Education Program
This Week in Education
September 18- September 24, 2008
Highlighted Bills of the Week
(Powered by State Net)
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Illinois- (SB 2512)- Enacted |
Relates to Internet safety education curriculum. Requires school districts to incorporate an age-appropriate component on Internet safety into the school curriculum. Requires the State Board of Education to develop a model curriculum for educating children regarding online safety. Allows a school board to determine the scope and duration of such instruction. |
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Massachusetts- (HB 4967)-Enacted |
This bill provides the makeup of the membership of the advisory council on school and district accountability. HB 4967 also creates an Office of School and District Accountability to review and report on the efforts of schools, charter schools, and districts to improve academic achievement by their students. |
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This Week in Education
September 18 - September 24, 2008
K-12
Consensus on Learning Time Builds: Interest in Expanding Hours for Students to Master Academic, Social, and Workplace Skills Is Mounting
The idea of finding more time for learning has generated a hotbed of activity nationwide. A July study for the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank, found that more than 300 initiatives to extend learning time were launched between 1991 and 2007 in high-poverty and high-minority schools in 30 states. A compilation of extended-day activity at the state level by the Denver-based Education Commission of the States found more than 50 efforts since 2000.
"Timely Investment: Half-hour a Day with Kids"
The new Denver Public Schools' Mile High Parents campaign asks parents to commit to spending 30 minutes each school day to their children. Add those 30 minutes up over a school year, it works out to about 5,280 minutes. Parents at 35 schools will be asked to make the "5280" pledge. In return, they'll get tracking forms and tips for how to spend that 30 minutes with their children. They'll also become eligible for prizes such as grocery gift cards and starter accounts to help save for college.
School Leadership
NM: A good superintendent seems hard to find: State, national school districts also search for superintendent
By Alysa Landry, The Daily Times (Farmington)
The Central Consolidated School District is not alone in its search for a superintendent.
State superintendent candidates garner little notice amid higher-profile races
The two candidates in the upcoming election for Washington state’s superintendent of schools are battling over education issues that should draw plenty of public interest: the federal No Child Left Behind law, student achievement, testing, school funding, and dropout rates.
Post-Secondary Education
"On the Right Track"
Indiana has made considerable progress increasing student access to college during the past decades, according to the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Their report praises the state for better preparing high school students for college, increasing need-based financial aid and establishing a statewide community college system. And it credits Indiana with achieving the accomplishments through a bipartisan effort of policymakers, business leaders and education officials.
STEM
Effectiveness Of Traditional And Blended Learning Environments
In today's online era, the concept of a classroom extends beyond a walled room with desks and chairs and into the realm of cyber space. Computer screens are replacing the blackboard and keypads are replacing chalk.
Singapore math teaching method is gaining supporters
So far at least 20 lawmakers and more than 300 others have signed a letter that recommends, among other things, that Utah adopt Singapore math in grades K-8. Singaporean eighth-graders scored first in the world in math on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2003. In Singapore, math students are encouraged to think visually and develop mental strategies to solve problems.
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