September 29, 2010
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 05
School & District Management
Obama's ESEA Plan Short on Research, Authors Allege
A new book argues that President Obama's blueprint for renewing the federal government's main education law falls short on research.
School & District Management
Think Tank Critics Launch Policy Center
A new center and a critical book renew debates over the quality of think tank research.
School & District Management
Study Finds Homeless Pupils Hard Hit by School Closures
The push to shutter low-performing or financially unsustainable schools is starting to conflict with an even sharper rise in homeless students, research suggests.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Educators Advised to Use Common Sense on Facebook
Officials acknowledge that teachers are held to a higher standard when it comes to using Facebook, but there are no clear policies spelling out what they can and can’t post.
School & District Management
Study Casts Cold Water on Bonus Pay
A study finds students whose teachers have a chance to earn bonuses perform no better than those of teachers paid traditionally.
Curriculum
Texas Textbooks: 'Pro-Islamic' Bias?
The Texas board of education has approved a resolution warning publishers against "pro-Islamic/anti-Christian distortions."
School & District Management
D.C. State Chief Makes Quiet Exit
Superintendent Kerri L. Briggs, in a state-level policy role, was overshadowed by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.
Education
News in Brief
Sharpton Plans Education Show
The Rev. Al Sharpton plans to host a weekly, half-hour news and information TV program starting next month that will focus on education. A new multimedia company, ESH Holdings, says the civil rights advocate’s syndicated show, “Education SuperHighway,” will target parents, educators, and students and provide a forum for discussing education issues, with political, business, and social leaders taking part.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
PTA Urges Men to Get Involved
The National PTA, in conjunction with its Men Organized to Raise Engagement Alliance and the National Fatherhood Leaders Group, has launched a campaign to get men more involved in the education, health, and well-being of children. The “Million Hours of Power” initiative, announced this month, aims to galvanize 350,000 men to serve at least three hours during this school year. The National PTA also has created online tools for men to become involved and to connect with relevant social networks.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Winfrey Signs Checks for Charters
Six charter school programs are getting a boost from Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Foundation, which announced last week that it was giving each one a $1 million grant. The programs are Aspire Public Schools, which serves nearly 10,000 students in California; the Denver School of Science & Technology, in Colorado; the LEARN Charter School Network, in Chicago; Mastery Charter Schools, in Philadelphia; Sci Academy/New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy, in Louisiana; and YES Prep Public Schools in Houston. Ms. Winfrey sparked debate with her show’s recent program about charter schools and the film “Waiting For ‘Superman,’ ” which many educators see as promoting charter schools.
Curriculum
News in Brief
Maryland Orders Environmental Education
The Maryland state board of education voted last week to make environmental education part of students’ education, but it stopped short of making it an official graduation requirement. Instead, schools must include such education in prekindergarten through 12th grade classes, and all students must complete a “local action” project to improve the environment, either individually or with their schools. Beginning in 2015, superintendents will have to certify that the regulation’s requirements are met.
School & District Management
Promise Neighborhood Hopefuls Get Planning Grants
The $500,000 grants aim to help applicants devise programs pairing a range of support services with educational programs.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Chicago Mayor Calls for Ending Race to Top
The Obama administration’s Race to the Top competition drew fire this month from an unexpected source: Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. The longtime Democratic mayor—who had picked Arne Duncan, now the U.S. secretary of education, to lead his city’s school system—said “we should end it,” when speaking about the $4 billion grant competition. He was apparently unhappy that Illinois was not one of the 12 winners. “That’s all it’s about: bureaucracy,” he said.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Texas Sues Over Blocked Federal Funds
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has initiated legal action in an effort to force the U.S. Department of Education to provide the state with $830 million from the federal Education Jobs Fund. Mr. Abbott filed the legal challenge last week, arguing that the department erred when it rejected Texas’ application for federal aid. The federal jobs law included a provision, supported by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, that was designed to ensure that Texas did not simply use the money to fill holes created by state budget cuts to schools. Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, supports the legal action, which was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans. Gov. Perry has argued that he does not have the authority to make promises about funding in future budget years.
Teaching
News in Brief
N.J. Schools Chief Rejects 24-Hour Code of Conduct
A local school board overstepped its authority when it passed a round-the-clock code of conduct that banned students from sports and extracurricular activities if they were accused of drinking alcohol, using drugs, or breaking other laws, even if the alleged offenses occurred off campus and the students were not convicted by a court, the New Jersey Education Department has ruled.
Federal
News in Brief
Rule Would Make Head Start Centers Compete
Under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, Head Start programs that fell short of quality benchmarks would be required to compete for their funding. They would be judged in part using a classroom assessment tool developed by researchers at the University of Virginia’s school of education. The new rule would require that 25 percent of Head Start grantees compete for funds, a tougher standard than the 15 percent to 20 percent proposed by an advisory committee in 2008. Public comment on the new rule will be accepted until Dec. 21.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Facebook CEO Starts Schools Foundation at $100 Million
New Jersey’s largest school district is poised to become a laboratory for education reforms with the help of a new foundation launched last week with a $100 million initial investment from Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Court Rejects Oregon Curbs on Access to Sexual Content
A federal appeals court has overturned major portions of two Oregon laws written in 2007 to prohibit the furnishing of sexually explicit images and descriptions to children under 13.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
DREAM Act Is Deferred
The U.S. Senate fell four votes short of the 60 needed last week to proceed with a defense-authorization bill and to attach to it the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, better known as the DREAM Act.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Florida Court to Hear Debate on Class-Size Amendment
The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments Oct. 6 in a case challenging a proposed state constitutional amendment that would loosen Florida’s strict class-size limits.
Classroom Technology
News in Brief
FCC Expands Options for Using E-Rate Funds
Schools will be allowed to use federal E-rate funding to extend Internet service to communities, seek out faster connections through unused fiber networks, and vie for federal money to support mobile-learning programs, under changes to the program that were approved last week.
Student Well-Being
Efforts to Prevent Concussions Target Schools
A rise in head injuries among young athletes has prompted advocacy groups and lawmakers to take action.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A story in the Sept. 15, 2010, issue of Education Week on a decrease in the numbers of children identified as having learning disabilities incorrectly characterized special education enrollment numbers from Kansas. The decrease from 56,328 students in 2005 to 55,834 students in 2008 was for all students with disabilities.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Book Giveaways
Programs that provide free books to children of low-income families seem to have positive effects on children's learning, reading behavior, and attitudes toward reading, according to a new research review.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Graduation Rates
A study on graduation rates at New York City high schools has found that a student's 8th grade attendance rate is the strongest predictor of whether that student will later graduate with his or her peers.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Study Weighs Strategies For Attracting Top Third
A new report explores and costs out strategies the United States can use to recruit more of its teaching force from among the top third of college graduates.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Family Finance
A study that examined the effects of opening savings accounts for newborns found the accounts not only helped families of all income levels build assets for children, but also seemed to spur positive behavior and attitudes.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
College Payoff
A report from the College Board finds that the earnings gap between Americans with a college degree and those with only a high school diploma continues to grow.