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The New York Times (2/1, A1, Dillon) reports on its front page that the Obama administration "is proposing a sweeping overhaul" of NCLB "and will call for broad changes in how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, as well as for the elimination of the law's 2014 deadline for bringing every American child to academic proficiency." However, the Times adds that the "administration is not planning to abandon the law's commitments to closing the achievement gap between minority and white students and to encouraging teacher quality." The Times notes that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan "foreshadowed the elimination of the 2014 deadline in a September speech, referring to it as a 'utopian goal,' and administration officials have since made clear that they want the deadline eliminated."

        School Board Leaders In Arizona Raise "Race To The Top" Concerns. The Arizona Republic (1/31, Gersema) reported that school board leaders in Arizona "fear the Obama administration's 'Race to the Top' school-reform program will diminish local control over schools, while several teachers worry it will lead to more student testing, evaluation tools and federal requirements crafted without their input." According to the Republic, "Roughly 60 percent of Arizona school districts and charter-school officials who serve more than 80 percent of the state's students backed the application by signing a memorandum of understanding. Superintendents overwhelmingly supported it, but many governing-board presidents and teachers' union representatives were cautious."

The Washington Post (1/30, Anderson) reported that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan "called Hurricane Katrina 'the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans' because it forced the community to take steps to improve low-performing public schools, according to excerpts from a television interview made public Friday." In the interview, scheduled to air Sunday on TV One, Duncan said, "I spent a lot of time in New Orleans, and this is a tough thing to say, but let me be really honest. I think the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina. That education system was a disaster, and it took Hurricane Katrina to wake up the community to say that 'we have to do better."

        In a Washington Post (1/30, 684K) op-ed, Teach for America Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Huffman writes, "Duncan has been getting flak this week" for his words, "but he's right to praise the enormous progress there since 2005. New Orleans schools have seen significant growth in student achievement levels over the past three years, and the state has real lessons to apply to other struggling schools. ... For systemic change, though, local political leaders need to understand the difference between talk and action on education reform. Too many states are attempting to Amble to the Top with their reform plans."

The Morris (IL) Daily Herald (1/31, Aulet) reported on the mimio board being utilized by teachers in the Minooka Elementary District 201. "The mimio board makes an ordinary dry erase board work like a smart board, with interactive abilities, sounds, colors, lights, and animation." According to Superintendent Al Gegenheimer, the mimio board "is much more affordable" than the smart board. "You can get a mimio for $200, as compared to a smart board for $1,500," he said. Teachers currently using the devise say that it "helps keep students engaged." District officials plan "to make mimios available in the remaining schools by next year."

Texas' Caller Times (1/31, Aguilar) reported that the Corpus Christi Independent School District has 547 "male teachers." This is "about 21.9 percent of the district's teachers, below state and national averages." According to a 2008 study from the NEA, "24.5 percent of the teaching workforce was men, its lowest point in four decades." Although there is no studies have "shown students learn better from one gender than the other," many districts seek to "recruit more men into the classroom and programs have been developed at universities to provide tuition assistance and training to men seeking education degrees." CCISD Superintendent Scott Elliff explained that the district "is always looking for the highest quality teachers, both male and female, but finding gender diversity is important."

The AP (1/31) reported that West Lafayette, IN "is adding crosswalk beacons and other school zone safety features as part of a new plan aimed at encouraging more children to walk to school. The Safe Routes to School plan includes school-zone traffic enforcement strategies, as well as ways to educate children and parents about the benefits of walking or biking to school." The plan "also offers suggestions for curriculum-based education about the safety and environmental benefits of walking to school."

New Jersey's Courier Post (1/30, Rothschild) reported that each month, students at Joyce Kilmer Elementary School in Cherry Hill, NJ, attend a character education assembly. "For February, the character trait being emphasized at Kilmer is compassion and the focus is 'Hope for Haiti.'" In addition to raising money to help quake survivors, student at Kilmer "study how earthquakes occur in science and learn about physical and occupational therapists in health." The Courier Post points out that throughout South Jersey, "students have been energized to help Haiti by collecting funds and supplies." At DeMasi Middle school in Evesham, for instance, "students collected crutches, canes and walkers and forwarded them to a local hospital which will send them to Haiti."

The Salt Lake Tribune (1/30, Schencker) reported that on Friday the Utah State House also passed a bill that "would allow districts to extend" teachers' "provisional status for up to two more years for a total of five years." Current law requires that teachers remain "on provisional status for their first three years, meaning they can be fired at the end of the school year for any reason without explanation."

        Bill Would Require Utah School Employees To Get Background Checks At Own Expense. The Salt Lake Tribune (1/30, Schencker) reported that the Utah State House passed HB81 on Friday, which requires "school employees and volunteers to undergo background checks at their own expense." Currently, teachers must "undergo background checks every time they renew their teaching licenses" and "non-licensed school employees" also must "undergo periodic checks." HB81 "extends those checks to include volunteers who are 'given significant unsupervised access to a student.'"

The Daily Record (NJ) (1/31, Bruno) reported that in January, seven Morris County, NJ public schools "received the unflattering label of 'needing improvement' by the state because too many of their students with disabilities failed the state exams two years in a row or more. Another 20 local schools received a warning that they could be named similarly next year if test scores of their disabled population don't improve." According to the Record, what some "educators dispute is the designation of an entire school as needing improvement when the students having difficulties are known to have learning disabilities."

The AP (1/31, Welte) reported that due to heavy snow, school district officials in Des Moines, IA "have had to cancel classes enough times this academic year that they're considering holding classes on Saturdays and cutting into spring break to avoid pushing the school year into mid-June. With six snow days already and two months of winter ahead, the district has set up an online poll through Monday to help it make some decisions."

North Carolina's News & Observer (1/30, Hui) reported, "Elementary school students scattered across Wake County [NC] will be saying goodbye to their teachers and classmates as they change classes in the middle of the school year to comply with state class size limits." According to the News & Observer, the North Carolina Board of Education "said no in December to Wake's request to allow 329 kindergarten through third-grade classes to have more than the state limit of 24 students. ... The changes are drawing protests from parents, even those whose children aren't being moved."

The Seattle Times (2/1) editorializes, "A resounding 'No' ought to greet bills" in the Washington state Legislature "proposing advertisements on school buses. ... The lure of using schools as revenue sources presents a slippery slope. Someone would eventually argue that school buildings, the auditorium and even the chemistry labs are prime advertising territory."

The Wall Street Journal (1/ 30, Chon) reported that while some schools in Haiti will open again on Monday for the first time since an earthquake hit the island on Jan 12, most schools in Port-Au-Prince will not be open. The UN and Haiti's education ministry will begin looking at the condition of schools in the capital city and other places severely affected by the quake on Monday.

The AP (2/1) reports that Hawaii's "decision in October to shrink the school year by 10 percent, giving it the fewest number of instructional days in the nation at 163, is adding to the dismal reputation Hawaii's public schools have among servicemen and women." According to the AP, "commanders are so concerned about the overall health of isle schools that the military is paying researchers from Johns Hopkins University $1.5 million to study military attitudes toward Hawaii public education over a three year period to see if there's any concrete data to support the unhappy anecdotes." Researchers "will track families who have received assignments to Hawaii, those who are currently here and those who have left the islands" and analyze "whether the education their children received in Hawaii put them at a disadvantage or prepared them well for their next school."

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