January 30, 2002
Education Week, Vol. 21, Issue 20
Ed-Tech Policy
Writing Takes a Digital Turn For Special-Needs Students
Many educators and parents have concluded that the increasingly popular keyboard device called an "AlphaSmart" is a mixed blessing.
School & District Management
Experts Debate Effect Of Whole-School Reform
Are whole-school-reform models meeting the high expectations of lawmakers and educators? That depends on who's doing the evaluating and which whole-school experiments they're looking at, according to a panel brought here last week by the Brookings Institution.
Education
Retrospective
Selected stories from Feb. 2, 1982: The Supreme Court upholds a ruling banning voluntary prayer in public schools; Philadelphia ousts its superintendent; a mother who kept her children out of school is jailed; a study finds that children who watch a great deal of T.V. do worse in reading; and more.
Federal
Spending Plan for 2002 Laden With 'Earmarks'
Hundreds of specific appropriations detailed in page after page of the conference-committee report accompanying the Education Department's 2002 spending bill reflect a growing trend of congressional "earmarks" in the education budget and overall federal budget. Includes, "Final Fiscal 2001 and Fiscal 2002 Appropriations."
Education
Federal File
Accountable Agency?
If accountability is good for schools, it's also good for the Department of Education itself, or so says a draft strategic plan put together by the agency.
Equity & Diversity
Gay-Rights Groups Draft Guide To Laws on Harassment
Two national groups hoping to make schools safe from harassment and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students have teamed up to produce a guidebook that describes which types of state laws and policies best meet that mission.
Education
People in the News
The Center for National Policy has hired Marta L. Tellado to be its director of domestic-policy programs.
Education
Finding What Works in Education
A number of efforts are now under way to better connect research and practice in education, either by providing more systematic, rigorous analyses of what is known from research or by using quality criteria to identify “what works.” Here is a sampling of such efforts.
Education
Philanthropy
The Brown Family Foundation donated $5 million this month to set up the Turning the Corner Achievement Program, an initiative for African-American middle school students in Baltimore.
A Holistic Grant
The Brown Family Foundation donated $5 million this month to set up the Turning the Corner Achievement Program, an initiative for African-American middle school students in Baltimore.
School & District Management
Minneapolis Labor Leaders Mold A Different Kind of Union
The president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers knows that her youngest union members don't rush home after school to paint union placards.
States
State of the States 2002: Michigan, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina
Faced with a slumping economy, Gov. John Engler of Michigan used his State of the State Address last week to rhapsodize about the potential of several high-tech projects to permanently transform his Rust Belt state.
Education
News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
- Ore. Schools Chief Fights
Ethics-Violation Charges - Setback for Phila. Takeover Foes
- Panel: School for Deaf Improved
- UC Approves Tuition Break
- Texas Commissioner to Leave
- Illinois Teacher Shortage Grows
School & District Management
New Panels to Form to Study Reading Research
At least three new federal panels are being formed to continue the review of reading research begun by the National Reading Panel, whose report of two years ago has influenced the development of federal and state policies in literacy instruction.
Education
CNN Student News Program To Air Paid Sponsorships
Turner Broadcasting System's free daily package of news and features for classrooms is about to take on a more commercial tinge, with the introduction of paid corporate sponsorships.
Education
Bus Driver Faces Kidnapping Charges
Thirteen private school children were returned to Oley, Pa., early last Friday morning after being taken by a school bus driver, who was armed with a loaded semi-automatic rifle, on an unauthorized six-hour trip to Landover Hills, Md.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
- Teacher Pension Funds Tally Enron
Investment Losses - Mo. Accreditation Review Team Visits
Kansas City District - Iowa District Had Legal Right
To Fire Teacher, Judge Rules - Ohio Mother Ordered to Repay Tuition
For Illegal Enrollment - Minority Residents Decry Plan to End Busing
- W.Va. Principal's Pet Terrier
Attacks Student at School - Bus Driver Faces Kidnapping Charges
Education
Corrections
A state policy update on Mississippi in Education Week's special report Quality Counts 2002: Building Blocks for Success, published as the Jan. 10 issue, provided incorrect information about a study of child-care programs. The Early Childhood Institute at Mississippi State University conducted a study on the quality of selected child-care programs that received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants to make quality improvements. A second study, conducted by the Civitan International Research Center's Regional Early Childhood Team, examined well-being indicators for children in child-care programs in selected counties.
Education Funding
Dallas Voters OK $1.36 Billion Bond Package
Dallas voters this month approved a $1.36 billion bond package for school construction, the largest school bond measure ever passed in Texas, in a dramatic turn of fortune for a district long beleaguered by administrative turmoil.
Classroom Technology
Student Misuse of School Laptops Forces District to Tighten Access
Alleged student computer hacking and pornographic Web site viewing in the Henrico County, Va., schools have led officials there to tighten security and access to students' district-provided laptop computers.
Education
National Board Is Pressed To Prove Certified Teachers Make Difference
Since 1987, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has reaped more than $109 million in federal money to design the assessments it uses to identify highly skilled teachers. Meanwhile, 33 states and some 280 school districts have invested in financial incentives to encourage teachers to seek the group's seal of approval. Now, the question is being asked: What difference does the board make?
School & District Management
Law Mandates Scientific Base For Research
Congress and the Bush administration are aiming to base school improvement efforts less on intuition and experience and more on research-based evidence. But the question arises: Who decides what counts as such?
Education Funding
Districts Hard Hit By Escalating Costs Of Health Coverage
Finding affordable health insurance for the 475 employees of the Dripping Springs school district in Texas has been a fruitless task for Superintendent Mary Ward.
Teaching Profession
Gen-Xers Apathetic About Union Label
Leaders of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are aiming to overhaul the way they do business in an attempt to make their institutions more meaningful to younger teachers. Includes "Minneapolis Labor Leaders Mold a Different Kind of Union."
Law & Courts
Supreme Court Declines to Accept 'Zero Tolerance' Case
The U.S. Supreme Court last week passed up a chance to review whether school "zero tolerance" discipline policies are so harsh that they violate the constitutional rights of students.
Education
News in Brief: A Washington Roundup
- Bush to Seek $1 Billion Hikes
For Title I and IDEA Grants - President Wants Boost for Black Colleges
- Seminar to Feature Education Secretaries
- Idaho Governor Named to NAGB