March 4, 2009
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 23
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
To Bill Gates: Make Peace With Big High Schools
To the Editor:
In his first annual letter on the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates writes that many of the small schools his foundation has taken an active interest in have failed to increase student achievement ("Bill Gates Praises Charter Models," Feb. 4, 2009). According to Mr. Gates, his foundation is less successful at changing an existing school than helping create a new one. He cites as one problem at existing schools the principal’s inability to hand-select teachers or change the curriculum.
In his first annual letter on the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates writes that many of the small schools his foundation has taken an active interest in have failed to increase student achievement ("Bill Gates Praises Charter Models," Feb. 4, 2009). According to Mr. Gates, his foundation is less successful at changing an existing school than helping create a new one. He cites as one problem at existing schools the principal’s inability to hand-select teachers or change the curriculum.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Music and Academic Achievement
The researchers found academic gains even after controlling for prior school achievement and other factors, such as exposure to books at home. The research, slated to be published in Social Science Quarterly this month, was conducted by Darby E. Southgate and Vincent J. Roscigno, both of Ohio State University. The authors drew on data for elementary and secondary school students from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study and the National Education Longitudinal Study, two data sources collected by the U.S. Department of Education.—SEAN CAVANAGH
Law & Courts
Supreme Court Backs Idaho's Payroll-Deduction Curb
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that a state's restriction on school district and other local government employee-payroll deductions for politics does not violate the free speech rights of unions.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Enrichment Yes, But Watch 'Sporadic Approach' to Arts
To the Editor:
I appreciated your recent article on how schools use community resources to augment their instructional programs ("Professionals Enrich Classroom Lessons With Expertise," Feb. 4, 2009). Such resources have always played an important role in arts education, from field trips to an art museum, to hands-on classroom instruction by visiting artists. Our field has made great advances in defining effective practice in such partnerships.
I appreciated your recent article on how schools use community resources to augment their instructional programs ("Professionals Enrich Classroom Lessons With Expertise," Feb. 4, 2009). Such resources have always played an important role in arts education, from field trips to an art museum, to hands-on classroom instruction by visiting artists. Our field has made great advances in defining effective practice in such partnerships.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Teacher Layoffs: A Chance to Improve Instruction?
To the Editor:
Isn't it time to face reality and use teacher layoffs as a chance to improve the overall quality of the instruction students receive ("Layoff Policies Could Diminish Teacher Reform," Feb. 25, 2009)? Seniority-based policies are designed to allow teachers to coast after they receive tenure (most don’t coast, but too many do). An education system committed to the goal of doing the best job possible to educate all children to their full potential would not use seniority alone to decide who gets laid off.
Isn't it time to face reality and use teacher layoffs as a chance to improve the overall quality of the instruction students receive ("Layoff Policies Could Diminish Teacher Reform," Feb. 25, 2009)? Seniority-based policies are designed to allow teachers to coast after they receive tenure (most don’t coast, but too many do). An education system committed to the goal of doing the best job possible to educate all children to their full potential would not use seniority alone to decide who gets laid off.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
'Reading First' Problems: Implementation or Ideology?
To the Editor:
I am surprised to see how sensitive the authors of Reading First are to criticism ("Countering 'Reading First' Critics," Letters, Feb. 4, 2009). After all, I am not the only person to observe that the emperor has no clothes. Even members of Congress who once supported the initiative have become disillusioned with its unfulfilled promises.
I am surprised to see how sensitive the authors of Reading First are to criticism ("Countering 'Reading First' Critics," Letters, Feb. 4, 2009). After all, I am not the only person to observe that the emperor has no clothes. Even members of Congress who once supported the initiative have become disillusioned with its unfulfilled promises.
School & District Management
Economic Stimulus: Questions—and Answers
Public education is among the biggest winners in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, in line for some $115 billion in federal aid. Educators have plenty of questions about how that aid will be distributed, and Education Week Politics K-12 bloggers Alyson Klein and Michele McNeil have been gathering answers.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
High School Graduation
An examination of Massachusetts high schools that have lowered their dropout rates shows that they used key strategies that helped make a difference.
