May 29, 2002
Education Week, Vol. 21, Issue 38
Early Childhood
Senators Float Grant Program To Boost Early Learning
Senate education leaders rolled out legislation last week that would provide a new, $1 billion grant program to improve early-learning efforts nationwide.
Education
Federal File
Spin Doctorate
Many students say they want to grow up to become president. But how many want to be the Karl Rove or the James Carville of a future generation?
Education
Child-Care Funding Becomes Hot Issue in Welfare Debates
As the nation's main welfare law moves closer to reauthorization, funding for child care is shaping up to be more of an issue in the debate than some had predicted.
College & Workforce Readiness
Proposal to Shore Up Pell Grant Program Advances on Capitol Hill
After a heated few weeks of debate about who cares more about college students, federal lawmakers have tentatively moved ahead with a plan to shore up the program that helps low-income students pay for higher education.
Education
News in Brief: A Washington Roundup
- Blue Ribbon Schools Unveiled, but Paige Mum on Changes
- Alexander Claims Primary Lead
- NASA to Seek Teacher-Astronauts
School Choice & Charters
Angry Teachers Abandoning Boston's City on a Hill Charter
Educators working in Massachusetts' first accredited charter school are so furious with the implementation of a new governance system that nearly 60 percent of the faculty members plan to quit at the end of the school year.
School Choice & Charters
College Students Strain to Cover Rising Tuition at Public Institutions
The image of the affordable, accessible four-year state university is taking a beating these days, battered by reports of spiraling costs and looming debts that confront students and their families at every turn. Includes two charts, "Digging Deeper for College."
Education
Retrospective
Applications to many of the nation's most prestigious college-preparatory schools increase significantly; the average IQ among Japanese youths is now 11 points higher than those of their American and European counterparts; unemployment among disadvantaged youths could be reduced if it weren't for welfare regulations, the GAO says; the N.J. Supreme Court upholds a state regulation requiring public schools to provide sex education; and more.
Applications to many of the nation's most prestigious college-preparatory schools increase significantly; the average IQ among Japanese youths is now 11 points higher than those of their American and European counterparts; unemployment among disadvantaged youths could be reduced if it weren't for welfare regulations, the GAO says; the N.J. Supreme Court upholds a state regulation requiring public schools to provide sex education; and more.
Teaching Profession
EEOC Directs Ohio Union To Modify 'Agency Fee' Rules
A federal agency has directed a state teachers' union for the second time to drop its requirement that nonunion teachers who object to paying union fees on religious grounds reiterate their objections annually.
Teaching Profession
Cincinnati Teachers Rebuff Performance Pay
Amid bad feelings between the union and district administrators, Cincinnati teachers overwhelmingly rejected a groundbreaking plan that would have based their pay on performance.
Education
People in the News
Teachers College at Columbia University honored prominent civil rights figures last week with the college's medal for distinguished service to education.
Special Education
National Survey Puts ADHD Incidence Near 7 Percent
Approximately 1.6 million elementary school children in the United States have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to the first nationwide survey on the condition.
Education
Take Note
Mummy in the Closet
When students at Naperville Central High School want a glimpse of a real Egyptian mummy, they don't need to visit a museum. All they have to do is visit the school's social studies department, where a delicately wrapped mummy of a little girl has been on display for more than a decade.
School & District Management
Shut Charters Leave Families Revising Plans
The closing of a charter school always shakes up the lives of parents and students. But when a charter school closes near the end of the academic year, the transition to other schools or learning environments can be even tougher.
School & District Management
Novice Principals Put Huge Strain on N.Y.C. Schools
With about half the city's public schools being led by someone with less than three years' experience on the job and more than 260 principals eligible to retire at the end of this school year, the New York City school system is scrambling to prepare new leaders.
Education
Digging Deeper for College
According to a recent study of college costs by the National Center for Public Policy and HIgher Education, the portion of family income necessary to pay tuition at public colleges and universities has increased for most families over the past two decades. The report also says that students across all income levels are borrowing more now than they did a decade ago to pay for college.
Federal
More Districts Hiring D.C. Lobbying Firms
As state budgets tighten, school districts—even small and medium-size districts—are increasingly turning to Washington lobbyists to for assistance in obtaining federal aid.
Assessment
Board Acts to Bring NAEP In Line With ESEA
The board that oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress has approved a series of policy changes, some potentially controversial, to help bring the federally financed testing program into line with new requirements under the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Assessment
Pa. May Add State Test Scores to Transcripts
The grades and course titles on high school transcripts offer a quick history of a graduating senior's four-year record of accomplishment and disappointment. Now, Pennsylvania's top education leaders want to add another chapter to that history.
Education
New in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
- Race-Neutral Policy OK'd for Fla. Gifted Programs
- Gov. Ventura Vetoes Pledge Bill
- Rendell Wins Pennsylvania Primary
- Texas Students Soar on Final TAAS
- Minnesota Delays Test Scores
School Climate & Safety
Detachment Starts in Middle School, Study Finds
Teenagers' disengagement from school starts as early as middle school, a study released at the Brookings Institution asserts.
Education Funding
With State Budget Overdue, Ky. Districts Prepare for Worst
Kentucky educators know that their budgets for the next school year will need to be lean. They just wish they knew how lean.
Classroom Technology
High Tech Haven
New Technology High School in California's Napa Valley provides at least one computer for every student. But that's not the only reason teenagers choose to attend this school.
Education
State Journal
Banning Mascots
The fighting Redskins, Chiefs, and Braves that have represented some of California's school sports teams for decades may be driven out soon.
School Climate & Safety
Lethal School Shootings Resemble Workplace Rampages, Report Says
The mass shootings that have hit rural and suburban schools over the past decade may have little connection with the type of lethal violence long associated with urban districts, according to a new study.