Teachers to vote next week on possible strike at 19 Chicago charter schools

By Mitchell Armentrout 10/24/2018   Teachers at 19 Chicago charter schools will hold strike authorization votes next week that could open the door to the first-ever work stoppage at any charter school in the nation. Votes will be cast Oct. 30 by teachers at the city’s 15 schools in the Acero network, the largest unionized charter…

Tennessee hits highest graduation rate for second year in a row

Jason Gonzales Oct. 1, 2018 Tennessee’s graduation rate held steady year over year, maintaining the record rate of 89.1 percent that was recorded last school year. In Middle Tennessee, Nashville public schools posted a similar graduation rate from the previous year while Williamson County Schools posted one of its highest graduation rates in several years. Overall, more…

How are America’s public schools really doing?

It’s hard to find a public official today who, when talking about public schools, doesn’t talk about what a mess they are. Failing. Some of them are, in fact, failing kids. This piece, written by Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the author of “Beyond Test Scores: A…

Arizona Could Be a Case Study for Turning Teacher Protest Into Power

“I realized I wouldn’t be able to look my students in the eyes if I didn’t do everything possible.” EDWIN RIOSOCTOBER 12, 2018 6:00 AM In 2016, newly minted Arizona Teacher of the Year Christine Porter Marsh criss-crossed the state, giving speeches and listening to the concerns of her fellow educators. The Arizona Legislature had been slashing school…

Why Texas public schools are suffering. [Opinion]

David S. Knight  Oct. 11, 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 past wrongs, but a preliminary budget request from the…

Pasco schools seek class size solutions

Jeffrey Solochek October 2, 2018 Nearly two months into the academic year, several Pasco County schools continue to struggle meeting state class size requirements. A recently created report indicates hundreds of classrooms across the district that exceeded the constitutional caps by at least one student. School Board members said they had received calls of classes with…

Class sizes raise concerns for Mich. parents, districts, teachers

September 26, 2018 Jennifer Chambers, Korie Wilkins was happy with the small class sizes at her son’s elementary school for the last three years. Then the Rochester Community Schools parent heard a number this month that stopped her in her tracks: 30. “There are 30 kids in his class,” Wilkins said. “He has never had…