Photo by Rakkhi Samarasekera on Flickr.

Charters here are a fact of life: None of the mayoral candidates in DC has campaigned against charter schools the way Bill deBlasio did in New York, and one reason is that New York has limited the number of charters. (Sara Mead’s Policy Notebook, Ed Week)

DC faulted on low-performing schools: DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education hasn’t pressed hard enough for improvements, federal officials say. (Post)

Preventing teen pregnancy: Two DC programs give girls something meaningful to focus on, in hopes that it will lead them away from risky behavior. (Elevation DC)

Yet more on controlled choice: A look at efforts to increase socioeconomic integration in schools in Montgomery County and Cambridge, MA, and discussions about DC. (Ed Week )

Maryland charter school laws: Two studies say Maryland is among the worst states in the nation for charters. (Post)

Suspensions in Montgomery: They have been decreasing, but more for white students than for African-American and Hispanic ones. (Gazette)

Half-day kindergarten: Loudoun County is the only district in the DC area that doesn’t offer universal full-day kindergarten. (Post)

Alexandria extends middle school day: The district will add 14 minutes starting next month to make up for snow days. (Post)

And Montgomery asks for a waiver: After 10 snow days, the county is asking the state to waive 5 days from its requirement of 180 days of school per year. (Post)

Students need to write: Efforts are underway to ensure that schools teach cursive, but experts say the real problem is that kids aren’t doing much writing of any kind in school. (NPR)

Is preschool too late?: Providence, RI, has launched a program to reduce the knowledge gap between rich and poor kids well before they start preschool. (NY Times)