Yahoo! News: Education News

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• Chicago school district announces layoffs in central office
• Detroit schools are back in session. Is it 'school as usual'?
• Pakistan attack raises tough question: should teachers shoot back?
• 4 Tips for Families Navigating College Financial Aid Amid Divorce
• Colleges Detail Move to Rethink Admission Standards
• Latest: Detroit schools say 45,000 students missed classes
• Will Illinois take over Chicago's debt-ridden public schools?
• Harvard study says SATs should be optional. Here's why
• Nearly all Detroit schools closed due to teachers' sickout
• No Class for 45,000 Detroit Kids as Teachers Protest Rat-Infested Schools
• The Latest: Fitch downgrades Chicago schools' credit rating
• Illinois Republicans push for state takeover of Chicago schools
• Rauner, GOP leaders want state takeover of Chicago schools
• 'Water Jets' May Stem Tide of Student Obesity
• Educators Seek to Ease Pressure in College Admissions Process
• State Republicans to unveil CPS takeover plan
• Emanuel, Rauner appear optimistic about ongoing CPS talks

Chicago school district announces layoffs in central office Posted: 21 Jan 2016 02:58 PM PST CHICAGO (AP) — The head of the Chicago Public Schools said the district will lay off some of its central office staff this week as it deals with its precarious financial state.

Detroit schools are back in session. Is it 'school as usual'? Posted: 21 Jan 2016 01:18 PM PST Detroit schools were back open Thursday after several days of scattered closings due to teacher protests, and the top priority for most officials is to keep them open. Public school teachers were barred from a union strike by Michigan law, but they called in sick in such large numbers that 88 schools closed, according to the official Facebook page, in a protest of poor conditions inside schools. An attorney with Detroit Public Schools filed for a restraining order and preliminary injunction in court and named both union officials and 23 teachers to force them to return to work, CNN reported.

Pakistan attack raises tough question: should teachers shoot back? Posted: 21 Jan 2016 07:18 AM PST By Jibran Ahmed and Tommy Wilkes CHARSADDA, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Stuck with 15 of his students on a third floor balcony of a campus building as gunmen came up the stairs, university director Mohammad Shakil urged Pakistani police arriving at the scene to toss him up a gun so he could shoot back. "We were hiding ... but were unarmed," Shakil told Reuters, speaking after four Islamist militants attacked Bacha Khan University in Pakistan's troubled northwest on Wednesday, killing more than 20 people. "I was worried about the students, and then one of the militants came after us," Shakil added.

4 Tips for Families Navigating College Financial Aid Amid Divorce Posted: 21 Jan 2016 05:30 AM PST Tiffany and Clem Clay always wanted the best college education possible for their children. That the Massachusetts couple now has six children between them -- three from Tiffany's prior marriage and three from Clem's -- doesn't change that. But their divorces and remarriage make navigating the financial aid process harder.

Colleges Detail Move to Rethink Admission Standards Posted: 20 Jan 2016 04:36 PM PST A new report from college admissions officials aiming to tamp down the competition for acceptance drew praise Wednesday but also skepticism about its potential to alleviate the stress on ambitious students. More than 85 college admissions chiefs, high school leaders and other educators signed on to "Turning the Tide," which calls for a concerted effort to signal they value real intellectual engagement and sincere, sustained community service. The group seeks to deter students from packing resumes with laundry lists of achievements, Advanced Placement courses and activities that burn them out without inspiring deep learning or concern for the common good.

Latest: Detroit schools say 45,000 students missed classes Posted: 20 Jan 2016 03:27 PM PST DETROIT (AP) — The latest on teacher sick-outs that have closed most of Detroit's public schools (all times local):

Will Illinois take over Chicago's debt-ridden public schools? Posted: 20 Jan 2016 01:30 PM PST Republican state legislators in Illinois on Wednesday proposed that the state take over Chicago Public Schools and allow the severely indebted district to declare bankruptcy in order to get its finances in order. Plagued by financial mismanagement, corruption and years of strife with the Chicago Teachers' Union, the city's school district is in the midst of a financial crisis, with a $480 million budget deficit and growing. "We didn't come to this lightly, but the track record of Chicago and its public school system is abysmal," said state Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno, reported the Chicago Tribune.

