January 26, 2011
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 18
Teacher Preparation
News in Brief
NCTQ, U.S. News Launch Teacher Education Review
The Washington-based National Council on Teacher Quality and U.S. News and World Report announced last week that they would work together to review and rate teacher education in the nation’s 1,400 schools of education.
Student Well-Being
School Breakfasts Move From Cafeteria to Class
A new initiative is helping school breakfast programs reach more students by serving the morning meal after the school day starts.
Teaching Profession
Memo Urges Expedited Teacher Due Process
The AFT-commissioned proposal calls for a better screening mechanism at the school building level to weed out meritless allegations.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Va. Considers Teacher-Student Texting Ban
The state board of education is scheduled to vote on guidelines that would prohibit or restrict certain staff-student interactions to prevent sexual misconduct in schools.
School & District Management
Districts' Efficiency Evaluated in Report
A new report evaluates how districts stack up when it comes to the educational returns they get for their money.
Education
Letter to the Editor
U.S. Could Learn Lesson From China on PISA
To the Editor:
Rather than suggesting that the United States not worry overly much about Shanghai students’ performance on the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, exam (“School Achievement: Let’s Not Worry Too Much About Shanghai,” Jan. 12, 2011), I would emphasize the lessons that the U.S. can learn from China, particularly that hard work and long hours in the classroom are important.
Rather than suggesting that the United States not worry overly much about Shanghai students’ performance on the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, exam (“School Achievement: Let’s Not Worry Too Much About Shanghai,” Jan. 12, 2011), I would emphasize the lessons that the U.S. can learn from China, particularly that hard work and long hours in the classroom are important.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Deeming Interns 'Qualified' is Harmful to Students
To the Editor:
The Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa gift President Barack Obama signed into law on Dec. 22, 2010, that will allow states to classify teaching interns (students earning teaching certificates and endorsements) as “highly qualified” was a giant lump of educational coal to our nation’s minority, low-income, and English-language-learner students, and students with disabilities ("New Law Labels Interns 'Highly Qualified Teachers,'" Jan. 5, 2011).
The Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa gift President Barack Obama signed into law on Dec. 22, 2010, that will allow states to classify teaching interns (students earning teaching certificates and endorsements) as “highly qualified” was a giant lump of educational coal to our nation’s minority, low-income, and English-language-learner students, and students with disabilities ("New Law Labels Interns 'Highly Qualified Teachers,'" Jan. 5, 2011).
Education
Letter to the Editor
New Guide Addresses Curriculum Alignment
To the Editor:
Jordan E. Horowitz’s recent Commentary (“High School to College: The New Alignment,” Jan. 3, 2011) speaks to an issue of particular concern to community colleges, which recognize fully that many recent high school graduates require a year or more of remedial work before they can enroll in college-level courses. To address this issue, the League for Innovation in the Community College, with support from the MetLife Foundation, led a one-year project to develop a practical guide for aligning curriculum across secondary and postsecondary institutions.
Jordan E. Horowitz’s recent Commentary (“High School to College: The New Alignment,” Jan. 3, 2011) speaks to an issue of particular concern to community colleges, which recognize fully that many recent high school graduates require a year or more of remedial work before they can enroll in college-level courses. To address this issue, the League for Innovation in the Community College, with support from the MetLife Foundation, led a one-year project to develop a practical guide for aligning curriculum across secondary and postsecondary institutions.
International
Missouri District Competes Against Nations
The 2,500-student Clayton school system wanted to find out how its students compare with their international peers on PISA.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The National Imperative for Language Learning
American classrooms are falling short in the area of global competence but teaching our students world languages could reverse this trend, write Anthony M. Jackson, Charles E.M. Kolb, and John I. Wilson.
School & District Management
25 Years Later, Challenger's McAuliffe Remembered
Teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, who died along with the six other crew members in the 1986 Challenger explosion, continues to inspire educators and students.
School & District Management
Opinion
The 'Fierce Urgency of Now': It's Time to Close the Gap
Real solutions exist for teachers seeking to reach across the racial and social gaps that separate them from some students of color in urban classrooms, Eric Cooper and Yvette Jackson write.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Economists and the Value-Added Wave in Schools
By offering specific, practical insights, economists can help teachers see the benefits of value-added evaluation, Douglas N. Harris writes.
Law & Courts
Report Roundup
Research Report: Charter Schools
Charter schools made more gains than losses in state legislatures last year, according to the latest annual ranking of state charter school laws by a Washington-based pro-charter group.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Study Finds Fault With Learning in Colleges
Researchers found that nearly half of students didn't improve their academic skills in their first two years of college.
School & District Management
Obituary
Sargent Shriver, Public-Service Advocate, Dies
Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., an architect of several national education and social programs, including Head Start, died Jan. 18. He was 95 and had Alzheimer’s disease.
Families & the Community
Report Roundup
Family Engagement
A new study recommends ways to increase the availability and accessibility of student data systems to parents.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
School Innovation
The success of a $30 million-to-$50 million education reform effort underway in New York City will have major obstacles to overcome, according to a new working paper.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Preschool Funding Threatened
The Iowa House of Representatives voted last week to cut $60 million in funding for preschools.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Districts Must Pay for Special Ed. Tuition
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has ordered three school districts to obey a law requiring districts to pay for private school tuition for special education students.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Neb. Bill Would Arm Teachers
A state lawmaker introduced legislation that would allow school administrators, teachers, and security personnel to carry concealed handguns in school.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Districts Paid Benefits to Dead
A New York audit of school spending on health insurance benefits found that 10 districts had paid nearly $239,000 to provide benefits for dead or ineligible retirees over nearly two years.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Student Engagement
A new report reviews 21 tools used to measure how engaged students are in their learning in upper elementary, middle, and high school.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Newark Superintendent Resigns
Clifford Janey, the superintendent of New Jerseys largest school district, announced his resignation last week, four months after Gov. Chris Christie decided not to renew his contract.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
N.J. OKs 23 New Charters
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies administration has approved applications for 23 new charter schools.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
'Parent Trigger' Organizers Say School Staff Retaliated
Two organizers of California’s first “parent trigger” petition have filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office, alleging that they and their children have been targets of retaliation by school employees.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Duncan Chides Wake County For Dropping Diversity Plan
In a published letter, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has criticized a decision last year by North Carolina’s largest school district to end its program of busing students to achieve socioeconomic balance.
Teaching
News in Brief
Moment of Silence Returns to Illinois
Public schools across Illinois began observing a state-mandated daily moment of silence this month after a federal judged lifted an injunction that had barred the 2007 law’s enforcement.