Washington Teachers’ Union President Nathan A. Saunders Responds to Low-Wage Workers Strike Washington, DC (May 22, 2013) – Hundreds of low-wage workers from across DC walked out on strike for the past two days calling for a living wage and benefits. The workers – all employed by federally-contracted companies – walked out of food-service and […]
Via The New York Times: Testing Students Again: The Teachers’ Union To the Editor: Re “Schools Add to Test Load, Just to Assess the Questions” (news article, May 20): Parents across New York State are rightly wondering why testing has become so dominant this year. In April, students were given assessments intended to be […]
Common Core clash: AFT president fires back at state education officials (Washington Post) D.C. Council must stop micromanaging public schools (Washington Post) D.C. Bets Big on Common Core (Education Week) Low-wage workers picket outside federal buildings (Washington Post) Should Coaches Participate in Teacher Evaluation? (Education Week) All Virginia students to use computers for standardized tests […]
The Common Core Needs a Common Curriculum (Education Week) Process for Charters to Inherit Vacant DCPS Buildings Gets a Wee Bit Easier (Washington City Paper) Education Secretary Duncan gives 3 more states permission to ignore No Child Left Behind law (Washington Post) D.C. charter board approves two new schools (Washington Post) Has anybody told Obama […]
Via The Washington Post, By Emma Brown The District plans to allow public charter schools to enter into long-term leases for a dozen old public school buildings, some of which are traditional public schools that are slated to close by next year, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Monday. Officials are making available another four buildings […]
What do you teach at SWW? Social Studies. What motivated you to enter a career in education? I’ve always loved working with kids and I come from a long line of teachers, so it seemed like a natural fit. How long have you been a teacher? This is my 5th year. What is your favorite […]
Via The Washington Post, By Emma Brown D.C. Public Schools officials say they anticipate sending fewer than 350 “excess” notices to teachers whose jobs have been eliminated because of budget cuts or changes to academic programs. That number is in line with recent years despite the fact that 13 schools are slated to close in […]
DCPS prepares to ‘excess’ fewer than 350 teachers (Washington Post) Do new exams produce better teachers? States act while educators debate (Hechinger Report) New York City will double money for training teachers (New York Daily News) What ‘education influentials’ think will — and won’t — happen (Washington Post) Fiery Chicago teachers union president reelected (Washington […]
Common Core Supporters Firing Back (Education Week) Sequestration Forces Cuts to National Social Studies Tests (Education Week) 32 summer professional development opportunities (E-School News) Teachers Union Files Lawsuits to Stop School Closings (NBC Chicago) D.C. schools try to shrink number of special education students (Washington Examiner) DC judge declines to halt school-closure plan that prompted […]
3 days of marches against school closings planned (Chicago Tribune) The most important problem facing American children today (Washington Post) Response: Using — Not Misusing — Ability Groups In The Classroom (Education Week) D.C. Council education committee flexes its muscles on school boundaries (Washington City Paper) AFT President Randi Weingarten Explains How She Would Teach […]
Via SmartBlog on Education, By Fred Ende: I’m not a big fan of Seek & Finds. You know, the simple puzzles where you look at a word bank and then circle the word in a jumble of random letters and whatnot. It’s not that I don’t find them fun; it’s just that they’re pretty […]
Plan aims to determine students’ socioeconomic status (USA Today) Judge sharply questions activists seeking to block D.C. school closures (Washington Post) A New Family Engagement Partnership with the National Center for Family Literacy (U.S. Department of Education) Seeking Teachers’ Support, Mayoral Candidates Pledge Education Reform (New York Times) D.C. would be stronger with a weaker […]
Why it is hard to monitor bullying at schools — report (Washington Post) Alejandra Ceja Appointed Director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (U.S. Department of Education Blog) U.S. Department of Education Goes “Back to School” as Part of Teacher Appreciation Week (U.S. Department of Education Blog) Partnership aims for hybrid traditional-charter […]
Yesterday, WTU President Nathan Saunders met with Randi Weingarten in Cincinnati, Ohio to discuss wrap-around services.
