September 20, 2017
Education Week, Vol. 37, Issue 05
Special Education
Children's Sleep Problems Linked to Attention Disorders
New findings suggest a link between sleep problems and ADHD. Will they intensify debates over school start times?
School Climate & Safety
Do Schools' 'Active-Shooter' Drills Prepare or Frighten?
As they use more-elaborate safety drills to prepare for a gunman on campus, schools face a profound challenge: how to prepare young students for the worst without stoking fear.
Every Student Succeeds Act
ESSA Plans: Takeaways From the First Batch of Approvals
Some states that turned in their Every Student Succeeds Act plans earlier this year didn't make many changes after getting feedback from the federal officials.
Equity & Diversity
Teaching: Some Global Comparisons
A 50-nation study finds that U.S. teachers spend more time teaching than those in other countries. And they make 60 cents for every $1 paid to workers with similar education levels.
College & Workforce Readiness
Can Minority-Serving Colleges Help Create a More-Diverse Teaching Force?
A new network is working to make minority-serving institutions a major player in efforts to diversify the profession.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Immigrant Students Are Internalizing Stereotypes. Educators Can Help
Teachers can be the first responders to immigrant students' isolation, write leaders from the nonprofit Re-imagining Migration.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
What Can We Learn From the Private School Enrollment Numbers?
The declining socioeconomic diversity in private schools challenges the goals of American education, write Richard J. Murnane and Sean F. Reardon.
Early Childhood
Opinion
Want to Beat the Stock Market? Bet on Early-Childhood Education
The return on investment for early ed. makes a powerful argument for expanding preschool programs, writes Arthur J. Reynolds.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Dear Secretary Betsy DeVos, Don't Overlook Parents
School choice policies can create a 'tremendous burden' for families, especially those families with the fewest resources, warns Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Vicki Phillips, a former director of education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a former superintendent of the Portland, Ore., school district, will serve as CEO in residence of Educurious, effective Oct. 2.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Child Poverty
Eighteen percent of U.S. children younger than 18 live in poverty—nearly a decade low—new data from the U.S. Census Bureau show, and federal supports for low-income families and children make a big difference.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Research Report: Social-Emotional Learning
Students' social, emotional, and academic development are "deeply intertwined," and all are central to learning, according to a new consensus report by a 28-member scientific panel organized by the Aspen Institute's National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Civics Education
States are slowly beginning to require civics education to meet the standards required of incoming immigrants, finds a new report by the Education Commission of the States.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Report Roundup
ESSA Implementation
The Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy has put together a framework to evaluate states' Every Student Succeeds Act plans to determine if they meet the law's requirements for English-language-learner students.
Education
Correction
Correction
A box accompanying a Sept. 6, 2017, Education Week article about Nevada's Achievement School District incorrectly described the state's intervention process for low-performing schools.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Michigan District Wants to Move Dying Student to Another School
A 9-year-old Michigan girl with a terminal illness and her family are embroiled in a dispute with the Whitehall school district because officials want to send the child some 14.6 miles away to a facility for children with special needs.
School & District Management
News in Brief
L.A. School Board President Charged With Felonies Over Campaign Donations
Los Angeles County's district attorney last week charged the city's school board president with conspiracy, perjury, and offering false or forged testimony, in connection with his 2015 school board race.
Science
News in Brief
For the First Time, Nebraska Schools to Teach About Climate Change
The Nebraska board of education has approved new science standards that will include teaching about climate change for the first time.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
New Mexico Releases Latest Results of Controversial Teacher-Review System
About 74 percent of public school teachers in New Mexico are rated as effective or better when it comes to their success in the classroom.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
New York Lowers Cutoff Score on Teacher-Licensing Exam
New York's board of regents last week approved changes to its teacher-certification process, including lowering the passing score on its licensure exam. It is one of more than a dozen states that uses the Teacher Performance Assessment, or edTPA, as its licensure test. For the edTPA, candidates submit video...
Classroom Technology
News in Brief
Public School District Enrolls Students From Private School for Online Classes
A small and shrinking school district near Los Angeles has come up with a novel way to stem its enrollment loss: Set up a virtual school and enroll students from faraway Roman Catholic schools.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Burlington, Vt., Teachers Strike Seeking Raises, More Planning Time
About 400 teachers in Vermont's largest city went on strike last week, two weeks after the school district imposed contract terms and a day after a bargaining session failed to reach an agreement.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Calif. District Opens Resource Center to Help Those Eligible for DACA
California's fourth-largest school district last week unveiled its Dream Resource Center to support undocumented immigrants.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Schools Making 'Extraordinary Progress' With High-Speed Internet Access, Analysis Finds
Ninety-four percent of school districts in the nation are meeting targets for web connectivity, three years after federal officials overhauled the E-Rate program.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Hurricane-Ravaged Schools Turn to Tech to Keep Students on Track
School leaders and teachers in districts upended by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have relied on Twitter, Facebook, and learning platforms to get messages and academic lessons to families and students.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Rivalries, Political Infighting Marked States' ESSA Planning
Long-simmering splits among state policymakers roiled the process of hammering out their mandated federal blueprints for how to put the Every Student Succeeds Act into effect.
Equity & Diversity
All Eyes on Congress in Battle Over 'Dreamers'
Despite legislation in both chambers and a White House push for action, prospects remain unclear for legal protections for those brought to the United States illegally as minors.
School Climate & Safety
Amid Brutal Storm, Educators Gave Shelter, Hands-On Care
K-12 schools made up the majority of emergency shelters in Florida during Hurricane Irma, with school district officials often taking the lead on operations that provided refuge to tens of thousands of evacuees.