Thinking ahead: A DCPS summer program introduces middle schoolers to potential careers by taking them on field trips. (Post)

Overcoming obstacles: Valedictorians from one of DC’s high-poverty high schools feel out of place and unprepared at elite colleges, but persevere. (Post)

Charter named in lawsuit: Seven weeks after suing the founder of Community Academy charter school for self-dealing, the DC government has added the school as a defendant. (Post)

Pay for veteran teachers: Mid- and late-career teachers in the US generally earn paltry salaries, but a few cities—including DC—are exceptions to the rule. (Center for American Progress)

Preschool discipline: A panel on the Kojo Nnamdi show explored the issue of suspensions for preschoolers, and one mother asks whether her young sons have been disciplined more harshly because of their race. (WAMU, Post)

Tech in Montgomery: The county’s board of education has authorized a $15 million contract for the purchase of 40,000 laptops and tablets. (Post)

No more half-days: The Fairfax County School Board has voted for a full day on Mondays in its elementary schools, agreeing to spend $7.6 million on the effort. (Post)

Not all poor students are the same: Students from isolated communities with deep generational poverty face challenges that other low-income students don’t. (Post)

Math lessons: Americans are no good at math because teachers haven’t learned how to teach it. (NYT) … Nevertheless, we’re actually better at math than we used to be. (Eduwonk) …Parents should try to be math coaches for their kids rather than math teachers. (NYT) … Students don’t derive any long-term gains from a double dose of math class. (Ed Week)