October 22, 2008
Education Week, Vol. 28, Issue 09
School & District Management
News in Brief
Miami Board Approves Contract for New Schools Superintendent
Following months of upheaval in the district, the Miami-Dade County, Fla., school board has approved the contract of its new superintendent amid controversy over a racy batch of e-mails allegedly exchanged with a newspaper reporter who covered the district.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Impact of School Latin: Good, But Temporary?
To the Editor:
Commentary author Baynard Woods maintains that the study of Latin can help students increase their vocabulary and improve standardized-test performance ("Give Latin (and Potential Dropouts) a Chance," edweek.org, Sept. 22, 2008). Studies done over the last century appear to support this suggestion, but there is reason to be cautious.
Commentary author Baynard Woods maintains that the study of Latin can help students increase their vocabulary and improve standardized-test performance ("Give Latin (and Potential Dropouts) a Chance," edweek.org, Sept. 22, 2008). Studies done over the last century appear to support this suggestion, but there is reason to be cautious.
Federal
Education on the Ballot
Education will be on the ballot Nov. 4, even if the subject hasn’t been on voters’ minds much during the 2008 campaign season.
Federal
Fiscal Worries Shadow State Elections
The new class of governors and state legislators to be elected Nov. 4 will inherit financial problems that threaten existing education programs and limit possible new initiatives.
Education Funding
Financial Crisis Now Striking Home for School Districts
The crisis besetting U.S. and world financial markets is hitting school districts hard, as they struggle to float the bonds needed for capital projects, borrow money to ensure cash flow, and get access to investment funds locked up in troubled institutions.
Federal
Campaign Notebook
McCain, Obama Address Controversy About Ayers
The controversy over Sen. Barack Obama’s ties to William C. Ayers took center stage last week during the third and final presidential debate.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Small Buses Must Have Safer Belts, U.S. Rule Says
Smaller school buses will have to be equipped with three-point, lap-and-shoulder seat belts for the first time, and larger buses will have higher seat backs, under a federal rule announced last week.
Equity & Diversity
Sports in the City
When it comes to boys’ and girls’ participation in sports, the most serious gender gap may be an urban one.
Education
Correction
Correction
Because of a production error, the continuation of a front-page story in the Oct. 15, 2008, issue of Education Week on how school districts are reacting to tight bond markets was omitted. The story appears in its entirety here.
Federal
8th Grade Algebra Teachers in Arkansas to Need State Nod
State officials see the new endorsement as a way to ensure that teachers are qualified to cover the math content as more students enroll in Algebra 1 in 8th grade, rather than waiting until high school.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Real Cost of Educating Low-Income Students
"Funding parity for high-performing charter schools should be a priority for policymakers at every level," writes John H. Scully.
School & District Management
U.S. Aid Urged for Education's Entrepreneurs
With the presidential candidates both underscoring their support for entrepreneurial initiatives in education, policy experts are advancing ideas for helping such efforts flourish.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
After-School Programs
An initiative to build after-school programs in New York City expanded public funding of such programs from $23 million to nearly $300 million from 1998 to 2008, a study has found.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Childhood Obesity
A study of youth in Great Britain shows that children who eat breakfast daily are less likely to become obese.
Education
Report Roundup
Analysis of PISA Finds Private School Effect
A new study that examines test scores from 29 countries concludes that competition from private schools improves achievement for students in both public and private schools.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Reading Research
A supplemental reading program known as Accelerated Reader had an insignificant impact on reading fluency, mixed results on comprehension, and some positive effects on general reading achievement, according to a review by the What Works Clearinghouse.
Law & Courts
Scholars Weigh Court Influence Over School Practices, Climate
The courts play a big part in many aspects of public education in the United States, but it wasn’t always that way, according to experts at a conference held last week.
Education
Report Roundup
Hispanics in College
The income disparity between Latino and non-Hispanic white students entering four-year colleges and universities has quadrupled over the past three decades, according to a new report.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher Hiring
California’s demand for teachers over the next decade will not affect its diverse counties in uniform ways, says a new report.
Curriculum
Report Roundup
Producing Engineers
Policymakers should take steps to produce more minority students capable of becoming engineers and scientists, a new report argues.
Education
News in Brief
Red Lake, Minn., Settlement Reached
Victims’ family members and survivors of the Red Lake High School shooting in Minnesota will split $1.5 million under a settlement reached with MacNeil Environmental Inc., a company hired to come up with a crisis plan for the school.
Federal
News in Brief
Skills With Technology to be Gauged on NAEP
The test known as the “nation’s report card” will soon assess students’ technological skill, in what federal officials say will be the first nationwide assessment of student achievement in that area.
Education
News in Brief
Conn. Governor Seeks to Help Districts With Their Heating Costs
Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut says she will ask lawmakers to allocate $10 million to help Connecticut social-service providers and schools pay their heating bills this winter.
Education
News in Brief
Baltimore Public Boarding School Welcomes First 6th Graders
State school officials in Maryland this week will dedicate a new public boarding school that will admit students from around the state and provide them with rigorous academics and a 24-hour college-preparatory environment.
Federal
Campaign Notebook
The Polls Are Closed in Scholastic Precincts
If children could vote, Barack Obama would be the next president, according to the Scholastic Presidential Election Poll for Kids.
Teaching
Data Accessible, Training Limited
Teachers’ access to student information has increased, but many lack the training and some necessary tools to support the kind of data-driven decisionmaking that leads to instructional change and improved achievement, a report says.
Special Education
Math Study Evaluates Digital Aids
University of Louisville researchers are exploring how print textbooks can be converted to digital versions to help students with “print disabilities,” a term for various learning, visual, and physical issues that interfere with reading.
Federal
Federal File
House Panel Hits Election-Time Trips
Leading up up to the 2006 Congressional and gubernatorial elections, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings traveled 19 times to give a boost to Republican candidates, according to a draft report released last week.
Federal
States' K-12 Efforts Feeling Budget Sting
States are struggling—and sometimes failing—to hold the line on education budget cuts and day-to-day disruption in the face of budget deficits, flagging tax revenues, and credit jitters that threaten their cash flow.