Most Clicked ASCD SmartBrief Stories
1. First-day boycott may cost Chicago schools $100,000
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 03, 2008
Around 1,000 mostly black Chicago students skipped the first day of classes Tuesday and instead traveled to two suburban schools that welcomed them with open arms as part of a boycott that could leave Chicago schools short $100,000 in state reimbursements. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on Tuesday called the protest "very selfish," but organizer Rev. James Meeks, an Illinois state senator, said it was needed to highlight the state's unequal education funding. "We've seen the results of three decades of underfunding [Chicago] schools," he said. "We under-educated their grandparents, we under-educated their parents ... enough is enough." ABC News (09/02) Chicago Tribune (free registration) (09/03) Chicago Sun-Times (09/03)
2. Union, parents seek ouster of elementary principal
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 03, 2008
The Los Angeles teachers union, for the second time in the last 12 months, is camping out in protest of an unpopular school leader. The teachers union has protested principal Anna Barraza at two of the last three schools to which she has been assigned in the last three years. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (08/31)
3. Educators risk lives after student fires shots in school
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 03, 2008
After locking down their Cleveland-area high school upon hearing gunshots, principal Paul Lombardo and assistant principal Jeff Lyons ran toward the student with the gun in hopes of preventing him from accessing a crowded study hall. When the educators reached the 15-year-old boy, they talked him out of a suicide attempt. Plain Dealer (Cleveland), The (09/02)
4. Massachusetts governor highlights education plan on national stage
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 04, 2008
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's 55-point pre-K through college education plan -- which includes free community college and a statewide teacher contract -- gained a national platform during his speech at the Democratic National Convention last week. "We wanted to have a seamless system where kids don't fall in between the cracks," said S. Paul Reville, a well-known Harvard University researcher who is the state's new education secretary. Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (09/03)
5. Half of California high schools fail to make AYP
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 05, 2008
Even with more lenient standards than their elementary and middle-school counterparts, just 48% of California high schools met progress goals under NCLB during the 2007-08 school year. Moreover, if the state used standardized test scores to rate high schools rather than exit exams, hundreds more high schools would have failed to have met all federal goals, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (09/05)
6. Should students choose between college-prep and vocational tracks?
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 03, 2008
Proponents of vocational education like California high school teacher Chris Peters say a radical overhaul could make U.S. secondary schools more effective. High schoolers should spend their first two years meeting basic standards, supporters say, then if they pass subject exams, they could choose between a college-prep track and a variety of community college vocational programs. Washington Post, The (09/01)
7. Do AP courses fail to prepare students for a liberal-arts education?
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 02, 2008
Advanced Placement courses focus too much on rote memorization to truly aid college liberal-arts students, writes University of California-Los Angeles senior lecturer Paul Von Blum. He says too many AP courses fail to stimulate students' appetite for knowledge, which he views as the "antithesis of genuine liberal learning." Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (08/29)
8. Cheerleaders' skirts too short for Ohio school district
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 02, 2008
Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Ind.), The (08/28)
9. Perspectives/Ode to Positive Teachers
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 02, 2008
Working with children so much, educators are professionally predisposed to be optimistic. After all, most teachers go into the profession to help members of the younger generation fulfill their hopes for the future. The latest Educational Leadership examines how teachers can quickly lose their positive attitudes when faced with difficult situations, and how they can make negative situations positive and good situations better. Read more
- Also Available: See more articles in the September Educational Leadership, The Positive Classroom
10. Virtual reality said to help N.C. students advance reading skills
ASCD SmartBrief | Sep 05, 2008
A three-dimensional virtual-reality program, Quest Atlantis, developed by an Indiana University professor, has helped students make strides in reading, especially struggling and disadvantaged learners, said Frances Bradburn, the former director of instructional technology for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. eSchool News (09/03)
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