May 10, 2017
Education Week, Vol. 36, Issue 30
Families & the Community
Opinion
Four Education Priorities Democrats and Republicans Can Agree On
Despite rancorous partisanship, early-childhood education and other pre-K-12 priorities could bridge the political divide, writes David Jacobson.
College & Workforce Readiness
Pruning Dead-End Pathways in Career and Technical Ed.
Tennessee wants to ensure that its career-technical education programs propel students toward college and good-paying jobs.
Every Student Succeeds Act
ESSA, School Choice Firing Up State Legislatures
Spurred on by new flexibility under the Every Student Succeeds Act and by revenue shortfalls, state legislators scrap over who should be in charge of education policy and how to better spend K-12 dollars, among other issues.
Education Funding
Hurdles Remain for California's K-12 Funding Formula
Local officials welcome the new money and flexibility the formula has shifted to districts since 2013, but a new study finds it's still a work in progress.
Every Student Succeeds Act
2017 Budget Deal Defers Fierce Fights Over K-12 Funding
The agreement boosts federal aid for Title I and special education through September, but K-12 cuts could loom for fiscal 2018 to pave the way for defense increases.
College & Workforce Readiness
Pitching Rural, Low-Income Students on Private Colleges
The hope is that the smaller schools will be less intimidating and more nurturing than big state universities.
Reading & Literacy
Do Parents See Math as 'Less Useful' Than Reading?
Efforts to focus parents' attention on their children's early math skills have not gained traction—even as emerging evidence suggests it may be one of the most critical elements of school-readiness.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
We Aren't Doing Enough to Teach Girls About Sex (Q&A)
Abstinence-only "garbage" fails to prepare kids for positive sexual encounters and relationships, says Peggy Orenstein in a Commentary Q&A.
Recruitment & Retention
Can Teacher Residencies Help With Shortages?
Studies suggest the programs, though few in number, can help retain novice teachers and bring more teachers of color into classrooms.
College & Workforce Readiness
Record U.S. Graduation Rate Not Seen as Inflated
A report finds that a record 83.2 percent of students are finishing high school on time and that the gains may be real.
Student Well-Being
Obama-Era Nutrition Standards Loosened for School Meals
The USDA relaxed nutrition standards for school lunches, but the changes fall short of the aggressive scale-back that some conservative members of congress have pushed for in recent years.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
'Domino Effect' Could Attract More Teachers of Color
To The Editor:
The article "For Male Educators of Color, a Shoulder to Lean On" (April 26, 2017) addresses a topic of discussion that is desperately needed. Given that students of color are the majority demographic group in public schools but the teaching population consists of only 2 percent Latino male teachers, less than 2 percent African-American male teachers, and a half-percent of Asian male teachers, this is a crisis. In order to encourage more teachers of color to enter the profession, time and effort need to be devoted to recruitment and retention. The presence of male teachers and principals of color in a school is important to recruiting other men of color.
The article "For Male Educators of Color, a Shoulder to Lean On" (April 26, 2017) addresses a topic of discussion that is desperately needed. Given that students of color are the majority demographic group in public schools but the teaching population consists of only 2 percent Latino male teachers, less than 2 percent African-American male teachers, and a half-percent of Asian male teachers, this is a crisis. In order to encourage more teachers of color to enter the profession, time and effort need to be devoted to recruitment and retention. The presence of male teachers and principals of color in a school is important to recruiting other men of color.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
Black Educators Benefit All Students
To the Editor:
Thank you for your affirming, empowering, and thoughtful article, "Black Teachers Make a Difference," (April 18, 2017). As an African-American male who has been teaching high school for over 20 years, I am fully aware of the need for black students to see themselves and their stories reflected in their daily experience. Black teachers are a constant reminder that black success is not an exception, but rather, the rule. Moreover, white students also benefit from being taught by black educators. Sadly, too many white students have limited exposure to black knowledge and competence.
