June 12, 2013
Education Week, Vol. 32, Issue 35
School & District Management
State District to Run Struggling Schools in Va.
The Old Dominion is the fourth state to create an entity to turn around its lowest-performing schools.
School Climate & Safety
Bullying Seen Persisting, Despite Some Progress
New federal data points to declines in some forms of bullying behaviors in school—but not the overall rate.
Education Funding
Districts Turning Summer School Into Learning Labs
As evidence on summer learning loss mounts, more districts are using that time to try out innovative educational strategies.
Education
Correction
Correction
In the Diplomas Count 2013 special report accompanying this edition of Education Week, the executive summary and an article about challenges faced by dropouts returning to school contain incorrect statistics. The share of students in San Bernardino, Calif., who dropped out between 2001 and 2006 and later attained a high school diploma was fewer than one in five.
Education
Obituary
U.S. Senator Pushed for Sex Ed. and Higher Drinking Age
U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., who spearheaded federal legislation to raise the drinking age to 21 and pushed for comprehensive sex education in the nation's schools, died June 3 of complications from viral pneumonia. He was 89.
Accountability
Opinion
Time for Progress in Teacher Prep
Judgments of teacher-prep programs should be linked to student achievement, say Edward Crowe, Michael Allen, and Charles Coble of Teacher Preparation Analytics.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Teaching Toward Utopia
As a teacher-educator, Julie Gorlewski writes that she struggles with the same tensions that she faced in her K-12 classroom.
Early Childhood
Preschools Aim to Better Equip Low-Income Parents
Parent-engagement efforts, part of many preschool programs, are intended to create a core of involved and assertive parents to advocate for their children and to partner with educators.
Federal
States Seek Flexibility During Common-Test Transition
A flurry of education groups are staking out positions on the role tests should play in evaluating teachers and labeling schools.
Federal
After Early Progress, Ky. School Struggles to Turn Around
After three years, a $1.5 million investment, and a huge staffing shake-up, the long-troubled former Shawnee High School in Louisville, Ky., remains on tenuous ground.
College & Workforce Readiness
Questions Arise About Need for Algebra 2 for All
Debate over the subject's relevancy brews in several states even as the Common Core State Standards for mathematics expect students to master that content.
School & District Management
Peer Review of State Assessments Put on Hold
The U. S. Department of Education quietly pauses expert-panel review of state assessment systems, a staple of federal oversight.
Standards
State Opposition Jeopardizes Common-Core Future
Michigan set to become second state to pause rollout of controversial standards.
School & District Management
Chicago Upgrades Its Principal Pipeline
Amid a wave of school closings, Chicago is forging ahead with plans to groom a crop of high-performing principals.
Standards
Year-End Tests Bring Urgency to Common-Core Push
A veteran teacher uses the last weeks of the school year to bolster her students' literacy skills before spring tests.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Report: For Many Students, 'College-Ready' Isn't Enough
Academic readiness is important, but a report from ACT Inc., suggests that it's not the sole factor at play in college success.
Ed-Tech Policy
Report Roundup
Buying Technology
Districts and private-sector entrepreneurs are being encouraged to work more closely together to streamline and improve the process of choosing and buying educational technology, a new report finds.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Staffing Schools
New York City seems to be keeping teachers and school leaders around longer, despite declining teacher satisfaction nationwide, new data show.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Teacher Collaboration
Students whose teachers regularly collaborate and participate in professional communities show more growth in math achievement than those whose teachers are more isolated professionally, according to a study.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Research Report: Achievement Gap
Only six of the 75 districts who qualify for the Broad Prize for Urban Education were found to increase African-American students' college readiness, a new analysis found.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Advanced Courses
Students of color and those from low-income families lag behind their peers in enrolling in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses, according to a report from the Education Trust.
Classroom Technology
'MOOC' Plan Could Address Dual-Enrollment
Coursera, a Silicon Valley-based company, is joining with 10 universities and postsecondary systems to create new "massive open online courses."
Early Childhood
States View Teacher Quality as Pre-K Rating Factor
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems are seen as a prod to professionalize the preschool field while providing information for parents on program quality.
Law & Courts
Mich. Loses Bid to Ban American Indian Mascot Imagery
The federal office for civil rights has rejected Michigan's push to ban the use of school mascots with American Indian imagery.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Court Rules District Not Liable in Student Bullying
A federal appeals court ruled that they could not hold a Pennsylvania district legally responsible for a bullying incident because of well-established precedents.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Judge Wants Closure in 1964 Race Case
A desegregation lawsuit involving the Richmond County, Ga., school system might soon be over, after nearly 49 years.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
W.Va. School Authority OKs Safety Measures
New schools built in West Virginia will be required to have shatter-proof glass and exterior door alarms.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Conn. to Pay Costs for New Sandy Hook
Connecticut lawmakers are setting aside up to $50 million to help the town of Newtown build a new Sandy Hook Elementary School.