Rise & Shine: Monday, 9/8

  • In New York and Chicago, parents are organizing to propose a third path on school reform. (Sun)
  • Against regulations, some PTAs at affluent schools are using private funds to hire assistant teachers. (Post)
  • Problems with the DOE’s high school scheduling software has caused chaos in the first days of school. (Post, Daily News)
  • To save money, some parents are packing simpler lunches or encouraging their kids to buy school food. (Daily News)
  • Saying the city’s “Safe Routes to School” initiative is inadequate, City Council member Eric Gioia has teamed with Transportation Alternatives to push for better traffic planning near schools. (Daily News, Post)
  • Some kids with special needs have still not been assigned to schools. (NY1)
  • In the Sun, City Council member Bill de Blasio lays out important questions to address this school year.
  • Obama’s education plan focuses on improving social services and institutions outside of schools; the big question is whether voters will accept his approach to raising student achievement, Paul Tough writes in the New York Times Magazine.
  • In Texas, volunteers go door-to-door to persuade dropouts to return to school. (Houston Chronicle)
  • Chicago posted a record-high first day attendance rate, despite the prominent boycott. (Chicago Sun-Times)
  • If teachers in Washington, D.C., don’t agree to give up their tenure rights in exchange for higher pay, Michelle Rhee plans to exercise her existing powers to dismiss teachers more aggressively. (Washington Post)