Scott Walker Suspends Presidential Campaign After Late Anti-Union Push PK12: In what turned out to be his last major campaign push, Walker this month had once again played up his opposition to unions. See also State EdWatch.
$490-million plan would put half of LAUSD students in charter schools LA Times: The timing of the charter plan is troubling, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She said the district has made recent strides, “but instead of building on this success … Mr. Broad and his allies are trying to …
Boy withdraws from school that suspended him over clock AP: The family of a 14-year-old Muslim student who got in trouble over a homemade clock mistaken for a possible bomb withdrew the boy Monday from his suburban Dallas high school. Ahmed Mohamed’s father, Mohamed El-Hassan Mohamed, said he has pulled all of his children from their Irving Independent School District schools.
Dispute Over Validity of Common-Core Exam Ignites New Florida Testing Fight State EdWatch: There’s a new political dispute over assessments in Florida. This one involves a study about the common-core test given to students earlier this year.
Merger would mean first integrated neighborhood school in a former public housing area WBEZ: Beyer says a committee of Ogden parents researched multiple options to relieve overcrowding and felt this was the best approach. But he says Ogden won’t pursue the option unless the local school council supports it; a vote is scheduled for tonight. “Nothing is a done deal,” Beyer says.
Chicago Mayor Prepares Large Property Tax Hike AP: It’s unclear how residents and businesses will respond. Emanuel has faced raucous crowds at public budget hearings, but the political fallout for the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama could be delayed because he doesn’t face re-election until 2019.
Charter leaders continue to battle de Blasio over space in public school buildings ChalkbeatNY: In an open letter to de Blasio, the leaders accuse the de Blasio administration of “hurting some of the city’s most vulnerable students” by denying their requests for space in public-school buildings.
State’s first charter school was overpaid $200,000 Seattle Times: First Place Scholars, the state’s first charter school, got more state money than it should have after providing inaccurate information, says the audit, part of an investigation that began last year when the school was put on probation. See also AP, Seattle Public Radio.
Six D.C. schools had ‘critical’ testing violations, 11 others had irregularities Washington Post: One test administrator coached students to change answers, others erased stray answer sheet markings.
How TV Can Make Kids Better Readers NPR: In their new book, two education scholars argue new media can be a key part of building literacy.
5 years after Facebook pledge, Newark schools struggle AP: So has Zuckerberg’s donation, which was matched with another $100 million from other donors, shown that big-scale philanthropy guarantees quick change? “We’ve proven at this point that answer is no,” said Derrell Bradford, a supporter of Zuckerberg’s effort and leader of the New York school reform group NYCAN, who previously worked for similar groups in New Jersey.
