February 14, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 23
States
State of the States
Texas Governor’s Education Plan Boosts Pre-K to College Funding
Rick Perry's proposed 2008-2009 biennial budget would add $80 million to the state’s pre-K program for “at risk,” or low-income, youngsters.
States
State of the States
Hike in Tennessee Cigarette Tax Would Fund Education Program
In his fifth State of the State address, Gov. Phil Bredesen pledged to use the proposed cigarette-tax increase to provide $120 million to schools that serve many children deemed at risk of school failure.
Federal
Opinion
A ‘Surge’ Strategy for No Child Left Behind?
Stay the course? Surge? Or rethink the mission? John Merrow warns against the pitfalls of new strategic thinking in operation No Child Left Behind.
States
State of the States
Keystone State to Weigh Hikes for Preschool and High School
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell has proposed a $9.3 billion pre-K-12 education budget, a 5.8 percent hike from the amount spent in fiscal 2007.
States
State of the States
Oklahoma Governor Promotes Expanded Preschool Education
Gov. Brad Henry has asked for $15 million in the fiscal 2008 budget for a pilot program to expand preschool to 3-year-olds, according to Paul Sund, the governor’s communications director.
States
State of the States
Mathematics Tops the Agenda for Kentucky’s Chief Executive
Gov. Ernie Fletcher proposed an extra $7 million for the state’s Math Achievement Fund.
States
State of the States
School Funding Made Connecticut Priority
Gov. M. Jodi Rell recommended $3.4 billion in additional state spending on schools over the next five years.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Arkansas Faces a Weighty Issue
Arkansas is considering repealing part of its first-in-the-nation, 2003 law that mandates an obesity screening for all public school students.
Equity & Diversity
Immigrant Blacks’ Numbers Studied
Black students whose families recently immigrated to the United States make up a disproportionate share of black freshmen at selective colleges, compared with the numbers of their age group in the larger U.S. black population, according to a study by researchers at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Education
Correction
Correction
A story on President Bush’s high school proposals in the Feb. 7, 2007, print issue of Education Week misspelled the first name of the assistant director of public policy for the Association for Career and Technical Education. She is Alisha D. Hyslop.
Education
A National Roundup
Seattle Voters OK Bonds
Amid a debate over the Seattle school district’s governance, early tallies last week showed local voters likely approved two school bonds, totaling $887 million, in a Feb 6. election. Meanwhile, a King County Superior Court judge on Feb. 2 rejected a petition to recall five of the Seattle school board’s seven members over their plans to close underenrolled schools. (See Education Week, Feb. 7, 2007.)
School & District Management
A National Roundup
Head of Boston School Board Won’t Lead Search for New Leader
The chairwoman of Boston’s school board announced last week that she would no longer co-lead the search for a new superintendent for the 57,000-student district.
Federal
A National Roundup
Federal Study Documents Rates of Autism Disorders in 14 States
Data from 14 states participating in a federal project to study autism-spectrum disorders show that about six of every 1,000 children had the developmental disabilities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week.
Education
Report Roundup
School Finance
Maryland's legislative effort to funnel more money to schools for everything from textbooks to teacher salaries is resulting in educational improvements, concludes a preliminary report.
Education
Report Roundup
College Readiness
States need to establish college-readiness standards that high school students must meet before they graduate, suggests a report by the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board.
Education
A National Roundup
More Students Score 3 or Higher on AP Tests, College Board Reports
Nearly 15 percent of the public high school graduates in the class of 2006 scored a 3 or better on an Advanced Placement exam, up from 10 percent in 2000, the College Board reported last week.
School & District Management
What Helped in Philadelphia?
It’s been five years since the Philadelphia school district was taken over by the state and became a national laboratory for using outside groups to run schools. That milestone is being marked chiefly by disagreement over whether the experiment has worked.
Teaching
Opinion
Chat Wrap-Up: Time and Learning
Readers and guests discussed the topic of time and learning, specifically the recommendations of a national panel financed by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Time, Learning, and Afterschool Task Force, whose report was released in January.
Early Childhood
Bush Budget Proposes Level Funding for Head Start
Early-childhood education advocates criticize the proposal and call for additional funds.
Federal
Bush Budget Would Boost NCLB Efforts
Democrats say the proposed spending plan falls short of what schools need to meet achievement goals.
School & District Management
Opinion
Experimenting With School Choice: A Tale Of Two California Districts
Lisa Snell and Shikha Dalmia write about the successes of the weighted-student formula in one of two California school districts.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
To See or Not to See
Leonard B. Stevens writes that colorblindness erases history and ignores reality, making it impractical in today's education system.
Education
People in the News
David A. Sanchez
David A. Sanchez has become the president of the 340,000-member California Teachers Association, based in Burlingame, Calif.
Education
People in the News
William F. Maestri
The Rev. William F. Maestri has resigned as the superintendent of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Catholic School System, which serves 43,000 students in the greater New Orleans area.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher Turnover
Sixty-five percent of public school teachers who left the education field felt that the workload in their new professions was more manageable, and they found it easier in their new jobs to balance their work and personal life, according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Education
Report Roundup
Black Youths' Education
More than half, 54 percent, of African-Americans ages 15 to 25 believe they received a poorer education than their white counterparts, says a report by the University of Chicago's Black Youth Project.
States
Utah’s Broad Voucher Plan Would Break New Ground
New state bill would provide $500 per year to students who want to attend private school.
Early Childhood
Teach For America Setting Sights on Pre-K
The move reflects a growing demand for early-childhood teachers.