February 20, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 27, Issue 24
Education
Clarification
Clarification
An article in the Feb. 13, 2008, issue of Education Week on high school redesign plans in New Orleans should have said that the National Academy Foundation, which is in talks with the Recovery School District about helping to set up career programs, has not yet formally selected Sarah T. Reed High School as a site for one or more of its academy programs. The school is in the planning and application process with the National Academy Foundation.
Education Funding
Woes of Bond-Insurance Industry Latest Fiscal Concern for Districts
While a relatively arcane part of school finance, bond insurance is an important part of borrowing money and building schools for many districts.
Mathematics
Federal File
NASA’s Budget Seeks to Jettison a K-12 Program
Education may be a core mission of the U.S. space agency, but President Bush’s fiscal 2009 budget plan wants more flexibility in how NASA targets spending in that area.
Federal
News in Brief
Federal Audit Finds Louisiana Oversaw Hurricane Aid Well
The Louisiana Department of Education exercised sound oversight in administering federal recovery aid to the state’s school districts for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a federal audit has found.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Student, 14, Charged in Shooting in Classroom in Oxnard, Calif.
Prosecutors on Feb. 14 charged a 14-year-old boy with attempted murder and said he committed a hate crime in the classroom shooting of a student in Oxnard, Calif., who has since been declared brain dead.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Ga. District Under Fire for Plan to Separate Students by Gender
Students in all regular public schools in Greene County, Ga., will be separated by gender starting next fall, a move educators hope will improve rock-bottom test scores and reduce teen-pregnancy and discipline rates in the small, rural system.
School Climate & Safety
Bane of Architects, Building Prototypes on W. Va. Blueprint
School building officials in West Virginia hope to cut down on construction costs through an increasingly common—but often controversial—strategy: relying on predesigned schools, or prototypes, when approving blueprints.
Student Well-Being
News in Brief
Inquiry Sought on Safety of Meat in Federal School Lunch Program
Four Democratic members of Congress called for the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate the safety of meat in the National School Lunch Program.
Curriculum
Legislation Aiming to Raise New Crop of W. Va. Hunters
Faced with a drop in the number of state hunting licenses issued last year, West Virginia lawmakers have proposed hunter-training courses for middle and high schoolers.
Federal
Flagging Economy Propels Financial Education
Concerns about the foundering economy are helping to highlight the need to improve students’ understanding of money matters.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Gunman at NIU Left No Note, Made No Threats, Officials Say
The motive of the gunman who shot and killed six students at Northern Illinois University last week was not known, officials said. He also wounded 15 people and sent panicked students fleeing for the exits before killing himself.
Federal
Report Roundup
Head Start Programs
A More Comprehensive Risk Management Strategy and Data Improvements Could Further Strengthen Program Oversight
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Charter School Laws
Charter Ranking Roulette: An Analysis of Reports That Grade States’ Charter School Laws
Federal
Report Roundup
NCLB Seen Fueling Texas Dropout Rates
Avoidable Losses: High-Stakes Accountability and the Dropout Crisis
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
L.A. District, Charter Groups Settle Lawsuit Over Facilities
The Los Angeles school board last week approved the settlement of a lawsuit over charter school facilities that is expected to smooth the way for the schools to find space in the district.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
School Readiness
Legislative officials, families, and community members should be more involved in making children in Hawaii “school-ready,” and early-childhood teachers and staff members should receive higher wages to decrease staff turnover.
Student Achievement
When ‘Unequal’ Is Fair Treatment
By dividing the Montgomery County, Md., district
into two zones, and addressing needs in both,
its leaders are conquering achievement gaps.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Other Classroom Resources on Elections Are Available
I appreciated the list of classroom resources that was included with the article, but wanted to point out another valuable resource that was missing.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Comic Books and Creativity
Remembering a teacher, a class, and another era.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Clearinghouse’s Review of Dropout Programs Faulted
Your Feb. 6, 2008, story on the What Works Clearinghouse’s examination of dropout-prevention programs has glaring omissions.
Federal
Boost in U.S. Aid Proposed for Schools in Washington
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings called the request “an unprecedented partnership” between the city and federal governments.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Science in India and China: How to Compare Teaching?
In her Commentary "Closing the Science Gap by Hand," Anne Spence undermines her intuitively appealing case by omitting the results of the annual Intel Science Talent Search.
Education
Letter to the Editor
After-School Programs Go Beyond the Academic
John K. DiPaolo's Jan. 23, 2008, letter to the editor criticized our report “Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal Findings From the Study of Promising Afterschool Programs.”
School & District Management
Opinion
Schools Need Collaborative Leaders
Michael Maccoby suggests "viewing schools as social systems with essential interacting elements."
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Say Yes to Recess
What is most important about recess is that it is the only unstructured time in a long day for most children, Vicky Schippers writes.
International
Opinion
What the Finns Know Shouldn’t Surprise Us (But Does)
Patrick F. Bassett outlines what we could learn from their success.
School Climate & Safety
Leaner Class Sizes Add Fiscal Stress to Florida Districts
Starting with the 2008-09 school year, individual districts must meet new size caps in each classroom.