Teachers, Turnaround Efforts, and Catholic Schools (Urban Education)

Scads of articles about teachers this week, starting with a trio of pieces about efforts to find, support, and keep the good ones:

Initiative targets school leaders Baltimore Sun
House OKs teacher certification reward bill AJC
In School Talent Searches, Good Managers Are in Demand NYT
Weighing the Merits Teacher Magazine

A second set of articles about teaching touches on various ways of making sure teachers keep learning and improving what they're doing in the classroom:

The Film Room for Teachers Chris Correa
City teachers experiment in lab of learning Baltimore Sun
Teaching methods tailored to black students Indianapolis Star

Meanwhile, news continues to come out about structural inequities in the quality (and pay) of teachers in lower-performing schools in the same districts, and the teacher turnover that can result:

Study: Teachers at needy schools earn less
Educators: Minority students deprived Sacramento Bee
Black parents decry inner-city schools Charlotte Observer
Teacher Turnover Tracked in City District Education Week
Cincinnati cuts 41 teacher coaches Cincinnati Enquirer

Alt. cert. is so common now that, like alt rock, it's going to lose its "alternative" moniker:

Taking their own paths to teaching Phila. Enquirer
Alternative Routes Attracting Unlikely Candidates Education Week
Charts: Alternative Certification: Who Trains and Who Pays Education Week

Meanwhile in Houston, Denver, and all over Florida, policymakers are considering all sorts of measures -- autonomy, closure, faculty swap, and takeovers -- to transform struggling schools:

Reforms envision more autonomy for Denver high schools Denver Post
DPS considers closures Rocky Mountain News
Faculty must reapply for jobs at 2 Denver schools Denver Post
Privatization of low-performing schools is put on hold Houston Chronicle
Private takeover step closer for F schools

The checkered history of urban school closings in places like Chicago, San Francisco, and Denver is also covered in a timely issue of the Piton Foundation's Term Paper: Lessons From Cole Middle School PDF.

Best of the Rest:
Catch-up classes push for better math scores Charlotte Observer
Miami plans dramatic expansion of summer school The Miami Herald
Specialized help to prep students for tests Waco Herald-Tribune
The SDUSD “Blueprint for Success” is Dead! LaPrensa
Saving Catholic schools from whom? Gadfly
…Saving Catholic schools for everybody Gadfly