- Ed schools say no; teachers say yes. The National Council on Teacher Quality may be butting heads with recalcitrant ed-school hierarchs as it collects data for its groundbreaking evaluation of teacher-prep programs, but teachers—the former students of these programs—are all for the study. A recent NCTQ survey found that fully 81 percent of teachers think there should be a national review of teacher-prep programs. Sweet, sweet vindication.
- An outside-the-box inspiration: In order to keep up six-day-a-week mail delivery in Germany, Deutsche Post cut costs by selling off its buildings and sharing space with other businesses, like banks and convenience stores. A smart idea for our own USPS, but also food for thought for districts moving to a four-day academic week. (Though rethinking their Cadillac benefits packages would probably help too.)
- With the backing of Gov. Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill last week that would give access to vouchers to students stuck in PA’s lowest-performing schools. Now the bill sits in the House, where its fate is uncertain. Make the right call, Harrisburg: Let these kids escape from failing schools.
- As November 2012 creeps closer, what are the odds that ESEA gets reauthorized before the election? Over at the Title 1-Derland blog, a group of education experts, including our own Mike Petrilli, weigh in. (Mike gives it a 50-50 chance.)
- A few weeks back, Rahm Emanuel made a deal with about a dozen district schools in Chicago: Extend the school day by ninety minutes and get a 2 percent raise (and $150k in school funds). Now it’s Chicago charters’ turn to capitalize on the same deal. And they’re much less shy than the district schools: Thirty-two of the forty-one eligible schools have already signaled they want in on the initiative.
