February 17, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 21
Equity & Diversity
Principals Share Advice on Addressing Racial Bias in Schools
In two audio interviews, principals of color talk with Education Week about how they address bias and cultural competence within their schools.
Equity & Diversity
'You Come Out Because You Can't Not': A Gay Teacher's Perspective (Video)
High school writing teacher Patty Smith discusses the importance of building an LGBT-inclusive school community.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Teacher-Prep Accountability Has an Equity Problem
The push for greater accountability in teacher preparation risks undermining equity, write two Michigan State University professors.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Teachers, Take Care of Yourselves
Self-care is an essential component of good teaching, not a mark of selfishness, writes educator Christopher Doyle.
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
Beware the Bigoted Subtext of Children's Literature
Positive and diverse representations of nonwhite characters in children’s books are essential for all kids, writes Alvin Irby.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Obama Budget Doubles as Policy Document
Early education, scaling up promising district work, and socioeconomic integration are among the fiscal 2017 proposal's highlights. But it faces a skeptical, GOP-controlled Congress.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Lawmakers Pledge Close Eye on ESSA Implementation
At a House oversight committee, members of Congress say they'll be watching closely as the states and U.S. Department of Education move forward on the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Reading & Literacy
U.S. Shrinks Share of Low Scorers on PISA—a Little
An international study finds that the U.S. has fewer low-performers in science on the PISA but not so for math or reading.
School & District Management
Study: Showing Students Standout Work Can Backfire
Teachers' common practice of sharing examples of stellar work can turn off struggling learners, says a study of online students.
Student Well-Being
Q&A
For a Day, School Leaders Urged to Immerse Themselves in a Student's Life
To build and deepen empathy, a group of education organizations is calling on K-12 leaders to "shadow" a student.
Reading & Literacy
Study Tracks Instructional Shifts Under Common Core
A new survey report finds that the Common Core State Standards have fostered instructional changes in U.S. classrooms, but offers less clarity on specific strategies that boost student achievement.
Law & Courts
Kansas Supreme Court Strikes Down Stopgap Aid Formula
State lawmakers must scramble to come up with a formula that satisfies that the court finds equitable or risk not having schools open for the 2016-17 school year.
School & District Management
For Preservice Teachers, Lessons on Cultural Sensitivity
New efforts aim to head off teacher biases by running preservice students through simulations or embedding them in urban neighborhoods.
Equity & Diversity
Black Male Teachers a Dwindling Demographic
African-American men like Chrissell Rhone make up just 2 percent of U.S. teachers and, for many of them, school can be a lonely place.
Classroom Technology
Districts Experiment With Virtual 'Work From Home' Days for Students
A growing share of the U.S. labor force works from home, and a handful of tech-savvy school districts in Alabama, Minnesota, and New Jersey have taken note.
States
State of the States: Hawaii, N.H., Pa., R.I., Wyo.
Here are summaries of recent annual addresses by governors around the country.
School Choice & Charters
Letter to the Editor
Don't 'Scapegoat' Charters For Failing Students With Disabilities
To the Editor:
After presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stated in a town-hall meeting in South Carolina that "most charter schools ... don't take the hardest-to-teach kids. Or if they do, they don't keep them," there was a media flurry regarding whether charters enroll and retain such hard-to-teach students, including students with disabilities ("Would Hillary Clinton Be an Anti-Charter-School President?").
After presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stated in a town-hall meeting in South Carolina that "most charter schools ... don't take the hardest-to-teach kids. Or if they do, they don't keep them," there was a media flurry regarding whether charters enroll and retain such hard-to-teach students, including students with disabilities ("Would Hillary Clinton Be an Anti-Charter-School President?").
Federal
Letter to the Editor
ESSA Will Leave Children From Poorest Communities Behind
To the Editor:
No Child Left Behind bombed. The law was based on the audacious concept that 100 percent of America's students would be performing at grade level by the 2013-14 school year. Now, we have the new and improved Every Student Succeeds Act ("Inside ESSA: The New Federal K-12 Law"). This latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act assumes that shifting the balance of power in education back to the states will provide our neediest youngsters with the educational boosts they didn't receive under NCLB.
No Child Left Behind bombed. The law was based on the audacious concept that 100 percent of America's students would be performing at grade level by the 2013-14 school year. Now, we have the new and improved Every Student Succeeds Act ("Inside ESSA: The New Federal K-12 Law"). This latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act assumes that shifting the balance of power in education back to the states will provide our neediest youngsters with the educational boosts they didn't receive under NCLB.
College & Workforce Readiness
Letter to the Editor
Poor High School Standards at Issue, Not the NCAA's Demands
To the Editor:
James Lytle's Commentary "The NCAA's Chokehold on Secondary Schooling" misrepresents the important role that the National Collegiate Athletic Association plays in maintaining quality in American secondary schools. I know, how could the NCAA do such a thing, right? But it's true.
James Lytle's Commentary "The NCAA's Chokehold on Secondary Schooling" misrepresents the important role that the National Collegiate Athletic Association plays in maintaining quality in American secondary schools. I know, how could the NCAA do such a thing, right? But it's true.
School & District Management
In Districts With Lots of Choice, Simplifying Enrollment Is Not So Easy
Plans to streamline the application process for district and charter schools face parent resistance in some cities.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Do Segregated Schools Breed Crime Partnerships?
Segregating poor minority students in impoverished schools not only makes it difficult for them to make the academic connections to get to college—it makes it much easier for students to instead make connections to crime.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Rural Education
Wisconsin's rural school districts are facing declining enrollment and increased child poverty, which may lead to a decline in funding and fewer educational opportunities, according to a new report.
Special Education
Report Roundup
Research Report: Special Education
No state has taken the federal government up on initiatives legislated in 2004 that were aimed at reducing the paperwork burden in special education.
Families & the Community
Report Roundup
Parent Involvement
An Australian study in the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools is the latest in a pile of evidence suggesting that, while parental involvement in education is generally helpful, parents don't always recognize when their involvement crosses the line into harmful "overparenting."
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Student Behavior
Every teen and tween show at some point brings in gossip or bullying to amp up the drama. But years of watching relational aggression on television is linked to more peer bullying in real life years down the line, suggests a study in the February issue of the journal Developmental Psychology.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Research Report: Testing
The PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments do a better job gauging the depth and complexity of important academic skills and knowledge than do the ACT Aspire or Massachusetts' MCAS exam, according to a study released last week.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Mike Hanley, the commissioner of education in Alaska, will step down as of March 1.
Education
Correction
Correction
An article in the Jan. 27, 2016, issue of Education Week about the debate over school aid in Kansas incorrectly stated that a temporary block-grant formula provides no annual funding increases. It should have stated that districts contend the block-grant increases will fail to compensate for increased costs in areas such as administration, operations, and teacher staffing.