This AP story leaves more questions than answers--where would the kids go if the schools closed, how would the schools be closed, for how long, what is the criteria for closing a school, where would they get the new teachers, how will they get local school districts to close a school.....
One thing's for sure, it looks like the teaching profession is about to get a boost.
President Barack Obama wants to see 5,000 failing schools close and reopen with new principals and teachers over the next five years.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan says kids have only one shot at a good education. He said Monday that chronically underperforming schools need a new start.
Obama doesn't have authority to close schools himself. That power rests with local school districts and states.
Duncan said the idea is to be "more targeted and more strategic."
"We really want to put a laser-like focus on those schools that have historically under-performed," Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The administration's goal is for the lowest-performing 1,000 schools — about 1 percent of schools nationwide — to close and reopen each year for the next five years.
But the president will have unprecedented money to offer schools from a federal school-turnaround fund. And states have an incentive to act in the federal economic stimulus law, because they must help failing schools improve to be eligible for the dollars.
Combined with the budget plan released last week, Obama could have as much as $5 billion to facilitate school turnarounds, which could translate to $1 million for every school that is closed and reopened. Read the rest at the AP
