March 9, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 24, Issue 26
Curriculum
The Virtual Stage
Arts teachers are integrating computer software with traditional instruction in dance, music, theater, and visual arts to spark students’ creativity.
Student Well-Being
Smoking-Prevention Programs in Schools Found Ineffective for Teens
Smoking-prevention programs in schools do little to keep teenagers from lighting up in the long run, concludes a research review out last week.
Classroom Technology
Education Department Tracks Growth in Distance Learning
Students in one-third of the nation’s public school districts took distance education courses in the 2002-03 school year, illustrating such classes’ growing popularity, says a report released last week by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Budget & Finance
Calif. School Workers Compete to Lose Weight
In what sounds like a script for the latest reality-TV show, 200 teachers, administrators, and other school employees working in San Diego County, Calif., have accepted a challenge to achieve personal weight-loss goals over the next year.
Education
Chart: High School Trend
Participation in distance education courses is most popular at the high school level.
Science
Opinion
Ending the Evolutionary War
Expanding school choice would help alleviate the political and ideological conflicts that plague today's single official state school system, says Andrew J. Coulson.
Special Education
Opinion
The Illusion and Broken Promises of Special Education
Although the mandates of No Child Left Behind and the IDEA are steps in the right direction, special education still has a long way to go in overcoming the barriers of low expectations, says pro bono education attorney Kalman R. Hettleman.
School & District Management
Opinion
School Boards Besieged
Author William G. Howell weighs the implications of the current trend toward drawing power away from local school boards.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Alternative Pay Plans: Not Cheap or Quick
Minnesota’s statewide teachers’ union does not “scorn” Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s proposal to change the way teachers are paid, contrary to a paraphrased comment in your Feb. 2, 2005, article on alternative compensation.
Education
Letter to the Editor
With Sex, It’s No Longer ‘Safe to Be Ignorant’
Your provocative headline on Gilbert T. Sewall’s "Common Sense for Sex Education?" (Commentary, Feb. 16, 2005) may be an oxymoron. In pondering my personal experience over half a century, I see little that makes good sense.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Censoring ‘Buster’ Denies Diversity of U.S. Families
Has “no child left behind” become “it’s OK to leave behind children from groups we don’t like”? That’s the impression left by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings’ outrageous request that the Public Broadcasting Service withdraw the “Sugartime” episode of its children’s show “Postcards from Buster.”
School Choice & Charters
A National Roundup
San Diego Board Approves Charters for Schools Required to Restructure
Four San Diego public schools required to restructure under the federal No Child Left Behind Act last week got the green light from the school board for charters that will let them operate separately from the district.
Law & Courts
Minn. Students’ Anti-War Effort Fuels Web Rumors
A misunderstanding about students’ rights to express their opposition to military recruiters at their Minnesota high school sparked a flurry of accusations that spilled onto the Internet, generating a slew of angry phone calls from across the country.
School & District Management
State Vows to Fix Finances in New Orleans
In the wake of a audit raising questions about the New Orleans school district’s spending of some $70 million in federal money, Louisiana’s top education official is considering putting outside consultants in charge of the district’s finances.
Federal
Texas Stands Behind Own Testing Rule
Faced with a conflict between state and federal laws, Texas officials have come down on the side of their own law and set up a possible showdown with the U.S. government over millions of dollars in education aid.
School & District Management
Budget Panel Receives Spellings With Skepticism
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings came to Capitol Hill last week to deliver her sales pitch for President Bush’s plans to rearrange—and slightly shrink—the Department of Education’s budget, but she received a fairly skeptical reception from key senators on both sides of the aisle.
School Choice & Charters
Catholic Schools’ Mission to Serve Needy Children Jeopardized by Closings
Recents closings are raising grave concerns over the toll that rising costs, changing demographics, and declining enrollments are taking on the longtime Roman Catholic mission of providing schooling for needy children.
School Climate & Safety
Court Strikes Down Death Penalty for Juveniles
The U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down the death penalty for juvenile offenders, saying that both a national consensus and research on the adolescent brain make it “misguided to equate the failings of a minor with those of an adult.”
Families & the Community
Ind. Faulted on Ensuring Districts Convey Choice Options
Indiana state education officials must do a better job making sure school districts provide parents with information about students’ opportunities for tutoring and transfer options out of schools identified as needing improvement, a federal Department of Education audit has found.
Law & Courts
High Court Weighs Commandments Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court made clear last week that it would not have an easy time laying down the law on whether government displays of the Ten Commandments pass constitutional muster, and if so, under what circumstances.
College & Workforce Readiness
Nevada Leaders Strike Agreement Over Popular Scholarship Program
The future of Nevada’s Millennium Scholarships, which state Treasurer Brian K. Krolicki warned last fall were in jeopardy because of a drop in supporting revenues and an unexpectedly high number of enrollees, appears to be taking a turn for the better.
Families & the Community
Maryland Parents Make Case for More Involvement, State Board Seat
Maryland parents are asking the state for a more prominent role in setting public school policy, including two designated seats on the state school board.
Federal
Federal Officials Say N.D., Utah Teachers ‘Qualified’ After All
The U.S. Department of Education, after indicating that veteran elementary teachers in North Dakota and Utah might not meet the standards to be rated “highly qualified” under the No Child Left Behind Act, has given its approval to both states’ definitions of teacher competence.
Federal
Utah Legislators Delay Action on NCLB Bill
A nationally watched showdown between the U.S. Department of Education and Utah state officials over the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act turned into a political soap opera last week.
Special Education
Special-Needs Vouchers Pass Utah House, Senate
The school voucher proposal that helped topple the career of Utah’s previous governor last year has gotten a thumbs-up from the state legislature and is expected to be signed into law by the new governor.
Education
People in the News
Janet C. Corcoran
Janet C. Corcoran is the new president of Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning, or PENCIL, a New York City-based organization that promotes civic involvement in public education.
Education
People in the News
Kenneth J. Starkman
Kenneth J. Starkman was chosen last month as the president-elect of the International Technology Education Association.
Education
People in the News
Tommy G. Thompson
Tommy G. Thompson, who recently stepped down as the U.S. secretary of health and human services, has become a member of the Citizens' Commission to Protect Truth, a New York City-based panel that advocates against youth smoking.
