This Week in Education

Prospects Fade for NCLB Bill in 2007 EdWeek
Efforts to revise the law are mired in backroom negotiations in both the House and the Senate and show no signs of gaining the momentum necessary to ensure completion of the reauthorization in 2008.

Knives, Not Guns, Have Been Weapon of Choice, Study Finds WPost
More than 3 percent of 17 million crimes reported from 2000 through 2004 occurred at schools, colleges and universities, with knives being the most commonly used weapon, according to an FBI study released yesterday.

Teachers unions battle school choice for parents and students Detroit News
In today's political taxonomy, "progressives" are rebranded liberals dodging the damage they did to their old label. Perhaps their most injurious idea -- injurious to themselves and public schools

Kids join parents at teacher conferences AP
It’s that time of year when moms and dads across the country are squeezing into uncomfortable kid-sized chairs to discuss with teachers whether their children are off to a good start at school. In some places, the conference comes with a wrinkle: The children sit in. PLUS: US kids get new trend: more active parents Christian Science Monitor.

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Bush administration turnover plays like Survivor: Texas Houston Chronicle
With Karen Hughes' resignation announcement Wednesday, nearly every prominent Texan who came to Washington with President Bush has left the administration.

Wis. teacher protests NCLB law by sitting out testing; discipline threatened AP
A middle school teacher is protesting the federal No Child Left Behind law by refusing to administer a standardized test to his eighth-grade students.

Md. keeps tests as graduation requirement but allows alternative AP
High school students who fail one or more of Maryland's exit exams will have the option to earn their diplomas by completing projects in the subjects where they fall short.

Top U.S. Language Official Resigns EdWeek
Kathleen Leos, director of the office of English-language acquisition in the U.S. Department of Education, resigned last week.

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Standardized high school exit exams put states to the test USA Today
Twenty-two states have some type of exit exams; four are phasing them in. But the tests are proving controversial. Maryland has delayed exams by two years. The state Board of Education meets today and Wednesday to decide whether to move the date again.

School Issues Vary on States’ Ballots EdWeek
Voters will decide some notable education- and child-related questions when they go to the polls next month.

Elementary Absenteeism AP
Absenteeism among children in the early-elementary grades is highest in kindergarten and has a positive correlation with poverty, says a study.

Libraries luring students with coffee AP
Coffeehouses are springing up in high school libraries around the country, marking a departure from the days when librarians prohibited food, drinks and talking. School officials say these shops are promoting reading by attracting teenagers who might not otherwise hang out in a library.

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South's schools swell with poor kids News & Observer
For the first time in more than 40 years, the majority of children in public schools in the South are poor, according to a report released today. In 11 states, over half of students live in poverty.

A juggling act on No Child Left Behind Los Angeles Times
As Miller pushes to renew the landmark education law known as No Child Left Behind, he faces so many fights that the fate of the bill is increasingly in doubt.

Bush greets teen who told Pa. authorities of school attack plan AP
Bush greets teen who told Pa. authorities of school attack plan.

One-Tenth of High Schools Are 'Dropout Factories' AP
There are about 1,700 regular or vocational high schools nationwide that fit that description, according to an analysis of Education Department data conducted by Johns Hopkins for The Associated Press. That's 12 percent of all such schools, no more than a decade ago but no less, either.

Disabilities Fight Grows as Taxes Pay for TuitionThe New York Times
Without Justice Kennedy, the court split 4 to 4 in a New York City case on whether Tom Freston, the former chief executive of Viacom, should have put his learning-disabled son in a public school before sending him to a private school and seeking tuition reimbursement.

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A Whole School Left Behind Washington Post
But in Como and other poor, rural districts around the country, the law's regimen of testing and sanctions has had little, if any, effect.

Minnesota Plan Gives Scholarships for Child Care NPR
A new initiative in St. Paul, Minn., aims to make high-quality early childhood education more accessible to low-income residents by providing scholarships. The program is the brainchild of an economist who says it will save the state money.

Lead exposure, crime seem to correlate USA Today
For decades, researchers have known that lead poisoning lowers children's IQs and puts them at risk for severe learning disabilities and more impulsive, sometimes violent behavior. New research increasingly suggests that lead also affects long-term juvenile and adult crime rates.

