August 15, 2007
Education Week, Vol. 26, Issue 45
School & District Management
City Yearns for Rebirth Among Ruin
Educators in New Orleans, as they did last school year, are scrambling to repair enough buildings by Sept. 4, opening day in the Recovery School District.
Teaching Profession
School Turnover Highlights Performance-Pay Complexity
More than half the schools earning rewards in the first year of the Texas pay-for-performance program will not be eligible to receive bonuses this year.
Law & Courts
California Settlement Yielding School Improvements
Students have received 88,000 new textbooks, and 3,400 emergency repairs to schools have been paid for with state money, a report says.
Standards
Legislators Oppose National Standards
Much of the National Conference of State Legislatures' opposition to national standards is rooted in its dislike for the NCLB law.
School Climate & Safety
Student’s Threatening ‘Fiction’ is Unprotected Speech, Court Rules
A federal appeals court has ruled that a high school student merited no First Amendment protection for an essay in which a character dreamed about killing her mathematics teacher.
Education
Events
17—Special education: Transition Workshop for Students With Autism, sponsored by Heartspring, for educators, administrators, counselors, parents, and students, at the Heartspring Conference Center in Wichita, Kan. Contact: Kristina Baker, Heartspring, 8700 E. 29th St. N., Wichita, KS 67226; (316) 634-8881; fax: (316) 634-8851; e-mail: kbaker@heartspring.org; Web site: www.heartspring.org.
September 2007
17—Special education: Transition Workshop for Students With Autism, sponsored by Heartspring, for educators, administrators, counselors, parents, and students, at the Heartspring Conference Center in Wichita, Kan. Contact: Kristina Baker, Heartspring, 8700 E. 29th St. N., Wichita, KS 67226; (316) 634-8881; fax: (316) 634-8851; e-mail: kbaker@heartspring.org; Web site: www.heartspring.org.
Education
Correction
Corrections
An article about the training of rural math and science teachers in the July 18, 2007, issue of Education Week misidentified the river that flows alongside the town of Clinton, Tenn. It is the Clinch River.
Education Funding
Fiscal Forecast for States Begins to Darken
While states' fiscal conditions remain solid, a new survey shows officials are in for some financial belt-tightening.
Education
Obituary
Norma Gabler
Norma Gabler, who with her husband, Mel, worked more than four decades scrutinizing school textbooks in Texas, died July 22 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. She was 84.
Federal
10-State Pilot Preparing Teachers to Develop Tests
Experts say a new wave of federally financed assessments are a sign of the growing recognition that standardized end-of-grade tests are not the end-all, be-all for measuring student learning.
Education
Book Review
Also of Note
A dictionary of "edspeak," a book of mnemonic devices, a history of the IQ test, and more.
Science
A National Roundup
Panel Issues Draft Report on STEM Teaching Topics
A prominent federal board is recommending the establishment of national teacher-certification standards to increase the mobility of qualified teachers between districts and states, and the establishment of national content “guidelines” in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Student Well-Being
A National Roundup
California Settlement Assures Right of Students to Insulin at School
The agreement brings to an end a lawsuit filed by four families and the American Diabetes Association in federal district court in San Francisco.
Early Childhood
Chicago Data Bolster Case for Early-Childhood Programs
Young children who took part in an intervention program run by the Chicago public schools continue to benefit from the services well into adulthood.
Assessment
Seniors Handle Broad Economic Principles
But many struggled with the basics, the first NAEP in the subject shows.
School & District Management
Scholars Reaching Outside Education for School Fixes
The research base on successful turnaround strategies in education is too new and too thin to be of much help to schools, scholars say.
Education
People in the News
Lynn M. Cornett
Lynn M. Cornett has retired as the senior vice president for educational policies at the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board, a nonprofit organization that works to improve education in 16 states.
Education
People in the News
Gov. Donald L. Carcieri
Gov. Donald L. Carcieri of Rhode Island has joined the board of directors of the Washington-based Achieve Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps schools strengthen assessment and improve accountability.
Education
People in the News
Rochelle Wimpfheimer
Rochelle Wimpfheimer has become the executive director of the New York City-based Partnership for After School Education, a program that helps support after-school programs for youths in the city.
Education
People in the News
Gail Connelly
Gail Connelly has been appointed the executive director of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Education Funding
School Programs Win Big Increases in N.C.
Teachers in the Tar Heel State will get a 5 percent salary increase, and $70 million will be set aside for bonuses for educators in schools that meet or exceed state targets for student achievement.
School & District Management
For New Leaders, Old Problems
Preparing for the first day of the 2007-08 school year in the nation’s capital is proving to be as vexing as ever.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Out-of-School Help for Summer Learning Lapse
It’s important to recognize that learning need not take place exclusively within school walls.
Education
Letter to the Editor
High Court Ruling Prompts Reflections on Integration
Reading "The Integration Decision" prompted me to share my experiences teaching math at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, the city’s original voluntarily integrated magnet school.
Education
Letter to the Editor
NCLB Fairness: Miller’s Comments Are Welcome
Mr. Miller’s comments echo what has long been argued by educators across the country.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Spellings, College Presidents Set to Visit Latin America
The tour, which is scheduled for Aug. 18-24, will emphasize the importance of partnerships between U.S. postsecondary institutions and foreign colleges.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
Postsecondary Appointee Wins Confirmation
The Senate on Aug. 1 confirmed by voice vote the nomination of Diane Auer Jones as assistant secretary for postsecondary education in the Department of Education.
Education
Letter to the Editor
What Would Dewey Think About ‘No Child’ Impact?
I was astonished to read the Commentary "John Dewey for Today" by Timothy Knowles, Stephen Raudenbush, and Henry S. Webber.