Thanks for the day off, presidents! I am refreshed and ready to serve up a new newsblitz:
- Teachers acquitted of sexual misconduct with students rarely return to the classroom, the Union-Tribune reports. The article explains that teachers are faced with a triple threat — school district disciplinary hearings, criminal proceedings and having their credentials suspended.
- KPBS reports that Latino students are increasingly going to college far from home, defying cultural norms.
- Vista teachers held a noisy protest as their school district held mediated talks about their contract, the North County Times reports.
- SDNN looks at the findings of a national report on what happens when more students take Advanced Placement tests.
- Los Angeles Unified may slash the school year by as much as six days to balance the budget, the Los Angeles Times reports. A similar proposal for furloughs has been aired by the San Diego teachers union. And LAUSD is also weighing a parcel tax, just like SDUSD.
- Also in the LAT: High school counselors are worried about the increasing use of waiting lists at colleges.
- The Mercury News writes about the disappearance of cursive in schools in the digital age.
- Parents at a Los Angeles-area middle school are pulling the trigger. The parent trigger, that is. California recently passed a law that allows parents to force turnarounds at faltering schools. This could be one of the first, the Los Angeles Daily News writes.
- The Educated Guess blogs that Obama missed a chance on education reform through the stimulus.
- Despite laws that bar “pay-to-play” for school activities, families in the Fresno area are still ponying up for extracurriculars, the Fresno Bee reports. This same issue has been a problem in San Diego.
- Been wondering what Terry Grier is up to since he left San Diego Unified? He’s presiding over a plan to allow schools to fire teachers whose students fall short on standardized tests, the Houston Chronicle reports.
- A Florida student who was suspended for creating a Facebook page criticizing her teacher can sue, The New York Times reports. This is bound to have repercussions nationwide.
- Also in the NYT: Students debate whether they need libraries now.
- Jay Mathews at the Washington Post opines on which college rankings to trust — and for what.
- The New York Times Magazine has a fascinating look at “an annual spectacle in the culture wars” — the approval of U.S. history textbooks in Texas. Eduwonk blogs that the annual dustup raises another question: Whether state boards of education should be elected.
— EMILY ALPERT