August 10, 2011

Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 37
Physical therapist Whitney Thomas helps Zack Lystedt, practice walking. Washington state named its concussion law after the former athlete, who nearly died on his high school football field in Seattle.
Physical therapist Whitney Thomas helps Zack Lystedt, practice walking. Washington state named its concussion law after the former athlete, who nearly died on his high school football field in Seattle.
Elaine Thompson/AP
Student Well-Being Concussion Laws Aimed at Student-Athletes Spread
In the past six months, 20 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to minimize student-athletes' concussion risks, while laws are pending in 11 others.
Bryan Toporek, August 11, 2011
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8 min read
Education Concussion Laws by State
In the past six months, 21 states have passed laws to minimize student-athletes' concussion risks, while laws are pending in a dozen others.
Bryan Toporek & Chienyi Cheri Hung, August 10, 2011
Curriculum Media Companies Move Into Digital-Education Space
News Corp. is among a number of media firms eager to embrace education ventures.
Ian Quillen, August 9, 2011
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2 min read
Joel Klein, executive vice president of News Corp., left; Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng; and Rupert Murdoch leave a Parliament office building after Murdoch gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on the News of the World phone-hacking scandal on July 19.
Joel Klein, executive vice president of News Corp., left; Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng; and Rupert Murdoch leave a Parliament office building after Murdoch gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on the News of the World phone-hacking scandal on July 19.
Sean Dempsey/PA Wire/AP
Education Scandal Clouds News Corp.'s Move Into Education
Amid the furor over a tabloid's phone hacking, the company's Wireless Generation subsidiary seeks to distance itself from the fallout while facing questions about New York contracts.
Ian Quillen, August 9, 2011
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11 min read
President of the American Museum of Natural History, Ellen V. Futter in the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth in the Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York. The exhibitions in the Hall of Planet Earth feature earth and planetary science content that will be a key resource in the museum MAT program.
President of the American Museum of Natural History, Ellen V. Futter in the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth in the Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York. The exhibitions in the Hall of Planet Earth feature earth and planetary science content that will be a key resource in the museum MAT program.
Melanie Burford/Prime for Education Week
Teacher Preparation New York Thinks Outside Teacher Education Box
The regents have approved multiple teacher-training approaches, including giving nonuniversity programs authority to grant master’s degrees.
Stephen Sawchuk, August 9, 2011
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6 min read
Standards New Science Framework Paves Way for Academic Standards
A National Research Council panel issues a framework for K-12 science standards that promotes a greater emphasis on depth over breadth.
August 9, 2011
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6 min read
Education Half of Texas Students in Secondary Schools Have Been Suspended
Drawing on data for more than 1 million Texas schoolchildren, a new study reveals that more than half of those students were suspended at least once in middle or high school and schools varied widely in how they meted out those punishments.
August 9, 2011
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5 min read
Assessment Principals' Performance Reviews Are Getting a Fresh Look
While national attention focuses on finding better ways to evaluate teachers, efforts are quietly growing to improve the principal-evaluation process.
Christina A. Samuels, August 9, 2011
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8 min read
Sandra Smith has been taking care of her granddaughter, Jonea Wilson-Hardy, since she was 5. Jonea, 12, holds her half-brother Jaiden Fonchenela, 1, while Smith looks on. Smith is one of thousands of grandparents in the country increasingly involved in their grandchildren's education.
Sandra Smith has been taking care of her granddaughter, Jonea Wilson-Hardy, since she was 5. Jonea, 12, holds her half-brother Jaiden Fonchenela, 1, while Smith looks on. Smith is one of thousands of grandparents in the country increasingly involved in their grandchildren's education.
Jenn Ackerman for Education Week
Families & the Community Grandparents Increasingly Getting Involved in Education
With a growing number of school-age children living with their grandparents, grandparents are seeking a more prominent role in schools.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 9, 2011
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7 min read
Physical therapist Whitney Thomas helps Zack Lystedt, practice walking. Washington state named its concussion law after the former athlete, who nearly died on his high school football field in Seattle.
Physical therapist Whitney Thomas helps Zack Lystedt, practice walking. Washington state named its concussion law after the former athlete, who nearly died on his high school football field in Seattle.
Elaine Thompson/AP
Student Well-Being Concussion Laws Targeting Student-Athletes on Upswing
In the past six months, 21 states have passed laws to minimize student-athletes' concussion risks, while laws are pending in a dozen others.
Bryan Toporek, August 9, 2011
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7 min read
Education Funding Study Gives First Round of 'i3' Mixed Grades
Winners in the $650 million federal innovation contest showed evidence of past success, an independent report says, but the list includes plenty of the “usual suspects.”
Michele McNeil, August 9, 2011
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5 min read
Equity & Diversity Report Roundup U.S. Pupils Lost in Geography, NAEP Shows
About one in three American 4th graders can read a compass rose well enough to identify basic map regions, and more than half know that the Great Plains have more farming than fishing or mining, according to the latest federal assessment of geography.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
People march to the White House during the "Save Our Schools" rally in Washington, D.C., on July 30. Marchers chanted and carried signs expressing their demands after hearing speeches nearby.
