2005

'Diabesity,' a Crisis in an Expanding Country

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:41:36 -0600

Author: Jane E. Brody
Source: The New York Times

It's surprising that Americans still don't have a national initiative to control what is fast emerging as the most serious and costly health problem in America: excess weight. Are our schools, our parents, our national leaders blind to what is happening – a health crisis that looms even larger than our former and current smoking habits?

A Lucrative Brand of Tutoring Grows Unchecked

WorkStudy — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:51:42 -0600

Author: Susan Saulny
Source: The New York Times

Propelled by the No Child Left Behind law, the federally financed tutoring industry has doubled in size in each of the last two years, with the potential to become a $2 billion-a-year enterprise, market analysts say.

A Statement on the Rights of Children, Families, and Food Marketers

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:58:01 -0600

Source: Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC)

This CCFC statement of rights is a response to a statement made by the Alliance for American Advertisers (a new lobbying group for major food companies and the advertising industry) "to defend the right to advertise to children."

Academic Achievement of English Language Learners in Post Proposition 203 Arizona

epicpolicy — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:15:33 -0600

Institution: University of Texas-San Antonio

Source: Education Policy Studies Laboratory

Addressing the Disproportionate Representation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students in Special Education through

epicpolicy — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:44:00 -0600

Publisher Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13(38)
Summary This article presents a conceptual framework for addressing the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education. The cornerstone of the authors' approach to addressing disproportionate representation is through the creation of culturally responsive educational systems. The goal is to assist practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in coalescing around culturally responsive, evidence-based interventions and strategic improvements in practice and policy to improve students’ educational opportunities in general education and reduce inappropriate referrals to and placement in special education. The authors envision this work as cutting across three interrelated domains: policies, practices, and people. Policies include those guidelines enacted at federal, state, district, and school levels that influence funding, resource allocation, accountability, and other key aspects of schooling. They use the notion of practice in two ways, in the instrumental sense of daily practices that all cultural beings engage in to navigate and survive their worlds, and also in a technical sense to describe the procedures and strategies devised for the purpose of maximizing students’ learning outcomes. People include all those in the broad educational system: administrators, teacher educators, teachers, community members, families, and children.

An Assessment of Colorado's Charter Schools: Implications for Policy

epicpolicy — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:38:12 -0600

Publisher EPIC

Arizona Healthy School Environment Model Policy Implementation Pilot Study

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:11:42 -0600

Source: Arizona Department of Education

The ADE conducted a pilot nutrition study in eight schools to determine if schools would lose revenue when junk-food was replaced by healthy snacks.

Better Nutrition, Exercise Boost Academics. Food for thought?

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:55:27 -0600

Author: William L. Bainbridge
Source: Columbus Dispatch

A panel headed by former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher recently released the report, "The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in our Schools." Panel members examined root causes of childhood obesity and determined there is a "strong link between nutrition, physical activity and academic success." According to the report, "improving children's health likely improves school performance. It may even help (financially) on the schools' bottom line."

Beverage Industry Announces New School Vending Policy

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:14:54 -0600

Source: American Beverage Association

The American Beverage Association (ABA), announced that the association's Board of Directors has approved a new school vending policy aimed at providing lower-calorie and/or nutritious beverages to schools and limiting the availability of soft drinks in schools.

Big Divide on School Meals Revealed in Spending Survey

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:45:46 -0600

Author: Felicity Lawrence
Source: The Guardian

Seventy-five percent of primary schools in England are spending less than 50p on food for a school meal. Schools at the bottom of a new school meal league table, compiled by the Soil Association and published by the Guardian today, have less than 40p allocated to ingredients for dinners, while those at the top get up to 70p.

Bill Gates, If You're So Rich, How Come You're Not Smart

epicpolicy — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:28:44 -0600

Institution: George Mason University

EPRU Fellow Gerald Bracey's response to Bill Gates's speech to the governors and op-ed in the LA Times about the state of American education.

Bush Education Law Shows Mixed Results in First Test

WorkStudy — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:35:31 -0600

Author: Sam Dillion
Source: The New York Times

The first nationwide test to permit an appraisal of President Bush's signature education law rendered mixed results, with even some supporters of the law expressing disappointment.