Federal
Report Roundup
Reading First
California's participation in the federal Reading First program under the No Child Left Behind Act has been a success, says an evaluation of student achievement by Educational Data Systems Inc.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Studies Evaluate School Wellness Policies
The Journal of Public Health Policy has devoted its March issue to the promotion of active living, with several articles focusing specifically on childhood obesity and schools.
Federal
Report Roundup
Effects of Mentoring
Students who participated in federally financed school-based mentoring programs were on average no more likely to succeed academically, attend school regularly, or avoid delinquent behaviors than those who did not, a report concludes.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Alternative Schools
The system of alternative schools in Mississippi has largely failed to provide a high-quality education to its students, and its poor design leaves many children drifting toward dropping out or failing, says a report by the American Civil Liberties Union and its Mississippi chapter.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Research Report: Charter Schools
A new book looks closely at the inner workings of five high-performing urban charter schools in Massachusetts, drawing on interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations over 18 months.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
After-School Programs
More than half—56 percent—of public elementary schools in the nation have one or more after-school programs on their premises, according to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics. Those programs include stand-alone programs that provide a single service, such as day care, as well as comprehensive programs offering a combination of services. The study found that 46 percent of public elementary schools have fee-based, stand-alone day-care programs; 43 percent have stand-alone tutoring programs.
School & District Management
Mr. Smith Returns To Washington
His office may be smaller, but Marshall "Mike" S. Smith, a veteran education official from the Clinton era, is back in downtown Washington.
Education
Correction
Corrections
A photograph accompanying a story about teacher layoffs in the Feb. 25, 2009, issue of Education Week had an incorrect credit. It was taken by Colin Hackley.
School & District Management
News in Brief
St. Paul Chief Moving On
Meria Carstarphen, the superintendent of the St. Paul, Minn., school district, has accepted a job as the superintendent of schools in Austin, Texas.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Wrestling Executive on Conn. Board
The chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has garnered a spot on the Connecticut board of education. Linda McMahon was nominated by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell to a seat on the 11-member board and approved last month by state lawmakers.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Portland, Maine, Gets New Leader
James Morse Sr. has been selected as the schools superintendent in Portland, Maine, the state's largest district. Mr. Morse, who dropped out of Portland High School as a junior and came back to graduate in 1973, will start work in July. He is currently the superintendent of the Messalonskee, Maine, schools.
Federal
News in Brief
Mistrial Declared in Fraud Case Against Former L.A. School Official
A federal judge declared a mistrial last week in the case of a former Los Angeles district administrator accused of profiting by making the school system buy $4 million worth of algebra textbooks he wrote.
Education
News in Brief
Pittsburgh District to Change To 'Comprehensive' Sex Education
The Pittsburgh school board has approved a "comprehensive" sex education program instead of an "abstinence only" policy.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
S.C. School District to Appeal Ruling on Method of Electing Board
A South Carolina school district says it will appeal a federal judge's ruling that its method of electing school board members discriminates against blacks.
Education
News in Brief
N.J. Board OKs Tougher Grad Rules
The New Jersey board of education has given initial approval to more-prescriptive graduation requirements and a revised alternative exit exam in a bid to toughen its standards for a high school diploma.
Teaching
Study Gives Edge to 2 Math Programs
The federally commissioned experiment is thought to be the largest to test some of the nation’s most widely used math curricula.
Federal
N.Y.C. Test Sizes Up ELLs With Little Formal Schooling
Believed to be a national first, the diagnostic test is designed to assess the academic needs of ELLs with interrupted formal education.
Federal
A Very Bright Idea
A nationwide grant program sponsors high school teams to build scientific and technological devices of their own creation.
International
National Standards Gain Steam
Governors adopt policy looking to develop common academic goals.
Education
News in Brief
Pa. Study Faults Tests Used to Give Diplomas
Many of the graduation tests being used in Pennsylvania schools fail to adequately measure whether students perform at 11th grade levels in math and reading, according to a study released last week.
School & District Management
Philadelphia Leader Seeks Faster Change By Closing Schools
High-performing buildings would receive more autonomy.