It’s like the dinner guest who shows up before you’ve had a chance to set the table. The H1N1 virus, otherwise known as Swine flu, has already appeared in the opening days of school in some parts of the country. USA Today reported this week on Vista del Lago High School in California, where officials had their first confirmed case within two hours of the first day of school, and 14 by the end of last week. A report by a White House panel said half the U.S. population may be infected this year, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that a massive school closing won’t stop the spread of the virus, students need to be vaccinated.
And in other headlines this week:
- A story in the Boston Globe asks whether we’re over-testing kindergarteners, and the answer from early childhood experts is an unequivocal yes. Replacing the playtimes and experiences that foster learning in 5-year-old brains with rote testing can cause stress, aggression, and other behavioral problems, they say.
- This weekend marks the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and USA Today takes a look at the charter school system that may become the most enduring education legacy of the tragedy. The success of those schools may become a model for urban schools across the country, some officials say.
- School districts are focusing on survival more than innovation when it comes to spending their share of the federal stimulus funds, a new survey by our friends at the American Association of School Administrators has found.
- And finally, for the states playing catch-up file: New Hampshire is poised to become the last state to require its districts to offer kindergarten, and a state panel is urging Arizona to ban corporal punishment.
Read the best headlines from around the country each day in School Board News Today. Miss a day? Check out the weekly roundup.