A Principal Who Cracks Down on Stress NYT
Some administrators are pushing back against an ethos of super-achievement at affluent suburban high schools.

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Student's death likely caused by staph infection CNN
A middle school student from Brooklyn died Thursday, probably from the staph infection MRSA, according to the New York City Health Department.

Video shows student shooting 2 victims at Cleveland school AP
His face concealed by a white hooded sweat shirt, the determined student gunman climbed the enclosed staircase with his cache of weapons in a backpack, heading toward a shooting rampage against classmates and teachers.

Pitching for preschool, with eye on future Washington Post
For Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), improving access to preschool is a signature issue. In 2005, he ran for the office on a platform that pledged to provide universal access to preschool for the state's 100,000 4-year-olds.

Education Plays Diverse Role in 2007 State-Level Elections EdWeek
Control of one or more houses of the legislature in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia will be decided next month.

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Senate Reverses Bush's Cuts to Education, Health as Veto Battle Looms Edweek
Senate gave bipartisan approval to a spending bill that totals over $600 billion and reverses a raft of cuts sought by Bush to special education, health research.

Ideals meet politics in public schools debate Tribune (opinion)
Kozol would require states to authorize and finance a student's right to transfer from a failing district into a successful school in a suburban district.

Science courses nearly extinct in elementary grades, study finds San Francisco Chronicle
The third-graders looked puzzled when asked what they liked best about science. No answer. Via EdNews.org

A year of decision for six high school seniors CSM
The Monitor follows the months-long college-application process for six diverse students. Part 1 of two.

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Ed. Dept. Requires Changes in Race, Ethnicity Reporting EdWeek
Schools must update as needed their method of student-data reporting to the Education Department no later than the 2010-11 school year—one year later than was announced when the guidelines were proposed last year.

A Chance to Dream NYT (opinion)
The Senate has a chance today to pluck a small gem from the ashes of the immigration debate by voting for the passage of the Dream Act.

Expulsions show racial disparity Post and Courier (South Carolina)
National and state statistics, as well as data from other local school districts, show that black students were suspended or expelled at a much higher rate.Via EdNews.org.

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Band Teacher’s Abuse Scars Family, Splits Community EdWeek
Immediately after news of one teachers arrest hit in January 2005, people began questioning the girls' motives: Why didn't they come forward sooner? Were they really telling the truth?

Noose Sent to Black Principal at Brooklyn School NYT
The hate crimes unit of the Police Department is investigating the delivery of a noose along with a racially charged letter to the principal of Canarsie High School.

Schools Put Tastes to the Test in Bid to Provide Healthier Lunches PBS
Many U.S. schools are pouring new resources into efforts to provide lunches for students that are both tasty and health conscious. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on the strategies being employed in St. Paul, Minn., schools.

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Sex Abuse a Shadow Over U.S. Schools AP
An investigation by the Associated Press has found more than 2,500 cases over five years in which educators were punished for actions that ranged from bizarre to sadistic.

Oprah's school in scandal News24 South Africa
Henley-On-Klip - A matron at Oprah Winfrey's posh school for girls near Vereeniging apparently "fondled" one of the pupils, and assaulted another.

Bush, Democrats Face Education Spending Showdown EdWeek
President Bush and Democratic leaders in Congress are facing off over spending on federal education programs, and the renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act could get caught up in the clash.

Even Families Are Split Over Oral Contraceptives at a Maine Middle School NYT
A school committee’s vote to provide prescription contraceptives at its clinic is drawing fervent support and ardent opposition in Portland.

The advocate of teaching over testing Boston Globe
Jonathan Kozol, who has worked with teachers and children in inner-city schools for more than 40 years, is the author of such books as "The Shame of the Nation," "Savage Inequalities," and "Amazing Grace."

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Maine Middle School to Issue Birth Control Pills NPR
School officials in Portland, Maine make birth control pills available to students at one of the city's middle schools. The move follows a spate of pregnancies among middle school girls.

Calif. Approves Teacher Test Teacher Magazine
California’s rigorous performance test for new teachers has the potential to set national standards, officials say.

FCC cites commentator Williams for payola Reuters
After investigating for more than 2-1/2 years, the Federal Communications Commission concluded that Williams and his firm violated agency rules by promoting President George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" policy on television without disclosing they had been paid to do so.

