Education Program
This Week in Education
March 26 - April 2, 2008
Highlighted Bills of the Week
(Powered by State Net)
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Arizona HB 2392 (Passed House)
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HB 2392 requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to conduct a study on the potential costs of opting out of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and requires Arizona to opt out of NCLB beginning in FY 2010-11 if the Legislature appropriates monies to ADE to offset the potential loss of federal monies as a result of opting out.
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Tennessee HB 3125 (In House Committee on Education) |
This bill requires the school year to commence no earlier than the Tuesday following Labor Day. HB 3125 allows an exception for schools operating on a year round basis. |
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This Week in Education
March 26 - April 2, 2008
K-12
Legislators set the record straight at town hall meeting on education
The issue at hand was controversial language in Senate Bill 458 which would have required Fayette County schools to take on Clayton County students if Clayton were to lose its accreditation as is expected.
Report: Many big city graduation rates below 50%
Seventeen of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana and Cleveland, Ohio, according to a report released Tuesday.
House OKs bill to quit No Child Left Behind Act
The Arizona House of Representatives is on the verge of opting out of the controversial No Child Left Behind Act, President Bush's premier educational accomplishment. On a voice vote Wednesday, the House approved a bill sponsored by state Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, that would make Arizona the first state in the nation to leave behind the act and its education mandates. It would take effect on July 1, 2010.
A School Board Clash in Pennsylvania, With Echoes
In a district where a third of the students are Hispanic, the resignation last month of one member of the all-white school board prompted civic activists to urge the remaining members to appoint Sis Obed Torres Cordero, a lawyer and civic leader, to fill the vacancy.
Educators, lawmakers promote longer school year for Oklahoma students
In 1907, when Oklahoma became a state, the length of its school year was determined largely by the demands of life on the farm where students were expected to perform their share of the chores. But 101 years later, educators and political leaders say tougher academic standards require public school students to be in the classroom longer to increase instructional time and better equip them for the demands of the 21st century's global economy.
Free tutoring failing to help needy kids
Federally mandated public after-school tutoring isn't always reaching the children it's intended to help, research suggests — and when it does, it doesn't always help as much as it could.
Leadership
Rise of the 'rock star' school superintendent
Fewer qualified candidates, rising expectations, and a near-impossible job description are creating a new breed of superintendents: Call them central office rock stars. These candidates say that, for the right price, they're willing to do an unpopular job that can take a heavy personal and professional toll to whip underperforming districts into shape.
Providence quickly names new schools superintendent
One week after Donnie Evans resigned, Providence has a new school superintendent, Thomas M. Brady, the interim CEO of the Philadelphia school district. Thomas M. Brady says "the two most important things are our national defense and K-12 education." Brady, 57, is a retired Army colonel who will be taking over the state's largest school district -- and one that is facing several troubles.
Superintendent hits the ground running
Terry Grier has already overseen $80 million in school spending cuts and participated in sending a massive batch of layoff notices to teachers. And amid the budget turmoil, there is political uncertainty. Three of the five school board trustees who hired him face re-election, with one likely to drop out altogether.
W. Clermont schools official dies
John Abegglen, 63, an assistant superintendent for personnel and administration in Ohio's West Clermont School District, collapsed at work and died Monday of an apparent heart attack. Abegglen had worked in education for almost 40 years and planned to retire in December, but was still passionate about teaching, colleagues said.
School Choice
Scholarship tax-credit bill advances
Under the bill, businesses would receive an income tax credit for 75 percent of their contributions to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to students and teachers at private secondary schools. The tax credit, which would be capped at $5 million a year, would also apply to donations made to certain public school programs, such as those that subsidize teachers' graduate schooling.
Bill giving tax breaks for private school scholarships OK'd
The Senate approved HB 1133 by a vote of 32 to 20, sending it to Gov. Sonny Perdue for consideration. The vote was largely along party linesIf Perdue signs the bill into law, private citizens and corporations could get income tax credits for donating money to non-profit scholarship organizations. Those organizations, in turn, would provide scholarships to parents who want to pull their children out of public schools and send them to private ones.
Charter schools promote transparency
The Guam Charter Schools Act of 2008 would establish and maintain schools that operate independently from the Guam Public School System. The co-sponsor of the bill is Senator Tina Rose Muna-Barnes, who says this is a positive thing for our island's students. "It gives the accountability and transparency and it gives ownership not just to the administrators, but ownership to the students and it has everybody coming together and working together," she explained.
