March 7, 2012

Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue 23
Governors meet on the Education, Early Childhood, and Workforce Committee panel during the National Governors Association’s winter meetings in Washington. After years of recession-battered budgets, revenues are beginning to rise, portending additional funding for K-12 programs.
Governors meet on the Education, Early Childhood, and Workforce Committee panel during the National Governors Association’s winter meetings in Washington. After years of recession-battered budgets, revenues are beginning to rise, portending additional funding for K-12 programs.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Education Funding Governors Cautiously Optimistic on Economic Forecast
NGA sessions touch on the K-12 revenue outlook and the federal role in education.
Sean Cavanagh, March 7, 2012
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4 min read
Assessment Experts Outline Steps to Guard Against Cheating
A panel offers advice for school leaders on how to avoid—and investigate—a test-cheating scandal in their district.
Christina A. Samuels, March 7, 2012
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5 min read
IT Infrastructure & Management Opinion The Rising Tide of Data
The importance of mining student data is drilled into educators before they even set foot in the classroom, but there must be a clear purpose in mind for its use, argues Kenneth Lopour.
Kenneth Lopour, March 7, 2012
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4 min read
School & District Management State Court Ruling Adds Fresh Twist to Bridgeport Saga
Changes are continuing in the struggling school system, says Superintendent Paul G. Vallas, despite a state Supreme Court ruling last week.
Christina A. Samuels, March 7, 2012
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1 min read
Story Pirates Associate Artistic Director Peter McNerney, far left, solicits ideas from elementary school students as Kati Skelton, left, James Daniel, middle, and Isabel Richardson, right, change costumes "backstage."
Story Pirates Associate Artistic Director Peter McNerney, far left, solicits ideas from elementary school students as Kati Skelton, left, James Daniel, middle, and Isabel Richardson, right, change costumes "backstage."
Emile Wamsteker
Reading & Literacy Troupe Adapts Students' Stories for the School and N.Y.C. Stages
Story Pirates, a group of educators and actors, inspires elementary students to write by turning their stories into plays.
Liana Loewus, March 7, 2012
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10 min read
Federal 26 States, D.C. Join Bid for NCLB Waivers
A second wave of states seek flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Michele McNeil, March 7, 2012
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4 min read
Gwendolyn Samuel, 46, at laptop, founder of Connecticut Parents Union, works with student volunteers at her Meriden, Conn., home, in preparation for an education rally on March 14.
Gwendolyn Samuel, 46, at laptop, founder of Connecticut Parents Union, works with student volunteers at her Meriden, Conn., home, in preparation for an education rally on March 14.
Christopher Capozziello for Education Week
Families & the Community 'Parent Unions' Seek to Join Policy Debates
New groups aim to stake out a place for parents' voices amid a crowded field of advocates and policymakers.
Sean Cavanagh, March 6, 2012
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9 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStockphoto/Globe: Paul Pantazescu/Children: rhoon/Composite Illustration: Vanessa Solis
International Opinion Are International Comparisons Useful?
We should look to other countries for lessons on the value of education, not best practices, Edward Fiske writes.
Edward B. Fiske, March 6, 2012
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6 min read
Recruitment & Retention Data Show Retention Disparities
Black students were nearly three times as likely to be retained; Hispanic students were twice as likely as white students to repeat a grade, according to the latest federal survey.
Caralee J. Adams, Erik W. Robelen & Nirvi Shah, March 6, 2012
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12 min read
Equity & Diversity News in Brief Court Rules in Favor of White Administrator
A federal appeals court has reinstated a jury verdict in favor of a white administrator in Arkansas who was demoted by a majority-black school board.
Mark Walsh, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Ex-Officials Indicted in Dropout-Data Case
Two former Houston school administrators, indicted after a two-year probe, could face prison time on charges they altered student-dropout records.
The Associated Press, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Alabama Defends Immigration Checks
Alabama defended its immigration law last week, including provisions that require schools to gather data about the citizenship and immigration status of students.
Mark Walsh, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Colo. Bill Scales Back Zero-Tolerance Rules
A bill to scale back strict Columbine-era school discipline policies cleared the first hurdle in the Colorado Senate.
The Associated Press, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
Accountability News in Brief N.Y.C. Releases Data on Charter Teachers
Days after they released ratings for 18,000 public school teachers, New York City officials released numbers for a much smaller number of charter school teachers.
