October 6, 2010
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 06
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
'Superman' Builds Houses—and Learns
A program stressing real-world skills and student support helped him finally succeed in school and in life, writes former dropout Safford "Lavelle" Baskins.
Curriculum
Opinion
The Quest for 'Deeper Learning'
When she became a foundation's point person on education, Barbara Chow, with her new colleagues, set out to map a course for the future.
School & District Management
Facebook-Driven Newark Overhaul Lurches Forward
Questions about legality and governance surround the plan fueled by $100 million from Facebook's founder to remake Newark's schools.
Federal
Groups Say Race to Top Overlooked ELL Pupils
Federal officials promise to do better when they provide technical assistance to states.
Professional Development
Initiative Aims to Refashion Training Path for Principals
Former first lady Laura Bush announced an effort, set to begin in six cities, that aims to change the way America's principals are recruited and prepared—and how they run schools.
Teaching Profession
Teachers' Unions Come on Strong in State-Level Races
Democratic candidates on state-level ballots this fall are drawing the lion's share of support from teachers' unions, with the maintenance of school funding a prime concern.
Teaching
Chinese Aid Boosts Mandarin-Language Instruction in U.S.
With China's growing power and influence on the global stage, efforts are burgeoning to promote teaching the official Chinese language in U.S. schools.
Recruitment & Retention
Obama Seeking Teacher Recruits
The Obama administration hopes to recruit 10,000 new mathematics and science teachers over the next two years.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Community Schools
Arguing that current federal reform models are failing struggling rural schools, a new report makes the case for a new "community schools" turnaround option.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
STEM Education
Five years after issuing a warning that the U.S. was losing its competitive edge by not producing adequate numbers of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, a national panel is back saying not much has changed.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
College Completion
States throughout the South should increase the percentage of working-age adults with postsecondary degrees or credentials to 60 percent by 2018, says a report by the Southern Regional Education Board.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Attention Problems
A study suggests that playing white noise in the background of a classroom may help children with attention problems focus on what their teachers are saying but may impede learning for others.
Teacher Preparation
Report Roundup
Scholars Hold Divided Views of School Reform
The professors who prepare the nation’s teachers hold views about the field that are often—but not always—at odds with the reform strategies that are at the front and center of national education debates, according to a new report.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Baltimore Contract Embraces Merit Pay, More Teacher Input
A new Baltimore teachers' contract, announced last week and headed to union members for a ratification vote this month, is being hailed as one of the most progressive in the nation.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Ga. Schools May Split Prize Money
A proposed court settlement would give half of the $1 million that former Georgia state schools Superintendent Kathy Cox won on a TV game show to three state-run schools for the blind and deaf.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Judge Tosses W.Va. School Boards' Lawsuit
A Kanawha County judge threw out a lawsuit filed against the state's Public Employees Insurance Agency, its finance board, and the state auditor by 50 of West Virginia's 55 county school boards.
Special Education
News in Brief
'Intellectual Disability,' Not 'Retardation'
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to remove the terms mentally retarded and mental retardation from federal laws.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Ed. Dept. Giving $50 Million to Charters
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that the department will give $50 million in grants to 12 charter management organizations.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Charter School Fund Sets $160 Million Goal
The Charter School Growth Fund said it had commitments from funders for over $80 million of a planned $160 million fund aimed at producing high-performing charter school networks.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Texas Desegregation Order Lifted
A federal judge in Tyler last week lifted a 39-year-old statewide school desegregation order from all but nine rural Texas public school systems.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Pa. Court Rejects Challenge to Teacher-Address Release
A Pennsylvania appeals court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the state's largest teachers' union, which sought to prevent the public release of public school employees' home addresses.
Education
News in Brief
Some Cite L.A. Times Report After Teacher's Suicide
Mourners at the funeral of 5th grade teacher Rigoberto Ruelas expressed anger at the Los Angeles Times for publicly posting its "value added" ratings for teachers in the district.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Race to the Top Assessment Winners to Get Extra Money
The two consortia that won grants from the U.S. Department of Education to create more-uniform assessments are getting an extra $31.7 million to complete their work.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
Gates Gives Cities $12 Million to Boost College Completion
Four U.S. cities will receive $3 million each over the next three years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for programs to improve college graduation rates.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
NAACP Files Complaint Over Wake County Schools
The NAACP has filed a federal complaint in an effort to overturn a controversial decision by the Wake County, N.C., school board to stop using economic diversity in school assignments.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Bill Would Extend Race to the Top
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., introduced a bill last week that would authorize the Race to the Top program for five more years.
Science
News in Brief
High School Science Teacher Wins 'Genius Grant'
A high school science and engineering teacher who develops project-based-learning courses to inspire his students has been named one of this year's 23 MacArthur Fellows.
Education Funding
Election Could Remake Congress' Face on K-12
Some key Democrats face tough reelection fights, while potential newcomers are keen on the education issue.
Federal
Head Start Proposal Aims to Turn Up Heat on Lagging Programs
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced proposed rules that would force low-performing programs to compete for their federal funding.
