The Answer Sheet: public school


Posted at 05:28 PM ET, 01/31/2011

Letter to President Obama: Who is a 'highly qualified' teacher?
By Valerie Strauss
More than 50 organizations sign a letter to President Obama about legislation that would codify a Bush-era regulation that allows states to label teachers as “highly qualified” when they are still in training – and, in many cases, just beginning training – in alternative route programs. alternative route programs.Bamajoin in

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:28 PM ET, 01/31/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers | Tags:  continuing resolution, definition of highly qualified, education groups, h.r. 3082, highly qualified, highly qualified teacher, letter to obama, president obama, public school teachers

Posted at 10:15 PM ET, 01/25/2011

Obama’s faulty education logic: What he said and failed to say
By Valerie Strauss
Someone should have told President Obama that there were important contradictions in the education portion of his State of the Union address before he delivered it to Congress.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:15 PM ET, 01/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Poverty, Poverty, Poverty | Tags:  education reform, no child left behind, obama, obama education initiative, obama education reform, obama race to the top, obama speech, obama state of the union, president obama, public school reform, public schools, race to the top, state of the union, state of the union speech

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/17/2010

The sad story of an L.A. school labeled 'failing'
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher at a Los Angeles middle school writes about why her school was just declared to be "failing" and why the designation is patently unfair: "In today’s world of testing and sanctions, best efforts are irrelevant if scores do not increase at a fast enough rate."

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  failing schools, la schools, los angeles unified school district, public school choice, schools, teacher assessment, teachers, value-added measurement

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 10/27/2010

"Superman' tells false story about Emily's school
By Valerie Strauss
"Waiting for Superman" tells the stories of five students said to be desperate to escape their “failing” public schools. But in at least one case, that of Emily Jones, the story told isn't true.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 10/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  caroline grannan, davis guggenheim, emily jones, public school, waiting for superman

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/06/2010

Ravitch's 'modest' vision for school reform
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch answers her critics and provides a "modest" vision for school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch | Tags:  bridging differences, death and life of great american school system, diane ravitch, ford foundation, michael edwards and small change, new york city public school parents blog, ravitch and new book, ravitch's book, stphen koss

Posted at 10:11 AM ET, 11/17/2009

Fairfax: You've got to be kidding
By Valerie Strauss
Music education without instruments? I wish someone were kidding. But that’s one of the possibilities in Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools, one of the finest systems in the country and the largest in the Washington D.C. area, as it wrestles with a projected $176 million shortfall for next year.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:11 AM ET, 11/17/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Fairfax County Public Schools | Tags:  Fairfax County Public School, music education