November 28, 2018
Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 14
Equity & Diversity
Project
Education, Unsettled: Inside the Struggle to Keep Migrant Students in School and Out of the Fields
Alex Granados follows along with educators doing the tough work of linking migrant farmworkers' children with needed educational services.
School & District Management
Opinion
What It Takes to Make Suicide Prevention a Priority in School
In the state with the nation’s highest suicide rate, this principal and a school counselor have zeroed in on student mental health.
School & District Management
Opinion
What It Takes to Be a Human First and a Principal Second
Leadership is a test. One very busy principal explains how he learned to pass.
School & District Management
Opinion
What It Takes to Make a 4-Day School Week Work
Funding shouldn't have the last word on how you run your school, write Oklahoma K-12 leaders Nathan Gray and Jon Myers.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
What It Takes to Lead a School After a Shooting
How can leaders help their communities after a tragedy? Principal Warman Hall shares three lessons he learned firsthand.
School & District Management
Opinion
What It Takes to Be a 'Crisis Principal' in a Hurricane
During a disaster, school leaders often double as first responders. Associate professor William Sterrett offers four lessons.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
We Need More Than Just Data on Guns
To the Editor:
Natalia E. Pane is on the right track in her recent essay ("We Are Willfully Ignorant About Ending Gun Violence," October 31, 2018), but we don't just lack data, we lack a common hypothesis.
Natalia E. Pane is on the right track in her recent essay ("We Are Willfully Ignorant About Ending Gun Violence," October 31, 2018), but we don't just lack data, we lack a common hypothesis.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
The Failure of Roteism Instruction
To the Editor:
Fredrick M. Hess and Michael Q. McShane's open letter to the U.S. secretary of education misses the greatest takeaway of all ("What Betsy DeVos Can Learn From Bush-Obama School Reform," October 24, 2018). Secretary DeVos, what you must understand is that years of school, college, and textbook reform efforts have not changed the way thinking, subject matter, teachers, and students come together in classrooms. Unfortunately, after centuries of practice, education is still defined by roteism instruction.
Fredrick M. Hess and Michael Q. McShane's open letter to the U.S. secretary of education misses the greatest takeaway of all ("What Betsy DeVos Can Learn From Bush-Obama School Reform," October 24, 2018). Secretary DeVos, what you must understand is that years of school, college, and textbook reform efforts have not changed the way thinking, subject matter, teachers, and students come together in classrooms. Unfortunately, after centuries of practice, education is still defined by roteism instruction.
Federal
DeVos Rewrites Title IX Guidance on Sexual Assault and Harassment
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' office for civil rights is reversing itself on several key changes to how it investigates civil rights claims that had infuriated the civil rights community.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Students Learn to Put the 'Civil' in Civil Discourse
In an age of political divisiveness, teachers are finding new ways to teach students how to have calm, reasoned discussions about hot-button issues.
Every Student Succeeds Act
School 'Reform' Loses Steam as a Topline Political Issue
Topics such as early-childhood education and workforce preparation gain traction as safer and more voter-friendly than harder-edged school accountability issues.
Law & Courts
Democratic Bill Aims to Put Brakes on Restraint and Seclusion Practices
Restraint and seclusion is controversial in the special education community; one in 100 students with special needs was restrained or secluded in the 2013-14 school year, according to federal data.
Education Funding
Charter Advocates Dealt Loss in California Chief's Election
State Assembly member Tony Thurmond ultimately prevailed over former charter school executive Marshall Tuck in a contest that drew more than $50 million in outside campaign spending.
Every Student Succeeds Act
DeVos Team Holds 'Design Challenge' for ESSA Report Cards
The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to publish a host of new information, including data on school-by-school spending, long-term English-learners, homeless and foster students, and more.
Law & Courts
Lessons on U.S. Constitution Find New Relevance
Is the current political climate rekindling interest in teaching about the U.S. Constitution? That's what some civics teachers, law experts, and leaders of national groups are saying.
Student Well-Being & Movement
After-School Programs Keep Learning Going With Student Data
Through a city-school partnership in Nashville, Tenn., after-school programs are using data to tailor lessons to students' learning needs.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Candice McQueen, Tennessee's education commissioner, is leaving her post to become the CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, starting in January. The organization helps states and schools develop and retain educators.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Shooting Inquiry Reveals Key Breakdowns
More than nine months since the rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the commission investigating the massacre will now begin debating recommendations around student safety, mental health, and how to prevent future school shootings.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Physical Education
Less than 3 percent of students who started 9th grade in 2009 had dropped out by 2012, new data from the National Center for Education Statistics show, but more than 11 percent had switched schools.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Teacher Pay
Americans think that U.S. teachers are underpaid by an average of $7,500 a year, according to a new global survey by the Varkey Foundation, a global charity.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Foster Students in Schools
Schools may be the only lifeline for many teenagers leaving foster care before graduating from high school.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
College Readiness
Only a third of the country's public high schools have a counselor devoted to helping students get prepared for college—less than half the private schools' rate—finds a survey of 2,251 high school counselors.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Achievement and Race
If a black student has just one or two black teachers in elementary school, he or she is significantly more likely to enroll in college, concludes a new Johns Hopkins University study.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
District Planning to Hire Retired Police for Front Office Jobs in Schools
A suburban Chicago district is moving forward with a plan to fill clerical roles with armed retired police officers who will also be available to increase school security.
Education Funding
News in Brief
California's Teacher-Pension Fund Divests From Prison Companies
California's teacher-pension fund is pulling its investments out of two private prison companies that have contracts to house immigrants detained at the Mexican border.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Investigation Launched Into Contracting of N.Y.C. School Bus Companies
Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into contracts awarded to private companies that operate New York City's $1.2 billion yellow school bus system, sources say.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Chicago Charter Founder Retires Amid Allegations of Inappropriate Behavior
The founder of Chicago's largest charter school network is leaving his post for inappropriate behavior toward young women, according to the Noble Network of Charter Schools.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Dozens of Teacher Misconduct Cases Go Unreported, Utah Audit Finds
School authorities in Utah have failed to report educator misconduct, possibly allowing teachers to offend again by moving to other schools, according to a new audit.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Settlement Nearing in 25-Year-Old Case on Educating Students With Disabilities
Ohio's education department and an advocacy group have a proposed agreement to a 25-year-old lawsuit about the education of students with disabilities.