November 5, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 11
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Charter School Teaching
Efforts to bring the academic results of some of the nation’s best urban charter schools to a far larger scale are “sharply constrained” by limits on the supply of talent willing and able to take on the work, argues a new working paper by Education Sector.
Federal
Walton Family Puts Stamp on Education Landscape
A champion of greater choice in K-12 schooling, the foundation built on Wal-Mart money has risen to the top tier of private giving to precollegiate education.
School Choice & Charters
Sam Walton’s Son Played Major Role In Setting Agenda On School Choice
Advocates of expanded educational options say John T. Walton, more than anyone else, was the driving force behind the Walton Family Foundation’s education work, and its focus on promoting school choice, from public charter schools to private school vouchers.
Equity & Diversity
Native American History, Culture Gaining Traction in State Curricula
A growing number of states make American Indian history and culture a formal part of what all students should learn.
Teaching Profession
Retiree Plans Hurt By Market Decline As Anxieties Rise
States nationwide tally their losses, while trying to reassure retirees that funds are secure in the long-term.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Teaching at the Precipice
"Rebuilding the teaching profession around current attrition patterns is a lot like building a hospital at the bottom of the cliff—shortsighted and ultimately counterproductive," write Arthur E. Levine & David Haselkorn.
Federal
Federal File
AFT, NEA Back Economic Stimulus
The presidents of both national teachers’ unions told a House panel last week that investing in school facilities could help put the economy on a firmer footing.
Federal
Opinion
Missing in Action
The many calls for "evidence based" decisionmaking notwithstanding, says Eric Schaps, the sad reality is that research has had less constructive influence during the past 10 to 15 years than it did before.
School & District Management
District Leaders Exchange Ideas On Ways to Trim Energy Costs
Cracking down on small but energy-inefficient devices was just one of many suggestions about 50 superintendents and other district officials heard during a recent “energy summit.”
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Student Engagement
Students who are not engaged in school are at a higher risk of poor academic achievement, but leaders of after-school programs may not have a good understanding of how to captivate those they serve, says a new research-based guide.
Education
Tippecanoe and Teacher Too
Tierney Cahill, a 6th grade teacher from Reno, Nev., was impelled by her students during a civics lesson to run for public office in the 2000 election. Placing them in charge of her campaign, she decided to seek a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In a new book, Ms. Cahill for Congress, she recounts her campaign, the students’ participation, and the lessons they all learned over the course of the election year.
Equity & Diversity
Urban Districts Urged to Prepare for Immigration Raids
School district leaders urged their colleagues recently to make concrete plans for taking care of students whose parents have been picked up in workplace raids by federal immigration agents.
Curriculum
News in Brief
Judge Halts 8th Grade Algebra Test
A Sacramento County Superior Court judge last week ordered the California state board of education to postpone its bold and expensive plan to require all 8th graders to be tested in algebra.
Education
News in Brief
Hawaii Governor Releases Money For Teacher Raises Without Testing
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has released state funds for the last round of public school teacher pay raises, even though random drug testing for instructors has not been implemented.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Vallas Extends Stay
Paul G. Vallas, whose contract with the Recovery School District in New Orleans was set to expire in June, has said he will stay on as superintendent of the state-run district at least through the 2009-10 school year.
Federal
News in Brief
Three New Appointees Named for Board Governing NAEP
Carol D’Amico, who served as the Bush administration’s assistant secretary for vocational and adult education at the U.S. Department of Education from 2001 to 2003, is one of three new appointees named to the National Assessment Governing Board.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Austin Superintendent Honored by Council of the Great City Schools
Pascal D. Forgione Jr., the superintendent of the Austin Independent School District in Texas, has won the Richard R. Green Award for outstanding school district leadership.
School & District Management
News in Brief
New Research Alliance to Study School Improvement in N.Y.C.
After years of planning, education officials in New York City announced last week the formation of an independent, nonpartisan research center that will study the city’s schools.
