January 10, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 18
Special Education
Special Education Law Was Signed by Ford, Despite Reservations
As political dignitaries, family members, and friends said goodbye last week in Washington to the nation’s 38th president, others were trying to make sure that his words regarding special education were remembered and heeded.
Federal
Head Start Renewal Back on the Agenda in New Congress
The education committees of both the House and the Senate passed bills during the 109th Congress, crafted largely on a bipartisan basis, which called for greater accountability for Head Start grantees and higher professional standards for the program’s teachers.
Teaching
Remediation for Exit-Exam Failure Proves Daunting
Educators are feeling the pressure to figure out how to assist teenagers who do not pass their high school exit exams.
Special Education
Special Education Official Leads Data-Collection Push
Beginning next month, states will have to report to the federal government more information for their students with disabilities than they were ever required to do under previous incarnations of the federal special education law.
Federal
Higher Education Act May Finally See Action
Teacher-quality programs could get extra attention—and resources—when Congress finally tackles the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, a piece of unfinished business that the incoming chairmen of the House and Senate education committees say will be a priority this year.
School & District Management
St. Louis District Seen as Target of State Action
The St. Louis school district begins the new year facing likely state intervention, following a task force’s proposal for the locally elected school board to be stripped of its authority and for an appointed board to run the system on an interim basis.
Science
Opinion
Living Off Past Investments
Reforming the science and technology system in K-12 schools is key in order for the U.S. to remain competitive in a global economy, writes Norman R. Augustine, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corp.
School & District Management
Mayor of L.A. Appeals Ruling Against Law On School Governance
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has pledged to move ahead with planning for the cluster of 36 “mayor’s schools” that he hopes to be directly overseeing by the start of the next school year.
Science
Science Labs: Beyond Isolationism
Separated from the curriculum, the science lab often has been considered a failure. Boston is trying to put them back together.
Teaching Profession
Wage Dispute Threatens Detroit Alternative Schools
A continuing dispute between the local teachers’ union and school administrators has some education officials in Detroit worried that several alternative schools that opened in August to lure high school dropouts back to the classroom will be forced to close.
Teaching
Opinion
The Paradigm Trap
Getting beyond the No Child Left Behind Act will mean that we will have to change our 19th-century, closed-system mind-set, writes sociologist and author William Spady.
Education
Events
5-6—Career and technical education: Career Academy Evaluation Training, sponsored by the National Career Academy Coalition, for academy practitioners and business partners, in Albuquerque, N.M. Contact: Nigel A. Whyte, P.O. Box 600490, North Miami Beach, FL 33160; (800) 986-3223 ext. 5082; fax: (954) 262-3988; e-mail: nwhyte@nsu.nova.edu.
February
5-6—Career and technical education: Career Academy Evaluation Training, sponsored by the National Career Academy Coalition, for academy practitioners and business partners, in Albuquerque, N.M. Contact: Nigel A. Whyte, P.O. Box 600490, North Miami Beach, FL 33160; (800) 986-3223 ext. 5082; fax: (954) 262-3988; e-mail: nwhyte@nsu.nova.edu.
Education
Honors & Award
Honors & Awards
The National Teacher of the Year program, sponsored by ING and a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers, has announced its 2007 State Teachers of the Year. The state winners will be honored at a White House ceremony in the spring in which President George W. Bush will name the 2007 National Teacher of the Year from among the finalists.
State Teachers of the Year
The National Teacher of the Year program, sponsored by ING and a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers, has announced its 2007 State Teachers of the Year. The state winners will be honored at a White House ceremony in the spring in which President George W. Bush will name the 2007 National Teacher of the Year from among the finalists.
Federal
Bush to Start NCLB Push in Congress
The President invited leading members of the new Congress to the White House to discuss reauthorizing the law by the end of the year.
Equity & Diversity
Media Campaign Involves Hispanics
A media campaign targeting Hispanic families in Denver is motivating more parents to become involved in their children’s education, an evaluation of the program shows.
Education
Opinion
Play Imperiled
Child development professor David Elkind laments the disappearance of playtime in children's lives in an excerpt from his book, The Power of Play.
Education
New in Print
Developmental disorders and urban education are among the topics covered in this month's book reviews.
Education
Correction
Correction
A story in the Dec. 20, 2006, issue of Education Week about a meeting in Washington on the K-12 curriculum gave an incorrect title for Kate Walsh. She is the president of the National Council on Teacher Quality.
Education
People in the News
Joan Herman and Carol Thomas
Joan Herman and Carol Thomas have been appointed the co-chairwomen of the Washington-based National Education Knowledge Industry Association, a trade association that advocates research and professional development to improve education.
Education
People in the News
Tom Vander Ark
Tom Vander Ark has been named the president of the X Prize Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif., a nonprofit organization that runs high-profile competitions to motivate breakthroughs in several fields.
English-Language Learners
N.J. Bucks Tide on Reading for English-Learners
New Jersey officials are promoting research that says bilingual education methods have an edge over English-only methods.
Education
A National Roundup
Wash. State Student Shot, Killed at High School
An 18-year-old student was in custody last week, accused of fatally shooting a fellow student at a Tacoma, Wash., high school.
Education
A National Roundup
Court Allows Affirmative Action Ban in Michigan University Admissions
The University of Michigan halted its admissions process last week until Jan. 10, in the wake of a federal court order for the state’s universities to cease using affirmative action in admissions.
School & District Management
Calif. Law Eases Way for Emergency Work At Low-Ranked Schools
What was known as the state’s Emergency Repair Program has been converted from an $800 million reimbursement program into a grant program.
Education
A National Roundup
3 Districts in R.I. Close Amid Health Probe Of Death, Illnesses
Three school districts in Rhode Island were closed last week while health officials searched for possible links between several cases of severe illness among students, including one death of a 2nd grader.
Education
Report Roundup
Overweight Preschoolers
Thirty-five percent of low-income preschoolers are overweight or obese, and Hispanic children are twice as likely as non-Hispanic white or black children to have a weight problem, says a study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
Teaching Profession
Fla. Districts Seek Teacher Performance-Pay Funds
In a last-minute scramble to get a piece of a $147.5 million teacher performance-pay pie, all 67 school districts in Florida have submitted plans under the state’s program.
Education
Report Roundup
Antidepressants and Suicide
Young adults who take antidepressants are at a higher risk for suicidal behavior than older age groups, according to an analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Early Childhood
N.Y.’s Spitzer Outlines Broad School Plans
The governor pledged to provide enough additional school funding to achieve “excellence" in public education.