Health & Fitness
MarylandCAN News Roundup: Top 10 Education News Stories of the Week
MarylandCAN News Roundup is a compilation of the top 10 education news stories of the week from various media sources.
May 4, 2012 | Erik W. Robelen, Education Week
More than 100 U.S. schools will soon find out how they stack up against the world, and perhaps take away some valuable insights to improve their practices.
The schools, spanning 20 states, are participating in a new pilot project in which 15-year-olds take a 2½-hour test based on a high-profile global assessment best known by the acronym PISA. The results will be comparable to those of dozens of nations that take part in the Program for International Student Assessment, including some of America’s top economic competitors.
Find out what's happening in Silver Springwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
May 10, 2012 | Faimon A. Roberts, The Advocate
Find out what's happening in Silver Springwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Four-year-old children with parents who speak little to no English reap important benefits by participating in one year of center-based care—such as Head Start or state preschool—before starting kindergarten, a new study from the Public Policy Institute of California concludes.
Specifically, these so-called "linguistically isolated" children, who have virtually no exposure to the English language in their home and neighborhood environments, demonstrate much stronger early-reading skills than their peers who do not attend a center-based preschool program prior to starting kindergarten, the study concludes. The vast majority of these children, both in California and nationally, are Latino. The researchers did not find the same improvements for children's math skills, which "suggests that center-based programs serving linguistically isolated children are missing the opportunity to promote readiness in mathematics," according to the study's summary.
3. College Park doubles efforts for public education
May 9, 2012 | Holly Nunn, Gazette.net
Each year, Hollywood Elementary School receives $5,000 from the College Park City Council, to go toward programs including family instructional nights and collaborative planning for teachers, and Principal Barbara Caskey said those funds have given her the ability to make sure every student gets the support they need in subjects like math and reading.
“It’s such a tremendous support to us,” Caskey said. “We get a lot for our money.”
4. Churchill ranks best school in Maryland
May 9, 2012 | Katie Griffith, Potomac Patch
Winton Churchill High School in Potomac tops Maryland high schools, according to the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings.
The school placed first out of 232 public, charter and magnet schools in the state of Maryland, also coming in at No. 57 in the national rankings.
5. New report on growing poverty in southern states
May 8, 2012 | Andrew Ujifusa, Education Week
A new report on children in poverty from the Southern Regional Education Board doesn't directly deal with a new education policy or data, and probably isn't a surprise to anyone. But it will surely trigger inward groans among school officials as they ponder the challenges associated with rising numbers of poor students.
The April report from SREB shows that from 2005 to 2010, the number of children living in poverty in SREB's 16 member states increased by 1.1 million, nearly equaling the total increase in child poverty in the rest of the nation of 1.3 million. (These SREB member states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.)
6. President Obama calls charter schools 'incubators of innovation' in National Charter Schools Week proclamation
May 7, 2012 | Dave Murray, mlive.com
LANSING, MI – President Barack Obama says the nation’s charter schools “serve as incubators of innovation in neighborhoods across our country,” and issued a proclamation calling this “National Charter Schools Week.”
The charter movement in Michigan has been loudly opposed by Democrats, who argue that some of the schools are run by for-profit management companies, and some Republicans.
7. 'No Child' waivers: Feds scrutinize Virginia, Maryland, D.C. plan
May 7, 2012 | Emma Brown, The Washington Post
If Virginia wants permission to opt out of the most vexing parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law, it must produce a more rigorous accountability plan of its own.
The U.S. Education Department delivered that message last month in response to Virginia’s request for relief from the 2002 law, which set a target for all students to demonstrate proficiency in math and reading by 2014.
May 7, 2012 | Michael Alison Chandler, The Washington Post
Superintendents in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Baltimore city co-authored a letter to state lawmakers Monday urging them to restore education funding in the upcoming special session.
The General Assembly passed a budget during the regular 90-day session, but did not agree on any new taxes to cover rising costs. The so-called “doomsday budget” that now stands would mean $500 million in cuts to state agencies and public schools in the fiscal year starting July 1.
May 7, 2012 | Walt Gardner, Education Week
When Head Start began in 1965, its purpose was to prepare low-income children for school by developing their social, emotional and physical skills. Although math and reading readiness was a focus, Head Start was never intended to be primarily academic.
This mission is important to bear in mind now because the Obama administration has identified 132 Head Start programs out of the approximately 1,600 across the country as deficient, meaning that they will be required to reapply for their share of $7.6 billion in federal funding ("Head Start Faces a New Test," The Wall Street Journal, Apr. 27). Under new guidelines spelling out seven criteria for renewal of grants, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that nearly 44 percent of existing Head Start programs could ultimately find themselves on the endangered list. (Head Start is overseen by HHS rather than by the Department of Education because it was part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty.)
10. Keeping Maryland's dream alive
May 5, 2012 | Editorial Board, The Washington Post
A CRUCIAL TEST on illegal immigration will appear on Maryland’s ballot this fall — whether undocumented students shall be eligible for in-state college tuition providing they graduate from a state high school, have a record of filing tax returns and commit to pursuing legal status. That’s the thrust of the state’s so-called Dream Act, the first state law of its kind (not counting a much broader measure in California, in 1994) to get a vote at referendum.
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