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Latin and literacy: Some educators, including a few in DC, are advocating spoken Latin as a remedy for literacy problems, including those among low-income and special-education students. At School Without Walls @ Francis-Stevens, Latin begins in preschool. (Post)

High-tech charter finds a spot in Anacostia: Rocketship, a California-based charter network that blends technology with traditional instruction, will build its first DC school on a wooded hilltop across from a public housing development in Anacostia. (Post)

Summer school blitz: At one San Francisco high school, a teacher tries to cram an entire year-long algebra course into 5 weeks, for students who struggle with math in the first place. (NPR)

Home visit blitz: Before school starts in Henderson County, KY, teachers knock on the door of every student in the county to build relationships with them and their families. (Ed Week)

Celebrities and education reform: Whoopi Goldberg is only the latest boldface name to speak out on the subject, in her case weighing in against teacher tenure. (NPR)

Natalie Wexler is a DC education journalist and blogger. She chairs the board of The Writing Revolution and serves on the Urban Teachers DC Regional Leadership Council, and she has been a volunteer reading and writing tutor in high-poverty DC Public Schools.