July 15, 2009
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 36
Education
Letter to the Editor
When 'College for All' Is Not Working for All
To the Editor:
Kudos to Mel J. Riddile, a voice of sanity in the rush to put every child on the path to college (“ ‘College for All’ Is Making Me a Bit Nervous,” Commentary, Diplomas Count, June 11, 2009). It is clear that he is a man who has worked with flesh-and-blood children, who respects them as individuals, and who understands that one size will never fit all in education.
Kudos to Mel J. Riddile, a voice of sanity in the rush to put every child on the path to college (“ ‘College for All’ Is Making Me a Bit Nervous,” Commentary, Diplomas Count, June 11, 2009). It is clear that he is a man who has worked with flesh-and-blood children, who respects them as individuals, and who understands that one size will never fit all in education.
School Choice & Charters
Letter to the Editor
Milwaukee Voucher Rules 'No Reason to Complain'
To the Editor:
The new requirements the Wisconsin legislature is considering for Milwaukee’s voucher schools seem quite reasonable (“New Tethers Eyed for Milwaukee Vouchers,” June 17, 2009). After all, the state’s taxpayers are financing the program, and their legislature has every right to regulate what it pays for. Voucher schools and parents have no reason to complain. Indeed, the legislature is to be commended for making up somewhat for its original error of initiating the Milwaukee voucher plan—a plan voters would not have supported in a referendum and which the state supreme court failed to find violative of the state constitution.
The new requirements the Wisconsin legislature is considering for Milwaukee’s voucher schools seem quite reasonable (“New Tethers Eyed for Milwaukee Vouchers,” June 17, 2009). After all, the state’s taxpayers are financing the program, and their legislature has every right to regulate what it pays for. Voucher schools and parents have no reason to complain. Indeed, the legislature is to be commended for making up somewhat for its original error of initiating the Milwaukee voucher plan—a plan voters would not have supported in a referendum and which the state supreme court failed to find violative of the state constitution.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Closing STEM Gender Gap Through Special Programs
To the Editor:
We were pleased to read your thoughtful and well-researched story on gender representation in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“Researchers Mull STEM Gender Gap,” June 17, 2009). In our work, we collaborate nationally with organizations exposing students to STEM careers in order to boost the numbers of young people pursuing these fields.
We were pleased to read your thoughtful and well-researched story on gender representation in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“Researchers Mull STEM Gender Gap,” June 17, 2009). In our work, we collaborate nationally with organizations exposing students to STEM careers in order to boost the numbers of young people pursuing these fields.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
With Teach For America, Who Needs Experience?
To the Editor:
I found your article “N.C. District Lets Go of Veteran Teachers, But Keeps TFA Hires” (June 17, 2009) strangely satisfying. I have been waiting for the Teach For America idea to be taken to its logical extreme. Why not have TFA, and other organizations like it, simply take over the profession? (Is “profession” still the right word?)
I found your article “N.C. District Lets Go of Veteran Teachers, But Keeps TFA Hires” (June 17, 2009) strangely satisfying. I have been waiting for the Teach For America idea to be taken to its logical extreme. Why not have TFA, and other organizations like it, simply take over the profession? (Is “profession” still the right word?)
Standards & Accountability
Letter to the Editor
'Common Core' Initiative: Who'll Make Decisions?
To the Editor:
According to a popular saying, “If you don’t take your seat at the table, someone else will eat your dinner roll.” But what if the other diners have already cleaned their plates and are nibbling at yours? Such is the situation for subject-matter organizations in relation to the “Common Core” project to craft national standards for math and language arts (“Subject Groups Seeking Voice on Standards,” June 17, 2009).
According to a popular saying, “If you don’t take your seat at the table, someone else will eat your dinner roll.” But what if the other diners have already cleaned their plates and are nibbling at yours? Such is the situation for subject-matter organizations in relation to the “Common Core” project to craft national standards for math and language arts (“Subject Groups Seeking Voice on Standards,” June 17, 2009).
School & District Management
Amid Fiscal Crisis, L.A. Gives Site Councils Budget Reins
Schools get a taste of decentralization as they make key budgetary decisions, including how to spend an influx of stimulus aid, in lean fiscal times.
