October 27, 2010
Education Week, Vol. 30, Issue 09
Education Funding
Ga.'s Gwinnett District Wins $1 Million Prize From Broad Foundation
Cited for closing the achievement gap, the 161,000-student urban district will receive $1 million in college scholarships for the class of 2011.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Study Skills
A study suggests students might benefit from being taught with a test, rather than to it.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Data Systems
Management-information systems that track attendance and other data can make a significant difference in the success of urban out-of-school-time programs, a new report says.
Standards & Accountability
Report Roundup
Common Standards
Strategies for overseeing and implementing the common-core academic standards are laid out in a new report by the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Cutting Costs
A new report from the National Governors Association finds many states have been forced to eliminate school programs and consolidate school districts.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Study Finds Few Benefits in Character Education
The largest federal study to date of character-building or social-development programs has found that, for the most part, they don’t produce any improvements in student behavior or academic performance.
College & Workforce Readiness
Report Roundup
College Attainment
New numbers in a report released last week by the American Council on Education show no appreciable progress in postsecondary attainment among young Hispanics and African-Americans compared with their older peers in the past two years.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Texas Teachers
A survey that measures teacher quality in Texas has found that students in underachieving poor and minority districts are more likely to have underqualified teachers than those in better-performing, wealthier, white districts.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Teacher Speech Rights on Curriculum Rejected
Teachers have no First Amendment free-speech protection for curricular decisions they make in the classroom, a federal appeals court ruled last week.
Standards & Accountability
News in Brief
New Mexico Adopts Common Standards
New Mexico Secretary of Education Designate Susanna Murphy last week approved the common-core standards for math and English/language arts for her state, taking the number of states adopting the standards to 39, plus the District of Columbia. However, citing concern about the time needed to prepare assessments, instructional materials, and professional-development materials, Ms. Murphy decided to delay implementation until 2012, according to her chief of staff, Lori Bachman.
Early Childhood
News in Brief
New Grants to Go Toward Early-Learning Multimedia
The U.S. Department of Education announced three five-year grants last week totaling $27 million to public-television organizations for development of multimedia projects promoting math and literacy for children ages 2 to 8.
Student Achievement
News in Brief
Conn. Panel Proposes Series of Reforms to Close Gap
A state-appointed education committee in Connecticut released dozens of recommendations last week for closing the academic-performance gap between low-income students and their better-off peers, a gap state officials say is the widest in the nation.
Education Funding
School Fiscal Concerns Haunt Electoral Landscape
Money for schools—how to spend it, or make do without it—has emerged as a major issue in many federal and state races.
Education
News in Brief
Va. Alerts Schools, Teachers to History-Textbook Error
The Virginia education department began alerting superintendents and history teachers last week about a passage in a state-approved textbook that falsely claims that thousands of black troops fought for the Confederacy.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Alabama Asks Permission to Cut Special Ed. Funding
Alabama has joined Iowa, Kansas, South Carolina, and West Virginia in requesting that the U.S. Department of Education allow the state to reduce for one year the amount of money spent on special education because of an "unforeseen decline in the financial resources" of the state.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Appellate Court Upholds Moment-of-Silence Law
A federal appeals court last week upheld an Illinois law requiring schools to observe a daily period for "silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day."
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
N.Y.C. Union Sues Over Teacher Data
New York City officials agreed last week to delay the planned release of performance ratings based on student test scores for 12,000 teachers until a Nov. 24 court hearing.
Curriculum
Pathways Seen for Acquiring Languages
An emerging body of research dispels old myths about language learning and makes a case for multilingualism.
Equity & Diversity
White House Renews Attention to Hispanic Education
Dropout prevention, the path the higher education, and the DREAM Act all shared the spotlight at a Washington summit culminating a months-long listening tour on the topic.
Federal
Opinion
Political Peril for the Common Core?
Michael D. Usdan says election results could impact standards, and altering their governance mechanism must wait.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Siegel: 'Victories' Still Resound With Teachers
Jessica Siegel, the teacher at the center of an acclaimed book, writes about the feedback she's received from educators like herself.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Career Colleges Need a Seat at the Table
Community colleges are not the only solution to America’s postsecondary education problem, writes Jean Norris.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Ariz. Teachers File Lawsuit Over Ethnic-Studies Law
Ten teachers and the director in the Mexican-American Studies Department in the Tucson Unified School District in Arizona filed a lawsuit last week in federal court challenging a state law that seeks to ban ethnic studies in public schools. The lawsuit names Arizona schools chief Tom Horne and the 10 members of the state board of education as defendants.
Classroom Technology
Ed-Tech Industry Sees Uptick in Mergers and Acquisitions
School leaders are evaluating the potential upsides and downsides of the trend toward consolidation.
Standards & Accountability
Educators Step Up Academics at Ky. Turnaround School
Students are adjusting to higher expectations this year as a struggling West Louisville high school works to change course.
School & District Management
Opinion
In School Turnarounds, the Human Element is Crucial
Laura Pappano writes that people are the essential ingredient in any effort to turn around a low-performing school.
School & District Management
Duncan, Unions Set Summit to Highlight Cooperation
The aim of an event planned for next year is to show that labor and management can collaborate in ways that will encourage education redesign.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Veto Stirs Concerns Over California Data System
Gov. Schwarzenegger cut $6.8 billion from CALPADS funding, citing continued management issues.
