November 9, 2011

Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue 11
Equity & Diversity News in Brief Full Frame Blog: For City Families, Small Towns a Draw
Photographer Rachel Mummey noticed an influx of inner-city minority families that were moving to rural, mid-sized towns across the Midwest, while she was pursuing a master's degree in photography at Ohio University. Ms. Mummey returned to Iowa City and started documenting the families that moved to her hometown. Looking to build a new foundation for the future, the families cited education, work, and safety as key elements that brought them there. Over the past decade, Iowa City schools have attempted to adapt to the rapidly changing demographics.
November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Broad Launches New Prize for Urban Charters
The new $250,000 prize will single out charter networks with a track record of academic success.
Christina A. Samuels, November 8, 2011
•
4 min read
Gov. Robert Bentley is greeted by students at the W.S. Garrett Elementary School on Nov. 1 in Montgomery, Alabama. Bentley and state education officials visited the school to discuss the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Gov. Robert Bentley is greeted by students at the W.S. Garrett Elementary School on Nov. 1 in Montgomery, Alabama. Bentley and state education officials visited the school to discuss the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Dave Martin/AP
Assessment NAEP Results Show Math Gains, But 4th Grade Reading Still Flat
Despite some gains in math and 8th grade reading, only about one-third of students have reached the "proficient" level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
November 8, 2011
•
5 min read
A student at Barboursville Middle School in Cabell County, W.Va., scans an index finger to pay for a school lunch. Students in Cabell County's other middle schools and high schools will soon be paying for their lunches through the new finger-scanning technology.
A student at Barboursville Middle School in Cabell County, W.Va., scans an index finger to pay for a school lunch. Students in Cabell County's other middle schools and high schools will soon be paying for their lunches through the new finger-scanning technology.
Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch/AP
Student Well-Being School Lunch Fingerprint Technology in Motion
Biometric technology is being used in school cafeterias in an effort to improve the speed and accuracy of the breakfast and lunch lines.
The Associated Press, November 8, 2011
•
4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto/mustafahacalaki
Student Well-Being Opinion Scaling Up a Video Game-Learning Link
Video games could be key to untapping 'digital promise' in schools, Michael Levine and Alan Gershenfeld write.
Michael H. Levine & Alan Gershenfeld, November 8, 2011
•
6 min read
Federal Opinion A 'Split Screen' Strategy for Innovation
Let schools with the will to do so attempt bold change even as others improve incrementally, Ted Kolderie writes.
Ted Kolderie, November 8, 2011
•
6 min read
School & District Management Study Finds Charter Networks Give No Clear Edge on Results
A national study of middle school students in 40 charter networks finds that, when it comes to having an impact on student achievement, results vary and, overall, charter students don’t learn dramatically more than their counterparts in regular public schools.
November 8, 2011
•
5 min read
Education Funding Report Roundup Study Weighs Options for Early Learning
A new study lays out some clear guidance for school districts that are wondering whether to invest scarce funds in preschool or in full-day kindergarten.
Catherine Gewertz, November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
Education Funding Report Roundup School Turnaround
Half the districts receiving School Improvement Grant funding reported in the early 2011 that it was too soon to tell whether the grants had made a difference.
Alyson Klein, November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
Teaching Profession Report Roundup Teacher Training
Tennessee teachers certified through Teach For America and Lipscomb University in Nashville outperform veteran teachers, according to a state report on teacher training.
The Associated Press, November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
School Climate & Safety Report Roundup School Crime
During the 2008-09 school year, 3.9 percent of students ages 12 to 18 were victims of a crime at school, according to a survey of about 4,300 students by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Nirvi Shah, November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
Delfino Mendoza-Guillen, 18, attends Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. He is part of of Check and Connect, an early-warning program that uses data to target students who might be at risk of dropping out of school.
Delfino Mendoza-Guillen, 18, attends Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. He is part of of Check and Connect, an early-warning program that uses data to target students who might be at risk of dropping out of school.
Tim Gruber for Education Week
School & District Management Swift Growth Found for 'Early Warning' Data Systems
A new study finds growing numbers of states using data to identify students at risk of dropping out but researchers say these early warning systems ought to reach students in even earlier grades.
