New York Magazine

“Education-policy analysts have known for a long time that the traditional system for hiring teachers — giving them tenure after a few years, and tying their salary to years on the job — does not exactly optimize the quality of the teaching workforce. In 2009, Washington, D.C., launched IMPACT, a new system for evaluating teachers that combined in-class evaluations with testing that compared student improvement against expected levels. Critics of the education-reform movement attacked it bitterly. ‘The overall impact of IMPACT is not only unfair but not likely to do the job it is supposed to do: Root out bad teachers,’ complained Washington Post blogger Valerie Strauss. The Century Foundation’s Kimberly Quick argued, ‘the studies are careful to only point out that teacher IMPACT scores rose—not to say that student performance improved.'”

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The Washington Times

“A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine has a surprising conclusion. It finds that over the past decade, 1 percent of physicians accounted for 32 percent of malpractice claims. In other words, health care providers could eliminate one-third of malpractice and its associated health, legal and economic costs by removing the worst 1 percent of doctors.”

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The Atlantic

“The racial disparities in school-discipline rates are well-known, as are the damaging effects that harsh disciplinary policies can have on school climates. Less clear is whether—and if so, how —these tendencies contribute to the race-based achievement gap, a problem so entrenched and pervasive that discussing it is almost cliché.”

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The 74

“Mayor Bill de Blasio, elected on a signature campaign promise to radically transform educational opportunity for New York City’s youngest learners, proclaimed Thursday night that his administration is ‘shaking the very foundations of public education’ inside the country’s largest school system — but offered little evidence of the impact of such bold actions during his annual State of the City speech.”

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Gotham Gazette

“Mayor de Blasio’s annual State of the City address is a natural time to take a step back and review his performance running the largest school system in the United States. For StudentsFirstNY, our most basic litmus test for policymakers is a simple question – are they putting the interests of students first? After two full years with Mayor de Blasio, we can definitively say that the answer is ‘no.'”

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New York Daily News

“Thursday night, Mayor de Blasio will be sharing his take on the state of our city, highlighting what he claims are improvements across the five boroughs. But for many families living in neighborhoods with struggling schools, the state of our city is anything but strong. These families deserve a mayor who will put their children first, and do the hard work to turn around our failing school system. Their stories paint the real picture of the state of our city.”

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Education Week

“Over the next week I’m going to be writing about some of the key education policy issues bubbling up in the states in 2016, with examples drawn from the local advocacy work our 50CAN network engages in every day across the country.

In this first post, I want to spotlight a recurring issue in one state that makes a larger point about the education world: When it comes to ensuring all kids receive a high-quality education, advocacy isn’t optional. Even when policies are having a real, positive impact on students and communities, educators face daily, fight-for-your-lives battles to simply continue their work serving students. Supporting these leaders and the families they serve takes committed advocates who never give up.”

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NY State of Politics

“Nearly 90 percent of voters say corruption in New York’s state government remains a serious problem, but a plurality of voters believe Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top priority in 2016 should be education, according to a Siena College poll released on Monday.

The poll found Cuomo’s favorability rating holding relatively steady with voters, 52 percent to 43 percent. His job performance rating, last month clocking in at a negative 39 percent to 59 percent, now stands at 42 percent to 58 percent, the poll found.”

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New York Post

“Who will control New York City public schools on July 1?

The question has become a referendum on Mayor de Blasio’s leadership. De Blasio requested permanent mayoral control of the schools last year. In June, an unimpressed state Legislature renewed it for a single year.

De Blasio was essentially on probation.”

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Chalkbeat NY

“The contest to head New York’s Board of Regents and lead a new era of state education policy is heating up.

Regent Betty Rosa from the Bronx said she wants the job, while Regent Roger Tilles of Long Island said he is not actively campaigning, but would like the position. Lester Young, a Regent from Brooklyn who has been at the forefront of an effort to improve education for young men of color, has also been floated as a potential candidate.”

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