December 9, 1998
Education Week, Vol. 18, Issue 15
Student Well-Being & Movement
Shifting Legal Ground on Harassment Has Made It Harder for Victims To Win
Ten years ago this month, a high school senior from an Atlanta suburb brought an $11 million federal lawsuit alleging that school officials had failed to protect her from months of sexual harassment by her economics teacher. The case proved to be a turning point for students seeking redress for sexual misconduct by school employees.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Living Through a Teacher's Nightmare: False Accusation
For nine months that felt like forever, Michael Gallagher and his family had prayed for this moment. And yet when it came, all they could do was cry.
Student Well-Being & Movement
'Passing the Trash' by School Districts Frees Sexual Predators To Hunt Again
Sexual abuse of students is rarely a passing fancy, and for some schoolhouse predators, it becomes a way of life. Left unchecked, they may leave a trail of molestation that stretches across many years and countless students' lives.
Student Well-Being & Movement
About This Series
This series is the result of a six-month project by Education Week Associate Editor Caroline Hendrie and Deputy Managing Editor Steven Drummond.
Education
Today's Lesson: Self-Esteem
Curricula designed to make students feel better about themselves may seem like a nice idea, but some researchers say they don't work.
Education
Companies Lining Up To Offer Schools Free Web Sites
Schools that want to have their own presence in cyberspace without taxing school budgets are finding a number of companies willing to help.
School Choice & Charters
Report: Calif. Charters Fall Short on Promises
Charter schools in California have not yet lived up to many of their promises, a team of university researchers concludes in a new study.
Federal
Satellite Broadcasts Put Department Policies in Spotlight
As blinding lights bear down on the guests in a hotel ballroom's makeshift studio, the camera crews hastily position their equipment for the live broadcast and a chirpy talk-show moderator greets the 100 or so audience members.
English Learners
Bilingual & Immigrant Education
Study Criticized: A Boston University professor has criticized as unscientific a widely cited study that suggests two-way bilingual education programs are among the most promising methods for teaching language-minority students.
Teaching Profession
N.C. Teachers Battle State Over Firings
The first teachers to be fired under North Carolina's 2-year-old accountability program are fighting their dismissals and, in the process, providing an early illustration of the struggles that may lie ahead as states push administrators and teachers to take more responsibility for student achievement.
Teaching Profession
Test Questions
Aspiring teachers in Massachusetts became the butt of jokes when more than half failed a new series of tests. But many are wondering if the tests themselves measure up.
Education
Chicago Contract Revises Accountability Program
A recently ratified teachers' contract in Chicago promises to make the next several Septembers as forgettable as the last few: no strikes, no heated picket lines, and no delayed school openings.
Education
Seattle Chief Leaves Legacy of Achievement
Mourning the loss of their popular superintendent, John Henry Stanford, school leaders in Seattle have pledged to keep his legacy alive.
Teaching
Remedial Courses Perform Important Service, Report Concludes
At a time when many politicians and educators are criticizing college-level remedial classes as expensive and inappropriate, a study released last week finds such help is a "core function" of higher education and proclaims it a "good investment" for society.
Education
News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
N.H. Court Won't Extend School Funding Deadline
New Hampshire's highest court has denied the governor and the legislature a two-year extension to fix the state's school funding system.
Education Funding
Season of Selling Has Its Fans, But Some Just Say No
Nearly every teacher, parent, and student across the United States is familiar with the fund-raising hullabaloo that grips most schools in the fall and spring. But not everyone is buying into the product-selling ritual.
Education
People
Anne Ruggles Gere has been elected the vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English. Ms. Gere, the chairwoman of the joint doctoral program in English and education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, took over the position last month at the annual convention of the 80,000-member organization, which is based in Urbana, Ill. She is slated to serve in the office for one year before becoming president-elect in 1999 and president in 2000.
Education
Children & Families
Focus on Fathers: Many welfare-reform efforts focus on single mothers, but a recent study shows that targeting unemployed, noncustodial fathers also can improve the lives of children on welfare.
Education
Federal File
His GOP colleagues often refer to him as the House's education policy expert. Now, Rep. Bill Goodling, R-Pa., has made Congressional Quarterly's list of "12 Who Made a Difference" in the 105th Congress.
Making a difference
His GOP colleagues often refer to him as the House's education policy expert. Now, Rep. Bill Goodling, R-Pa., has made Congressional Quarterly's list of "12 Who Made a Difference" in the 105th Congress.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Florida Schools Are Cleaning Up in Effort To Cut Pesticide Usage
Cockroaches may make most people's skin crawl, but it's the pesticides many schools use to kill them that Kimberly Boyd wants to avoid.
Families & the Community
Student-Survey Dispute Spawns More Parent Rights
To settle a lawsuit brought by a group of parents, the San Antonio school district has agreed to destroy surveys completed by high school students this fall.
Federal
Goodling Says Committee Will Tackle ESEA
Heading into his last term in Congress, the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee is moving to take a stronger-than-expected role in updating the law that governs most federal elementary and secondary school programs.
School Choice & Charters
N.J. Debate Focuses on Terms of Choice Plan
New Jersey lawmakers and Commissioner of Education Leo F. Klagholz are working out the finer points of a proposal that would allow students to attend schools outside their home districts, tuition-free, as early as next September.
Education
State Journal
In his first Cabinet-level appointment, Gov.-elect Gray Davis of California has tapped former state Sen. Gary K. Hart to be his secretary of child development and education.
Cabinet Decision
In his first Cabinet-level appointment, Gov.-elect Gray Davis of California has tapped former state Sen. Gary K. Hart to be his secretary of child development and education.
Education
On-Line Concert Is Next-Best Thing to Being There
Not every parent can make it to every concert of a child's school choir or band. But parents and other fans of young musicians in the Clark County, Nev., schools have a unusual alternative: If they can't be there in person--and if they have a computer linked to the Internet--they can hear live concerts on-line.
Not every parent can make it to every concert of a child's school choir or band. But parents and other fans of young musicians in the Clark County, Nev., schools have a unusual alternative: If they can't be there in person--and if they have a computer linked to the Internet--they can hear live concerts on-line.
Education
District Must Allow Lesbian Teacher To Coach
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Utah teacher who claimed she was denied a coaching position after her school's administrators learned she is a lesbian.