September 25, 2013
Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 05
Education
Links in Education Week: September 25, 2013
States Mull Next Steps on Testing
PAGE 1
States Mull Next Steps on Testing
- The U.S. Department of Education released guidelines for "double-testing flexibility."
School Choice & Charters
Philadelphia Seeks Salvation in Lessons From Model School
The struggling city school district is resting its hopes on replicating the success of the Science Leadership Academy, a school that emphasizes tech-focused, project-based learning.
Executive Skills & Strategy
Replicating a Model School: The People Behind the Effort
In Philadelphia, key players are shaping the fate of a high-stakes effort to replicate the acclaimed Science Leadership Academy. The expansion will rest on administrators, philanthropists, teachers, and students
Education Funding
The Fiscal Face-Off
The budget uncertainty that education advocates and school districts have lived with for the past two years doesn't seem likely to go away anytime soon. Here's a breakdown of what you need to know.
Families & the Community
Charters Adopt Common Application Systems
More and more urban communities are adopting common applications, deadlines, and lotteries to smooth the enrollment process for parents—and schools.
School Climate & Safety
Districts Invest in New Measures to Boost Security
A flurry of media reports indicate that districts are making significant security system purchases, from adding high-tech "visitor management" systems to installing new video-surveillance technologies.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Teaching: It's More Than The Sum of Its Parts
To the Editor:
"'Growth Mindset' Gaining Traction as Ed. Strategy" (Sept. 11, 2013) is a very good article. However, it is disturbing that it needs to be written. It is sad that it is research that may be providing the impetus for some teachers (and parents) to use the common-sense strategies the author describes to build students' belief in their ability to learn.
"'Growth Mindset' Gaining Traction as Ed. Strategy" (Sept. 11, 2013) is a very good article. However, it is disturbing that it needs to be written. It is sad that it is research that may be providing the impetus for some teachers (and parents) to use the common-sense strategies the author describes to build students' belief in their ability to learn.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Libia Gil, who currently serves as a vice president for the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, in Chicago, has been named as an assistant deputy secretary and director of the U.S. Department of Education's office of English-language acquisition. The OELA job had been filled on an interim basis for nearly a year since Rosalinda Barrera resigned last October.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A story in the Sept. 18, 2013, issue of Education Week misstated the year that the Higher Education Act was last reauthorized. It was 2008.
Education Funding
News in Brief
RTT States' Success on Teacher Evaluation Varied
State recipients of Race to the Top grants are having differing degrees of success with what has turned out to be one of the toughest tasks required by the competitive-grant program: crafting new teacher evaluations.
Standards
Business Groups Crank Up Defense of Common Core
Members of the business community are being urged to rally support for the common standards in statehouses and communities where they are under attack from some on both the political left and right.
Special Education
R.I. Redoubles Efforts for Intellectually Disabled
A "landmark" agreement prompted by a U.S. Department of Justice probe is opening new doors for students with intellectual disabilities in Providence, R.I.
Special Education
Providence Turns Toward Inclusion
The Providence, R.I. district was rocked earlier this year when a U.S. Justice Department investigation found the system was improperly segregating high school students with intellectual disabilities. Since then, the school system has been working to fully incorporate these students into their high school.
Law & Courts
Missouri Districts Verge on Bankruptcy After Ruling
A recently affirmed Missouri law that allows students to transfer out of unaccredited districts—at the home district's expense—could bankrupt two districts.
School & District Management
New Research Consortium Targets D.C. Schools
The partnership of research organizations with local district and charter schools will study how the often-changing education policy landscape in the nation's capital affects students and teachers.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
A Fifth of Children Remain Poor, Says Census
Child poverty has leveled off but remains higher than it was before the recession, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Early Childhood
Head Start programs helped improve the kindergarten readiness of homeless or highly mobile young children, according to a report.
Professional Development
Report Roundup
Teaching Reading
A webcam-based professional-development program for rural teachers in high-poverty schools has the potential to help students improve their reading skills, according to a new study.
Standards
Report Roundup
Common Core
Most states report that the K-12 and higher education sectors are working together to implement the Common Core State Standards, a survey of state education officials finds.
Reading & Literacy
Report Roundup
Expeditionary Learning
Middle school students in Washington and New York City who remained with a project-based school model gained more learning in reading and math than their counterparts in other district schools.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Out-Of-School Learning
A new experimental study has found that school visits to an art museum yield multiple benefits for students.
School & District Management
News in Brief
La. Protests Federal Voucher Challenge
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called on the Obama administration last week to drop its legal intervention over the state's private school voucher program.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Schools Get Access to Civil Rights Films
A new initiative will provide schools and communities with free access to documentaries that trace the history of the civil rights movement.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
Homework a Struggle for Many Parents
Nearly half of parents say they struggle to help their children with homework, and as many parents simply don't understand the subject matter, a new survey found.
Science
News in Brief
Text Hearings Fuel Evolution Debate
Dozens of experts and activists lined up to testify before the state board of education last week as it mulled approval of new science textbooks for classrooms around Texas
Federal
News in Brief
Pa. Officials Institute New School Grading
A new grading system for Pennsylvania's public schools, unveiled last week, is being described as a tool for parents, administrators, and the public to monitor and improve student achievement.
English-Language Learners
News in Brief
Online Course Targets Common Core, ELLs
Language experts from Sanford University will offer a free, online course this fall that will focus on the language demands of the Common Core State Standards.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
After Hiring Ex-Convict, Charter Can't Reopen
Texas officials last week rejected a Dallas charter school's appeal to reopen after it failed to run proper criminal background checks on teachers and staff.
Federal
News in Brief
Feds to Gather Data on Alternative Routes
The U.S. Department of Education is preparing to collect information from states on teachers participating in alternative-route programs—and whether they disproportionately teach students with disabilities, English-language learners, and other traditionally underserved groups.