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PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE THE BEDROCK OF OUR SUCCESSFUL DEMOCRACY |
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A member of a Florida civic club recently reacted to a presentation on school policy by saying "we could improve education by simply getting rid of government operated, tax-gouging schools." Anti-public school arguments form a long list: Parents should have free choice in the education of their children; Operation of public schools is like the inefficient federal bureaucracy; Government-operated schools lack accountability for results; Public schools are a monopoly; Compulsory school attendance is a 19th-century concept that has outlived its usefulness; and, Making K-12 public school attendance voluntary will make education a matter of choice. Now, more than ever, writes William L. Bainbridge in the Jacksonville (Fla.) Times Union, public schools are vital to the continued success of American society and our democracy. Public schools serve every child that arrives, regardless of its national origin, gender, race or socioeconomic status. The goal of democracy is to produce citizens from all of society who are prepared to succeed as contributing adults. There is no doubt there remains: A place for home-schooling, charter schools, magnet schools and vouchers; A need to focus and monitor high achievement for all children, regardless of how they are schooled; A demand for marketplace incentives for teachers in areas in critical shortage; An often inappropriate governance model that needs repair; A place for achievement based upon growth and progress rather than arbitrary grade levels and test scores; and, Still a vital role for the public school system to serve the public and its children. The astute observations of Alexis de Tocqueville, who came to America in 1832, remain a classic guide to America's success. He saw our democracy as a beacon for the world. American prosperity and success, he concluded, were based on several conditions unique to this society. He believed that our system of public education provided the skills and knowledge that citizens could employ to take advantage of in a classless and mobile society. Even though the public school system is far from perfect, public education remains the primary pillar supporting American democracy. Citizen taxes do not just support education of our own individual children. Taxes pay to undergird the role public education plays in enhancing and extending democracy, and in civilizing and enriching our society. |
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ASSESSING WHETHER A STUDENT MIGHT COMMIT A VIOLENT ACT |
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After every school shooting, the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA is asked about how schools should assess students who may be a threat. The threat assessment approach asks the person conducting the inquiry to gather information, and answer key questions about the instant case, to determine whether there is evidence to suggest movement toward violent action. The questions focus on: 1) motivation for the behavior that brought the person being evaluated to official attention; 2) communication about ideas and intentions; 3) unusual interest in targeted violence; 4) evidence of attack-related behaviors and planning; 5) mental condition; 6) level of cognitive sophistication or organization to formulate and execute an attack plan; 7) recent losses (including losses of status); 8) consistency between communications and behaviors; 9) concern by others about the individual's potential for harm; and 10) factors in the individual's life and/or environment or situation that might increase or decrease the likelihood of attack. Taken together, the information learned from these questions -- as gathered from the student and from corroborating sources (family members, friends, teachers, classmates, school and mental health records, etc.) -- should provide evidence to answer the question of whether the student is moving on a path toward violent action. The answer to the last set of questions in particular can inform the development of a risk management plan. For example, school officials could decide to take active steps to minimize factors that could put the student at greater risk for an attack, such as through referral to appropriate services. Or they could opt instead to monitor the student (perhaps with assistance from family and others close to the student) for changes in factors that could increase the student's targeted violence risk . . . ." The American Academy of Pediatrics also has assembled a collection of resources to help parents, teachers, students, schools, and pediatricians cope with the aftermath of this terrible event. Additional resources are provided on violence prevention, school safety, and promoting mental health. |
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http://www.aap.org/featured/resourcepage.htm |
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http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/shootings.pdf |
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PARENTS WHO WON'T PLAY ACTIVE ROLE ARE FAILING THEIR OWN KIDS |
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Mary Schultz can think of no greater disservice to children than to fail to equip them with a good education. A good education begins before children enter school, with involved parents encouraging them to learn and try new things. Once a child has entered the school system, too often parents think it has become the school's job to educate and promote education. Schools must provide quality teachers and mentors for our children, but parents must establish attitudes about school and the importance of achievement. The more support and encouragement children get from their parents, the more likely they are to continue. Parents must provide an environment the puts education first -- putting homework before television and praising good grades, not just the number of tackles in a football game. Parents must set achievement standards and be willing to help their children when additional support is needed. Parents must be connected with the school and familiar with school policies and activities. If a child does not feel confident and encouraged while at school, a parent has the right to know why. That is best done when a parent has established a relationship with and respect for the school. Motivating students starts at home. Parents must be willing to get know the school, faculty, administration and other students. In this article from Lafayette/West Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier, Schultz writes that parents must encourage their students to see education as an asset. |
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OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING FOR HEALTH CARE: HELP THEM |