Assessment
Opinion
Get Performance Pay Right
“Performance-based compensation is more than an ingredient of reform—it is a driver of reform,” writes William J. Slotnik.
Special Education
News in Brief
D.C. Schools Penalized on Spec. Ed.
The District of Columbia has become the first jurisdiction in the nation to have a portion of its federal special education funding withheld because it is not meeting the requirements of its "state performance plan."
Standards & Accountability
News in Brief
America's Choice Taps New Executive
T. Kenneth James, the former commissioner of education in Arkansas, began a new job last week as the executive vice president and COO of America's Choice.
Education
News in Brief
Missouri Schools Chief Selected
Chris Nicastro, 58, the superintendent of the Hazelwood school district in suburban St. Louis, takes over Missouri's top education position on Aug. 1.
Standards & Accountability
Clarification
Clarification
A story in the June 15, 2009, issue of Education Week said the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English published voluntary standards in language arts in 1994. That document, "Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing," contained standards for assessment. The two organizations published a separate set of voluntary standards for academic content, titled "Standards for the English Language Arts," in 1996.
Law & Courts
Student Issues Are Focus of Court
In a number of school-related cases, the U.S. Supreme Court came down on the side of access to the legal process.
Equity & Diversity
Supreme Court: From the Docket
The Supreme Court handled a number of additional cases with implications for schools during the term that ended in June.
Federal
Teacher Incentive Hike Survives in Key House Panel
The Teacher Incentive Fund would get $446 million in fiscal 2010 under the plan approved by the appropriations subcommittee overseeing education.
Federal
Fiscal Deadline, Thorny Deficits Bedevil States
Education funding is imperiled as lawmakers, governors push to agreement on overdue budgets.
School & District Management
N.Y.C. Mayor Keeping Firm Hold on Schools
The chaos that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had predicted if legislation that would have extended his formal control beyond June 30 wasn’t extended has not come to pass in the week after its expiration.
Federal
Guidance Would Allow Waivers on Title I Stimulus Funds
New guidance allows flexibility from Title I requirements for spending on tutoring and transportation for school transfers.
Special Education
Picks Named for High Ed. Dept. Positions
The U.S. Department of Education offices in question oversee special education programs and vocational and adult education.
Federal
Racing for an Early Edge
States jockey for position as the U.S. Education Department readies billions of dollars in ‘Race to the Top’ awards—the stimulus program’s grand prize.
Federal
Computer Tool Sizes Up Math, Science Policies
Through simulations that adjust for hundreds of variables, the modeling system helps assess methods for improving STEM education.
Federal
Opinion
Assessing 'Success' in School Finance Litigations
“Test statistics may be useful indicators of important trends, but to really understand the impact of the education finance litigations, one must also look to underlying patterns and take into account a wide range of educational, political, and economic variables that, over time, affect the outcomes of the reform process,” write Michael A. Rebell and Bruce D. Baker.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Businesses Should Provide Online Safety Education, Report Says
A team of educators, media company officials, policymakers, and public health experts recommends that businesses provide resources and information to parents and children about online safety before, during, and after children use their Web sites.
School & District Management
Opinion
Do We Really Need a Longer School Year?
“Teachers and administrators know that the actual taught curriculum is rife with time-killing routines, worksheets, and often full-length films that add little or no value to the school day,” writes Mike Schmoker.
School & District Management
NEA Representatives Air Their Differences With Obama Agenda
The union’s annual meeting was marked by its first major stab at getting a handle on the administration’s push into sensitive policy areas.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Opinion
Superbugs and Ailing Schools
“What lies at the core of education is not what students encounter, but how they encounter it, how they experience, interpret, engage, relate to, and respond to classroom circumstances,” writes Thomas E. Ricks.
School & District Management
Poll Finds School Leaders Cool to Performance Pay
A survey by the American Association of School Administrators finds fewer than half interested in such compensation plans.
Early Childhood
NRC Urges Greater Focus on Preschool Math
The National Research Council says early-childhood education needs to build a better foundation for children’s mathematical success.
Reading & Literacy
Authors Share Tips on Getting Boys to Read
Children’s authors offered teachers and librarians advice on getting boys to love reading, including featuring more humorous books.
Federal
Expert Panels Named in Common-Standards Push
One group will draft standards for the initiative being led by governors and state schools chiefs, and the other will critique their work.