September 21, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 25, Issue 04
School & District Management
Book Review
Writer Laments ‘Apartheid’ Schooling
Jonathan Kozol has been writing about education and the lives of poor and minority children since 1967, when he published Death at an Early Age, the story of his year as a teacher in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. For his latest book, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, released this month by Crown Publishers, Mr. Kozol visited some 60 schools in 11 states. He discussed his findings with Staff Writer John Gehring.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Hurricane Coverage: Thoughts and Additions
Regarding the online article ("Refugee Louisiana Principal Seeks Ways to Help Victims," Web Extra , Sept. 1, 2005):
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Dismissing the Critics of Reading First
Regarding your front-page article ("States Pressed to Refashion Reading First Grant Designs," Sept. 7, 2005):
Ed-Tech Policy
Letter to the Editor
Virtual Schooling and Socialization
In regard to “virtual schools”: Where in virtual schools do socialization skills come into play?
English-Language Learners
Letter to the Editor
Wanting Official English, Getting ‘Bilingual Nation’
I find it frightening that we are caving in to become a bilingual nation without a vote from American citizens.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Baffled by Iowa Action on Fingerprinting
After reading “Iowa Law Ends Use of Finger-Scan Technology,” I am baffled: Don’t we want children to be fingerprinted for safety?
Education
Letter to the Editor
Why Offer Tutoring Only to ‘Eligible’ Children?
I would like to know why only “eligible” children—low-income students from schools needing improvement—are able to receive free tutoring through their schools.
Federal
Education Department, at 25, Still Has Its Skeptics
The Department of Education continues to fend off critics who say it should be eliminated or demoted in the federal government's hierarchy.
Law & Courts
Roberts Pressed for Views on School Cases
Judge John G. Roberts Jr.’s path to the U.S. Supreme Court seemed clear of any serious hurdles late last week, after he survived more than three days of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee, including repeated efforts by Democrats to draw him out on several legal issues in education.
Education Funding
New York City Adds Pre-K Slots as State Plan Stalls
After years of seeing no increase in funding from the legislature for New York state’s universal-prekindergarten program, school leaders in New York City decided that if more 4-year-olds were going to get a chance at an early-childhood education, the district officials would have to do something about it themselves.
Student Well-Being
CDC Calls for Vigilance on Childhood Obesity
Only 36.7 percent of overweight youths, or their parents, were warned about their weight status by a doctor or other health-care professional, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that analyzed data collected between 1999 and 2002.
School Climate & Safety
Divide Over Co-Teaching Widens in Florida
Battle lines are being drawn in Florida’s escalating debate about how to meet a state mandate to shrink the size of public school classes.
Education
Report Roundup
Immigrants’ Education
The children and grandchildren of immigrants in California are getting more education than the generation before them, but the achievement of people with Mexican roots lags behind that of some other ethnic groups, in part because they have a larger gap to close, a study concludes.
Education
Report Roundup
Girls’ Health
Girls who eat breakfast more regularly tend not to gain as much weight as girls who do not, a study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found.
Education
Report Roundup
Character Education
To assist in setting up high school classes that “help students become both smart and good,” a report highlights nearly a hundred examples of character-centered lessons that focus on morals and ethics.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Science Panel’s Democrats Offer Math, Science Resources
Democrats on the House Science Committee have established a link from their Web site to federal science and mathematics resources, a tool that is specifically aimed at helping teachers and students.
Education
Report Roundup
International Rankings
The United States lags behind more than 20 other industrialized nations on mathematics performance and problem-solving skills in a variety of academic subjects, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
House OKs Katrina Student-Loan Relief
Students forced to withdraw from colleges in areas hit by Hurricane Katrina might not have to worry about repaying their federal student loans or grant money, under two bills the House approved Sept. 7.
Education
Report Roundup
Education Levels Fall for Pre-K Teachers
Preschool teachers and child-care workers in center-based programs today have lower levels of education than their predecessors two decades ago had, concludes a study released last week.
Education Funding
A State Capitals Roundup
Washington State Union Loses Suit Over Training Day
The Washington state Supreme Court has rejected a challenge by teachers to the legislature’s ability to trim funds that were provided for teacher-training days.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Legal Foundation Seeks Probe Into Calif. Union’s Use of Fees
The Landmark Legal Foundation, a public-interest law firm with offices in Leesburg, Va., and Kansas City, Mo., has asked the California Public Employment Relations Board to investigate whether the California Teachers Association is using fees paid by nonmember teachers to finance a campaign to defeat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ballot initiatives in a special election Nov. 5.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
‘No-Pass, No-Play’ Rule Closer for Iowa Student-Athletes
Public high school student-athletes in Iowa won’t be permitted to play sports if they fail a class under a proposed rule change.
Education Funding
A State Capitals Roundup
Ohio Secretary of State Backs ’65-Cent Solution’
Add Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell to the list of state officials endorsing the policy that requires 65 percent of every education dollar to go to instruction.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Connecticut Hires New Test Company
Connecticut has hired a new test company to handle its student assessments after the previous vendor encountered scoring problems that delayed results for several months in the 2003-04 school year.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Virginia Schools Chief Announces Retirement
Jo Lynne DeMary has announced she will retire as Virginia’s state superintendent of public instruction, as of Jan. 1.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A State Capitals news brief in the Aug. 10, 2005, issue of Education Week ("N.C. Schools Get Fiscal Boost") misidentified the political party of North Carolina Gov. Michael F. Easley. He is a Democrat.
Education
People in the News
Chris Wright
Chris Wright is the new president of the Missouri Association of School Administrators. She is the first woman to hold the top position in the Jefferson City, Mo.-based organization’s 100-plus-year history.
Social Studies
Some Schools Adding Evolution ‘Alternatives’ to Social Studies Class
As debates over the legitimacy of intelligent design and other so-called alternatives to evolution erupt across the country, some school and elected officials are suggesting that social studies, humanities, or comparative-religion classes offer the best venues for those discussions.
Student Well-Being
Resuming Sports, Student Council Seen as Help to Katrina Recovery
Educators across the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast are helping many thousands of student evacuees take part in sports and other aspects of campus life—activities that can help students and communities return to the rhythms of daily life.