Harvard study says SATs should be optional. Here's why Posted: 20 Jan 2016 01:05 PM PST High school students may have one less thing to worry about during the stressful college application process. Standardized testing should be optional, or at least de-emphasized, in college admissions, according to recommendations from a new report released Wednesday. The report, sponsored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and endorsed by more than 80 colleges and universities, proposes sweeping changes in the applications process designed to de-emphasize personal achievement, and instead highlight community involvement and care for others.

Nearly all Detroit schools closed due to teachers' sickout Posted: 20 Jan 2016 12:54 PM PST The school district filed a request for a temporary injunction on Wednesday with the Michigan Court of Claims against the Detroit Federation of Teachers, teacher groups and two dozen individual teachers, court records showed. District and union officials said they expected schools to reopen on Thursday. Detroit Federation of Teachers Interim President Ivy Bailey said that with President Barack Obama visiting Detroit on Wednesday, people wanted to call attention to problems at schools.

No Class for 45,000 Detroit Kids as Teachers Protest Rat-Infested Schools Posted: 20 Jan 2016 12:39 PM PST President Obama headed to Detroit on Wednesday to visit the North American International Auto Show and applaud the progress the auto industry has made since the global financial crisis, when major automakers teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. The Motor City's students, who attend schools with leaking ceilings, black mold, broken toilets, dead rodents, huge classes, and a lack of academic resources, were probably feeling less celebratory. On Wednesday hundreds of educators working in Detroit Public Schools staged a mass sickout to protest the horrific conditions, which they—and the kids—have been forced to endure for years.

The Latest: Fitch downgrades Chicago schools' credit rating Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:58 AM PST CHICAGO (AP) — The latest on Illinois Republicans proposing a state takeover of Chicago Public Schools (all times local):

Illinois Republicans push for state takeover of Chicago schools Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:03 AM PST By Dave McKinney CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois' two top Republican legislators said on Wednesday they will introduce legislation soon to let the state take over the cash-strapped Chicago public school system, permit the district to file for municipal bankruptcy and eventually allow for city-wide school board elections. The plan has the backing of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, who has embraced allowing local governments facing financial turmoil to file for bankruptcy. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, both Republican allies of Rauner, said a new approach is needed to rescue the Chicago Public Schools (CPS)from financial mismanagement and near collapse.

Rauner, GOP leaders want state takeover of Chicago schools Posted: 20 Jan 2016 09:59 AM PST CHICAGO (AP) — Backed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, top Illinois Republicans called Wednesday for a state takeover of the financially troubled Chicago Public Schools, which faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit that could lead to thousands of teacher layoffs and a possible strike in a matter of months.

'Water Jets' May Stem Tide of Student Obesity Posted: 20 Jan 2016 07:18 AM PST Inexpensive dispensers that bring cold, filtered water into New York City public schools may be putting a dent in the childhood obesity epidemic there. More than 40 percent of children in elementary or middle school in New York City are overweight or obese. "These are small but meaningful numbers, particularly for an intervention like this that was very low-cost to implement and can be done widely throughout New York City public schools," said Brian Elbel, an associate professor of population health at the Langone Medical Center of New York University, who led the study.

Educators Seek to Ease Pressure in College Admissions Process Posted: 19 Jan 2016 08:59 PM PST The report recommends ways that colleges can encourage students to focus on ethical behavior and intellectual engagement rather than "brag sheets of accomplishments," said Lloyd Thacker, executive director of the Education Conservancy and a collaborator on the report. "It's about caring for what you're doing and caring for others and not performing to please an admissions game," Mr. Thacker said. "We're hoping this is going to catch fire and together schools will do more" to send students different signals about what matters.

State Republicans to unveil CPS takeover plan Posted: 19 Jan 2016 08:24 PM PST ABC7 has learned state Republicans will introduce legislation to take control of the Chicago Public Schools system away from the city.

Emanuel, Rauner appear optimistic about ongoing CPS talks Posted: 19 Jan 2016 04:29 PM PST After a key deadline passed for an agreement to prevent teachers' layoffs in Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor Bruce Rauner appeared optimistic a deal could be reached.

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