DFER News Roundup
Congratulations, Senator-elect Cory Booker!
By Devin Boyle, Director of Communications, and Stephanie Doctrow, Communications Coordinator and Web Editor
DFER Seen & Heard:
- POLITICO’s Morning Education report included DFER’s statement on Cory Booker’s win in the New Jersey U.S. Senate race. From the statement: “With the current discord in Washington, DC, we eagerly await Booker’s rational and results-driven approach on Capitol Hill.”
- DFER-TN’s Natasha Kamrani called Nashville’s middle school rebranding project “smoke and mirrors” to distract from the real debate over the state’s education needs. (The Tennessean)
- Joe Williams, to the Post Star’s Michael Goot: “The culture of public education statewide means we are inclined to worry more about how things look to the public than about whether kids are actually being taught.”
- DFER’s Charles Barone tells EdWeek’s Michele McNeil he doubts the Department of Education will go much farther in enforcing the Race to the Top.
Advocacy, Policy Briefs & Such:
- Statement | DFER applauds Mayor Cory Booker’s win in the New Jersey U.S. Senate race.
DFER Blog:
- DFER-WI’s Jarett Fields asks, “What happens when parents go wild?”
In Related News:
- EdWeek‘s Jackie Zubrzycki writes, “Denver, Sacramento, Providence Mayors Launch Education Tour.”
- “The Tea Party Comes to New York,” Tim Daly writes for The New Teacher Project blog.
- The New York Times’ David Leonhardt writes that a recent study from the National Council of Economic Research “offers powerful if still tentative evidence that teacher-evaluation programs can play an important role.”
- “Booker, winning rocky Senate bid, gets a job to fit his profile,” writes the New York Times’ Kate Zernike.
- In POLITICO, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro comment on the road to school success and their Mayors for Excellent Schools Tour.
- Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced the state would direct an additional infusion of state funds to the struggling Philadelphia school district (Associated Press).
- The Hechinger Report teamed up with the Education Writers Association to examine how the Common Core State Standards are rolling out in seven states.
- The Department of Education’s post-shutdown to-do list includes reconsidering Georgia’s plea not to take away Race to the Top funding, EdWeek’s Michele McNeil reports.
- The Denver Post editorial board: “Vote to continue reforms in DPS.”
- Did you know that by three years old, children from low-income families have heard 30 million fewer words than their affluent peers? (Education Nation)
- Gotham Schools’ Geoff Decker writes, “Sea of parents and advocates take to streets for charter schools.”
- Fox 31 Denver’s Eli Stokols reports that the passage of Amendment 66 would lead to a $4 billion economic gain for Colorado.
- Boston mayoral candidate John Connolly picked up three endorsements from Boston elected officials, writes MassLive’s Garrett Quinn.
- U.S. adults lag most countries in literacy, math and computer skills, reports the Washington Post’s Lyndsey Layton.
Fun With Infographics & More:
- Infographic | High school diplomas benefit economy.
- DFER had a great time at the Center for Education Reform’s 20th anniversary celebration.
- Check out these photos from the March for NYC Kids.