April 18, 2012

Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue 28
Protesters yell at Gov. Scott Walker as he exits V.F.W Post 2778 in Appleton, Wis., on April 4. Walker was in town to sign veterans legislation.
Protesters yell at Gov. Scott Walker as he exits V.F.W Post 2778 in Appleton, Wis., on April 4. Walker was in town to sign veterans legislation.
Dan Powers/The Post-Crescent/AP
States K-12 Issue Simmers in Gubernatorial Races
As gubernatorial campaigns heat up around the country, K-12 policy feeds into the fight, though specifics vary state to state.
Andrew Ujifusa, April 17, 2012
7 min read
Federal Plans Dropped on Easing Penalties for Special Ed. Cuts
The U.S. Department of Education is taking back an offer to go easier on districts cutting special education funds.
Nirvi Shah, April 17, 2012
5 min read
School & District Management Los Angeles District Hires First Social-Media Director
The new position may be the first in the country dedicated solely to building and overseeing a district’s social-media efforts, observers said.
Ian Quillen, April 17, 2012
6 min read
Reading & Literacy Separate Reading Exams Await Elementary Teachers
More states are requiring teacher-candidates to take—and pass—licensing tests in reading before they can move into the classroom.
Stephen Sawchuk, April 17, 2012
7 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Encouraging AP Success for All Students
Increasing minority students' access to advanced coursework is crucial, writes Mary Ann Rankin.
Mary Ann Rankin, April 17, 2012
4 min read
Gary Parkes, president of the PTA at Carmel Elementary School, stands in an empty classroom in Woodstock, Ga. Parkes said he and many other parents in the local organization would like to sever ties with the National PTA and become an independent parent-teacher organization, but had been told by the school district that this would not be allowed.
Gary Parkes, president of the PTA at Carmel Elementary School, stands in an empty classroom in Woodstock, Ga. Parkes said he and many other parents in the local organization would like to sever ties with the National PTA and become an independent parent-teacher organization, but had been told by the school district that this would not be allowed.
David Goldman/AP
Families & the Community National PTA Seeks to Reverse Drop in Membership
Critics of the iconic organization question costs and advocacy efforts.
The Associated Press, April 17, 2012
5 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Research Paints Portrait Of Effective Principals
Principals are second only to teachers in their impact on student achievement, according to a report on principal effectiveness.
Christina A. Samuels, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Special Education Report Roundup Special Education Vouchers
The tally of students with disabilities who attend private schools using vouchers is about 30,000 nationwide.
Nirvi Shah, April 17, 2012
1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Sex Education
The percentage of schools teaching about sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy prevention was significantly lower in 11 states than it was two years earlier.
Nirvi Shah, April 17, 2012
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup AP Coursetaking
New research suggests that paying students and teachers for high scores on Advanced Placement exams can yield some academic payoffs.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, April 17, 2012
1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Teenage Pregnancies
Since 1991, the rate at which teenagers give birth has dropped by 44 percent, according to a data brief.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Early Childhood Report Roundup Recess Length
The amount of time kindergartners spend at recess varies, but that variation doesn't seem to affect their reading achievement.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Teaching Profession Report Roundup Teacher Incentives
A cash incentive appears to have helped seven school districts attract effective teachers to low-income schools.
Stephen Sawchuk, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Education Best of the Blogs Blogs of the Week
| NEWS | TEACHING NOW
April 17, 2012
2 min read
Mathematics News in Brief Texas Business Group Pans Math Standards
The Texas Association of Business is urging the state board of education to go back to the drawing board.
April 17, 2012
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Education Sector Has Shift in Leadership
John E. Chubb, an education scholar and a founder of Edison Schools Inc., will serve as interim director of the Washington-based Education Sector.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Ga. Revokes Licenses After Cheating Scandal
More than 65 educators in the Atlanta school district who were accused in a massive test-cheating scandal will lose their teaching licenses in Georgia.
The Associated Press, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Classroom Technology News in Brief New Ed. Rating System Gauges Digital Content
An educational rating system for digital content announced last May has made its debut with listings for more than 150 mobile apps, games, and websites.
Ian Quillen, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief U.S. Files Lawsuit Over E-Book Pricing
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Apple Inc. and five of the "big six" book publishers last week over e-book prices.
Jason Tomassini, April 17, 2012
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Improvements Seen in Rural Achievement
Rural Americans have improved their educational attainment during the past 40 years, but the gap between rural and urban areas for residents with college degrees is growing.
Diette Courrégé Casey, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Science News in Brief Tenn. Evolution Bill Becomes Law
A controversial bill protecting teachers' classroom discussions of "weaknesses" in evolution and other scientific theories became Tennessee law last week without the signature of Gov. Bill Haslam.
McClatchy-Tribune, April 17, 2012
1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief No Reports of Bullying by 14 Large Districts
The American Association of University Women has found that 14 of the 20 largest school districts in the nation reported no incidences of bullying.
Nirvi Shah, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Federal News in Brief Negotiations on Teacher-Preparation Rules Fail
A three-month-long effort to set new teacher-preparation reporting and accountability rules effectively reached its conclusion last week.
Stephen Sawchuk, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief N.Y. Budget Rules Speed Teacher Cases
Provisions included in the New York state budget should speed up teacher-discipline hearings and bring down costs. The changes will limit the pay of the hearing officers who decide the cases and force both sides to shorten the process.
McClatchy-Tribune, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Federal Voters Keen on Education Issue, Survey Finds
Many of those surveyed in sokey swing states says rank education among their top issues this election year.
Alyson Klein, April 17, 2012
1 min read
Sixth grade students at Mary Gage Peterson Elementary School in Chicago play dodgeball at recess under the supervision of a Playworks coach. The program's managed-recess approach is used in more than 300 schools in 23 cities.
Sixth grade students at Mary Gage Peterson Elementary School in Chicago play dodgeball at recess under the supervision of a Playworks coach. The program's managed-recess approach is used in more than 300 schools in 23 cities.
John Zich for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Study Weighs Benefits of Organizing Recess
Researchers found that a structured approach to managing recess led to less bullying and more time for learning.
Nirvi Shah, April 17, 2012
5 min read
Education Funding Sluggish Pace for Race to Top Spending
States have been slow to spend their prize money, reflecting challenges in delivering on ambitious plans.
Michele McNeil, April 17, 2012
6 min read
Young Indian children study at an open air school in Jammu, India. A law making primary education compulsory in India came into effect, opening the door for millions of impoverished children who have never made it to school because their parents could not afford the fees or because they were forced to work instead.
Young Indian children study at an open air school in Jammu, India. A law making primary education compulsory in India came into effect, opening the door for millions of impoverished children who have never made it to school because their parents could not afford the fees or because they were forced to work instead.
Channi Anand/AP
International India Pushes Public-Private Ed. Partnerships
The national government plans to open 2,500 new schools over the next five years and is inviting companies and foundations to apply to run them.
Jason Tomassini, April 17, 2012
4 min read
Education Letter to the Editor Blog's Rhetoric Is All Too Familiar
To the Editor:
Imagine my disappointment when I saw Democracy in Education, an edweek.org blog (new to me) that says its author, Greg Jobin-Leeds, "considers the intersection between the politics of public education and reform movements," but found that its content seems heavy on comments about "occupy" movements and marches and topics that seem only loosely related to the intersection between politics and public education.
April 16, 2012
1 min read