Fourth-grade shift a myth?: New neuroscience casts doubt on the idea that children shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” in 4th grade. A study found that even 5th-graders don’t process words as automatically as adults. (NPR)

Some 1st-graders gain with traditional math: Research suggests that teacher-led explanation and traditional drill works better than more creative approaches when it comes to imparting basic skills to struggling students. (Hechinger Report)

Forget “natural born”: Far from being an innate talent, good teaching is a set of key skills, all of which can be taught. (NYT)

Region makes room for child refugees: Roughly 15% of the 30,000 unaccompanied children who have arrived in the US from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala this year have found a haven in Greater Washington, home to the second-largest Central American community in the nation. School districts can draw on federal funds to deal with the influx, but there may be a lag time. (Post, Ed Week)

New spending rules in Montgomery: County school board members voted to give up their credit cards and adopted restrictions on expenditures after public disclosure of improper charges. School districts can draw on federal funds to deal with the influx, but there may be a lag time. (Post, Ed Week)

Collaboration initiative: A first-year principal won a $25,000 award for fostering collaboration among teachers at her New York City public high school. (Chalkbeat/NY)

Girls get bullied more: Girls are bullied more than boys at every grade level, but the disparity rises markedly with age, according to a federal report. (Post)

Better living through carpentry: An East Bay private school for boys is experimenting with a mix of academics and what used to be called shop class to shape its diverse student body into tomorrow’s resourceful and respectful men. (NPR)

Greater Greater Education Staff Contributor Paula Amann brings experience as a high school bilingual teacher, an editor on education policy, and a journalist. She is also the mother of a student in a local public school. She believes school systems should choose teachers, create curricula, and set policy as if the right to a good public education were enshrined in the US Bill of Rights.