February 23, 2005
Education Week, Vol. 24, Issue 24
Curriculum
Concept of ‘Work Readiness’ Credential Gains Supporters
A coalition of business organizations and state officials is working to establish a voluntary “work-readiness credential” that adults— and possibly students—could use to demonstrate their job skills to employers.
Education
Report Roundup
Early-Childhood Education
More than 18,500 child-care providers nationwide in a recent year received scholarships to community colleges or universities through a program designed to improve child-care programs, and most of the recipients earned better pay and stayed in their jobs longer than workers who hadn’t received the scholarships.
School & District Management
Virginia Gov. Warner Takes School Lessons to the National Stage
Debating his Republican opponent for governor of Virginia in October 2001, about all that Mark Warner, a businessman and Democratic Party activist, could muster to say on K-12 education was that history questions on Virginia’s standardized tests might need some tweaking.
Education Funding
Judge Orders Billions for Schools in N.Y.C.
A New York judge has given state policymakers until May to craft a plan to add $5.63 billion to the New York City school budget and produce a $9.2 billion capital plan to fix the city’s school buildings.
Education Funding
Athletic Budgets
Leaving no stone unturned in its effort to find money to improve schools, Arkansas asked districts to report how much they spent on athletics this past school year.
Federal
Spellings Backs Accountability in Higher Education
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings called on colleges last week to use the No Child Left Behind Act as a model for measuring the performance of higher education institutions and reducing the minority achievement gap.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
PTA Members Are Split on NCLB’s Effectiveness
About one in three PTA members responding to an online poll believes the No Child Left Behind Act is having a positive effect on students’ academic performance, results released last week show.
Special Education
A Washington Roundup
Districts ‘Bill’ Government on Special Education Costs
More than 35 school districts have started “billing” the federal government for what they say are unfunded costs of teaching students in special education.
Law & Courts
Legislatures Hit With Surge in School Choice Plans
Mark it down: 2005 may be a banner year for private school choice in state legislatures.
School & District Management
Massachusetts Meets Education Guarantee, State High Court Says
Massachusetts is meeting its constitutional requirement to provide students with an adequate education and does not have to overhaul its school funding formula, the state’s highest court ruled in a closely watched case last week.
School & District Management
High Schools in Limelight for Summit
When the nation’s governors gather in Washington this coming weekend for what is billed as a national education summit on high schools, many will come prepared to talk about initiatives already under way back home.
Education
Table: Taking Action
The “Action Agenda for Improving America’s High Schools” outlines strategies states can take to ensure that high schoolers graduate ready for work or college.
Education
Table: Teacher Transitions by Teacher Experience
A study of teacher turnover in an urban district in Texas found that the percent of teachers who left the district was higher among less experienced educators.
Education
Table: Getting Ready for School
The National School Readiness Indicators Initiative identified a number of factors to indicate whether children have the tools to succeed in school. Those indicators are divided into six categories:
Education
Report Roundup
Higher Education
Public higher education is becoming increasingly market-driven, and the trend could seriously affect its ability to serve students, a report warns.
Science
A State Capitals Roundup
Utah House OKs Bill to Trump NCLB Law
The Utah House approved two bills last week aimed at putting state education priorities ahead of requirements mapped out in the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Science
A State Capitals Roundup
Kansas Attorney General Would Back Evolution Sticker
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has promised to defend the Kansas state board of education should it choose to place stickers in textbooks stating that evolution is a theory and not a fact.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Ala. House Awaits Advisory on Segregation Measure
The Alabama House has asked the state supreme court for an advisory opinion on whether a measure to strip segregation-era language from the state constitution would have produced court-mandated tax increases.
Federal
Federal File
Hope and Faith
A former White House official leveled criticism at the Bush administration last week over its so-called faith-based agenda, saying that efforts to promote the initiative have been more public relations than substance.
Teacher Preparation
Alternative Routes Attracting Unlikely Candidates
Although tremendous differences exist in the features of alternative-certification programs that are now operating across the country, new research shows that they are attracting people who would not have entered teaching otherwise.
Education
Rules of the Road
Drivers in North Carolina have apparently forgotten one of the cardinal rules of the road: Do not pass a stopped school bus.
Education
A National Roundup
Archdiocese of New York Plans to Close 6 Elementary Schools
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has announced it will close six of its 232 elementary schools at the end of the academic year.
Curriculum
A National Roundup
Pa. Court Dismisses Reading District’s Suit Over ‘No Child’ Assistance
A Pennsylvania court has dismissed a school district’s second attempt to sue the state for failing to provide enough help in complying with the main federal law in precollegiate education.
Education
People in the News
Richard W. Riley and Ted Sanders
Richard W. Riley and Ted Sanders are the new co-chairs of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.
Education
A National Roundup
Schrenko Faces New Charge
Former Georgia state schools Superintendent Linda C. Schrenko was charged Feb. 8 in a new indictment that adds money laundering to the charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and theft of public funds she faces.
Education
People in the News
John L. Myers
John L. Myers has rejoined the Denver-based education consulting firm Augenblick, Palaich & Associates as the vice president of development.
Federal
A National Roundup
New Orleans Schools Face State Oversight
The New Orleans school district, which has failed to properly account for the spending of federal Title I money, should be placed under the authority of a state oversight committee, Cecil J. Picard, the Louisiana state superintendent of education, said last week.
Education
A National Roundup
Va. School District Votes to Keep Religion Program
The school board in Staunton, Va., voted last week to keep its practice of allowing elementary pupils to attend Bible study classes during the instructional day.
School Choice & Charters
State Faults 3 Charter Proposals From Buffalo
The Buffalo, N.Y., school district has sparked controversy from many quarters in its unusually aggressive bid to operate a group of its own charter schools. Now its first official step toward building that network of schools has been very publicly rebuffed by the state department of education.