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February 25, 2011 |
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| A few questions |
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In his School of Thought column for TIME Magazine, Andrew Rotherham writes that the turmoil in Wisconsin begs a number of questions for its main players. First, Gov. Scott Walker must persuade us that he isn't cynically using the state's fiscal crisis to weaken organized labor. Also, why exempt firemen and policemen for his proposals? Since Scott maintains that collective bargaining is one of the biggest problems facing public sector management of workers, aren't first responders a critical piece of this? Rotherham would also like to know why Scott wants to subject teacher pay raises to local referenda, since this would politicize salaries for civil servants. And given that workers already can decertify their union, doesn't setting an annual vote for decertification just inject instability into local districts? From President Obama, Rotherham asks whether the president's two-year pay freeze for civilian federal-government employees didn't play a role in current anti-public-sector sentiment. From national and Wisconsin union leaders who find no difference between public and private sector unions, Rotherham wants to know whether -- since in fact there are real differences -- they think any restraints on public-sector collective bargaining are appropriate. To national union leaders who have called any questioning of teacher contracts "anti-union," he wonders if, now that we're seeing real anti-unionism, they are changing their thinking about the urgency of reforming teacher contracts.
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| Challenge to NCLB declined |
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The U.S. Supreme Court has decided against hearing Connecticut's challenge to No Child Left Behind, ending the state's six-year suit over payment for increased student testing under the law, the Associated Press reports. Connecticut was the first state to challenge NCLB, which requires yearly standardized tests for children in grades three through eight. Connecticut had tested students in grades four, six, and eight before 2002. The state sought a change in testing rules or federal coverage of extra testing costs, which add up to millions of dollars. The high court's decision came after a federal judge and the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York both agreed in rulings that the lawsuit was premature. Education Department spokesman Thomas Murphy said costs have been a consideration as Congress debates whether to revamp NCLB. In 2006, the Connecticut State Conference of the NAACP received a federal judge's permission to intervene in the suit on the side of the U.S. Department of Education, arguing the state was suing with money that could be used for other purposes. They also worried that voiding the law could set a precedent for circumventing many civil rights statutes.
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| A competitive accounting |
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An Education Week analysis has found clear winners and losers among states for the $5.3 billion in stimulus funds available through competitive grants. Ten states netted exactly zero from the competitions -- Alabama, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. (Some states didn't apply for any of the grants.) In contrast, the District of Columbia won the equivalent of $1,532.50 per student. Though many rural advocates feared rural states and districts lacked the resources to compete, states with large pockets of rural areas did in fact win some competitive awards, though none got a large windfall: Alaska won a TIF award; Iowa won a Teacher Quality Partnership award; and Maine won a data systems grant. North Carolina, with both rural and urban areas, won Race to the Top, Teacher Quality Partnership, TIF, and i3 awards. Several states won small Impact Aid construction awards, although these grants are admittedly targeted at rural states. Overall, large states, especially those that also won Race to the Top, came away big winners. Florida, New York, Tennessee, and Ohio received the most competitive stimulus cash. That said, controlling for student population, on a per-student basis the big winners were D.C., Delaware, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Maryland. (All Race to the Top states.)
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| The cold Rhee-ality |
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In an assessment of Michelle Rhee's time as D.C. Schools Chancellor, Richard Kahlenberg in Slate writes that one tragically squandered opportunity was her failure to bring D.C.'s middle class back into public education, which could have made an enormous difference to low-income students. "Rhee couldn't herself do much about poverty levels," Kahlenberg writes, "but it was within her power to address the socioeconomic Balkanization of schools by intelligently managing Washington's gentrification." Kahlenberg argues Rhee could have made significant progress for three reasons. First, the wealth of D.C. residents is growing dramatically as the upper middle class returns to the city in droves. Second, white middle-class families, rightly or wrongly, liked Rhee's reforms and were willing to take a serious look at using public schools. Third, Rhee made a conscious effort to recruit middle-class families through, among other efforts, pre-K programs designed to make them comfortable using public schools. But Rhee never spelled out a long-run plan to ensure the middle-class influx would benefit the entire system. The infrastructure was in place to bring together students from Washington's highly segregated residential areas, since two-thirds of D.C. students already choose to attend a charter or out-of-boundary public school. But because no overall plan was announced to benefit everyone, Rhee was seen as courting affluent white kids to create segregated enclaves of privilege.
