Teachers


Innovative Teaching: Does Our Education System Allow It?

With lagging STEM performance and a need for technology to be weaved into the classroom, the Department of Education (ED) is attempting to get regional school districts to band together to accelerate the innovation of education through technology.

The ED is discussing a movement called "Education Innovation Clusters," whose purpose and necessity are highlighted in a recent article on the ED website.

“At a time when advances in technology and digital …

Tips for Teachers: Creating a Teaching Portfolio Online

Do you have a professional teaching portfolio? Is it accessible online? While you may have created an assessment portfolio during your pre-service curriculum or have a current requirement to maintain evidence of your work as part of a performance evaluation system, it could be time for an update. Creating an online presentation of your accomplishments is easier than ever and may be worth your time if you are contemplating a future career move.

Masters of Education: Obama Pledges $1 Billion to Create Elite Group of STEM Teachers

 On Wednesday, President Obama announced that he would create an elite group of teachers to become masters of education in the STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This "Master Teachers Corps" is part of an overall agenda of the administration to improve the quality of education in high demand areas that are essential to economic prosperity. Obama has pledged $1 billion to reward high-performing teachers with additional salary stipends of up to $20,000. $100 million will be available immediately from existing funds for incentivizing teachers, and the rest of the funding …

California Lawmakers Vote on Color-Coded Student ID Cards

On June 18, lawmakers in Orange County, California, finally voted on a bill that would address a controversial practice by the Anaheim School District. A.B. 166, proposed by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, prohibits school districts from including information about a student’s test scores or grades on identification cards or “any object a student might be required to carry while at school.”

Last fall, for the second year, Anaheim schools were issuing mandated student identification cards that were color coded based on the student’s performance on the previous year’s standa…

Can You Pass an 8th Grade Reading Test?

Click here to take the test!

Ken Jennings couldn’t.

The man who made history in 2004 by winning 74 consecutive rounds of Jeopardy wasn’t able to figure out the short story presented to eighth graders across New York during a reading exam this past April. The story, which has gone down in infamy (it even has its own Facebook page), involves a

Education News Round-Up

The school year may be over, but there's still a lot happening in the world of education. Read on for some of the latest in everything from standardized testing reform to board of education elections!

Michelle Rhee group Students First’s Tax Records Reveal Questionable Spending In 2010, Michelle Rhee,  former chancellor of the Washington D.C. public school system (who garnered national attention for her controversial stance against teachers’ unions) launched Students First, a group for education reform trying to raise $1 billion for education over…