October 12, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 36, Issue 08
Education
News in Brief
Corrections
An article in the Oct. 5, 2016, issue of Education Week on research mining testing data for clues to students’ problem-solving strategies misidentified the lead researcher of an Educational Testing Service study on boys’ and girls’ approaches to essay questions.
Federal
Kansas Governor Warns of Tax Hike if State Loses Funding Case
The state's highest court is weighing the "adequacy" of the Kansas school funding system and previously ruled that the system is inequitable.
School & District Management
Opinion
An Urgent Call to Action for Education Leaders
Education leaders must combat the education reform climate of "disillusionment," writes former Massachusetts secretary of education Paul Reville.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Eight Reasons to Empower Girls in Schools
Educators should embrace the educational value of youth activism, especially for female students, urges Colby College’s Lyn Mikel Brown.
School Climate & Safety
Shooting Reignites School Safety Concerns
Experts say the recent elementary school shooting in Townville, S.C., should prompt educators and parents to reinforce fundamental safety efforts.
Classroom Technology
Modern E-Rate Puts Telephones On Hold in K-12
Thanks to declining state aid and disappearing federal e-rate subsidies for "legacy" technologies, districts are struggling to pay for telephone equipment and services.
Standards
Cultural Literacy Creator Carries On Campaign
In a new book, E.D. Hirsch Jr. makes another pitch for putting a knowledge-based curriculum in schools—but not for the common core.
Student Well-Being
New Teachers' Quest for Added Support Goes Online
With the quality and quantity school and district mentoring programs often lacking, beginning teachers are increasingly seeking personalized feedback from online communities.
Special Education
Level of Benefits at Issue in Special Ed. Case
In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh how much students should benefit from special education.
Education Funding
Clinton Foundation Program an Influence on Candidate's Ed. Agenda
A program Hillary Clinton championed during her brief stint as a private citizen—Too Small to Fail—continues its work, encouraging parents to see themselves as their children’s first teachers.
Teaching Profession
After Lengthy Impasse, Buffalo Teachers Seeking New Labor Pact
Teachers' union and school officials in the Buffalo, N.Y., district are working to hammer out a new labor agreement to replace one that expired a dozen years.
Education
A Judge Gets Tough
Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher issued a sweeping order Sept. 7, giving the state 180 days to overhaul a state school system that he said misspends billions of dollars and leaves wealthier students performing at the nation’s highest levels and poor students at the bottom.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
Commentary 'Parodies' Restorative Justice
To the Editor:
The Commentary essay by Richard Ullman ("Zero-Tolerance-Policy Overcorrection," Sept. 14, 2016) led me to empathize with the author's obvious frustrations and concerns about disruptive behaviors. However, he clearly misunderstands restorative justice/restorative practices, and so he ends up giving readers a parody of the actual philosophy and practice of these useful and now globally recognized processes.
The Commentary essay by Richard Ullman ("Zero-Tolerance-Policy Overcorrection," Sept. 14, 2016) led me to empathize with the author's obvious frustrations and concerns about disruptive behaviors. However, he clearly misunderstands restorative justice/restorative practices, and so he ends up giving readers a parody of the actual philosophy and practice of these useful and now globally recognized processes.
Assessment
Letter to the Editor
What If Baseball Awards Were Assessed Like Student and Teacher Evaluations?
To the Editor:
Imagine if Major League Baseball were to simplify the Cy Young selection process along the lines of how we measure students, teachers, and schools in the public school system. It might be reported something like this:
Imagine if Major League Baseball were to simplify the Cy Young selection process along the lines of how we measure students, teachers, and schools in the public school system. It might be reported something like this:
Assessment
Report Roundup
Textbooks
While education leaders debate innovations in school management and teaching strategy, it's important not to forget one of the most basic ways to improve students' achievement: Give them books.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Environmental Toxins
An estimated 30 percent of K-12 students are exposed to unhealthy levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, through common building materials found in schools, according to a Harvard University study.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Schooling Yields Financial Rewards for Mobsters, Researchers Find
More years of schooling pay off—even for mobsters, a study published in the Economics of Education has found.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Early Childhood
Black children make up only 19 percent of the children enrolled in public preschool but account for 47 percent of those suspended from preschool. Researchers at Yale University suggest in a study released last month that implicit bias—the negative or positive feelings people are unaware they hold—may be behind that disparity.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Teachers of Color
Students in urban school districts, regardless of their race or ethnicity, prefer teachers of color to white teachers, a study has found.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Clown Threats Pose Bewildering Choices for School Officials
Rumors of scary clowns waiting to harm children are anything but funny business to many school leaders who have responded to floods of communication from parents concerned about the issue.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Wash. State Court Keeps Aid Penalties in Place
Washington state's supreme court ruled last week that $100,000-a-day sanctions should continue against the state while a task force works to determine how lawmakers will comply with a 2012 court order to fully fund the state's basic education system.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Conflicts Aside, N.J. Crowned Best State for Teachers
The financial-services website Wallethub has ranked New Jersey as the best state for teachers, based on "16 key indicators of teacher-friendliness."
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Counselor Gets Student To Hand Over Weapon
A middle school counselor in Tennessee is being called a hero after talking a teenager into handing over a loaded handgun.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Gov. Seeks Consolidation Of Superintendents in Maine
Gov. Paul LePage believes Maine has a glut of school superintendents, and he intends to pressure districts into consolidating administrations with the two-year budget he will propose in early 2017.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Racial Claims Dismissed In Takeover of Ark. District
A U.S. district judge has dismissed claims made in a lawsuit that state leaders were racially motivated when they took control of the Little Rock district and dissolved its school board.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Teacher Pact Rejected In Cleveland District
In a close vote, members of the Cleveland Teachers Union have rejected a new three-year contract.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Ohio May Seek Repayment From More Online Charters
On top of the more than $60 million they may seek to recover from the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, Ohio education department officials also could demand about $23 million more from other online schools for inflated attendance.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
High Court Declines to Hear Banner, Textbook Appeals
The U.S. Supreme Court last week turned down two K-12 education-related appeals, including one from a former porn star who battled with a Florida district over the removal of banners promoting his math-tutoring business.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Pennsylvania Cyber Charters Struggle on State Tests
Standardized tests continue to pose challenges for students at Pennsylvania's cyber charter schools.