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| Expect a frosty reception from the NJNEA |
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Acting New Jersey Education Commissioner Chris Cerf has rolled out the first details in Gov. Chris Christie's plans for overhauling teacher tenure, reports NJSpotlight. Christie's proposal borrows heavily from a system being launched in Colorado, and lays out a teacher evaluation system that uses student test scores as one determinate, with such data ultimately establishing pay and placement as well. The plan has four broad areas: tenure, evaluation, seniority, and pay. Each would be a system of annual evaluations, in which teachers would be judged on student progress, half on state tests and the remaining half through observations and other measures. From there, teachers would fall into one of four categories: highly effective, effective, partially effective, and ineffective. Instead of receiving lifetime tenure after their first three years, teachers would only get tenure after demonstrating three straight years of effective ratings. They would lose it after one year of ineffective or two of partially effective. Teachers with lower ratings would still have their jobs, Cerf said, but without the same protections from possible layoffs. An appeals system would be available to teachers, but only of the process, not the ultimate rating. The plan would not be subject to collective bargaining.
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| Formative assessment, in plain terms |
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In a commentary in Education Week, W. James Popham writes that having educators believe that "formative assessment" is a kind of test is generally of little value to students. "This is akin to telling a would-be surfer that a surfboard is the same as surfing," he says. "While a surfboard represents an important ingredient in surfing, it is only that -- a part of the surfing process." Recent reviews of research on classroom formative-assessment are clear that it works, can produce "whopping gains in student achievement," and "is sufficiently robust that different teachers can use it in diverse ways, yet still get great results with their students." In lay terms, the formative-assessment process involves teachers' and/or students' use of assessment to make adjustments in what they're doing. This assessment evidence can be gathered in a variety of ways, through traditional written tests or a wide range of informal assessment procedures, including students' self-reports of their own understanding of an issue. The formative-assessment process uses assessments as an integral tactic, and therefore a test itself is not formative or summative, per se. The issue is how the test's results are used.
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| The 900-lb. presence in education |
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In a post on his Taking Note blog, John Merrow writes that he has participated in balanced coverage of Teach for America, on PBS's NewsHour, in a web-based series, and in his new book. He's in neither of two large camps -- those who love TFA, and those who detest/fear/suspect it. "The middle can be lonely, by the way," he adds. He relates how in shooting a segment for the NewsHour about TFA in New Orleans, he and his crew amassed enough footage for a full-length documentary. "By year's end, we had some terrific material, and at that point I began looking for money," he recounts. He made the rounds of foundations and individuals with an interest in teacher education, and pitched the project: "seven profiles, lots of good video of the nitty-gritty of the life of a first- or second-year teacher." Yet he found no one wanted a mixed representation, part resounding successes, part flops, part some who fell in the middle. Funders wanted either wholly negative or wholly positive portrayals of TFA. "It's a shame that the world of teacher training has become so political," Merrow observes. "There's no question that Wendy Kopp and Teach for America have changed the landscape and made a significant contribution. But let's not pretend that it's all good or all bad."
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| Now what? |
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A new report from the Center on Education Policy finds that stimulus funds have built momentum for common school reform agendas, but state budget crises now threaten to stall them. Based on anonymous survey results from 42 states and the District of Columbia, the report suggests that education budgets and staffing may be insufficient, at least through 2011, to fully implement critical reform activities. Thirty-seven states reported funding for K-12 education to be flat or decreased by 5 percent or more in fiscal 2011, compared with the previous year. Thirty-six states project declining or stagnant K-12 budgets in fiscal 2012. Of state education agencies, which lead ARRA implementation, 23 states projected decreases of 5 percent or more in agency operating budgets for 2011, and six project budgets will be flat. In general, greater progress has been made in some ARRA reform areas than others. Thirty-six states are rolling out student data systems that assign a unique identifier for each student, 22 states are rolling out internationally benchmarked standards in math, and 20 states are doing so in English language arts. By contrast, of the 40 states that plan to create teacher evaluation systems based on student achievement gains, 38 are in planning and development, four are in pilot testing, and two are in roll-out phase. Nineteen states are in roll-out phase for developing and disseminating guidance on school intervention models, and 13 states are providing information on best practices for low-performing schools.