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How did America get to the point where Deamonte Driver, a seventh grader in Prince George’s County, Maryland, died because he didn't have health insurance to cover an $80 tooth extraction and his mother couldn't find a dentist to treat him? What happened to Deamonte, writes Marian Wright Edelman in the Children’s Defense Fund’s "All Healthy Children" plan, is a Dickensian horror story that, sadly, is not unique in our rich nation. More than nine million children in our country try to live without health insurance, nearly 90 percent of them in working families. Edelman says that if we are to prevent similar tragedies, Congress and President Bush must enact long overdue legislation, this year, guaranteeing health and mental health coverage to all children. The United States provides health care to all senior citizens, although children are the least expensive and most cost-effective group to cover. Should children have to wait until they are 65 to be insured? Virtually all major, industrialized nations provide universal health care to children. Why do we lag so far behind? We certainly don't lag behind in the brain power to figure out how to solve this issue. We certainly don't lack the resources. Children are too young to vote, so you must fight for their health and lives. Health coverage for all children in America is our moral and practical obligation and now is the time to get it done. All that’s needed is the political will to make it happen this year -- 2007. We must do this because children are sacred. They can't wait. And tragically, like Deamonte, they are dying. For more information on the plan, go to electsusie.com. |
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CLOSING THE "EXPECTATIONS GAP" |
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One-quarter of all states have implemented significantly tougher graduation requirements, and virtually every state has taken steps to ratchet up expectations for high school students, according to a national survey of high school reform efforts conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Achieve, Inc. The survey updates the efforts of all 50 states to align their high school standards, graduation requirements, assessments, and accountability systems with the demands of college and work, and finds that at least 48 states are now actively engaged in reform efforts of some kind. There is more momentum in the states now than at any time since education reform became a national priority with the release of A Nation at Risk in 1983. Some of the most dramatic progress has been made in the area of graduation requirements, where 13 states, up from just two in 2004, now require high school students to complete a college- and work-ready curriculum in order to earn a diploma. According to the survey report, "Closing the Expectations Gap 2007", 16 additional states are taking steps to implement similar graduation requirements, which include four years of challenging mathematics at least through Algebra II and four years of rigorous English. States also have achieved significant progress in making academic standards rigorous enough in English and mathematics so that they accurately reflect real world expectations, but have moved more slowly in developing complementary assessment systems and holding high schools accountable for the college-readiness of their students. "While the federal government has been driving K-8 education policy, states are leading the way on high school reform," said Michael Cohen, president of Achieve. "This is a heavy lift for governors, but their leadership is urgently needed as states take the steps to prepare young people to succeed in the global economy where good jobs increasingly require some postsecondary education. College-ready skills are a must for every high school graduate today." |
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URBAN SCHOOL PROGRESS CONTINUES ON STATE TESTS |
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The nation’s big-city school districts continue to improve in reading and mathematics on state-mandated tests, with evidence of racial achievement gaps narrowing and low-performing students making gains, according to a new study. Students in 67 major city school systems in 37 states posted substantially higher test scores in 2006 than in 2002 in fourth-and eighth-grade mathematics and reading on state assessments, according to "Beating the Odds: A City-by-City Analysis of Student Performance and Achievement Gaps on State Assessments" by the Council of the Great City Schools. Although urban school achievement is advancing, it still lags behind state averages. However, 20 percent of big-city school systems scored at or above their respective states in fourth-grade math, while 16 percent did so at the eighth-grade level. The new report also indicates that racial gaps in math achievement in urban schools appear to be narrowing. |
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TEACHERS: THE NEXT GENERATION |
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Generation Y, the 40 million people born between 1977 and 1986, is dramatically changing the composition of today's teaching staffs. Demographically, women continue to dominate the profession, but as millions of baby boomers enter retirement age, the faces of today's K-12 teachers are younger than ever. In New York City public schools more than half of the teachers have less than five years experience. The U.S. education system typically views teachers as independent operators, encouraged to be creative and expected to do a good job behind closed doors. Collaboration is rare. Worse yet, new teachers seldom see another classroom in action. Loneliness and lack of support further exacerbate the frustrations of beginning teachers. In ASCD Express, Harry K. and Rosemary T. Wong write that induction programs that foster collaborative work and are structured around learning communities can be an effective means of mentoring young teachers. Most young teachers are receptive to the wisdom of older, seasoned teachers. They crave the guidance of knowledgeable, confident administrators and coworkers. They also want their contributions appreciated and their ideas heard by expert listeners. The newest generation of teachers is perhaps the most intelligent, talented, competitive -- and compulsive -- group this country has seen. It's a renaissance generation with great potential. Most are well-educated, thoughtful, confident, and creative. The grandeur of the future is in their capable hands. Let them work together. |
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TEACHER CONTRACTS: RESTORING THE BALANCE |
