Issues

September 12, 2018

Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 04
School Climate & Safety A Missed Handshake Sparks Controversy for U.S. Supreme Court Pick
The parent of a student killed in the Parkland, Fla., school shooting tried to shake hands with Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh at his Senate confirmation hearing. The brief encounter didn't go smoothly.
Andrew Ujifusa, September 11, 2018
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2 min read
Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Alex Brandon/AP
School Climate & Safety Supreme Court Nominee Grilled at Confirmation Hearing
School safety, religious liberty and the nation's legacy of segregation were among the topics Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh was called on to address as senators peppered the nominee for U.S. Supreme Court with questions.
Mark Walsh, September 11, 2018
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5 min read
Signs alert people approaching Argyle High School in Argyle, Texas, that members of the staff are armed. Some districts are eyeing federal grant money as a means of equipping teachers and others with guns to protect students.
Signs alert people approaching Argyle High School in Argyle, Texas, that members of the staff are armed. Some districts are eyeing federal grant money as a means of equipping teachers and others with guns to protect students.
Molly Hennessy-Fiske/Los Angeles Times via TNS
School Climate & Safety DeVos Tries to Steer Clear of Debate Over Federal Aid to Arm Teachers
Some districts are eyeing Every Student Succeeds Act money as a way to provide arms to school staff in order to protect students, but Education Secretary Betsy DeVos plans not to put out guidance on that.
Alyson Klein, September 11, 2018
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5 min read
Julie Latessa sings to students in a summer learning program in Providence, R.I., earlier this summer. The program is part of coordinated efforts between the city and school district to boost students’ academic performance and overall well-being.
Julie Latessa sings to students in a summer learning program in Providence, R.I., earlier this summer. The program is part of coordinated efforts between the city and school district to boost students’ academic performance and overall well-being.
Gretchen Ertl for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement In Some Cities, Closing Achievement Gaps Is Not for Schools to Fix Alone
Some cities are closely partnering with their school districts to provide an array of academic, health, and behavioral services to raise the odds that poor children are successful.
Denisa R. Superville, September 11, 2018
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15 min read
Many students now turn to YouTube before books to grasp difficult concepts in math and science or to investigate topics for English and history classes.
Many students now turn to YouTube before books to grasp difficult concepts in math and science or to investigate topics for English and history classes.
All images: YouTube
Curriculum Why Generation Z Learners Prefer YouTube Lessons Over Printed Books
The shifting learning preference is driving curricula and technological changes in some school districts, but also raising concerns about the downsides of too much video use.
Lauraine Langreo, September 11, 2018
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6 min read
Federal How a Proposed Tax Rule Could End Up Hurting School Vouchers
Private school choice advocates are worried that tax-credit scholarship programs are getting swept into a crackdown by the Trump Administration on blue states trying to circumvent parts of the new GOP tax law.
Arianna Prothero, September 11, 2018
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4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Why I Drop-Kicked a Book Out of Class
A popular Netflix documentary series highlights an alarming academic trend among student athletes. An educator from the show speaks out.
Latonya Pinkard, September 11, 2018
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3 min read
Early Childhood Report Roundup Early Education
The transition from preschool into kindergarten can affect students' engagement and performance in early grades, but relatively few states address it in their education policies, finds a new study by the Education Commission of the States.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Report Roundup Accountability
States are taking advantage of the added flexibility given them under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act to adopt a wider range of indicators for measuring schools' educational progress, according to a report from the Learning Policy Institute.
Debra Viadero, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Civics
A new Gallup poll finds district superintendents increasingly concerned about teaching their students to be "engaged citizens."
Sarah D. Sparks, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety Report Roundup Research Report: School Climate
Students' school environments can affect their academic mindset—whether they believe intelligence and other skills are fixed or can be improved through effort—and that mindset affects how they react to future school environments, creating a feedback loop.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Community Engagement
In 2030, Americans 65 and older will outnumber children younger than 18 for the first time in the country's history, according to a new U.S. Census report.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief District of Columbia Schools Expose Students' Personal Information Online
A spreadsheet detailing sensitive personal information about 2,000 students in the District of Columbia public schools was publicly available online for months.
The Associated Press, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief School Resource Officer Activates Taser to Awaken Sleeping Student in Ohio
Police in northeast Ohio have placed a school resource officer on unpaid leave for activating a Taser to wake up a sleeping student.
The Associated Press, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Georgia District Using School Buses to Teach 'Sight' Words to Elementary Students
One of the largest school districts in Georgia is turning its bus drivers into teachers who command "rolling classrooms."
