March 16, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 24, Issue 27
Education
Chart: Gauging Views on Teachers
The online survey conducted by the Public Education Network asked respondents:
Federal
In Hearings, Poll, PEN Finds Support for Goals of NCLB
State legislators may be chafing under the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, but the public strongly supports the federal law and doesn’t want to see its goals diluted, according to a report scheduled to be released this week.
Education Funding
Hefty Fees for Student Parking Help Balance Budgets
As districts around the country deal with persistent budget struggles, some school boards are introducing or increasing user fees, particularly student parking fees, as their next move in the tug of war between budget constraints and rising expenses.
Teaching Profession
Elections Give No Easy Fix on Union Course
Observers are mulling whether the defeats of John Perez and of Deborah Lynch in Chicago, who was known nationally for promoting teachers’ involvement in school improvement, signal that the attempt to recast unions as partners in school progress is weakening.
Student Achievement
Private Tutoring Firm Ousted From 7 Chicago Schools
Platform Learning, one of the nation’s largest suppliers of the tutoring services required by the No Child Left Behind Act, is being ejected from seven Chicago schools.
Federal
California, U.S. Department of Education Strike Deal on NCLB Rules
The U.S. Department of Education announced an agreement with California last week that would end a discrepancy over how that state determines which school districts are in need of improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Education
Chart: Education Pipeline
The estimated progress for a statistical group of 100 9th graders, not an actual cohort, shows a dramatic dropout pattern.
School & District Management
Urban Reviews Take Close Look at Instruction
Deborah Jewell-Sherman’s first year as the superintendent of the troubled Richmond, Va., schools was barely over, and though she had reason to rejoice, she felt she needed to call for help.
School & District Management
State Intervention
State lawmakers are often portrayed as the bad guys when they force reluctant school districts to consolidate and close schools as a matter of fiscal efficiency.
Education
A National Roundup
Video on Tolerance Headed for Schools
More than 60,000 public and private elementary schools are to receive copies this month of a music video called “We Are Family,” as part of a campaign backed by a wide array of corporations and groups to promote diversity and tolerance.
Ed-Tech Policy
Cultural Exchange
Students from 15 schools in New York City got the chance this month to question youngsters in Sri Lanka about the impact of the tsunami disaster in their country.
Education
People in the News
Ted Sanders
Ted Sanders is the new executive chairman of Cardean Learning Group, formerly known as UNext Inc.
Education
People in the News
Karen A. Johnson
Karen A. Johnson joined Valente & Associates this month as a senior member.
Education
People in the News
Barry Topol
Barry Topol is the new chief financial officer of Harcourt Assessment Inc.
Education
A National Roundup
California School District Will Sue State Over Testing
The school board of the Coachella Valley Unified School District in California has voted to sue the state over its law on the assessment of English-language learners on the state tests.
Education
A National Roundup
Teacher Dismissal Upheld
A North Carolina judge last week upheld the firing of a high school chemistry teacher who had students drink milk until they vomited to show how the body regulates acids. A lawyer representing Jeff Ferguson, who was a probationary teacher in the Johnston County school district when he led the classroom experiment in November 2003, said last week that the teacher was considering further legal action to challenge the nonrenewal of his contract last June.
Education
Correction
Correction
An article in the March 2, 2005, issue of Education Week gave incorrect information on the turnover rate among first-year teachers in New York City public schools. In the lowest-performing schools, 27 percent leave; in the highest-performing schools, the rate is 15 percent.
Education
A National Roundup
Wis. Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Summer Homework
A judge last week threw out a lawsuit by a Wisconsin high school student who objected to having to do homework over summer vacation.
Education
A National Roundup
Obituary: Burdette W. Andrews
Ron Bennett, who succeeded Mr. Andrews in 2002 as the head of the 1,200-student Vandercook Lake school district, said the superintendent emeritus kept an office in the district and still reported to work there two or three times a week until shortly before his death. Mr. Andrews had been writing a history of the district, Superintendent Bennett said.
International
Circling ‘The Scourge’
The AIDS pandemic has crippled schooling in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, a teachers' union initiative is trying to help heal the education system.
International
School Patriotism Law Postponed in Japan
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan has postponed its campaign to require schools to emphasize patriotism.
International
Students Oppose Education Bill
Tens of thousands of French high school students took to the streets last week for the latest of several protests of an education bill that they believe would harm school systems.
International
Irish Principals Cite Same Angst as U.S. Peers
Overworked principals in the United States may take solace that they’re not alone. Three-quarters of elementary school principals in Ireland who responded to a recent survey said they were either “overloaded” or “seriously overloaded” by the demands of the job.
International
Technology Is Glue and Goal for School Pairings in Europe
Governments in Europe are urging their schools to pair up with counterparts in other European countries to share ways of applying technology in learning.
Education
Report Roundup
Factors Influencing Retention Analyzed
A report sponsored by the AARP’s Educator Community highlights the array of factors—from pay, to relationships with colleagues, to opportunities for professional growth—that influence teachers’ decisions about whether to stick with a particular school or with teaching in general.
International
Row Erupts in Britain Over Teaching of Tolerance
Days after Britain’s chief schools inspector singled out Muslim schools as failing to teach tolerance, a report from his agency showed that evangelical Christian schools may be doing an even worse job of it.
International
Scottish Study Finds Phonics Helped Pupils’ Achievement
A study of 300 Scottish primary school pupils suggests that those taught with explicit, systematic phonics—the letters and letter sounds that make up words—learn to read more quickly than their peers who are taught to read through less stringent methods.
International
Greek Elementary Pupils to Learn Second Foreign Language
Elementary school children in Greece are already expected to learn English in addition to their native language. But starting next school year, the Ministry of Education will begin requiring 5th graders to learn a second foreign language.
Education
Report Roundup
Exposure to Violence
The survey, conducted by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a group of 54 treatment centers, focuses on violence outside the home and concludes that children who were witnesses or victims of weapons violence or physical assaults had higher rates of school expulsion and lower attendance rates.