September 27, 2006
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 05
School & District Management
College-Counseling Effort Blends Public, Private Resources
Through an unusual partnership with a nationally known for-profit company, a Colorado school reform group is working to address what it calls the “Colorado paradox”: While more than a third of the state’s residents have a college degree, only one-fifth of the state’s entering 9th graders go on to graduate from college on time.
School & District Management
Boston District Wins Broad Foundation’s Award
After four years as a finalist, the Boston school district won the Broad Prize for Urban Education last week in recognition of its success improving achievement, especially among racial- and ethnic-minority groups.
School & District Management
School Bus Radio Venture Raising Concerns
As consumer and child-advocacy groups voice objections to a commercial radio venture that aims to outfit school buses with music and advertising that targets children, the safety of offering any radio programming on buses is also being debated.
School Climate & Safety
New Orleans Teachers Say Modular Housing Is Too Little, Too Late
When Louisiana leaders said this month that they would provide 250 modular housing units for teachers in New Orleans, they were hoping to draw educators back to the city’s schools. But the news instead has irked some teachers displaced by Hurricane Katrina, who say that by offering them “storage pods” for homes, authorities are rubbing salt in their wounds.
Curriculum
Texas Board Can Now Review Supplemental Materials
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott delivered a mixed verdict last week on an effort by the state board of education to get more control over the textbooks used in public schools.
Law & Courts
Nebraska Court Halts Omaha Breakup Plan
A controversial state plan to break up the Omaha, Neb., public schools into three districts, largely along racial and ethnic lines, and join the entire metropolitan area in one united “learning community” has hit a major roadblock.
Federal
House Panel Studies Ways to Boost Tutoring Under NCLB
With fewer than a fifth of eligible students taking advantage of federally financed tutoring and afterschool programs, policymakers here have begun exploring options for expanding the reach of those services.
Federal
NCLB Waivers Urged as Spur for Research
A national advisory board signed off last week on a flurry of far-reaching recommendations—some of which may prove controversial—for strengthening research on education.
Reading & Literacy
President, First Lady Back Global Literacy to Fight ‘Hopelessness’
President Bush said last week that ensuring that people can read and write is one way to combat poverty and “radicalism” in the world.
Professional Development
How to Minimize Challenges to Materials
School libraries tend to be the subject of the greatest number of formal complaints about the content of books and materials available to students. But challenges to curriculum materials, such as classroom libraries, films, and assigned readings, have seen an uptick over the past several years, according to the National Council of Teachers of English.
Curriculum
Challenged
When school library books are questioned, contention usually results. Here’s how one district in Fayetteville, Ark., wrote a new chapter in handling parents’ complaints.
Federal
There Is Such a Thing as a Free (and Reduced) Lunch
As election season heats up, a few members of Congress, and many more congressional aides, filed into a House conference room last week to cast their votes in one of this fall’s hottest races. The contest: favorite school lunch.
Federal
IES Gets Mixed Grades as It Comes of Age
Concerned about the credibility of federally financed education studies, Congress passed a law in the fall of 2002 that replaced the U.S. Department of Education’s top research office with the Institute of Education Sciences. Now, four years later, critics and outside experts are giving the institute mixed, but mostly positive, grades.
Federal
‘One Stop’ Research Shop Seen as Slow to Yield Views That Educators Can Use
Optimism was running high in September 2002 when the U.S. Department of Education unveiled its plans for a clearinghouse to vet effectiveness studies on educational programs and practices. But four years and nearly $23.4 million later, critics call the What Works Clearinghouse the “nothing works” clearinghouse.
Federal
Political Shift Could Temper NCLB Resolve
The two top Democratic lawmakers on education policy have signaled that if their party regains control of one or both houses of Congress in November, they will seek to retain the core accountability features of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Teaching Profession
Teacher-Pay Incentives Popular But Unproven
As pressure grows to use research-based practices to improve schools, it’s almost a wonder policymakers are so quick to join the teacher-pay incentives trend. States have little evidence that using financial incentives to entice teachers to certain jobs actually reduces turnover or raises student achievement.
Early Childhood
Study Links Flexible Pre-K Classes to Skill Development
Allowing preschoolers to choose their own classroom activities, giving them well-trained teachers, and requiring them to spend less time in whole-group instruction can help build strong language and thinking skills by age 7, according to an international study of early-childhood programs.
Reading & Literacy
‘Reading First’ Appears to Prompt Improvement
The federal Reading First initiative has led to improved reading instruction, assessment, and student achievement in schools taking part in the $1 billion-a-year grant program, as well as in some of the nonparticipating schools in districts that have widely adopted its principles, a study released last week concludes.
Education
Deadlines
Nov. 1—Technology: Applications are due for the Teach Tech Awards, sponsored by the International Organization of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools and The School at Columbia. The contest recognizes teachers at laboratory schools who creatively use technology to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. Ten finalists will each win $500 cash awards and the winning teacher will win a $5,000 cash prize. Contact: Gardner Dunnan, e-mail: gpd6@columbia.edu; Web site: www.nals.net.
Education
A Washington Roundup
Spellings to Lead Delegation
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will lead a federal delegation to Ukraine this week to commemorate the 65th anniversary on Sept. 27 of the massacre in Babyn Yar. In 1941, tens of thousands of Jews and Gypsies were killed at the site by the Nazis and laid in a mass grave.
Education
A Washington Roundup
Education Dept. Auditing Columbus NCLB Funds
Federal auditors are looking into whether the Columbus, Ohio, school district complied with the law last school year when it spent federal dollars allocated for programs under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Education
A Washington Roundup
House OKs Bill to Aid Searches by Teachers
The House approved a bill last week aimed at making it easier for teachers to search lockers and other student property on public school grounds for drugs, weapons, and other hazardous materials.
Federal
Federal File
Travel Checkpoint
A Senate subcommittee has been holding federal agencies’ feet to the fire about expenses for conference travel.
Education
New Spending on Schools Targets Variety of Needs
The budget dedicates an additional $450 million in the general-fund budget over the fiscal 2006 level, or a hike of 7 percent.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Reform Efforts Compiled Online
The Education Commission of the States has created an online database that provides information on state- and district-level high school improvement initiatives.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
California Governor Vetoes Redefinition of ‘Proficient’
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has vetoed a bill that would have redefined the state’s standard for student proficiency.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Report Suggests Tweaks to Florida School Policy
A group of education scholars has praised Florida’s education policies under outgoing Gov. Jeb Bush, but urged that more work be done to bolster student performance.
Education
Report Roundup
Preschool Strategies
Ensuring teachers are trained in early literacy and math, using a research-based curriculum that includes a focus on social skills, and supporting children once they enter school are a few of the ways that preschools can narrow the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more affluent peers, concludes a report by the National Center for Children in Poverty, based at Columbia University.