Beth Fertig

Adult Course Offers Learning For The Sake Of Learning

Beth Fertig

The Clemente course provides low-income adults with college-level education about the arts, literature and the humanities — topics often lost in the race to get a practical degree.

The Construction Kids program in Brooklyn offers hands-on workshops throughout the year.

Putting Power Tools In The Hands Of 5-Year-Olds

Beth Fertig

To move kids away from computer screens, a new wave of learning programs is emphasizing hands-on activities. Like building stuff.

Teacher Tenure Fight Spills Into N.Y., Where A New Lawsuit Brews

Beth Fertig

A new salvo has been fired in the fight over teacher tenure. A group led by former TV anchor Campbell Brown filed a complaint in New York state court, arguing that tenure laws are preventing the state from providing every child with the "sound, basic education" its constitution guarantees.

Campbell Brown of the Partnership for Educational Justice, with plaintiffs in their New York teacher tenure lawsuit.

Teacher Tenure Lawsuits Spread From California To New York

Anya Kamenetz

Why are so many low-income and minority kids getting second-class educations in the U.S.? That question is at the center of the heated debate about tenure protections and who gets them.

Students from CUNY's AstroCom NYC program meet for a weekly class at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Dennis Robbins, an associate professor of science education at CUNY's Hunter College, teaches Betsy Hernandez (from left), Jaquelin Erazo, Ariel Diaz and Mario Martin.

Changing The Face Of Astronomy Research

Beth Fertig

An apprenticeship program in New York City helps lower-income and minority students break into advanced sciences. For one, the love of the stars was motivation to tackle the tough field of astronomy.

The New York City skyline is mostly dark in this photo of the 2003 blackout that hit U.S. and Canadian cities.

How A Massive Power Outage Sent People Out In The Street

Beth Fertig

Ten years ago, a tree on a power line in Ohio touched off the largest outage in U.S. history. In New York City, many people were so relieved it wasn't another terrorism attack that in some places, a carnival atmosphere prevailed.

N.Y. Schools Scramble To Relocate Storm Victims

Beth Fertig

Most of New York City's one million public school students went back to class on Monday, a week after Hurricane Sandy struck. But dozens were flooded, damaged or without power and had to relocate to other schools.

New York City's Department of Education issued its first guidelines this spring for how teachers should navigate social media.

Friend Your Students? New York City Schools Say No

Beth Fertig

This spring, the city's Department of Education issued its first guidelines about how teachers should navigate social media. The rules make it explicit: Teachers cannot friend or follow their students on Facebook or Twitter, but they can have professional accounts and pages for students to follow.

Katherine Moloney, principal of P.S. 100 in Brooklyn, says that evaluating teachers on test scores alone is not enough.

New York Teacher Ratings Renew Evaluation Debate

Beth Fertig

The Obama administration is making some federal funds contingent on schools using student test scores and classroom observations to evaluate teachers. New York City recently sparked a controversy when it rated thousands of teachers with test scores alone — and then released those ratings to the public.

Transit Strike Hobbles New York City

Beth Fertig

New York City's transit union called a strike Tuesday after failing to reach a deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The strike left more than 7 million people in and around the city looking for alternative ways to get around. Beth Fertig of member station WNYC reports.