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Romney likes NCLB MSNBC
“I like the fact that in No Child Left Behind we test our kids,” Romney said. “We can see which schools are succeeding and which are failing. That alone is a huge advance…I like No Child Left Behind.”

Easy test leaves Maryland behind Baltimore Sun
"We think our cut scores are reasonable for what people are being asked to do by 2014, especially given that it's for all subgroups - students who don't speak English or students with special needs."

Teachers Agree to Bonus Pay Tied to Scores NYT
Bonuses for New York City teachers would be based largely on the overall test scores of students at schools that have high concentrations of poor children.

A Normal Lesson in Vocabulary, Until a Deer Bursts Through a School Window NYT
New Jersey, a 200-pound buck raced through a class of fifth graders and wandered the halls like a typical gaggle of errant students before being shepherded out a back door.

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Miami ‘Zone’ Gives Schools Intensive Help EdWeek
Some of the lowest-performing schools in the Miami-Dade County, Fla., district could soon be weaned from three years of strategic support.

PLUS: L.A. Chief Weighs New District for Lowest-Performing Schools

High schools using breathalyzers to fight teen drinking USA Today
High schools are rushing to test students for alcohol at extracurricular events like dances and football games.

Richardson: U.S. education 'broken' Des Moines Register
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said today the nation's education system is "broken from top to bottom. "

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Failing Schools Strain to Meet U.S. Standard NYT
"They’re so busy fighting No Child Left Behind,” said Mary Johnson, president of Parent U-Turn, a civic group. “If they would use some of that energy to implement the law, we would go farther.”

The ABC's of Betrayal Columbus Dispatch
The newspaper’s 10-month investigation found that a state and local discipline system allows educators in the classroom despite misconduct that includes theft, assault and abuse of children. Teachers' rights are often put first, districts don't always communicate with the state, and the Department of Education shields records of wrongdoing.

School Integration Efforts Face Renewed Opposition WSJ
Some districts are sidestepping the ruling by replacing measurements of race with household income. But many others, such as Milton, are adjusting their programs in the face of opposition that's been emboldened by the Supreme Court decision.

Disguised Silence NYT (Opinon)
Will Okun on legislation that requires all Illinois public schools to provide students with a moment of silence at the beginning of the school day.

Girl run over, killed by homecoming parade float AP
Girl run over, killed by homecoming parade float.

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Why 'No Child' Was Needed Washington Post
Long before No Child Left Behind, far too many classrooms were boring, dull places where children were forced to do endless worksheets, discouraged from independent thinking and subjected to teachers providing confusing and sometimes demonstrably false information.

Bush, Others Want Law to Go Beyond Basics EdWeek
Mr. Bush and other policymakers are considering a variety of changes to the NCLB law to encourage schools to go beyond the teaching of basic skills.

Core readers for cities: 4-year-olds USA Today
Mayors who want to be on the same page as their constituents — even ones way too young to vote — are launching citywide book-of-the-month clubs to promote reading and literacy.

Making Cash a Prize for High Scores NYT
New York City is expanding the use of cash rewards for students who take standardized tests with a $1 million effort financed by a group of private philanthropists.

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Clinton, Richardson, Edwards offer plans AP
Clinton, Richardson, Edwards offer plans to make college more affordable, help rural schools.

Student charged on 17 counts in school bomb threat AP
Student charged on 17 counts in school bomb threat.

Brewer has yet to make his imprint LA Times
Several months into his job as superintendent of the Los Angeles school system, David L. Brewer held court before students at Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks.

Small schools under microscope Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Do you need a license to teach the specific subjects you are teaching to be a quality teacher? How about if you have good rapport with your students, fit in well with the teaching team and throw yourself into helping kids learn.

Get that teacher an apple Chicago Sun Times
With a perfect verbal score on the SAT and an Ivy League education, Daphne Whitington could have done anything she wanted.

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Student opens fire at Cleveland school, shoots 4, kills self AP
Student opens fire at Cleveland school, shoots 4, kills self.

Report Recounts Horrors of Youth Boot Camps NYT
Reports of abuse of troubled young people in privately run boot camps and other residential treatment centers are ...

