Top of the morning
It may be the last Monday of the school year, but the work of education goes on: This evening at 6 pm, the Panel for Education Policy will hold public hearings at MLK High School complex; sign up at 5:30 pm for a 2-minute speaking slot.
Of the PEP's 13 members, 8 (including the Chancellor) are appointed by the Mayor, and 5 are named by boro presidents and must be public-school parents. As a group, the panel is charged with "approving standards, policies, objectives, and regulations that are directly related to educational achievement and student performance, as well as certain contracts, an estimated annual operating budget, and the DOE capital plan," according to the DOE. Should be quite a lively meeting.
And an interesting juxtaposition in the Times; while the editorial page praises New York's largely successful attempt to recruit and certify teachers who were solid, high-achieving college students, it overlooks a high attrition rate among young idealists who leave the public-school classroom, and poses, in another article, the 'paycheck or pay back' question, as Harvard grads flow to Wall Street and to high-power consultancies like McKinsey and Bain, instead of into public service, in medicine, government and -- yes -- education.
