State teachers union makes its case for charter school reform
The state teachers union has been complaining about charter school mismanagement for a long time. Now, we have their complaints in writing. The New York State United Teachers released its report today...
View ArticleRemainders: State says tests are harder, teachers have doubts
Alan Chartock, a union member and father of SUNY’s Jonas Chartock, weighs in on the charter debate. Analyzing his students’ exam reading passages, Ruben Brosbe finds many are below grade level. State...
View ArticleRise & Shine: Attendance problems not limited just to students
Only four principals failed the city’s principal rating system, even after it was overhauled. (Daily News) A fifth of city teachers missed more than the permitted 10 days of school last year. (Wall...
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Charter School Stability
This is the first post in a series that looks at data from charter schools’ Basic Education Data System (BEDS) reports. This data was provided to us by the New York State Education Department via a...
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Why We Agree With Retired Military Leaders
When retired military officers are advocating for food reform in our schools, you know there’s a serious problem. Recently a group of retired generals, admirals, and other U.S. Armed Forces called...
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Bronx high school may be the last of its kind to see scanners
For its size, which is colossal, Herbert Lehman High School has been one of the Bronx’s safest high schools for years. But recent changes and a spate of fights have put the school on track to get...
View ArticleNew City Council bill aims to overhaul city space estimates
New legislation introduced in the City Council aims to change the way the city decides when a school is filled to capacity. Many of the city’s most heated education battles, from how to solve...
View ArticleRemainders: De-mystifying Department of Education data
UES parents are petitioning the DOE to protest the elimination of one of P.S. 290′s kindergarten classes. Robert Gebeloff, the Times’s education data guru, offers advice about crunching the DOE’s...
View ArticleRise & Shine: Confusion reigns about McCourt HS admissions
Merryl Tisch wants her Board of Regents to have final say over charter schools’ authorization. (Post) The city’s new school directory falsely indicated thatFrank McCourt HS would be selective. (Daily...
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Mayor’s poetry offers insight into school curriculum
Kicking off the city’s annual “Poem in Your Pocket” celebration today, Mayor Bloomberg read a poem of his own creation — a four-stanza ode to hope inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem. Bloomberg’s poem...
View ArticlePro-charter group: “Stop Listening to the Teachers Union”
A new TV spot by the pro-charter coalition Education Reform Now debuted today, three days before the state has to officially declare whether it will submit a bid for Race to the Top round two. The ad,...
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In and Out: Charter School Transfers
This is the second post in a series that looks at data from charter schools’ Basic Education Data System reports. This data was provided to us by the New York State Education Department via a Freedom...
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New Visions awards college scholarships to seven city students
Sharmin Mollick pores over an Advanced Placement Physics assignment at Marble Hill High School for International Studies. I spent the day today with a couple of students with amazing stories — Karina...
View ArticleRemainders: Older charter schools have lower transfer rates
After a rough start at public elementary schools, a novelist found her place at Hunter College HS. City Limits looks at Bloomberg’s cash rewards program and its unclear future. A Bronx charter school...
View ArticleRise & Shine: With closures on hold, school space is extra tight
It’s not clear whether the idea of tenure for teachers will weather the teacher quality push. (NPR) With school closures on hold, some of the city’s new schools are still without homes. (Daily News) A...
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Fewer children tested for G&T admissions, but more qualify
Thousands fewer parents had their preschoolers screened for the city’s gifted kindergartens this year, but the classes could still see enrollment rise. That’s because the sheer number of children who...
View ArticleA Bill of Goods
Bill Gates is amazed at what he sees happening at KIPP charter schools. Bill has no idea those same things happen at Francis Lewis High School, and countless other public schools, each and every day....
View ArticleFeds give New York $300 million to fix failing schools
New York State will receive $308 million from the U.S. Department of Education to turn 57 troubled schools into success stories, federal officials announced today. The funds, known as School...
View ArticleState Senate introduces new bill to double cap on charter schools
The legislative battle over whether and how to raise the state’s cap on charter schools could begin again as early as next week. The State Senate’s Rules Committee, which is chaired by Senator Malcolm...
View ArticleRemainders: D.C. contract on hold, charter cap back in the news
The city’s Department of Education thinks the new charter cap bill is “a step in the right direction.” With 183 pieces of data, the system for grading schools is very complicated, writes Robert...
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