Photo by Star of Hope International on Flickr.

Some schools may get unexpected renovations: Mayor Vincent Gray is seeking to shift renovation funds, with the result that some schools will get additional money and others will lose funds they thought they had. (Post)

But renovations are delayed at planned DCPS special education campus: Archeologists have discovered Native American artifacts on the site of the former River Terrace Elementary School in Northeast, causing a one-year postponement of the building’s transformation into a facility that would house students from two existing special education schools. (WAMU)

And renovations are jeopardized at language-immersion charter school: The DC Council allocated $6 million to renovate a building for DC International, which will serve 6th through 12th grades, but now Mayor Gray says the money can’t legally be used for charters. (Post)

Millions of dollars in DC scholarship program are unaccounted for: The Washington Post reported that an audit of the DC TAG program, which provides as much as $50,000 in college tuition aid for DC families, showed that officials couldn’t document nearly $10 million in expenses since 2004. Appearing before the DC Council, State Superintendent Jesus Aguirre faced questions about the missing money. (Post)

Charter board is developing ways to assess schools serving at-risk kids: As a first step in the process, the DC Public Charter School has adopted a definition of “alternative schools” that includes the troubled Options PCS and two others. (Post)

Happy with your school?: DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced a $5 million initiative to boost student satisfaction. (Post)

Happy with the Chancellor: Former Washington Post publisher Donald E. Graham argues that DCPS has made impressive progress under Henderson and that she deserves the support of the DC Council. (Post)

Or perhaps not?: Appearing at a DC Council hearing, Henderson faced questions about the persistent gap in student achievement between high- and low-income students, delays in disbursing federal funds, the perennial middle school problem, and more. (Post)

DC school enrollment is up: Public charter schools increased their enrollment by 5% last year from the year before, while DCPS enrollment went up by 2%. Overall, there was a 3% increase in the number of students attending public school. (WAMU)

Rocketship charter network will open a DC school in 2015-16: Rocketship, which operates schools that combine virtual and traditional instruction, plans ultimately to open 8 schools in DC over the next 5 years. (Ed Week)

Fairfax schools increase mental health efforts: Two student suicides at Langley High School have led to a renewed focus on teen stress. (Post)

Teachers in Fairfax cut back on work to protest low salaries: With salaries lower than in some surrounding districts, teachers at McLean High School say they won’t be spending time on tasks that are outside of their contract, including writing college recommendations. (Post)

No big change for Alexandria schools: The school board has decided to appoint the man who has been serving as the city’s interim superintendent, Alvin L. Crawley, to the post permanently. (Post)

Prince George’s schools overpaid employees by $1 million: A state audit found that the system has weak financial controls and also noted that the computer network is vulnerable to attack. (Post)

Prince George’s tries to recruit more male teachers: With male teachers making up about 21% of the county’s teaching staff, a group of them met for a summit to discuss ways to increase their numbers, which they believe will help promote student achievement. (Post)

Specialized teaching spreads to lower grades: Some school districts, including DC, have been experimenting with bringing the middle- and high-school model of using different teachers for different subjects to elementary grades as well. (Ed Week)

Upcoming events:

My School DC: Today is the deadline for submitting applications through the common lottery for early childhood, elementary, and middle schools.