April 3, 2013

Education Week, Vol. 32, Issue 27
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor Healthy Lunchrooms For Healthy Students
To the Editor:
As educators, we seek to prepare students for life. We nurture their personal and social development along with teaching academic competencies. But our efforts are being undercut by school lunchroom menus that put students' physical well-being at risk.
April 3, 2013
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Letter to the Editor Aligned Curricula Outpace Remediation
To the Editor:
We read with great interest the article "Remedial Placements Found to Be Overused" (Feb. 20, 2013) on the overuse of remediation, and we couldn't agree more.
April 3, 2013
1 min read
Accountability Letter to the Editor Good Intentions Do Not Ensure Good Results
To the Editor:
Articles in a recent issue of Education Week got me thinking ("Principal Appraisals Get a Remake" and "Feds, States Dicker Over Evaluations," March 6, 2013). Throughout history, there are numerous examples of smart people who have made poor decisions. At the time, they may have thought that the decision seemed logical, appropriate, and promised that positive changes would result.
April 3, 2013
1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Schools Can Ban Confederate T-Shirts
A federal appeals court has upheld a South Carolina district's restrictions barring a student from wearing various Confederate flag T-shirts to school.
Mark Walsh, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Families & the Community News in Brief Texas Senate to Decide On 'Parent Trigger' Bill
A measure making it easier for parents to urge their school boards to close failing schools or convert them into charters was sent last week to the full Texas Senate for consideration.
The Associated Press, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Curriculum News in Brief NewsBlast Publication Relaunched, Renamed
The PEN NewsBlast e-newsletter that covered local education reform issues until its parent organization closed its doors late last year will continue publishing with new foundation funding.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Federal News in Brief Preapplications Open For Latest 'i3' Grants
The U.S Department of Education is accepting "preapplications" for its $3 million development grants.
Michele McNeil, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Indiana Supreme Court Upholds Voucher Law
The Indiana Supreme Court last week unanimously upheld the state law that created Indiana's school voucher program, the Associated Press reported.
Alyssa Morones, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Federal News in Brief Miss. District Settles Federal Complaint
A new agreement aims to stop what the federal government has labeled discriminatory discipline practices in the 6,100-student Meridian, Miss., district.
Nirvi Shah, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Federal News in Brief High Court to Hear Arguments In Affirmative-Action Case
The U.S. Supreme Court decided last week to take up another case involving affirmative action in higher education
Mark Walsh, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Teachers in Hawaii OK Tentative Pact
Hawaii's statewide school district and its teachers' union have reached a tentative deal on a contract that establishes a new teacher-evaluation system and increases wages.
Stephen Sawchuk, April 3, 2013
1 min read
Special Education Congress Tweaks Special Education Mandates
States that run afoul of federal rules for special education funding will be punished, though not forever, under change to "maintenance of effort."
Alyson Klein, April 2, 2013
3 min read
Federal Test Groups Weigh Unified Accommodations Policies
The consortia devising new common assessments must navigate many obstacles in making the tests accessible to English-learners and students with disabilities.
Lesli A. Maxwell, April 2, 2013
2 min read
Special Education Common-Assessment Groups Differ on Special Ed. Rules
Each federally financed consortia is crafting common guidelines for accommodating students with disabilities.
Christina A. Samuels, April 2, 2013
7 min read
Federal Testing Consortia Struggle With ELL Provisions
In drafting test protocols, the consortia crafting common assessments are using research to sort through the wide variety of state-permitted accommodations for English-learners.
Lesli A. Maxwell, April 2, 2013
7 min read
Thomas J. Gentzel took over the helm of the National School Boards Association in December.
Thomas J. Gentzel took over the helm of the National School Boards Association in December.
Charles Borst/Education Week
School & District Management Leadership Shifts at Top of Education Associations
New leaders are in place at five groups, and a sixth association is on the hunt, as some try to stay relevant in the policy debate.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, April 2, 2013
6 min read
School & District Management Qualified Math Teachers Elusive for Struggling Students, Studies Find
In many U.S. schools, students struggling the most in mathematics at the start of high school have the worst odds of getting a qualified teacher in the subject, new research finds.