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| Tough lunch |
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Because the National School Lunch Program requires participating schools to provide nourishing meals for all pupils, school administrators face a bind if a pupil comes to the lunchroom with no cash and no money in his or her electronic meal account. To defray these costs, most schools raise prices for kids who can pay. But increasingly, in schools across the country, kids who can't pay get one free hot lunch; after that, they get a bare-bones "alternate meal." In Lee County, Fla. it's a cheese sandwich and a 4-ounce juice box. Rather than coldhearted, this is a drive to expand the free and reduced-price meal roster, which is federally subsidized. Since the economy sank into recession, millions of families have fallen below the government poverty line for the first time, and are unaware they're eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. If a school can get more eligible children enrolled, its direct costs go down because the federal government picks up more of the bill. Slenderized lunches, administrators say, are simply part of an aggressive campaign to make families aware of the benefit and get them signed up. Within two weeks of instituting the new rule, Lee County schools had cut their losses on unpaid meals by 80 percent.
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| No teacher left behind |
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A new policy brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education calls for a practical set of standards and assessments to measure the quality of teacher performance. The brief proposes changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (currently No Child Left Behind) that would elevate the teaching profession, support robust performance assessments, and encourage feedback systems to help teachers continually improve. The report provides several recommendations for federal and state policymakers to support educator development in high schools: establish college and career readiness as the core mission of the K–12 education system; create standards of practice that define quality teaching based on what teachers need to know and do to elicit targeted student performances; and develop rigorous assessments that incorporate observational and other measures of teaching for evaluating, developing, and recognizing teacher effectiveness and informing professional development. The report also highlights several examples of performance-based licensure programs in development around the country.
See the report | Back to top
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Bold steps
A bid by the struggling, majority-black Memphis City Schools to force a merger with a majority-white, successful suburban district has fanned relatively routine fears over funding and student performance into accusations of full-blown racism.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MEMPHIS_SCHOOLS_RACE?SITE=DCUSN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Triage in Detroit
Michigan education officials have ordered Robert Bobb to immediately implement a financial restructuring plan that balances the district's books by closing half of its schools, raising high school class sizes to 60 students, and consolidating operations.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110222/NEWS01/102220355/Deadlines-given-plan-DPS-cuts?odyssey=mod_sectionstories
And the mayor should be surgeon
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan praised the reform efforts of outgoing financial manager Robert Bobb, but believes mayoral control of the Detroit Public Schools is needed to sustain progress.
http://detnews.com/article/20110221/SCHOOLS/102210336/Secretary-of-Education-says-Detroit-mayor-should-run-schools#ixzz1EhaF6TDU
Further furor in the Midwest
More than 1,000 teachers, parents, and students rallied in front of the Idaho Capitol in their fight to beat back Public Schools Chief Tom Luna's plan to overhaul public education.
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/state/article_05808c6e-3e00-11e0-83a9-001cc4c002e0.html
And in the South
A Tennessee teachers group is calling a Republican-backed state bill that would end collective bargaining an attack on teachers' rights.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/21/us-tennessee-unions-idUSTRE71K46T20110221
Another blow to labor
Even as House Democrats fled the state in protest over proposed limits to collective bargaining, the Indiana Senate approved a bill that would strip teachers of the right to negotiate key work rules.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110223/NEWS05/102230328/1001/ENTERTAINMENT/Senate-OKs-bill-limit-teacher-collective-bargaining?odyssey=nav|head
That's a new one
The Anaheim Union High School District in California is handing out GPS devices to problem students, who are then required to check in during the day to make sure they are exactly where they are supposed to be.
