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Tim Knowles, John Dewey Director of the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute and UTRU Board Member, has penned a recent op-ed in Forbes titled, “When Tenure Trumps Talent.”  He articulates the challenge of “last in, first out” policies when it comes to teacher layoffs, especially when highly qualified and motivated teachers are let go due to the lack…

Race to the Top finalists were announced today.  Network partner states that are finalists include: California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania.  Final awards should be distributed in August.

Everyone is talking about it… how do we define effective teachers?  The National Journal expert blogs have added to the dialogue.  Check it out and let us know your thoughts…

Minnesota schools are seeing growing populations of non-English speakers, according to this recent Daily Planet article.  We hope teachers are developed to meet this need in the districts there. 

Heather Zavadsky’s recent LA Times article discusses how five school systems across the country have managed to raise achievement using the following strategies.  First, all developed challenging, clear and specific curriculum.  Both teachers and students were aware of academic content that was to be covered as well as academic skills that needed to be addressed for each grade level.  Secondly, districts set…

A recent Education Week article examines the challenges of finding special education mentors trained in various areas for residencies that are focusing on training residents in this area.