November 13, 2019
Education Week, Vol. 39, Issue 13
Special Education
Letter to the Editor
A Lesson on Special Needs
To the Editor:
An Education Week blog post covers guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on "how school systems and state agencies can coordinate to help students with disabilities prepare for life after high school" ("Preparing Students for Life After Special Education? Here's How Federal Dollars Can Help," Sept. 18, 2019). There's so much focus on the vocational rehabilitation program and dual enrollment for students with special needs that no one considers students who cannot be successful with either.
An Education Week blog post covers guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on "how school systems and state agencies can coordinate to help students with disabilities prepare for life after high school" ("Preparing Students for Life After Special Education? Here's How Federal Dollars Can Help," Sept. 18, 2019). There's so much focus on the vocational rehabilitation program and dual enrollment for students with special needs that no one considers students who cannot be successful with either.
Every Student Succeeds Act
State ESSA Goals May Prove Elusive
Because of the variety of goals and the reduced federal role from NCLB to ESSA, it's not easy to keep tabs on how all 50 states and the District of Columbia are doing when it comes to staying on track. But if you think those goals are important, you might have cause for some concern.
Budget & Finance
Everybody Supports 'Equity,' But How Do They Define It?
Policymakers, researchers, district administrators, and teachers have taken it upon themselves to push for "equity" between student groups.
School & District Management
Education Issues Resonate in Governors' Races
This year's November elections—a preview to next year's nationwide showdowns—cast their own spotlight on education, a dynamic that played out most prominently in the Kentucky governor's race, where teachers organized to unseat a combative incumbent who'd sparred with them.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Letter to the Editor
Don't Dismiss D.A.R.E.
To the Editor:
Your October 10th blog post "Drug Education Curriculum Moves Beyond 'Just Say No' to Teach Harm Reduction" promotes Safety First as a preferred prevention education model as compared with D.A.R.E. While not presented as an editorial endorsement of the Safety First approach, the article inaccurately compares and contrasts this "new approach" with an outdated version of D.A.R.E. curricula. A Safety First program manager is quoted saying that, "an abstinence-only approach is not working." D.A.R.E. is not an abstinence-based curricula.
Your October 10th blog post "Drug Education Curriculum Moves Beyond 'Just Say No' to Teach Harm Reduction" promotes Safety First as a preferred prevention education model as compared with D.A.R.E. While not presented as an editorial endorsement of the Safety First approach, the article inaccurately compares and contrasts this "new approach" with an outdated version of D.A.R.E. curricula. A Safety First program manager is quoted saying that, "an abstinence-only approach is not working." D.A.R.E. is not an abstinence-based curricula.
School & District Management
Briefly Stated
Briefly Stated: Stories You May Have Missed (Nov. 13, 2019)
A collection of short news stories from the last week.
School & District Management
What the Research Says
Race of Gentrifying Families Affects School Enrollment
Gentrification in the past decade is linked with declining enrollment in neighborhood schools—but the race of new families moving into the neighborhood changes the equation, finds a study in the journal Urban Education.
School & District Management
What the Research Says
Mixed Computer Literacy Among Teachers Worldwide
Worldwide, teachers may struggle to help students learn computer skills, finds a study of computer literacy rates across a dozen countries.
College & Workforce Readiness
These Shop Teachers Told Their Students to Form a Union
Two N.Y. teachers have added an extra dose of realism to lessons by transforming their 10th grade aircraft cleaning and maintenance classes into unionized workplaces.
Special Education
Opinion
What We're Getting Wrong About Gifted Education
We’re leaving out a large swath of students whose giftedness doesn't line up with traditional lesson-learning, writes Joseph S. Renzulli.
Classroom Technology
Screen Time Up as Reading Scores Drop. Is There a Link?
The slide in reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress comes as students are spending more time on digital devices.
School Climate & Safety
Most School Shooters Showed Many Warning Signs, Secret Service Report Finds
A new study of violent attacks in schools over the last decade reveal that most of the student attackers were motivated by a specific grievance and every single one of them was experiencing extreme stress.
Special Education
Opinion
Stop Scapegoating Gifted Students for Inequality
Eliminating gifted programs all together is the wrong solution to fixing racial and economic imbalances, argues James R. Delisle.
Equity & Diversity
Should Schools Have an N-Word Policy? Uproar Over Guard's Firing Forces Hard Questions
The firing of a black staff member for repeating the n-word while telling a black student not to use it underscores how uneasy many districts, schools, and educators are with handling the use of racist language in any context.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
It's Time to Completely Ban the N-Word in Schools
The slur isn't appropriate for school personnel or students of any race to ever use, writes Tyrone C. Howard.