Special Ed Tuition Case Ends in Tie Decision Title I Monitor
An equally divided U.S. Supreme Court left standing on Oct. 10 an appeals court decision requiring New York City public schools to reimburse for private school tuition the parents of a child with...

Noose on Door at Columbia Prompts Campus Protest NYT
A day after a noose was found hanging on a black professor’s office door at Columbia University’s Teachers College, the police said that their hate crimes unit had mounted a full investigation.

California Seeks School Sites Far from FreewayNPR
Lawmakers and scientists agree that building schools close to freeways is a bad idea. The concern is air pollution and the impact it can have on young lungs. But in Los Angeles, where more than 100 new public schools are being built, it's hard to find a site that's not near a freeway.

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Provision on Tutoring Raises Renewal Issues EdWeek
Lawmakers are proposing that only those schools failing to make AYP in several subgroups for three consecutive years would be required to offer tutoring.

For Schools, Lottery Payoffs Fall Short of Promises NYT
Most of the billions of dollars raised by state lotteries is used simply to sustain the games, an examination by The Times has found.

Teacher sues over gun ban MSNBC
Oregon high school English teacher Shirley Katz is challenging her school's gun ban as unlawful, since Oregon is among states that allow people with a permit to carry concealed weapons into public buildings.

In Some Schools, iPods Are Required Listening NYT
While many school systems are banning iPods, some are also trying to co-opt the devices to help students learn subjects from French to chemistry.

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The Washington Post features the new Fordham Foundation study showing low expectations and disparities among 26 states standards especially at the younger ages (Varying Standards May Hurt 'No Child' ). Ditto for AP, albeit with a slightly different focus (State Reading Tests Deemed Easier). USA Today goes with the Sputnik anniversary (Sputnik heralded space race, focus on learning). Over on PBS, the NewsHour focuses on New Orleans' new superintendent, Paul Vallas (New Orleans School Chief Tackles Rebuilding Shattered System). Last but not least, MSNBC goes with the Ohio lawmaker whose lesson on the legislative process inadvertently included a slide showing a naked woman (Nude woman shown during lecture).

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Get Congress Out of the Classroom NYT (Diane Ravitch)
Unless we set realistic goals for our schools and adopt realistic means of achieving them, we run the risk of seriously damaging public education.

Schools Embrace Ways to Help Environment AP
Jacob Chapman hopes to plant a rooftop garden at Olathe South High School, encourages classmates to recycle plastic bottles and paper, and wants them to reduce their use of disposables in the school cafeteria.

Superintendents Content in Jobs, But Stressed, Too EdWeek
Today’s school district leaders overwhelmingly have positive relationships with their school boards, tend to be satisfied in their jobs, and think of themselves as effective, according to a survey.

Do Charter Schools Improve Behavior? Washington Post (Jay Mathews)
Charters are hot commodities, the public school equivalent of hybrid cars or left-handed relief pitchers. But many people are puzzled why that is so.

School investigates Jena 6 event where kindergartner wore noose Chicago Sun Times
Grambling State University President Horace Judson said the school is probing a Sept. 20 incident at Grambling's elementary school in which a noose was placed around a kindergartner's neck.

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National companies cash in with charters where the kids learn at home Las Vegas Sun
Gathered by the pool at a Las Vegas community center, the parents and students swapped horror stories. Via EdNews.

Rethinking e-monitoring after progress report LA Times
A looming C on a midsemester assessment makes one mother take another look at computerized school programs that allow parents to track what's going on in the classroom. PLUS: Computer Glitch Affects L.A. Teacher Pay NPR.

Girls Are Often Neglected Victims of Concussions NYT
Girls playing high school sports are more susceptible to concussions than boys in the same sports, studies show.

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School struggles under rising federal standards San Deigo Union Tribune
Two years ago, NCLB forced Principal Sylvia Gonzalez to replace 70 percent of her teachers at Balboa Elementary School in southern San Diego.

Missouri Cited for Accountability Breakdown Title I Monitor
The state of Missouri was forced to put more than 150 school districts in improvement — with dozens of schools undergoing further sanctions — after a U.S. Department of Education...

LAUSD mulls fees for youth groups LA Times
The money would help ease the budget, officials say. Parents -- who might have to pay extra -- could choose not to let their children continue extracurricular activities, critics say.

