Education News: April 23, 2010

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending April 23, 2010.

New York Unions Testify for More Charter Oversight
(New York Times, April 23rd) On Thursday, teachers’ unions testified to the New York Senate in an effort to increase oversight on the state’s charter schools. Citing the suspicious activity of a privately owned Buffalo charter, whose broad expense report has left concerns of financial mismanagement, the unions expressed concerns about how charters spend tax payer dollars. The unions hope that new charters will not be authorized until changes are made.

New Jersey Residents Vote to Cut Back
(New York Times, AApril 22nd) On Tuesday, New Jersey residents arrived at the polls in record numbers to vote on the state’s school budget. The result was the rejection of more than half of the school budgets on the ballot. As a result, New Jersey school officials expect large cuts, including teacher layoffs. Cuts are also expected in sport programs, advanced placement classes, kindergarten hours as well as increase classes sizes.

Role of Alternative Certification May Grow
(New York Times, April 19th) In recent months the Obama administration has criticized teachers’ colleges for poor student preparation. As teachers’ colleges reputations begin to dwindle, many have favored the work of alternative certification programs like Teach for America. In New York, the role of alternative programs could vastly increase as the New York State Board of Regents set to vote on whether to allow such programs to develop their own master’s degree curriculum. If granted, alternative degree programs could drastically decrease the role of education schools.

Illinois Preschools to Adopt New ELL Requirements
(Education Week, April 23rd) The Illinois board of education is set to approve new regulations that would adopt strict preschool English-learner requirements in order to increase preschool teacher accountability. While such requirements have been praised by many education experts, others argue that they are inappropriate for younger children.

Georgia to Increase Teacher Accountability
(Education Week, April 22nd) In an effort to increase Georgia’s chances of winning federal dollars in the second round of the Race to the Top grants, governor Sonny Perdue has asked lawmakers to develop a teacher evaluation bill. Perdue emphasized the need to create a uniform platform to judge educators, however the request has already sparked outcry from unions that worry that the state is heading towards a merit based pay system. The governor hopes that a bill will reach the House by next week.

Oakland to Layoff Teachers
(San Francisco Gate, April 23rd) On Thursday, Oakland Superintendent Tony Smith suspended labor negotiations to impose a contract that will cut $3 million dollars. The cuts will come through teacher layoffs, and allow schools to increase their class sizes. The imposed contracted has teachers in an uproar, but Smith emphasized the cuts necessity as the district faces dire circumstances.