April 8, 2009
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 28
School Climate & Safety
Interactive Timeline: School Shootings Take Toll
The past 15 years have witnessed a spate of rampage-style attacks by student gunmen in schools around the country.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Utah District Cleared on ESL
Federal monitoring of the Salt Lake City school district over its teaching of English as a second language has ended.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Md. District Gets New Leader
William Hite Jr., the interim superintendent of the Prince George's County, Md., district, was offered a four-year contract last week.
School & District Management
News in Brief
R.I. Schools Chief Named
Deborah Gist, the state superintendent of education for the District of Columbia, has been appointed the Rhode Island education commissioner.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling on Little Rock Desegregation
A federal appeals court has upheld a judge’s ruling that the Little Rock school district has met terms of a long-standing desegregation order.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Ark. Auditors Call for Clear Rules on Concurrent-Enrollment Tuition
Arkansas should clarify its policies on college tuition and fees for high school students who are also enrolled in state university classes, legislative auditors say.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Ga. House Approves Boosting Pay For Math, Science Teachers
The Georgia House of Representatives signed off on final changes to a plan that boosts the pay of certified math and science teachers. The proposal would allow new secondary school teachers with proper certification to start at the salary of a fifth-year teacher.
School & District Management
News in Brief
U.S. Education Secretary to Push For Mayoral Control of Schools
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said last week that mayors should take control of big-city school districts where academic performance is suffering.
Education
News in Brief
Panel: Screen Teens for Depression
The government task force’s recommendations go further than pediatricians’ guidance.
Federal
News in Brief
Congress Gives Final Passage To Expansion of AmeriCorps
Tens of thousands of Americans, from teenagers to baby boomers, soon will get a fresh chance to lend a helping hand in a time of need.
School Climate & Safety
Lessons Sifted From Tragedy at Columbine
A decade after the attack at a Colorado high school, scholars are gaining fresh insights into student gunmen and the havoc they wreak.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Former Michigan School Official Sentenced in E-Rate Fraud Case
A former school administrator in Michigan was sentenced to nearly four years in jail after pleading guilty to a scheme that netted more than $7 million from the Ecorse public schools and the federal E-Rate program, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Broad Foundation Announces Finalists for Urban Education Prize
For the fourth time, the Aldine, Texas, school district has been named a finalist for a prestigious prize that recognizes the progress that urban districts are making in improving student achievement.
Education
News in Brief
EPA to Test Air Quality At Schools in 22 States
The Environmental Protection Agency will soon be adding air-pollution monitors at 62 schools in 22 states where the outdoor air will be tested for toxic air contaminants.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Results Mixed for Home-Visit Programs
A review of the research on six home-visit programs for families of young children finds just one that produces strong, positive results.
Professional Development
Report Roundup
Research Report: Professional Development
Professional development has moderate effects on changing teachers practices, but very small—although occasionally significant—effects on student achievement, according to a study published in the February edition of Teachers College Record.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Demographic Changes
Hispanic students have become more segregated in suburban public schools over the last decade, even while blacks and Asians have become slightly less isolated, according to a new study.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Research Report: Education Technology
Instructional technology can help improve student learning and boost graduation rates, according to an annual trend report by the State Educational Technology Directors Association, or SETDA.
Education
Report Roundup
Race to The Top
The Education Trust last week unveiled the first of a series of state-by-state reports that are designed to track the impact of federal stimulus spending on educational progress and equity.
Science
Retooled Texas Standards Raise Unease Among Science Groups
The document’s call for students to examine 'all evidence' is seen as allowing discussion of alternatives to evolution.
Student Well-Being
Girls' Knee Injuries Focus of Campaign
Schools urged to use conditioning exercises for female athletes.
Curriculum
High-Tech Simulations Linked to Learning
Experts say digital games can help students grasp difficult concepts, but warn against seeing them as 'silver bullet' solutions.
Education Funding
State of the States
State of the States 2009: Illinois
ILLINOIS
GOV. PAT QUINN (D) • March 18
GOV. PAT QUINN (D) • March 18
School & District Management
S.C. State Officials At Odds Over Aid
Gov. Mark Sanford set off a political firestorm in cash-strapped South Carolina over his intention to forgo some $700 million in federal education aid under the $787 billion economic-stimulus law unless he could use it to pay down state debt.
Federal
Obama Echoes Bush on Education Ideas
He’s hitting similar themes as his predecessor on issues such as accountability and teacher quality—and drawing some fire.
School & District Management
As Stimulus Tap Turns On, Districts Can’t Escape Cuts
The first federal aid to states is unlikely to stop layoffs in the worst-hit school districts, administrators say.
Federal
Roots of Federal ELL Case Run Deep
A ruling in a long-running legal fight over English-language learners could echo far beyond the Arizona border city where it arose.
English-Language Learners
Letter to the Editor
For Language Learning, Look Also to Technology
Your March 4, 2009, article "Elementary Foreign-Language Instruction on Descent" underscored the economic difficulties facing many school districts throughout the United States. Cutting world-language learning from their budgets is a shortsighted tactic, however, that will harm both students and the American workforce in years ahead.
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Algebra, Performance Pay: A Bad Mix of Policies?
To the Editor:
Algebra teachers know that mandating the subject at a particular grade level raises failure rates, as a recent study of Chicago high school students has confirmed ("Algebra-for-All Policy Found to Raise Rates of Failure in Chicago," March 11, 2009). What if performance pay for teachers were added to the equation? The combination could prove detrimental for both students and teachers.
Algebra teachers know that mandating the subject at a particular grade level raises failure rates, as a recent study of Chicago high school students has confirmed ("Algebra-for-All Policy Found to Raise Rates of Failure in Chicago," March 11, 2009). What if performance pay for teachers were added to the equation? The combination could prove detrimental for both students and teachers.