GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Advanced Placement courses, once just  for top students, are a key strategy for schools to add rigor. (AP)
• Aaron Academy, a school for students with special needs, includes sex ed as part of its mission. (NY1)
• Michael Winerip: UMass students are resisting a new trend of outsourcing teacher training. (Times)
• One city charter school has students counting the words they read in a gap-closing bid. (GothamSchools)
• The principal of Manhattan’s Museum School is under investigation for being frequently absent. (Post)
• Brooklyn’s Packer Collegiate School is struggling as its identity evolves and profile strengthens. (Times)
• Charles Blow starts Teacher Appreciation Week by lauding his mom and the teaching profession. (Times)
• California is issuing pink slips to teachers for the fourth straight year, but fewer are actually laid off. (AP)

Last week on GothamSchools:

• Early childhood advocates are unhappy about the city’s step forward in an overhaul process. (Friday)
• M.S. 244 in the Bronx is winning accolades for its data-driven approach to helping students. (Thursday)
• Mayor Bloomberg’s budget proposal cuts after-school slots — and counts on added state aid. (Thursday)
• For the first time in years, Bloomberg’s budget would allow the city to hire new teachers. (Wednesday)
• A high-paying charter school attracted would-be teachers despite bumps in its early years. (Wednesday)
• The City Council grilled education officials over rising numbers of school referrals to EMS. (Tuesday)
• The U.S. Justice Department sued Princeton Review over fraudulent tutoring claims in the city. (Tuesday)
• Students and teachers at P.S. 261 highlighted what they could have done instead of testing. (Tuesday)
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the members of a promised education reform commission. (Monday)
• A self-critique by the city’s charter sector praised scores but found room for improvement. (Monday)
• Kenneth Cole said it would remove a controversial billboard days after we reported about it. (Monday)