October 25, 2006
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 09
International
Teacher-Pay Alternatives May Be Found in Other Nations
Teacher-compensation strategies being tried in other industrialized nations could give U.S. policymakers some new ways to address the issue, says a report out last week from the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank.
Equity & Diversity
Rags to Riches in U.S. Largely a Myth, Scholars Write
Among Americans’ most cherished beliefs is the idea that the United States is a land of opportunity, a place where all children have an equal shot at success regardless of the circumstances of their birth. A growing body of research suggests, however, that idea may be a myth.
Education
Opinion
Chat Wrap-Up: Teaching and the New Internet
On Oct. 10, readers put questions about the expanding educational uses of the Internet to Will Richardson, the author of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Power Web Tools for Classrooms and the founder of Connective Learning.
Law & Courts
Reporter's Notebook
Hot Topics in School Law: High Court and Sunscreen
The chummy group at the plummy resort could barely contain its glee at being in the Bahamas earlier this month, just as an early snowfall blanketed parts of the U.S. Midwest and the Northeast back home.
Federal
No Child Left Behind on the Campaign Trail
The Shays-Farrell race is one of three closely watched contests in Connecticut that could help determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections Nov. 7.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Report on Reading First Outrages This Teacher
I don’t have words to express the outrage I feel in light of the U.S. Department of Education inspector general’s report on the Reading First program.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Other 'Forgotten History' of U.S. Immigration
I certainly agree with William Celis’ assertion that significant gains in public education have been stimulated by immigrants to the United States.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Teaching's Art Cannot Be Taught or Learned
Teaching can be perceived as a profession or as a craft. But it can also be seen as an art. In fact, teachers who leave the most indelible imprint on their students fall into this third camp.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Bibliophobia Revisited
A fair-minded reader must respect Will Fitzhugh’s dedication to the encouragement of high school students’ research and writing on history. But one can only hope that the narrow-mindedness and gratuitous assumptions set forth in Mr. Fitzhugh’s essay have not been molded by a reading background that consists exclusively of nonfiction pieces concerning history, that he has not been "hoist with his own petard," so to speak.
College & Workforce Readiness
Phila. Vows to Fix Dropout Problem
A coalition of education, government, and social services agencies in Philadelphia launched a citywide campaign last week to decrease the city’s high school dropout rate.
Education
Reporter's Notebook
State Board Members Urged to Concentrate On Dropout Problem
For every 100 U.S. students who start high school, only 67 earn a diploma within four years. Of those, only 38 enter college, 26 are still enrolled after sophomore year, and just 18 graduate on time with either an associate's or a bachelor's degree.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
N.J. State Chief Confirmed
Lucille E. Davy, who has been New Jersey’s acting commissioner of education for the past year, is now officially the chief state school officer. The state Senate unanimously confirmed her nomination, made by Gov. Jon Corzine (D), last week. She was appointed acting chief in September 2005 by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey (D).
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Fla. OKs First District Plan Under Teacher-Pay Program
The Florida Department of Education approved its first local performance-pay plan last week under a new $147.5 million statewide program to award bonuses to teachers whose students show achievement gains.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
26 States Now Part Of Diploma Project
With the addition of four states to the American Diploma Project Network, just over half the states—26—are now involved in the high school improvement initiative.
Federal
Video Games Can Improve Learning, Scientists’ Report Says
Educational video games have great potential to hone critical-thinking skills, help teach academic curricula, and evaluate what students learn, concludes a report released last week by a prominent group of U.S. scientists.
Education
Report Roundup
ADHD Research
The authors studied 4,704 children ages 4 to 15, 4.2 percent of whom had ADHD. Based on their findings, the researchers estimate that prenatal tobacco exposure is associated with 270,000 cases of ADHD in U.S. children, while prenatal lead exposure could account for 290,000 cases.
Education
Report Roundup
Migrant Education
The program, a cooperative effort between state and federal education officials in the United States and Mexico, runs several projects for this subset of the nation’s migrant students. For instance, in a teacher exchange run by the binational program, 231 teachers visited the United States from Mexico during the summer of 2006 to work with migrant students, and 57 teachers or administrators from the United States visited Mexico.
Education
Report Roundup
Minority Graduation Rates
Hispanic and African-American students, as groups, need to improve their on-time graduation rates and go immediately to college, or the U.S. economy stands to suffer because of a lack of qualified job candidates, according to the study.
Education
Report Roundup
Math and Science
Reform-oriented practices in this context are generally defined as those that were developed in the 1990s and emphasize a deep understanding of math and science through in-class investigations and problem-solving tasks, as opposed to lessons built around teachers’ lectures.
Education
A National Roundup
Lehigh to Open Center to Bolster Urban Leadership
Lehigh University's college of education has received a $2.25 million gift to establish a Center for Urban Leadership that will provide research and professional programs to help develop the next generation of city leaders.
Education
Report Roundup
High School Students Admit Ethics Lapses
A large percentage of high school students continue to have habits of dishonesty, suggests a survey from the Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics.
Education
Correction
Correction
An article about charter schools in the District of Columbia on Page 7 of this issue of Education Week, misstated Superintendent Clifford B. Janey’s remarks as reported in The Washington Post. He said his master education plan was an attempt to persuade more parents to keep their children in the public school system after the elementary grades, but he did not explicitly mention competition from charter schools.
Education
People in the News
Jonathan P. Raymond
Jonathan P. Raymond has been named the chief accountability officer for the 127,000-student Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district in North Carolina. Mr. Raymond was most recently the president and chief executive officer of the Boston-based Commonwealth Corp., a nonprofit consulting organization that focuses on education and workforce development.
Education
People in the News
Robert B. Noyed
Robert B. Noyed is the new president of the 2,000-member National School Public Relations Association, based in Rockville, Md.
Education
People in the News
John R. Miller
John R. Miller has been appointed the director of the newly formed National Center for Middle Level Leadership at the National Association of Secondary School Principals, in Reston, Va. Mr. Miller, 57, most recently served as the principal of the 575-student Mann Middle School in Lakewood, Wash.
College & Workforce Readiness
Work Skills of Graduates Seen Lacking
New employees with just high school diplomas, and even some employees with four-year college degrees, lack the work skills needed to succeed in a global and increasingly competitive workplace, suggests a survey of corporate human-resource officials.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Technology Upgrades Prompt Schools to Go Wireless
As educational software and web sites become increasingly rich in multimedia, and more schools adopt one-to-one laptop computer initiatives, districts are turning to high-speed wireless networks to make better use of that software and bandwidth-heavy interactive Web sites.