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Former DCPS Chancellor Outlines National Goals

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Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of D.C. Public Schools has details on how she thinks the nation's schools can be fixed.

Some of the top priorities outlined by Rhee's new advocacy group, Students First, sound familiar: Paying excellent teachers more, eliminating tenure and basing employment decisions on effectiveness, not seniority.

She's also wants parents to consent before their children are placed with teachers rated as ineffective, and in the case of failing schools, to allow parents to vote to change the school's leadership or to turn it into a charter school.

Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, criticized Rhee's agenda saying it was an "oversimplified choice" and she is still creating what Weingarten calls "a narrative of good guys and bad guys" in education.

NPR

A Read Down Memory Lane: Lessons From Your Former Self

Writings from childhood — cards, stories and other notes — can hide for decades, like time capsules tucked away in boxes, old bedrooms, attics and journals. Writer Jim Sollisch talks about how old thank you notes from his youth foreshadowed his adult life.
NPR

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

The revival is partly based on the humble sour fruit's growing reputation as a superfood. And in Michigan, a scientist is on a quest to introduce a whole new world of hardier, tastier tart cherries by breeding American trees with ancestral varieties from Eastern Europe.
NPR

Srinivasan's Confirmation First For D.C. Circuit In 7 Years

The partisan war over judicial nominees has accelerated in recent years. It took nearly a year to win Senate confirmation for Sri Srinivasan to the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, though he had no formal opposition.
NPR

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year.

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