April 10, 2019
Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 28
Equity & Diversity
Brothers Who Fled Dangers in Honduras Face New Menaces in U.S.
When Eric and Alberto left Honduras with their mother in 2017, they were hopeful for gaining asylum. But their mom was deported and now the boys attend school in a high-crime neighborhood that is making them question if their lives can be better here.
Equity & Diversity
Longing for His School, Grandmother, and Friends in Guatemala
Fernando, 12, is grateful he made it to the United States to reunite with his mother after years apart. But his new life in Maryland is difficult and he misses many things about home, including being a top student in school.
Equity & Diversity
Working 50 Hours a Week and Trying to Understand What's Happening in School
To pay for rent, food, lawyer’s fees, and still send money home to El Salvador every week, Paty, 18, waits tables in a restaurant while attending high school in Virginia.
Families & the Community
How Schools Are Responding to Migrant Children
Educators in schools across the United States are working to support migrant students who’ve recently arrived from Central America. But the intensity of their needs can be a strain.
Equity & Diversity
A Migrant Daughter's Reunion With a Mother She Barely Knows
Natalia’s American high school has become a refuge from the rocky home life the 17-year-old is experiencing after reuniting with a mother who left her in El Salvador when she was a baby.
Federal
Democrats Seeking White House Make Teacher-Friendly Pitches
There are 15 Democratic presidential candidates and counting and many of them are trying to stand out from the pack by appealing to a demographic that's politically energized: Teachers.
School & District Management
More Education Studies Look at Cost-Effectiveness
It's one thing to learn if an intervention works in schools and classrooms; it's another to know if it's worth the expense.
Federal
Arguments Bare High Court Divide in Case on Federal Rules
A sharply divided Supreme Court hears arguments over when courts should defer to a federal agency's interpretation of its own ambiguous regulations—an issue that has arisen in education over such issues as transgender student rights and racial disparities in student discipline.
Special Education
DeVos' Rocky Debut Before New Congress Features Budget Clash
Betsy DeVos remains a magnet for controversy on Capitol Hill and an easy target for opponents of the Trump administration as her testimony at two recent budget hearings illustrates.
Student Well-Being
Letter to the Editor
Feds Show No Urgency for Mental-Health Resources
To the Editor:
As a recent Education Week article pointed out, student depression is on the rise ("Schools Grapple With Student Depression as Data Show Problem Worsening," March 14, 2019). While research shows there is an increase in mental illness among teens, I am not aware of any "intentional and strategic" plan to help students in my school district.
As a recent Education Week article pointed out, student depression is on the rise ("Schools Grapple With Student Depression as Data Show Problem Worsening," March 14, 2019). While research shows there is an increase in mental illness among teens, I am not aware of any "intentional and strategic" plan to help students in my school district.
School & District Management
Puerto Rico's Education Secretary Steps Down After Divisive Tenure
Julia Keleher is leaving her position as Puerto Rico's top K-12 official, but will serve as an adviser at the island's education department to help with the leadership transition and ongoing policy changes.
Reading & Literacy
Letter to the Editor
A Model for the Reading Crisis
To the Editor:
The March 13, 2019, issue's front page article on textbooks ("New Texts Failed to Lift Test Scores in Six-State Study") and the back-page Commentary about reading instruction ("We Have a National Reading Crisis") together tell a powerful story: Our teachers are not being adequately prepared and textbooks cannot make up for this shortcoming by themselves. The result is, as the back-page headline screams, a national reading crisis.
The March 13, 2019, issue's front page article on textbooks ("New Texts Failed to Lift Test Scores in Six-State Study") and the back-page Commentary about reading instruction ("We Have a National Reading Crisis") together tell a powerful story: Our teachers are not being adequately prepared and textbooks cannot make up for this shortcoming by themselves. The result is, as the back-page headline screams, a national reading crisis.
Education Funding
Letter to the Editor
Resources Required for ELLs
To the Editor:
A recent blog post discussed the proposed cut to the U.S. Department of Education's budget ("Trump Seeks 10 Percent Cut to Education Department Aid, $5 Billion for Tax-Credit Scholarships," March 11, 2019). While much of the analysis of the recently released budget proposal has focused on changes to program expenditures, equally important to consider are programs for which levels of funding remain stagnant.
