January 11, 2017
Education Week, Vol. 36, Issue 17
School & District Management
News in Brief
Transitions
Katy Anthes, Colorado's interim education commissioner, has been appointed to serve in the role on a permanent basis.
School & District Management
Commentary
Education Research Needs a Policy Makeover
Researchers must commit to ensuring that their classrooms are welcoming to students of all political stripes, writes Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj.
School & District Management
Commentary
The Steep Price of Political Homogeneity
Policymakers are less likely to support a university that appears hostile to roughly half of the electorate, argues Joshua Dunn.
School & District Management
Commentary
Ed. Scholars Are Talking Past the Public
Education researchers must champion why their research matters and engage unlikely allies outside of the academy, writes David R. Garcia.
School & District Management
Commentary
Why Ed. Scholarship Could Soon Be Sidelined
On the cusp of Donald Trump's inauguration, Frederick M. Hess warns that policymakers could sideline education scholarship because of its left-leaning bias.
Professional Development
More Teachers Seek National Certification
As it revises its certification process, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards says it's seeing an uptick in applicants.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Existing Tools Offer Trump School Choice Options
Even without the $20 billion voucher program President-elect Donald Trump has championed, the new administration could use a variety of programs to boost school choice.
Accountability
Letter to the Editor
Teacher 'Demoralized' by Evaluation Framework
To the Editor:
This November, I quit my teaching job to protest being subjected to cycles of evaluation under a rubric and evaluation framework inspired by Charlotte Danielson ("It's Time to Rethink Teacher Evaluation," April 20, 2016).
This November, I quit my teaching job to protest being subjected to cycles of evaluation under a rubric and evaluation framework inspired by Charlotte Danielson ("It's Time to Rethink Teacher Evaluation," April 20, 2016).
Special Education
Letter to the Editor
Hirsch's Theories Minimize Value of Intellectual Diversity
To the Editor:
A recent article highlighted the accomplishments of E.D. Hirsch Jr.'s influential career ("Cultural Literacy Creator Carries On Campaign," Oct. 12, 2016). As a former kindergarten teacher and current assistant professor of education, this article really prompted me to think.
A recent article highlighted the accomplishments of E.D. Hirsch Jr.'s influential career ("Cultural Literacy Creator Carries On Campaign," Oct. 12, 2016). As a former kindergarten teacher and current assistant professor of education, this article really prompted me to think.
Education Funding
State of the States 2017: Connecticut
Gov. Dannel Malloy will seek to dramatically adjust the way Connecticut distributes more than $4 billion of state aid, he told legislators in his annual address, as the legislature gets back to business for the 2017 session.
Every Student Succeeds Act
K-12 Funding, ESSA Hot Topics as State Legislatures Convene
School finance formulas and implementation of the new federal education law are among the issues on the agenda as 50 state legislatures get to work for their 2017 sessions.
Early Childhood
Preschool Linked to Success on Global Math Test
The latest PISA results showed that high-scoring 15-year-olds were more likely than low scorers to have had at least a year of preschool.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Can Batman Teach Grit?
Pretending to be a character known for perseverance helps young children stay focused, according to a study published last month in Child Development.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Child Development
A new report by the Institute of Education Sciences suggests executive function—the collective term for cognitive abilities related to attention, focus, and self-control—is integral to children's academic and social development throughout their school careers and beyond.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
Teacher Recruitment
Nearly all states have some sort of alternative teaching certification to help funnel industry experts into teaching career and technical education, finds a new study of state career-tech education teachers, led by Advance CTE, a group that represents state and district officials in career-technical education.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Early Childhood Education
Head Start education sites look uniform on paper, but dig beneath the surface and you find substantial variation from state to state in program quality, percentage of eligible children enrolled, and teacher salaries.
Special Education
Report Roundup
Homeless Students
After years of deepening child poverty, new federal data show a sharp rise in the number of homeless students who also have disabilities or limited English proficiency.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Computer Science
A new report by the Southern Regional Education Board, or SREB, provides states with a road map to improve computer science education.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Civic Education
Every state in the country requires students to take courses in social studies or civics in order to graduate high school. But only 37 states require students to take or demonstrate proficiency on tests in these subjects, and just 17 include social studies or civics proficiency in accountability systems, finds a new report from the Education Commission of the States' National Center for Learning and Civic Engagement.
IT Management
Ransomware Attacks Force School Districts to Shore Up—or Pay Up
Schools are being hit with a form of malware that locks away computer files unless they can be restored from backups or a ransom is paid.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Mich. Schools Can Ban Guns, State Appeals Court Rules
Michigan public schools can ban guns from their premises, the state appeals court ruled last month, rejecting a challenge by gun rights groups and parents who are licensed to carry firearms.
Education Funding
News in Brief
N.Y. Gov. Pushes Free Tuition for Most of State's Students
Hundreds of thousands of New York students would be able to attend college for free under a proposal announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to make state universities tuition-free for residents earning $125,000 or less.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Buffalo School Board Seeks to Remove Trump Supporter
A school board in upstate New York has voted to hire a law firm in an effort to remove a Donald Trump supporter for the board member's racist comments about President Barack Obama and his wife.
Every Student Succeeds Act
News in Brief
Trump Taps GOP Ed. Adviser for White House Policy Post
Rob Goad, a one-time top aide to Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., will serve as the education policy point person on the White House Domestic Policy Council under President-elect Donald Trump.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Pa. School District Not Liable for Charter-Teacher Pensions
In a precedent-setting ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said a school district is not liable for paying pension contributions that a closed charter school failed to make to a state pension fund for teachers.
Every Student Succeeds Act
News in Brief
District Leaders Protest State A-F Grading Mandates for Schools
District administrators in Alabama and Texas are protesting the A-F report cards mandated by their state legislatures, which force the states' education departments to evaluate their schools and school districts with letter grades.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Senate Education Committee Gets Three New Members
The U.S. Senate education committee will have three new members during the 115th session of Congress, including the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2016 and two freshmen senators.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Ind. Performance-Pay Plan Benefits Well-to-Do Districts
Teachers in some of Indiana's wealthiest school districts will get the largest share of $40 million in performance pay that the state made available this year for high-performing educators, with urban districts seeing much less.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Obama's Legacy on K-12 One of Bold Achievements, Fierce Blowback
The president entered office in 2009 with education a top priority, scoring game-changing policy wins in some areas before hitting stiff headwinds in his second term.