April 18, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 33
School Choice & Charters
A National Roundup
L.A. Board Reverses Earlier Vote, Approves Green Dot Charters
Green Dot Public Schools can open eight small high schools in the Watts neighborhood for the 2008-09 school year.
School & District Management
Virginia Mayor Holding on Tight to Purse Strings
L. Douglas Wilder has been highly critical of the Richmond, Va., schools' spending practices and had hired an outside consultant to audit the district.
Reading & Literacy
A Washington Roundup
House Sets Hearing on ‘Reading First’
A hearing, scheduled for April 20, will explore charges of mismanagement and conflict of interest in the $1 billion-a-year federal program.
Federal
Federal File
Doing the Waive
The Department of Education is chided for failing to report to Congress on waivers of federal requirements it has granted to states and school districts.
Education Funding
Va. Lawmakers Give Governor Half His Preschool Request
Gov. Tim Kaine had asked for $4.6 million to pay for a preschool initiative. He received $2.5 million instead.
Education Funding
Miss. Aid Formula Gets Full Funding
The total K-12 budget is $2.5 billion, a 9.2 percent increase over the previous year, out of a total state budget of about $5.5 billion.
Education Funding
Legislature Approves Record Ed. Funding
The latest hike in education aid concludes a mandated increase of $1.3 billion in additional support for public schools over five years.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Mass. Schools, Farms Link Up
Districts are buying their produce from local growers.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
How Measuring School Climate Can Improve Your School
Bridging the gap between research and policy is a key step in establishing a positive educational environment, write Jonathan Cohen and Terry Pickeral.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
Piecing Together the Charter Puzzle
While charter schools are just in their adolescence, much more support is needed for them to advance public education, writes Greg Richmond.
Federal
Abstinence Programs Don’t Work, Largest Study to Date Concludes
Students who participated in the programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not take part.
Education
Report Roundup
Writing Instruction
While 98 percent of Americans believe that good writing skills are very important to succeed in today's economy, roughly half believe the quality of students' writing skills has declined over the past 20 years, a report released by the Berkeley, Calif.-based National Writing Project says.
Education
Report Roundup
Standardized Testing
The emphasis on standardized testing as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act leaves teachers feeling restricted and does not encourage them to improve their teaching effectiveness or help to close student-achievement gaps, a survey of teachers concludes.
Education
Report Roundup
Big Districts Improve Reading, Math Scores
The largest districts in the country made significant gains on their states' reading and mathematics tests in the spring of 2006, according to an annual study of 4th and 8th graders' performance.
Education
People in the News
Creg E. Williams
Creg E. Williams was named the superintendent of the 3,400-student Thornton Fractional High School District 215 in Calumet City, Ill.
Education
People in the News
Rosa A. Smith
Rosa A. Smith will become a senior adviser for the New Orleans sector of the New York City-based New Leaders for New Schools, a national nonprofit organization that finds, trains, and places leaders in urban public schools.
School & District Management
Quality of Principal Mentoring Uneven, Report Says
Many programs result in "buddy systems" rather than in helping new principals improve teaching and learning in their schools.
Teaching Profession
Teachers’ Workday Is Difficult to Pin Down
Hours of labor outside the classroom are often lost in official tallies.
Federal
AERA Stresses Value of Alternatives to 'Gold Standard'
The kind of research experiments championed by federal officials are not the only reliable measures of what works in education, experts say.