Education News: February 17, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending February 17, 2006.

Fewer opt to be teachers
(Source: The Des Moines Register, 02/17/06) Iowa educators blame the lack of interest in the teaching profession to low wages, lack of respect, and rigid standards of No Child Left Behind. Due to a 10% drop in student teachers and a 23% drop in teaching certification applications, Iowa is joining other states by beginning initiatives, such as increased pay and more support that will make the teaching profession more attractive.

Getting good grades is as easy as S-M-P
(Source: The Boston Globe , 02/16/06) School districts in Massachusetts have begun to change from the rank-based letter grade system to a standard-based grading system for elementary schools. The new report card compares the students to the state standard expectations for each grade level as opposed to each other. Although some parents are uncomfortable with interpreting the new information, administrators say it is worth the effort.

Board reaffirms school firings
(Source: The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune, 02/16/06) The Orleans Parish school board reasserted their decision to fire 7,500 employees. Although the employees were not going to be paid, they wanted to retain their jobs to guarantee that they would be re-hired once new schools began to open. The school board’s rationale was that the board was only envisioning operating 7-8 schools in the next five years, thus rendering most of the employees unnecessary.

Ohio state board plans to eliminate disputed evolution plan
(Source: The Associated Press, 02/15/06) In an 11-4 vote the Ohio Board of Education voted to eliminate a state standard and corresponding lesson plan that asked students to question evolution. Critics accused the lesson plan of creating an avenue to teach intelligent design.

Assemblyman ‘open to the idea’ of helping parents pay for private schools
(Source: The Buffalo News, 02/15/06) A recent proposal by Governor Pataki would give parents of private school students tax breaks. The plan is dividing public and private school lobbyists in the state. Public schools proponents see the proposal as another roadblock to receiving the billions of dollars that were allocated by a court order for New York City public schools.

Race, class, takes center stage in fight over Omaha schools
(Source: The Associated Press, 02/14/06)  Due to an 1891 law in Omaha, stating that there should be only one school district per metropolitan area, the Omaha school system, in which many students are minorities or economically disadvantaged, could acquire sections of two neighboring school districts, which are largely affluent.  The acquisition is currently being debated in the Nebraska state legislature; if no compromise is reached the city is preparing to take the issue to court.  The take-over would add billions of tax dollars into the Omaha district. 

Bipartisan panel to study No Child Left Behind
(Source: USAToday, 02/13/06) Members of an independent bi-partisan commission will be announced on Tuesday, the 21st, and will travel the country holding panels and discussions in order to find the benefits and faults of No Child Left Behind.  The commission came to fruition after years of complaints, from local school boards, parents, administrators, teachers, and such high profile critics as the National Education Association and The Civil Rights Project at Harvard, claiming that No Child Left Behind has good intentions but bad implementations.

Win a prize for going to school
(Source: (Kentucky’s) Lexington-Herald, 02/13/06) Kentucky’s Fayette County is joining the national trend of giving students incentives for perfect attendance. Some of the prizes include local recognition, a car, or the ability to skip a final exam. Part of the incentive to have students in school is that funding is lowered based on attendance.

Too many students stuck in study halls
(Source: The Connecticut Courant, 02/12/06) )  Due to budget constraints, high schools, such as Ellington high school in Connecticut, are being forced to place students in two or more study halls during an eight-period day.  The problem is that smaller high schools are able to afford to have classes that fulfill the requirements for college admissions and graduation, but they do not have the resources for a greater number of elective classes.  If schools of this nature continue without working collaboratively to create distance learning with neighboring high schools or creating a block schedule, they could lose their accreditation.

State may link pay to FCAT
(Source: The St. Petersburg Times, 02/11/06) ) In the hopes to attract and retain the best teachers, Florida state education officials created a plan to give 5% bonuses to top teachers.  The rankings are based on Florida’s standardized test scores and a formula based on improvement that will not penalize or give an advantage to teachers with high concentrations of struggling or stellar students.  The teachers union and the Florida Education Association are against the idea, saying it takes more focus off of students and forces teachers to teach to the test.