February 22, 2006
Education Week, Vol. 25, Issue 24
Federal
Texas Educators Take Up Call to Run for Legislature
An organized drive to recruit educators for this year’s House of Representative and Senate races attracts candidates frustrated about the state’s handling of the school finance system.
Student Well-Being
All Seniors in Texas High School Get Mentors
When word spread at a suburban Dallas high school about plans to launch an ambitious mentoring program for this year’s seniors, some teachers believed they knew what to expect.
Curriculum
H.S. Courses Seen as Disconnected From College Demands
A new study from the U.S. Department of Education underscores the need for much stronger ties between the curriculum that students take in high school and what is expected in their first year of college.
Federal
Cardiac Cases Raise Concerns Over Drugs for ADHD
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel recently voted to recommend that some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications carry warning labels after panel members learned of 25 reports of deaths between 1999 and 2003.
Science
Ohio Removes Anti-Evolution Language
In the second major blow in as many months to groups seeking to infuse more skepticism into classroom lessons about evolution, the Ohio state school board voted last week to strip language from its academic standards encouraging students to “critically analyze” the established biological theory.
Standards
Panel’s Evaluation Faults Baltimore Rollout of Literacy Curricula
Baltimore school officials announced last week that they will scale back the use of a controversial middle school language arts program, after a review panel pointed to flaws in its implementation.
Teaching Profession
Boston District and Union Agree on Adding ‘Pilot Schools’
City and school leaders in Boston reached an agreement with the Boston Teachers’ Union last week to expand the district’s system of small, autonomous schools, ending a 2-year-old standoff that had stalled the growth of the experimental program.
Education
Opinion
Chat Wrap-Up: Science and Math
On Feb. 8, 2006, readers’ questions about math and science education in the context of President Bush’s State of the Union Address were fielded by Jim Rubillo, the executive director of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; Jodi Peterson, the director of legislative affairs for the National Science Teachers Association; and Sean Cavanagh, the staff writer who covers math and science issues for Education Week.
Teaching Profession
Fight Over Charter Cap Erupts in Empire State
Even though the American Federation of Teachers’ largest local affiliate has opened its own charter school in New York City, the state affiliate is firmly opposed to plans by the governor and legislators to raise the statewide cap on how many charters are permitted in the Empire State.
Education
Events
22—Science: Elementary Science Safety, sponsored by the Laboratory Safety Institute, for elementary-level science educators, in Bridgeport, Conn. Contact: Ana Adams, 192 Worcester Road, Natick, MA 01760-2252; (508) 647-1900; fax: (508) 647-0062; e-mail: lsiadams@labsafety.org; Web site: www.labsafety.org/training/enter.html.
March
22—Science: Elementary Science Safety, sponsored by the Laboratory Safety Institute, for elementary-level science educators, in Bridgeport, Conn. Contact: Ana Adams, 192 Worcester Road, Natick, MA 01760-2252; (508) 647-1900; fax: (508) 647-0062; e-mail: lsiadams@labsafety.org; Web site: www.labsafety.org/training/enter.html.
School & District Management
Bush’s Forest Proposal Worries Rural Schools
President Bush wants to sell more than 300,000 acres of federal lands to finance federal payments for rural schools and counties, while moving to end an existing aid program.
School Choice & Charters
Shanker on Charters
Albert Shanker, the longtime leader of the American Federation of Teachers, had a lot to say about charter schools, starting well before the first one opened in 1992. Mr. Shanker, who died in 1997, wrote about the issue repeatedly for the AFT’s “Where We Stand” column, which appeared regularly as an advertisement in The New York Times and sometimes inother publications, including Education Week.
Federal
Bipartisan Panel to Study Changes for NCLB
Two former governors announced last week that they will lead a bipartisan panel that will recommend changes to the federal No Child Left Behind Act before Congress starts work on reauthorizing it next year.
Federal
Senate Panel Explores Ways to Spur Progress on Math and Science
Education-related prescriptions for strengthening the nation’s economic competitiveness took center stage in a pair of Senate meetings last week.
Teaching Profession
A School of Their Own
In the late 1980s, the labor leader Albert Shanker first articulated his vision of autonomous, teacher-formed “charter” schools. He lamented what he saw as a “lockstep” approach to K-12 education across the country that neglected the input of classroom teachers and failed to take into account students’ individual needs.
Federal
Latest Bush Voucher Plan Faces Skepticism
A $100 million private-school-voucher plan proposed by President Bush would have to leap several hurdles to become reality, but its supporters hope that recent political advances for their cause and a link to the No Child Left Behind Act will help it avoid defeat this time around.
School & District Management
States Acting to Raise Bar on H.S. Skills
States are moving to close the gap between high school preparation and college and workforce readiness, but momentum is far greater in some policy areas than in others, a 50-state survey released this week shows.
Education
No Test-Score Edge Found for Cleveland Voucher Students
A new study of the Cleveland voucher program finds that participating students did not show higher test-score gains than comparison students, and in fact performed slightly worse in math.
School & District Management
West Virginians Could Get More Say Over School Mergers
Gov. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia has endorsed a plan in the legislature that would give citizens a powerful new voice in determining whether schools in their communities consolidate.
School & District Management
South Carolina Eyes State Charter District
South Carolina appears on track to enact legislation that would create both a statewide authorizer for charter schools and a new statewide district exclusively for those schools.
School & District Management
McKeon to Seek Opinions on NCLB Reauthorization
The new chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee said last week that he plans to do a lot of listening when it comes to the No Child Left Behind Act.
Federal
Opinion
The Tax-Free Teacher
Social studies teacher Curtis G. Hier has an idea on how to attract more talented people to the teaching profession: exempt teachers from federal taxes.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Forging a New Labor-Management Partnership in Education
S. Paul Reville believes that a new approach to collective bargaining between teachers and administrators is in order.
Education
Honors & Award
Honors & Awards
The Alexandria, Va.-based Association of Career and Technical Educationhas announced its 2005-06 awards. The awards honor the work of career and technical teachers across the country.
Career and Technical Education
The Alexandria, Va.-based Association of Career and Technical Educationhas announced its 2005-06 awards. The awards honor the work of career and technical teachers across the country.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Science by Stealth
Lucy N. Friedman and Jane Quinn share their ideas on how after-school programs can boost students' scientific literacy.
Recruitment & Retention
Fla. Ready to Demand Bonuses Based on Test Scores
Florida education officials are moving ahead with what would be the nation’s most far-reaching plan to tie teacher bonuses to improved student achievement, despite financial uncertainties and opposition from the state teachers’ union.
Education
Letter to the Editor
What 'Middle School Concept'?
To suggest, as Commentary writer Cheri Pierson Yecke does, that the failure of American schools is somehow the result of the failure of the “middle school concept” is absolutely ludicrous and without evidence ("Mayhem in the Middle," Commentary, Feb. 1, 2006).
Education
Letter to the Editor
To Help Toddlers, First School the Parents
As a professor and educator, I read Samuel J. Meisels’ Jan. 25, 2006, Commentary on early-childhood education with interest, and then with shock and dismay ("Universal Pre-K: What About the Babies?").