April 17, 2002
Education Week, Vol. 21, Issue 31
Education
Language Lessons
Five years after the Oakland school board modified its divisive 'ebonics' resolution, educators there have not backed away from its original intent.
Education Funding
Indiana Schools Cutting Back As Economic Realities Hit Home
It's turning into a rough spring in Indiana, where some school districts are preparing to lay off teachers and increase class sizes to absorb $190 million in cuts to the state's K-12 education budget, and another $280 million in delayed payments to schools announced last month.
Education Funding
Portland Plan Would Shorten Academic Year
While the school year in Oregon is already the shortest of any state's, the Portland public schools could cut more than a week from their academic calendar under a controversial cost-saving measure approved by the district's school board.
Education
Teaching & Learning
- Massachusetts' History and Social Studies Debate Resurfaces
- What to Teach?
- Salary Stagnation?
- Union Ban
- From Grants to Pets
Education
Retrospective
The suspension of a Md. teacher for teaching classics deemed too difficult for 10th graders is upheld; military researchers experiment with computerized vocational-aptitude tests; the Mich. legislature has adopted a plan to reunite Detroit's school system; a former undersecretary of education says pressure from the "right wing" prompted the Reagan administration to fire him; and more.
The suspension of a Md. teacher for teaching classics deemed too difficult for 10th graders is upheld; military researchers experiment with computerized vocational-aptitude tests; the Mich. legislature has adopted a plan to reunite Detroit's school system; a former undersecretary of education says pressure from the "right wing" prompted the Reagan administration to fire him; and more.
Student Well-Being
St. Louis to Probe Ex-Priest's Career in Schools
Leaders of the St. Louis school district are trying to piece together how a former Roman Catholic priest was allowed to work in counseling jobs with public school children for seven years after officials learned that he had been accused of sexual molestation.
Law & Courts
Court to Decide if Pupil Privacy A Federal Case
A case going before the U.S. Supreme Court next week could either strengthen the power of the Family Policy Compliance Office to enforce FERPA, or result in federal judges' taking a greater role in reviewing such complaints.
Early Childhood
Study: Full-Day Kindergarten Boosts Academic Performance
A study of 17,600 Philadelphia schoolchildren suggests that full-day kindergarten programs may have both academic and financial payoffs.
School Climate & Safety
Groups Urging Schools to Install Defibrillators to Curb Cardiac Deaths
Responding to recent tragedies, parents, foundations, and private groups around the country are advocating that heart defibrillators be made readily available in a variety of public places.
Education
News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
- Milwaukee Voucher Program Threatened by Budget Rift
- Ariz. Judge: Do More for English Learners
- Federal Court Upholds N.H. Bond Vote Law
- Calif. Nearing Biggest-Ever Bond Measure
- Colo. Court Finds Bilingual 'Title' Vague
School & District Management
Prince George's County School Board to Be Replaced Under New Md. Law
The Maryland legislature approved a measure last week to reconfigure the Prince George's County school board and replace the superintendent's post with a chief executive officer, a move that would force Superintendent Iris T. Metts to reapply for her job.
Curriculum
Recommended Reading
| Here are some sources suggested by two Arab-American and Jewish American groups for helping high school students learn different perspectives on the Middle East conflict. | ||
Federal
Education Dept. Plans To Break Up Evaluation Office
The Education Department's Planning and Evaluation Service has drawn considerable political heat and attention during past administrations. Now, the current Bush administration has decided to break up the office and divide its various responsibilities three ways.
Education
Federal File
Spring Trip
Before Rod Paige became the secretary of education, it might have seemed a bit odd to have football players stumping for education reform.
Student Achievement
Scoring Dispute Casts Pall Over Texas Academic Decathlon
A bitter disagreement over which Texas school would represent the state in the United States Academic Decathlon ended last week with a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court just a day before the national competition began.
Teaching Profession
Los Angeles Teachers Elect Hard-to-Define Union Leader
It was a nail-biter of a race in the nation's second-largest school district, but in the end, Los Angeles teachers chose John Perez to lead their 41,000- member union in a runoff election that concluded last week.
Teaching
Studies Cite Learning Gains In Direct Instruction Schools
Schools using Direct Instruction, a teaching method sometimes criticized for its tightly scripted teaching lessons, are generally seeing gains in student learning, according to a new package of studies that tracked the program in Florida, Maryland, and Texas.
Equity & Diversity
Parents Divided Over Meetings In Calif. School
The principal of a middle school in Elk Grove, Calif., has stirred up controversy with his decision to divide parents by race and ethnicity for talks about student academic performance.
Education
People in the News
Ellen Condliffe Lagemann will be the next dean of Harvard University's graduate school of education, university President Lawrence H. Summers announced last week. Ms. Lagemann, 56, currently serves as the president of the Spencer Foundation, a Chicago-based philanthropy that finances education research.
School & District Management
Phila. Panel Taps Temple University, Others to Run Troubled Schools
In a decision that could prove pivotal for Philadelphia's school system, the appointed panel running the district has chosen three school management companies and three nonprofit organizations to manage 75 of its lowest-performing schools.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
- Kansas Student Dies in Pole Vaulting Accident
- N.M. District Ponders How to Fill Board Vacancies
- Chicago District Disbands Elementary School Council
- Piper, Kan., School Board Addresses Plagiarism Issue
- Vermont Board Election Is Still Up in the Air
- Toxic Leak May Cost Oregon District $94,600
- Alaska School Reopens; Receives State Review
- San Diego Board Renews Superintendent's Contract
States
New Law Allows Ky. Districts To Pilot Differentiated Pay
After losing a bruising battle over teacher compensation and certification two years ago, the Kentucky legislature has quietly passed what appears to be a first-of-its-kind law that will experiment with new ways of paying teachers, while also raising the amount of money they earn under the current salary schedule.
Education
Md. Schools Get Big Hike In Funding
As most cash-strapped states struggle just to maintain education funding this year, Maryland legislators are taking another path: They passed a six-year plan last week to ultimately add $1.3 billion annually for schools and to reduce inequities.
Education
News in Brief: A Washington Roundup
- Paige Wants College Presidents
To Make Ed. Research a Priority - Bush Outlines National Service Plans
- Former Ambassador to Head HBCU Office
Federal
Chaotic Fla. Session Puts School Issues On Hold
Florida lawmakers will trudge back to the state capital soon for their second special session in as many months, after failing to pass a rewrite of the laws that govern the state's education system.
School Climate & Safety
For U.S. Students, Mideast Conflict Hits Home
Students and teachers at schools with large Jewish or Arab-American populations, or both, were walking the same impossibly fine line as others in the country last week when talking about the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians. Includes: "Mideast Violence Leads U.S. Teachers, Students to Revise Travel Plans."
Education
State Journal