Photo from DC Council video.

Bowser would keep Henderson: The Democratic mayoral nominee ended her previous noncommittal stance and made it clear that, if elected, she would keep the current DCPS Chancellor. (Post)

Schools and the DC mayoral race: Politico takes a look at the prominence of education issues in the contest between DC Councilmembers Muriel Bowser and David Catania.

Westboro 10, Wilson High several hundred: Only a handful of members of the Westboro Baptist Church showed up to protest the school’s gay Pride Day, while the counter-protest drew hundreds of students and community members. The Post editorial board approved. (Post)

Do more for homeless students: The number of homeless students in DCPS has grown by 37% in the past two years, and schools need more funding to improve services for them. (DCFPI)

KIPP DC’s new high school: KIPP has begun renovations at the new site for its high school, near Union Market, with plans to eventually accommodate 1,000 students there. (Elevation DC)

Starr reverses position on high school start time: The Montgomery County Schools Superintendent withdrew his support from a proposal to move the start time to 8:15 from 7:25, citing costs. (WAMU)

Prince George’s school board: The Post editorial board reveals its picks for the June 24 primaries.

Virginia school takeover board struck down: A Norfolk judge declared a state scheme to take over struggling schools, including Jefferson Houston Elementary in Alexandria, to be an unconstitutional infringement on local control. (Post)

California judge rules teacher tenure unconstitutional: State tenure rules deprive students of their right to a quality education under the state constitution, according to a decision in Los Angeles Superior Court. (NYT)

Hold off on using new tests to judge teachers: The Gates Foundation asks for a moratorium on using new standardized tests as a basis for teacher evaluations, saying that teachers and students need time to adjust. (Post)

Impetus for the Common Core: The idea that we should have nationwide academic standards dates back to 1959, and recent evidence of the discrepancies between test scores in different states renewed enthusiasm for it. (Post)

Take down the decorations? A study found that kindergarteners taught in a highly decorated classroom were more distracted than those in a room that was relatively bare. (NYT)

Pay kids to do well in school? Financial incentives can help spark interest in academic achievement, but to get results it’s crucial to also focus on academic support and teacher training. (Ed Week)

Or send them to work?: At Cristo Rey, a network of Catholic high schools serving a low-income population, students spend one day a week holding down responsible jobs at hospitals, law firms, and the like. There’s one Cristo Rey school in the DC suburb of Takoma Park. (NPR)

Charters and special ed: Should charters be required to enroll special needs students at the same levels as traditional public schools? (Ed Next)

School lunch in New York: New York is hesitant to participate in a federal program that enables more kids to get free lunch, fearing it will actually reduce funding. (NPR)

Free community college: A program in Tulsa, OK, has helped 10,000 kids get into college by making the first two years tuition-free and providing a lot of support. Eight out of 10 students finish. (NPR)

Asking students to annotate: A couple of middle school teachers experiment with having their students annotate their reading and take notes on it. (Middle Web)