October 18, 2006
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 08
Law & Courts
A Washington Roundup
Briefs Flood Court in School Race Cases
A stream of briefs last week urged the U.S. Supreme Court to back the Seattle and Jefferson County, Ky., school districts in their legal fight to retain the ability to consider race in assigning students to public schools, including one signed by three former U.S. secretaries of education.
Federal
Federal File
Potent Notables
The roster of stars to appear on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” next month includes TV actors, CNN anchors, the winner of the 2006 “Dancing with the Stars” competition, and … Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Court Asked to Block N.J. Voucher Suit
New Jersey’s attorney general is trying to get a judge to throw out a lawsuit that would give publicly funded vouchers to the parents of children who attend low-performing schools so that those children can attend other schools.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Defibrillators Proposed for All Texas Schools
All Texas public schools could be required to possess automated external defibrillators, under an initiative proposed by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst last week.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
N.C. Lawmakers to Launch High School Dropout Study
State legislators in North Carolina planned to launch an intensive study this week of high school dropouts, hoping the review of achievement data and spending patterns will better inform policies for improving secondary education in the state.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Virginia Denies Request to Recalculate Test Results
The Virginia state board of education has turned down a request from several district superintendents to recalculate the results of the state’s Standards of Learning tests without factoring in some lower-than-expected math scores at the 4th, 6th, and 7th grades.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Michigan Revises Evolution Language
The Michigan state board of education unanimously approved revised academic standards last week that members say will more strongly emphasize the theory of evolution as the central scientific explanation for life’s development.
Curriculum
Web Site Offers Lessons Drawn From the Movies
For years, James A. Frieden was fond of watching the movies he most admired—“Gandhi” and “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb,” to name just two—with his three sons, now grown, not just as entertainment, but for the lessons they offered about civil rights, the Cold War, and other topics.
Education
‘Rocket Festival’ to Lift Off in New Mexico This Week
A competition that bills itself as “the world’s first true rocket festival” will play host this week to students from across the country—and others watching via the Internet.
Education
Stanford Education School to Offer Loan Forgiveness
Many law schools forgive the tuition loans they make to students who accept public-service jobs, and the practice has caught on with some high-end business schools at Harvard and Stanford universities.
Education
Honors & Award
Honors and Awards
The U.S. Department of Education has named more than 200 public and private elementary and secondary schools as No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools. The awards recognize schools that have made significant progress in closing the achievement gap.
2006 Blue Ribbon Schools
The U.S. Department of Education has named more than 200 public and private elementary and secondary schools as No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools. The awards recognize schools that have made significant progress in closing the achievement gap.
Education
Events
14-17—Reading: 18th West Conference, sponsored by the International Reading Association, for educators, in Kamuela, Hawaii. Contact: IRA, 800 Barksdale Road, P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714; (800) 336-7323; Web site: www.reading.org/association/meetings/regional.html.
November
14-17—Reading: 18th West Conference, sponsored by the International Reading Association, for educators, in Kamuela, Hawaii. Contact: IRA, 800 Barksdale Road, P.O. Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714; (800) 336-7323; Web site: www.reading.org/association/meetings/regional.html.
Federal
Big Business Going to Bat for NCLB
Large companies and major business groups are known for hiring well-heeled lobbyists to push for their interests, especially in such areas as tax and spending laws. But their federal lobbying presence on education issues has been relatively modest. Until now.
Science
As States Feel Pressed to Revisit Standards, Calls Are Being Renewed to Tighten Them
Two prominent national organizations have declared in the past month that “less is more” in state standards for what students should know and be able to do.
Equity & Diversity
Worries Surface in Racial-Identity Comments
State and school officials, advocacy organizations, and members of Congress have raised objections to proposed federal guidelines for collecting and reporting the race and ethnicity of students, contending that the changes would distort, and in some cases obscure, the true number of students belonging to different minority populations.
Teaching Profession
Teacher Satisfaction at 20-Year High, MetLife Survey Finds
Teachers’ satisfaction with their careers has increased significantly over the past two decades, according to an annual survey by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and the Committee for Economic Development, which tracks the opinions of teachers, principals, and education deans.