September 21, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 25, Issue 04
Curriculum
Reading From the Right
From his office in a Texas strip mall, Neal Frey carries on the legacy on Mel and Norma Gabler to promote Christian values in textbooks.
Education
Preschool Planning
The New York state board of regents is recommending 12 components for its early-childhood education policy for children from birth through grade 3.
Law & Courts
Miami Schools Faced With Licensing Scam
The superintendent of the Miami-Dade County schools is vowing to fire more than 750 teachers if they knowingly participated in an alleged scheme to present phony credits for recertification and license endorsements.
School & District Management
Study: Quality of 1st Grade Teachers Plays Key Role
Classroom teachers who give instructional and emotional support can improve academic outcomes for 1st graders who are considered at risk for school failure, concludes a University of Virginia study released last week.
Law & Courts
Federal Judge Strikes Down School-Led Pledge Recitations
A federal judge in California ruled last week that public-school-led recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance are unconstitutional, a decision that could pave the way for another round of debate over separation of church and state just as the U.S. Supreme Court’s membership is changing.
Special Education
New Rules on Special Ed. Scores Help Schools Meet NCLB Targets
Since the federal No Child Left Behind Act became law in early 2002, the U.S. Department of Education has acknowledged that at least some special education students may not be able to reach proficiency on grade-level tests.
Curriculum
President of Alternative-Certification Group Resigns
The founding president of a group that offers teacher certification based on results from standardized tests resigned last week, as board members called for redoubling efforts to woo states into accepting the credential.
Special Education
AYP Rules Miss Many in Spec.Ed.
More special education students are being excluded from federal accountability provisions, driving up the number of public schools able to make adequate yearly progress and raising questions about the pledge to “leave no child behind.”
Education
What is VSKOOL?
VSKOOL is a new consortium working to offer online K-12 classes and tutoring to students affected by Hurricane Katrina. Participants include online-learning organizations, virtual schools, technology companies, foundations, and other corporate and nonprofit organizations.
Classroom Technology
E-Learning Providers Offer Help in Wake of Katrina
After Hurricane Katrina pounded parts of the Gulf Coast late last month, the Baton Rouge-based Louisiana Virtual School lost track of some 400 of its 2,300 students. But it had re-established contact with half of them by last week and was continuing its efforts to reconnect with the remainder.
Education
People in the News
Arthur E. Levine
Arthur E. Levine has announced that he will step down in July as the president of Teachers College, Columbia University, one of the nation’s most prominent schools of education. The board of trustees for Teachers College will conduct a nationwide search for candidates to fill the post.
Education
People in the News
John L. Anderson
John L. Anderson has been appointed to the board of directors of the Institute for Student Achievement. He will begin his three-year term on Nov. 3.
Education
People in the News
Neal K. Kaske
Neal K. Kaske has joined the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science as the director of statistics and surveys.
School & District Management
Change in Season
In Connecticut, where the state attorney general is suing the U.S. Department of Education over new federal testing requirements, at least one change in the student-assessment system isn’t sparking a backlash.
Student Well-Being
Study Says Drug Use By Teens Declines; Alcohol Use Is Steady
The use of illicit drugs by 12- to 17-year-olds declined slightly from 2002 to 2004, but the proportion of underage youths drinking alcohol remained constant over the same period, according to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Education
A National Roundup
Teacher Award Established
A State Capitals news brief in the Aug. 10, 2005, issue of Education Week misidentified the political party of North Carolina Gov. Michael F. Easley. He is a Democrat.
Education
A National Roundup
Ex-Principal of Islamic School Wins Discrimination Case
The former principal of an Islamic school in California has been awarded nearly $800,000 in a discrimination lawsuit filed after she was fired from the school in 2003.
Education
A National Roundup
Former N.C. School Officials Charged in False-Billing Scheme
Two former top transportation officials with the Wake County, N.C., school district were charged last week in an alleged scheme to falsely bill taxpayers $3.8 million for parts and supplies.
Federal
A National Roundup
Teacher Who Protested NCLB Settles Lawsuit With District
A teacher who was transferred two years ago from her post at an Evanston, Ill., school after she created a display mocking the No Child Left Behind Act has reached a settlement with the school district.
Education
A National Roundup
Accountant Accused of Aiding Alleged N.Y. District Thefts
An accountant who audited the Roslyn, N.Y., school district’s books has been charged in connection with the alleged theft of more than $11 million from the district.
School & District Management
A National Roundup
Former Bronx President to Challenge Bloomberg
A former president of New York City’s Bronx borough won the primary last week to become the Democratic challenger to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, whose term has seen a big expansion of the mayor’s authority over schools.
English-Language Learners
A National Roundup
Ore. School Mandates AP Course in Bid to Improve English Skills
All juniors at Oregon’s North Eugene High School will be required to take Advanced Placement English this school year, as educators try to improve student achievement.
School Choice & Charters
A National Roundup
N.Y.C. School District to Help Build Facilities to House Charters
The New York City department of education will provide money to help charter schools construct buildings, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein has announced.
School Climate & Safety
Katrina Disaster Stirs Memories
It wasn’t until he took a helicopter ride over Grand Forks, N.D., that Superintendent Mark Sanford realized how much work was ahead to rebuild his school system and a city ravaged by the overflowing of the Red River.
School & District Management
Opinion
Re-Creating Public Education in New Orleans
Circumstances after Hurricane Katrina call for a coherent strategy, not just a round of do-gooding, research professor Paul T. Hill writes.
School & District Management
Opinion
Conflict or Consensus?
Turf battles and politicial rivalries do not have to be the norm in the relationship between city and school leaders, argue three education advocates.
Education Funding
Federal File
Flour Power
In the shadow of the dome of the U.S. Capitol last week, an old-fashioned bake sale was going on, education-style.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Lessons From The Blackboard Jungle
Adam Golub would like to see the "unsafe schools" choice option of the No Child Left Behind Act reformed, and uses Evan Hunter's 1954 novel The Blackboard Jungle to point out why.