Education News: July 28, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending July 28, 2006.

School District Seeks Refuge For Homeless
(Source: The Boston Globe, 07/28/06) Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District in St. Louis, Missouri is breaking new ground with Joe’s Place, a home for homeless students that the school district recently purchased. The idea behind the home is to create a safe haven and a stable home situation for high school students who are facing homelessness while they are trying to get their high school degree. Local church interns would serve as dorm monitors and the school district and private donors would maintain the home financially. Says Barbara Duffield, policy director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth in Washington: "This is another example of schools stepping up to the plate where other federal agencies and programs have failed."

California’s Low-Income Schools to Get High-Tech Windfall
(Source: Los Angeles Times, 07/27/06) In an anti-trust settlement with Microsoft, California’s public schools will be gaining over $400 million in settlement money. This money is going to be put towards making technology improvements in the classroom. The funds stem from a $1.1 billion settlement made in 2004. Low-income schools with California approved technology plans qualify for a piece of the $400 million settlement. Education officials are hopeful that this new boon will help out lower-income students who are often held back by a lack of current technology in their classrooms. A representative for Microsoft said that Microsoft was pleased with where the money is being directed.

In Kindergarten Playtime, A New Meaning for “Play”
(Source: The New York Times, 07/26/06) Kindergarten classrooms, once epicenters of playtime, snack time, and naptime, are increasingly turns into industrious centers of reading and mathematics. At Achievement First East New York Charter School in Brooklyn, New York, kindergartners are taught how to write responses to readings and how to utilize computers for educational purposes. Socialization begins at an early age these days! While some adults worry that these children do not have time to play and acquire social skills because of the pressure to perform, other adults point to the No Child Left Behind Act and the importance of passing the standards that it sets. The bottom line: today there are more mini-adults running around than one would have found 20 years ago.

Bigger District Size Gives Superintendents Earnings Edge
(Source: Education Week, 07/26/06) The larger the school district (in terms of number of student enrolled) the higher the average salary for the superintendent running it. Salaries varied by eighty percent from large districts to petite ones. Other earnings statistics of interest, published in a new report by the Educational Research Service, show that education professionals in New England and the Mideast tend to earn more than their counterparts in other parts of the country. Additionally, teachers and principals in suburban areas earn more than others in non-suburban areas. Finally, female superintendents tend to earn more than male superintendents.

Access to Higher Education Gains
(Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, 07/23/06) As the debate about illegal immigration heats up around the country, the issue plays itself out in an interesting fashion in the arena of higher education. Highly qualified students who are illegal immigrants oftentimes struggle to come up with the money to pay for college. Over 60,000 illegal immigrants graduate from high schools across the United States each year. 10 states now allow illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition rates, comparable to those registered citizens pay, so that they can afford to attend university. From a higher education perspective, colleges are anxious to educate the most highly-qualified students; on the other hand, some citizens feel that illegal immigrants are stealing spaces for qualified citizens. The debate rages on.