November 15, 2006
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 12
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Sidetracking the Debate on Teacher Quality
Roy E. Barnes and Joseph A. Aguerrebere Jr. write that a consequence of the "highly qualified" teacher requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act is "that the quest for excellence has become an exercise in meeting the lowest common denominator of quality."
School & District Management
U.S. Seen as Falling Short on Basic Supports for Children
More than two-thirds of American children ages 6 to 17 lack the sustained supports needed to put them on track for adult success, according to a report scheduled for release this week.
Education Funding
‘Green Schools’ Yielding Benefits
Energy-efficient design can save individual school buildings $100,000 a year, enough to hire two full-time teachers, concludes a report released recently by Capital E, an energy consulting firm, and co-sponsored by the American Institute of Architects.
Education
Report Roundup
Girls’ Stress
The pressure to please everyone and look pretty is a burden to most girls in the United States, concludes a report done by Girls Inc., a New York City-based nonprofit organization that sponsors educational programs for girls, especially those at-risk of failing in school.
Education
Report Roundup
Learning Time
Communities and educators that want to improve student achievement should look closely at increasing the length of the school day or year, a report by the Center for American Progress says.
Education
Report Roundup
Research Report: Achievement Gap
The achievement gap between black and white students is directly linked to the racial composition of their schools, a study by researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research concludes.
Education
Report Roundup
Teenage Driving
The number of 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal car crashes is roughly the same during weekday after-school hours as on weekend nights, says a report by the American Automobile Association.
Education
Report Roundup
Improvement Models Rated by Researchers
The American Institutes for Research has updated its ratings on the effectiveness of popular improvement programs for elementary schools.
Education
People in the News
Joy Van-Hamilton
Joy Van-Hamilton has been named the vice president of operations for Kauffman Scholars, an arm of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation, which helps low-income students in the Kansas City region pay for a college education.
Education
People in the News
James P. Doosey
James P. Doosey has been hired for the new position of internal auditor for Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission, the state-created panel that oversees the 178,000-student school district.
Education
People in the News
Amy Stuart Wells
Amy Stuart Wells has been picked to lead a research initiative titled “Reviews of Research” for the Campaign for Educational Equity, a research arm of Teachers College, Columbia University.
Education
Correction
Corrections
An article in the Nov. 8, 2006, issue of Education Week ("Guides Avoid Bilingual vs. English-Only Issue") misstated the arm of the U.S. Department of Education that paid for three guidebooks on how to teach English-language learners. The Comprehensive Centers Program of the office of elementary and secondary education underwrote the project.
Education
A National Roundup
Houston Board Votes to Buy Defibrillators for All Schools
The Houston school board voted unanimously last week to equip schools with more defibrillators, after four Houston-area students died this fall in connection with physical activity.
Education
A National Roundup
Senior N.Y.C. Teachers Would Earn $100,000 Under New Contract
The New York City Department of Education and the city’s teachers’ union said last week they have reached a tentative agreement that would raise the salaries of the most senior teachers to more than $100,000.
Education Funding
Red Ink Revisits Phila. Schools
Nearly five years after a budget crisis helped prompt state officials to take over the Philadelphia public schools, Pennsylvania’s largest district is grappling again with financial woes.
School & District Management
Seattle, Broward Searching for New Leaders
The departures of the superintendents of two major school districts on opposite coasts are prompting criticism of their school boards, and worries about the systems’ ability to attract highly capable leaders to replace them.
Federal
Reacting to Reviews, States Cut Portfolio Assessments for ELL Students
Arkansas and Wisconsin have dropped portfolio assessments for English-language learners after receiving letters from the U.S. Department of Education saying the states had to prove those tests were valid or their large-scale assessment systems would be rejected under the No Child Left Behind Act.
School Climate & Safety
Local Votes on Bonds Said to Benefit From Turnout
Voters in Wake County, N.C., approved one of the largest school construction bonds on local ballots last week, giving the green light to build schools that will house an exploding student population.
School & District Management
GOP Chiefs Fare Well in Elections
While Democrats scored big in last week’s congressional and gubernatorial elections, the GOP fared better in state education races.
States
Gubernatorial Results May Signal Policy Shift
If the winners in the 36 races for governor make good on their campaign promises, the next four years will bring renewed financial investments by states in their public schools, with emphasis on expanding early-childhood programs, improving teacher quality, and preparing students for college.
Education Funding
Voters Reject Proposed Limits on Spending
Even though voters rejected a number of statewide measures to boost school funding last week, they showed that they don’t want policymakers to be tied down by strict budget formulas that could affect spending on education.
Federal
Democratic Majority to Put Education Policy On Agenda
The leaders of the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress say they will make college affordability their top education policy priority, while also working to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, a goal they share with President Bush.
Federal
E-Rate to Support Wireless E-Mail, Internet Calling
Twitchy-thumbed school leaders have a new reason to like the federal E-rate program: It will now help support their BlackBerry habit.
Federal
3 States Get OK to Use ‘Growth Model’ to Gauge AYP
The Department of Education last week added three more states to a pilot program that evaluates schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act based in part on the growth individual students make over time.