1. Code.org has rolled out its computer-science education programs at 30 school districts across the country, providing curriculum and professional development, as well as mentor teachers.
2. Sean McComb, an English teacher at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts in Baltimore has been named National Teacher of the Year.
3. On top of the $304 million budget cut at the start of school in September comes a $216 million Philadelphia School District budget shortfall. Hopefully, $120 million will come from an extension of Philly’s 8% sales tax. If more than that is not forthcoming, there will be more layoffs–about 810 teachers–and class sizes will hit 37 in grades 1 to 3 and 41 in high school.
4. Five educators from Philly’s Cayuga Elementary School were arrested and accused of “tampering with public records, forgery, conspiracy, and other crimes.” They were immediately suspended, too, but still get paid as they’ve yet to be convicted.
5. Renaissance Learning conducted a study using Kindles with 31 4th graders and found that boys seemed distracted by the device and didn’t perform as well in comprehension as they did with traditional books.
6. The School Nutrition Association has called on Congress and the Department of Agriculture to ease up on the next round of federal healthy food requirements or risk even more the the good-for-you fare ending up in the trash.