People march to the White House during the "Save Our Schools" rally in Washington, D.C., on July 30. Marchers chanted and carried signs expressing their demands after hearing speeches nearby.
Nicole Frugé/Education Week
Teaching Profession Education Policy Critics Take Heated Message to White House Door
Thousands of teachers and others critical of standards- and test-based accountability bring their complaints to the Obama administration's front door.
Nirvi Shah, August 9, 2011
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4 min read
Education Correction Correction
An article on strategic hiring practices in the June 8, 2011, issue of Education Week misspelled the last name of Shayne Spalten, the chief human-resources officer for the Denver school district.
August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Education Best of the Blogs Blogs of the Week
| VIEWS | FINDING COMMON GROUND
August 9, 2011
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2 min read
Federal More States Asking for NCLB Waivers
With renewal of NCLB stalled, state responses range from requesting relief from the law's provisions to outright defiance.
Michele McNeil, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Student Well-Being News in Brief School-Based Health Centers to Share $95 Million in Grants
More than 275 school districts, clinics, and hospitals that run school-based health centers nationwide have learned that they had won a share of $95 million in federal grant money that will allow them to reach hundreds of thousands more patients, many of whom live in low-income communities.
Nirvi Shah, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Reliance Grows for Alternative Certification
Four out of 10 new public school teachers hired since 2005 came through alternative teacher-preparation programs, a new survey shows.
Liana Loewus, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Education News in Brief Blogging Teacher Reinstated
Pennsylvania English teacher Natalie Munroe, who was suspended over personal blog posts in which she referred to students as disengaged, lazy whiners, was reinstated last week.
The Associated Press, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief TFA Gets Boost from Walton
The Walton Family Foundation has announced that it will give $49.5 million to Teach For America over three years, making the foundation the single largest private donor to the nonprofit organization to date.
Stephen Sawchuk, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Professional Development News in Brief Professional-Development Standards Released
Learning Forward, the nonprofit group formerly known as the National Staff Development Council, has released updated standards for guiding choices about the context, process, and content of effective professional development across seven key areas.
Stephen Sawchuk, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Professional Development News in Brief N.Y.C. Launching Young Men's Initiative
New York City will spend $127 million in public and private funds on programs designed to help young black and Latino men, ages 16 to 24, with job-placement assistance and fatherhood classes, and on training for school staff on how to help the young men get ahead.
The Associated Press, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Curriculum News in Brief Calif. Governor Signs Gay-History Bill
Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed legislation last month making California the first state to require public schools to incorporate the history and contributions of homosexuals into social studies classes.
August 9, 2011
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1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief La. to Step Up Charter Oversight
Louisiana is moving to change the way it oversees its charter schools, in response to allegations of sexual encounters between students at one school that led to the firing of two state employees.
The Associated Press, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Schools Part of Anti-Terrorism Plan
The Obama administrations new strategy to fight the spread of violent radical groups in the United States relies, in part, on educators, but the eight-page document released last week is short on details, said lawmakers who have been urging the government to develop a plan to combat the homegrown terror threat.
The Associated Press, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
Teaching Opinion Expanding Learning Time to Narrow the Achievement Gap
A recent summit provided a forum for addressing three core benefits of expanded-learning time, write Eric Schwarz and Fred Frelow.
Eric Schwarz & Fred Frelow, August 9, 2011
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5 min read
Curriculum News in Brief Scholastic to Scale Back Corporate Sponsorships
Following a controversy over its distribution of free classroom materials sponsored by the coal industry, the educational publisher Scholastic Inc. has signaled that it will significantly reduce but not eliminate corporate partnerships in supplying such materials.
August 9, 2011
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1 min read
South Korean student Kim Jae-min, center, and his classmates use tablet PCs to study in a class at Sosu Elementary School in Goesan, South Korea. The country is among the most wired on earth, with 80 percent of households having access to broadband Internet. The country is working to leverage its population’s digital sophistication as it builds a single computer network with high-quality educational content and replaces traditional textbooks with tablet PCs.
South Korean student Kim Jae-min, center, and his classmates use tablet PCs to study in a class at Sosu Elementary School in Goesan, South Korea. The country is among the most wired on earth, with 80 percent of households having access to broadband Internet. The country is working to leverage its population’s digital sophistication as it builds a single computer network with high-quality educational content and replaces traditional textbooks with tablet PCs.
Ahn Young-joon/AP
Curriculum S. Korea Pushes for All-Digital Scholastic Network
Ditching paper textbooks in favor of digital content is part of a $2 billion gamble in one of the world's most-wired nations.
Sam Kim, Associated Press, August 9, 2011
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4 min read
School Choice & Charters Report Roundup Studies: Teacher Retention Lower at Charter Schools
Charter school teachers in the 678,000-student Los Angeles school district are up to three times more likely to leave their school at year’s end compared with their peers in traditional public schools, according to a study from the University of California, Berkeley.
Christina A. Samuels, August 9, 2011
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1 min read
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