The Network for Public Education recently issued a 50-state report card on the relative condition of the country’s public education system. New York didn’t rank as failing, but close: it got a “D.” But to be fair, the politics of teacher-bashing and union-busting have earned their desired results. The NPE report evaluated each state on […]
graduation rates
Posted inNews & Opinion
Cuomo to teachers: Who are we kidding?
Most pols love industries. The more the better. They offer them tax breaks and other perks in the hope that they’ll create jobs. But Governor Andrew Cuomo made it clear in his State of the State speech yesterday that there’s at least one – what he calls the education industry – that is no longer […]
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Rochester city schools still grappling with absenteeism
Rochester schools superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s goal was 95 percent attendance on the first day of school. In the weeks leading up to opening day, Vargas sounded upbeat and confident that city students and parents would meet the challenge. But the district fell short. First day attendance was about 83 percent overall. Only two schools – […]
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New Orleans goes all charter
It’s finally happened. The US is about to have its first all-charter school system. New Orleans will close its last remaining traditional public schools and beginning this fall, all of the city’s students will have to enroll in a charter school through a computerized lottery system. Some in the education community see this as the […]
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Tough talk from East High’s suitor
If the Rochester community is serious about giving students a quality education that prepares them for college, then things at East High School must change. That was the message from Gillian Williams, president of School Turnaround, at a special meeting yesterday. The Rochester school board is considering hiring the organization to take over East. School Turnaround […]
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GUEST COMMENTARY: Wealth disparity and our graduation rate
Not long ago, published research demonstrated that countries that had a high disparity between wealth and poverty were also characterized by low confidence in their government and contempt for the law. There is a justifiable assumption that the government is corrupt, serving the elite while either actively suppressing the poor or failing to use the […]
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State to intervene in RCSD
The Rochester school district is one of 70 public school districts in New York flagged as a “Focus School District” by the State Education Department, an unfavorable designation given to low-performing districts. Twenty-two Rochester schools have been classified as “Focus Schools” and 30 are “Priority Schools,” designations under the FSD umbrella. The new classifications are […]
