Education News: November 2, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending November 2, 2007.

Technicality May End School Program
(Source:  The Boston Globe, 11/2/07):  A glitch on the US Department of Education’s website will likely end a school program that provides tutoring, GED classes, career counseling and other services to students in Chelsea, Massachusetts.  Program personnel worked for two days last November to try to make the government website accept their grant proposal, but the glitch blocked it.  Ultimately, the proposal arrived 46 minutes after the deadline, and the DOE refused to consider the grant.  The program, called Choice Thru Education, had operated successfully for 40 years.

Relief in Projects Decision
(Source: The Baltimore Sun, 11/2/07):  The Maryland State Board of Education has ruled that students in the class of 2009 who fail their High School Assessment tests twice will be allowed to complete academic projects in order to make up points and graduate.  One principal who participated in the decision emphasized that the projects will be intensive and time-consuming and are intended for serious students who are unable to pass the tests.

South's Public Schools Are Now Mainly Low Income
(Source:  The Christian Science Monitor, 11/1/07):  A new study by the Southern Education Fund has found that, for the first time in four decades, more than half of the South’s public school students are considered low-income.  The shift is the result of a decline in traditionally middle-class jobs, such as those in mines and factories, and a growing trend for wealthier Southern parents to place their children in private schools.

Guides on Sharing Information Released
(Source: The Washington Post, 10/31/07):  Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has released three brochures clarifying student privacy law: one for K-12 schools, one for colleges, and one for parents.  Earlier this year, Virginia Tech student Seung Hui Cho killed 33 people including himself, a tragedy that might have been prevented had education personnel realized that existing privacy laws did not prevent them from sharing information about the student’s increasingly disturbing behavior.   

Girls Outpace Boys on Tests
(Source: The Chicago Tribune, 10/31/07):  Elementary school girls outperformed their male classmates on every state assessment test last year.  Education officials are not sure of the reason for this, but are wondering if recent changes to the exams somehow favored female test takers. 

Many Catholic Schools Fight to Survive
(Source: The Los Angeles Times, 10/30/07):  According to the National Catholic Education Association, nationwide enrollment in Catholic schools is at a low, and many of the schools are fighting to remain in operation.  Part of the problem is that instead of being staffed by priests and nuns, the schools are now staffed mainly by lay teachers, who expect salaries and benefits on par with those of public school teachers.

Preschool's the Prescription for State's Education System
(Source:  The Lexington Herald-Leader, 10/30/07):  A panel of Kentucky teachers, administrators, and school board members has recommended that the state focus its efforts on providing high-quality preschool to children from low-income families.  Governor Ernie Fletcher agreed with this recommendation and said he would continue to work to broaden state preschool programs.