By EVA MOSKOWITZ
The New York Post

Regrettably, it now appears likely that budget cuts will require teacher layoffs in New York City public schools. These will be based solely on seniority under the current teachers-union contract. In Washington, DC, however, they’ve taken a different approach. - read on

By LAURA BRUNO
The Daily Record

Two public school districts in Morris County, Harding and East Hanover, are opening tuition-based preschool programs next fall, following in the footsteps of half-a-dozen others who have opened up a limited number of preschool seats to nondisabled children the past five years. - read on

By Michael Meyers
Special to NYDailyNews.com

Why has the NAACP joined with the United Federation of Teachers to sue to stop the closing of 19 failing New York City public schools? The teachers union’s opposition to the move is understandable – it represents educators, including the ones who are directly affected by these closings. - read on

February 2, 2010
By Jim Dineen and Carm Catanese
centraljersey.com

Urban centers of New Jersey are the sites of the most catastrophic and expensive failure in the history of education. The victims of this failure especially include the children and parents of cities like our neighboring Trenton. In addition, the rest of us are being ripped off in a big, big way through state taxes, much of which are consumed in supporting these failing inner-city schools and the consequences of their failures. - read on

February 1, 2010
BY LESLIE BRODY
The Record

The Obama administration announced Monday it wants to set a higher bar for American students by revamping the controversial education law called No Child Left Behind.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the law was great for exposing the achievement gaps between students from different backgrounds but it was deeply flawed. - read on

By DENNIS M. WALCOTT
The New York Post

The United Federation of Teachers, the NAACP and other advocacy groups and elected officials announced yesterday that they intend to sue New York City over its plan to close 19 of the city’s lowest performing schools. - read on

By CARL CAMPANILE
The New York Post

The NAACP today will join a teacher’s union lawsuit to block the city from closing 19 low-performing schools, claiming the action discriminates against minority and special-needs students, sources said. - read on

January 29, 2010
Lisa Snell
The Reason Foundation

Interview with Paul Pastorek, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education

[This interview was originally featured in Innovators in Action 2009.]

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana’s school system—which had languished at the bottom of national rankings for years—and more than 100 public schools were closed, displacing approximately 118,000 school-age children throughout the state. - read on