April 4, 2001
Education Week, Vol. 20, Issue 29
Education
Education Savings Accounts Are Getting Another Look
With a new president who backs the idea, many observers predict that legislation expanding education savings accounts is now on track to become law.
With a new president who backs the idea, many observers predict that legislation expanding education savings accounts is now on track to become law.
School & District Management
Moving Targets
While students always come and go during the school year—particularly in urban areas—the problem, many experts say, is that for too long educators have accepted the notion that there is little they can do about it. Research findings point to a variety of specific measures schools can take both to discourage families from transferring their children during the academic year and ease the transition for children who have just moved.
Education Funding
A Philanthropic 'Angel' Rescues Private School
To keep their small Episcopal school in Philadelphia open, children had been dropping pennies into a jar in the school office. But St. Barnabas was still far short of the money it needed.
Education Funding
Foundation Hopes Small Grants Spur Novel Leadership Programs
The Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds was scheduled to announce this week that it would award up to $2.5 million in small grants for the development of school leadership programs across the country.
School & District Management
Researchers Say Pa. Charter Schools Raising Scores
Pennsylvania's charter schools show signs of raising student test scores at faster rates than traditional public schools in their host districts, a recently released report concludes.
Education
U.S. Seen Losing Edge On Education Measures
Poor literacy skills among high school graduates and too few opportunities for adult education put the United States in danger of losing its competitive edge in a rapidly changing global market, according to a report from the Paris- based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
- Federal Judge Orders End to Race Policies
- Group To Train Chicago Leaders
- Wis. Online Yearbook Shut Down
- Student Held in Nun's Killing
- Philadelphia OKs Incentives
- Detroit Hit With Judgment
- District Removes Mercury
Equity & Diversity
Initiative To Help Identify Free Internet-Access Sites
A coalition of libraries, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and corporations has launched an information campaign to help bridge the so-called digital divide.
Education
Corrections
A story in the March 7, 2001, issue of Education Week about abortion- counseling policies in schools ("Abortion Debate: Do the Schools Have a Role in Counseling Girls?") gave an incorrect affiliation for Robert Cormany. He is the executive director of the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association, and it was his organization that urged Pennsylvania districts to institute policies on the issue.
College & Workforce Readiness
Colleges
Successful Campaign: High school outreach efforts will be among the beneficiaries of a record-setting fund-raising campaign by the University of California, Berkeley, that raised $1.4 billion in private donations. That is the largest amount ever raised by a public university, school administrators said.
Teacher Preparation
Teacher Tests Criticized As Single Gauge
Teacher-licensure exams provide important clues about the knowledge and skills of prospective precollegiate educators, but such tests should never be used as the sole measure of an aspiring teacher's abilities, argues a report released last week by the National Research Council.
Budget & Finance
In Pa., District Tries 3-Way Contest To Fix Schools
There is a new business model for private management of public education. It was developed not by an entrepreneur or venture capitalist but state board of control that oversees the troubled Chester-Upland, Pa., schools south of Philadelphia.
Budget & Finance
San Francisco Moves To Revoke Edison's Contract
The San Francisco board of education took a major step last week toward revoking its contract with Edison Schools Inc. for management of a 500-student charter school.
Professional Development
Math, Science Teaching Pegged For More Aid
President Bush and congressional Republicans are planning to increase the money available for math and science teachers' professional development, but advocates for the cause are asking: Is it enough?
President Bush and congressional Republicans are planning to increase the money available for math and science teachers' professional development, but advocates for the cause are asking: Is it enough?
Curriculum
State Journal
Taxes 101
Pennsylvania teenagers could soon be helping their parents file their tax returns, thanks to a new state program aimed at teaching high school students the ins and outs of state income taxes.
States
Miss. Requires Schools To Post 'In God We Trust' Motto
No state but Mississippi has passed a law such as this: All public schools shall post "In God We Trust" in every classroom, auditorium, and cafeteria. "Our nation was founded as a godly nation, and we put it on our money," Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat, said as he signed the bill into law March 23.
States
Arizona Agrees To Repay Parents For Missed Special Ed. Services
School districts in Arizona may have to repay hundreds of parents for services that their children with disabilities should have received at school, under a legal settlement reached last week.
Reading & Literacy
Reporter's Notebook
- Reading, Early-Childhood Experts
Seek Ways To Aid Children At Risk
States
Party Lines
The Colorado House of Representatives considered a measure last week that would have upset a venerable tradition in local school board elections: that they be nonpartisan.
Education
People in the News
Lorraine C. Miller became the American Federation of Teachers' director of government and community relations last month. Ms. Miller previously worked for former Vice President Al Gore as the executive director of the White House Community Empowerment Board. The Washington-based federation, which represents more than 1 million K-12 teachers and other education professionals, is the nation's second-largest teachers' union.
Education
U.S. Graduates Lag in History
The United States lags or has lost ground on several important education measures when compared with 29 other countries. In literacy, for example, the United States has the highest percentage of secondary school graduates who ranked below an international literacy standard.
School Climate & Safety
Police Adopt 'Rapid Response' to Shootings
Born in the wake the Columbine High shootings, a new police tactic aimed at apprehending armed suspects in crowded buildings such as schools as quickly as possible is prompting both praise and concern.
Early Childhood
State-Financed Preschools Seen Yielding Gains
At a time when states are assuming a larger role in the education of very young children, a study has found that state-financed preschool programs are adequately preparing youngsters to handle the demands of kindergarten and 1st grade.
Education
Teacher Testing
This chart shows the number of states using initial teacher-licensure tests to support varied decisions about candidates in 1998-99.
Education
Federal File
Missing Persons
When House Republicans recently rolled out their bill to enact President Bush's education agenda, something was missing: support from a half-dozen Republicans on the education committee.
Education
News in Brief: A Washington Roundup
- High Court Declines To Hear Spec. Ed. Case
- House OKs Budget Plan With More Money for Schools