Education News: March 7, 2008

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending March 7, 2008.

At Charter School, Higher Teacher Pay
(Source:  The New York Times, 3/7/08):  A new charter school set to open in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood in 2009 will pay its teachers $125,000 per year, with the added possibility of bonuses based on school-wide performance.  In order to afford these unusually high teacher salaries, the school’s founder and principal, Zeke Vanderhoek, will cut costs in such areas as principal salary, support staff, extracurricular offerings, and class size.  Mr. Vanderhoek hopes to show that dramatically higher teacher pay is the key to improved student achievement.  This educational experiment will likely be closely watched across the nation.

Chicago Links School Cameras to 911 Center
(Source:  The Chicago Tribune, 3/7/08):  Chicago mayor Richard Daley has announced that the city will use a $418,000 grant from Homeland Security to link 4500 school security cameras to police headquarters and a 911-response center.  Additionally, police officers responding to a school emergency will be able to view the images from their patrol cars.  The increased security comes in the aftermath of a rash of school shootings across the country.

Study: Phys Ed May Boost Girls’ Academic Achievement
(Source:  USA Today, 3/5/08):  A new study by the CDC has shown that elementary school girls who receive the most physical education (70 to 300 minutes per week) consistently perform better on standardized tests than girls who are in gym class for 35 minutes or less each week.  The finding is especially significant because many schools have scaled back on physical education in order to spend more time preparing for standardized tests.  The study’s authors speculate that several factors cause the improved academic performance, including improved concentration and increased blood flow to the brain.

Do the Math: How Students Achieve
(Source:  The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/5/08):  According to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, students who take advanced math in high school are much more likely to finish college than those who don’t.  Unfortunately, U.S. students are not ahead of the curve when it comes to math.  Of 29 developed nations, American 15-year-olds ranked 24th.

Spanish-Speaking Chicago Students Must Take School Tests in English
(Source:  The Chicago Tribune, 3/4/08):  Despite the efforts of Chicago Public Schools, the Illinois State Department of Education has decided that Spanish-speaking Chicago students must take their standardized tests in English.  To prevent the affected students from being harmed by this decision, the district will use the scores only to monitor school progress and not as a condition for advancement to the next grade.

California Schools Operate in Crisis Mode
(Source: The Los Angeles Times, 3/3/08):  Districts across California are laying off teachers and other school employees in large numbers to prepare for Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed $4.8 billion cut to the state’s education budget.  According to the California Teachers Association, 5,000 employees have already received notice that their jobs are in danger, and more will likely receive notice in coming weeks.  The situation is particularly dire in Rialto, where about a quarter of the district’s employees were notified of possible layoffs.

Free Lunch Isn't Cool, So Some Students Go Hungry
(Source: The New York Times, 3/1/08):  Students in some districts, including San Francisco and New York, are foregoing food at lunch time rather than accepting government-financed free meals and the perceived loss of social status that comes with them.  In San Francisco, for example, only 37 percent of eligible high school students participate in the free lunch program.  In areas where the problem is particularly pronounced, school district officials are hoping to diminish the obvious distinction between students who can and can't afford lunch.  One possibility would be to serve the same food to everyone and use a debit card system that would discretely charge some students and not others.