Education News: March 25, 2005

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending March 25, 2005.

Details of Minnesota School Shooting Emerge
(Source: Education Week)
A teenage gunman shot and killed five fellow students, a security guard, a teacher, and himself at his rural Minnesota school on Monday, March 21. Sixteen-year-old Jeff Weise shot the students and school personnel after shooting and killing his grandfather and grandfather’s companion. Weise obtained his three guns, multiple rounds of ammunition, and a police vehicle from the home of his grandfather, who was a police officer. Weise shot at least seven other students, several of whom are in critical condition, after fatally wounding his first ten victims. The homicides and suicide took place in and around Red Lake High School, which is on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The incident is the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, with Columbine being the deadliest at 12 fatalities.

Review of Education Law Offers Positive Signs, Warning Signs
(Source: CNN.com)
A recent report by the non-governmental Center on Education Policy elucidated both the strengths and weaknesses of the No Child Left Behind act, which was put into effect in 2002. The study suggested that while the legislation is useful in identifying under-performing schools, it isn’t always good at ensuring that states and school districts can secure the funds to improve the schools. The report also found fault with the federal government’s expectations regarding disabled children and limited-English learners, calling the testing requirements “unfair, unrealistic, inappropriate or instructionally meaningless.” The U.S. Education Department is expected to revise its policies on special education in the near future.

Legislator Says State Lottery Is Shortchanging New York City Schools
(Source: The New York Times)
New York City schools out of $340 million in state lottery money since 2000. The Upper West Side’s Scott Stringer, a Democrat, said the city was shortchanged because it generates 44% of the state lottery revenue, but receives only 38% of the lottery funds designated for education.

Shootings Stir Memories of Columbine
(Source: CNN.com)
The deadly school rampage of a student that left 10 dead in rural Minnesota has triggered memories of the Columbine shootings in Colorado, due to the many similarities between the two tragedies. In both cases, the gunmen were teenage boys who were fascinated by Adolf Hitler and generally considered social outcasts. The gunmen in both shootings also asked their victims if they believed in God and shot them when they answered in the affirmative. Frank DeAngelis, the principal of Columbine, said he would call in additional counselors when students return from spring break if he deems it necessary.

Picketing by Yonkers Teachers Has Strike Talk on Front Burner
(Source: The New York Times)
Yonkers, an area long troubled by conflicts between the school district and the local teachers’ union, is again experiencing turbulence. Three weeks after the bus drivers went on strike, the teachers, who have been without a contract for nearly two years, began picketing in front of schools to protest layoffs, program cuts, and mismanagement at the top of the district. This is the same district that came under fire for cronyism last fall when Angelo Petrone, the Superintendent of Schools, hired an inexperienced friend of the family for a lucrative accounting job. The district’s teachers will take their grievances to a mediator on April 5. If the talk does not go well, the teachers will strike, according to Steve Frey, the president of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers.