June 6, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 39
Education
New in Print
Reviews of the rising number of books dealing with the numerous challenges to the teaching of evolution in the nation's public schools.
Special Education
Experts Ponder Whether Parents Will Rush To Court
Legal experts disagree about whether a rush to the courthouse will result after the U.S. Supreme court ruled that parents can represent themselves in special education cases.
Education Funding
Omaha-Area Districts to Share Revenue, Programs
A new school governance arrangement will link the Omaha, Neb., district with 10 surrounding school districts—financially as well as educationally.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Exit Exams and the Meaning of a Diploma
A study released last month by a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, revealed that California state education officials may have underreported the number of students who failed to graduate last year.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Community Schools Are Bridging Social Divides
Ellen Condliffe Lagemann’s Commentary on how we as a society have failed our schools implies a strong call for action. What is missing from her depressing account, however, is the recognition that comprehensive approaches to making public schools more successful already exist.
Education
Letter to the Editor
No Concessions to Union, Others in N.Y.C. Aid Plan
Education Week wrongly suggests that New York City made fundamental concessions on a new school funding plan to placate labor and community officials.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Science Testing: Little Harm, No Alternative
In his Commentary “The High Stakes in Science Education,” Jonathan King has done (for a scientist) a remarkable thing.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Florida P.E. Requirement: Another Rule, Unfunded
In your article "Florida to Require Physical Education for Grades K-5," Karen G. Dowd, the executive director of the Florida Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance, and Sport, is reported as saying that her state wants "high-quality instruction" in its physical education programs.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Cures From Abroad for ‘Monolingual Americans’
Isn’t it time to have real bilingual programs for U.S. schools? Every child should be learning at least one language other than English.
Early Childhood
Creative Curriculum Publisher Buys ‘LearningGames’ Maker
Teaching Strategies Inc., the Washington-based early-childhood-education company that publishes the widely used Creative Curriculum program, has acquired MindNurture, a Hillsborough, N.C.-based publisher of educational materials used in home-visiting programs. Such programs help parents learn how to engage in educational activities with their children.
Early Childhood
Preschool May Help Ward Off Depression
High-quality early-childhood education boosts more than just early academic skills for young children—it may also help protect those children from depression, according to new research.
Education
Events
1-5—Instruction:Ninth Annual International Meeting, sponsored by the International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology, for teachers, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Contact: The International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology, (805) 974-0250; e-mail: conference@utk.edu; Web site: www.iacep.coged.org.
July 2007
1-5—Instruction:Ninth Annual International Meeting, sponsored by the International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology, for teachers, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Contact: The International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology, (805) 974-0250; e-mail: conference@utk.edu; Web site: www.iacep.coged.org.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Leadership Programs Produce ‘Change Agents’
“Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World,” the recent report by researchers at Stanford University in collaboration with the Washington-based policy-research group the Finance Project, is the latest word on the training and education of school leaders.
Education
Letter to the Editor
‘Improve Teaching, and Children Will Learn’
It is unusual to find two Commentaries in the same issue of Education Week, in this case your May 16, 2007, edition, that so thoroughly contradict each other.
Education
Letter to the Editor
NCLB Law Misses Target on ‘Quality’ Provisions
In response to "NCLB Rules on ‘Quality’ Fall Short" (May 16, 2007).
Teaching
Shallow Pockets, Shorter Day
Under growing pressure to bring all students to proficiency, many districts are adding more instructional time to their school days or years. But a small district in Ohio is shortening its school day.
Law & Courts
A Washington Roundup
Review Denied for School Resource Officer
An Alabama school resource officer wanted immunity from civil liability in a case in which the officer handcuffed a 9-year-old student.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Nominee for Postsecondary Job
President Bush has nominated Diane Auer Jones as assistant secretary for postsecondary education at the Department of Education.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Department to Expand Pilot That Reverses Choice, Tutoring
Districts in five states are allowed to offer students a choice of supplemental educational services a year before having to provide the option of transferring to a higher-performing school.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
2 More States Approved to Use Growth Models
Iowa and Ohio will be allowed to use the growth of individual students’ achievement to comply with federal accountability rules.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Extra Hurricane Aid for Schools OK’d
President Bush signed a nearly $100 billion spending bill financing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that includes $60 million for education.
Federal
Federal File
The Media and NCLB
Magazines and TV news are offering grades and suggestions for the federal school law.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Does ‘Reading First’ Deserve Any Credit?
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings claims that the Reading First program should get some of the credit for gains on the 4th grade history and civics National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Law & Courts
A State Capitals Roundup
Arkansas School Finance Suit Put to Rest After Court Ruling
The state supreme court ruled that the $600 million the legislature has spent on improving public schools since 2005 makes the K-12 system constitutional.
Teaching Profession
A State Capitals Roundup
Missouri’s High Court Rules for Union Rights
Teachers and public employees again have the constitutional right to bargain collectively—a right the court had taken away 60 years ago.
Education Funding
Minnesota Lawmakers Approve Budget Increase for Education
Public schools in Minnesota will get $13.8 billion over the next two years.
Education Funding
Alaska Panel to Weigh School Funding Issue
The task force, which will have 11 members, is expected to address funding issues that have long bedeviled Alaska officials.
Teaching Profession
Oregon Puts End to Plush Payouts
School administrators in Oregon can no longer count on lucrative contract buyouts when they leave their jobs early.