Education News: January 13, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending January 13, 2006.

Houston to Link Teachers' Pay, Test Scores
(Source: Chicago Sun-Times, 01/13/06 and Houston Chronicle, 01/12/06) Houston became the biggest school district in the US on Thursday to link teachers’ pay to their students’ test scores. The Houston school board voted unanimously to approve the plan, although several teachers voiced that it was unfair. The plan offers as much as $3,000 more to teachers per school year if their students improve on state and national tests. The program could eventually grow to as much as $10,000 in merit pay. Other school districts across the US have implemented a variety of incentive pay programs, including Denver last November.

Teaching Katrina evacuees costs Colorado $2.3 million
(Source: Rocky Mountain News, 01/12/06) Figures released Wednesday by the Colorado Department of Education show that more than 550 students came to Colorado from states hit by Katrina. The figures released Wednesday also show that the state is expected to pick up $1.7 million of the $2.3 million bill, with the remaining to come from local property taxes. The Colorado Department of Education states that it will seek federal compensation. Denver public schools host the largest number of displaced students from Hurricane Katrina, with Cherry Creek, Jefferson County, Aurora, Boulder, and Colorado Springs also hosting a good number of student evacuees.

Pass-all rule for athletes excoriated
(Source: Des Moines Register, 01/12/06) Iowa school officials Wednesday blasted a proposed state rule that would bench high school athletes for four weeks if they failed one or more classes. The Iowa State Board of Education in November approved the rule; if implemented it would be the first time there would be an eligibility change since 1992. School officials claim that “it stomps all over local control” and that they see it as a “slap in the face.” Only one of the 10 board members, Wayne Kobberdahl of Council Bluffs, was present to listen to the comments but ended up just hearing a universal distaste for the rule by all who attended Wednesday’s public hearing. Iowa Department of Education officials plan to relay opinions, concerns and questions to all board members at a March board meeting. 

New Orleans Commission to Seek Overhaul of Schools and Transit
(Source: New York Times, 01/11/06) The New Orleans Commission, which is devising a blueprint to reconstruct the city, will propose on Wednesday a complete reorganization of the troubled school system, the elimination of a 76-mile shipping channel that was a prime cause of flooding after Hurricane Katrina and the creation of a new jazz district downtown. This plan is the city’s first comprehensive effort to create a city to which its residents can return, which proposes that no one should return to the most damaged sections of the city until June. One measure of whether a neighborhood will succeed will be if it has sufficient residents to justify creating a high school and two primary schools in the vicinity.

Educators challenging use of schools for elections
(Source: The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, 01/11/06) The Summit County Board of Elections voted Tuesday to recommend that public schools simply cancel school on election days, as educators express concern about student safety. Election officials will send a letter to superintendents in the county encouraging them to hold teacher-only training sessions on election days, thus removing concerns about student safety. Student safety is a great concern especially at the elementary schools, which have the youngest pupils, are more numerous than middle or high schools, and often provide convenient access for voters. Most visitors usually have to sign in at the principal’s office, but not during polling time. Removing schools as polling sites is not possible as it is not easy to find another place to vote.

Law stymies schools wanting to use fingerprints for tracking
(Source: Des Moines Register, 01/10/06) A state law that took effect last July 1 restricting the fingerprinting of children with some exceptions, such as criminal investigation stopped 20 or more Iowa school districts, using fingerprint scanners to keep track of students. The bill introduced Monday would allow schools to use fingerprint-scanning technology if the data is not stored, the fingerprint cannot be reconstructed, and there is no objection from the parent or guardian. The fingerprint scanners were used for tracking student purchases in the cafeteria making it more efficient to charge food to their accounts, checking out library books, or even keeping tabs of attendance.

High school opens vegetarian lunch line
(Source: Boston Globe, 01/10/06) For years, school cafeterias have tried to please students with vegetarian offerings. The American School Food Service Association says more than a third of U.S. high schools have meatless items that include salads and cheese pizza. An urban Atlanta high school, Grady High School’s vegetarian-only line is believed to be one of the first in the country. The vegetarian line has been growing in popularity at Grady High, originally designed for 30 vegetarian students, now meat-eaters also jump on line, and approximately 400 of the 1,200 of lunch entrees that are served in the school’s cafeteria are vegetarian. This new trend—vegetarian-only lunch lines—has started in the unlikeliest of places—the South, home of the "Stroke Belt," long known for its trademark fried and fatty foods and higher rates of heart attacks and strokes than other parts of the country.

Teachers on the lookout for teens with tunes
(Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, 01/08/06) One of Santa's hottest Christmas deliveries to teenagers this season is proving troublesome for schools. As students returned from winter break with the latest Apple iPods, teachers groaned at the newest distraction that has youths tuning them out in the classroom. As students grow adept at camouflaging the electronic devices, it is getting increasingly difficult to detect them. Being that the newest video models are selling for approximately $300-400, schools are afraid that some students may be downloading pornography and showing it to much younger students. Schools also do not want to spend valuable resources tracking down lost or stolen electronics.