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Today’s teacher contracts reflect an earlier era in America: the age of the rise of industrial unions, during the 19th and 20th centuries, when a factory system rigidly governed work outputs. The Education Partnership, a local education fund in Providence, R.I., has been researching teacher-union contracts for three years. It is clear to them that the factory model has become a disservice to students in the 21st century, and that Rhode Island school committees and unions must work together to move beyond it. It is time to create entirely new contracts that will lead to highly successful schools and the solid education that students will need to compete in a global economy. In "Teacher Contracts: Restoring the Balance, Volume III, 2007", The Education Partnership highlights the best practices of highly successful schools and illustrates how these practices are often neutralized by the industrial-style components of local school-district contracts. The Education Partnership believes that the best teaching practices, as confirmed by research, should not only inform professional staff development, but also be incorporated into teacher contracts. Teachers in highly successful schools are committed to the schools’ visions and missions, and are professionally accountable for the successes and failures of their students. The preservation of today’s outmoded collective bargaining agreements is a function of state level law. Their 2007 report examines how school committees and teacher unions are thwarted in local bargaining from overcoming the inadequacies of state law, and recommends that state laws should be changed. Some matters of great importance to a quality education for students should be taken off the table, and no longer bargained away. The report also examines the inability of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to override district bargaining agreements. In Rhode Island, all of the components of flexibility, staffing, accountability and professional planning time must be negotiated through the collective bargaining process. Too often, this means narrowly defined bargaining, with economic interest rather than professional interest taking precedence. The report includes a set of policy recommendations and a series of elements that teacher contracts should incorporate. |
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MAKING WRITING INSTRUCTION A PRIORITY IN AMERICA’S MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS |
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The Alliance for Excellent Education has released a new brief which argues that the ability to write well for a variety of audiences and in multiple contexts is as great a predictor of success as is the ability to read proficiently. However, large numbers of American students are graduating from high school unable to write at even the minimal level of ability required by colleges and employers. It is critical that writing proficiency be recognized as an integral skill for success in an increasingly competitive 21st century economy, and that America's secondary schools incorporate more writing instruction into students' coursework. In Writing Next, published in October 2006, the Alliance identified 11 specific teaching techniques that research suggests will help improve the writing abilities of the nation’s middle and high school students. The new brief suggests policy options that would support strategies designed to improve students’ ability to write proficiently and help to ensure that they graduate with the skills necessary to succeed in postsecondary education and in today’s workplace. Funded by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York, "Making Writing Instruction a Priority in America’s Middle and High Schools" is available at: |
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http://www.all4ed.org/publications/WritPrior.pdf |
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MINDING MYSPACE |
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Schools are hard-pressed to balance the benefits and risks posed by kids' online social networks. Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal and Xanga make it easy for students to post photos, personal information video clips and music files, and to build networks of "friends" across the country. But they also pose an irresistible lure to pedophiles, and they can be abused by children who use them to post scurrilous attacks on teachers, administrators and other adults. They also contribute to "cyberbullying" attacks by students on their peers. Carol Brydolf surveys the terrain of this brave new world for the California School Boards Association's "California Schools" magazine, offering school governance teams expert opinions on how to work with the emerging technology. |
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NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION |
"Grants for School Art & Music Programs"
The Airborne Teacher Trust Fund invites teachers throughout the country to submit proposals for art and music programs their schools are unable to fund. Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: elementary and middle school teachers from public and private schools. Deadline: April 30, 2007.
"Grants to Implement the Toyota Family Literacy Program"
The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is seeking five school districts to implement the Toyota Family Literacy Program. Direct funding for school districts will allow for support, training, education materials and assistance from NCFL to implement the program for students in kindergarten through third grade. Maximum Award: $600,000. Eligibility: communities with high or fast-growing Hispanic and immigrant population. Deadline: May 9, 2007.
"Grants to Enhance Learning About the Upper Ozone Layer"
The CAPCO Science Class Challenge is a classroom contest that encourages students and teachers to learn about the Earth's protective upper ozone layer, CFCs, and the environment by using the provided activities or their own creative methods. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: teachers grades 4-9. Deadline: May 14, 2007.
"Grants to Encourage Science Education"
Motorola Innovation Generation Grants provide funds for initiatives that creatively generate a love of science early in life and show the new generation of inventors that careers involving science and math are important, challenging and possible. Priority will be given to programs that incorporate Motorola employees as volunteers. Maximum Award: $250,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: June 15, 2007.
For a detailed listing of numerous EXISTING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES (updated each week), visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
"Education is a critical component of a free and open society... Our educational system is a national treasure, one that we must preserve and keep safe for our children and for the children of generations to come."
- Jacob A. Lutz, III (Rector, Board of Visitors, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)
"The next time some politician, including me, starts preaching to you a sermon on values, look us in the eye and ask us point-blank: Do your values include doing everything in your power to make sure that my hard work translates into a decent living for my family, that we have access to affordable health care, that I can offer my kids a solid, affordable education as far as their abilities will take them? … It’s necessary to say this, because it seems, as far as the general culture and the press is concerned, one side of the political spectrum is deeply religious and deeply affected by moral values and the other side is not. I'm here to say that’s a lie that the truth won't abide."
- Ted Strickland (Governor of Ohio), from "Closing the God Gap" The Atlantic. January/February 2007. p39.
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