February 21, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 24
Education
Renewal Blueprints for the No Child Left Behind Act
The Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind is the latest organization to issue recommendations for the reauthorization of the main federal K-12 education law.
Education
Events
21-23—Instruction: Annual Conference, sponsored by The International Organization of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools, for educators and administrators at university-affiliated schools, at the University of California, Los Angeles. Contact: Patricia Diebold, Arts and Science Center, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA 16444; (814) 732-1550; fax: (814) 732-2629; e-mail: dieboldp@edinboro.edu; Web site: www.nals.net.
March
21-23—Instruction: Annual Conference, sponsored by The International Organization of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools, for educators and administrators at university-affiliated schools, at the University of California, Los Angeles. Contact: Patricia Diebold, Arts and Science Center, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA 16444; (814) 732-1550; fax: (814) 732-2629; e-mail: dieboldp@edinboro.edu; Web site: www.nals.net.
Federal
Panel Report Is Latest Rx for NCLB
The Bush administration and education groups are now waiting to hear from the institution that matters most: Congress.
Early Childhood
Head Start Renewal Advances Amid Debate Over Testing
The Senate education committee last week approved a bipartisan bill to reauthorize Head Start that would expand eligibility for the federal preschool program.
Federal
Final 2007 Budget Has Small Increase for Education
The Department of Education’s bottom line will grow for the first time after two years of stagnant funding.
Early Childhood
Scholars Push Ideas to Bolster U.S. Workforce
Wide-ranging changes in education from the early years through college are needed, they say.
Federal
From ‘Math Wars’ to the Political Trenches?
Williamson M. Evers has been tapped to fill the federal position of assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development.
School & District Management
Districts Tracking Goals With ‘Balanced Scorecards’
A business-oriented tool weighs operations and outcomes for schools.
Federal
Education Dept.’s Stricter Background Checks Questioned
Recently adopted policies require federal contractors to provide fingerprints and background information.
Federal
Nebraska Swims Hard Against Testing’s Tides
Despite resistance, the Cornhusker State counts on its local assessments to meet federal mandates for school accountability.
Federal
Nebraska Tangles With U.S. Over Testing
After first rejecting the state’s approach outright, federal officials now say it is nearing compliance.
States
High School Redesign Moves Ahead in States
States have taken significant steps to ensure that students are prepared for college and the workforce.
School Choice & Charters
Federal File
Home Schooling for Military to End
An experiment with home schooling by the Department of Defense education system is coming to an end after six years.
English-Language Learners
Criticism From Badillo Riles Some Hispanics
A book by the former New York congressman and longtime Hispanic activist Herman Badillo has stirred a lot of talk since being published at the end of last year.
Social Studies
Canadian Photographer Offering U.S. History Archive to Classrooms
A Canadian travel photographer is sharing his visual archive to allow students and teachers to illustrate their reports and classroom materials.
Equity & Diversity
Federal Organizations Use Web to Attract Girls to Science
Sometime between 4th and 8th grades, many girls begin drifting away from science, research shows. A new Web site is trying to lure them back.
Curriculum
County Executive in Michigan Calls for Mandarin for All
Students in the state, with its lagging automobile industry and high unemployment, need to be ready to do business with China, says L. Brooks Patterson.
Teaching Profession
Debate Over Earnings of Teachers Renewed
A report released last month found that teachers on average earned more than economists, registered nurses, architects, and the like.
Curriculum
Obituary
Cecil J. Picard
Cecil J. Picard, the state superintendent of education in Louisiana since 1996, died Feb. 15 of complications related to Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 68.
Law & Courts
A National Roundup
Dow Jones Drops Race Consideration in Summer Program
The Dow Jones Newspaper Fund has settled a federal lawsuit filed by a white student in Virginia challenging her exclusion from the program last year.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
National Council of Churches to Hold Conference on NCLB
The Council, a New York City-based organization representing more than 100,000 local Christian churches, is planning a one-day national conference next month to discuss improving the No Child Left Behind Act.
Equity & Diversity
Sleep-Loss Impact Tied to Race, Income
With disrupted sleep, black children and those from lower-income families do not perform as well.
Federal
Opinion
Chat Wrap-Up: Improving No Child Left Behind: A Local Perspective
A Feb. 8 online discussion centered on ideas for improving the federal No Child Left Behind Act, specifically the intensive review of the law undertaken by one community, Rockland County, N.Y., which resulted in a 72-page report with recommendations for changes.
School & District Management
Opinion
Turning Schools Around
Daniel L. Duke, research director of the Partnership for Leaders in Education at the University of Virginia, shares what he and his colleagues are learning about improving low-performing schools.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Can Political Participation Be Taught?
Schools should embrace instructional strategies that encourage civic engagement, writes Jeffery J. Miller.
Law & Courts
Utah’s Broad Voucher Program Could Face Challenge
The nation’s first universal statewide voucher program has been signed into law, but its legal future is anything but certain.