By Valerie Strauss November 5, 2019 Surely you’ve heard it before: Public schools today are a mess, far worse than they used to be. Kids used to learn a lot more than they do now. When exactly that was remains unclear, but people like to say it anyway. To be sure, there are many troubled public…
Category: Funding For Education
Hackles rise as Chicago teachers strike drags into day 10
By KATHLEEN FOODY 10-29-19 CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s mayor on Tuesday accused leaders of the city’s powerful teachers union of using its “political agenda” to hold up a contract agreement to end a strike that will keep students from classrooms for at least 10 days. Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for Wednesday after the Chicago…
Chicago Teachers Strike: City reaches deal with SEIU, talks to resume with Chicago Teachers Union; classes canceled Monday
By ABC7 Eyewitness News Team Coverage 10-28-19 CHICAGO (WLS) — Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Sunday night that a tentative deal has been reached with members of SEIU Local 73, however talks continue to stall with the Chicago Teachers Union as the end of the two weekslong strike remains out of sight. SEIU Local 73 represents CPS support…
Many parents are confused about how public education now works in New Orleans, report says
BY DELLA HASSELLE OCT 27, 2019 – 5:00 PM Phylisha Dannel is helped applying online for schools for her kids by Norma Martinez and Latonya Mornay, of EnrollNOLA, during the Urban League of Louisiana’s Schools Expo 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Saturday, February 4, 2017. People browse the booths during the…
Elizabeth Warren’s public schools plan calls for increased teacher pay, free lunch for all students
Kim Norvell, Oct. 21, 2019 U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans to invest $800 billion in public schools to ensure all students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade can have equal access to quality education, she announced Monday. Warren, a former special education teacher, proposes reducing states’ reliance on property taxes to fund education, fighting against segregation,…
Teachers quit in Florida, citing ‘toxic’ conditions and a ‘testing nightmare’
(iStock) (Michael Quirk/iStock) By Valerie Strauss June 5, 2019 Florida has a serious teacher shortage. During this school year, there were more than 2,200 vacancies at one point or another. Why? In a recent post, Fed Ingram, Miami-Dade County teacher of the year in 2006 and now president of the Florida Education Association cited several reasons,…
Illinois teachers get new minimum base salary
By Michael Urbanec 8:26 pm The Times files A new minimum salary for Illinois teachers passed through the House and Senate around the same time lawmakers worked on recreational marijuana legalization and a gambling expansion. The bill is aimed at addressing the state’s teacher shortage. The new legislation sets the salary floor at $40,000 for public…
Richmond Public Schools apologizes for misleading high school graduation data
By JUSTIN MATTINGLY Jun 7, 2019 Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras said the way the data were presented to the School Board “led to, understandably, a lot of anxiety and a lot of concern.” There will be more than eight students graduating from Armstrong High School on Sunday. Data presented to the Richmond School…
Denver Public Schools faces backlash from parents about placement of cell towers on schools
By: Russell Haythorn June 7, 2019 DENVER — Denver Public Schools is facing fierce backlash from parents about placing cell phone towers on school campuses. These agreements between DPS and the billion-dollar telecom industry have existed for years, but now a group of parents at Teller Elementary is asking for more details on the deal. “Why…
In many teaching jobs, teachers’ salaries can’t cover rent
New teachers can’t afford median rent almost anywhere. Our city-by-city analysis validates a theme in teacher strikes. But that’s not the full story Erin Richards and Matt Wynn, June 5, 2019 Teachers hustle to afford housing Elementary school teacher Stacie Baur in Pennsylvania teaches English to Chinese students via Skype to make ends meet. JACK GRUBER,…