Weekend Reads: Even Chris Christie’s education allies say his school funding plan would hurt kids

  • Steve Barr, the founder of the Green Dot charter school network, says Los Angeles’ current mayor isn’t leading on education. So he’s running to replace him. (L.A. Weekly)
  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s school funding plan “would overturn a half-century of bipartisan consensus that poor children need extra educational resources.” (Slate)
  • Even allies of parts of Christie’s education agenda say the funding plan would hurt poor kids. (The 74 Million)
  • Revisit the equity/equality illustration going around that could help Christie understand why his plan is finding few supporters. (Medium)
  • A former undocumented immigrant who struggled to make his own education feel worthwhile is trying to encourage a different attitude in his students. (TNTP)
  • After 35 years of trying to reduce racial segregation by sending some students across town to school, Indianapolis ended its busing program — without achieving integration. (Chalkbeat)
  • The five-paragraph essay has fallen out of favor among some, but other educators still assign them. (Ed Week’s Next Draft)
  • A California precedent for Brown v. Board of Education desegregated schools that are now all Latino. Confounding the case’s advocates, many of the schools are also good. (L.A. Times)
  • D.C. schools chief Kaya Henderson is stepping down while her reputation is strong. (Washington Post)
  • Leaders of the Seattle Teacher Residency, a training program that is respected and also expensive, say the model is in fact affordable. (Hechinger Report)
  • From class size to parent engagement, here’s an analysis of what states with strong pre-K programs are doing. (NPRed)
  • Emails reveal how Tennessee wound up with a worst-case scenario: countless hours wasted by teachers and students preparing for online tests that could not be taken. (Chalkbeat)
  • The long-term costs could far outweigh the short-term benefits in Chicago’s decision to eliminate an office that helped families secure public benefits. (Catalyst)
  • Never underestimate the power of a group of committed Girl Scouts to change school policy. (Chalkbeat)