November 2, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 25, Issue 10
Teaching Profession
Teachers’ Jobs in Hurricane-Ravaged Areas in Limbo
Many Gulf Coast school administrators remain uncertain about how many teachers and other staff members they will need, at least initially.
Budget & Finance
Hurricanes Blow Holes in School Revenues
School districts that suffered damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have reopened and scrambling to find the money to keep them solvent.
School Choice & Charters
Chicago Eyes 16 New Schools
Chicago, which is pursuing a controversial plan to replace struggling schools with charter-like schools, has unveiled a new group of contenders vying to move from idea to reality under the program.
Education
A National Roundup
Teacher Missing
Tara Grinstead, 30, a history teacher at Irwin County High School in Ocilla, Ga., was last seen on Oct. 22 attending a Miss Sweet Potato pageant. Local teachers have formed a group called Teachers for Tara, which has helped with search efforts, while friends and family have formed the Web site www.findtara.com.
Education
A National Roundup
Jury Convicts Florida Man in K-12 Scholarship Scam
A Florida man was convicted last week of charges that he illegally used payments from a state-sponsored scholarship program that should have gone to help low-income students attend private K-12 schools.
Education
A National Roundup
Interim S.F. Chief Selected to Take Over Next Spring
Gwen Chan, the San Francisco school system’s deputy superintendent, will become its interim leader in the spring, replacing retiring Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.
Education
A National Roundup
Alliance Gives Bad Grades to Community Sports Programs
Community sports programs across the nation are failing to address “the goals of children”—to have fun, make friends, and learn how to play sports, a panel of youth-sports experts said last week.
Education
Leveling the Playing Field: ABC-Learn West Hills, Calif.
Case studies of supplemental education services funded under the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Education
Honors & Award
Honors & Awards
Schools of Distinction
USA TODAY has announced the winners of its 2005 All-USA Teacher Team, a national competition that recognizes outstanding teaching practices. Winners each receive $500, and their schools receive $2,000. This year’s team consists of 19 individuals, and a team of four. The winners are listed below alphabetically:
USA TODAY has announced the winners of its 2005 All-USA Teacher Team, a national competition that recognizes outstanding teaching practices. Winners each receive $500, and their schools receive $2,000. This year’s team consists of 19 individuals, and a team of four. The winners are listed below alphabetically:
Assessment
Experts Disagree Over What to Include in Revised NAEP
A new blueprint outlining the content that students will encounter on the science version of the National Assessment of Educational Progress places too little emphasis on applying science to technology, engineering, and real-world problem-solving, a number of critics contend.
Special Education
IDEA Rules Await White House Review, State Special Ed. Officials Told
The U.S. Department of Education is following its own internal timetable for completing final regulations for the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, but the final approval of the rules may be bogged down in a bureaucratic logjam at the White House budget office, a federal education official told state special education administrators here last week.
Federal
TEACHERS: New and Old, Judged Chiefly on Same Standards
As the state official who oversees teacher-qualification rules, Dorothy Gotlieb is proud, she says, of the work Colorado has done to decide how veteran educators will meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
IT Infrastructure & Management
FCC Offers E-Rate Aid to Hurricane-Affected Schools
A recent order issued by the Federal Communications Commission seeks to help hundreds of schools affected by Hurricane Katrina restore their telecommunications through the federal E-rate program.
Assessment
‘Nation’s Report Card’ Remains Fodder for Charter Debate
With the recent release of this year’s results from “the nation’s report card,” supporters and critics of charter schools have renewed their debate over charter students’ relative performance, even while acknowledging serious limitations in the data’s reliability.
Federal
TEACHERS: Point System Available to Earn ‘Qualified’ Status
When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law with great fanfare in January 2002, plenty of skeptics said states and districts would not be able to meet its demanding expectations.
School & District Management
Worry Mounting Over New Orleans Schools
As many jostle to play roles in the rebirth of the New Orleans public schools, worry is mounting that the process lacks a coherent vision.
School & District Management
Opinion
Board-Dom
Howard Good relates his experiences as a member of a school board — and explains why he never wants to serve on another one.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Increase Class Size— And Pay Teachers More
Former New Jersey state commissioner of education Saul Cooperman favors a controversial route to teacher quality. Increasing class size.
Education
Leveling the Playing Field: Huntington Learning Center
Case studies of supplemental education services funded under the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Education
Leveling the Playing Field: Youth Policy Institute Los Angeles
Case studies of supplemental education services funded under the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Federal
Leveling the Playing Field
In Los Angeles, the free tutoring required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act is opening doors for students— and making demands on the school district.
Education
Table: Sitting Out
Accompanying table to story, "States Vary on Students Excluded From NAEP Tests."
Education
Table: Education Appropriations
Accompanying table to story, "Senate OKs Modest K-12 Spending Boost.” The Senate approved a spending bill last week with only a minimal increase in its total budget for fiscal 2006.
Social Studies
Course in African, African-American History Debuts in Philadelphia
For the students at Philadelphia’s Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School, much of what they’ve learned about African-American history has been centered on the South and embedded in American history and other courses.
Law & Courts
Judge Rules New Orleans Board Must Revote on Charters
The New Orleans school board’s decision to open its first post-Hurricane Katrina group of 13 schools as charter schools was declared void last week by a local judge, who ruled that the panel’s vote violated the state’s open-meetings law.
Ed-Tech Policy
Reporter's Notebook
With Technology Conference Blog, Mavens Practice What They Teach
About 2,200 technology specialists, administrators, teachers, and a futurist or two converged at the National School Boards Association’s annual educational technology conference here last week to learn and share how technology can improve student learning.
Assessment
Focus on ‘Basic’ Achievement Level on NAEP Stirs Concern
When the federal government released the 2005 results last month for “the nation’s report card,” a few observers detected some subtle changes in the way the scores were presented—changes they say could lead to lower expectations all around for the level of performance considered good enough on the tests.
Federal
States Vary on Students Excluded From NAEP Tests
The latest reading and mathematics results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress suggest that, despite federal efforts to curb the practice, states still vary widely in the numbers of students with disabilities and English-language learners whom they excuse from taking the tests.