April 27, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 29
Education Funding
Iowa School District Vows to Break Law to Tap Reserve Funds
Fed up with years of political battles over state funding, cash-strapped Davenport plans to pull $2.7 million from its reserves despite state prohibitions.
Assessment
Studies: When Educators Cheat, Students Suffer
The recent cheating scandals that rocked schools in New York and Georgia exacted a toll on students whose scores were fudged, according to researchers.
Families & the Community
Volunteer Group Restores Art Lessons in Schools
Art in Action trains parents in 19 states to teach art in schools that have cut the subject from the curriculum.
Student Well-Being
Emotions Help Steer Students' Learning, Studies Find
Contrary to what Star Trek's Mr. Spock says, research suggests that emotion is not the enemy of reason: It may be a best friend to learning.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Arne Duncan Floats Fixes for K-12 Aid
In his first public return to the nation’s capital, the former U.S. Secretary of Education issues a call for greater transparency and a focus on results.
Equity & Diversity
Supreme Court Weighs Deportation Dispute
A divided high court hears oral arguments over the Obama administration’s program to give protection from deportation to unauthorized immigrants whose children are U.S. citizens.
Every Student Succeeds Act
ESSA Panel Hammers Out New Testing Regulations
Negotiators agreed to rules on key assessment issues under the Every Student Succeeds Act, but failed to reach accord on regulations covering a sticky spending issue.
Federal
Opinion
K-12 Policy Solutions Must Involve Practitioners
To maximize education outcomes for pre-K students and others, policymakers must include practitioners in crafting policy, writes Yasmina Vinci of the National Head Start Association.
Families & the Community
Opinion
Educational Opportunity Is About More Than Access
Education policy should not prescribe children's access to institutions at the expense of their personal development, capabilities, or happiness, writes Kimberlee Everson.
Classroom Technology
Opinion
The Student Cellphone Addiction Is No Joke
For many students, cellphones have become a modern security blanket and an impediment to learning, warns Steve Gardiner.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Opinion
Three Strategies to Improve Teacher Evaluation
As ESSA returns autonomy over teacher evaluation to states, Ross Wiener shares insights from state leaders on how to strengthen the process.
Reading & Literacy
Letter to the Editor
Reader Applauds David Denby's 'Morale Boost' for Teachers
To the Editor:
Thank God for David Denby ("Q&A With Author David Denby: A Quest for 'Serious' Reading in the Digital Age"). He is again helping return the soul to teaching and learning.
Thank God for David Denby ("Q&A With Author David Denby: A Quest for 'Serious' Reading in the Digital Age"). He is again helping return the soul to teaching and learning.
Professional Development
Letter to the Editor
More Resources Needed for 'Teacher-Friendly' Math PD
To the Editor:
A recent Teacher Beat blog post, "Are Teachers Getting the Right Kind of Common-Core PD?", shared noteworthy data from the RAND Corp. regarding mathematics teachers' differing views on connecting key math topics and concepts across grade levels, as well as the content of state math standards. Teachers wish they were getting more training on the former topic and believe that they are getting far too much training in the latter. What makes this so interesting? Teachers are asking for very different amounts of what is essentially the same professional development, albeit packaged differently.
A recent Teacher Beat blog post, "Are Teachers Getting the Right Kind of Common-Core PD?", shared noteworthy data from the RAND Corp. regarding mathematics teachers' differing views on connecting key math topics and concepts across grade levels, as well as the content of state math standards. Teachers wish they were getting more training on the former topic and believe that they are getting far too much training in the latter. What makes this so interesting? Teachers are asking for very different amounts of what is essentially the same professional development, albeit packaged differently.
Families & the Community
Letter to the Editor
Read to Children Early and Often, Even From Digital Picture Books
To the Editor:
It's exciting for me to see Mark Zuckerberg speaking about the need to keep learning as an adult ("Zuckerberg Charts New Path"). His interview with Education Week demonstrates that he has taken important lessons from his $100 million experiment in Newark, N.J., and that rather than letting the challenges he experienced discourage him, he is diving right back in.
It's exciting for me to see Mark Zuckerberg speaking about the need to keep learning as an adult ("Zuckerberg Charts New Path"). His interview with Education Week demonstrates that he has taken important lessons from his $100 million experiment in Newark, N.J., and that rather than letting the challenges he experienced discourage him, he is diving right back in.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Teachers' Unions Protect Ineffective Teachers
To the Editor:
"Do you think unions protect bad teachers?"
"Do you think unions protect bad teachers?"
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Education and Race Series Earn Two Pulitizer Prizes
Two newspaper series that focused on race and education last week won Pulitzer Prizes, the most prestigious award in print journalism.
Education Funding
News in Brief
D.C. Chancellor Asked Contractor for Donation
The chancellor of the District of Columbia's public schools asked a food-service contractor for a $100,000 contribution to a Kennedy Center gala honoring teachers, weeks after the company was accused in a whistleblower lawsuit of cheating the city out of millions of dollars, according to emails obtained by the Associated Press.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Elementary Students Cuffed for Not Stopping Fight
Angry parents are demanding action after they say at least five students were handcuffed at a Tennessee elementary school for not stopping an off-campus fight.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Oklahoma City to Address Roots of Discipline Rates
To resolve complaints being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education, the Oklahoma City district has agreed to take steps to reduce disproportionately high discipline rates for black students, the federal agency's office for civil rights announced last week.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Teachers Give Low Marks to Evaluation Systems
A majority of teachers say current evaluation systems have harmed their relationships with parents, students, administrators, and other teachers, according to a survey by a public schools advocacy group.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
District to Arm Security Staff With Semiautomatic Rifles
The Douglas County, Colo. school district is planning to arm its security staff with semiautomatic rifles to serve as a defense in the event of a school shooting or other violent attack.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
College Board Attacks New ACT Prep Service
The College Board lashed out last week at its rival, ACT Inc., saying its plan to add live teaching to its online test-prep service is more about money than public service, and accusing ACT of trying to "replace" classroom teachers with long-distance instruction.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Regents Launch Inquiry Into N.Y. Testing System
New leaders of New York's board of regents' last week launched an inquiry into the validity of the state testing system and its links to teacher evaluations, citing the need to rebuild public trust following a second annual round of massive exam boycotts across the state.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Florida's Top Teachers Found at Affluent Schools
New bonus payments aimed at attracting and keeping good teachers in Florida have gone disproportionately to those who work with students from affluent families, an analysis by a Florida newspaper has found.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
N.C. Supreme Court Rejects Teacher Anti-Tenure Law
In a unanimous decision, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that state lawmakers had violated the constitutional rights of veteran teachers when they retroactively stripped them of their tenure protections.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
High Copper, Lead Levels Found in 19 Detroit Schools
Detroit's hard-pressed school system has found elevated levels of lead and copper in nearly a third of its elementary schools.
Standards
Report Roundup
Teachers Are Creating Standards Tools
Nearly all math and language arts teachers in common-core states rely on materials they developed or curated, RAND surveys have found.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
College Graduation
Students from all socioeconomic groups have been earning bachelor's degrees at increasing rates in recent years, but gaps in college attainment by socioeconomic status have worsened slightly since 1970, according to a report released last week.