January 24, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 20
Education
Events
22-24—Reading: 16th Core Knowledge National Conference: Integrating Reading and Literacy Across the Content Areas, sponsored by the Core Knowledge Foundation, for elementary- and middle-level educators and administrators, at the Wardman Park Marriott in Washington. Contact: Core Knowledge Foundation, Conference Registrar, 801 E. High St., Charlottesville, VA 22902; Web site: www.coreknowledge.org/ conference.
Education Funding
Grants
Grants
Minnesota: Melissa Briski, Mt. Iron-Buhl Schools, ISD #712, Mt. Iron.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Standing for Students, Standing for Change
Rather than a top-down approach to school reform, we should focus on the educational experiences of individual students, writes George Wood.
Student Well-Being
Vaccination Policies Fall on Schools’ Shoulders
Maryland’s scramble to get middle school students up to date on their vaccinations serves as a warning for school and public-health officials nationwide.
Federal
Companies Want Changes in NCLB Tutoring Policies
Disappointing numbers fuel call for steps aimed at boosting student participation.
Equity & Diversity
College Offers Lessons Tied to Katrina Documentary
With a $975,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, a team of educators at Teachers College, Columbia University, is developing curriculum materials linked to a recent Spike Lee documentary on the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought in New Orleans.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Kentucky Debuts Online College and Career Tool for Students
An interactive guidance system will help students fulfill the state’s requirement that they complete an "individual learning plan" to graduate from high school.
School & District Management
Governor Wages Battle for Control of Pa. District
The governor's chief of staff is appointed to the control board of one of the state's worst-performing school districts.
Curriculum
‘What Works’ Reviewers Find No Learning Edge for Leading Math Texts
Only one elementary school math program has received even a qualified nod from evaluators for its research record.
School & District Management
Guidelines for ‘What Works’ Contract Signal Shifts
The U.S. Department of Education wants its clearinghouse to become more relevant to educators in the field, according to bid specifications for potential contractors that the agency published last month.
School & District Management
NEA Wants Role in School Improvement Agenda
Pressure from supporters and critics, as well as the changing education landscape, will challenge the union's strategic goals.
School & District Management
NEA Drives Home Policy Point With Dropout Issue
The union's demonstrated commitment to the so-called "dropout crisis" furthers several of its strategic goals.
Federal
Bills on Competitiveness Resurface in New Congress
New proposals focus on improving the skills of math and science teachers and creating more incentives for teachers to enter and stay in the profession.
Equity & Diversity
Maryland SEED School Gets Boost From Donors
Baltimore-area philanthropists Art and Patricia Modell recently pledged $5 million to open a public boarding school for disadvantaged students in Maryland.
Education
Report Roundup
Drug and Alcohol Use
Use of illegal drugs in cars may be a bigger problem for teenagers than the consumption of alcohol in cars, a survey suggests.
Federal
Stafford Interest Cut Gets Bipartisan Support
A bill approved last week in the House of Representatives would gradually reduce the current annual interest rate on new, federally subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduates.
Education
Report Roundup
Full-Day Kindergarten
Participation in full-day kindergarten might not help reduce learning gaps between different groups of children, a report says.
Education
Report Roundup
Academic Performance
In 2003, 75 percent of students ages 12 to 17 met or exceeded the appropriate academic level for their age, up from 69 percent in 1994, says a report by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Education
Report Roundup
NCLB Reauthorization
A survey of education insiders found that nearly all of them believed the law would not be reauthorized until after the 2008 presidential election.
Education
Report Roundup
States Exercise NCLB Flexibility
A report suggests that more and more states are following changes that the department already allowed in other states’ plans.
Early Childhood
Mass. Preschool Boosters Hope to Ride National Wave
Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who took office Jan. 5, has made public preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as full-day kindergarten, central elements of his education platform.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Longtime Educator Is Named New Schools Chief in Conn.
The Connecticut state board of education unanimously voted last week to appoint Mark K. McQuillan, a longtime Massachusetts educator, to be the state’s new education commissioner.
Federal
States Adopt New Tests for English-Learners
The new changes aim to meet federal requirements, though some officials protest.
States
State of the States
Community Colleges a Focus in Wyoming
Gov. Dave Freudenthal called on Wyoming residents to look beyond their own counties, school districts, and political parties and to concentrate on the state first.
Equity & Diversity
Gates, Hewlett Backing Project in Africa, S. Asia
The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Menlo Park, Calif.-based William and Flora Hewlett Foundation have announced plans to commit $60 million to increase literacy rates and improve primary and secondary education in some South Asian and sub-Saharan countries.
Teacher Preparation
Artificial-Intelligence Research Under Way for Teacher Prep
A Pennsylvania company has received a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct research on “artificial intelligence” software for use in teacher training.
States
State of the States
Security, Teacher Pay Top W. Va. Agenda
West Virginia should focus its attention on improving its response to school emergencies, says governor.
Assessment
Teachers Say Testing Deters Use of Current Events
Daily newspapers and other news sources are considered important instructional resources for teaching about citizenship, politics, and government, and many teachers are using the news more now than they did five years ago, according to a recent survey. But testing mandates are making it more difficult for the majority of the social science teachers who responded to the survey to fit current events into the curriculum.
States
State of the States
Teacher Raises Urged by Utah Governor
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. pushed for salary increases and "targeted financial incentives."