Issues

January 23, 2019

Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 19
Students in Johnston, S.C., walk past a portrait of the late Strom Thurmond, their school’s namesake and long-time U.S. senator who prominently opposed school integration. After black families decades ago fought to shed Thurmond’s name, a state law passed to make the name permanent.
Students in Johnston, S.C., walk past a portrait of the late Strom Thurmond, their school’s namesake and long-time U.S. senator who prominently opposed school integration. After black families decades ago fought to shed Thurmond’s name, a state law passed to make the name permanent.
Gerry Melendez for Education Week
School & District Management School Named for Strom Thurmond Provokes Strong Feelings of Pride and Prejudice
In the South Carolina high school named for the state's best-known senator and segregationist, a majority of students are African-American.
Corey Mitchell, January 23, 2019
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7 min read
Federal government employees and supporters rallied with Democratic U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in Boston on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, to urge President Donald Trump to end the shutdown.
Federal government employees and supporters rallied with Democratic U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in Boston on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, to urge President Donald Trump to end the shutdown.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Federal Shutdown's Impacts Starting to Trickle Down to Schools
More than four weeks into the longest-ever federal government shutdown, school district officials in some communities are mobilizing to blunt the impacts on students, families, and their own operations.
Denisa R. Superville, January 23, 2019
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7 min read
Seventh graders Colton Fairbairn, left, and Mike Kayembe work through a physical computing exercise at Rocky Top Middle School in Thornton, Colo.
Seventh graders Colton Fairbairn, left, and Mike Kayembe work through a physical computing exercise at Rocky Top Middle School in Thornton, Colo.
Nathan W. Armes for Education Week
Science 'Physical Computing' Connects Computer Science With Hands-On Learning
The emerging instructional strategy tries to teach students about computational thinking through the use of physical tools. But there are obstacles to making it work.
Lauraine Langreo, January 23, 2019
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7 min read
Special Education Initiative Tightens Scrutiny on Restraint, Seclusion in Spec. Ed.
The U.S. Department of Education's civil rights and special education offices are teaming up for compliance reviews, more assistance to schools and districts, and better data collection on the extent of seclusion and restraint.
Christina A. Samuels, January 23, 2019
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4 min read
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine reacts after taking the oath of office alongside his wife Fran at the Ohio Statehouse. A controversy over the state’s largest full-time online charter school last year put a sharp focus on charter school oversight and accountability, an issue that may resonate with lawmakers elsewhere in this year’s legislative sessions.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine reacts after taking the oath of office alongside his wife Fran at the Ohio Statehouse. A controversy over the state’s largest full-time online charter school last year put a sharp focus on charter school oversight and accountability, an issue that may resonate with lawmakers elsewhere in this year’s legislative sessions.
John Minchillo, Pool/AP
States Charter Debates Could Be Coming to State Legislatures
As new lawmakers and governors get down to business, they’re likely to confront oversight, accountability, and other policy challenges involving the charter sector.
Marva Hinton, January 23, 2019
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7 min read
Girl holding test with C- letter grade.
Getty
Assessment Opinion What Traditional Classroom Grading Gets Wrong
It's time to make grades bias-resistant and fairer, writes Joe Feldman. Four key aspects of equitable grading can help.
Joe Feldman, January 23, 2019
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6 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty
Teaching Opinion What Is Social Justice Education Anyway?
It's easy to agree that education should be the great human equalizer, but implementing social justice pedagogy takes work.
Crystal Belle, January 23, 2019
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5 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty/Getty
Curriculum Opinion Media Literacy Isn't Coming to Save Us (But We Can Make It Better)
For media literacy to work, we first need to agree on what it is, writes Amy Callahan. Here are four steps to improve the ambiguous discipline.
Amy Callahan, January 23, 2019
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5 min read
After a five-day teachers’ strike last year, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, pictured here at his inauguration ceremony, promised to provide teachers with a 20 percent pay raise by 2020.
After a five-day teachers’ strike last year, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, pictured here at his inauguration ceremony, promised to provide teachers with a 20 percent pay raise by 2020.
Rick Scuteri/AP
States States Are Flooding Schools With Cash, But Teachers Are Missing Out
The push to boost teacher pay was a big factor in the flood of money states pumped into school districts in recent years, but much of that money has been soaked up by competing school budget priorities, rather than landing in teachers' pockets.
Daarel Burnette II, January 22, 2019
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7 min read
Students at Strom Thurmond High School in Johnston, S.C., make their way to class late last year. The school—named in honor of one of South Carolina’s most influential politicians and most notable opponents to the integration of schools—has a student body that is 50 percent African-American. Past efforts to rename the school failed and a state law passed in the 1980s made the name permanent.
