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This article looks back at the beginnings of "Education Week," in light of its 25th anniversary. In its first issue 25 years ago September 2006, Education Week disclosed details of a 91-page Ronald Reagan administration memo that called for downgrading the year-old U.S. Department of Education to sub-Cabinet status and shifting key federal responsibilities to the state and local levels. Various people involved with the journal's beginning share their views of the journal's history.

The article reports on the state of education in Iowa. Iowa appears to have lost some of its academic edge over other states a decade after bucking the trend toward imposing state standards for what students should learn. In the late 1990s, when the nation's governors and business leaders threw their weight behind the push for statewide academic standards, Iowa begged to differ. With its strong tradition of local control and history of comparatively high performance, Iowa felt little compulsion to join the bandwagon.

The article reports that leaders of the 10,000-student Gilroy Unified School District sought to create a collaborative environment in which teachers make corrections throughout the year. Meeting in "data teams," teachers compare notes and plan adjustments in their instruction. Superintendent Edwin Diaz, who has led the district since 2000, says he couldn't have given schools the flexibility they have now without first getting everyone on the same page. But he also doubts that sustained improvement would result if the central office continued to call most of the shots.

The article reports that according to a national survey of superintendents commissioned by the newspaper "Education Week," with expectations for student achievement at an all-time high, school district leaders say they are playing a more assertive role in shaping instruction. The nationally representative poll of 813 top district officials shows large numbers of them turning in recent years to common planning time for teachers, new forms of classroom observations, and, in particular, data-driven decision-making as systemwide strategies for improvement. By showing the extent to which superintendents are employing specific practices, the results offer a rare snapshot of instructional leadership at the district level. Among the obstacles faced in providing that leadership, superintendents most often cited lack of money and competing priorities.

The article reports that education leaders from Chicago, Colorado, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Oakland, California, and the District of Columbia have all flocked to the Edmonton public schools. Among the visitors have been district superintendents, state schools chiefs, organization heads, and a governor. And that's only in the past 12 months. For more than two decades, U.S. officials have come here to import ideas from what many regard as the most innovative school system in North America. So many, in fact, that Edmonton officials, in the Canadian province of Alberta, are giving serious thought to charging fees as a way to compensate for the time the visits take away from their work. INSET: Site-Based Management in Edmonton: An Evolving Idea.

This article reports that in the summer of 2000, Roy Romer accepted the superintendency of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Then, he did something that truly amazed his staff. Anxious to better understand the district's recently adopted reading program, he read the teachers' guides over a weekend. By Monday, he could quote them chapter and verse. Romer had played a lead role in the national movement for standards-based school reform throughout his three terms as Colorado's top elected official, as the head of the National Governors Association, and as the chairman of the National Education Goals Panel.Meanwhile, a school board election last year replaced the majority that hired Romer with one that enjoys the backing of the city's powerful teachers' union, United Teachers Los Angeles.

This article focuses on teaching. Kelly Griffith, principal at Easton Elementary School in Easton, Maryland, spends her time in classrooms, observing educators and showing them new methods of instruction. She analyzes test scores. She plans professional-development activities for her teachers aimed at boosting student achievement. Griffith can focus on teaching and learning because school leaders in her district made a conscious effort to let principals do so. Two years ago, the 4,500-student Talbot County system put "school managers" in its buildings to free principals of administrative duties and let them concentrate on raising student performance.

Academician at the school of education and social policy at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois James P. Spillane gets a little nervous sometimes when he talks to groups of educators about distributed leadership, a notion about how schools operate that he's spent the past several years trying to understand. The researchers also tapped the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago, which has amassed troves of information on that city's schools from test scores and the consortium's own surveys. INSET: Research and Resources.

News that a Houston high school in Texas altered its dropout figures, and that 14 other schools there filed incorrect dropout reports, has fueled a frenzy of speculation in recent months about the district and its former superintendent, Rod Paige, now the U.S. secretary of education. Almost lost in the politically charged debate over what to make of the Houston case is a larger story about the way Texas reports dropouts for school accountability purposes. Texas as a whole, with 4.1 million public school students, reports an annual dropout rate of 1 percent. The dropout-reporting system in Texas has long been a source of debate there, but major changes have been slow in coming. This year, an attempt to link school accountability to a more streamlined definition of dropouts failed in the legislature. State lawmakers also recently revoked a short-lived rule requiring outside audits of each district's dropout reports. INSET: Tracking Texas High School Students.

This article focuses on Anne Arundel County, Maryland school district's one-day leadership conference held in each summer. Eric J. Smith, superintendent of the school district delivered his speech in terms of moral obligations about teaching all kids to read by the end of third grade and preparing all students for college. Under Smith's watch from 1996 to 2002, 100000-student Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina district saw significant improvement among all subgroups of students and achievement gap between black and white students began to close. Anne Arundel lured Smith with a salary of 197000 dollar plus 100000 dollar in benefits and potential bonuses.

