Issues

January 20, 2016

Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 18
Fourth grade teacher Kassie Hibbard leads a math lesson in the Bethel school district in Washington state. The district is one of many experimenting with open educational resources.
Fourth grade teacher Kassie Hibbard leads a math lesson in the Bethel school district in Washington state. The district is one of many experimenting with open educational resources.
Ian C. Bates for Education Week-File
Every Student Succeeds Act Open Education Resources Get Major Boost From ESSA
The sweeping federal law contains specific language that allows states and local education agencies to channel block grant money focused on technology toward open materials.
Sean Cavanagh, January 19, 2016
5 min read
INDIANA: Gov. Mike Pence, center, delivers his annual address to legislators in Indianapolis, flanked by House Speaker Brian Bosma and Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann. His proposals include a new scholarship program for students who graduate in the top fifth of their class and agree to teach in Indiana for at least five years. Pence also touted education gains, including the state's high graduation rate.
<b>INDIANA:</b> Gov. Mike Pence, center, delivers his annual address to legislators in Indianapolis, flanked by House Speaker Brian Bosma and Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann. His proposals include a new scholarship program for students who graduate in the top fifth of their class and agree to teach in Indiana for at least five years. Pence also touted education gains, including the state's high graduation rate.
Darron Cummings/AP
States State of the States: Ariz., Fla., Ga., Idaho, Iowa, Ind., Kan., N.J., N.Y., S.D., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va.
Here are summaries of recent annual addresses by governors around the country.
January 19, 2016
14 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion The NCAA's Hidden Influence on High Schools
The NCAA's onerous eligibility requirements for student-athletes has a stranglehold on precollegiate schooling, writes James Lytle.
James H. Lytle, January 19, 2016
4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion What Is Driving the Student-Debt Crisis?
To slow skyrocketing higher education debt, colleges and universities must have "skin" in the student-loan game, writes Donald M. Feuerstein.
Donald M. Feuerstein, January 19, 2016
6 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Christophe Vorlet for Education Week
Student Well-Being Opinion College Admission 2.0: Service Over Self
In a new report, Ivy League admissions deans and others rethink what matters in prospective students, writes Richard Weissbourd.
Richard Weissbourd, January 19, 2016
6 min read
In his final State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama highlighted education issues ranging from prekindergarten to college affordability, along with the recent bipartisan rewrite of the federal K-12 law.
In his final State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama highlighted education issues ranging from prekindergarten to college affordability, along with the recent bipartisan rewrite of the federal K-12 law.
Evan Vucci/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act In Home Stretch, Obama Vows to Push On Education Priorities
The president uses his final State of the Union address to make clear he will press Congress and his successor to continue unfinished pieces of his education agenda.
Alyson Klein, January 19, 2016
5 min read
Michael A. Carvin, the lawyer representing 10 California teachers who refuse to join the teachers' union, argues at the U.S. Supreme Court that the union should not be allowed to levy fees on non-members for collective bargaining.
Michael A. Carvin, the lawyer representing 10 California teachers who refuse to join the teachers' union, argues at the U.S. Supreme Court that the union should not be allowed to levy fees on non-members for collective bargaining.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts High Court Hearing in Fees Case Has Unions on Defensive
Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appear open to overruling a key precedent that lets public-employee unions collect fees from nonmembers for collective bargaining.
Mark Walsh, January 19, 2016
6 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Education Department Gets Feedback on Preparing ESSA Rules
Advocates sound off on the first of two hearings how federal officials should go about coming up with rules to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Alyson Klein, January 19, 2016
5 min read
Colleen Driggs, Erica Woolway, and Doug Lemov take a break during a conference last week. The trio distill practical advice and research on teaching reading in a forthcoming book, Reading Reconsidered.
Colleen Driggs, Erica Woolway, and Doug Lemov take a break during a conference last week. The trio distill practical advice and research on teaching reading in a forthcoming book, <i>Reading Reconsidered</i>.
John O’Boyle for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Teach Like a Champion Author Tackles Reading in New Book
With his co-authors, Doug Lemov seeks to blend best practice and research in a new book on teaching reading in a common-core era.
Liana Loewus, January 19, 2016
7 min read
School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor Education Must Broaden Growth of Social Infrastructure
To the Editor:
Is education's foremost mission to train the state's workforce? Or is it to help us improve our lives? It's the former, according to the industrial model implicit in much of the United States' current educational policies. In that model, education is just another industrial sector with the job of manufacturing skilled labor.
