April 1, 2015

Education Week, Vol. 34, Issue 26
Families & the Community Parent Trigger in Practice: Snapshots From California
California's parent-trigger law has played a role in policy debates in a handful of schools since the law passed in 2010. This interactive describes each school and its experience.
April 7, 2015
April 11, 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson, seated with his childhood schoolteacher, Kate Deadrich Loney, delivers remarks after signing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act at the former Junction Elementary School near Stonewall, Texas.
April 11, 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson, seated with his childhood schoolteacher, Kate Deadrich Loney, delivers remarks after signing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act at the former Junction Elementary School near Stonewall, Texas.
Frank Wolfe/The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library-File
Every Student Succeeds Act ESEA's 50-Year Legacy a Blend of Idealism, Policy Tensions
Half a century after passage of the nation's main K-12 education law, calibrating the proper federal role in education remains an elusive goal and a subject of heated debate.
Alyson Klein, March 31, 2015
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14 min read
Federal Title I a Challenge for Education Researchers
Those seeking to quantify the effect of Title I aid on the achievement of poor children face a number of hurdles stemming from the nature of the program itself.
Holly Kurtz, March 31, 2015
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5 min read
Federal Title I Research: Putting the Program Under the Microscope
Key studies over the past several decades have sought to draw meaningful conclusions about the federal funding stream aimed at the education of disadvantaged students.
Holly Kurtz, March 31, 2015
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5 min read
MaryEllen Elia's firing raised concerns about the future of the Hillsborough, Fla., district’s grant funding.
MaryEllen Elia's firing raised concerns about the future of the Hillsborough, Fla., district’s grant funding.
School & District Management Changes in District Leadership Can Leave Funders Wary
When a school superintendent leaves the position, or is fired, it can complicate a district's relationship with private funders that make heavy investments in a variety of school improvement efforts.
Corey Mitchell, March 31, 2015
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7 min read
College & Workforce Readiness 'Middle' Students Find Success Tutoring Peers, in N.Y.C. Study
A program that enlists middle-of-the-pack students to tutor their struggling peers seems to boost the test scores for both groups.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 31, 2015
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4 min read
School Choice & Charters Report Roundup Charters Led to Marketing Push in New Orleans
In New Orleans, where charter schools have become the norm and compete against each other for student enrollment, school leaders' perceptions of, and reactions to, growing competition differed based on where they were in the marketplace hierarchy, a new study finds.
Jacob Bell, March 31, 2015
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2 min read
Mayfield High School student Isabela Bencomo, 15, holds a sign during a walkout with her classmates at the school in Las Cruces, N.M., last month. Students were protesting new exams aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
Mayfield High School student Isabela Bencomo, 15, holds a sign during a walkout with her classmates at the school in Las Cruces, N.M., last month. Students were protesting new exams aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
Robin Zielinski/Las Cruces Sun-News/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act States Seek Guidance in Face of 'Opt Out' Push
A flurry of parents seeking to opt their children out of new common-core-aligned assessments has some states asking federal officials to clarify test-participation mandates.
Lauren Camera, March 31, 2015
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5 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP-File
Education Funding Q&A: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
With the clock ticking on the Obama administration’s time in office, the education secretary discusses NCLB waivers, testing, Race to the Top, and other issues.
Alyson Klein & Lauren Camera, March 31, 2015
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3 min read
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, center, leaves a news conference with Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor, right, and Sen. Eddie Lucio, left, after presenting a package of legislation, including education-related bills, at the Texas Capitol in Austin on March 3.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, center, leaves a news conference with Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor, right, and Sen. Eddie Lucio, left, after presenting a package of legislation, including education-related bills, at the Texas Capitol in Austin on March 3.
Eric Gay/AP
Federal Texas Lawmakers Wrangle a Herd of Education Bills
School choice, a state-run district, teacher evaluations, and K-12 funding are among the issues facing legislators now in the midst of their biennial session.
Andrew Ujifusa, March 31, 2015
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7 min read
School & District Management Board-Certified Teachers More Effective, New Studies Affirm
Policy questions emerge as evidence continues to mount that teachers who earn national-board certification see higher test scores among their students.
Stephen Sawchuk, March 31, 2015
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5 min read
English-Language Learners News in Brief Ed. Dept. Pledges Focus on Language-Learners
The U.S. Department of Education says it is developing a strategy to elevate the national focus on English-language learners, the nation's fastest-growing student population.
Corey Mitchell, March 31, 2015
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1 min read
Nancie Atwell, an acclaimed language arts teacher at a nonprofit independent K-8 school in Edgecomb, Maine, center, poses with former President Bill Clinton and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, after she won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize in Dubai on March 15. The award was created to increase public recognition of the teaching profession.
