Rise & Shine: A game of education “chicken” around turnaround

COLORADO

• As “turnaround” deadlines approach, observers wonder whether the state has the political will to impose radical reforms on school districts that have been unable to improve under the accountability framework. Denver Post
• Boulder Valley School District is getting ready to implement new teacher evaluations, though they have not yet developed the piece that will be based on student outcomes. Daily Camera
• Denver Public Schools is paying for about 150 recent graduates to take remedial courses over the summer before they start college. Denver Post
• Union organizer Rosario C. de Baca will run against Andrea Merida for a Denver school board seat. EdNews EdWire
• St. Vrain Valley School District administrators’ salaries fall in the middle range of pay for equivalent positions in Front Range schools. Longmont Times Call
• About 60 Boulder students earned college credit while in high school through dual enrollment courses. Daily Camera

NATION

• The practice of grouping students according to ability, which fell out of favor in the late 1980s, is re-emerging in schools. New York Times
• The Gates Foundation, often seen as an opponent to teachers unions, is now making overtures to win over teachers. Seattle Times
• U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is launching a new competition for high school redesign. Huffington Post
• A small vocational school in Vermont is training students for careers in both the performing arts and other industry skills like set design and sound mixing. NPR
• More and more chronically ill homebound children are using robots to more fully participate in school. New York Times
• Schools in the Netherlands are experimenting with iPads. New York Times

OPINION

• Commentary: Two professors have many objections to the Common Core but hope it will redirect the national conversation to education. New York Times

Rise & Shine

Each weekday morning, we search websites of various media, comb through RSS feeds and peruse Google alerts to bring you a roundup of the day’s top education headlines, in Colorado and across the country, by 8 a.m. If you’d like to suggest a story we’ve missed or a source we should add to the list, please email us at ednews@ednewscolorado.org.