STEM
Wanted: Young scientists and engineers: Shortage threatens aerospace, defense
The aerospace and defense sector is bracing for a potential brain drain over the next decade as a generation of Cold War scientists and engineers hits retirement age and not enough qualified young Americans seek to take their place. The problem could impact national security and even close the door on commercial products that start out as military technology.
Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning: New research sheds light on students' ability to process multiple modes of learning
According to a new report commissioned by Cisco Systems, adding visuals to verbal (textual and/or auditory) instruction can result in significant gains in basic or higher-order learning, if applied appropriately. Students using a well-designed combination of visuals and text learn more than students who use only text, the report says.
Competition aims to push science study
The FIRST Robotics program -- it stands for: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology -- is a nationwide organization aimed at inspiring and nurturing young people's interest and participation in science, technology, engineering and business. In Michigan, automakers and suppliers sponsor many of the teams.
Pastorek says Calif. offers model of how to transform schools
State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek plans to urge most public school superintendents statewide to launch at least one high school in their district that differs sharply from traditional operations.
Teachers
Web sites give access to Pa. teachers' salaries
As part of a campaign to make public information more accessible, a New Jersey newspaper has put a list of Pennsylvania teachers' salaries online. The Asbury Park Press posted the information about a week ago on its Web site. Interest surged Thursday after Simon Campbell, an education activist in Eastern Pennsylvania, issued a news release and began publicizing the database on his Web site, at http://www.stopteacherstrikes.org/.
Essential Qualities of Math Teaching Remain Unknown (EdWeek)
Research does not show conclusively which professional credentials demonstrate whether math teachers are effective in the classroom, the report found. It does not show what college math content and coursework are most essential for teachers. Nor does it show what kinds of preservice, professional-development, or alternative education programs best prepare them to teach.
Education Finance
Tight budgets, rising costs squeeze states
The battered housing market, record oil prices and creeping unemployment rates have blown billion-dollar holes in state budgets from California to Florida. Consumers and businesses are spending less, so state tax revenues are dipping. And a new bond-market crisis could make it more expensive for states to borrow.
Governor says ‘financial disaster’ shows need for rainy-day fund | March 25, 2008(Education Week)
Stronger teaching and leadership, a useful and reliable data system, expanded high-quality early-childhood-education programs, and more flexibility for educators to improve student achievement are among the recommendations a California committee is making for repairing what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called a “broken” public education system.
Indiana Shifts School Costs Away From Local Tax Rolls | March 25, 2008
(Education Week)
The Indiana legislature in its recently completed session passed sweeping changes to the state’s property-tax system that give substantial breaks to homeowners by shifting the costs of running schools entirely from local tax rolls to the state. Before the change, about 15 percent of school districts’ general operating funds, or about $2 billion statewide, came from local property taxes. Now, that $2 billion will be picked up by the state.
Fate of school funding is wide open in House | March 26, 2008
(Concord Monitor)
A $971 million school funding plan - an attempt to bring the state in line with court rulings - swept through the Senate last week on a partisan vote. But it remains to be seen what lies ahead in the far-larger House, where many lawmakers will be looking at whether their towns stand to lose or gain money under the plan.
Senate OKs rise in school funding | March 27, 2008
(The Associated Press)
LANSING -- The state Senate passed a $13.4-billion spending plan for K-12 public schools Wednesday after skirmishing over giving some districts a higher increase than others.
Governor signs revamped education package into law | March 28, 2008
(Anchorage Daily News)
JUNEAU -- Gov. Sarah Palin has quietly signed into law the biggest rewrite of the state's education funding system in a decade, despite hints that she might veto the package.
School Districts Fear Budget Impact of New Indiana Property-Tax System | April 1, 2008
(Education Week)
Gov. Mitch Daniels says Indiana’s new property-tax-restructuring plan “puts taxpayers first.” But schools worry that coming in second could cost them millions, threaten programs, and widen the gap between poor and rich districts.
School finance formula scheduled for revamping | April 2, 2008
(Omaha World-Herald)
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature is set to revamp the school finance formula and, in the process, possibly settle the five-year legal battle that the Omaha Public Schools and three other school districts have waged over state aid.
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