October 23, 2019
Education Week, Vol. 39, Issue 10
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
There's More to College Prep Than Academics
It's time to move beyond grades, FAFSA applications, and test scores when getting students ready for higher education, writes Clewiston D. Challenger.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
School Counselors Support Students. Are We Supporting Them?
We desperately need to level the playing field in college admissions, writes Mandy Savitz-Romer. School counselors are a good place to start.
Budget & Finance
Letter to the Editor
Worthy School Finance Survey
To the Editor:
Thank you so much for nationally surveying a sample of school principals and district-level administrators who manage school finance, and for stressing this critically important matter ("We Asked About School Finance. What Did Districts Say?," Sept. 24, 2019). Education Week's survey flushed out the key school finance questions, such as rising expenses affecting a district's budget the most, major funding challenges in districts, and top areas where funding is needed most, among others.
Thank you so much for nationally surveying a sample of school principals and district-level administrators who manage school finance, and for stressing this critically important matter ("We Asked About School Finance. What Did Districts Say?," Sept. 24, 2019). Education Week's survey flushed out the key school finance questions, such as rising expenses affecting a district's budget the most, major funding challenges in districts, and top areas where funding is needed most, among others.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
'Getting Reading Wrong'
To the Editor:
On Oct. 2, EdWeek published "Getting Reading Right." It would be more accurately called "Getting Reading Wrong."
On Oct. 2, EdWeek published "Getting Reading Right." It would be more accurately called "Getting Reading Wrong."
School & District Management
The Challenging, Often Isolating Work of School District Chief Equity Officers
As some districts try to dismantle racist and biased policies and practices, they are creating high-profile positions to lead that public, sometimes hostile, reckoning.
Special Education
Students With Autism Get Virtual Reality Lessons in How to Interact With Police
A new program uses VR simulations to help students with autism spectrum disorder practice what to do when they encounter law enforcement. But some say it’s the police who need the training.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Briefly Stated
Briefly Stated: Stories You May Have Missed
Here's a quick breakdown of high-profile news stories you may have missed during the week.
Law & Courts
Supreme Court Hears Three Cases on Rights Of LGBT Employees
On the first week of its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court held two hours of intense arguments about whether the main federal job-discrimination law protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees.
Privacy & Security
School Board Member's Use of Student Records Stirs Dust-Up
A little story out of Lexington, Ky., raises some big questions for K-12 districts to consider on how to handle ongoing murkiness over student privacy, open-records laws, and how candidates for school boards should best communicate with their constituents.
School & District Management
What the Research Says
Students' 'Commuting Stress' Can Worsen Absenteeism
The rise in absenteeism often seen when students move from middle to high school may come in part from more difficult commutes to school, according to a study in the American Educational Research Journal.
School & District Management
What the Research Says
Teachers' Content Chops Are Vital to Teach Early Algebra
An educator's experience teaching math is important, but performance on math-content-certification tests is the best predictor of how well a teacher's students will perform in early algebra, finds a new study by the Regional Educational Laboratory Central at Marzano Research.
School & District Management
What the Research Says
State Ed. Spending at Odds With Public Schools Support
Breakdown of recent research reports made easier for the public to understand.
School & District Management
Chicago Strike: Why Teachers Are on the Picket Lines Once Again
Teachers in the nation's third-largest school system are fighting for salary increases, class-size caps, and a written commitment for more nurses, social workers, and librarians—as well as investments some say are outside the scope of collective bargaining.
States
An Unexpected 'Education Governor' and What's Next for Florida
Ron DeSantis had a thin record on K-12 issues as a Florida congressman, but as a first-term Republican governor he’s pushed an aggressive agenda on issues such as vouchers, teacher salaries and bonus pay, and even the common core.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Here's What Student Activists Need From You
Stop gawking at student protesters and start working with us, urge two high school climate activists.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Why 20-Minute Lunch Periods Aren't Good for Students
Some schools are finding ways to balance more time to eat with the pressures of instructional time.
Mathematics
Seattle Schools Lead Controversial Push to 'Rehumanize' Math
The Seattle school district is planning to infuse all math classes with ethnic-studies questions.
Teaching Profession
How Warren's Year as a Young Teacher Could Factor in the 2020 Campaign
The swirl of attention around Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s story of being forced out of a teaching job when she was pregnant intensifies the spotlight on her background and K-12 credentials.
Assessment
ACT to Change How Students Retake Exam, Add 'Superscore'
Starting next fall, some students who take the ACT will be allowed to retake individual sections of the college-entrance exam, instead of having to sit for the entire test again.