On November, 2003, voters of Colorado approved a $213 million bond to build 10 schools for the rapidly growing system. Just before thanksgiving, district leaders said they had found a nearly $14 million hole in the system's $122 million budget. Regardless of the specific cause of mistakes, the district's current leaders fault themselves for failing to exercise adequate oversight. Although parents and businesses have overwhelmed St. Vrain's schools with donations, faith in the district's top officials has plummeted. Vody Herrmann, the director of school finance at the Colorado Department of Education, says the discrepancy should have raised the question of where the money suddenly came from.

Reports on measures taken by U.S. states in recruiting qualified teachers high-minority, low-performing schools. Implementation of financial incentives to attract teachers; Revision of teacher-preparation programs; Improvement in working conditions of schools; Administration of multiple approaches to recruit qualified teachers.

Reports on the campaigns of union members of the San Diego Education Association to tilt the balance of power on the San Diego school board in the October 2002 elections. Factor contributing to the campaign efforts of the members; Possibility of a change in the political equation of the board after the elections; Possible impact of a favorable outcome in the election from the teachers' perspective on the administration of schools.

Focuses on the advancement of teaching in the U.S. Role of teachers in public school student; Controversy of bilingual education; Effect of school resources on student achievement.

Offers a look at teacher apprentice program at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Partnerships between schools of education and elementary and secondary schools; History of the Teacher Training Course at Shady Hill; Statement that the apprentices are tuition-paying students, not employees; Diversity at Shady Hill and its sensitivity to its demographics; Option for apprentices to take courses at Tufts or Lesley universities.

Reports on the implementation of education reform in Thailand. Innovative practices at the Anubaan Chiang Mai School; Alternatives to rote learning; Public education laws; Decentralization of education policymaking; Criticisms against the Ministry of Education.

Reports on the experiences of first-time teachers at Central Middle School in Edgewater, Maryland. Integration of reading program in science subject; Support of principal Fred Jenkins on math teacher Brian Diacont; Aims of becoming successful teachers.

Reports on the roles of teachers for the improvement of instruction in Silver Spring, Maryland. Background on the leadership responsibilities of teachers in Montgomery County; Statement of James A. Kelly, founding president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards regarding educational leadership.

Focuses on former Teach for America (TFA) volunteers who have assumed leadership roles in American education. History of the organization; Aims of the organization; Scope of former TEA volunteers' involvement education.

Focuses on the Teacher Advancement Program launched by the Milken Family Foundation, which is designed to bolster student performance by creating new incentives and supports for United States teachers. Pros and cons of the program; Details on the case of Camelview Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona which qualified after a rigorous application process; Reactions from two teachers' union.

Focuses on the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) of the Milken Family Foundation aimed at creating incentives and supports for teachers in Arizona. Vision of TAP to re-create the teaching profession; Factors contributing to the development of the program; Six kinds of teachers the program wants to develop.

Reports on teachers' unions' participation in the current election cycle in the United States. Role played by unions in Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign; Growth in teachers' unions' political clout; Funding of teachers' unions' political action committees; Ranking of teachers' unions' based on election spending.

Focuses on the application of performance-based pay scheme for teachers at Vaughan Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles, California. Drawback of teacher-compensation systems; Concept of merit pay and career ladder schemes; Views of school's faculty to the performance-based pay scheme. INSET: Paying for Performance.

Provides information on the Beginning Educator Support and Training, a program for inducting teachers into the profession initiated by education officials at Connecticut. Components of the program; Impact of the program on the education policies of other states; Remarks from several teachers. INSETS: Becoming a Teacher in Connecticut;Portfolios: Assembly Required.

Focuses on the emergence of home schooling research in the United States. Information on home schooling research; Findings of researcher Brian D. Ray on home schooling; Other approach to home schooling research; Details on other studies and researches.

Features the Andover boarding school in Massachusetts, Phillips Academy. When the school's classics-laden curriculum was expanded; Educators sought by Andover; One of the school's first innovators. INSET: Famous Andover Alumni of the 20th Century.

Provides a historical account on schools and education in the United States. Proportion of Catholic children in parochial schools in 1960; What the privately organized and operated schools represented in the nation's early years; Founders of schools in the 19th century; Growth of Catholic education between 1900 and 1960.

Discusses the issues surrounding the voucher program in Cleveland, Ohio. Information on the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the voucher program's constitutionality; Major issues that caused the controversy about the program; Actions being taken by the Republicans to save the program.

Reports on the growing number of teachers in the United States who are teaching outside their field of expertise. Causes of the problem; Projected demand for teachers from 2000 to 2010; Percentage of `out-of-field' teachers in English, mathematics, science and social studies; Steps taken to boost teachers' credentials. INSET: Help wanted: 2 million teachers..

Reports on the financial rewards used as part of state accountability systems in the United States. Variation in scope and structure; History of financial incentives in education; Models of financial rewards in education; Educators' responses to the incentives; Consequences of teacher bonuses.

Looks at the effectiveness of technology in education in the United States. What was confirmed through research on the effectiveness of technology; Comments from associate research scientist at the Princeton, Educational Testing Service, based in New Jersey, Harold Wenglinsky; Basis of the study entitled `Does It Compute? The Relationship Between Educational Technology and Student Achievement in Mathematics'; In-depth look at the study.