http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/california-schools-tracking-truant-kids-with-gps
Shifting landscape for LAUSD
With budget woes showing no signs of letting up, traditional neighborhood schools in Los Angeles Unified School District are converting to charter schools.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHARTER_SCHOOL_CONVERSIONS?SITE=DCUSN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Brave new world in Baltimore
Baltimore City teachers have been notified of their new career "paths" and salaries by the school system, one of the first developments of the landmark Baltimore Teachers Union contract ratified last fall that promised more opportunities for promotion and compensation in the district.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-teacher-career-pathways-20110221,0,1028739.story
Take our tax money -- please!
Seventeen parents in Shawnee Mission, Kansas have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to toss out state property tax caps so they can pay more for their schools.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/18/shawnee-mission-raise-school-taxes_n_825177.html |
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| NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION |
Hitachi Foundation: Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs
The Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs Program supports young entrepreneurs who have formed financially viable businesses that create jobs, supply goods or services, or use internal management practices enabling low-wealth individuals the opportunity to achieve greater economic security. Maximum award: $50,000 over two years, access to technical resources, and a peer learning community. Eligibility: entrepreneurs ages 18-29 who are operating businesses that are 1-5 years old and have been generating revenue for a minimum of the last 12 months. Deadline: March 14, 2011.
http://www.hitachifoundation.org/our-work/yoshiyama-young-entrepreneurs-program/application
McGraw-Hill Companies: Harold McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education
The 2008 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education celebrates the theme of global awareness in U.S. education and recognizes those behind educational programs that help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to function as workers, citizens, and fulfilled individuals in an increasingly interconnected world. Maximum award: $25,000. Eligibility: policymakers, leaders in higher education, and school-based personnel. Deadline: March 18, 2011.
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/site/about-us/mcgraw-prize
National Council for the Social Studies: Defense of Academic Freedom Award
The NCSS Defense of Academic Freedom Award is given annually to recognize and honor those who have distinguished themselves in defending the principles of academic freedom in specific controversies, in fostering academic freedom through advocacy, and in defending or advocating the freedom to teach and learn. Maximum award: $1,500; commemorative gift; Annual Conference session presentation; publicity. Eligibility: Classroom teachers, professionals in other areas of education, students, parents, community groups, and members of other organizations (preference will be given to social studies educators) who are or have been engaged in activities that support academic freedom in the face of personal challenge or promote awareness of and support for academic freedom. The defense or advocacy of academic freedom must have been related to the teaching of social studies. Deadline: March 21, 2011.
http://www.socialstudies.org/awards/academicfreedom
Questbridge: College Prep Summer Program
Questbridge, a nonprofit organization dedicated to giving high-achieving low-income students resources during the college application process, is accepting applications for its College Prep Program for high school juniors. Maximum award: full scholarship to summer program, college admissions counseling, and attendance at college preparatory conferences. Eligibility: qualified low-income high school juniors. Deadline: March 29, 2011.
http://www.questbridge.org/access/collegepreptext/
NAGC: Passow Classroom Teacher Scholarship
The National Association for Gifted Children annually awards the A. Harry Passow Classroom Teacher Scholarship to teachers of grades K-12 who have shown excellence in teaching gifted students, the ability to meet the needs of gifted students, and commitment to furthering the development of their teaching skills. The scholarship is designed to reimburse/defray the costs of continuing education for up to two eligible teachers currently teaching gifted students in a variety of educational settings ranging from a homogeneous or full-day special class to a heterogeneous classroom. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: teachers K-12 who have been members of NAGC for at least one year. Deadline: April 18, 2011.
http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1255
For more grants, see http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
"The uprising in Madison is symptomatic of a simmering rage among the nation's teachers. They have grown angry and demoralized over the past two years as attacks on their profession escalated."
-- Dianne Ravitch on CNN.com
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-20/opinion/ravitch.teachers.blamed_1_bad-teachers-public-employee-unions-test-scores?_s=PM:OPINION
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