Marva Hinton, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Texas Supreme Court Allows Cheerleaders to Display Bible Verses at School Games
Cheerleaders in a small city in east Texas can continue to display Bible verses at football games, the state's highest court has decided, bringing them closer to the end of a yearslong battle with their school district.
Tribune News Service, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Arizona High Court Boots Ballot Measure to Tax More-Affluent for School Funding
A state supreme court ruling that threw out a school funding ballot measure set for November has lit a match under an already combustible midterm election in Arizona.
Daarel Burnette II, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Teachers Paid Significantly Less Than Comparable Professionals, Study Finds
The wage gap between teachers and comparable professionals has grown over time, with teachers now earning 18.7 percent less than other college-educated workers, according to a new analysis.
Madeline Will, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Science News in Brief Group Pushes Vendors and Districts to Sign Computer Science Accessibility Pledge
A leading group supporting the "computer science for all" push in schools wants vendors, investors, districts, and others to publicly commit to supporting improved accessibility for students with disabilities.
Benjamin Herold, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Federal News in Brief Texas Refuses to Pay for Educating Children Living in Migrant Shelters
Texas won't use state funding to educate immigrant children housed in federal detention. The Texas Education Agency told a charter school group that local schools wanting to serve migrant students in federal custody can't do so with state education funding.
The Associated Press, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement News in Brief Detroit Schools Turn Off Drinking Fountains After Tests Show Elevated Levels of Lead in Water
Thousands of Detroit public school students were told last week to drink from district-supplied water coolers or bottled water on the first day of classes, after the drinking fountains were shut off because of contaminants in some water fixtures.
The Associated Press, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Equity & Diversity News in Brief Bench Honors Memory of Little Rock Nine
Elizabeth Eckford, one of the nine black students who first integrated Little Rock's Central High School in 1957, walked to a bus-stop bench last week on the corner of 16th Street and Park Street as hundreds of people watched, much as she'd done exactly 61 years ago.
The Associated Press, September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Education Correction Correction
A story in the Sept. 5, 2018, issue of Education Week on the National Education Association's training for educators running for office misstated the number of trainings the organization has held. The NEA has held three trainings in total.
September 11, 2018
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1 min read
Illustration of two football players' helmets crashing together
Edel Rodriguez for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion It's Time to End Football in High School
The danger of traumatic brain injury is too great to square football with the goals of education, write two professors.
Randall Curren & Jason Blokhuis, September 10, 2018
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5 min read
Teacher Rebecca Tabak Roberts works with a 2nd grader at Strong 21st Century Communications Magnet School in New Haven, Conn. Tabak Roberts, who is dyslexic herself, supports the genetics research in her school.
Teacher Rebecca Tabak Roberts works with a 2nd grader at Strong 21st Century Communications Magnet School in New Haven, Conn. Tabak Roberts, who is dyslexic herself, supports the genetics research in her school.
Bradley E. Clift for Education Week
Special Education What If a DNA Test Could Show How to Teach a Student With Dyslexia?
The New Haven, Conn., school district is working with a team of education, genetics, and neuroscience researchers from Yale University in what may be the first attempt to design so-called "precision" gene-based education help for the academic disorder.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 10, 2018
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9 min read
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testifies before a U.S. Senate subcommittee in June.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testifies before a U.S. Senate subcommittee in June.
Carolyn Kaster/AP-File
Federal DeVos' Trip to South America Focuses on Workforce Prep
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her counterparts from around the globe met in Argentina for the first-ever G-20 meeting of education and employment ministers.
Alyson Klein, September 7, 2018
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3 min read
Striking teachers walk a picket line in front of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash. Fights over teacher salaries and work conditions are ongoing in some districts in the state, where schools received an additional $2 billion in funding after a long-running court battle.
Striking teachers walk a picket line in front of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash. Fights over teacher salaries and work conditions are ongoing in some districts in the state, where schools received an additional $2 billion in funding after a long-running court battle.
Ted S. Warren/AP
Law & Courts Teacher Strikes Are Heating Up in More States
The momentum behind the widespread teacher activism last spring has continued into the new school year.
Madeline Will, September 7, 2018
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6 min read
In this 2015 photo, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speaks during a town hall meeting at North High School in Des Moines, Iowa.
In this 2015 photo, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speaks during a town hall meeting at North High School in Des Moines, Iowa.
Charlie Neibergall/AP
Federal Opinion Arne Duncan: Betsy DeVos Turns a Blind Eye to Injustice
The former U.S. secretary of education discusses the department’s current approach to guns in schools, transgender students, zero-tolerance discipline, and more.
Arne Duncan, September 4, 2018
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4 min read