Education
News in Brief
Arizona Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Case on Voucher Programs
The Arizona Supreme Court said last week it will decide a school choice issue: whether two voucher programs for children with disabilities and foster children attending private schools violate the Arizona Constitution.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Financial-Literacy Requirements
As part of an effort to promote the inclusion of financial education in state standards and required courses, the Washington-based nonprofit group Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, and Citi, a global financial-services company, have mapped whether students are required to study financial education.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Increasing the Scope of 'Value Added' Approaches
To the Editor:
"Salvaging Accountability" by Thomas Toch and Douglas N. Harris (Commentary, Oct. 1, 2008) speaks to the faulty premises of the No Child Left Behind Act as a school accountability measure. The chief problem is schools’ responsibility for outcome determinants over which they have no control, including physical, mental, and emotional characteristics, as well as experiential histories.
"Salvaging Accountability" by Thomas Toch and Douglas N. Harris (Commentary, Oct. 1, 2008) speaks to the faulty premises of the No Child Left Behind Act as a school accountability measure. The chief problem is schools’ responsibility for outcome determinants over which they have no control, including physical, mental, and emotional characteristics, as well as experiential histories.
Education
Letter to the Editor
When 4th Graders Become 'Pavlovian Experiments'
To the Editor:
District of Columbia schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is another educator making a name for herself within the Wall Street culture gripping many school districts nationwide (“D.C. Set to Impose Teacher-Firing Initiative,” Oct. 15, 2008). This culture, which the current economic situation shows to be a failure, focuses on making more every year, no matter how, and believes that failure to do so is not an option, even if the final result is ruination.
District of Columbia schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is another educator making a name for herself within the Wall Street culture gripping many school districts nationwide (“D.C. Set to Impose Teacher-Firing Initiative,” Oct. 15, 2008). This culture, which the current economic situation shows to be a failure, focuses on making more every year, no matter how, and believes that failure to do so is not an option, even if the final result is ruination.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Advanced Teacher Training: A College-Readiness Tool
To the Editor:
In “Diploma to Nowhere,” a recent report released by the Washington-based organization Strong American Schools, we were reminded of the grim realities high school students face as they enter college (“Cost of Catching Up in College Decried,” Report Roundup, Sept. 24, 2008).
In “Diploma to Nowhere,” a recent report released by the Washington-based organization Strong American Schools, we were reminded of the grim realities high school students face as they enter college (“Cost of Catching Up in College Decried,” Report Roundup, Sept. 24, 2008).
Ed-Tech Policy
Letter to the Editor
PBS Is Offering Students Online Civics Resources
To the Editor:
Your front-page story "Historic Election and New Tech Tools Yield Promising Vistas for Learning" (Oct. 8, 2008), about electronic resources educators have been using to support lessons about the presidential election, was valuable to teachers looking to motivate students around this historic event, as well as for alerting them to potential roadblocks, such as Web filters.
Your front-page story "Historic Election and New Tech Tools Yield Promising Vistas for Learning" (Oct. 8, 2008), about electronic resources educators have been using to support lessons about the presidential election, was valuable to teachers looking to motivate students around this historic event, as well as for alerting them to potential roadblocks, such as Web filters.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Advanced Placement for Whom?
A recent decision by the College Board may make it harder to extend the advantages of Latin to the students likely to gain the most from them, warns teacher Lee T. Pearcy.
College & Workforce Readiness
'Stealth Vouchers' Slammed in Texas
Texas lawmakers last year overwhelmingly approved legislation to strengthen dropout-prevention efforts. But a pilot program to help people age 25 and under who have quit school earn a diploma has since come under fire.
Federal
Analysis Tracks Teachers’ Use of Discretionary Leave Time
Like other professionals, teachers appear to be dipping into their sick time in order to run errands, do holiday shopping, or extend a weekend, a new analysis suggests.
Federal
K-12 Issues Will Await President
The campaign winner will have a major role in reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act.
Federal
Association’s Ads Highlight Unity
Whatever the outcome of the presidential election, charter school advocates hope they’ve already emerged as winners.