GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Legislators in Albany are close to a deal to give parents access to teacher ratings. (WSJ, Daily News)
• The main point of contention had been whether parents would get access to the evaluations or not. (WSJ)
• The deal is supposed to be finalized this afternoon and could still fall through, sources say. (Post)
• Magnet schools are seen as one path toward racial integration, but their change comes slowly. (Times)
• Businesses make upwards of $4 million a year storing students’ banned-from-school cell phones. (Post)
• The number of school psychologists is down even as more students seem to need them. (S.I. Advance)
• Teachers at Staten Island’s I.S. 49 chose a colleague who was removed as their union leader. (Post)
• Ginia Bellafante: The much-maligned principal of P.S. 90 is actually well-liked at her school. (Times)
• A new District 13 middle school will put students, not teachers, at the front of the class. (GothamSchools)
• The student whose speech on gay rights was barred from a contest will read it today at school. (NY1)
• A nonprofit will give students at 72 middle and transfer high schools home internet access. (WNYC)
• The state appears to be cracking down on Pearson, its test-maker, after its errors. (GothamSchools)
• Chancellor Walcott said the UFT shields misbehaving teachers. (GothamSchools, Post, Daily News)
• Walcott met with parents at P.S. 208, where a teacher was arrested. (GS, Daily News, WSJ, NY1)
• A Queens high school teacher was removed after simulating sex acts during sex ed class. (Daily News)
• The Daily News: A judge’s ruling in favor of a teacher who had sex at school proves a need for change.
• At a conference, mayors from across the country signed on to  support the “parent trigger.” (Reuters)
• Buffalo is letting 16-year-olds eighth-graders leave school for city-run GED programs. (Buffalo News)

Last week on GothamSchools:

• The UFT’s leading intellectual voice is decamping for a union-run D.C. think tank. (Thursday)
• A pot of federal funds that is drying up could cost schools the ability to pay for tech training. (Thursday)
• The range of responses to charter school enrollment targets includes a call to trash them. (Wednesday)
• The principal of P186, a school for students with disabilities, is constantly in motion. (Wednesday)
• New York City became the last district in the state to still have its SIG funds suspended. (Wednesday)
• At a City Council hearing, DOE officials said there is no data from special ed reforms to share. (Tuesday)
• A handful of teachers turned out to protest rehiring practices at “turnaround” schools. (Tuesday)
• In a departure, the city’s annual principals conference focused on details of implementation. (Tuesday)
• The city’s high school graduation rate flattened in 2011 after years of ticking upward. (Monday)
• Mayor Bloomberg praised the graduation rate but said he wasn’t sure growth would resume. (Monday)
• CSI High School for International Studies students say gym credits were incorrect there, too. (Monday)
• Teachers from district and charter schools toured several schools to learn from each other. (Monday)