especially good idea, the group made up 6 percent of the initial swine flu deaths and is more at risk for the disease than other segments of the population.

Teach Alabama program becomes success story for its first teacher Alabama.com
Garner is the first participant in the program, which is designed for high school students, to graduate from college and enter the teaching profession, Schofield said.

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Lots of news this morning -- soak it all in if you can:

States race for education stimulus cash AP
Three cash-strapped states may find themselves left at the starting line in the competition for more than $4 billion in education stimulus funding if they don't amend laws on student test results.

In Colo., Arming Schools to Battle the Flu Virus PBS
Amid renewed warnings of a potential H1N1 flu virus outbreak, one Colorado school district is taking new precautionary steps. Tom Bearden reports.

9/11 lesson plan to be tested on students AP
The 9/11 curriculum, believed to be the first comprehensive educational plan focusing on the attacks, is expected to be tested at schools in New York City and six other states.

2 schools open at LA site of Kennedy slaying AP
Two elementary schools have opened in Los Angeles at the former site of the Ambassador Hotel, where Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968....

Harkin New Chair of Senate Education Committee EdWeek
The five-term Iowa Democrat will now have broad authority over both policy and money for education issues in the Senate.

American students should study more maths: Hillary Clinton Breaking News
While hosting “My Education, My Future” Event at the Manhattan Charter School , US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said American students should study more maths and science.

News: Wednesday Morning Non-Speech News

All the education news that doesn't include the Obama education speech:

Activists Protest Obama Administration's Spending Cuts to DC ... FOX
barred from private and parochial schools because Education Secretary Arne Duncan extended vouchers only for the 1700 students already in the program.

KIPP, union disagree on Baltimore teachers' pay NPR
Because of the union complaint, KIPP had to raise teacher pay and cut hours. It hasn't been enough. KIPP Ujima head Jason Botel says the bump in pay has driven this school to the budgetary brink.

Former Educator Embraces 'Crazy' Teaching Style NPR
In a newly-published memoir Crazy Like A Fox, Chavis spells out his ideas for getting kids to learn.

Pearson Offers Competing Test in ESL NYT
A British publisher goes head to head with two nonprofit organizations in testing English as a second language.

ELL Graduation Rates Often a Mystery EdWeek
Many states and districts don’t track the rate for English-learners, or if they do, they don’t share the information with the public.

Tuesday Morning News

News from over the long holiday weekend, and a big 'welcome back' to all of those who start school today:

After Federal Aid, Schools in Hard-Hit States Still Face ‘Sweeping Cutbacks’ NY Times
In some districts with overwhelming deficits, extensive school layoffs have led to even more crowded classes and educators’ teaching unfamiliar grade levels

Cash-strapped California schools seek commercial sponsors to raise funds LA Times
Facing staggering budget cuts, districts are increasingly turning to outside sources of revenue, including selling ad space and offering naming rights. Beverly Hills may even market apparel.

Investing in charter schools US News
Entertainment Properties Inc., known mostly for sinking its money into movie theaters and wineries, recently bought 22 locations from charter school operator Imagine Schools for about $170 million.

New rules for schools Baltimore Sun
Maryland and eight other states have set up new accountability systems under No Child Left Behind that have given more flexibility and focus to the efforts to resolve problems at schools that don't meet standards, according to a report released Thursday by the Center on Education Policy.

News: Big Stories Of The Day

It's not quite at death panel levels, but the controversy surrounding Obama's education speech -- and the administration's decision to change the text -- tells you that things are not going so well in Obama-land right now:

Obama speech to students draws conservative ire AP
President Barack Obama's back-to-school address next week was supposed to be a feel-good story for an administration battered over its health care agenda. Now Republican critics are calling it an effort to foist a political agenda on children, creating yet another confrontation with the White House.

Some Parents Oppose Obama Speech to Students NY Times
The uproar over the speech, in which Mr. Obama intends to urge students to work hard and stay in school, has been particularly acute in Texas, where several major school districts, under pressure from parents, have laid plans to let children opt out of lending the president an ear.

Nearly 1 in 10 in California's class of 2009 did not pass high school exit exam LA Times
The percentage was little changed from last year but still showed important progress, state superintendent of public instruction Jack O'Connell says.

Reading Rainbow Turns Its Last Page US News
The demise of the beloved children's show might have more to do with philosophy than with money.

In reality, Obama's big speech of the week will be his health care address to Congress later in the week.

NEWS: Big Stories Of The Day

Things are heating up as the school year gets ready to start on Tuesday (if it hasn't already):

Colleges Ramp Up Efforts To Hold On To Students NPR
As many as half of all students who attend college might never complete their degrees — and many schools view that as a crisis.

Fight Over Payment for Tutoring Special-Ed Student Marks Growing Trend Washington Post
The retired Army officer had taken 14-year-old Matthew out of public school that summer. After five years in a program for mentally disabled students, he could say only a dozen words and could not count past six.Via EWA.org

Elmo Has a Message About Swine Flu Washington Post
Elmo Has a Message About Swine Flu

L.A. charter schools get a chance to grow, but how big? LA Times
Those best-positioned to bid for more schools are the large charter management organizations. But charter operators say their groups lack the capacity to handle anything close to 200 existing schools. Via EWA.org

3 states still ban teachers' religious clothing MSNBC
A law backed by the Ku Klux Klan nearly a century ago to keep Catholics out of public schools is still on the books in Oregon, one of the last states to ban teachers from wearing religious clothing in classrooms.

