February 16, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 24, Issue 23
Education
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
The No Child Left Behind Act is devaluing bilingual education and failing to address the needs of language-minority students because of the law’s heavy emphasis on English-only programs and high-stakes testing, concludes a report released last week.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Targeted Aid
A coalition of Massachusetts school and business groups has launched the Great Schools Campaign—a multipronged statewide plan to raise learning expectations, improve teacher preparation, and focus more attention and money on low-performing schools.
English-Language Learners
A State Capitals Roundup
Court Backs Arizona Rules On Teachers of English
A federal judge has decided that Arizona’s rules for training teachers how to work with English-language learners do not fall short of an agreement the state made with the court to address the education of such students.
Education
Biting Back
Students are teaching one another in a grassroots campaign in Florida called “Kidz Bite Back”—an effort to combat the growing numbers of overweight children.
Federal
Bush’s High School Plan Off to Rocky Start
President Bush’s plan to expand the No Child Left Behind Act’s demands at the high school level—a top priority of his second-term domestic agenda—is “not likely” to move forward on Capitol Hill this year, a senior House Republican on education issues predicted last week.
Education
A National Roundup
Back to School
The superintendent of the Minneapolis public schools has to complete a course in school finance in order to be certified to hold her job in the state.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A story about the new president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education in the Feb. 2, 2005, issue of Education Week incorrectly noted the length of David G. Imig’s appointment at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Federal
Two-Way Language Immersion Grows in Popularity
Promising results from research on two-way language-immersion programs have pumped up the popularity of such programs in recent years.
Federal
Halt of Migrant Survey Viewed as Loss of Data About Working Youths
The Department of Labor has temporarily halted the collection of data for a national survey of migrant and seasonal farmworkers that’s yielded information for the Education Department about working youths who do not attend U.S. schools.
School & District Management
R.I. State Commissioner Imposes Plan of Action on Providence School
In an unusually hands-on approach to state intervention, Rhode Island’s top education official has ordered big changes at a high school in the state’s largest district, including the re-evaluation of all teachers and administrators there to decide who should be transferred from the building.
School & District Management
Dynamic Duo
While researchers generally agree that literacy skills should be taught directly to adolescents, the practice is often overlooked. At this Illinois high school, two brothers are leading the charge.
Education
Grants
Last month, the S. Mark Taper Foundation awarded a $75,000 grant to the Los Angeles Unified School District's Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services Unit. The grant will help the district provide training for school mental health professionals on the latest school interventions.
GRANTS AWARDED
Last month, the S. Mark Taper Foundation awarded a $75,000 grant to the Los Angeles Unified School District's Crisis Counseling and Intervention Services Unit. The grant will help the district provide training for school mental health professionals on the latest school interventions.
Education
People in the News
Kevin P. Chavous
Kevin P. Chavous was named last week as a Distinguished Fellow with the Center for Education Reform.
Education Funding
Cuts Proposed in Bush Budget Hit Education
President Bush wants to fashion several new education programs this year, including pricey items central to his oft-touted high school agenda. But he also is proposing for the first time since he entered the White House to cut the overall budget of the U.S. Department of Education.
Special Education
Suit Says NCLB’s Demands Conflict With Those of IDEA
Two Illinois school districts have sued the U.S. Department of Education, claiming that some of the accountability measures of the No Child Left Behind Act should be invalidated because they are in direct conflict with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
School Choice & Charters
Report Takes Aim at First Year of D.C. Voucher Program
Only 6 percent of the students participating in the first year of the federally financed private-school-voucher program for the District of Columbia came from public schools designated as being in need of improvement, according to a report released last week by the People for the American Way Foundation.
Curriculum
Radio Host, NEA Set Up Fund to Train Minority Teachers
The National Education Association has teamed up with radio host and philanthropist Tom Joyner to encourage more minority teachers to work in the nation’s hard-to-staff schools.
School Climate & Safety
Architects Learn From School Tours
Seeking inspiration for better school designs, members of the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on Architecture for Education toured three Washington-area schools last week.
Education
Report Roundup
District Competition
A new study argues that findings of potential links between school district competition and improved student academic performance, as cited in a previous study, are overstated and need to be studied more carefully.
School & District Management
New Ind. Governor Takes Hard Fiscal Line
A decision by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to withhold millions of dollars in funding from school districts in an effort to balance the state budget has some district leaders and lawmakers accusing his recently inaugurated administration of bucking long-standing tradition.
Education
State of the States
Pennsylvania
State of the States: Education highlights from latest governor's address before the legislature.
Education
State of the States
West Virginia
State of the States: Education highlights from latest governor's address before the legislature.
Education Funding
Long-Awaited Report on Ohio School Aid Calls for Tax Reform
After 18 months of deliberation, a panel of Ohio educators, lawmakers, and community leaders has released a series of recommendations designed to unravel the state’s tangled school financing laws and make them more equitable.
Law & Courts
Voicing Complaints
The fight to improve conditions in some of California’s neediest schools is far from over.