TFA TROUBLE
Teach For America’s slipping numbers continue as they experience their second year of diminishing applicant numbers. The group says the appeal of an improving job market is to blame, while some aspiring teachers have deep concern with TFA’s two-year long model. Perhaps played down in the article is a shift to diversify cohorts of teachers, which could also be a factor in diminishing numbers.
LOOKING FOR MIDDLE GROUND
Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray are reportedly putting their heads together to create a bipartisan proposal for ESEA renewal. Yet there is much skepticism as to whether a fully collaborative bill will be produced; last week, Lamar Alexander said that an NCLB update didn’t necessarily have to start with a bipartisan product. When the Senate Education Committee passed a bill in 2013, not one Republican voted for it.
HEASTIE FROM THE BLOCK
Bronx legislator Carl Heastie has been elected to replace the recently resigned Sheldon Silver as speaker of the New York State Assembly, granting him the power to decide which bills are considered and which aspects of the state budget are negotiated. His (relatively quiet) views on education will be important for the more than one million students that are part of the New York City school system and the $8 billion annually set aside in the budget. What do we know about Heastie so far? His policy plans align somewhat with union priorities, he’s pro-charter, and he will bring overdue attention to the Bronx, which serves the lowest-performing set of students in the city.
VOLUN-TASTIC!
Tennessee’s thriving charter sector will likely see some expansion in the coming school year. Ahead of this week’s deadline, nearly fifty charter organizations have sent application letters to launch schools. A major portion of the new growth is concentrated around Memphis, home of some of the most underperforming schools in the state. For more on Tennessee, check out Nelson Smith’s 2013 report on the state’s Achievement School District.
