September 30, 2015
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 06
School & District Management
Opinion
Do This and You'll Get That: A Bad Way to Defend Good Programs
We should promote the intrinsic value of education ideas, rather than justifications tied to external outcomes, advises Alfie Kohn.
Families & the Community
Parent-Teacher Conferences Get a Makeover
Schools are revamping traditional back-to-school nights to enlist parents' help in ensuring that their children master key academic skills.
Early Childhood
N.Y.C. Pushes to Meet Promise of Universal Pre-K
Amid some growing pains for its new full-day prekindergarten program, the city has ramped up outreach efforts and more than tripled the number of seats from two years ago.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
A Degree at Any Cost? Not So Fast
In boosting higher-educational attainment, we mustn’t sacrifice quality, writes New England College of Business president Howard E. Horton.
School & District Management
Opinion
Don't Let ZIP Codes Predict Students' Futures
Principals can help counteract the negative outcomes predicted for students who live in certain neighborhoods, writes principal coach Rebecca Wheat.
Federal
Districts Wary Amid Federal Fiscal Showdown
As Congress worked to avert a budget-driven shutdown of federal agencies, aid recipients weighed the potential impacts, which could vary widely.
Student Well-Being
Measuring Grit, Character Draw New Investments
The Walton Family Foundation is backing research on how to better measure noncognitive skills.
Law & Courts
K-12 Funding Fights Roil States' Back-to-School Landscape
From the courtroom and ballot box to legislative chambers, budget battles heat up in a number of states as the 2015-16 school year gets underway.
School Choice & Charters
Choice Programs Prompt Call for Private School Expansion
As large-scale choice programs mature and new ones are created, advocates are looking to the thriving charter sector for lessons in how to grow.
Student Achievement
Opinion
We Already Know How to Close the Achievement Gap
We don’t hear enough about interventions proven to make a difference for America’s most disadvantaged youths, writes Jim Shelton.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Deans Map Out Learning-Science Agenda
A paper released by the Deans for Impact summarizes the research on learning science and identifies six questions teachers should grapple with.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Rural Education
Some academic outcomes for students living in "Middle Appalachia" have improved over the past 20 years, yet challenges unique to the region remain, according to a new report.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Research Report: Immigrant Students
Children with deported or detained immigrant parents face difficulty accessing early education, health care, and social services, a new study has found.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Discipline
High suspension rates in the Chicago district are driven by a cluster of schools with high concentrations of "extremely disadvantaged students," a new report finds.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
STEM Schools
Efforts to create STEM programs for low-income and minority students in Buffalo, N.Y., and three Denver-area school districts failed to live up to their promise, suggests a new report.
Education
Correction
Corrections
An article in the Sept. 16, 2015, issue of Education Week about digital communication between teachers and parents gave an incorrect description of READY4K!, a program developed by Stanford University researchers. It is a text-messaging curriculum.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Union Slams Plan to Give Teachers $100 Visa Cards
The Albuquerque Teachers Federation sees the cards as a distraction from the state's new teacher-evaluation system and calls them an "insult to all educators."
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Teachers Give Up Money for Seniority Protection
Teachers in Providence, R.I., have voted to remove a provision in their contract, finalized in May, that could have resulted in an 8 percent raise.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Stephen Pruitt has been selected as Kentucky's next commissioner of education. He begins next month.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
School on Indian Reservation to Scrap 'Midget' Mascot
McLaughlin school board President Juliana White Bull-Taken Alive said the nonprofit group Little People of America recently reached out to the district asking for the change.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Seattle Stops Suspensions for Elementary Students
Starting this school year, the one-year moratorium ends out-of-school suspensions for disruptive conduct, rule-breaking, and disobedience.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Colleges, Groups Win Grants to Boost College Outcomes
As part of its push to get more students into and through college, the Obama administration last week awarded $60 million to colleges, universities, and community groups to work on projects to boost college completion.
Federal
News in Brief
Federal Guide Offers Tools to Help English-Learners
The 10-chapter tool kit is a companion to guidance the departments released in January to remind schools of their federal obligations to the nation's nearly 5 million English-learners.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Despite Facebook Pledge, Newark Schools Struggle
The number of students in charters has more than doubled since 2010, but the exodus of students and the funding that comes with them has hurt.
Assessment
News in Brief
Federal Peer Review of States' Assessments Starts Up Again
States that have adopted new tests, or made significant changes to their old ones, will have to undergo peer review by the U.S. Department of Education within the next four to eight months.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Parents Back Data Collection Depending on Its Use
Overwhelming majorities of parents support schools' right to collect and use student data when those mothers and fathers believe it is tied to educational purposes.
School & District Management
News in Brief
House Speaker Boehner to Resign Next Month
Boehner, an Ohio Republican, was elected House speaker in 2010. He was the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee when Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.
Reading & Literacy
Q&A
Q&A: How Tech Can Improve Youngsters' Reading Skills
Two early learning experts outline how they want to see devices, apps, and software treated as tools to foster better reading interactions between children and adults.