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Education News for Tuesday, May 23

Hawaii Family Struggles With Racism, Failing Public Education System  – Hawaii families don’t know about their options under NCLB. (more)

Milwaukee’s lessons on school vouchers – As one of the few programs in the country, Milwaukee offers a high-stakes test case for both camps. Yet researchers are only beginning to take a comprehensive look at how successful it’s been. (more)

Chicago restructuring 185 schools under No Child Left Behind – Nearly a third of the city’s public schools will undergo "restructuring" because they’ve consistently failed to improve test scores under the No Child Left Behind Act, the district announced Monday. (more)

California exit exam stymies trustees – You know the frustration caused by the legal battle over the school exit exam has reached a new high point when a prosecutor urges his colleagues to ignore the law. (more)

Teachers seeking pay hike – With the threat of mayoral takeover hanging over Los Angeles Unified School District, the teachers union has opened contract negotiations with a demand for a 14 percent, one-year raise for its members. (more)

When districts pull sweets from menus, schools lose bucks – While health advocates applaud the decision earlier this month by soft drink makers to voluntarily restrict the on-campus sale of full-calorie drinks nationwide, school administrators are bracing for belt-tightening. (more)

Check back later for more education news.   

UPDATE:

It takes parents too to teach – With one year in Hillsborough County public schools behind him, 23-year-old Adam Wood is a rarity. (more)

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em and change their tune – I have a suggestion for the public schoolteachers of Florida, but they probably aren’t gonna like it. They should think about becoming Republicans. (more)

Education Schools Inadequately Prepare Elementary Teachers How to Teach Reading – Ed Week (subscription required) Education Schools Inadequately Prepare Elementary Teachers How to Teach Reading. (more)

Smaller Not Necessarily Better, School-Size Study Concludes – Ed Week (subscription required) When it comes to high school size, smaller might not be better, concludes a national study presented yesterday at a conference sponsored by the Washington-based Brookings Institution. (more)

Heavy turnover in New York’s principal ranks – More than half the principals in the New York City public school system have left their jobs over the past five years, opening the way for a remarkable influx of often younger newcomers, some in their 20’s and 30’s with impressive credentials but little teaching experience. (more)

Half of Indiana’s schools failing – About half of Indiana’s schools and more than a quarter of the 293 school districts failed to meet federal expectations in math and reading in 2005, including a growing number of Marion County township schools. (more)

USA Today: Teachers learn dated methods – Most U.S. undergraduate teacher-education programs give prospective teachers a poor foundation in reading instruction, according to a new study by a Washington-based non-profit group that is working to reform the nation’s teacher-education system. (more)

Former teachers union official sentenced – Former Washington Teachers’ Union official Gwendolyn M. Hemphill was sentenced yesterday to 11 years in prison for helping embezzle more than $4 million from union coffers and using some of the money to buy lavish personal items. (more)