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March 25, 2011 |
Click here to read printable version |
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| Get serious |
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Writing as a guest on The Washington Post's Answer Sheet blog, Linda Darling-Hammond says that the recent and first-ever International Summit on Teaching, convened in New York City, showed "more clearly than ever that the United States has been pursuing an approach to teaching almost diametrically opposed to that pursued by the highest-achieving nations." The summit gathered government officials and union leaders from 16 nations, and the contrast in attitude toward teaching between international participants and Americans "could not have been more stark." Officials from countries like Finland and Singapore described building a high-performing teaching profession by enabling all teachers to enter high-quality preparation programs, generally at the masters' degree level, where they receive a salary while they prepare. There, teaching students learn research-based strategies and train with experts in model schools attached to their universities. They enter a well-paid profession -- in Singapore earning as much as beginning doctors -- where they are supported by mentor teachers and have 15 or more hours a week to work and learn together. Schools are equitably funded and have the latest in technology and materials. If we are ever to regain our educational standing in the world, writes Darling-Hammond, our leaders must be willing to take a step toward taking teaching seriously.
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| The challenge to meet diverse needs |
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The second part of the annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher looks at student differences, how teachers are addressing them, and how well students feel their needs are being met. More than 90 percent of all middle and high school teachers surveyed say strengthening programs to help diverse learners with the highest needs should be a priority, with 59 percent saying this "must be done as one of the highest priorities in education." A majority of parents (84 percent) say this should be a priority, including 57 percent who feel it to be highest priority. Most business executives from Fortune 1000 companies agree (89 percent), but significantly fewer (31 percent) rate it highest. Given limited resources, teachers say opportunities for collaborative teaching (65 percent), access to online and technology resources (64 percent), better tools for understanding students' learning strengths and needs (63 percent), and instructional strategies for teaching English language learners (62 percent) would majorly impact their ability to address different learning needs of students. Teachers in schools with a college-going school culture are more likely to say they are able to differentiate instruction. Among teachers who say less than three-quarters of students will graduate high school ready for college, only 50 percent say they are able to differentiate instruction a great deal.
See the report | Back to top
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| A further spin on last in, first out |
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A statewide study of teachers in Michigan finds teachers hired after the start of the school year are twice as likely to leave their schools -- or the profession altogether -- within a year, Education Week reports. This phenomenon leads to higher staffing costs for districts that delay their hiring. In what is believed to be the first study to connect teacher turnover to hiring timing, researchers from Michigan State University and Northwestern University used Michigan's state longitudinal personnel database to study 9,306 core academic teachers hired at more than 5,000 schools between 2003-04 and 2007-08. Among late hires, 22.5 percent left their schools the following year, compared with 13.4 percent of teachers hired to start on time. Fourteen percent of late-hired instructors left teaching altogether the next year, compared with 6.8 percent of on-time hires. Among first-year teachers, more than 35 percent of late hires left the school the following year. Researchers also found that 16 percent of teachers hired on time worked in urban schools, versus 30 percent of late-hired educators. Late-hired teachers were also more likely to be minorities and to be hired part-time. Overall, the study's estimates are likely low, since they do not account for teachers hired before Labor Day yet after an early-starting school's first day.
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| Further costs of the crisis |
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A new study from the Alliance for Excellent Education shows the likely economic benefits that states could see if they were to cut the number of high school dropouts in half. A collection of state-by-state profiles and an accompanying national profile significantly expand on those released last year by the Alliance that demonstrated economic benefits of improving graduation rates in the nation's largest cities and surrounding metropolitan statistical areas. These new findings project economic gains as the result of reducing the number of students who drop out from just one class of high school students in every state and the District of Columbia. Economic benefits projected in the state-by-state profiles include higher individual earnings, increased home and auto sales, job and economic growth, higher levels of spending and investment, and larger state tax revenues; tailored to each state, the findings were determined using state-specific economic data. Later this spring, the Alliance will release similar projections for metropolitan statistical areas, updating those released last year and adding nearly 150 additional areas.
