November 1, 2017
Education Week, Vol. 37, Issue 11
Federal
Trump Moves to Fill Key Civil Rights Post
The Trump administration has picked the leader of a group that advocates for the civil rights of the Jewish community to hold the top civil rights post under U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Every Student Succeeds Act
State's Plan for Transient Students Under ESSA Raises Eyebrows
Some civil rights advocates look askance at Arizona's plan to weigh test scores differently depending on how long a student has been at a particular school.
Federal
A Polarizing Pick for Education Department's No. 2 Slot
If confirmed to be U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' right-hand man, former South Carolina schools chief Mick Zais would share her support for school choice and a slimmer federal footprint in K-12.
School & District Management
Schools Take a Page From Silicon Valley With 'Scrum' Approach
In Chesterfield County, Va., and other districts, educators are borrowing a project-management approach from the world of software development: "Scrum" meetings.
Student Achievement
From Our Research Center
Peers Guide 9th Graders Through 'Make-or-Break' Year
Fewer freshmen are failing at Summit High School, thanks to a program that trains juniors and seniors to mentor younger peers.
School & District Management
Students Fare Better When Teachers Have a Say, Study Finds
A first-of-its-kind analysis suggests a link between student achievement and the degree to which teachers have a role in school decisionmaking.
Education
Letter to the Editor
New Gates Initiative Overlooks Poverty
To the Editor:
Bill Gates still doesn't get it. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will invest $1.7 billion in new curricula development and research and development of innovative education initiatives, among other improvements, over the next five years ("Bill Gates Announces $1.7 Billion in New K-12 Investments"). But the main problem in American education is not poor curricula or lack of data. The problem is poverty. When researchers control for the effect of poverty, U.S. schools' international test scores are some of the highest among schools worldwide. Our overall scores are unspectacular because our rate of child poverty is the highest among economically advanced countries. Poverty means food deprivation, lack of health care, and limited access to books, all of which have a devastating effect on school performance. Martin Luther King Jr. was right when he said: "We are likely to find that the problems of housing and education, instead of preceding the elimination of poverty, will themselves be affected if poverty is first abolished." While schools and teachers can always improve, they are not to blame for poverty's effects. The best teaching in the world will not help if students are hungry, ill, and have little or nothing to read.
Bill Gates still doesn't get it. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will invest $1.7 billion in new curricula development and research and development of innovative education initiatives, among other improvements, over the next five years ("Bill Gates Announces $1.7 Billion in New K-12 Investments"). But the main problem in American education is not poor curricula or lack of data. The problem is poverty. When researchers control for the effect of poverty, U.S. schools' international test scores are some of the highest among schools worldwide. Our overall scores are unspectacular because our rate of child poverty is the highest among economically advanced countries. Poverty means food deprivation, lack of health care, and limited access to books, all of which have a devastating effect on school performance. Martin Luther King Jr. was right when he said: "We are likely to find that the problems of housing and education, instead of preceding the elimination of poverty, will themselves be affected if poverty is first abolished." While schools and teachers can always improve, they are not to blame for poverty's effects. The best teaching in the world will not help if students are hungry, ill, and have little or nothing to read.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Don't Forget About Teaching Artists
To the Editor:
We applaud Education Week's recent special section "Arts Education: A Look Ahead", which raises important questions about an often-undervalued component of K-12 education. What's absent from the five otherwise informative essays is reference to the instruction, programs, performances, and exhibitions provided to schools by cultural organizations and teaching artists in communities throughout the country. This vital component of a robust arts education is formally endorsed and supported by many school districts, including those in Chicago, Dallas, and New York City. Increasingly, services from artists and cultural groups enter schools as part of a thoughtful collaboration between school administrators, licensed classroom teachers, and outside providers.
