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April 10, 2009 |
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| If legislation is the problem, civic engagement is the solution |
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In a post on Alexander Russo's This Week In Education blog, frequent contributor Margaret Paynich writes that she came away from Jay Mathew's recent book "Work Hard. Be Nice" with several conclusions. In the first place, she feels that our school systems and school structures "were designed for educating students from hundreds of years ago," and are no longer geared toward helping teachers and students achieve to their fullest, despite our claims. In her view, legislation that is "passed without proper attention to those who have to carry it out" makes up a large part of the problem, and public engagement is a way to fix things. "I believe that the public needs to demand a solution from their legislators," she writes. "Education professionals have been doing the best they can -- but I don't think they can do it alone anymore." For her part, Paynich will be involved in a pilot project in Rhode Island, in which she will be "walking door-to-door this summer introducing individuals to the school committee, showing them after-school and mentoring programs they can volunteer for, and hoping to inspire individuals to take a better responsibility for their role as citizens."
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| What ails education reform: poor use of symbolism |
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In an opinion piece in U.S. News & World Report, Education Sector's Andrew Rotherham writes that although the crisis in public education is "arguably the most serious structural social problem facing the country today," education reform has "failed to organize itself around compelling symbols or imagery." Rotherham points to the fact that almost half of all minority students fail to complete high school in this country, and wonders why this statistic isn't deployed to greater effect. "Rather than using symbolism," Rotherham writes, "the modern education reform movement has instead often allowed itself to be defined as a cloistered group of white dilettantes from Ivy League schools -- counterproductive symbolism and off the mark." Rotherham cites D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee in particular as someone who has faltered because of her symbolic missteps. In Rotherham's view, "It is up to reformers to deliberately highlight compelling symbols and engage more Americans in the debate. Given the power of vested interests and the politics of education, it's hard to see serious school reform without more attention paid to how potent symbols can help raise an army to support social change."
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| 'Plenty of time' to fire incompetent teachers |
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In an article in American Educator, a publication of the American Federation of Teachers, education historian Diane Ravitch evaluates the current zeitgeist of blaming teacher unions for low performance in urban public schools. "The unions don't seem to cause low performance in the wealthy suburban districts that surround [cities]," she contends. "They don't seem to be a problem for the nations that regularly register high scores on international tests. If getting rid of the unions were the solution to the problem of low performance, then why [...] do the southern states -- where unions are weak or nonexistent -- continue to perform worse than states with strong unions?" In her opinion, it's not hard to get rid of incompetent teachers. She cites data that show 40 percent of teachers are gone within five years of entering the profession, and most teachers don't get due process rights before three to five years. "During those three to five years, their supervisors have plenty of time and opportunity to evaluate them and tell them to leave teaching," she argues. See also a related study from the Center for Reinventing Public Education that examines collective bargaining and high school reform.
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| Don't contaminate the education of white people |
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In a post on The Baltimore Sun's Inside Ed blog, Sara Neufeld describes a recent conversation with noted social critic Jonathan Kozol about the dropout crisis in American public schools. In his view, de facto segregation is at the root of the crisis, with children of color essentially being told that, "you have been sequestered in this institution so you will not contaminate the education of white people." This message is conveyed through the poor physical condition of schools and beleaguered teachers who have "[given] up joy and creativity to become drill sergeants for the state." He would argue that the most successful African Americans he's seen -- and these include President Obama -- did not have to attend segregated, inner-city schools. Solutions to the problem, however, elude him. According to Neufeld, Kozol says that when he began his work in education decades ago, he thought he could effect change. Now, he's just a witness.
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| Department of Education blasted for withholding voucher results |
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In a recent editorial, The Wall Street Journal applauded U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for championing mayoral control of schools, but criticized the Department of Education (ED) for "sitting on" a report that might have influenced Congressional debate over vouchers in D.C. This latest performance review of the Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides $7,500 in private-school vouchers to 1,700 low-income families, shows that children attending private schools with the aid of the scholarships are reading nearly a half-grade ahead of their non-vouchered peers, though results for math are equivalent. Congress voted to end the D.C. program in March, and the favorable report was released on April 3, leading observers to suggest that ED buried the results and cloaked them in secrecy. "It's bad enough that Democrats are killing a program that parents love and is closing the achievement gap between poor minorities and whites," The Journal writes, "But as scandalous is that the Education Department almost certainly knew the results of this evaluation for months." The editorial concludes that "Mr. Duncan's department" colluded with Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and teacher unions to withhold the report, and calls the ending of the program "a moral disgrace."