Nancie Atwell, an acclaimed language arts teacher at a nonprofit independent K-8 school in Edgecomb, Maine, center, poses with former President Bill Clinton and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, after she won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize in Dubai on March 15. The award was created to increase public recognition of the teaching profession.
Kamran Jebreili/AP
Teacher Preparation Award-Winning Educator Decries Current Teaching Climate
Nancie Atwell, winner of the Global Teacher Award, had some surprising advice for young people interested in becoming public school teachers today: Don’t do it.
Jordan Moeny, March 31, 2015
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4 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief N.Y.C. to Adapt Strategy Used by Police to Schools
Under pressure to reverse the fortunes of New York City's 94 worst schools, Mayor Bill de Blasio is creating a "war room" at the education department to adapt the statistics-and-accountability program pioneered by his police commissioner and credited with sharply reducing crime.
McClatchy-Tribune, March 31, 2015
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1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto
Assessment Opinion We're Racing Through K-12 Education
Learning takes time, so rushing children to finish assignments is not the answer, writes speech-language pathologist Rebecca Givens Rolland.
Rebecca Givens Rolland, March 31, 2015
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4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto
School Climate & Safety Opinion Decriminalizing School Discipline: Why Black Males Matter
Throughout U.S. schools, black males are disciplined more than any other group, writes education professor Tyrone Howard.
Tyrone C. Howard, March 31, 2015
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5 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Steve Braden for Education Week
Teaching Opinion To Teach Math, Study Reading Instruction
Reading and math should be held to the same standard: bringing meaning to the printed symbols, writes Marilyn Burns.
Marilyn Burns, March 31, 2015
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6 min read
Federal Opinion From the Archives: Perspectives on ESEA
The policy implications of the ESEA, and its most recent reauthorization, the No Child Left Behind Act, have been at the heart of an enduring public debate.
March 31, 2015
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2 min read
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor Agency Approval of 'Powdered Alcohol' Poses Problem for Schools and States
To the Editor:
I am deeply troubled by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's recent decision approving a new form of powdered alcohol called Palcohol. This substance can be mixed with water or any other beverage, making it a "camouflaged" cocktail drink that is as easy to make as lemonade or iced tea.
March 31, 2015
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1 min read
Ed-Tech Policy News in Brief Idaho Found to Waste Money on Software
State auditors say Idaho wasted $61 million on a software system to track and improve student performance that doesn't work for most districts.
The Associated Press, March 31, 2015
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1 min read
Federal Letter to the Editor Both NCLB and the Common Core Ignore Students' Individuality
To the Editor:
The basic problem of the debates over both the No Child Left Behind Act and the Common Core State Standards is the belief held by some that all children should be taught the same thing at the same time and be measured against each other to see whether progress has been made.
March 31, 2015
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1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Letter to the Editor States Should 'Stay the Course' on Common-Core Standards
To the Editor:
Ensuring that our young people are prepared for the challenges of college-level coursework and a good career is not an option; it's an obligation. And discussions over how best to do that are devalued when they become a tool for political pundits and a rallying point on the campaign trail.
March 31, 2015
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2 min read
Federal Letter to the Editor Give Social Studies Priority in ESEA Reauthorization
To the Editor:
As Congress turns its attention to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, with a goal of preparing all students for college and career, it's important to realize that it takes more than literacy and math skills for students to be successful citizens, ready to face the complex challenges of the 21st century.
March 31, 2015
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1 min read
Education Obituary Obituary
Floretta D. McKenzie, a longtime educator who served as the District of Columbia's schools superintendent in the 1980s, has died. She was 79.
Denisa R. Superville, March 31, 2015
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1 min read
Education Correction Correction
An article on dwindling library services in New York City public schools in the March 18, 2015, issue of Education Week incorrectly named the high school headed by Principal Julia K. Chun. It is New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science.
March 31, 2015
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Suspensions, Expulsions Reduced in Chicago
Chicago school officials report a 60 percent reduction in student suspensions and 38 percent fewer expulsions across all grades at the mid-school-year point.
The Associated Press, March 31, 2015
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1 min read
Education Best of the Blogs Blogs
| NEWS | Inside School Research
March 31, 2015
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7 min read
Education News in Brief Delays Plague New Tests in Montana and Wisconsin
Wisconsin announced that it planned to delay the start of the Smarter Balanced exams in grades 3-8 by two weeks, after technical problems arose with the test's online delivery platform.
Andrew Ujifusa, March 31, 2015
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1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Businesses, Groups Seek School Library Funding
A coalition of more than 20 education businesses, associations, and media groups are calling on Congress to support dedicated school library funding in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Michele Molnar, March 31, 2015
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1 min read
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