Weekend reads: Seattle teachers strike the latest dramatic education development in Washington

  • A teacher strike has delayed the start of the school year in Seattle after contract negotiations broke down over issues of teacher pay and staffing; district officials say they have no plans to force teachers back into classrooms through legal options and are hoping instead for a swift resolution. (Seattle Times, New York Times)
  • The Washington state Supreme Court ruled late last week that charter schools are not public schools because their boards are not accountable to voters; now the state’s nine existing charters are trying to raise money to stay open and begin a lobbying movement for a state constitutional change. (Seattle Times)
  • A dozen Chicago parents and activists are closing in on nearly a month of their hunger strike to determine the fate of Dyett High School; one of those protestors explains why the district’s proposal to reopen the school as an arts program isn’t good enough. (The Takeaway)
  • The California drought is taking a quiet but devastating toll on many of the state’s school districts, which are seeing students (and funding) disappear as the families of farm laborers leave in search of work. (The Atlantic)
  • For the principal of a high poverty middle school, finding teachers willing to put in long, taxing hours for the low salary he can offer is an exhausting annual ordeal. (Hechinger Report)
  • Four teachers explain how their work has changed because of the Common Core standards. (Slate)
    Teachers are taking advantage of the sharing economy to buy and sell  lesson plans and other classroom tools. (New York Times)
  • A look inside the three-year journey of starting the International Charter School of New York, which just opened in downtown Brooklyn. (New York Times)
  • The New York City school buildings designed by C.B.J. Snyder remain impressive. (Brownstoner)
  • As Professor Pedro Noguera departs for Los Angeles, Jose Vilson explains his impact on conversations of race and education in New York City. (Jose Vilson)
  • Cure the kindergarten jitters with this school advice from much older and wiser second graders. (WBEZ)
  • When an outsider superintendent arrived to shake up Newark’s failing public school system, she discovered that disrupting even a totally broken status quo can have harmful consequences. Read an excerpt from Dale Russakoff’s new book on Newark public schools and enter to win a copy. (Chalkbeat)