October 5, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 36, Issue 07
Equity & Diversity
Having the Difficult Race-Bias Conversation
In the first weeks of the school year, fatal police shootings have once again raised deep concerns about the relationships between police officers and communities of color. Such events can be difficult to process and discuss for both students and educators.
School Climate & Safety
Shorter School Grade Spans Linked to Bullying
A study of New York city schools finds that students are more likely to see bullying in 6-8 or 5-8 schools than in 6-12 or K-12 schools.
Law & Courts
Taking a Stand: How Schools Should Respond to National-Anthem Protests
A First Amendment expert says K-12 officials can't discipline students for acts of protest that don't disrupt school operations.
College & Workforce Readiness
Storm Clouds Over Ed-Tech Law's Renewal
Despite a late, bipartisan push, momentum seems to have stalled in the U.S. Senate on the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.
Federal
Personal Lens: A VP Nominee's Spouse on Education
Anne Holton, whose husband, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, is Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's running mate, is Virginia's former education secretary and a campaign ambassador.
Federal
Appraising Trump's School Choice, Child-Care Plans
While advocates and experts are pleased GOP nominee Donald Trump has weighed in on those topics, many of them question the specifics or want more detail.
School & District Management
Data Tool Allows City-by-City Schooling Comparisons
A website created for civic leaders and the public offers a collection of education data for 114 cities in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
Equity & Diversity
New Teachers Make Up a Significant Segment of Profession
New data show that 12 percent of all U.S. public school teachers are in their first or second year, raising questions about the overall stability of the teaching force.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Empathy Gap and How to Fill It
Teachers, parents, and school leaders have a role in fostering student empathy, particularly when children are very young, writes Jessica Sager.
College & Workforce Readiness
Letter to the Editor
'Thoughtful Guidance' Critical for Course-Credit Transfer
"Maybe for the author, bullied kids are just collateral damage, but for the parents, they are victims. Bullying is violent behavior, and the victims carry the scars for the rest of their lives. Maybe that's something Mr. Kohn needs to consider, instead of inviting us to 'understand' the poor misunderstood bullies and blame ourselves for their behavior." — mcruiz
College & Workforce Readiness
Letter to the Editor
The Importance of Gauging Rigor To Demonstrate Meaningful Results
To the Editor:
The recent article "Are Dual-Enrollment Programs Being Oversold?" (Sept. 7, 2016) highlights the difficulties of transferring credits earned in high school dual-enrollment programs to a student's chosen college destination. But it misses the bigger point of whether those credits should transfer.
The recent article "Are Dual-Enrollment Programs Being Oversold?" (Sept. 7, 2016) highlights the difficulties of transferring credits earned in high school dual-enrollment programs to a student's chosen college destination. But it misses the bigger point of whether those credits should transfer.
Law & Courts
Nevada High Court Deals Blow to School Choice Program
The state’s Supreme Court strikes down the funding mechanism for Nevada’s groundbreaking education savings account program, a little more than a year after lawmakers enacted it.
College & Workforce Readiness
SAT Scores Dip in SAT Transition Year
But scores are yet to be released for the revised college-admission exam, introduced in March.
Every Student Succeeds Act
New Effort to Promote Social-Emotional Learning in Schools
A multiyear endeavor organized by the Aspen Institute seeks to help schools better teach social and emotional skills alongside traditional academic subjects.
School & District Management
Indiana Testing Woes Fuel Electoral Battles
Political heartburn continues in the Hoosier State over high-stakes assessments, with the issue spilling over into this year's contests for governor and state schools superintendent.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Trust Is Missing From School-Improvement Efforts
Distrust among school leaders and educators can depress teacher retention and harm students, writes Dara Barlin.
Curriculum
Fedex Targeted in Open Educational Resources Lawsuit
The legal action—which focuses on academic content licensing, royalties, and photocopying—has potentially big implications for the use of open educational resources in schools.
Classroom Technology
News in Brief
No Lockers for Students In New School Buildings
A middle school under construction in Horry County, S.C., will have 48 classrooms, a gym, and a cafeteria, but no lockers.
Student Well-Being
News in Brief
Oregon District to Allow Satanic After-School Club
The Portland, Ore., chapter of the Satanic Temple has been approved to bring an after-school program to an elementary school in the city.
Education
News in Brief
Moody's Pushes Down Chicago's Credit Rating
Moody's Investors Service pushed the debt of the Chicago public schools further into junk territory on the same day last week the district's teachers threatened to strike.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Poll: Dual Enrollment Vs. College-Ready
Students are flocking to dual-enrollment programs, hoping they'll get a bigger academic challenge and maybe sock away some college credits, too. But the superintendents overseeing those programs aren't universally convinced that earning college credit means students are ready for college.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Transitions
Michael Martirano, the state schools superintendent in West Virginia, will resign his post come June 30 to move closer to his family in Maryland.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Teacher Quality
When an effective teacher joins a grade-level teaching team, student learning improves across the board as other teachers in the grade raise their game, finds a study of Miami-Dade County, Fla., schools.
English-Language Learners
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
A University of Oregon study has found that designating early-elementary students who are close to being proficient in English as English-language learners may actually do more harm than good.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
School Staffing
Teachers who are hired when the school year is in full swing are not as effective as those hired before classes begin, a new study finds.
Professional Development
Report Roundup
Teacher Learning
Fourth grade math teachers who took content-intensive professional development improved their own general math knowledge, but those gains did not trickle down to students, according to a federal study released last week.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
U.S. Faults Boston Latin On Handling of Racial Issues
Officials at the nation's first and oldest public school didn't sufficiently investigate racially charged incidents and failed to address racial hostility, a federal civil rights probe concluded last week.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Ohio Cyber Charter Found To Inflate Attendance
Just 41 percent of the 15,000 students at Ohio's largest online charter school do enough work to be considered full-time students, a state education department audit finds.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Calif. Districts Can Ignore Tying Scores to Reviews
A California court has handed Students Matter, the group behind the high-profile Vergara v. California teacher-tenure case, yet another defeat in its quest to upend laws that the group says keep bad teachers in the classroom.