August 20, 2014
Education Week, Vol. 34, Issue 01
Education
Map: Who Oversees Charters in Your State?
This interactive map displays the number and types of charter authorizers in each state, as well as the number of charter schools in each state.
Equity & Diversity
Q&A: An Arkansas School District's Response to Population Change
Springdale, Ark., Superintendent Jim D. Rollins shares lessons from his district’s rapid transition to a majority-minority school system.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Madeleine Fuchs Holzer has become the first educator-in-residence for the Academy of American Poets, which supports K-12 teachers and encourages young people to engage with poetry. She is a former director of arts in education at the New York State Council on the Arts and the executive director of EmaginationEd, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and fostering perception, imagination, and creative action across academic disciplines.
Equity & Diversity
Voices From Inside a School With No Racial Majority
In this audio story, educators and students share their experiences at Valley Point Middle School, in Dalton, Ga., where, as of last school year, white students no longer make up the majority.
Equity & Diversity
Infographics: A New Majority in K-12 Schools
The 2014-15 academic year is projected to be the first in which African-American, Asian, Latino, and Native American students together will outnumber non- Hispanic whites in K-12 public schools.
Equity & Diversity
Timeline: Marking Demographic Changes in Schools
The demographic transformation of American classrooms was not unexpected. This timeline tracks changes in U.S. immigration laws.
Equity & Diversity
U.S. School Enrollment Hits Majority-Minority Milestone
For the first time, the overall number of Latino, African-American, and Asian students in public K-12 schools is expected to surpass the number of non-Hispanic white students.
School & District Management
Students' Help-Seeking Strategies Offer Clues for Educators
Researchers say teachers and policymakers can learn a lot about students' mindsets and school climate by watching how students get the help they need in class.
Standards
From Our Research Center
Teachers Say They Are Not Well-Prepared for Common Core
Despite increased professional development for teaching to the new standards, about half of teachers surveyed do not feel the preparation has been adequate.
Equity & Diversity
Popular Child-Poverty Measure Gets Another Look
Education data crunchers are seeking an alternative to the current yardstick—the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced-price school meals.
School & District Management
'Grit' May Not Spur Creative Success, Scholars Say
New studies suggest that teaching students to be more persistent and conscientious may not be the right strategy for motivating those with a creative bent.
Curriculum
GlassLab Opens Opportunity for Education-Game Makers
Developers hoping to transform digital learning games into serious instructional tools could soon have access to new technologies.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
The Teacher Evaluation Confronts the Future
The standardized teacher evaluation assumes an approach to learning that doesn't necessarily reflect what's happening in the classroom, writes Michael Q. McShane.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Beyond the 'Model Minority' Stereotype
Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders represent a wide range of individuals with varying educational strengths and needs, Rich Lee says.
Early Childhood
New Grant Contest to Boost Federal Pre-K Aid
Dozens of state could tap into a new, $250 million pot of federal money under the Preschool Development Grant competition.
School & District Management
More States Create Independent Charter-Approval Boards
Some see the independent, statewide panels as a way to improve the quality of charters; others aren't so sure.
College & Workforce Readiness
Congress Making Headway on Higher Education Act
Renewal of the higher education law offers a rare change for bipartisan cooperation in Congress, even as the House and Senate are charting different courses.
Standards
Letter to the Editor
Dean: Common-Core Repeal Would Hurt Ohio Education
To the Editor:
Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives are seeking to pass a bill to repeal the Common Core State Standards in November, an outcome that would have devastating consequences for public education in the state.
Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives are seeking to pass a bill to repeal the Common Core State Standards in November, an outcome that would have devastating consequences for public education in the state.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Portland, Ore., Board Gives Chief a 28 Percent Raise
Over the protests of district teachers and two board members, Superintendent Carole Smith of Oregon's Portland school system has gotten a 28 percent raise.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Michelle Rhee to Step Down as CEO of StudentsFirst
Michelle A. Rhee, the controversial former chancellor of the District of Columbia schools, will leave her position as the CEO of StudentsFirst.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Nevada Refuses to Hand Out Temporary Teacher Licenses
Clark County, Nev., district officials are blaming the state education department for the teacher shortage.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Schools' Data-Rigging Helped Secure Bonuses
Almost 600 employees in the Columbus, Ohio, district received bonuses totaling $390,000 for fabricated academic gains, according to a news report.
School & District Management
News in Brief
In Wake of MLB Scandal, Miami-Dade to Test Athletes
The Miami-Dade County, Fla., district will pilot a drug-testing program in the coming school year to deter and root out high school athletes who use steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Voters to Decide Fate of Mo. Teacher Tenure
A proposal for a constitutional amendment to weaken teacher-tenure laws and tie teacher evaluations to student performance has gathered enough signatures to be placed on the Missouri ballot in November.
Assessment
News in Brief
Memphis Area Starts Year With Six Breakaway Districts
Six new districts opened their doors to students in Shelby County, Tenn., this month, after prolonged legal wrangling by suburban municipalities that sought to split from the Shelby County district after its merger with the schools in Memphis.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Charter School Authorizers Face Suspension in Michigan
Michigan's schools chief announced last week that 11 of the state's nearly 40 charter school authorizers are at risk of being suspended or having their power to open new schools revoked.
Curriculum
News in Brief
Under Fire, College Board to Clarify History Framework
Stung by criticism that its new Advanced Placement U.S. history framework presents a slanted view of events, the College Board has taken the unusual step of releasing a practice exam in the subject.
Education
Correction
Corrections
An article in the Aug. 6, 2014, issue of Education Week on multigenerational approaches to reducing poverty and improving student achievement incorrectly reported the number of participants in the CareerAdvance Tulsa program. The correct figure is 200. The story also misnamed the Community Action Project of Tulsa County and misspelled the name of Monica Barczak, the director of the project's Innovation Lab.