Morning Announcements: October 18, 2010

Last Thursday, Baltimore teachers rejected a contract that would have provided six-figure salaries for an elite corps but would have tied the pay of all educators to how they perform in the classroom. Of the rejected proposal, the Washington Post editorial board writes, “it’s farfetched to hold the proposal out as a groundbreaking model for the nation… The real model for national reform is the Washington, D.C., teachers contract negotiated by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. It took her three years and scads of money, but she got union leaders to agree to rules that prevent the last hired from being the first fired, empower principals and reward teachers most capable of lifting student achievement.”

Middle and high school classes will get tougher as part of an effort Houston ISD officials announced Friday to help persuade thousands of families to keep their children in the state’s largest district, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The education documentary Waiting for Superman portrayed teacher unions in a negative light but the New York Times tells the other side of teacher union leader Randi Weingarten’s story.

YouthToday covers a recent report released from The Century Foundation that finds that moving low-income students to middle class neighborhoods will boost their academic achievement.

Providence Journal education reporter Julia Steiny writes about real world work programs that keep kids in school.

According the Washington Post, Maryland state records show that thousands of struggling elementary students in Maryland miss at least a month of class every school year.