Multi-City Study Eyes Best Gauges of Good Teaching EdWeek
The research, involving New York City, Charlotte, N.C., and elsewhere, is part of a Gates Foundation push on teacher effectiveness.

The New School Year, By the Numbers EdWeek
As the 2009-10 School year opens, the U.S. Census Bureau offers statistical snapshots of the nation's school population.

News: Big Stories Of The Day

The day's big education stories:

Strapped schools force teacher furloughs MSNBC
Teachers — once among the groups exempted from furlough days — are being forced to take unpaid days off amid massive state budget cuts.

Union Leader Kicks Off Back-to-School Tour EdWeek
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, kicked off a national back-to-school tour, joining forces with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Comic Cosby lends help to Detroit schools MSNBC
Bill Cosby had heard about the tough-as-nails, uncompromising man tackling fraud and improving education throughout the Detroit's public schools, and wanted to help.

High school put-downs make it hard for students to learn, study says Eureka Alert

A University of Illinois study suggests that classroom disruptions and psychologically hostile school environments can contribute to a climate in which good students have difficulty learning and students who are behind have trouble catching up.

Moms Scramble To Find After School Care NPR
After school programs around the country are being trimmed or canceled. That means many parents have to find other ways to fill their kids' time.

Teacher Pushes Students To See Houston With Different Eyes NPR
In the late '90s a private jet transported a group of Houston public school students to Saudi Arabia to hone their photography skills.

News: Big Stories Of The Day

If getting paid to do your work is so bad, maybe we should ban salaries and allowances, too:

Atlanta
 schools
 soft on cheats?Atlanta
 schools
 soft on cheats? AJC
The AJC reviewed 98 complaints of testing irregularities reported to the Atlanta, Clayton, DeKalb, Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett districts. The investigative reports filled 2,445 pages obtained through the Georgia Open Records Act.

Chicago buses to be safer, greener Chicago Sun Times
Only about 25 percent of school buses nationwide have the GPS and MDT technologies, the American School Bus Council estimates.

Standards Studied in 10 Countries EdWeek
Having a national system of academic-content standards and tests doesn’t mean that local educators lose their say in how schools are run, according to a report.Having a national system of academic-content standards and tests doesn’t mean that local educators lose their say in how schools are run, according to a report.

Does Paying For Good Grades Cheapen Education? NPR
Hundreds of schools around the country are experimenting with programs that offer students pay for performance. Many teachers are reporting good results, saying students work harder when given immediate incentives, but critics say administrators shouldn't turn the schoolhouse into a workplace.

Transgender Vt. teen wants genderless bathrooms in school USA Today
A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bath ...

Big Stories Of The Day

Back to daily morning news roundups, not that there's a ton going on the Monday before Labor Day:

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” City paper
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis will be visiting The Fishing School this afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m., according to an announcement sent out this morning.

Using Tests Smartly NYT
This possibility could occur, but with wise guidelines from Education Secretary Arne Duncan, this need not occur.

'No Rules Broken' in Fenty Twins Out-of-Boundary Enrollment Wash Post
Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said Friday that D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty did not bypass any rules or policies by enrolling his twin sons in an elementary school outside of his Crestwood neighborhood.

The Future of Reading: Students Get New Assignment: Pick Books You Like NYT
The experimental approach is part of a movement to revolutionize the way literature is taught in U.S. schools.

FAA called after father flies teen to school AP
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a helicopter ride that a central Florida father arranged for his teenager's first day of school....

NEWS: Budget Cuts, NAEP Proposals, Virtual Schooling

Plus -- just a few moments ago on Morning Edition -- NPR's Claudio Sanchez explores the ins and outs of stimulus funding.

Schools Glad To Have Stimulus Cash, But Delays & Rules Frustrate NPR
Much of the federal money intended for schools is still sitting in state coffers- despite long lists of unmet needs in many school districts.

Budget cuts put new textbook purchases on hold TLA Times
he state and many California school districts look to save money by postponing approvals of updated books. Some fear the moves may put students at a disadvantage.

NAEP Panels Propose More ELL, Spec. Ed. Inclusion EdWeek
The plan’s goal is to check disparities among states in the rate of English-learners’ and special education students’ participation.

Virtual School Hopes to Offer Welcoming Community for Gays US News
The first online school for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students might open next year.

In a Digital Future, Textbooks Are History NYT
In Arizona, teachers are being encouraged to create lessons that incorporate materials they find online.

NEWS: Furloughs, Lazy Passwords, Swine Flu

Just your typical Friday morning news roundup.

Furloughs alter teachers' schedules, paychecks Atalanta Journal Constitution
The teacher furloughs — believed to be a first for Georgia — are altering the schedules and paychecks of the majority of the state’s 120,000 school teachers.

Ohio high school tightens computer security after cheating scandal Cleveland.com
a 17-year-old boy got access to a computer file containing world studies tests when he figured out that some teachers hadn't changed a generic password -- the word "admin" -- when they received classroom computers two years ago.

Want a Rich, Happy Country? Start Young Newsweek
The trend's most prominent spokesperson is probably Shakira, the Colombian pop singer who is also a founder of a group known as ALAS.

Government to advise schools on what to do when swine flu strikes AP
“We hope no schools have to close, but realistically, some schools will close this fall,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said this week during a forum with administration officials that was broadcast online.

Beach school board member resigns LA Times
A Long Beach school board member who is being sought by authorities and has not attended a board meeting in three months has resigned, district officials said Thursday.