Education News: June 29, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending June 29, 2007.

Study: Publicly Funded Tutoring Under NCLB Pays Off
(Source: CNN.com, 6/29/07): A new study by the Department of Education shows that free tutoring provided to children in failing schools is, in many cases, boosting their math and reading scores. No Child Left Behind requires districts to provide free tutoring to students in schools that do not meet required academic benchmarks three years in a row.

Justices Limit the Use of Race in School Plans for Integration
(Source: The New York Times, 6/28/07): In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court decided Thursday that schools cannot explicitly take students’ race into account in their efforts to create racially integrated school environments. Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas comprised the majority in this landmark case.

Union to Help Charter Firm Start School in the Bronx
(Source: The New York Times, 6/28/07): The United Federation of Teachers plans to work with Green Dot Public Schools to open a charter school in the Bronx. The plan is unusual because charter schools and unions typically have an adversarial relationship.

Charlotte-Area Schools Might Go Year-Round
(Source: The Charlotte Observer, 6/27/07): The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district is considering going to a year-round operating schedule to cope with tremendous overcrowding in the district. Recommendations are slated for late summer or early fall.

Helping Black Teens Prevail
(Source: The Sacramento Bee, 6/27/07): The president of the Greater Sacramento Urban League announced a new initiative to keep young black males in school and provide them with jobs at local businesses at the same time, contingent on them achieving acceptable grades. Drop-out rates for black male students in the area are remarkably higher than the rate for Caucasian males.

Schools Treat Transfers Differently
(Source: The Oregonian, 6/25/07): Students in the state of Oregon who are denied the request to transfer out of their home districts end up paying hefty tuition if they do transfer. In these cases, public schools can set admissions criteria, causing some critics to label the process as unfair.

Pieces of an Educational Dream
(Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/24/07): In 1983, a wealthy philanthropist in Philadelphia offered to pay for the college education of each member of a graduating class of sixth graders in the area. Some of those students have achieved their dreams and some never made it through high school.

Justices Let Schools Ban Pro-Drug Signs
(Source: The Los Angeles Times, 6/24/07): The Supreme Court ruled about the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” court case on Monday, stating that school principals have a right to act against students promoting drugs. The court stressed, however, that political speech should not be censored.