Big thanks to Newoldschool Teacher for her guestblogging of the past few weeks. I’m back now with only adorable pictures of the Eduspawn high in the Rockies to remind me what was…In no particular order, here are some things I’m digging through today as I try to restore some order to my inbox:
In the new Washington Monthly, three edu-related items: First, my colleague Kevin Carey pleads for more transparency in how we rate colleges. Second, Avi Zenilman explains why Teach For America is the new McKinsey. Finally, the issue contains the Monthly’s college rankings.
A lot of attention to various housing incentive/assistance programs for teachers. Pessimistic Seattle Times here, optimistic Ed Week here.
Ohio has been behind the curve on some charter school issues but an increased emphasis on holding authorizers accountable and cracking down on “sponsor shopping” could put them ahead of the curve on that front.
Speaking of choice, Howard Fuller lays out his vision and view of the politics in an op-ed. This line should spark some conversation:
It’s not hard to understand why many organizations and individuals in our community are either hostile or indifferent to charter schools and other forms of parental choice. Big-city school systems have historically employed large numbers of African-Americans, and for most of us the traditional public school has been our only hope for receiving an education. The traditional system has served many of us well. But that was then and this is now. Today’s public school systems are still employing us, but too few are effectively educating our children.
Policy and law maven Christopher Walker says (pdf) that in a post Schaeffer – Weast world (and that’s the one we live in folks!) the good ‘ol Section 504 might be the better bet for special ed advocates going forward. Does that mean all the heat and light around the new special eg regs was for naught?!
Dep’t of Ed releases final report on ELC’s grant issues. Could have political resonance but no one is going to be doing a perp walk.
On Sunday night, Mathew Perry, of the inexplicably popular “Friends” fame, stars as educator Ron Clark in a new TNT movie. When they make the Eduwonk movie I’m still pulling for Emmanuel Lewis to play the role, or perhaps Nick Nolte.
Brian Timoney has used Google maps to create a visual representation of student test scores in Colorado. Interesting idea for tech savvy wonksters elsewhere.
In the new Harvard Ed Review a panel of experts discuss mayoral control.
If you’re a pre-k teacher, Pre-K Now wants to pay you $1K a month to blog for them, only two posts a week! But, you have to get your employer’s permission, so that will cut down on the fun stuff.