See the profiles | Back to top
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| Blame the system |
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In a question-and-answer session in The Wall Street Journal, Bill Gates says he feels improving personnel systems in education is key, and this improvement must enlist all levels: "If you're putting in a new personnel system that rewards great teaching, rewards teachers who help other teachers be better, you're going to need good collaboration between the teachers and the principals, the superintendents, the administrative people." In this regard, the present budget environment is "unfortunate," since it reduces funding for education and distracts from improved ways of spending. Right now, Gates finds a misplaced emphasis on teachers who should be let go; a bigger impact would come from a personnel system that helped raise the average performance of educators within it. He also feels the teaching profession lacks an excellent feedback and measurement system, which is what the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is currently focusing on. "Ten years from now, if we have a very different personnel system that's encouraging effectiveness, and our spending has contributed to that, we'll feel good," he says. For overall improvement in public education, Gates concedes that some increased taxation will be necessary, as well as cuts in spending in various other categories: "There are a lot of challenges here to make the numbers work."
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| Sensing a trend? You're right |
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A new playbook has emerged in public urban education: handing over struggling schools to charter operators, according to Education Week. The article cites districts in Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, and Denver that have gone this route, faced with schools that are chronic low-performers. In Detroit in particular, officials intend to issue an RFP to attract national operators with a successful track record. Private foundations in Michigan have already agreed to pay for the legal costs of the RFP and for the process of reviewing applications. But some doubt that Detroit is in a position to attract big-name charter operators or education-management organizations with the necessary capacity, given its funding situation. "Chartering schools is not a silver bullet that can solve the long-standing governance, financial, and academic issues that districts like Detroit face," says James Goenner of the National Charter Schools Initiative. "No amount of efficiencies generated by chartering schools can resolve the massive $2 billion-plus operating and capital debt that has been accumulated" by the Detroit system. Moreover, only one of the nine charter schools now authorized by the Detroit district is high-performing; the rest have average or poor student outcomes.
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| Bad to worse |
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A new study released by the University of California, Los Angeles finds that three years of state budget cuts have widened the gap between schools in poor and wealthy communities while diminishing the quality of education in California overall, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. The study is based on a survey last summer of 277 high school principals throughout the state, and found that while $18 billion in budget cuts have hit all school districts, wealthier schools have been better able to weather the financial crisis. These schools have tapped parents to pay for programs such as athletics and field trips, as well as for donations to preserve arts and music electives; schools in low-income communities have been unable to do the same -- for every dollar a low-income school raises, a high-income school raises $20. But across the board, class sizes of 40 and more are increasingly common, summer school and after-school programs are becoming a thing of the past, and outdated textbooks and instructional materials are being used longer, the study said. It also found schools are coping with a rise in hungry and homeless students, which impacts their learning. "You see it on the kids' faces," said Todd Ullah, principal of 2,500-student Washington Preparatory Academy in South Los Angeles. "They feel it."
Read more | See the report | Related | Back to top
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| Factory closings |
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A new report from Civic Enterprises, the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, America's Promise Alliance, and the Alliance for Excellent Education indicates that that from 2008 to 2009 (the most current data available), the number of "dropout factory" high schools decreased by 112 schools to 1,634, an annual rate of progress three times as fast as the previous period studied. By 2009, 580,000 fewer students attended a dropout factory compared to the beginning of the decade. This progress, however, has been uneven. Some states showed significant improvements, others saw more modest gains, some were stagnant, and a few regressed. For this reason, actions at the school, community, and state levels matter. The report calls for continued study of the nation's success stories (additional case studies are included in the report) and work to develop the capacity of the districts, communities, and states that are struggling. Therefore, the authors ask that nonprofits, education associations, businesses, and foundations align their thought capital and assets with a "Civic Marshall Plan" (which it outlines) to keep students on track to graduate from high school and ready for college and work.
