FEATURES
Cover Story
The Jewel In The Crown
By Jessica Siegel
Once a school on the slide, P.S. 161 in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights has taken wing with hard work, fresh thinking, and a reading program that marries phonics and whole language.
The Web And The Plow
By Lowell Monke
A technology teacher puts the computer in its place.
Street Smart
By Edward Burns and David Simon
In an excerpt from a new book co-authored by a cop-turned-teacher, a 15-year-old drug dealer takes a break from slinging dope and enjoys a brief, shining moment in school.
She’s Gotta Habit
By Emily Bazelon
Teenage girls are taking up smoking at an alarming rate. Who are these girls, and why are they so drawn to cigarettes?
CURRENT EVENTS
Instruction: California tests whether single-sex schools boost learning.
Technology: An Internet experiment links students and teachers in a virtual high school.
Demographics: It’s boom time for school enrollments in the West and the South.
Discipline: A Florida district sends a cop undercover to root out more than just crime.
Reform: Milwaukee is set to let high schools pick and choose which students to admit.
Law: Can educators be held liable for sexual harassment of students by other students?
Profession: A federal program preps teachers for calamities from earthquakes to bee swarms.
Finance: A used-textbook wholesaler offers a sweet deal to schools. But at what cost?
RESEARCH
Policy: Are decentralization reforms shaking things up?
Findings: Small classes matter; Generation gap; Get involved or get out.
COMMENT
First Person: A veteran teacher recounts his year of living dangerously.
Voices: Joe DiMaggio’s pursuit of excellence is a model for teachers.
Viewpoint: Computer-savvy students shouldn’t have to write with pencils.
DEPARTMENTS
Connections: Failure and success.
Letters: Wake-up call; A flawed autopsy; Friends indeed; School biz; Al Shanker.
Books: Reviews; A talk with the author of The School-To-Work Revolution; New titles for kids.
Extra Credit: Grants, fellowships, honors, and resources for teachers.
