April 26, 2000
Education Week, Vol. 19, Issue 33
Education
Federal File
Talking Points
The House Republican Conference offered GOP lawmakers some advice on how to plug education as they headed to their home districts for the spring recess this month.
Student Well-Being
Fla. Driver's License Revocations Improve Attendance
Florida teenagers are just now feeling the sting of a 1997 state law that automatically revokes the driving privileges of students who miss too much school.
Education
Riley Urges U.S. To Rejoin International Education Group
The United States should step up its efforts to collaborate with other countries in improving education worldwide, including rejoining UNESCO, Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley urged in a speech here last week.
Assessment
Educators Wary of Test Rules For LEP Pupils
Texas educators welcome some of the legislature's new efforts to include limited-English-proficient students in state assessments, but they disapprove of others.
Law & Courts
High Court To Hear Case On Gay Scoutmaster
Since 1910, the Boy Scouts have symbolized values such as honesty, self-reliance, and service to others. Think Norman Rockwell, and his numerous Scout paintings.
Education
State Journal
Touching Chávez
The spirit of Cesar Chávez, a stalwart of workers' rights, is being evoked to tell California schools what to teach.
Education
News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
- Chicago Archdiocese Mulls School Closings
After Failure of Private-Education-Aid Bill - N.C. Auditor Urges Closing Schools for Deaf
Science
Rural Education
Dust-up Over ARSI: Stephen A. Henderson was so angry about the article on his program that appeared in the Feb. 21 issue of Education Policy Analysis Archives, he called up the editor of the electronic journal and asked for it to be pulled from the publication's Internet site.
School Choice & Charters
Minority Communities Divided Over Charters, Vouchers
The contentious politics surrounding school choice and competition have produced deep divisions within minority communities and strained traditional alliances of civil rights groups, education organizations, and Democrats.
The contentious politics surrounding school choice and competition have produced deep divisions within minority communities and strained traditional alliances of civil rights groups, education organizations, and Democrats.
Ed-Tech Policy
Technology Update
- NetDay Switching Its Emphasis to Needs of Poorest Communities
- Tech-Savvy Girls
- Technology in the Community
Education
Education Industry Showing Healthy Growth, Report Says
The for-profit education industry is quickly adding clicks to bricks.
Ed-Tech Policy
Foundation Turns Over Its Computer-Donation Program
The Detwiler Foundation has handed over its controversial program for distributing refurbished computers to schools to a new trade association that plans to take a more active role in lobbying Congress to promote such programs.
Education
Philanthropy
Annenberg Challenged: Walter H. Annenberg's $500 million gift to public education has failed to produce large-scale results, a report from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation contends, because it is difficult "to achieve systemic reform from within using money from without."
School & District Management
Former Knick Leaps From the NBA To Principal for a Day
Former New York Knicks star Charles Smith, who retired from the NBA after nine seasons and is now the head of a technology corporation, got a chance to teach some New York City youngsters that failure can often be transformed into success.
School Climate & Safety
Suits, Memorials Mark Columbine Anniversary
Amid memorial services last week marking the one-year anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings, parents of some of the victims filed lawsuits claiming that local authorities had failed to protect their children.
School & District Management
A Hard Lesson For Kansas City's Troubled Schools
In the prairie city whose divided heart once epitomized a nation's conflict over slavery, $2 billion has been spent to transform a crumbling school system into a phoenix of equal opportunity. But only part of the dream has come true.
Student Well-Being
School Cheerleading Evolving Into Competitive Activity
While competitive cheerleading's popularity has been climbing, interest in traditional cheerleading has waned. Some argue that changes in the sport have led to elimination of the traditional activity at some schools and to complaints that this new breed has forgotten its fundamental purpose: rousing the crowd.
Student Well-Being
North Carolina District Puts Lunch Debtors on a Diet
It's not exactly bread and water, but the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., district is taking some heat for a new policy that puts students on a diet of soup or peanut butter and jelly until they settle their tabs with the school meals program.
Curriculum
Analysis Finds Shallowness In Latest History Textbooks
Popular American-history textbooks are packed with more glossy graphics and information than ever before, but the content is shallow and disconnected and continues to overemphasize multiculturalism, concludes a forthcoming evaluation by the American Textbook Council.
School & District Management
State Audits Find New Budget Shortfalls in Newark
Auditors reviewing the state-run Newark, N.J., schools have uncovered more unpaid bills and debt in the troubled district, bringing the total red ink to about $70 million in the system—$12 million above a shortfall that was reported in February.
School & District Management
'Blueprint' for San Diego Schools Draws Mixed Reactions
A plan recently adopted for the San Diego schools that will overhaul the curriculum, lay off hundreds of classroom assistants, and swell the summer school ranks is creating waves of mixed reaction.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
- N.J. Voters Pass Record Number of School Budgets
- Pittsburgh Chief's Pact Ratified
- No Charges in 1st Grade Plot
- Journalism Award Announced
- Teachers Trim Extra Work
- Boy Receives Teacher's Kidney
- Suit Over LeTourneau Planned
- Teacher Charged With Vandalism
- Bus-Crash Footage Sought
Education
Take Note
Garmemt district
Bill Werner, a real estate agent in south-central Colorado, scored points with the local high school football team and junior high baseball team earlier this month when he sold land in an online auction and used the proceeds to buy new uniforms for the two teams.
Education
People in the News
The Council of Urban Boards of Education has named Florence Johnson of Buffalo, N.Y., to chair the national group. She will also serve on the executive committee of the National School Boards Association, the council's parent organization.
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School Choice & Charters
Redefining 'Public' Schools
Part 1 of a new series looks at the rise of charter schools, voucher programs, and other new ways of providing public education. Includes "Minority Communities Divided Over Charters, Vouchers."
Part 1 of a new series looks at the rise of charter schools, voucher programs, and other new ways of providing public education. Includes "Minority Communities Divided Over Charters, Vouchers."
Teaching
After 3 Years, "America's Promise" Continues
For the past three years, Retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin L. Powell has chaired America's Promise—The Alliance for Youth, which promotes volunteerism in the name of children.
Equity & Diversity
N.C. District To Integrate By Income
North Carolina's second-largest school system has embarked on a bold effort to integrate its schools through a plan that looks not at race, but at poverty.