Calls to Toughen High Schools Remain Misguided

epicpolicy — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:27:35 -0600

Institution: Lewis & Clark College

Source: The Oregonian

EPRU Fellow Gregory Smith discusses the dangers and consequences of making high school more difficult.

Can Irrational Become Unconstitutional? NCLB’s 100% Presuppositions

epicpolicy — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:51:23 -0700

Publisher: Excellence and Equity in Education, vol. 38
Pages: 171-179

Can Irrational Become Unconstitutional? NCLB's 100% Presuppositions

WorkStudy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:44:18 -0600

Author: Kevin Welner
Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder
Source: Equity & Excellence in Education

This article identifies two presuppositions underlying No Child Left Behind's (NCLB) system of adequate yearly progress and demonstrates that they are unsupportable.

Channel One Hits Bump, Losing Ads and Top Exec

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:52:43 -0600

Author: Claire Atkinson
Source: Advertising Age

Its equipment is badly in need of an upgrade, advertisers are leaving, critics are declaring they want to put it out of business, and the top executive, one of the founders, is leaving.

Charter Schools' Performance and Accountability: A Disconnect

epicpolicy — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:23:59 -0600

Institution: George Mason University

Source: Education Policy Studies Laboratory

This comprehensive review of national and state charter school evaluations shows that charter schools are rarely held accountable and, in general, perform no better than traditional public schools.

Childhood Obesity: Most Experts Identified Physical Activity and the Use of Best Practices as Key to Successful Programs

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:08:09 -0600

Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office

This GAO report (1) describes the key strategies identified by experts as most important to include in programs to prevent or reduce childhood obesity; (2) provides examples of how selected programs implemented the key strategies identified and challenges these programs faced; (3) describes the program elements identified by experts as most important to include in programs to prevent or reduce childhood obesity; and (4) provides examples of how selected programs implemented key elements identified and the challenges these programs faced.

Children's Coalition Raps McDonald's Supersized Hypocrisy

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:56:35 -0600

Source: Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC)

CCFC issued this press release about McDonald's latest plan to market junk food to children.

Children's Coalition: IOM Panel Lacks Objectivity

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:03:59 -0600

Source: Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC)

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is challenging the objectivity of the Institute of Medicine's upcoming "Workshop on Marketing Strategies that Foster Healthy Food and Beverage Choices in Children and Youth." The January 27, 2005 workshop will feature marketers from Kraft, General Mills, Pepsico and McDonalds, as well as television and advertising executives, all of who have a vested interest in marketing junk-food to children.

Closing the Achievement Gap by Detracking

epicpolicy — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 11:33:19 -0600

Publisher     Phi Delta Kappan, 86(8)
Page Numbers     594-598.
Summary     Achievement follows from opportunities, and the persistent practice of tracking denies a range of opportunities to large numbers of students. That a disproportionate number of these students are minorities is one of the underlying reasons that the achievement gap has remained so persistent. The authors describe how a diverse suburban district in New York narrowed the gap by offering its high-track curriculum to all students.

http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v86/k0504bur.htm

Clustering of Fast-Food Restaurants Around Schools: A Novel Application of Spatial Statistics to the Study of Food Environments

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:41:07 -0600

Authors: S. Bryn Austin, ScD, Steven J. Melly, MS, Brisa N. Sanchez, ScM, Aarti Patel, BA, Stephen Buka, ScD and Steven L. Gortmaker, PhD
Institution: Harvard University
Source: American Journal of Public Health

Fast-food restaurants are concentrated within a short walking distance from schools, exposing children to poor-quality food environments in their school neighborhoods.

Companies Curbing Fat Food Ads to Kids: EC Pressure Hits Two, Others to Follow

WorkStudy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:42:24 -0600

Author: John F. Banzhaf III
Institution: George Washington University

Under pressure from the European Commission about the epidemic of obesity among children, a second major food company has begun restricting its advertising directed towards children--especially with regard to fattening foods.

Dangerous Reading

WorkStudy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:39:21 -0600

Author: Michael Apple
Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Source: Teachers College Record

In this article, Professor Apple considers a list of books that are perceived to be too dangerous to read and why those books appear on the list.

Data Point to Failure

epicpolicy — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:31:46 -0600

Institution: George Mason University

Source: USA Today

EPRU Fellow Gerald Bracey comments on the problems with charter schools in his essay in USA Today.