Sarah D. Sparks, April 2, 2013
5 min read
Mary Anne Whiteker, a local schools superintendent, visits the Texas House as lawmakers work on a measure to rewrite state graduation mandates.
Mary Anne Whiteker, a local schools superintendent, visits the Texas House as lawmakers work on a measure to rewrite state graduation mandates.
Erich Schlegel fir Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Texas Trying to Scale Back Graduation Mandates
Proposed legislation would lower the number of end-of-course exams as well as the number of core courses students must take.
Erik W. Robelen, April 2, 2013
7 min read
Stephanie Thrift, 14, attaches a wire coil onto the base of a stereo speaker that she and fellow students made using 3-D printing technologies at Buford Middle School in Charlottesville, Va. An initiative there teaches advanced manufacturing skills.
Stephanie Thrift, 14, attaches a wire coil onto the base of a stereo speaker that she and fellow students made using 3-D printing technologies at Buford Middle School in Charlottesville, Va. An initiative there teaches advanced manufacturing skills.
Norm Shafer for Education Week
Science 3-D Printing Initiative in U.S. School Attracts International Visitors
A Virginia middle school is partnering with the University of Virginia to use 3-D printing technologies to teach science and engineering concepts.
Bryan McKenzie, The Daily Progress (MCT), April 2, 2013
4 min read
Special Education Opinion Do Charter Schools Serve Special-Needs Students?
Whether charter schools fairly serve children with special needs is a complicated question, write Robin Lake and Alex Medler.
Robin J. Lake & Alex Medler, April 2, 2013
4 min read
Demonstrators chant outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington last week as the court heard arguments on California's ban on same-sex marriage. Educators are watching the case for its implications for schools and families.
Demonstrators chant outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington last week as the court heard arguments on California's ban on same-sex marriage. Educators are watching the case for its implications for schools and families.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Equity & Diversity Same-Sex Marriage Arguments Touch on Children's Issues
Concerns about the well-being of children of gay parents came up as the Supreme Court heard arguments on same-sex marriage.
Mark Walsh, April 2, 2013
3 min read
Federal Calif. Districts' Waiver Bid Now in Review Phase
The U.S. Department of Education is weighing details of an application by nine California districts for a waiver under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Michele McNeil, April 2, 2013
5 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto.com/VolodymyrGrinko
Standards Opinion 3 Reasons to Like the New Science Standards
The new science standards—if paired with finely tuned assessments—have the potential to generate great improvement, writes Arthur H. Camins.
Arthur H. Camins, April 2, 2013
6 min read
Accountability Arizona Weighing 'Performance Funding' for Schools
Gov. Jan Brewer is backing an unusual effort to tie a relatively small portion of school funding to districts' performance on the state’s A-F grading system.
Sean Cavanagh, April 2, 2013
2 min read
School & District Management Students to Learn How to Launch a Business at L.A. Pilot School
The Incubator School marks the latest effort in the Los Angeles Unified district to spark innovation through "pilot" schools.
Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2013
4 min read
School & District Management Opinion School Leaders: Don't Let Your Teachers Lose Heart
Retired teacher Laurie Barnoski offers suggestions for how school administrators can support teachers at a time when the education landscape is changing.
Laurie Barnoski, April 2, 2013
5 min read
Education Best of the Blogs Blogs of the Week
| NEWS | College Bound
April 2, 2013
3 min read
Accountability N.J. Taking Over Camden School District
Camden will become the fourth low-performing district in New Jersey to be taken over by the state.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, April 2, 2013
1 min read
Participants rush out of the cafeteria after hearing simulated gunshots during a lockdown exercise at Milford High School in Milford, Mass., earlier this month. More than 500 teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers and school custodians participated in the training program that taught alternatives to staying in lockdown during a school shooting.
Participants rush out of the cafeteria after hearing simulated gunshots during a lockdown exercise at Milford High School in Milford, Mass., earlier this month. More than 500 teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers and school custodians participated in the training program that taught alternatives to staying in lockdown during a school shooting.
Michael Dwyer/AP
School Climate & Safety Safety Plan for Schools: No Guns
A coalition of organizations unveiled its plan to head off school violence through positive behavioral approaches and better training and support for students and staff.
Nirvi Shah, April 2, 2013
6 min read