September 5, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 02
Education
Letter to the Editor
National-Board Growth: A Boon, Not a Challenge
We at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards appreciate the thoughtful attention Education Week has given our organization. But we must respond to your most recent article, "The National Board: Challenged by Success?"
Education Funding
California Budget Battle Presages Education Debate
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that fiscal 2009 will be “the year of education reform.”
School & District Management
Humble Origins, Influential Posts Shape Views of New Gates Chief
Vicki L. Phillips is often described as a decisive leader with a deep understanding of education and the political savvy to advance an agenda.
School Climate & Safety
D.C. Schools Get Blitz of Repairs for New Year
The city spent $80 million on a wide range of repairs at 70 and plans to spend another $120 million in the coming months on tougher jobs at others.
Student Well-Being
Children’s Health Coverage Seen at Risk
As lawmakers push to expand a children’s health-insurance program partially financed by the federal government, the Bush administration’s new guidelines restrict enrollment.
School Climate & Safety
Online Databases of Misdeeds by Teachers Raising Concerns
Florida became the latest state to create a database where the public can check out which teachers have been disciplined on charges such as drug possession and sexual abuse.
Education Funding
Seeking Back Fees, Schools Now Hiring Collection Agencies
Parents in Mentor, Ohio, should think twice before “losing” that back-to-school letter asking them to pay for workbooks and gym uniforms.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Drawing Distinctions in ‘Teaching to the Test’
If students are to be successful on any test, we had better teach to the test.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Setting the Record Straight on Teach For America
In light of Joel Colbert's letter to the editor in your Aug. 1, 2007, issue, I would like to communicate the facts about Teach For America.
Teaching
Opinion
Growing an Achievement Gap
Gerald W. Bracey writes about the educational disparities between schools that have decent scores on standardized tests and those that don't.
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
Are Our Graduates College-Writing Ready?
Steven Horwitz offers ideas about what high schools could do to help.
School & District Management
Federal File
Will Spellings Labor for the Duration?
President Bush has only a few of his close Texas-connected aides, including Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, left.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
Waiting for the ‘Tipping Point’
Why has the school choice movement been so slow to spread?, Paul T. Hill asks.
Federal
Opinion
No Child Left Behind: What Would Al Say?
The federal law deviates substantially from Albert Shanker's original vision for standards-based reform, writes Richard D. Kahlenberg.
Law & Courts
Mideast-Themed Schools Raise Curricular, Church-State Issues
Two charter schools declare that their intentions are mainstream—and completely legal—and that they will be under the supervision of their local school districts.
Federal
Draft Bill: Changes to AYP
The House Education and Labor Committee’s “discussion draft” bill for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act would make a number of changes in the way adequate yearly progress is calculated.
Federal
Draft Bill Heats Up NCLB-Renewal Debate
The draft outlines key House members’ plans to change the accountability system by measuring students’ academic growth and adding other indicators to those in reading and mathematics.
Federal
Host of Lawmakers Offer Bills to Revise NCLB
Members of Congress have introduced more than 100 bills to amend the law.