The 74

“What organizers like to call ‘society’s true rock stars: educators’ — and an ever-expanding orbit of tech innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and media types focused on teaching and learning — are again set to converge next week in Austin for the sixth annual South By Southwest Education (SXSWedu) Conference & Festival.

It’s a dizzying and deep four-day gathering that kicks off Monday with a keynote address by famed autistic author and animal science professor Temple Grandin on the different ways people think when solving problems and culminates Thursday with a presentation by LRNG CEO Connie Yowell on the $25 million effort (thank you MacArthur Foundation) to close the opportunity gap for young people by creating a connected, digital catalog of in-school and out-of-school learning and career experiences. LRNG was tapped just last week to be part of the White House’s summer jobs initiative.”

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Newsday

“NYC’s Department of Education — and Mayor Bill de Blasio — have stridently argued over the last few weeks that concerns over potential increases in school violence are unfounded. And yet, it seems, they’re not willing to prove it.

When the city came under fire for supposedly under-reporting incidents of school violence last month, it became clear that fueling that was a discrepancy in how school incident data are reported and categorized. The city maintains a data set, and then reports it to the state, which puts it all online, by school. But the state’s system categorizes incidents differently from the city, and the city’s data set is not online.”

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Fox 5 NY

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) – There have been two school slashings in Brookyn this week and some parents are questioning the city’s new policy on reporting violence in the classroom.

One of the attacks happened at Legal Studies High School in East Williamsburg. The school safety agent who tried to intervene was bit in the hand.

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HuffPost Education

“The film ‘Spotlight’ deservingly took home the top Oscar Sunday night for its portrayal of the Boston Globe’s hugely consequential investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. The story was published in 2002, and the investigations into clergy sex abuse mushroomed around the world.

Fast forward 14 years and change the topic from church to school, because sex abuse by teachers and school staff is frighteningly alive and well in America. And, quite tragically, it might just be the only ‘equity’ we see in the system. Sexual predators find ways to hide among children, and they don’t care if they’re rich or poor or black, brown or white.”

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New York Daily News

“The era of fighting to improve education in New York, including for low-income kids, is over.

Welcome to the age of inertia. The only question: How much will the state Board of Regents water down standards and retreat from holding adults accountable for student performance?

Panel members, including a chancellor, set education policy. They are appointed not by the governor but by the state Assembly. But the Assembly is dominated by allies of the teachers’ unions — and those unions are verging on a takeover.”

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Pix 11

“A group of parents rallied on the steps of city hall, saying that the Department of Education is to blame for the growing violence in city schools.

The parents are also claiming that their kids are being bullied by student and teachers alike, and they are demanding that the city release the names of teachers with a history of violence.

Seven-year-old Cameron Suarez, his mother, Kristina Martell, and father, Adam Suarez, along with parent activist Shamona Kirkland discussed bullying cases across the city and the DOE’s response.”

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The New York Times

“LOS ANGELES — A fierce battle over the future of teacher tenure in California moved to an appeals court here on Thursday. Lawyers for student plaintiffs argued that the state’s ironclad job protections for teachers deprived students of a quality education, while teachers unions and the state said the system helped recruit and retain teachers.

Two years ago, in a landmark ruling, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge struck down five state statutes dealing with the awarding of tenure, as well as rules governing teacher dismissals and the requirement that seniority be used to determine layoffs. In a strongly worded ruling, the judge, Rolf Treu, said the statutes violated the students’ rights to an equal education under the California Constitution by allowing poor-performing teachers to stay in classrooms indefinitely.”

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The New York Times

“WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s nominee for Education Secretary told senators Thursday that the focus of decision-making on elementary and secondary education is ‘rightly shifting’ to the states and away from the federal government.

John B. King Jr. is poised to oversee the Education Department as it is losing some of its authority. A bipartisan education law passed by Congress and signed by Obama in December revamps the widely criticized No Child Left Behind Act, and substantially limits some of the federal government’s influence ushered in by that 2002 law.”

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Chalkbeat NY

“As New York City officials weigh options to boost school diversity, a new report shows that elementary schools that serve mostly and black and Latino students have less-qualified teachers than city schools that primarily serve white students.

Teachers are less likely to hold a master’s degree, have certifications in core subject areas, and stay long-term at schools where most students are black and Hispanic, according to the report, released Thursday by the advocacy group New York Appleseed. For instance, 42 percent of teachers in those schools have a master’s degree and some additional training, compared to 57 percent in schools where most students are white.”

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Los Angeles Times

“One of the highest-stakes battles in education is about to resume Thursday in a Los Angeles courtroom as teacher unions and their allies try to win back job protections that were tossed out in a landmark 2014 ruling.

An appeals court will weigh the ruling by L.A. Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu that sent shockwaves through California and the rest of the country by striking down the tenure and seniority system that had long protected public school teachers. The ruling is on hold pending the appeal.”

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