Sarah D. Sparks, November 8, 2011
•
6 min read
Special Education Report Roundup Childhood Obesity
A report says that children with disabilities are 38 percent more likely to be overweight or obese than their peers without disabilities.
Nirvi Shah, November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
Special Education Report Roundup Research Report: Assessment
A new federal study shows how many students with disabilities are not taking National Assessment of Educational Progress tests in reading and mathematics.
Nirvi Shah, November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Bob Dahm
School & District Management Opinion Unleashing Locally Driven Innovation
Stifled by state and federal education policies, districts face a tough road to becoming 21st-century leaders, writes Ken Kay.
Ken Kay, November 8, 2011
•
6 min read
School & District Management Opinion Why We Need to Foster Innovation
It may be easy to dismiss the ideas of young education entrepreneurs, but they could transform the K-12 landscape, Phoenix M. Wang writes.
Phoenix M. Wang, November 8, 2011
•
5 min read
Federal Rural Advocates Divided on ESEA Renewal Bill
Groups split on whether a measure before the U.S. Senate does enough to advance the interest of rural districts.
November 8, 2011
•
1 min read
Teaching Profession For States, Collaboration Key to NCLB Waivers
States looking for relief from elements of NCLB must show they worked with stakeholders in the planning process.
Michele McNeil, November 8, 2011
•
7 min read
Sixth grader Julian Salazar travels to Wheat Ridge Middle School. Budget cuts have forced school officials in Colorado’s Jefferson County to close some schools. The district is also charging students a fee to ride school buses.
Sixth grader Julian Salazar travels to Wheat Ridge Middle School. Budget cuts have forced school officials in Colorado’s Jefferson County to close some schools. The district is also charging students a fee to ride school buses.
Photos by Nathan Armes for Education Week
Education Funding Tax-Wary Voters, Needy Schools a Volatile Mix
School budget cuts imposed by governors and state lawmakers in the past year loom as an electoral issue in 2012.
Sean Cavanagh, November 8, 2011
•
7 min read
Federal News in Brief ELL Services in Mass. Face Civil Rights Probe
The U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights has opened a new investigation related to English-language learners in Massachusetts.
Lesli A. Maxwell, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Wash. State May Scrap All School Bus Funding
The yellow school bus could become another victim of the Great Recession in Washington state.
The Associated Press, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief U.S. Pulls Its Support From UNESCO, Again
The United States will remain a member of UNESCO, but it won't pay its dues, the Department of State announced last week.
Michele McNeil, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
Equity & Diversity News in Brief NYC Students Suspended 73,441 Times in 2010-11
Public school students in New York City were suspended 73,441 times during the 2010-11 school year.
The Associated Press, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Supreme Court Sidesteps Conn. Student-Speech Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to disturb a ruling that Connecticut school officials acted reasonably in disciplining a student.
The Associated Press, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
Accountability News in Brief L.A. Suit Seeks to Link Evaluations, Student Scores
A group of parents and education advocates sued the Los Angeles Unified School District, demanding it follow the Stull Act.
McClatchy-Tribune, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief State Chief: K.C. Board Should Cede Control
Missouri Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro has asked the Kansas City school board to give up control of the district to a not-yet-created special administrative board.
McClatchy-Tribune, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
A student walks down the street after leaving Gideons Elementary School in Atlanta last week. The school, where state investigators found evidence of widespread and systematic cheating on exams, will be marked as not passing muster every year since 2001.
A student walks down the street after leaving Gideons Elementary School in Atlanta last week. The school, where state investigators found evidence of widespread and systematic cheating on exams, will be marked as not passing muster every year since 2001.
David Goldman/AP
Accountability News in Brief Georgia Schools in Scandal Face Federal-Aid Loss
Georgia has revoked the federal standing of more than 40 Atlanta elementary and middle schools named in a test-cheating scandal.
The Associated Press, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Ala. Answers Teacher Exodus As 1,000-Plus Prepare to Retire
More than 1,000 Alabama teachers are expected to retire on Dec. 1 to avoid the state's newly approved increase in health-insurance costs.
The Associated Press, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
School Choice & Charters News in Brief Tennis Star's Las Vegas School Nets $18 Million Investment
Kirk Kerkorian has donated $18 million to a charter school founded by tennis legend Andre Agassi.
Bryan Toporek, November 7, 2011
•
1 min read
Load More ▼