September 28, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 25, Issue 05
Federal
Opinion
‘Learning Isn’t a Short-Term Affair’
The government should ensure that applicants for funds under the federal Teaching American History grant program continue their knowledge in the subject and continue the programs set up with public monies beyond their grant term, historian James M. Banner Jr. writes.
English Learners
A National Roundup
Somali Students in Minn. Allege Mistreatment By Alternative School
Thirteen Somali youths have filed a lawsuit alleging that an alternative school holding a contract with the Minneapolis school district violated state and federal laws by discriminating against them.
Curriculum
A National Roundup
Portland, Ore., District Selected for Chinese-Language Program
The Portland, Ore., public schools will become the first site for developing a national model for Chinese-language instruction for K-12 students, under an award from the U.S. Department of Defense National Flagship Language Initiative.
Education
A National Roundup
D.C. Voucher Program Reaches Capacity at 1,705 Students
The federally financed voucher program in the District of Columbia has enrolled 1,705 students in private schools this fall, reaching capacity during its second year of operation.
School & District Management
A National Roundup
Education Dept. Puts Restrictions on Aid for Leaders Council
The U.S. Department of Education has placed restrictions on money approved by Congress for the nonprofit Education Leaders Council, which has been criticized by some of its own former board members for its financial practices. (See Education Week, Sept. 23, 2004.)
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Mission Possible: Tying Earning to Learning
William J. Slotnik says pay for performance is miscast as a financial or programmatic reform, when it is in fact a systemic reform. The lesson of pay for performance is a lesson of institutional change, he writes.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Our Herd Mentality
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect duel over the importance of international rankings in math and science than the essay and reportage that appeared in your Sept. 14, 2005, issue.
Education
Letter to the Editor
The Incalculable Loss of First-Year Teachers
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, there are some new hires in our teaching corps who are not going to make it, for whatever reason. When a new teacher fails at a first job, it is an unbelievable loss to the system and to the individual’s self-worth.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Teaching Learning as a ‘Joyous Lifelong Activity’
Alfie Kohn once again provides a glimmer of sanity in a world gone mad. His ("Getting-Hit-on-the-Head Lessons,"Commentary, Sept. 7, 2005), gives a refreshing insight to the “life is hard and then you die” crowd that puts students through mindless yet painful tasks under the guise of preparing them for the future.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Reader to Friedman: Stick to Economics
Milton Friedman’s Sept. 14, 2005, letter slamming Edd Doerr’s earlier letter on school vouchers ("Friedman Rebuts Claims Made in Voucher Letter,"Letter,
Sept. 14, 2005) shows that the noted economist is out of touch with reality.
Education
Letter to the Editor
In the Hurricane’s Wake, the Need Is for Teachers
I have just finished reading the transcript of your Sept. 7, 2005, online chat about Hurricane Katrina’s effects on schools and students ("Hurricane Katrina: Effect on Schools and Students,"Chat,
Sept. 7, 2005). The offers of help are tremendous.
Ed-Tech Policy
A Washington Roundup
FCC Looks to E-Rate Aid for Katrina-Affected Schools
The Federal Communications Commission intends to harness the federal E-rate program to restore telecommunications services to schools and libraries affected by Hurricane Katrina, commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin has announced.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
GAO Questions State Graduation-Rate Data
Fewer than half the states conduct audits to verify that the school and district data used to calculate high school graduation rates are accurate, according to a survey conducted by the Government Accountability Office.
Federal
House OKs Head Start Reauthorization
The House approved a bill to reauthorize the Head Start preschool program last week, amid a ferocious debate over an amendment to allow faith-based service providers to make employment decisions based on religion.
Professional Development
Federal File
Law School
Among the avid TV viewers of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearings on Chief Justice-designate John G. Roberts Jr. this month were teachers who have met him at an annual summer program on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Education
Table: Blue-Ribbon Panel
Members of Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings’ Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Colorado Panel Cites Need For Huge Infusion of Aid
A state task force says Colorado public schools would need a funding increase of $800 million to $1.5 billion a year for the state’s expenditure on K-12 education to be deemed “adequate.”
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Indiana Report Warns of Achievement Gaps
Indiana students have posted gains on national and state exams, but achievement gaps between the state’s nonwhite and white students persist, and grow the longer students are in school, a report concludes.
Federal
A State Capitals Roundup
State Legislators Head Back to the Classroom
State lawmakers are beginning their seventh annual Back to School Program this week with a couple of new twists.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Southern States’ Groups Launch High School Initiative
Two groups that focus on state policy in the South are teaming up to help more of the region’s students graduate from high school ready for college and work.
School & District Management
A State Capitals Roundup
Kansas Board Closer to Picking New Chief
The Kansas state board of education narrowed the list of candidates to replace former state Commissioner of Education Andy Tompkins to five last week, after a national group that had been helping the board withdrew from the process. The board plans to convene Oct. 4 to discuss the candidates. Mr. Tompkins retired in July.
School Climate & Safety
Data Deliverance
As school districts in southern Mississippi struggle back to normal life following Hurricane Katrina, they can at least be assured that once their computer systems are working, databases of student academic and demographic information can be downloaded with a few mouse clicks.
Federal
Federal Hurricane Aid for Schools Debated
As schools look to rebuild, and districts welcoming displaced students wonder how to pay for their education, federal officials were still mulling options for providing aid.
College & Workforce Readiness
Louisiana, Mississippi Lawmakers to Weigh Revenue Needs
Mississippi legislators were scheduled to convene in a special session this week, and their Louisiana counterparts are expected to do so in the next month or so, as both states focus on issues of economic recovery and aid for coastal school districts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Federal
States Address Academic Concerns
State and local officials are slowly untangling complicated webs of accountability, testing, and graduation policies, hoping to give thousands of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina a better handle on their academic standing.
School Choice & Charters
Relief Plans Spurring Debate Over Vouchers
Washington is a safe distance from the powerful winds that have been wreaking havoc on the Gulf Coast, but a political storm continued to brew in the capital last week over President Bush’s plan to help pay the costs of private school tuition for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
School Climate & Safety
Teachers Ponder Job Prospects as Districts Come Recruiting
Teachers who have been uprooted from their districts by Hurricane Katrina are facing a bewildering job market, waiting to hear when their schools will reopen as they ponder resettling to accept offers from far-flung locations.
Federal
Divided New Orleans Board Debates Reopening Schools
In trying to reopen schools after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans school board is contending not only with issues of money and safety, but also with more of the dissension and racially charged politics that have marked its business for years.