Students at Strom Thurmond High School in Johnston, S.C., make their way to class late last year. The school—named in honor of one of South Carolina’s most influential politicians and most notable opponents to the integration of schools—has a student body that is 50 percent African-American. Past efforts to rename the school failed and a state law passed in the 1980s made the name permanent.
Gerry Melendez for Education Week
School & District Management In Eight States, Public Schools Are Named for Segregationists
Public schools named in honor of segregationists haven't drawn the same level of scrutiny as those named after Confederate figures.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 22, 2019
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14 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act How Are States Measuring College-and-Career Readiness? It's a Hodge-Podge
Nearly all are gauging school performance in part by whether students show they're ready for life after high school, a way of meeting ESSA's requirement for some measure aside from test scores.
Alyson Klein, January 22, 2019
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7 min read
Science Letter to the Editor Access to STEM Instruction Is Uneven
To the Editor:
The blog post "STEM Instruction: How Much There Is and Who Gets It" demonstrates the broad inequality of access to STEM education among our nation's students (Curriculum Matters, January 8, 2019). Such inequities should serve as a wake-up call to educators, parents, and the business community alike.
January 22, 2019
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety Report Roundup Research Report: Education Technology
A massive international analysis finds more screen time is associated with a lower sense of well-being among teenagers, but the effects are too small to require policy changes, according to a study in the journal Nature Human Behavior.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Assessment Report Roundup Grade Retention
The United States spends $20 billion each year when some 2 million students repeat a grade, and a new study in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness suggests doing so may not help academically.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Special Education Report Roundup School Discipline
Race—but not whether a student is enrolled in special education—appears to be a driver of disproportionate suspension rates, finds a new study in the Journal of School Psychology.
Christina A. Samuels, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Report Roundup Research Report: Social-Emotional Learning
Most states have adopted policies to support social-emotional learning in school, but they are often limited in scope, finds a new analysis.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Federal News in Brief National Teacher of the Year Gets Seat on U.S. House Education Committee
The 2016 National Teacher of the Year has joined the U.S. House of Representatives committee that oversees K-12 education.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Federal News in Brief Kentucky Senate Votes to Shift Power of Principal Hiring to Superintendents
The Kentucky Senate has passed a bill to shift the authority for selecting school principals, a move detractors said would weaken the role of school-based decisionmaking councils created by the state's landmark education law.
The Associated Press, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Small Arkansas School District Installs Safe Rooms in All Classrooms
A school district in a small Arkansas city has installed steel safe rooms in every classroom.
The Associated Press, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Verizon Spam Fee Threatens Teachers' Free Texting Service
School messaging app Remind will soon face a major disruption to its texting service, after communications giant Verizon announced that it will charge an additional fee on all SMS messages sent by the company.
Sarah Schwartz, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief New Maryland 'Red Flag' Gun Law Applied in 5 Cases Involving Schools
A new Maryland law that allows courts to temporarily restrict firearms access for people at risk to themselves or others resulted in more than 300 protective orders, five of which were related to schools, the sheriff of the state's most populous county said last week.
The Associated Press, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Facing Lawsuits, Pa. District Delays Policy on Arming School Employees
A program to train and arm school employees in Tamaqua, Pa., was put on hold last week—at least until two lawsuits against the district are resolved.
The Associated Press & Tribune News Service, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief Price Tag for Fixing Puerto Rico Schools Estimated at $11 Billion
More than a year after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Julia Keleher, the U.S. territory's education secretary, put the total cost of repairing the island's 856 public schools and bringing them up to school building standards, which until recently didn't exist, at $11 billion.
Andrew Ujifusa, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Federal Judge Rejects Including Citizenship Question on Census
A federal district judge last week rejected U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross Jr.'s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Mark Walsh, January 22, 2019
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1 min read
Education News in Brief Transition
Penny Schwinn, the chief deputy commissioner of academics for the Texas Education Agency, has been appointed Tennessee's education commissioner.
January 22, 2019
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1 min read
At Vine Street Elementary school in Los Angeles, a teacher and two aides oversee classes held in the auditorium on the first day of the teacher strike.
At Vine Street Elementary school in Los Angeles, a teacher and two aides oversee classes held in the auditorium on the first day of the teacher strike.
Photo by Morgan Lieberman/Education Week
School & District Management Principals Are Taking Over Teaching in L.A. While Staff Is on Strike
Schools doors are open as the citywide teacher strike continues, meaning administrators are the ones left delivering lessons.
Denisa R. Superville, January 16, 2019
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5 min read
Teachers from across the city gathered outside of the California Charter Schools Association on Jan. 15.
Teachers from across the city gathered outside of the California Charter Schools Association on Jan. 15.
Catherine Gewertz/Education Week
Teaching Profession Charter School Teachers in Los Angeles Are Now Striking as Well
Dozens of charter school teachers, in a contract dispute of their own, are now marching alongside more than 30,000 teachers from the district.
Madeline Will, January 15, 2019
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6 min read