A recent blog post discussed the proposed cut to the U.S. Department of Education's budget ("Trump Seeks 10 Percent Cut to Education Department Aid, $5 Billion for Tax-Credit Scholarships," March 11, 2019). While much of the analysis of the recently released budget proposal has focused on changes to program expenditures, equally important to consider are programs for which levels of funding remain stagnant.
School Choice & Charters
Letter to the Editor
Improving Research on Charters
To the Editor:
A new analysis by the Education Week Research Center finds "charter high schools … make up an outsized share of the number of public schools persistently graduating less than half of their students" ("In Many Charter High Schools, Graduation Odds Are Slim," February 27, 2019). The authors question why charter high school graduation rates lag behind other public schools.
A new analysis by the Education Week Research Center finds "charter high schools … make up an outsized share of the number of public schools persistently graduating less than half of their students" ("In Many Charter High Schools, Graduation Odds Are Slim," February 27, 2019). The authors question why charter high school graduation rates lag behind other public schools.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Jhone Ebert has been named state schools chief for Nevada. Angelica Infante-Green is Rhode Island's new state education commissioner. Shaun Harper has been voted president-elect of the American Educational Research Association.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Teachers Riled By Ban on DonorsChoose
Districts say it can be hard to monitor whether the donated materials from crowdfunding site DonorsChoose align with standards and cite concerns that the process makes it difficult to track how money is distributed among schools.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Achievement Gaps
In 50 years, the achievement gap has been unchanged, with the poorest 10 percent of students performing three to four years behind the wealthiest 10 percent of peers, finds a new study in the journal Education Next.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
School Leadership
The average principal stays four years in the position, but that average masks big disparities, finds a new joint report by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Learning Policy Institute.
Mathematics
Report Roundup
Research Report: Social-Emotional Learning
Presenting math in a way that encourages a growth mindset can improve students' motivation, finds a new study in the journal Trends in Neuroscience and Education.
English-Language Learners
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
In 50 years, the achievement gap has been unchanged, with the poorest 10 percent of students performing three to four years behind the wealthiest 10 percent of peers, finds a new study in the journal Education Next.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Commission Reviewing Parkland Shooting to Study Whether Safety Has Improved
The state commission reviewing the Parkland school shooting is resuming its work, three months after producing a tough report that called for extensive safety reforms and investigations of the Broward County, Fla., school district and sheriff's office employees.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
As Measles Spreads, N.Y. County Bans Unvaccinated Minors From Public Places
A county outside New York City has declared a state of emergency over a measles outbreak that has infected more than 150 people since last fall, hoping a ban against unvaccinated children in public places wakes up their parents to the seriousness of the problem.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
U.S. Education Department Investigating Colleges at Center of Admissions Scheme
Eight universities embroiled in a massive college-admissions cheating scheme are now being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
College Officials Pledge to Prioritize Ethical Character in Admissions
Deans of admission at more than 140 colleges and universities have released a letter committing themselves to principles designed to reduce "excessive achievement pressure" in admissions and promote ethical character among parents and students.
Federal
News in Brief
Six States and D.C. File Challenge to School Lunch Rule Changes
Six states and the District of Columbia last week sued the Department of Agriculture, saying it weakened nutritional standards in school breakfasts and lunches when the agency relaxed the requirements affecting salt and refined grains last year.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Millions of Children Nationwide Exposed to Lead in School Drinking Water
More than two-thirds of 31 states surveyed received "failing grades" in their efforts to make inroads into the lead-contamination problem in schools, a report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center finds.
Special Education
The Special Olympics Budget Clash: What Schools Could Have Lost
Organized under the Special Olympics umbrella, the Unified Champion Schools program promotes meaningful connections between students with and without intellectual disabilities, using sports as a catalyst.
Reading & Literacy
Investing in Principal Talent Pays Off in Higher Math and Reading Scores, Study Finds
A new study of six school districts that made heavy investments in strengthening their cadre of school leaders shows a link to stronger student achievement and longer tenures.