July 17, 2019
Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 37
Equity & Diversity
On the Snowy Tundra, Alaska Students Bridge Differences and Eat Moose Snout
An Alaskan high school exchange program works to promote understanding between the state's urban centers and its remote Native Villages.
Professional Development
From Our Research Center
Teachers Support Social-Emotional Learning, But Students in Distress Strain Their Skills
Teachers say knowing how to help students who struggle outside of school is a challenge as they take on teaching social-emotional learning.
School & District Management
Advice for New Principals: 'It's All About How You Treat People'
Three experienced principals offer candid advice and lessons they learned, and discuss how new school leaders can make the most out of their first year on the job.
School Climate & Safety
Democrats Vying for President Make Pitches to Teachers' Union
Three presidential candidates have pledged to nominate a teacher to the Education Secretary position during a National Education Association forum.
School & District Management
Former Puerto Rico Ed. Secretary Arrested, Charged With Fraud
Julia Keleher, the former education secretary of Puerto Rico, has been arrested by federal agents in Washington on charges related to fraud and corruption, a U.S. attorney confirmed.
Law & Courts
The U.S. Supreme Court and Schools in 2018-19
A look at both the policy takeaways from the Supreme Court's 2018-19 session and a look ahead to a couple of major cases on the docket for the coming year, including Montana school choice/religious rights case and DACA.
Law & Courts
Trump Drops Fight to Add Citizenship Question to Census
The issue has been followed by education groups who feared the question would harm response rates and affect the allocation of federal school aid.
Law & Courts
In Campaign Season, a New Look at Busing
An exchange between two of the top-tier candidates for president highlighted how segregation in education could prove to be a potent issue in the Democratic Party's 2020 primary.
Ed-Tech Policy
Letter to the Editor
A Message for School Leaders
To the Editor:
A recent Education Week article discussed the many challenges facing K-12 technology leaders ("Money, Data, Security: The Biggest Challenges Facing K-12 Tech Leaders," June 11, 2019). While the article touched on data, security, systems, and professional development, it did not talk about empowering teacher leaders to promote using technology to enhance instruction.
A recent Education Week article discussed the many challenges facing K-12 technology leaders ("Money, Data, Security: The Biggest Challenges Facing K-12 Tech Leaders," June 11, 2019). While the article touched on data, security, systems, and professional development, it did not talk about empowering teacher leaders to promote using technology to enhance instruction.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
Admissions Gap Is The 'Tip of the Iceberg'
To the Editor:
We appreciated the article that shed light on racially disparate elite public school enrollment, and on admirable efforts and policy striving to counter this disturbing phenomenon ("The Battle Over Who Gets Into Elite Public High Schools," May 7, 2019).
We appreciated the article that shed light on racially disparate elite public school enrollment, and on admirable efforts and policy striving to counter this disturbing phenomenon ("The Battle Over Who Gets Into Elite Public High Schools," May 7, 2019).
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
'Not Every Story Deserves Two Sides'
To the Editor:
There seems to be a consistent effort to consider both sides of every argument in the interest of fairness. We see it on cable news shows that invite guests to argue that down is up in an effort to appear nonpartisan. We see it in textbooks that present proven facts alongside inaccuracies where both are seen as equally valid possibilities. And now we are seeing it in a social studies curriculum that asks little black boys and girls to argue the pros of slavery, which was covered in a recent Education Week article ("A Popular Social Studies Curriculum Got an Internal Review. The Findings Weren't Pretty," June 14, 2019).
There seems to be a consistent effort to consider both sides of every argument in the interest of fairness. We see it on cable news shows that invite guests to argue that down is up in an effort to appear nonpartisan. We see it in textbooks that present proven facts alongside inaccuracies where both are seen as equally valid possibilities. And now we are seeing it in a social studies curriculum that asks little black boys and girls to argue the pros of slavery, which was covered in a recent Education Week article ("A Popular Social Studies Curriculum Got an Internal Review. The Findings Weren't Pretty," June 14, 2019).
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Teachers Globally Don't Feel Valued
Teachers in the United States, like their counterparts around the world, are satisfied with their jobs even while largely agreeing that society does not value their profession, a new global study shows.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Kim Anglin Anderson, a longtime lobbyist for the National Education Association, has been named the union's next executive director.
Special Education
Report Roundup
Research Report: Special Education
Less than 1 in 5 general education teachers feel "very well prepared" to teach students with mild-to-moderate learning disabilities, including ADHD and dyslexia, finds a new survey from two national advocacy groups.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Student Engagement
Adolescent students can be challenging for educators to keep engaged—but putting in the effort to make them feel connected to school can pay off well into adulthood.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Music Education
High schoolers who participate in music courses may score higher in academic subjects, according to a new study of students in British Columbia.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher Recruitment
New federal data highlight a leaky pipeline for would-be teachers in college. The Baccalaureate and Beyond study tracks about 29,000 U.S. students who earned a bachelor's degree in 2015-16.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Report Roundup
Media Literacy
Media literacy is urgently important, but the lack of a universal skill set for the discipline challenges teachers, finds a new report by the research firm RAND Corp.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
To Ease Shortage, Indiana District Recruits Teachers to Drive Buses
A suburban Indianapolis district is signing up teachers to drive school buses before and after their usual time in the classroom.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Citing Mismanagement, AFT Sues DeVos Over Loan Forgiveness
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten is suing U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, arguing that she has "done nothing to remedy the gross mismanagement" of a federal loan-forgiveness program.
Federal
News in Brief
Education Dept. Claims Faster Resolution of Civil Rights Complaints Under Trump
On average, the U.S. Department of Education has resolved about twice as many civil rights cases per year under the Trump administration as it did under the Obama administration, the agency said in a news release last week.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Kansas Supreme Court Approves Law to Fund Schools But Keeps Case Open
Kansas' highest court has declared that the state finally is spending enough money on its public schools under a new education funding law but refused to end a lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago because it wants to monitor future funding by the legislature.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Harvard Closes Education Lab, Suspends Its Leader, in Wake of Harassment Probe
Harvard University has suspended Roland G. Fryer Jr. and shuttered his Education Innovation Laboratory a year after allegations of sexual harassment by one of the leading education economists in the nation were made.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Civil Rights Groups Sound Alarm Over Fla.'s School Safety Database
A new state database intended to prevent school shootings represents a "massive surveillance effort" that should be immediately halted, a coalition of nearly three-dozen advocacy organizations told Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a letter delivered last week.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Most Attackers Made Threats Before Incident, Report Finds
One-third of the attackers who terrorized schools, houses of worship, or businesses last year had a history of serious domestic violence, two-thirds had mental-health issues, and nearly all had made threatening or concerning communications that worried others before they struck.
Education Funding
Gaping Holes in How States Track K-12 Spending
Flawed and outdated data systems frustrate policymakers and budget hawks alike when it comes to tracking and making the case for education funding.
States
Opinion
Teachers, Don't Just Shut Up and Teach
Our political system is out of balance, and teachers must prepare the next generation to do better, argues teacher-turned-legislator John Waldron.
School & District Management
Teachers' Union Delegates Commit to Social Justice, Beating Trump
Last year’s Supreme Court ruling, which led to a slight decrease in membership, was barely mentioned at the annual gathering. The delegates did, however, vote to take more progressive stances on issues such as abortion.
Student Achievement
Opinion
The Deficit Lens of the 'Achievement Gap' Needs to Be Flipped. Here's How
Does a student have a fixed or a growth mindset? That's the wrong question for us to measure, argues researcher Dave Paunesku.