June 1, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 32
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Black Girls and School Discipline: Four Researchers Unpack K-12's Racial Bias (Videos)
In four videos, education researchers discuss their perspectives on the criminalizing of black girls in American schools, including by school resource officers.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Q&A With Monique W. Morris: How K-12 Schools Push Out Black Girls
Monique W. Morris, author and researcher, discusses the plight of black girls, who are disproportionately turned out of K-12 schools.
Equity & Diversity
Oregon's 'Equity Lens' Frames Schools' Take on Bias
The 5-year-old document is a public recognition of how race and ethnicity play out in students' educational outcomes, and a call to narrow achievement gaps.
Classroom Technology
Digital Learning Games Breaking Into K-12 Mainstream
The number of teachers in the United States using games in their classrooms has doubled over the past six years, a new nationwide survey shows.
Assessment
Girls Edge Out Boys on National Technology Assessment
Only 43 percent of 8th graders reached proficiency on the first NAEP in technology and engineering, but girls had a slight edge over boys.
Education Funding
Free Teaching Website Expands on EngageNY's Mission
The new nonprofit, known as UnboundEd, is offering teachers free common-core-aligned curricular materials and paid professional development.
Reading & Literacy
Study on Performance-Based Test for New Teachers Yields Mixed Results
The first major independent research study on the edTPA, a closely watched new licensing exam for teachers, raises questions about the test’s ties to effective teaching.
Law & Courts
School Finance Suits: More Than Just a Legal Roll of Dice?
The fate of challenges to state K-12 funding formulas is far from random, often hinging on the specifics and ambiguities of each state's constitution.
Equity & Diversity
Report Feeds Debate Over Racial, Economic Inequities
A new study done by the Government Accountability Office lands amid fresh calls to address the share of schools that are both economically and racially segregated.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Policing Girls of Color in Schools
School resource officers and the schools they serve require a culture shift to reduce the discipline rates of girls of color, writes Rebecca Epstein.
Special Education
Are There Too Few Minority Students in Special Education?
Research triggers a debate on whether students of color are underrepresented—or overrepresented—in special education classes.
Education Funding
Letter to the Editor
Policies, Not Administrators, to Blame for Teacher-Evaluation System
To the Editor:
Charlotte Danielson's Commentary included many good ideas about teacher development ("It's Time to Rethink Teacher Evaluation").
Charlotte Danielson's Commentary included many good ideas about teacher development ("It's Time to Rethink Teacher Evaluation").
Law & Courts
School Civil Rights Took Spotlight Under Obama
The number of civil rights complaints and investigations spiked dramatically during the Obama administration.
Reading & Literacy
Letter to the Editor
Research Supports Value of School Libraries
To the Editor:
Megan McDonald adds another convincing case history showing the value of the library and librarians in schools ("How the School Library Saved My Life").
Megan McDonald adds another convincing case history showing the value of the library and librarians in schools ("How the School Library Saved My Life").
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Lessons From Business and Industry Should Not Be K-12 'Guiding Light'
To the Editor:
Paul Kihn's effort to develop a vision for K-12 urban school districts is laudatory but lacking ("The District Is Dead. Long Live the District").
Paul Kihn's effort to develop a vision for K-12 urban school districts is laudatory but lacking ("The District Is Dead. Long Live the District").
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Alumnus: Teach For America Needs to Be Overhauled and Professionalized
To the Editor:
A recent Teacher Beat blog post, "Teach For America Vows Recruitment Changes in Wake of Application Drop," has prompted me to write. As a Teach For America alumnus, I would argue that the program's assumption that high-achieving college graduates with demonstrated leadership ability can take charge of a classroom with minimal training is faulty. The entire TFA system should be overhauled and professionalized.
A recent Teacher Beat blog post, "Teach For America Vows Recruitment Changes in Wake of Application Drop," has prompted me to write. As a Teach For America alumnus, I would argue that the program's assumption that high-achieving college graduates with demonstrated leadership ability can take charge of a classroom with minimal training is faulty. The entire TFA system should be overhauled and professionalized.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Principal Cites Prayer, Not Cheating, for High Scores
A principal in Clarksdale, Miss., who is accused of directing teachers to cheat on their students' standardized exams told a state education official that a dramatic increase on test scores was the result of prayer.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Doctors' Group Urges Nurse Full Time for Every School
Every school needs at least one full-time nurse, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a new policy statement. But in many cases, reality falls far short of that recommendation.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Teacher Bonuses in Idaho to Be Tied to Portfolios
Just like their students, experienced teachers in Idaho looking for a bonus will have to show their work, under a plan adopted by the state board of education.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Florida District Challenged Over Immigrant Placements
The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed suit against the Collier County, Fla., district on behalf of immigrant parents who say their children were placed in an adult English program that offered no opportunity to earn credit toward a high school diploma.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Federal Authorities Uncover Alleged Tutoring Scam
A former Detroit public schools administrator allegedly bilked the financially strapped district out of nearly $1.3 million by submitting fraudulent invoices for tutoring services, according to federal law-enforcement officials.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
With N.M. 'Gag Order' Lifted, Teachers Able to Pan Tests
Just weeks after New Mexico teachers took the state to court over a ban on school employees deriding standardized tests, state education officials have announced that they will abolish the so-called "gag order."
Special Education
News in Brief
ACT Streamlines System for Special-Needs Students
ACT Inc., which has been criticized for making it hard for students to get accommodations on its college-entrance exam, announced last week that it is taking steps to make the process easier.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Court Orders Miss. District to Desegregate Schools
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision striking down racially segregated public schools, one small Mississippi district had resisted—until now.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
L.A. to Pay $88 Million to Settle Sex-Abuse Cases
The Los Angeles Unified district will pay $88 million to settle lawsuits over sex abuse by teachers involving dozens of children at two elementary schools.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Schools Evacuate in 6 States, After 'Swatting' Threats
Threats made against schools across the United States led to the evacuation of students Monday in what could be the latest example of so-called "swatting" against schools.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Court Affirms Independence of Wisconsin Schools Chief
Wisconsin's Supreme Court has ruled that the state legislature and the governor can't meddle in the affairs of the state schools chief—a blow to Gov. Scott Walker's attempts to exert more control over K-12.
International
News in Brief
U.N. Launches Fund to Educate Refugees
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced the creation of the United Nations' first humanitarian fund for the education of refugee children.