Two Bitter Education Rivals Begin to Bury the Hatchet

"Two bitter rivals in the debate over how to improve schools did something unexpected today during an education conference in Washington: They conceded there's a lot they agree on."

Plan Aims to Revitalize Detroit Schools

"Michigan officials announced a plan Monday to overhaul Detroit’s struggling schools by moving the worst ones into a new system in the fall of 2012."

Michigan to Take Over 45 of Detroit's Failing Schools

"Nearly four dozen of Detroit's poorest-performing schools will be placed in the hands of a new statewide authority next year, the latest attempt to turn around Michigan's struggling education system."

Former Foes Join Forces for Education Reform

"The former head of Washington, D.C., schools and the former teachers’ union leader there are both part of Students First, a group seeking to influence educators and lawmakers across the country."

Cleveland Tries to Turn Around Troubled School System

"Cleveland's public schools mirror many of the problems of inner city life: gang activity, drug infestation, poverty, low academic achievement and a dismal graduation rate. Within the past year, the school system has undergone a comprehensive and sometimes harsh reorganization in hopes of changing that reality."

Newark School Woes Transcend Money

"Six months after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Oprah to give $100 million to improve Newark's strapped and struggling schools, $99 million is still sitting in the bank. . ."

U.S. Plan to Replace Principals Hits Snag: Who Will Step In?

"The aggressive $4 billion program begun by the Obama administration in 2009 to radically transform the country’s worst schools included, as its centerpiece, a plan to install new principals to overhaul most of the failing schools. That policy decision, though, ran into a difficult reality: there simply were not enough qualified principals-in-waiting to take over."

Obama Issues Call for Education Reform

"President Barack Obama is asking Congress to extend a $10,000 college tax credit and pay for thousands of new science and math teachers as part of a broad rewrite of the nation's education system."

A Mission to Transform Baltimore’s Beaten Schools

"Andres Alonso, a Cuban immigrant with a Harvard degree, brought sweeping changes that upset some people but helped improve one of the worst school systems in the country."

A Minute With: School Principals on "Waiting for Superman"

"The documentary film 'Waiting for Superman' has been generating a lot of buzz since its release in September for its portrayal of problems within U.S. schools and what might be done to solve them."

Fire the Teachers? When Schools Fail, it May Work

"No one keeps firm numbers on how often wholesale firings have been used. But William Gunther, president of the Boston-based Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, estimates that mass teacher firings are tried in about 20 to 30 schools annually. Many more schools adjust other elements, such as curriculum and teacher training, to boost performance without substantially changing the staff."

Obama Puts $3.5B Toward Fixing Failing Schools

"The Obama administration will spend at least $3.5 billion to push local officials around the country to close failing schools and reopen them with new teachers and principals."