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  • Race to the Bottom Line

    by Brian Thevenot

    The feds want Texas to sign onto a movement toward national education standards in order to get up to $700 million in "Race to the Top" money. Texas officials say our students —and our curriculum — aren't for sale. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Jacob Villanueva

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    It was a political week, with a full-court press from our staff on Bill White's switch to the governor's race and all of the fallout; the moves during the first week of filing for political races; Philpott's look at Republicans challenging Republicans; Hu's latest in the popular Stump Interrupted series; Ramshaw on emergency rooms, family doctors, and child protection; Stiles and Grissom mapping payday lending locations juxtaposed with family income data; Rapoport on the state budget and education; Thevenot on KBH's plans for schools; and Hamilton on the power (or not) of political endorsements. The best of the best from November 28 to December 4, 2009. Full Story 

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  • Grading KBH's Education Plans

    by Brian Thevenot

    Education has emerged as one of the more contentious fronts in the gubernatorial campaign, with Kay Bailey Hutchison this week releasing a barrage of school proposals and attacks on the status quo. But the differences between the candidates have more to do with execution than with design. Full Story 

    U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, appearing at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin.
    Photo credit:  Elise Hu

  • Beyond Textbooks and Tests

    by Brian Thevenot

    Hoping to push a wide array of digital content and teaching tools to public schools, the Texas Education Agency has cut a deal with a division of The New York Times for an electronic curriculum portal and searchable access to the newspaper’s content since 1851. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Ante Vekic

  • Charter School Crossroads

    by Brian Thevenot

    Do charter schools outperform traditional public schools? Should they be allowed to expand? Who holds them accountable if they fail? David Dunn, founder of the Texas Charter School Association, explains. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  KIPP Academy

  • Hidden Force

    by Emily Ramshaw

    School district police departments use tasers, pepper spray, dogs and drawn handguns to control crime on campus. But most don't keep data on the incidents, leaving parents no way to track them. Many even refuse to turn over their “use of force” guidelines, saying parting with their policies could create a security threat. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Jacob Villanueva

  • Upwardly Mobile

    by Julián Aguilar

    The number of Mexican-born professionals living in the United States has more than doubled since 1995. They're not the undocumented workers you see in evening-news mug shots or aerial photographs of a littered and barren desert. They're college graduates — some with multiple degrees — who join their blue-collar counterparts in their journeys north. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Bob Daemmrich

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    Multi-part stories from Ramshaw and Grissom and Stiles on mental health services for detained immigrants and on payday lenders who provide exorbitantly priced credit to people with nowhere else to turn... Twitter, word clouds and the race for governor — a Stiles joint... Farouk Shami is in and Hu was there to watch... Philpott went to Bastrop for a gather of Republican governors... Rapoport finds a State Board of Education that's trying to control itself... and we have the skinny on legislative races that are likely to be competitive (only about 5 percent of the races on the ballot). It's the best of The Texas Tribune from November 14 to 20, 2009. Full Story 

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  • State (Board) of Agitation

    by Abby Rapoport

    The State Board of Education, which has showcased some intense philosophical fights, has drawn scrutiny for becoming a partisan battleground. For now, members are just trying to get along — but the rifts are as big as ever. Full Story 

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    Photo credit:  Abby Rapoport