See the report | Related | Back to top
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| Bolstering community college support |
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A new policy brief from MDRC synthesizes findings from its Opening Doors Demonstration -- the first large-scale random assignment study in a community college setting, launched in 2003. The demonstration pursued promising strategies that emerged from focus groups with low-income students, discussions with college administrators, and an extensive literature review. Partnering with six community colleges across the country, MDRC helped develop and evaluated four distinct programs based on financial incentives, reforms in instructional practices, and enhancements in student services. Colleges were encouraged to focus on one strategy but think creatively about combining elements of the other strategies to design programs that helped students perform better academically and persist toward degree completion. The program provides evidence that a range of interventions can improve educational outcomes for community college students. The findings spurred some colleges to scale up their programs, and led to additional large-scale demonstrations to test the most promising strategies. The brief describes the different strategies tested, discusses what MDRC has learned from Opening Doors, and offers some suggestions to policymakers and practitioners for moving forward.
See the report | Back to top
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Not exactly news
The latest report on the demographics of the nation's 100 largest school districts shows that well over half of students -- about 63 percent -- are black or Hispanic.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2011/03/majority_of_students_in_larges.html
Retiring from the fray?
Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith has announced that he will resign at the end of this school year.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-florida-education-commissioner-res20110321,0,3832082.story
The latest volley in WI's political ping pong
Efforts to shrink collective bargaining rights for public workers in Wisconsin have been slowed by a judge issuing a temporary restraining order that blocks the law from taking effect.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/us/19wisconsin.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Ditto for NJ
New Jersey's cuts in school financing violate its state constitution's mandate to provide "a thorough and efficient" education system, and hit poor districts especially hard, a judge reported to the State Supreme Court.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/nyregion/23jersey.html?_r=1&ref=education
Race to the Tippy Top
In what amounts to a "Race to the Top" for higher education, the Obama administration is offering competitive grants and a new "tool kit" to help states increase their college completion rates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/education/22college.html?_r=2&ref=education
Trying to make good on Promise
The Education Department has proposed new rules that would cover implementation of Promise Neighborhoods, as well as a next round of planning grants.
http://tinyurl.com/4cbm8gj |
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| NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION |
Captain Planet Foundation: Grants for the Environment
The Captain Planet Foundation funds hands-on environmental projects that encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: June 30, 2011.
http://www.captainplanetfoundation.org/default.aspx?pid=3&tab=apply
Toshiba America Foundation: Grants for Math and Science
The Toshiba America Foundation makes grants for projects in math and science designed by classroom teachers to improve instruction for students in grades 6-12. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: Grades 6-12. Deadline: August 1, 2011.
http://www.toshiba.com/tafpub/jsp/home/default.jsp
NAIS: Challenge 20/20 Partnership
The National Association of Independent Schools invites schools to participate in Challenge 20/20, a program that brings together one school from the United States and one school from outside of the United States. Teacher-student teams from both schools work together throughout the fall 2011 school semester to come up with a solution to a global problem. Challenge 20/20 is based on Jean Francois Rischard's book, High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them. Maximum award: international cooperation and collaboration between youth. Eligibility: all U.S. schools, elementary and secondary, public or private. Deadline: August 15, 2011.
http://www.nais.org/resources/index.cfm?ItemNumber=147262
AIAA Foundation: Grants for Excellence in Math, Science, Technology and Engineering
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation Classroom Grants encourage excellence in educating students about math, science, technology, and engineering. Eligibility: current AIAA Educator Associate or AIAA Professional members actively engaged as K-12 classroom educators. Maximum award: $200. Deadline: rolling.
http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=244
For more grants, see http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
"Nobody wants to be in a fiscal crisis -- this sucks. But it's providing this opportunity for us to bring these things to life. Look, teachers are going to lose their jobs. That's not a good thing. But as long as that is a reality that we're facing, let's do it in a smart way." -- Michelle Rhee in New York Magazine, in a profile on her rise to national prominence.
http://nymag.com/news/features/michelle-rhee-2011-3/
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