Monday’s Teacher Appreciation Week prize winners: Deborah Pearman, Cardozo High School Terence Ngwa, Alice Deal Middle School Gaston La Caille, Barnard Elementary School Kenneth Giles, Shepherd Elementary School Trishana Ellis, Anacostia High School Sara Tick, Hearst Elementary School Christina Esguerra-Sandoval, Woodrow Wilson High School Joanne Jones-Mussenden, Duke Ellington School of the Arts Julia Zients-Hayes, Francis […]
D.C. Council votes to increase funding for summer school (Washington Post) Gray nominates two new candidates for D.C. Public Charter School Board (Washington Post) U.S. Department of Education Hosts Google Hangout with African American Educators (U.S. Department of Education Blog) Rifts Deepen Over Direction of Ed. Policy in U.S (Education Week) Are Teacher Evaluations Public? […]
Response: Ways To Develop Creative Thinking In The Common Core (Education Week) Students Conduct Fieldwork for Scientists’ Research (Education Week) D.C. charter school waitlists vary widely (Washington Post) 5 Ways For Teachers To Get Quality PD This Summer (Edudemic) Jonetta Rose Barras: Curing the disease, not the symptoms (Washington Examiner) DC Council to take up […]
WTU kicked off Teacher Appreciation Week 2013 early with our Executive Board Member Awards Dinner on Friday, where board members were honored for their hard work and tireless contributions to the Union. We will conduct prize drawings each day to thank members for all of the work you do each day to improve the lives […]
States’ Online Testing Problems Raise Common-Core Concerns (Education Week) Did D.C. schools cheat? Ask the students. (Washington Post) Many teachers say they need training in Common Core standards, poll says (Washington Post) Questions about the questions on new Common Core tests (Washington Post) Open Letter to Secretary Duncan About Early Childhood Education (Diane Ravitch’s Blog) States’ Online Testing Problems […]
Jonetta Rose Barras: Building a permanent underclass, Part 2 (Washington Examiner) Critics: Charters cheated out of funds (Washington Examiner) City closes door on KIPP DC charter high school (Washington Post) Gray, Catania have yet to discuss D.C. education issues (Washington Post) DCPS Releases Facts and Figures Budget Guide (DCPS) Charter school waitlists hit 22,000 (Washington […]
Online provider offers courses in education, teacher training (LA Times) Catania Calls DCPS Goals On Student Scores ‘Incredibly Unrealistic’ (WAMU) D.C. spending plan cuts programs and staff at dozens of schools (Washington Post) Hospitalized 4th grader, hooked up to machines, asked to take standardized test (Washington Post) Catania gets $100,000 for school study from Emanuel […]
Via PBS, By Rebecca Jacobson Creating a Whole New Planet for Math and Science Jerriel Hall meets his 23 students in the hallway on a Thursday morning to tell them they are no longer third graders at Leckie Elementary School in southwest Washington, D.C. They are cadets on the spaceship Achievement. And he is not […]
Via Taking Note, By John Merrow A great deal has happened since “Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error” appeared in this space two weeks ago. DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson testified under oath that she learned of Sandy Sanford’s long-buried memo from my blog this past January. My source recalls being in […]
Council Member Catania Outlines Plans For ‘Reform 2.0′ In DCPS (WAMU 88.5) Turmoil swirling around Common Core education standards (Washington Post) Facts and Fallacies About Master Teachers (ASCD) ‘Parent trigger’ legislation fails in Florida Senate (Washington Post) AFT’s Weingarten urges moratorium on high stakes linked to Common Core tests (Washington Post) Harry Jaffe: Mayor Gray’s […]
Via Education Week, By Shane Safir There’s one request for advice that I receive more than any other from coaches: How can I coach a resistant teacher? Since I started this blog in the Fall of 2012, I’ve probably received over 50 emails with a version of this question. This week I’m going to […]
DC Public Schools: How to keep kids out of class, not in (The Root DC) Study: Preschool funding sees unprecedented single-year drop (Washington Post) Wilson High rescinds policy of prohibiting sports for students who skip D.C. test (Washington Post) Leaving no school behind: Can bad ones be turned around? (USA Today) Fixing the ‘Opportunity Gap’ […]
On Friday, April 26th, WTU President Nathan A. Saunders testified before the DC Council Committee of the Whole in support of the Teacher Retirement Act of 2013. Currently, the teachers who were intended to benefit from the early retirement provision of the collective bargaining agreement—excessed, permanent status teachers, with at least 20 years of service […]
Via Department of Education Blog Teachers in this great country have long yearned for the opportunity to shape their own profession. Our forces have, as of late, been too often divided and unable to conquer. Now, for the first time in recent memory . . . a movement has emerged that offers precisely what […]