Detroit Students Miss Two Weeks after School Shuts Detroit News
About 750 students whose school was padlocked by fire marshals Sept. 16 have had no classes for nearly two weeks, and many spent Thursday hanging out on a church parking lot.

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Teen Gets Perfect Scores on SAT, ACT USA Today
During the 2006-07 school year, more than 2.2 million ACT tests were administered. Only 177 came back with a 36. And of the nearly 2.6 million SAT exams taken, only 335 came back with a 2400.

Bill Clinton's bid to save the world LA Times
The former president's Clinton Global Initiative draws an array of leaders and activists, and plenty of money for their causes.

Prospective Principals Groomed Through TFA-District Partnerships EdWeek
TFA aims to have more than 800 alumni leading their own schools or districts by 2010, as part of a school leadership initiative launched last year.

Texting, Facebook used to alert students MSNBC.com
As the school year starts, colleges around the country are applying the lessons of Virginia Tech and using high technology to get the word out fast in a crisis.

Book Asks How Bad Schools Happen to Good Suburbs NY Sun
To write their book, "Not as Good as You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice," Ms. Murray and two other researchers at the San Franciscobased Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy studied California public schools.

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College Dwellers Outnumber the Imprisoned New York Times
In a reversal from 2000, more Americans over all now live in college dormitories than in prisons.

School crimes under wraps Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Some serious crimes reported in the Seattle's public schools last school year -- including cases of assaults and strong-arm robberies -- weren't reported to police, the P-I has found.

Few Students Switching Schools Under 'No Child' Law Washington Post
This fall, about 170 Northern Virginia children left elementary schools that fell short of academic goals for schools with better math and reading test scores. Most of their classmates stayed put.

For Shanker, education was a labor union of love USA Today
Albert Shanker organized his first labor strike in 1945 at age 17, when he rallied his fellow New York City bike messengers for a $1-a-week raise.

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MacArthur Foundation awards 24 grants Associated Press
A woman who helps students go to college with their "posse," a psychiatrist who treats combat veterans and a museum director on Alaska's Kodiak Island are among the 24 winners of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius grants."

Schools still rise close to freeways LA Times
L.A. Unified continues to build near roads that spew pollution despite a state law and evidence of health hazards.

Buy a Laptop for a Child, Get Another Laptop Free NYT
One Laptop Per Child, an ambitious project to bring computing to the developing world’s children, is reaching out to the public through an interesting marketing campaign. PLUS: Still Waiting for That $100 Laptop?

In growing cities, a loss of students Christian Science Monitor
Public school officials in several districts in Arizona, California, and Texas – particularly those with a high share of Hispanic students – are seeing a drop in enrollment this school year over last, and many are at a loss to explain it.

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Education and Schools Are a Focus for Edwards NYT
John Edwards laid out a proposal to overhaul the education system on Friday, saying that poor children attend schools that are “separate and unequal.”

New York Just Says No to Abstinence Funding NYT
The decision puts New York in line with at least 10 other states that have decided to forgo the federal money in recent years.

School options urged for parents Washington Times
Top federal education officials have released a new handbook urging state and local administrators to explain more effectively to parents that they can transfer their children among schools or access free tutoring services if their child's school is consistently subpar.

Fresh Faces Tackle Woes in New Orleans Schools NYT
A new superintendent is vowing to transform the battered public school system in New Orleans.

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Thousands Protest in Support of Jena Six PBS
Thousands marched in Jena, La. Thursday to protest charges against six black students accused of beating a white classmate. PLUS: Segregation Growing in American Schools NPR.

Reading, writing, and rebellion Boston Globe
Jonathan Kozol appeared shrunken in his chair at Harvard's Memorial Church, his blazer tossed aside, the sleeves of his pinstriped shirt rolled up to the elbows to expose bony arms. His thin ankles, swathed in black socks, disappeared into his signature navy blue Keds.

U.S. Set to Offer Math Grants Modeled on Reading First Ed Week
Like Reading First, the math program requires the federal Department of Education to make competitive grants available to states, which can then make awards to school districts.

Judge OKs 'Hitler Youth' Buttons Washington Post
Two students in northern New Jersey can wear buttons featuring a picture of Hitler youth to protest a school uniform policy, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

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