Thank you for your affirming, empowering, and thoughtful article, "Black Teachers Make a Difference," (April 18, 2017). As an African-American male who has been teaching high school for over 20 years, I am fully aware of the need for black students to see themselves and their stories reflected in their daily experience. Black teachers are a constant reminder that black success is not an exception, but rather, the rule. Moreover, white students also benefit from being taught by black educators. Sadly, too many white students have limited exposure to black knowledge and competence.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Teacher-Led Schools Offer Innovative Approach
To the Editor:
I appreciated reading "In Minn. and U.S., Teacher-Led Schools Take Root" (April 19, 2017), about this movement and specifically the work done by teachers at Impact Academy at Orchard Lake in Lakeville, Minn. I work at The Metropolitan Career and Technical Center, a high school also known as The Met, in Providence, R.I. As an innovative career-and-technical-education program, we tend to be out ahead of many educational initiatives, thanks to a relatively flat structure that encourages sharing of ideas and our nontraditional philosophy and guiding principles of student-centered learning.
I appreciated reading "In Minn. and U.S., Teacher-Led Schools Take Root" (April 19, 2017), about this movement and specifically the work done by teachers at Impact Academy at Orchard Lake in Lakeville, Minn. I work at The Metropolitan Career and Technical Center, a high school also known as The Met, in Providence, R.I. As an innovative career-and-technical-education program, we tend to be out ahead of many educational initiatives, thanks to a relatively flat structure that encourages sharing of ideas and our nontraditional philosophy and guiding principles of student-centered learning.
School Choice & Charters
Letter to the Editor
Charters Play 'Important Role' in OER Movement
To the Editor:
"Scaling Up Open Resources," an article from the special report Navigating New Curriculum Choices (March 29, 2017), brought attention to a growing field that is trying to address a great inefficiency in education. Millions of teachers are working, individually, to sift through the proliferation of educational content on the internet.
"Scaling Up Open Resources," an article from the special report Navigating New Curriculum Choices (March 29, 2017), brought attention to a growing field that is trying to address a great inefficiency in education. Millions of teachers are working, individually, to sift through the proliferation of educational content on the internet.
Federal
100 Days: How Three Presidents Stack Up on K-12
Education Week took a look at what Trump has done since taking the oath of office and compared it with what his two immediate predecessors, Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, did during their first 100 days.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Agreement With State Saves Schools in Detroit From Forced Closure
Two dozen Detroit schools have been saved from forced closure after the district school board signed on to a deal with the state that will give Detroit the ultimate authority to control the future of the schools.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Students With Disabilities
The number of preschool children with visual impairments is expected to rise significantly by 2060, says a new study in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
Student Well-Being
Report Roundup
Extracurricular Activities
The 21st-Century Community Learning Centers, which receives federal funding to provide after-school and summer programs and other enrichment activities, needs more oversight, finds a new report from the federal Government Accountability Office.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Early-Childhood Teachers
Having a bachelor's degree, a top-notch grade point average, and a relatively high level of work experience actually reduce the chance that a job applicant will be called in for an interview with a child-care provider, concludes new research by Kent State and Arizona State universities.
School & District Management
News in Brief
New York City to Expand Preschool to 3-Year-Olds
New York City, which in three years expanded its prekindergarten program to serve all the city's 4-year-olds, now plans to offer a universal program for 3-year-olds—and it expects that the state and the federal government will contribute money to make that happen.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Wash. State District Cancels International Field Trips
A district in Washington state has halted all international field trips over concerns students in the country illegally wouldn't be able to get back in.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Nikolai Vitti, the superintendent of the Duval County district in Jacksonville, Fla., has been selected as the head of the new Detroit school system, pending contract negotiations.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Ohio Officials Turn Down Charter School Grants
Ohio officials have declined $22 million out of $71 million in federal charter school expansion grants, saying they don't think enough potential schools will meet the high-performance ratings needed to qualify.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
More Teachers of Color
The pool of minority teachers is growing at a faster rate than the portion of either minority students or white teachers, finds a study by Richard Ingersol for the Learning Policy Institute.
Standards
News in Brief
PARCC, Smarter Balanced Choose New Management
The PARCC consortium has chosen a new nonprofit to manage the business of maintaining and administering its test: New Meridian Corp., a brand-new organization led by people from various strands of the assessment world.
School & District Management
News in Brief
8th Graders' Arts Scores Hold Steady on NAEP
On the first national assessment of students' performance in visual arts and music in eight years, girls, suburban students, private schoolers, and higher-income students came out ahead of their peers.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Former Chicago CEO Sentenced to Prison
Former Chicago schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for her role in steering no-bid contracts to an education consulting company in exchange for kickbacks in a $20 million corruption scheme.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Reading Instruction
Nearly all teachers and principals believe students should have time for independent reading at school, yet only about a third of teachers set aside time each day for it, according to a recent survey by Scholastic.