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| With the retirement of baby boomers, 'collapse' of the teaching profession |
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Articles in The New York Times and USA TODAY are calling attention to the April 2008 report from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future that projects a third of the nation's public school teaching force will retire within the next four years. This widespread departure of experienced teachers will be compounded by attrition from new teachers, one out of three of whom will leave teaching within five years. The consequences of these trends will weigh heavily on taxpayer-financed retirement systems and overall teacher quality. In the words of the report, "The traditional teaching career is collapsing at both ends." One solution proposed is a restructuring of schools around "learning teams," a model already underway in Boston, in which experienced teachers mentor new teachers and help them through their often challenging first few years. Economist Michael Podgursky from the University of Missouri, who studies teacher retirement, is skeptical of any imminent "collapse," but agrees that demographics indicate some sort of phased retirement plan should be undertaken so as not to lose many of the baby boomers now contemplating retirement.
Read more | Related | See the report | Back to top
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| English-only instruction rule doubles the dropout rate |
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A new report profiled in The Boston Globe has found that in the wake of a voter-approved law change six years ago that requires all students be taught in English, the high school dropout rate has nearly doubled for English language learners in Boston. The study, from the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts and analyzed data between 2003 and 2006, and portrays a school system ill-prepared to serve nonnative English speakers, about 38 percent of the Boston's 56,000 students. In many cases, the district fails to evaluate properly and subsequently identify hundreds of students for special language instruction, and doesn't give parents information on program options. Overall, the data show that the law, intended to accelerate English fluency, hasn't helped English language learners to catch up with their English-speaking peers, in many cases leaving them further behind. Carol R. Johnson, superintendent of Boston schools, said the district will revamp the way it tests students for services, expand programs, and provide more comprehensive information to parents. "I think everybody recognizes we need to move with a sense of urgency," she said. "Children need help and we need to help them now."
Read more | See the report | Back to top
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| Early childhood education hit hard by the downturn |
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A new study from Rutgers University shows that expansion of state-financed Pre-K, significant between 2002 and 2008, has faltered due to the sour economy, according to The New York Times. "We had been making remarkable progress, things were going great guns, but as the recession hit state governments, things started to change," said Dr. Steven Barnett, co-author of the study. The huge increase in early-childhood programs, and The Times calls "drastic," was in part a result of governors and legislatures filling a gap left by federal inaction. The focus of the Bush administration was mainly on older children, which caused budgets for the largest federally financed preschool programs to stagnate. A dramatic drop in state revenues, however, has now prompted nine states -- Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina -- to cut back on Pre-K, and because the programs are discretionary, more states may follow suit. The Obama administration and Congress have appropriated more than $4 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start programs that support childcare for low-income families, but the overall reduction may have significant ramifications for many middle-class families.
Read more | See the report | Back to top
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| Oregon zeroes in on special ed graduates 'sitting around, bored' |
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An analysis by the state of Oregon shows that one in four special education (SPED) students in Oregon don't have paying jobs or enroll in college or job training post-graduation, The Oregonian reports. Telephone surveys in every district in the state found that of the 4,200 special education students who graduated in 2006-07, about 1,150 spent the next year without a paid job or post-secondary education. Currently, 73,000 students, or one in eight, are enrolled in Oregon's SPED programs, most for learning disabilities, speech disorders, or attention deficits. During the same period nationally, states reported 40 to 93 percent of their former SPED students found jobs or enrolled in some form of college, but states vary widely in their definition of paid work and legitimate post-secondary education. Many count employment as working at least 20 hours a week, but this 20-hour-a-week minimum standard will not be federally required until 2011. According to The Oregonian, officials don't track what former special education students who aren't working or attending college are doing. Some get help from federally funded programs, some volunteer or work below-minimum-wage jobs, but SPED parent Bette Koski said that in her experience, "Most [SPED graduates] are just sitting home, bored."
