Education Week says a new National Research Council report shows that the best available data indicates teachers who get certified through alternative programs do just as well as teachers who come from the traditional education school route. However, the report says a lot more, and it is pretty disturbing. The main reason there are no…
School system shuns program that increases Advanced Placement course performance One of the most exciting school reform efforts in our state is the ‘AdvanceKentucky’ program to place more, higher quality Advanced Placement (AP) courses in our public high schools. But, a new list of the schools that will participate in this highly effective program in…
The Herald-Leader reports that Kentucky Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday is working hard to get a proposal together for charter school legislation that will win more support from various education groups. One thing is clear in this article. When it comes to education, you have to ask around to really find out what educators are…
All 107 seniors in Chicago’s all-male The Urban Prep Charter School are heading to college – four-year colleges. One hundred percent! Even the prestigious Louisville Male High School only graduated 98.7 percent according to its 2008-2009 School Report Card (Available from pull-down menus here). And, only 92.6 percent are going on to either two- or…
Will the same thing happen in Kentucky? The Courier-Journal reports that the Indiana Department of Education is cancelling its efforts to win Race to the Top Phase 2 dollars, citing a lack of cooperation from the state’s teachers union. The apparent sticking point is a plan to include a teacher evaluation program as part of…
I wrote yesterday about the ten schools Kentucky identified for the federal School Improvement Grant program and the fact that the principals in some of those schools will have to go. It’s already starting in other states like West Virginia, according to the Charleston (WV) Gazette. The question is, will it really happen here?
The US Department of Education announced yesterday that it is releasing $56 million to Kentucky as School Improvement Grants (SIG) to turn around some of the state’s lowest performing schools. However, there is a catch. To get the money, some principals in Kentucky schools will have to be replaced. The question is, will that really…
Kentucky’s chances could be ‘toast’ without charter schools We already pointed out that other states like Florida are taking a look at the Race to the Top (RTTT) Phase 1 awards and will up the ante considerably with their Phase 2 submissions. Now, that is happening in more states like Colorado, Iowa and Michigan. If…
We’ve written plenty about charter schools, including coverage of recent reports about the superior performance of charter schools in New York City and Boston. But, at least one public school education type isn’t reading us. Check out this new opinion piece in the Herald-Leader from Jefferson County Public Schools’ Robert Rodosky. Rodosky should do wider…
The school choice fight between the Knox County Public School District and the Corbin Independent School District is going to the next level. The Corbin Board of Education just voted to sue to preserve school choice between the two school districts. It’s going to get interesting, now.