This year, under First Lady Michele Obama's leadership and the standards of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, schools across the country are implementing the dietary guidelines established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).   Continue Reading...

Out of Burbank, California emerges a true gem in the teaching profession. Rebecca Mielwocki, the 2012 National Teacher of Year, has been speaking out about education reform and her vision for the teaching profession since being awarded the prestigious title in the spring. Mielwocki, a 7th grade science teacher, recently shared her opinions and teaching philosophy in an interview with Education Week.   Continue Reading...

For generations, the public school teacher retirement system has functioned as a back-ended plan where teachers receive a modest salary in exchange for lifetime benefits and a guaranteed pension. However, the shifting demographics of the profession coupled with financial realities has led many states to question the sustainability of the current model.   Continue Reading...

Teachers in the classroom today all remember being issued their textbooks in grade school year after year. Decades old charts and graphs accompanied by the occasional pencil drawing have been standard issue for generations. Currently the textbook business is a $4 billion-a-year industry; however, with dawn of new technologies and new insight into their true effectiveness, paper textbooks are on the fast track to possible extinction.   Continue Reading...

The battle between teacher union push-back and the call to make public school teacher evaluations available to the public has been a topic of debate for over a year in California. Union officials claim the information should not be available to outsiders, while proponents argue that it is a critical part of creating a culture of transparency and accountability in the public schools. As the debate continues, a new bipartisan poll by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles Times reveals that the public not only favors releasing the information to the public, but districts should also factor in student test scores in the creation of teacher evaluations.   Continue Reading...

What are your thoughts about homework in today's world? Conventional wisdom suggests students need homework to teach them to work independently and to reinforce curriculum after an initial lesson. While this is the intent of home-based projects, parents and students have been complaining that evenings filled with piles of worksheets can take away time from extracurricular activities and can be unfair to students without the proper home support. As a result, in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the school board has enacted a new policy that homework can count for only 10% of a student's overall grade.   Continue Reading...

With states across the country facing budget shortfalls and underfunded pensions, the concept of "double-dipping," or collecting both a state pension and salary has come under fire from various states seeking to rein in spending. From California to New York, many employees have been accused of unethically boosting their incomes by also taking a state pension, pushing certain state legislators to back state pension reform legislation.   Continue Reading...

On the heels of last fall's federal Race to the Top competitive grant program, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced last week that the program will resume this year with new funding. Comprised of $200 million earmarked for former runner-ups and $500 million for new early education state initiatives, the newly revived program has yielded both praise and criticism from policymakers and state education chiefs.   Continue Reading...

I may get virtual rotten tomatoes thrown at me by some of you, but I liked the textbook that was issued for my 7th grade classes.  (Dodging an overripe red projectile.)

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When the dust settles on 2011 legislative session, states across the country will be dealing with some of the most sweeping changes in education and labor policy in generations. For months, tough-talking governors and state legislatures have been in the process of pushing through legislation that seeks to curb union power and implement sweeping education reforms. While each state is experiencing reform on different levels, it is impossible to ignore that this year will have an impact on the entire country's education outlook for years to come.   Continue Reading...

As the 2011 legislative session draws closer to its end, tough-talking governors and state legislatures across the country are proceeding with legislation that seeks to implement sweeping education and labor reforms. While each state is experiencing reform on different levels, it is impossible to ignore the ground-breaking changes that will undoubtedly change the face of education in this country in the coming years.   Continue Reading...

As the legislative session moves full steam ahead, states across the country are proceeding with legislation that seeks to curb union power and implement broad education reform. While the developments in Wisconsin and Ohio have seen the most heated debate, there are a total of 729 bills currently pending in 48 states dealing with unions and collective bargaining, according to a database compiled by the non-partisan National Conference of State Legislatures. While not every state is making national headlines, the sheer volume proves that we are witnessing a monumental shift in union power that we haven't seen in generations.   Continue Reading...

While one could find countless examples of teachers unions spending time and money on supporting causes unrelated to education, a California teachers union is under fire this week after passing a new resolution supporting a convicted cop killer from Philadelphia.   Continue Reading...

President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have often mentioned that the cornerstone of their education agenda is their focus on recruiting America's best and brightest young people to a career in teaching. With programs like the TEACH campaign, the Obama administration realizes that we are at a crossroads with our teacher workforce, as the majority of American teachers will be retiring in the next ten years. Unfortunately due to unprecedented budget shortfalls and the threat of layoffs, experts are warning that college students will be less likely to pursue a career in teaching for fear of uncertainty in the profession.   Continue Reading...

Since the labor battle broke in Wisconsin we have been hearing from teachers across the country in forced union states who take issue with paying forced dues.  Teachers who don’t see value in a one-size-fits-all system to teachers who do not want to support certain union-funded political causes have all been speaking out. Recently a teacher in the compulsory union state of California penned an op-ed that has resonated with the thousands of other teachers who do not want to support the union in their state.   Continue Reading...

This week, AAE announced the final round of scholarship recipients that will receive complimentary registrations to the 18th Annual California Charter Schools Conference.   Continue Reading...

A public charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota has been gaining national attention for its innovative vision and spin on learning. The Avalon School is a teacher-run school with no administrators, secretaries or even librarians. This school and others like it have been gaining steam as a means to challenge the classic public school environment, and according to a new study, are producing results.   Continue Reading...

The face of the teacher workforce is changing dramatically. The fact is over the next ten years over half of current teachers in America will be retiring. In California the situation is even more dire as the number of Californians seeking to become teachers has plummeted 45% in the last seven years according to a new report released last week by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.   Continue Reading...

Public schools in Los Angeles have long served as backdrops to some classic films and television shows. With their location a stone's throw away from Hollywood, some schools are seeing the financial benefits of offering themselves up to filmmakers in recent years. Reseda High School in the San Fernando Valley is host to one popular MTV comedy "The Hard Times of RJ Berger."   Continue Reading...

This week, an elementary school in Compton, California is receiving national attention after a group of parents banded together to force improvements at the failing institution. Yelling "yes we can!" and "si se puede!" a busload of parents on Tuesday became the first in California to try to force reforms at their children's school using a new law designed to help parents take back schools.   Continue Reading...