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Teaching is a hot job in a turbulent economy
Plenty of people dream of leaving their jobs to become teachers. Today, more people are actually doing it.
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/04/02/dream-of-teaching-more-career-switchers-become-educators/
Demand for charter seats in New York City far outstrips supply
With 39,000 NYC students competing for just 8,500 charter slots, one school has begun to tout its acceptance rate as more exclusive than Harvard's.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04062009/news/regionalnews/hard_math__39_000_for_8_500_charter_spot_163128.htm
Broad Foundation to the rescue
Two of New York City's highest-performing nonprofit, public charter school management organizations -- Uncommon Schools and the Success Charter Network -- will receive a total of $2.5 million to expand their operations and accommodate demand.
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-09-2009/0005003660&EDATE=
Good luck with that
Scarsdale, a wealthy, high-performing district with few discipline problems, is grooming students to think twice before engaging in the name-calling, gossip, and other forms of social humiliation that usually go unpunished.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/education/05empathy.html
Farm-to-school food programs in Oregon may increase sales, jobs
Oregon House Bill 2800 would set aside $22.6 million in lottery proceeds for the Oregon Department of Education to reimburse schools for Oregon foods used in subsidized lunch and breakfast programs.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090403/LEGISLATURE/904030336
Budget shortfalls prompt crackdown on teacher absenteeism
Several districts in Arizona "have just decided to avoid the use of substitutes."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/04/03/20090403substitutes04030.html
Just add water
A report in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows that replacing "liquid calories" -- i.e. soda and sugary juices -- with water leads to significant health benefits in overweight kids.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53560U20090406 |
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| NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION |
McCarthey Dressman Foundation: Academic Enrichment Grants
The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation offers Academic Enrichment Grants to develop in-class and extra-curricular programs that improve student learning for low-income children. The foundation considers proposals that foster understanding, deepen students' knowledge, and provide opportunities to expand awareness of the world around them. Maximum award: $10,000 for enrichment programs. Eligibility: educators working with students pre-K to 12 from low-income households. Deadline: May 1, 2009.
http://www.mccartheydressman.org/academic.html
NCTE: Early Career Teacher of Color Award of Distinction
The National Council of Teachers of English Early Career Teacher of Color Award of Distinction supports English teachers of color as they build accomplished teaching careers as active NCTE members. Early career teachers of color gain a national forum for professional collaboration and development by attending the NCTE convention (year one) and by presenting an NCTE convention session (year two). Maximum award: two years of support from a mentor. Eligibility: practicing pre-K to university-level literacy educators of color in the first five years of a paid teaching career, who aspire to build a career in literacy education. Deadline: May 1, 2009.
http://www.ncte.org/awards/distinction
What Kids Can Do: Speech Contest 2009
As Graduation Day approaches, What Kids Can Do invites students to raise their voice and let others know what matters most to them in this moment and in the years ahead. This year's theme: "Crisis and Hope in These Trying Times." Maximum award: $100 gift certificate from amazon.com. Eligibility: anyone from age 12 to 19, writing in English. Deadline: May 18, 2009.
http://www.wkcd.org/featurestories/2009/03_WKCD%20speech%20contest/index.html
State Farm/National Youth Leadership Council: Project Ignition
State Farm and the National Youth Leadership Council are sponsoring Project Ignition, which funds programs that give high school students and their teachers the chance to work together to address the issue of teen driver safety. Maximum award: $10,000 for teen-driver safety efforts. Eligibility: students grades 9-12. Deadline: June 30, 2009.
http://www.sfprojectignition.com/
Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest: Insight/Foresight Grants
Brown Rudnick will fund specific, one-time future education-related needs or ideas that promise to improve inner-city education within one year of the grant award in one of the cities eligible for foundation grants. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: small, concrete projects that will improve inner-city education in Boston, Hartford, Providence, New York, or Washington, D.C. within the coming year. Deadline: N/A.
http://www.brownrudnickcenter.com/foundation/communitygrant.asp
For more grants, see http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
"Each child represents either a potential addition to the protective capacity and enlightened citizenship of the nation or, if allowed to suffer from neglect, a potential addition to the destructive forces of a community... The interests of the nation are involved in the welfare of this array of children no less than in our great material affairs."
-Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. president)
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