Via The Washington Post, By Emma Brown Kay Frazier knows her grandson, a third-grader, struggles in reading. That’s why she has always signed him up for summer school in the District, figuring he needs the extra help. But this year, for the first time, D.C. public schools’ summer program is enrolling students by invitation […]
D.C. summer school switches to invitation only (Washington Post) Corrupt educators are threatening school reform (Washington Post) D.C. attorneys respond to lawsuit challenging school closures (Washington Post) Obama Proposal on Student Loans Draws Fire (Education Week) Surprise! D.C. admits school test tampering at Meridian Public Charter (Washington Post) Primary Sources Meet Free Web 2.0 Tools […]
Obama Announces STEM AmeriCorps Initiative at Science Fair (Education Week) Just How ‘Wink-Wink’ Was a Deal on N.Y. Teacher Evaluations? (Education Week) D.C. Public Schools will end one day later in June (Washington Post) Report claims Rhee’s reforms harmed D.C. schools (Washington Examiner) Pep rallies, music videos and cash aim to inspire students on D.C. […]
The Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) revels in its success today after mobilizing critical support, which led to a victory, for DC Council Member Anita Bonds in Tuesday’s citywide special election to complete the term for the at-large seat. After the executive board of the Washington Teachers’ Union’s formally approved the Bonds endorsement, WTU President Nathan […]
Education is a right, but not a reality for many girls and young women around the world. Globally, 61 million do not attend primary school, more than half of them girls. AFT spoke with students at last week’s UN Education First Global Initiative event where students worldwide, including students from Wilson High School here […]
Council questions push for special-ed students in D.C. public schools (Washington Post) Evidence of widespread cheating leads to probe at D.C. charter school (Washington Examiner) School warns students: No test, no sports (Washington Post) David Coleman: Teachers Wrote the Common Core Standards (Diane Ravitch’s Blog) Wall Street Journal to Teachers: Stop Standing Up For Yourselves! […]
On Tuesday, April 9th, the Washington Teachers’ Union presented testimony before the University of the District of Columbia Board of Trustees as they considered the future of the school’s Special Education and Early Childhood Education programs.One proposal would move these programs under the umbrella of the university’s National Center for Urban Education, an unaccredited route program. […]
By Nathan A. Saunders, WTU President On March 29th, thirty-five school administrators and teachers were indicted by a grand jury in Atlanta for participating in the most widespread public school cheating scandal in recent memory. Fulton County Prosecutors alleged that the defendants conspired to either cheat, conceal cheating or retaliate against whistleblowers in an effort […]
New Tools for Student Loan Borrowers (Department of Education Blog) 2014 Education Budget: What’s the Bottom Line? (Department of Education) Investing in stocks can be educational (Post Gazette) Common Core Standards attacked by Republicans (Washington Post) Strengthen Newspaper Literacy with this Sample Teaching Strategy (ASCD) Eastern High School First in D.C.to Offer IB Diploma (Washington […]
Via Taking Note, By John Merrow We know that the flesh and blood Michelle A. Rhee was born in Michigan 43 years ago, the second child of South Korean immigrants Shang Rhee, a physician, and Inza Rhee, a clothing store owner. She spent most of her childhood in Ohio, where she attended public and […]
Via The Washington Post, By Emma Brown Chancellor Kaya Henderson and members of the D.C. Council’s education committee agreed Thursday that no one knows for sure whether D.C. schools’ 2008 test scores were inflated because of cheating. It’s a question that has never been fully investigated, they said at a hearing devoted to examining test security […]
Teachers Union’s Hedge Fund Enemy List (Wall Street Journal) Report Finds That D.C. Public Schools Get $13,000 More in Per-Student Funding Than Charter Schools (DCist) D.C. Council continues test-erasure cover-up (Washington Examiner) D.C. rolls out new security measures for standardized tests (Washington Examiner) D.C. test-security discussions focus on current and future school exam policy (Washington […]
McDuffie presses inspector general for more information on D.C. schools cheating probe (Washington Post) Financial Literacy Standards Rolled Out for K-12 (Education Week) Arne Duncan Urges Business Leaders to Defend Common Core (Education Week) Measure Education Reform by Quality, Not Quantity (Afro-American) Report: D.C. public schools get about $13k more per student than charters (Washington […]
