AM News: Santorum Flip-Flops, Gingrich Deflects

Santorum: I ‘shouldn’t have’ voted for No Child Left Behind Washington Post:  A decade after voting for the education reform legislation, he said in a debate on Monday night that he was sorry he had approved it.

Gingrich: My position should not offend blacks CBS: Newt Gingrich on Monday continued to stand by comments he has made suggesting that poor children should serve as janitors to earn money.

Teacher Effectiveness Study Is Off 1990s Data NYT: “It is a key limitation of the study,” Raj Chetty of Harvard, one of the three researchers, acknowledged in an interview.

Durbin queries USDA about school lunch abuses Chicago Tribune: Tribune analysis prompts letter on how department plans to balance accountability and students' access to meals 

In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, finer-tuned praise Washington Post: The theory led to an avalanche of daily affirmations, awards ceremonies and attendance certificates — but few, if any, academic gains.

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Young U.S. Citizens in Mexico Up Early to Learn in the U.S. NYT: Called “transfronterizos,” these students migrate between two nations every day, straining the resources of public school districts and sparking debate among educators.

Judge upholds Indiana school voucher law AP via Boston.com: A judge upheld Indiana's school voucher law on Friday, rejecting opponents' arguments that the largest such program in the nation unconstitutionally uses public money to support religion.

Schools likely to lose accreditation, experts say USA Today: Experts say it's likely that more schools and school districts will lose public or private accreditation.

Science educators take on climate naysayers USA Today: A noted science education organization Monday announced a turn to battling climate science naysayers.

More cuts coming for Phila. schools Inquirer: Roughly $14 million still needs to be cut on top. With classroom teachers protected from mid-year layoffs, there are not many places left to cut.

Report: We still don’t know much about charter schools Washington Post: A new study on the effectiveness of public charter schools concludes that most of the research on the subject has been conducted with methods that “tell us little about causal effects.”

Amazing Alabama School Develops Unique Program For Autistic Teens HuffPost: An amazing high school in Alabama is paving the way for other schools to successfully integrate their autistic students into classroom activities -- and beyond. 

Homeless Teen Up For Prestigious Science Prize Gets House AP via HuffPost: Samantha Garvey and her family had been living in a shelter for several days when they got word the 17-year-old aspiring marine biologist had made it to the semifinals of the prestigious national Intel science competition.

Cuomo and Bloomberg on Attack on Teacher Evaluations NYT: The governor and the mayor invoked the ideals of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in criticizing the lack of an agreement on a system to rate teachers’ performance.

Teachers Discuss How They Approach MLK Day NPR:  For teachers, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday comes with some heavy challenges. One reporter sat down with a group of teachers, who talked about keeping the lesson fresh — and whether white teachers are prepared to teach about civil rights.

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