Education News: March 9, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending March 9, 2007.

When Kids Miss School, Parents Get Bills
(Source: The San Diego Union Tribune, 3/9/07) In an attempt to curb school absences due to family trips, the school district in Santa Cruz, California, is asking parents to pay $36.13 for every day their kids miss for reasons other than illness. The reasoning for the measure is that California’s school funding system corresponds to the number of children in the school on a given day. So far, some parents are paying the optional bills, and some are throwing them out.

99 Teachers Told to Repay Part of Bonus
(Source: The Houston Chronicle, 3/8/07) Due to a computer glitch, 99 part-time teachers and instructional personnel in the Houston Independent School District were accidentally overpaid. Instead of receiving bonuses corresponding to their part-time status, the employees were given bonuses as if they were full-time. The district is asking the teachers to pay back an average of $745 each, but the head of HISD’s largest teachers’ union is advising the teachers to keep the money.

Bill Gates Pushes for Better Schools
(Source: Fox News, 3/7/07): Bill Gates testified before Congress on Wednesday, urging the nation’s leaders to find innovative ways to promote math and science teaching. Gates, a generous donor to educational programs around the world, worries that globalization will make Americans who fall through the school system cracks less able to work and earn a living.

Legislators Tweak Teacher Bonuses
(Source: The Saint Petersburg Times, 3/7/07): The year-old program in Florida to grant bonuses to teachers with high-performing students is being eyed for change by educators across the state. Many say that they would like to see entire schools rewarded rather than individual teachers. The Florida program is known as STAR-Special Teachers Are Rewarded.

Governor To Unveil Education Plan Today
(Source: The Chicago Sun-Times, 3/7/07): Governor Blagojevich of Indiana will provide details for paying for his proposed changes to the state education system in an address today. The governor wants to increase spending by $700 per student, fund more pre-school, completely fund special education, and increase the budget for school construction.

Teachers in Crisis: 1 School, 16 Assaults
(Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/6/07): West Philadelphia High School has had 16 assault incidents since the beginning of this school year. Both teachers and students voice concerns that violence has spiraled out of control at the school. Principal Clifton James attributes problems to an influx of 300 new students this year and points to his increased discipline measures as evidence that he is cracking down on problem students.

High Court Backs School Dress Code in T-Shirt Case
(Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/6/07): The United States Supreme Court has upheld the dress code for the Poway Unified School District in California, ruling not on the case but on one of the injunctions that was being contested. Tyler Chase Harper, a student at Poway High School, is suing for his right to free speech after being disciplined for wearing an anti-gay t-shirt to school. The case brings issues of free speech versus protection of minorities back into the news.

Council Assails Mayor’s Plans To Give Principals More Autonomy
(Source: The New York Times, 3/6/07): The New York City Council Education Committee criticized Mayor Bloomberg’s initiative to give autonomy to school principals at a hearing in New York yesterday. Council members cautioned the department of education against making sweeping reforms quickly, arguing that they have not seen statistical results that support the enlargement of the pilot program to free principals from scrutiny by school superintendents.

After Tornado, an Alabama School Tallies The Grief
(Source: The New York Times, 3/3/07): Eight students at Enterprise High School in Alabama were killed when a tornado struck their school on Friday. School administrators defended their decision not to send children home by citing the multiple tornado warnings they received throughout the day—they feared sending children outside with volatile weather conditions. Survivors of one student who was killed drew comfort from learning about his last moments—he held up a concrete pillar, allowing another student to escape, before it eventually overpowered him.