Nina Rees October 03, 2018 As children conclude their first weeks of school across America, how do you envision their school buildings? The traditional brick-front building with big windows and rows of tidy desks? A more modern structure with laptops at workstations and a dual-use gym and theater? How about an abandoned big box store…
Category: Charter School
Get to Know Your Public Schools: 7 Revealing Numbers About America’s Education System, From Diversity to Safety, Absenteeism & More
All summer long at The 74, we’ve been using our “Big Picture” series to offer parents a richer understanding of the nation’s public school system — maps and charts that look at specific aspects of district policy and classroom behavior. Even if it wasn’t a complete sampling of every single issue facing families, teachers, principals, and policymakers,…
Pittsburgh Public Schools consider arming school police
JAMIE MARTINES Oct. 2, 2018, Pittsburgh Public Schools are exploring a possible policy change that would allow school police officers to carry guns. Pittsburgh Public Schools police Chief George Brown told the board Monday that officers need guns to do their jobs. He added that they’ve been trained to work with all students and to…
Pittsburgh Public Schools police chief wants his officers armed
PITTSBURGH — Marcie Cipriani October 3, 2018 The police chief for Pittsburgh Public Schools on Monday asked the district’s policy committee to change the policy that prevents school officers from carrying firearms. “I want to stop whatever’s coming from the outside inside,” Chief George Brown said. “We’re trying to keep the streets out of our…
Seattle Public School District Says Teacher Displacement Is Not a Race or Economic-Equity Issue
by Nathalie Graham • Oct 3, 2018 at 11:52 am SPS says recent teacher displacements don’t have anything to do with teacher strikes either. KELLY O Staffing adjustments happen every fall for Seattle Public Schools (SPS). This fall was different because of an enrollment prediction error. For the first time in 10 years, Seattle’s overall enrollment rate was lower than…
Why public school funding isn’t working in Texas
By David DeMatthews and David S. Knight Sep. 27, 2018 Texas is a prosperous state, but lawmakers are failing to adequately finance public education, and communities and students are suffering the academic, physical and economic consequences. The upcoming legislative session provides a unique opportunity for our state’s elected leaders to right the past wrongs, but…
Do Public School Students Have Constitutional Rights?
The Supreme Court used to answer with a resounding yes. In recent decades, regrettably, it has changed its mind. By Justin Driver Mr. Driver is a law professor. Aug. 31, 2018 On Tuesday, as many students around the country start the school year, the eyes of the nation will turn to the Senate Judiciary Committee as…
Public schools and the push to privatize everything
By SAM OSHERSON Sunday, September 23, 2018 (New Hampshire) Despite their euphemisms about “choice” and claims about “personalizing” education, the “school choice” advocates display a surprising ignorance about public education in New Hampshire. Commissioner of Education Frank Edelblut, for example, routinely misrepresents what happens in public school classrooms, incorrectly dismisses N.H. public education as a…
Willow Public School receives $250,000 grant
Brenden Koch Sep 26, 2018 Willow Public School has been granted $250,000 by the NewSchools Venture Fund. The Walla Walla charter school was one of 19 schools across the nation to receive money from the California-based philanthropic firm, which uses donations received to support teams of educators and entrepreneurs “who are re-imagining public education to…
Public Schools Question Special Education Funding Fairness As Voucher Program Expands
September 26, 2019 EMILY FILES Is state special education funding in Wisconsin unfair? School districts from Eau Claire to Oak Creek say it is. They see inequity between public schools and a relatively new voucher program. The Special Needs Scholarship Program is another chapter in Wisconsin’s storied school choice movement. It provides an approximate $12,000 scholarship — or…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 