- With all the hullaballoo about public sector unions of late, Colorado’s recent Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration conference comes at an apt time. Secretary Arne Duncan himself attended the conference and gave a speech that addressed teacher accountability, seniority, and lay-offs. His speech wasn’t specific enough to satisfy Education Week’s Stephen Sawchuk, who penned two articles analyzing Duncan’s remarks on last hired, first fired policies and how to turn “collaboration” from a politically correct buzz word into a tangible, effective reality.
- Ever wonder what TFA alumni do after they finish their urban school teaching stints? In their recent Education Next article, Monica Higgins, Frederick Hess, Jennie Weiner, and Wendy Robinson claim that TFAers, more than participants of any other similar program, go on to become educational entrepreneurs of the highest degree.
- It’s budget season, and the pennies are flying as nearly everyone in ed policy tosses in their two cents about Obama’s proposed budget. The Center for American Progress (CAP) has recently released several articles analyzing educational and other provisions in the budget. Of particular interest on CAP’s site are an article picking apart the teacher preparation portion of the budget and an interactive budget calculator with which users can try their hand at balancing the nation’s balance sheet.
- Race to the Top was great for states with winning applications, but what about the rest? A new study from the Center for Education Policy asks exactly this question, and finds that many states are actually sticking to the ambitious ed reform plans they laid out when applying for Race to the Top, even if failing to win new funding may slow the process down a bit. Also, don’t miss Education Week’s coverage of the study, which pulls out some of its most timely conclusions.
- What’s the secret to the energy of the protesting teachers union members in Wisconsin? Ian’s Pizza, according to a recent article in the Huffington Post. The pizza parlor, which insists it is politically neutral, has delivered over 500 pizzas to protesters to date and has received donations from donors in 10 countries and 43 US states.
