January 17, 20007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 19
School & District Management
Opinion
‘Tough Choices’: Radical Ideas, Misguided Assumptions
Diane Ravitch writes that the recommendations from a recently released report calling for the overhaul of the U.S. education system "are not only radical but dubious."
School & District Management
Opinion
‘Tough Choices’: Change the System, or Suffer the Consequences
Marc S. Tucker, the president of the Washington-based National Center on Education and the Economy, agrees with the recommendations of a recent report on American school reform and says the nation will suffer the consequences if the education system does not get a major overhaul.
School & District Management
Districts Compare Notes on Best Business Practices
A Houston organization leads an effort to refine school management.
School & District Management
Opinion
Chat Wrap-Up: Educational Policy Influence
On Dec. 20, 2006, Kati Haycock, the director of the Education Trust, Chester E. Finn Jr., the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, and Christopher B. Swanson, the director of the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, answered readers’ questions concerning the center’s recent report “Influence: A Study of the Factors Shaping Education Policy,” released in December.
Law & Courts
Court Hears Case on Use of Fees by Teachers’ Union
The U.S. Supreme Court is contemplating a case that tests the constitutionality of a Washington state law that requires nonunion teachers to “affirmatively consent,” or opt in, before a teachers’ union may spend money from “agency fees” on political campaigns and similar activism.
Mathematics
Math Panel Issues Its First Report, But Holds Off on Policy Proposals
The report describes the panel’s progress and the rules it is following in its research.
Law & Courts
Justices Weigh Case on Impact Aid Involving 2 New Mexico Districts
The districts contend their state-aid payments are being unfairly reduced by New Mexico under regulations for the federal impact-aid program.
Law & Courts
Court to Revisit Case Pitting School Against Tenn. Athletic Association
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by a state high school athletic association over whether its rules restricting the recruitment of student-athletes conflict with the free-speech rights of its member schools under the First Amendment.
Education
Letter to the Editor
A Plan for ‘Going Beyond’ the No Child Left Behind Act
An article in your Dec. 20, 2006, issue described a Dec. 12 meeting in Washington during which education experts argued for a broad liberal arts education for all K-12 students ("Schools Urged to Push Beyond Math, Reading to Broader Curriculum").
States
Calif. Governor Seeks $11.6 Billion More for Facilities
Existing funding won’t begin to meet the state’s continuing need for more classroom space, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said last week during his State of the State address.
Education
People in the News
J.B. Buxton
J.B. Buxton has been appointed a deputy state superintendent for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Education
People in the News
Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf has been appointed the deputy chancellor for organizational strategy, human capital, and external affairs for the 1.1 million-student New York City public schools.
Education
People in the News
Bryan Samuels
Bryan Samuels has been named the chief of staff for Arne Duncan, the chief executive officer of the 415,000-student Chicago school district.
Education
A National Roundup
Dallas Principal Moved to New Job
Dallas school officials have removed Teresa Parker from her job as principal of Preston Hollow Elementary School and given her an administrative post in the 161,000-student district, according to Clyde A. Henderson, a district spokesman.
Education Funding
States Eyeing Novel Ways to Fund Higher Ed.
Selling off student loans and leasing state lotteries are two of the risky strategies being considered.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Mrs. Bush Attends Paris Conference
First lady Laura Bush was headed to Paris this week for an international conference on missing and exploited children.
Special Education
A Washington Roundup
Court Declines Appeal Brought Under IDEA
The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear an appeal by the guardian of a Texas student in a dispute with the Conroe, Texas, school district under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Freshmen Added to House Ed. Panel
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi last week added four first-term Democrats to the House Education and Labor Committee.
Education
A National Roundup
Va. School District Balking at Rules on Testing English-Learners
The Fairfax County, Va., school board is considering a resolution to refuse to comply with a requirement by the federal government to change how the district assesses some of its beginning English-language learners under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Social Studies
Film on Holocaust Offered to Teachers
In 1939, Nicholas Winton saved 669 children from the Nazis by transporting them to Great Britain from Prague, in Czechoslovakia. He kept his rescue effort secret for nearly 50 years.
Federal
Federal File
Ed. Committee for President
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will have a large and complicated agenda in the 110th Congress.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Hispanic Children
When they start kindergarten, roughly one-third of Hispanic children are not proficient enough in English to be tested in the language, and Hispanic children are five times more likely than non-Hispanic white children to have a mother who did not graduate from high school, according to a demographic report on young Hispanics in the United States.
Education
Events
14-16—Technology: Illinois Online Conference, sponsored by Lake Land College, for K-20 educators and technology specialists. Contact: Steve Garren, 5001 Lake Land Blvd., Mattoon, IL 61938; (217) 234-5459; fax: (217) 234-5533; Web site: www.ilonlineconf.org.
February
14-16—Technology: Illinois Online Conference, sponsored by Lake Land College, for K-20 educators and technology specialists. Contact: Steve Garren, 5001 Lake Land Blvd., Mattoon, IL 61938; (217) 234-5459; fax: (217) 234-5533; Web site: www.ilonlineconf.org.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Acting California Education Secretary Named
After serving as second in charge of education policy for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration, Scott Himelstein has been named the governor’s acting secretary of education.
Education
Detroit Moves to Shut Schools
District leaders estimate that shuttering 51 buildings would ultimately save $19 million a year.
Teaching
Report Roundup
Learning Time
A report by the Center for American Progress evaluates the impact of a pilot program in five school districts in Massachusetts to lengthen the school day and year as a way to improve student achievement.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Researchers Examine School Choice Picks
Given the opportunity to select the schools their children attend, parents in low- to moderate-income families go about it in much the same way their wealthier counterparts do—and appear to be equally satisfied with their choices, according to a study.
School Choice & Charters
A State Capitals Roundup
Arizona High Court Declines Challenge to Voucher Program
The Arizona Supreme Court has refused to hear a legal challenge to the state’s two new voucher programs, targeted to children with special needs and those in foster care.