We applaud Education Week's recent special section "Arts Education: A Look Ahead", which raises important questions about an often-undervalued component of K-12 education. What's absent from the five otherwise informative essays is reference to the instruction, programs, performances, and exhibitions provided to schools by cultural organizations and teaching artists in communities throughout the country. This vital component of a robust arts education is formally endorsed and supported by many school districts, including those in Chicago, Dallas, and New York City. Increasingly, services from artists and cultural groups enter schools as part of a thoughtful collaboration between school administrators, licensed classroom teachers, and outside providers.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Why All the Black Kids Are Still Sitting Together in the Cafeteria (Q&A)
How school leaders should embrace conversations about race and other insights from bestselling author Beverly Daniel Tatum.
Families & the Community
Report Roundup
Research Report: Special Education
Parents who use the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's complaint procedures are significantly more likely to have hearings ruled in their favor than parents who go through the more commonly used hearing officer, says a new study in the Journal of Special Education Leadership.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Research Report: Immigrant Students
Children of immigrants are more likely to struggle in school and more likely to live in poverty than children of U.S. natives, a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report concludes.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Data-Based Decisionmaking
State structures can make the difference in whether local education research partnerships are effective, according to a new report by the Data Quality Campaign.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Research Report: Teaching
Worldwide, students who want to go into teaching tend to have poorer math and reading skills than students who plan to work as professionals outside of teaching, finds a new analysis of the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Achievement Gaps
White teachers are generally less optimistic about their black students' chances of obtaining a four-year degree than black teachers—and those lowered expectations could become "self-fulfilling prophecies" when students internalize them or when teachers change their approach to students as a result, finds a new study in Education Next.
Education Funding
News in Brief
NFL Player Donates Year's Salary to Support Educational Equity
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long will donate his paycheck from the last 10 games of the National Football League season to groups that support educational equity and opportunity in Boston, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.
Reading & Literacy
News in Brief
Following Outcry, Mississippi District to Again Teach To Kill a Mockingbird
A Mississippi school district will resume teaching To Kill A Mockingbird after the book was pulled from a junior high reading list.
Science
News in Brief
New Mexico Moves to Defuse Outrage Over Science Standards
New Mexico's public education secretary said last week the state will adopt widely used school science standards in their entirety in response to public outrage over proposed changes that omitted references to global warming, evolution, and the Earth's age.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Chicago School System Enrollment Declines by Nearly 10,000 Students
Enrollment in the Chicago public schools is down by nearly 10,000 students from a year ago.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Judge Tosses Lawsuit Targeting Law Restricting Collective Bargaining
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Iowa's largest teachers' union challenging a new law that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public workers.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Sole School Choice Advocacy Group for Black Families Folding
The Black Alliance for Educational Options is shutting down for good at the end of the year, the group announced last week.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
South Carolina High School Educator Named National Principal of the Year
A South Carolina principal has been named the 2018 National Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
To Recoup Hiring Expenses, St. Louis Sues Teachers for Quitting Early
The St. Louis district is suing 32 teachers for breaking their contracts by leaving their jobs early.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Workers Barred by Chicago District Hired by Charters, Other Schools
Teachers and other staff members barred from being hired by the Chicago district have landed jobs in the city's privately managed charter and contract schools.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Mississippi High Court Finds State Does Not Have to Follow Aid Formula
The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that the state legislature does not have to fully fund a school budget formula put into law two decades ago.
Education
News in Brief
Latest Math and Reading Results From NAEP Get Postponed
Release of results from "the nation's report card" has been delayed.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Chris Minnich, the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers for the past five years, in January will become the executive director of NWEA, a nonprofit organization that crafts assessments for students.
School & District Management
'Huge Lift' Remains as Puerto Rico Schools Struggle to Reopen
Post-hurricane recovery remains especially difficult outside major urban areas even as Congress and federal officials continue to work out aid packages.
Special Education
Betsy DeVos Is Giving Special Ed. Advocates a Big Headache
The secretary of education’s move to scrap what it says are outdated and burdensome regulations smacks up against fears that it will scale back protections for students with disabilities.
IT Infrastructure & Management
FCC Delays, Denials Foil Rural Schools' Broadband Plans
Hundreds of state and local efforts to connect rural schools to fiber-optic networks have run into roadblocks over the past two years.