Morning bell: Honors are awarded to schools, students

Local high schools are ranked: According to Jay Mathews’ annual ranking, the most challenging DCPS high school is School Without Walls, which he placed at 6th in the region. Mathews ranked the school 99th nationwide. (Post)

National Merit Finalist honors go to 56 students at DC schools: The group includes 3 students from Woodrow Wilson HS and 4 from School Without Walls, with the remaining 49 hailing from 11 different private schools. (Georgetown Patch)

Howard slips in US News college rankings: Continuing a recent decline, Howard University fell to 142nd from 120th a year ago. Other DC area schools ranked include Johns Hopkins (12th), Georgetown (20th), UVA (23rd), William and Mary (32nd), George Washington (52nd), UMD (62nd), American (75th), and Catholic (121st). (Post)

Testing can be tough for teachers too: In the final installment of a series examining DCPS’s implementation of the new Common Core curriculum standards, teachers at Stuart-Hobson MS experience both pride and disappointment when test results arrive. Some wonder if they could have done more to help students. (Ed Week)

Young women give back: Four young women have started a non-profit, Feed DC, which provided 450 low-income students at Martin Luther King Jr. ES with new backpacks and supplies for the school year. The women met as DC high school students doing community service work. (Post)

Home visits spur school improvement: The home visit program at Stanton ES has helped build positive relationships between teachers and parents, improve student achievement, and reduce behavior problems. The Flamboyan Foundation, which facilitated the visits, is partnering with 15 DCPS and 9 charter schools this year. (Post)

Gray appoints Jesus Aguirre to top education post: Aguirre, DC’s park director, will take over October 1st as the new state superintendent for education. Some see his charter school background as a sign that DC charters will now achieve “funding equity.” Aguirre is the first Latino to hold the position. (Post, Examiner, WUSA9)

Blended learning gets a boost: In an effort to increase the use of technology to supplement traditional instruction, a group of funders has announced a $2 million competition. Traditional public and charter schools in the District will vie for grants to design and implement their plans. (Post)

Parents concerned about preschool testing: The Public Charter School Board got over 50 public comments on its proposal to evaluate charter preschools using a variety of assessments. Many urged that the Board give greater weight to social and emotional learning. (Post)

Upcoming Events

Open house: Visit the new Sela PCS, a Hebrew-immersion charter school, at a range of dates and times in September (two this week). 6015-17 Chillum Place NE.

Ward 5 Council on Education: A forum on a variety of education-related topics on Tuesday, September 17th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Lamond-Riggs Library, 5401 S. Dakota Avenue, NE.

National Book Festival: Come to the National Mall to celebrate literacy and meet authors on Saturday (10 to 5:30) and Sunday (12 to 5:30).