News from New York City:
- PTAs around the city vary widely in how much they raise and can spend. (Daily News)
- Educators 4 Excellence is among many ed policy groups to get Gates Foundation funds. (Times)
- Mayor Bloomberg is under fire over the comments he made about parents. (Times, Daily News, NY1)
- He also reassured a kindergarten teacher with five years’ experience she won’t be a laid off. (Post)
- Special education policy changes have led to a backlog in evaluations. (GothamSchools)
- East New York school marching band members were abandoned on their way to a festival. (Daily News)
- Students at PS 181 in East Flatbush are enjoying a playground they designed themselves. (Daily News)
- Albor Ruiz: Cutting after-school programs now will cost even more in the future. (Daily News)
And beyond:
- President Obama used his weekly radio spot to say that incentives can turn schools around. (AP)
- A portrait of Bridgeport High School in Washington State, where Obama didn’t opt to visit. (Times)
- Michelle Rhee and George Parker, D.C.’s former union chief, are teaming up for reform. (Times)
- Los Angeles’s teachers union is seeking a court order to stop new teacher evaluations. (L.A. Times)
- Levittown, Penn., epitomizes the performance and budget troubles facing American schools. (Times)
- A Connecticut teacher offers a 5-week class on current events after the AP history exam is over. (Times)
- Some school districts are turning to online lessons to make up school days cancelled due to snow. (AP)