by Motoko RichROHNERT PARK, Calif. — In a stark about-face from just a few years ago, school districts have gone from handing out pink slips to scrambling to hire teachers.Read the rest of the story at The New York Times.

Photo Credit: Theresa Thompsonby Gerard RobinsonHere’s what education activist Campbell Brown should ask the 2016 GOP hopefuls.Read the rest of the story at U.S. News and World Report.

It’s not often that one comes across two articles in the same day that put the reader into a surreal mindset. But today I am stuck in that literary “Twilight Zone.”The first story appeared August 7 in The Onion, the widely-read satirical “news source.” It’s titled, “New Statewide Education Standards Require Teachers To Forever Change Lives Of 30% Of Students.”

by Howard BlumeA prominent local education foundation is discussing a major expansion of charter schools in Los Angeles aimed at boosting academic achievement for students at the lowest performing campuses.Read the rest of the story at The Los Angeles Times.

by Claudio Sanchez”If a kid is in first period when they should still be asleep, how much are they really learning?”Anne Wheaton is an epidemiologist and the lead author of a new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study surveyed the start times of 8000 middle and high schools across the country. Last year the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. The goal is to accommodate the “natural sleep rhythms” of teenagers.Read and listen to the story at NPREd.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush again defended his support of the Common Core education standards, which are deeply unpopular within the Republican Party.Read the rest of the story at CBS News.