January 06, 2009
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School Board News Today Weekly Recap


 

Weekly Recap
This week's important board news from across the nation.

‘21st century skills’ buzz phrase draws mixed interpretations from educators
Washington Post, Jan. 5
President-elect Barack Obama called for a “21st-century education system,” in naming his new education secretary last month. The phrase “21st-century skills” gets 232,000 hits on Google. Problem is, not everyone is sure what the phrase means.
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High school students in California push to recall school board
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 5
When the school board in rural Groveland, Calif., voted to get rid of a popular math teacher in September, the students at Tioga High School decided to save his job. What started as a civics class project soon became much more: a campaign to remove all five board members of Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District.
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Denver schools chief named to fill Senate vacancy
Associated Press via Google News, Jan. 4
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter named Denver Superintendent Michael Bennet as his choice to fill a Senate vacancy that will be created by the promotion of Sen. Ken Salazar to interior secretary in the Obama cabinet.
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Court case is changing school board elections throughout California
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 4
Last year a judge ruled that the voting system used by Madera Unified, a heavily Latino district, made it hard for Latinos to win school board seats and violated California’s Voting Rights Act. That decision has already begun to reshape school boards, city councils, and special districts throughout the state.
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Houston teachers struggling to fathom performance-pay system
Houston Chronicle, Jan. 4
Teachers might smile or even splurge when they receive bonuses from the Houston school district later this month, but that doesn’t mean they like, or even understand, the performance pay plan.
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In tough times, public officials turning down raises
New York Times, Jan. 2
When Sara Querfeld, the superintendent in North Haven, Conn., learned that her board had approved a 3.5 percent raise, she donated the money to a nonprofit schools foundation. Across the region, public employees like Querfeld have done what some consider to be counterintuitive in these troubled financial times: turning down their raises and bonuses.
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New Jersey law on children’s flu vaccinations may be tested
New York Times, Jan. 2
New Jersey’s new law requiring young children attending licensed preschool and child care centers to get four new vaccinations has set off protests from some parents who are worried about autism and other possible risks.
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Obama pledges schools upgrade in stimulus plan
Associated Press via USA Today, Jan. 1
President-Elect Barack Obama probably cannot fix every leaky roof and busted boiler in the nation’s schools. But educators say his sweeping school modernization program—if he spends enough—could lead to higher student achievement.
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