Education News: April 20, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending April 20, 2007.

Across Country, Copycat Threats Rattle Schools
(Source: The Chicago Tribune, 4/20/07): Copycat threats of school shootings, believed to be related to the anniversary of Columbine and the shootings at Virginia Tech earlier this week, rattled schools across the nation this week. School officials have generally reacted on the side of caution.

Reading First Paying Off, Education Dept. Says
(Source: The Washington Post, 4/19/07): The Education Department recently released a study showing that student scores on reading tests have improved fifteen percent since the Reading First program started. However, the implementation of the reading program has been criticized for corrupt administration. Congress will examine the new report on scores this week.

Gates Fund Gift Helps Transform Atlanta Schools
(Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/19/07): The Atlanta public school system is using a $10.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation to dramatically change the face of high schools in the area. Larger campuses are being broken into smaller ones that concentrate on specific disciplines. Principals are pushing towards higher graduation rates.

DPS Losing 12 Percent to Private [Schools]
(Source: Rocky Mountain News, 4/16/07): Twelve percent of eligible public school students in the Denver school district opt to go to private school instead. Parents blame this on a lack of funding in the public schools and on a lack of acceptable choices for parents looking for the right school for their children.

McNealy Touts Open-Source Education Site
(Source: The New York Times, 4/17/07): The co-founder of Sun Microsystems Inc. is now heading up a project called Curriki, which seeks to host free lesson plan material online so that teachers across the world can access it and benefit. The portal allows members to post lessons and visitors to search them.

Negotiators Say Sallie Mae to Be Sold For $25 Billion
(Source: The New York Times, 4/16/07): JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and two private equity firms will be announcing their $25 billion purchase of Sallie Mae today. Sallie Mae, the largest provider of student loans in the country, has seen its stock plummet recently in the wake of university loan scandals.

Study Casts Doubt on Abstinence-Only Programs
(Source: The Washington Post, 4/14/07): A ten-year study of the effectiveness of abstinence programs has recently been completed, showing almost no difference between the group of young adults receiving abstinence education and those who did not receive abstinence education. Those who did receive the education, however, seemed to know more about sexually transmitted diseases and how to prevent them.

Mideast-Focused School Causes Protests
(Source: MSNBC, 4/14/07): A Mideast-themed school is slated to open in New York City in the fall of 2007, stirring controversy among conservative critics who say that the school will inculcate bias in students. Though they have yet to find a definite location, the school plans to eventually teach half of the classes in Arabic. Students from all backgrounds will be accepted.