The Department of Education selected 49 under-performing middle schools to receive both literacy training and thousands of dollars in materials. The goal? Bring students up to grade level in reading. While the program generally gets good marks, advocates say the effort is too limited, and comes too late in the Bloomberg tenure.

A school principal sings the praises of one teacher training program, the urban teacher residency, arguing it should serve as a model for a statewide teacher training system.

College students from the New York Institute of Technology volunteered at a Harlem elementary school this fall as a kind of in-house tech squad, and resident experts for science classes.

It would be unsurprising if this parochial school had a poor academic track record. None of the teachers went to college. All the students speak Yiddish as their first language. The vast majority of the students are extremely poor. Yet for the past decade the principal has coaxed excellence out of both students and teachers.

The city’s chief academic officer says school support networks have improved dramatically in the last few years while saving the city money. Ahead of this week’s City Council hearing on the topic, he says the networks let principals choose their peer groups and give them one place to go for answers on a variety of topics.

Comparing teaching to performing, this educator and author prescribes a simple way to help teachers improve their work — require them to spend time away from students practicing their craft.

Schoolbook contributor Arthur Goldstein’s acerbic commentary on facing a new innovation at the start of every school year apparently is shared by many in the teaching profession. Teachers from all over the country echoed his frustration in an outpouring of online comments, and they are still streaming in.

One teacher is weary – and wary – of the annual presentation of new ideas.

Summer may look like a big vacation perk for teachers, but many educators spend July and August teaching summer classes. They also plan for the year ahead. And still others use the time to be students again.

It’s an odd end to the school year for many students. Since there were no snow days this year, the Education Department is allowing more than 650 schools to cancel classes Monday and Tuesday to allow for professional development for teachers. But students need to show up for a half day on Wednesday to pick up their report cards.