“The study, by Education Reform Now, a nonprofit think tank…” This column doesn’t usually address opinion writing, but this failed — careless, even? — description of Education Reform Now in today’s New York Times editorial page is pretty egregious. The editorial focuses on a new report from ERN showing that middle-class kids and even affluent ones are […]
Alexander Russo
Alexander Russo is a freelance education writer who has created several long-running blogs such as the national news site This Week In Education, District 299 (about Chicago schools), and LA School Report. He can be reached on Twitter at @alexanderrusso, on Facebook, or directly at alexanderrusso@gmail.com.
Posted inEducation, The Grade
Roundup: New Orleans Considers Return To Local Control
New Orleans Plan: Charter Schools, With a Return to Local Control – The New York Times ow.ly/T2Bk3004sT8 Yes, the feds could pull North Carolina’s education funding for violating transgender civil rights – Washington Post ow.ly/3EXB3004sJw U.S. Urges Colleges to Rethink Questions About Criminal Records – The New York Times ow.ly/9aLI3004sG6 Teacher prep programs attracting/accepting disproportionate share of […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
Chicago Journalists Honored For Controversial Education Coverage
There’s no shortage of smart, hard-working journalists in Chicago, including several education reporters and editors. So it’s nice to see so many of them honored for their work last week — even if some of the pieces have been problematic for me and a handful of others. The Chicago Daily Herald was honored with 10 Lisagor […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
Roundup: NJ Changes Standard’s Name, TFA Ending Pilot Program, NY Schools Struggle With ELL Rules
New Jersey Changes Names of Common Core Standards, Makes Few Changes – State EdWatch – Education Week ow.ly/HpFZ3002wMX New York Schools Struggle With New Rules to Help Students Learning English – The New York Timesow.ly/4Cfo3002vEs Teach For America Ends Pre-Training Pilot Focused on Cultural Competency bit.ly/1s0Wbxj #teaching WGN: Corruption behind Removal of Chicago Principal “Runs Very […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
Best Education Journalism Of The Week (April 30 – May 5, 2016)
Latest National Teacher Of The Year reacting to President Obama’s remarks earlier this week. BEST OF THE WEEK NYT: Money, Race and Success: How Your School District Compares http://ow.ly/4nvGgx AP: Unaccompanied minors in 35 districts, 14 states have faced illegal barriers to enrolling in school. https://t.co/U4F7NbxdmX Politico NY: In NY, Clinton treads lightly in praise of uncontroversial […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
Some Alternatives To The Soft, Duplicative Coverage Of This Week’s Chan Zuckerberg Announcement
This week’s announcement that former Obama Administration education official Jim Shelton (above right) was going to head the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) provides a great example to look at how different outlets covered the announcement — and to think about whether it still makes sense for mainstream media outlets to cover these kinds of “news” events. […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
Roundup: DC Teachers Protest, Detroit Bailout Moves, NOLA Returning
Decade after Katrina, New Orleans poised to regain schools : AP Article ow.ly/4nuzGA D.C. teachers protest salaries and failed contract negotiations – The Washington Post ow.ly/4nuzi2 Michigan House Passes Legislation to Pay Off Debt of Detroit Schools – WSJ http://ow.ly/4nuGVi Survey: Nearly half of teachers would quit now for higher-paying job http://ow.ly/4nuGZb ALEC summit in […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
If #EWA16 Is Any Indication, EdJournalism May Soon Reach Peak Integration Coverage
Mob scene around @nhannahjones and @RickKahlenberg after #ewa16 desegregation panel. pic.twitter.com/yFY8UpEsxR — alexanderrusso (@alexanderrusso) May 3, 2016 That’s a slew of education reporters clustered around the NYT’s Nikole Hannah-Jones at the recent EWA conference in Boston. Hannah-Jones was on three hour-long panels that morning, and involved in numerous other panels during the three-day event. At […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
Roundup: Chicago Teachers Back Off Strike Vote, Zuckerberg Hires Former Obama Official
Chicago Teachers Union Decides Against Taking Strike Vote – ABC News ow.ly/4ns5r5 See also Tribune Online Testing in Georgia Disrupted by Glitches – Market Brief ow.ly/4nqKHP N.J. revises, renames Common Core academic standards | NJ.com ow.ly/4ns5Qa School-related civil rights complaints surgeow.ly/4ns5P7 Chancellor Encourages Schools to ‘Re-Brand’ Better – WNYC ow.ly/4ns5Rv Zuckerberg and Chan Hire Education Leader […]
Posted inEducation, The Grade
NYT & Washington Post Losing Top Education Reporters
Moving on: Motoko Rich (left), and Lyndsey Layton (right) The new EWA EdBeat report suggests that education news coverage is holding remarkably steady given all the turmoil in journalism as a whole. According to the report, “32 percent say their outlets’ education news staff shrank over the past two years, 27 percent say staffs grew, […]
