MetLife, NASSP Name National Principal of the Year Finalists
NASSP
A distinguished panel of judges has identified six finalists for the MetLife/NASSP National Principal of the Year awards. The search for the National Principal of the Year began earlier this year, as each state principal's association named its State Principal of the Year. From this pool, three middle level and three high school finalists were selected, each exemplifying the meaning of effective, collaborative leadership. In September, the national high school and middle level winners will be announced.More

Change: Too Much May Be a Bad Thing
The Principal Difference
A new study published in the American Journal of Education indicates that too much innovation was "negatively associated with gains" in student achievement. More often than not, schools are trying to do too many things at once. When schools focus on a laundry list of goals, as pointed out by the study, they dilute their efforts and confuse the staff. As a result, a school's focus should be limited to three items and should be articulated in 25 words or less.More

MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough Schools in Action
NASSP
Expectations are high for both students and teachers at MetLife Foundation-NASSP 2010 Breakthrough School Franklin Towne Charter High School. Read about Franklin's transformation from one of the lowest-performing schools in Philadelphia to one of the highest-achieving schools in the state. And check out all of the 2010 MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough School winners in the May issue of Principal Leadership, now posted online.More

Apply for the 2011 Ted Sizer Dissertation Awards
NASSP
NASSP is now accepting applications and dissertation abstracts for the 2011 Ted Sizer Dissertation Awards. The awards seek to recognize outstanding dissertations focused on leadership research at the middle and high school levels. The competitions are open to doctoral students who have completed and successfully defended their dissertation between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. Applications are due by January 10, 2011.More

NASSP Research Gateway: Pay-for-Performance
NASSP
Pay-for-performance (also referred to as merit or incentive pay) is a hotly debated concept that has gained new life in the Obama administration. This gateway leads to information for educators considering and/or implementing pay-for-performance systems.More

Duncan: Congress Needs to Act Now on School Funding
The Associated Press via USA Today
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is urging Congress to act soon to increase education funding because cash-strapped states can't wait until the fall to determine if they must lay off thousands of teachers. Duncan made his remarks at a forum on innovation in education at Aviation High School in Des Moines, WA, a small college prep school that focuses on science, technology and mathematics.More

Principal Cries Foul on Education Department's Reform Policies
The Forum for Education and Democracy
In a recent blog post, George Wood, principal of Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, OH, and executive director of The Forum for Education and Democracy, decries "Washington's" short-term solutions to school reform that include the act of replacing staff and firing principals. Wood, who has spent 18 years as a middle level and high school principal, has worked with his teachers to incrementally increase students' graduation and college-going rates over the years, and he has found success without employing the quick fixes that the Education Department is so gung ho on implementing.More

Computers at Home: Educational Hope vs. Teenage Reality
The New York Times
Middle school students are champion time-wasters. And the personal computer may be the ultimate time-wasting appliance. Put the two together at home, without hovering supervision, and logic suggests that you won't witness a miraculous educational transformation. Still, wherever there is a low-income household unboxing the family’s very first personal computer, there is an automatic inclination to think of the machine in its most idealized form, as the Great Equalizer. In developing countries, computers are outfitted with grand educational hopes, like those that animate the One Laptop Per Child initiative. The same is true of computers that go to poor households in the United States.More

Teachers Spend $1.3 Billion Out of Pocket on Classrooms
THE Journal
Public school teachers in the United States spent more than $1.33 billion out of pocket on school supplies and instructional materials in the 2009-2010 school year, according to new research released by the National School Supply and Equipment Association (NSSEA), a trade association for educational product companies. The report, The 2010 NSSEA Retail Market Awareness Study, was based on a survey of 308 K-12 teachers in May 2010 and conducted by Perry Research Professionals. It revealed that teachers spent on average $356 of their own money on supplies and resources, including an average of $170 on supplies and $186 on instructional materials.More

Governors Push College Completion
Inside Higher Ed
President Obama has used his bully pulpit to focus attention on the "college completion" agenda like no one else can. But if the United States is actually going to make meaningful progress on increasing the number of Americans with college credentials, it's going to be up to the states — whose public institutions enroll roughly four of every five students — to get the job done. And systemic change in the states will occur only if their chief executives — governors — get with the program.More

Panel Moves Toward 'Next Generation' Science Standards
Education Week
As part of a national effort to produce "next generation" science standards for K-12 education, a panel of experts convened by the National Research Council issued a draft of a conceptual framework designed to guide the standards and "move science education toward a more coherent vision." One key goal of the effort is to focus science instruction on a more limited number of core ideas that students can learn in greater depth.More

A Chosen Few Are Teaching for America
The New York Times
Several recent college graduates count themselves lucky to be among the 4,500 selected by Teach For America to work at high-poverty public schools from a record 46,359 applicants (up 32 percent over 2009). There's little doubt the numbers are fueled by a bad economy, which has limited job options even for graduates from top campuses. In 2007, during the economic boom, 18,172 people applied. This year, on its 20th anniversary, Teach for America hired more seniors than any other employer at numerous colleges, including Yale, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.More

Don't Just Take or Pass Blame, Leader for Teachers Says
The Associated Press via The Seattle Times
The president of the American Federation of Teachers is reminding teachers that they are part of the solution for failing schools, not the problem. Randi Weingarten opened the federation's convention by responding to critics who hold teachers responsible for failing schools. "It is simply wrong to suggest that there is an epidemic of bad teachers, and at the same time ignore poverty, budget cuts, the absence of curriculum and the attrition of good teachers," Weingarten said.More

For Prospective Teachers, Lesson in Supply, Demand Highlights Special Needs
The Boston Globe
Considering a career in education? You may need to learn more than just how to teach. The sluggish economy, combined with uncertainty over federal stimulus aid, has public school districts cutting back on spending on everything from supplies to staff. But over the long term, demand is expected to be strong for teachers who are proficient in math and science, as well as those trained to work with students with special needs or who can speak a language other than English.More

Survey Reveals Slow Progress in Education Technology
eSchool News
U.S. schools' average overall scores on an annual survey designed to measure their progress toward implementing 21st-century classrooms and learning skills increased less than 1 percent from 2009, even though schools did improve on four out of five measures of progress. The Vision K-20 survey, from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), was developed to help educators and administrators track their institutional progress in five areas, called measures of progress, and compare it with the national average. These five measures are 21st-century learning tools, anytime/anywhere access to technology, differentiated learning, assessment tools, and enterprise support. More

Gates Foundation Playing Pivotal Role in Changes for Education System
The Washington Post
Across the country, public education is in the midst of a quiet revolution. States are embracing voluntary national standards for English and math, while schools are paying teachers based on student performance. It's an agenda propelled in part by a flood of money from a billionaire prep-school graduate best known for his software empire: Bill Gates. In the past 2.5 years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged more than $650 million to schools, public agencies and other groups that buy into its main education priorities.More

Lawsuit Seeks Changes in California School Funding
The Associated Press via the San Jose Mercury News
Groups representing low-income families sued the state of California in the second major legal action alleging the government is failing to adequately fund public education. The complaint was filed in Alameda County Superior Court by a coalition of parents, nonprofit advocacy groups and students representing low-income families. The plaintiffs allege the state's school finance system is unconstitutional because it fails to provide a quality education to all students, noting California ranks near the bottom nationally in academic achievement, per-pupil funding and student-teacher ratios.More