Education News: February 1, 2008

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending February 1, 2008.

Online Schooling Grows, Setting Off a Debate
(Source: The New York Times, 2/1/08):  Now that half a million American children take public school classes online, the debate over online public schools is heating up.  Online schooling runs the gamut from high school students taking one or two courses to alleviate classroom overcrowding to elementary school children attending online school full-time and working through their lessons with their parents.  Generally, teachers’ unions oppose online schooling; parents whose children attend the schools favor it; and those in the middle (including many lawmakers) support the practice but are calling for better oversight.

Maryland Bill To Target Tenure of Grasmick
(Source: The Washington Post, 1/31/08):  A messy political feud between Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and State Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick has escalated.  Currently, Democratic leaders in the Maryland General Assembly are creating a bill that would undo the four-year reappointment granted Grasmick by the State Board of Education.  Grasmick has held her position for the last sixteen years. 

Teacher Bonuses Given, But Not Names
(Source: The Houston Chronicle, 1/31/08):  Nearly 13,000 Houston school district employees received performance-based bonuses this week, but the district will likely ask the state attorney general if the data can be kept confidential.  Last year, the district listed the names and bonus amounts in a news release, but since then privacy concerns have arisen as this information could be construed as employee evaluations

School Sex Ed Lacking in Illinois, Study Finds
(Source: The Chicago Tribune, 1/31/08):  A new study by the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology has found that a third of sex education teachers in Illinois are not providing comprehensive information about pregnancy and STD prevention.   Additionally, many of the teachers do not have sufficient training or materials for the job.  The study’s authors concluded that doctors should pick up the slack by initiating discussions about sexuality with adolescents and their parents.

Housing Downturn Squeezing Schools
(Source: The Washington Post, 1/30/08):  The troubles of the Washington-area real estate market are having a negative impact on school funding.  Because schools rely on state and county funding, and state and county governments rely on property taxes, the decline of property values is hurting schools.  Casualties of the cuts in D.C. and Maryland include teacher raises and a plan that would have created a series of new pre-K to eighth grade schools.

Grants Would Finance Private Schooling
(Source: The New York Times, 1/29/08):  In his State of the Union Address, President Bush called for a $300 million program, to be named Pell Grants for Kids, that would allow children from low-income families to attend private or religious schools.  Union leaders and some Democrats attacked the proposal on the basis that it would drain much-needed funds from the nation’s public school system.

Bill’s Aim: Fresher Foods for Students
(Source: The Seattle Times, 1/29/08):  Bills circulating in the Washington state legislature would make it easier for public schools to purchase fresh foods from local farms rather than the bulk processed foods they have historically used to stock school cafeterias.  If the bills pass, schools would be authorized to spend slightly more to obtain fresh, local foods, and other measures to bring the fruits of Washington’s agriculture to children and low-income families would be implemented as well.