Morning Announcements: March 22, 2012

Here are your latest headlines in education news.

It is no surprise that when teachers leave schools, overall morale appears to suffer enough that student achievement declines. TeacherBeat sheds light on a new study recently presented at a conference held by the Center for Longitudinal Data in Education Research. The study concludes teacher turnover has adverse affects for both those taught by the departed teachers and by students whose teachers stayed put.

According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, students with learning disabilities are twice as likely as their peers to drop out of high school. PBS visited an elementary school that practices early intervention for these students, engaging them with technology and art to improve their chances of earning a diploma.

The New York Times reports that the city’s Department of Education says it has secured enough money to allow all low-income students to pay the same amount to take the Advanced Placement exams this spring as they paid last year. As the Alliance for Excellent Education reported previously, students of color and in low-income communities are less likely to take an AP exam despite being qualified to do so with expense often being a factor.

The battle over teacher evaluations continues to spread nationwide. According to the Associated Press, a bill requiring rigorous performance evaluations for Maine teachers and principals has been unanimously endorsed by a legislative committee.