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A survey released by the Washington-based Center on Education Policy finds that few school districts are familiar with the four federal models for turning around low-performing schools and even fewer have implemented them.

More than a third of school districts reported they had no familiarity with the models that are part of the $3.5 billion Title 1 School Improvement Grants heading to school districts this fall, according to the report.

A survey released by the Washington-based Center on Education Policy finds that few school districts are familiar with the four federal models for turning around low-performing schools and even fewer have implemented them.

More than a third of school districts reported they had no familiarity with the models that are part of the $3.5 billion Title 1 School Improvement Grants heading to school districts this fall, according to the report. And fewer than 12 percent had implemented any of the models in their schools. Eleven percent of districts surveyed had implemented the turnaround model, while 6 percent reported implementing the transformation model. Just 1 percent had implemented either the restart or closure models. The four federal models for school improvement are: transformation, turnaround, restart and closure. (Education Week)

Reading in Motion brings its arts-based reading programs to 15 schools on Chicago's Northwest Side for the 2010-11 school year as part of a partnership with Chicago Public Schools. (Chicago Now)

Video: Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and Advance Illinois' Robin Steans discuss how teachers are evaluated. (Fox News Chicago)

In the state

The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce is backing a proposed sales tax for schools in Downstate Sangamon County, on the grounds that an investment in school facilities will enhance economic development. (State Journal Register)

Mundelein-area Diamond Lake School District 76 teachers will get 3.14-percent annual raises, on average, for the new school year and the next term as part of a contract adopted Tuesday. (Daily Herald)

Jill Hawk will retire as superintendent of Crystal Lake High School District 155 at the end of the 2011-12 school year, when her contract expires. (Daily Herald)

In the nation

Some states still aren’t complying with the No Child Left Behind requirement that they report graduation rates for subgroups of students, such as English-language learners or economically disadvantaged children. (Education Week)

PBS News Hours special correspondent John Merrow looks at a new test for teachers in the Washington, D.C., school district as part of his ongoing report on education. (PBS)

Use of value-added model for evaluating teachers is exploding nationwide. Hundreds of school systems, including those in Chicago, New York and Washington, are already using it to measure the performance of schools or teachers, The New York Times reports. Many more districts are expected begin using the model, partly because the Obama administration has prodded states and districts to develop more effective teacher-evaluation systems than traditional classroom observation by administrators.