The Associated Press, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
Student Well-Being News in Brief Va. Senate Panel Kills 'Tebow Bill'
The Virginia Senate Education and Health Committee voted down the "Tebow Bill" last week, which would have allowed homeschooled high school athletes to participate in public school sports.
Bryan Toporek, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
Federal News in Brief Federal Rules Ban Sweetened Fruit
Schools cannot serve frozen fruit with added sugar under the new federal rules on school breakfasts and lunches, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
Nirvi Shah, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
Accountability News in Brief Fla. Schools Face Tougher Grading
The Florida board of education approved rule changes last week making it tougher for schools there to get top grades.
The Associated Press, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Three Secondary Students Die in Ohio School Shooting
The 17-year-old suspect in a deadly shooting rampage at an Ohio high school was charged last week with killing three students, the first step in proceedings.
The Associated Press, March 6, 2012
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2 min read
English Learners Report Roundup Research Report: English-Language Learners
A new report offers some guidance for classroom teachers working with English-language learners in seven states where the number of students learning English is climbing steadily.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Principal Quality
School principals vary widely in quality, but effective principals can influence student achievement in their schools.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup Switching Colleges
A report documents what many in higher education have been saying: Often students no longer follow a traditional path from college entry to degree at a single institution.
Caralee J. Adams, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Letter to the Editor Dropping Out Should Be an Option
To the Editor:
In reference to your Feb. 8 article "States Mull Obama's Call to Raise Compulsory-Attendance Age," I would like to note the minimal exposure to classrooms of such famous Americans as Thomas Edison (three months) and Abraham Lincoln (less than a year). In an earlier letter, "Compulsory Schooling: Was Edison Right?" (Nov. 1, 2006), I pointed out that Edison, Lincoln, and many other accomplished Americans grew to adulthood before compulsory-attendance laws became the norm. I asked a question: "Could it be that both boys' parents and their indifferent state governments were on to something?"
March 6, 2012
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1 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Steve Braden
Equity & Diversity Opinion Restoring Civic Purpose in Schools
We have begun to unhinge education from its civic purpose, endangering the ability of students to learn how to compromise, write the authors of an online history and civics program.
James E. Davis, H. Michael Hartoonian, Richard D. Van Scotter & William E. White, March 6, 2012
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5 min read
Ed-Tech Policy Report Roundup Video Game Effects
Students who spend more time playing video games are likely to have more attention problems later on,and students who have attention disorders are likely to play more video games.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Students' Sleep Needs
Students may not need as much sleep as previously thought to perform at their best in school, according to a new study.
Hannah Rose Sacks, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
White Hat Management founder David L. Brennan stands outside St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. He graduated from the Catholic school in 1949.
White Hat Management founder David L. Brennan stands outside St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. He graduated from the Catholic school in 1949.
Mike Munden/Columbus Dispatch-File
School Choice & Charters Ohio Moves to Keep Charter Operator's Expansion in Check
The state has refused to sponsor four new charter schools because state officials said the for-profit company running them, White Hat Management, would have wielded too much power.
McClatchy-Tribune, March 6, 2012
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3 min read
Special Education Shortages of ADHD Drugs Felt in Classrooms
Teachers are among those who have to cope when the medications used to treat students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder run short.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, March 6, 2012
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4 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup School Choice Program Yields Gains in the End
Students at some of Milwaukee's private schools made gains in reading in 2010-11 that were significantly higher than those of peers in public schools.
The Associated Press, March 6, 2012
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1 min read
From left, 1st graders Durius Walker, Kayshawn Roundheart, Caleb Washington, Jahmal Harrison, and Lance Shields line up for lunch at City Springs Elementary/Middle School, a Baltimore school where poverty is the norm. Some researchers say poor children fare better at schools where poverty is less concentrated.
From left, 1st graders Durius Walker, Kayshawn Roundheart, Caleb Washington, Jahmal Harrison, and Lance Shields line up for lunch at City Springs Elementary/Middle School, a Baltimore school where poverty is the norm. Some researchers say poor children fare better at schools where poverty is less concentrated.
Matt Roth for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Growing Gaps Bring Focus on Poverty's Role in Schooling
Studies say deepening income-based academic gaps could keep poor children from finding a path out of poverty.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 6, 2012
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9 min read
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