Morning Bell: Overcrowded Indiana Schools, American Achievement Gap

Tippecanoe School Corp. ‘making it work’ at overcrowded Woodland, Klondike elementary schools – “At both schools, new housing developments and migrating families have pushed student numbers closer to capacity year after year. Klondike is the district’s largest elementary school; Woodland already was at capacity when it opened in 2008.” Lafayette Journal and Courier

Is the U.S. Catching Up? – “Admittedly, American governments at every level have taken actions that would seem to be highly promising. Federal, state, and local governments spent 35 percent more per pupil—in real-dollar terms—in 2009 than they had in 1990. States began holding schools accountable for student performance in the 1990s, and the federal government developed its own nationwide school-accountability program in 2002.” Education Next

If Obama is Re-elected, Will Arne Duncan Stay On? – “What made the choice initially popular is the general impression of Duncan as level-headed realist not beholden to any particular ideology. He was a good choice to head up the Department of Education at a time when the calls for school reform were getting louder. Nor could anyone doubt his reformer bona fides: as the head of CPS, he aggressively worked to close down failing schools and replace them with charters.” Education News

Same Old, Same Old: Principal (In)action – “In Trending Toward Reform, we highlighted how teachers’ opinions have changed since 2007. Teachers are more open to some differentiated pay proposals, believe that tenure is becoming more meaningful, and see evaluation as improving. … What’s stayed the same since 2007? How teachers believe their principal would act if faced with a persistently ineffective teacher already past the probationary period.” The Quick & The Ed