January 19, 2016
1 min read
Equity & Diversity Letter to the Editor Gates 'Principles' Neglect Cultural Sensitivity
To the Editor:
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has now pledged to make another huge donation, this time to teacher-training programs that best meet its four criteria for best practices ("Gates Foundation Turns Attention to Teacher-Prep 'Transformation'").
January 19, 2016
1 min read
Federal Letter to the Editor Building Creativity on the Playground
To the Editor:
The Every Student Succeeds Act is already receiving praise, and some criticism, for letting teachers and schools decide how to test achievement ("Experts Wary of Interim Tests for Annual Score"). Something is still missing from how we view education, however: the role of play.
January 19, 2016
1 min read
Federal Letter to the Editor Civics Courses, Political Role Should Go Hand in Hand
To the Editor:
While the merits of the Every Student Succeeds Act can be debated, it is important to celebrate a new priority: The law authorizes the creation of four different programs that fund civics education.
January 19, 2016
1 min read
Education Best of the Blogs Blogs
January 19, 2016
7 min read
Education News in Brief Fla. Teachers Protest Testing, Funding Practices
More than a thousand teachers, many waving signs critical of Florida's education system blasted the Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. Rick Scott during a rally last week at the state Capitol.
The Associated Press, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Calif. Teacher Under Fire for Donating Laptops
A California high school teacher is under fire for donating laptops to her students.
The Associated Press, January 19, 2016
1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Officer Put on Leave for 'Hurtful' Comments
The Cleveland district placed a school resource officer on administrative leave for online comments he made about Tamir Rice and Rice's mother shortly after a prosecutor announced that a grand jury declined to indict two officers in the 12-year-old boy's death.
Evie Blad, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Student Well-Being Obituary Obituary
Phillip C. Schlechty, an education researcher, speaker, and school improvement advocate, died Jan. 7. He was 78.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Michelle King
Michelle King
School & District Management News in Brief L.A. Selects Homegrown Candidate as New Superintendent
Michelle King, who has spent her entire career in the Los Angeles school district, was named the new superintendent of the nation's second-largest school system last week.
Corey Mitchell, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Special Education News in Brief Appeals Court Rejects Suit Over Special Ed. Restraints
An Ohio special education teacher's alleged techniques were "inappropriate and abusive," but they did not violate the students' constitutional rights, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Mark Walsh, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Standards News in Brief New 'Sting' Video Targets Common Core
James O'Keefe, the conservative activist best known for doing undercover video recordings in ACORN offices, released a new "sting" video last week in which a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt sales executive is heard admitting that common-core textbooks are "all about the money."
Liana Loewus, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Education News in Brief Minneapolis Walks Away From Superintendent Pick
The Minneapolis school board voted last week not to move forward with contract negotiations with Sergio Paez, whom the board picked last month as the new superintendent.
Denisa R. Superville, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief CEO of Netflix Pledges Big Donation to Education
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is the latest mega-entrepreneur to commit to a big effort to pour money into education, with his announcement last week that he is creating a $100 million philanthropic fund.
Sean Cavanagh, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Federal News in Brief Pa. School Boards' Group Sues State Over Funding
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association has sued Gov. Tom Wolf and the state's legislature, treasurer, and education secretary for failing to provide timely funding of schools during a lengthy budget impasse.
Denisa R. Superville, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Education Funding Report Roundup Why Few Poor Students Make It to Top Colleges
Poor students at the top of their high school classes are far less likely to enter an Ivy League college than their wealthy counterparts.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 19, 2016
1 min read
Teaching Profession Report Roundup Preschool Fade-Out
Researchers found that Tennessee students who attended a state-funded preschool and subsequently had a highly rated 1st grade teacher performed better than children who had a highly rated teacher but did not attend a state-supported school.
Christina A. Samuels, January 19, 2016
1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup School Lunches
Students at an urban school in Washington state ate healthier lunches after their schools began complying with new federal nutrition standards, a new study finds.
Evie Blad, January 19, 2016
1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup District Leadership
There's no clear-cut evidence that state takeovers of large urban districts leads to better student performance or fiscal management, concludes a report by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Corey Mitchell, January 19, 2016
1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup School Management
School districts have added more leadership staff, but they have not thought strategically about how to deploy those new bodies to help teachers become better at their jobs, says Bain & Co., a management company.
Denisa R. Superville, January 19, 2016
1 min read