Teacher Magazine: School Environment

July 2, 2009

School Environment

Help Wanted: Leader to Promote a Culture of Learning

Author and school consultant Kirsten Olson thinks schools need to create a new leadership position to keep the focus on organization-wide learning. (July 1, 2009)

High Turnover Crippling Chicago Schools, Report Says

A new report shows about 100 Chicago schools lose more than a quarter of their staff every year, hobbling efforts to create an effective learning environment for children in largely African-American schools. (June 30, 2009, MCT)

N.Y.C. Teachers’ Union President Resigns

Randi Weingarten, the current head of American Federation of Teachers, is resigning from her second job as the president of New York’s United Federation of Teachers. (June 25, 2009, AP)

ACLU Report Says Zero-Tolerance Law Unfair

A new report from the ACLU of Michigan says schools are not using enough discretion under the state zero-tolerance expulsion law and are disproportionately kicking out black students. (June 24, 2009, AP)

L.A. Will Layoff 2,200 Teachers

The Los Angeles Unified School Board will layoff teachers, nurses, and school employees, but the United Teachers Los Angeles says they will fight the layoffs and pay cuts. (June 24, 2009, AP)

La. Bill Would Create New Education Track

If passed, the state will have new curriculum geared less toward college preparation, and more toward teaching students technical skills for blue-collar jobs, a plan education advocates have condemned. (June 24, 2009, AP)

Perspectives on Special Education in Japan

An educator reports back from Japan about what the country is doing right when it comes to working with students with special needs. (June 24, 2009)

700 NYC Teachers Get Paid to Await Their Trials

Progress has been slow since the UTF and the Department of Education made an agreement last year to reduce the amount of time teachers spend in reassignment centers awaiting their disciplinary hearings. (June 23, 2009, AP)

Unions Seek Bigger Role in Charter Schools

Charter schools in New York City and Chicago have unionized, an uncommon practice amongst the 4,600 charters in the U.S. (June 23, 2009, AP)

Philadelphia Teachers: Increased Push to Promote

Teachers say they feel intense pressure from their principals to pass students, despite an e-mail from Superintendent Arlene Ackerman requesting them to report grades students earned. (June 23, 2009, AP)

Ga. Principal Arrested in Cheating Investigation

A former Atlanta principal was arrested Friday and accused of altering students’ standardized tests in an effort to boost the school’s scores. (June 22, 2009, AP)

Teen Scientists to Reconnect Holocaust Survivors

Students at an Arizona high school will assist with the analysis of DNA samples from Holocaust survivors in partnership with the University of Arizona's DNA Shoah Project. (June 22, 2009, AP)

Vocational Studies End as Teacher Retires

Machine shop teacher Frank Warecke’s retirement marks the end of vocational education at his Connecticut high school, a spreading trend in U.S. schools. (June 22, 2009, AP)

Okla. Hit By Rising Teacher Retirements

As the number of retiring educators in the state exceeds those coming into the profession, a national study warns of a possible teaching shortage. (June 22, 2009, AP)

La. Expected to Create New H.S. Diploma

Some legislators hope to address drop-out problems by allowing students 15 and older to leave pre-college curriculum and instead take a "career option program." (June 19, 2009, AP)

Education Secretary Receives Arts Petitions

Celebrities, a drumline, and an elementary school rock-band were all part of a recent rally to urge federal lawmakers to provide the funds needed to make music and arts mandatory core subjects for all public school students. (June 19, 2009, AP)

N.C. Teachers Tell Lawmakers to Spare Education

Gov. Bev Perdue and about 200 teachers told lawmakers Wednesday not to cut school jobs or shortchange students in the face of a historic economic downturn. (June 19, 2009)

Pa. Cyber-School First to Unionize

The first online school to unionize, PA Learners Online voted Monday to have the Pennsylvania State Education Association represent its faculty and staff. (June 18, 2009, AP)

N.C. Governor Seeks Teachers’ Support for New Taxes

Gov. Beverly Perdue spoke to education advocates saying lawmakers must raise taxes to protect public education and prevent teacher pay cuts and layoffs. (June 18, 2009, AP)

College Credit Programs Grow in Popularity

A Texas law requiring students be given the opportunity to earn college credit in high school has left districts scrambling to meet the demand. (June 17, 2009)

Ga. Senator Calls for New Cheating Laws

Sen. Dan Weber says it should be a crime for Georgia educators to change students' answers on standardized tests in the wake of a principal’s recent resignation over just such an incident. (June 16, 2009, AP)

N.M. Teachers Sue Over Pension

Unions representing more than 57,000 state employees have filed a lawsuit claiming that the increase in the amount of their employee pension contribution is unconstitutional. (June 16, 2009, AP)

Ind. Union to Pay Disability Benefits

In a reversal, the Indiana State Teachers Association and the NEA agree to pay 650 people receiving long-term disability benefits from the troubled insurance trust. (June 9, 2009, AP)

Some Schools Find Success in Four-Day Weeks

A school district in north Idaho says their shorter school week has saved them about $108,000 a year without sacrificing students’ education. (June 8, 2009, AP)

Anthony Mullen: 2009 National Teacher of the Year

A New York City police captain-turned-educator, National Teacher of the Year Anthony Mullen has a unique ability to connect with students with special needs. Includes video. (June 3, 2009)