States that the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have given their support for unity, and are calling for guidelines to permit state-level mergers. Reference to voting on a proposed merger of the union; Comments from Bob Chase, president of the NEA; Reference to proposed mergers of other unions in the United States; Details on the AFT convention held in July, 1998. INSET: AFT, NEA ponder unions' role in teacher quality.

Describes the National Education Association's visit to the Saturn Corp. car company in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Model of new unionism at Saturn; Management and union partnership that gives union members a say at every level of decision making; NEA President Bob Chase's pledge to reinvent NEA; Saturn union members' election of their own leaders; Applications in public education. INSET: Beating a path to Saturn's plant, by Jeff, Archer..

Focuses on Catholic education in the United States. Challenges facing the institution; Enrollment statistics; Transition of the teaching staff from mostly religious to mostly lay teachers; Recruitment of principals; Comments by former public school teacher Susan Round; Characteristics of an effective Catholic school principal.

Focuses on the changes in Catholic schools in Baltimore, Maryland. Implementation of changes to maintain urban presence; Cost in maintaining parochial schools; Tuition-assistance program; Study on the region's strength and weaknesses; Relationship of the fate of the neighborhood and the parochial schools; Threat of closures; Plans for restructuring; Assistance from business community. INSETS: Lost youths.;Community resources, by Linda Jacobson..

Reports on the work-study program of the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, Illinois. Requirements of the program; History of the school; School staff; Businesses participating in the program; Interest of the Catholic school community in the program.

Reports on the growth of private schools in the United States. Enrollment in schools associated with the Catholic Church; Estimates on private school enrollments; New school openings; Trends in private education. INSETS: Private schools aren't all the same, report says.;Knocking at the doors..

Presents information on a debate over public journalism. Definition of public journalism; Citing the journalistic work of Daniel Rubin, a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer periodical; Views of Susan Burnside, a Miami Herald reporter.

Illustrates that Jews in the United States are enrolling their children in Jewish day schools to help preserve tradition. History of some other Jewish schools; Goals of the transdenominational school; Findings of a demographic study by the New York City-based Council of Jewish Federations on Jews marriages; Characteristics of the late 1990s Jewish schools. INSET: The branches of Judaism.

Focuses on the charge against Washington Education Association (WEA) about its illegal circumvention of Initiative 134's procedure for deducting political funds from employee paychecks in the United States. Background on Initiative 134; WEA's contribution to education-related campaigns; Claims by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

Reports on the state of urban public education in Hartford, Connecticut. Student achievement; Standards and assessments; Quality of teaching; School climate; Resources; Disadvantaged schools; Hands-on approach to urban reform; Response to issues of school segregation. INSET: State policy update..

The article reports on the data-driven educational strategies incorporated at the Maplewood Elementary School of Wayne Township, Indiana. The data goals became teaching tools for the teachers and resulted in all students experiencing a clearer awareness of their individual achievement. Teachers began this methodology using palm-held computers provided by a federal Reading First grant. Teachers were better able to input and analyze assessment results in a more timely manner. Students have improved their overall achievement, behavioral and learning attitudes since this method began.

The article reports on the educational reformative steps taken by Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant during his tenure at the helm of the Boston public schools. In a field of revolving-door leaders, Thomas W. Payzant is the exception to the rule. Amid the rise and fall of superintendents in city after city, he has led the Boston Public Schools for nearly 11 years. He rolled out initiatives not all at once, but only when they made sense. The idea was to start small, test things out, and retool them. And he focused on building consensus. All were radical notions in an era of hard-charging, quick-turnaround leaders.

The article presents information on the assistance received by troubled schools in San Francisco, California, even though they do not show a standard achievement. The San Francisco school district offers them a helping hand, instead of being hard on them. Schools get a full-time substitute teacher, more teacher planning time, and a master educator to lead schoolwide training. They aim to remove the barriers to good instruction. A program called "STAR" helps schools to raise their performance.

The article focuses on a workshop that was held at the Harvard Business School in San Francisco. The workshop was part of the Public Education Leadership Project, a 2-year-old initiative meant to inject a dose of corporate sense into the way school systems are run. During the intense week, participants discussed case studies, attended lectures, and drafted action plans, some of which already have changed districts' practices. A joint effort of Harvard University's business school and its graduate school of education, the project is part executive training, part research and development.

This article presents information related to R.I. downplaying tests as route to diplomas. At a ritzy downtown hotel, 12th grader Megan Duclos spent a recent Saturday helping about 80 couples plan their wedding receptions. While about half the states require high school students to pass tests to graduate, or have plans to do so, policymakers in the nation's smallest state have struck out on a path that values multiple ways of measuring achievement. Under state rules adopted two years ago, Rhode Island districts have had to design new graduation policies that use measures other than tests to assess students' abilities.

The article reports that Van Asselt Elementary School sits near the southern edge of Seattle in one of the city's most impoverished and ethnically diverse neighborhoods. But on many counts, the school itself is anything but poor when compared with the rest of the district. Money for staff training also is more plentiful at the school than elsewhere in the 45,000- student district. Rather than allocate staff members to schools on the basis of student enrollment, a weighted-student model divvies up money based on the actual number and kinds of students at each school.