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August 21, 2009 Time for a 'decent conversation' on education An odd couple has gotten odder. Rev. Al Sharpton and former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will join ranks with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on a tour that will include Baltimore, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and other cities, urging districts to fix failing schools. The Associated Press reports that the tour, which grew out of a meeting at the White House in May, is part of a larger strategy by the administration to put education reform at the forefront. Asked on NBC's "Today" show why they had decided to partner, Mr. Gingrich responded that the Rev. Sharpton had it "exactly right, that education has to be the No. 1 civil right of the 21st century," adding, "we can't get it done as a partisan issue." Mr. Gingrich has been especially approving of the administration's stance on charter schools -- a position somewhat divisive for the Democratic base. For his part, the Rev. Sharpton said it was now time to "change the conversation ... to say we need to put everybody's hands on the table." He believes that "if there's anything Americans should be mature enough about to have a decent conversation [about], it's the education of their children." Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090814/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_obama_education High-stakes recruitment for urban public schools Struggling urban districts -- squeezed by charters, private schools, and suburban districts with open enrollment -- are resorting to radio ads, infomercials, and direct-mail campaigns to win back students and attendant state funding, according to The Wall Street Journal. Individual schools and districts have undertaken Mexican dinners for potential students, made pitches at churches, and redesigned logos. For their efforts, returns can be high. State funding is based on attendance, so each student typically nets $5,000 to $8,000. Stakes are high, too: Schools with small enrollments risk closure, and districts desperately need a better image to inspire local business sponsorship and raise popular support for school levies and bond issues. "Schools are really getting that they can't just expect students to show up any more," said Lisa Relou, who directs marketing efforts for the Denver Public Schools. "They have to go out and recruit." Since marketing can be costly, critics question the strategy at a time when education budgets are being slashed. Still, in districts whose ranks have been decimated by negative results and perceptions, rebranding in the long run may reap urgently needed cash. Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125046530753735355.html Turnaround or destruction of social capital? At two high schools long plagued with violence and low student and teacher attendance, The Chicago Tribune looks at the "controversial, expensive, and experimental program" called turnaround. In it, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) replaces an entire school staff, infusing a campus with money, a new curriculum, and extra security. Though the measures have yielded visible results, the move is what The Times describes as "the latest in a long line of attempts to fix failing city high schools," and has been divisive, with educators angry about getting fired, communities unhappy with unilateral decision-making, and students uneasy with a group of teachers they don't trust. Even in the business world with its resources and entrepreneurship, attempts to turn around flagging institutions rarely succeed, leaving CPS with a 70 to 80 percent likelihood of failure, according to one observer. Still, Derrick McMoore, a student at one of the turnaround high schools, admits the work is harder and the school is safer. "It's basically like it went from preschool to college," he said. "A lot of the gang members don't even want to come back to this school because they [don't] want to deal with all the work." Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/back-to-school/chi-chicago-high-schools-turnaroaug17,0,2943706.story?page=1 Related: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/high-school-connections/2009/08/httpwwwchicagotribunecomfeatur.html Helping educators improve learning in diverse classrooms As part of an effort to improve the teaching of students of color, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program has launched a new online initiative. The Teaching Diverse Students Initiative (TDSi) offers interactive multimedia tools to help educators improve learning opportunities and outcomes for racially and ethnically diverse students. TDSi is the first set of professional development tools specifically designed to improve teaching practices and school conditions that, while important for all students, are especially productive for students of color. TDSi's resources include learning activities, case studies, video of effective practice, reports and articles, and video commentary by leading researchers. School districts interested in working with TDSi should contact Michelle Garcia at TDSI@tolerance.org. The research-based tools of TDSi are available free of charge. Read more: http://www.tolerance.org/tdsi 'E' is the silent letter in 'STEM' With an emphasis on 21st-century skills and the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects, especially for girls and minorities, education experts say momentum is building for more recognition of the overlooked "T" and "E" in STEM -- technology and engineering -- according to eSchool News. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) will soon release a report surveying the extent and nature of efforts to teach engineering to K-12 students in the United States. One finding is that "discussions of STEM tend to be focused on science, sometimes math, rarely both together -- usually they're siloed, and the T and especially the E are really just left out of the discussion in policy, education, and classroom practice," according to Greg Pearson, an NAE program officer and the study's leader. Since 1990, NAE estimates that six million U.S. students have been exposed to formal engineering in the classroom, along with about 18,000 teachers who have had formal training to teach engineering concepts. Still, engineering doesn't have a place in the school day the way math and science do, and there are no content standards in the way there are for math, science, and history, among others. The report addresses barriers to including engineering in schools, and suggests ways to approach the issue. Read more: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=60180 Race to the Top brings more, not less, emphasis on testing In a surprising twist to many in education, the Obama administration under Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has made the role of standardized testing more significant, rather than less, according to The New York Times. During his campaign for the presidency, Mr. Obama frequently called for an overhaul of NCLB, which many interpreted to mean a reduced federal role and less reliance on standardized testing. But proposed rules for the $4.3 billion Race to the Top (RttT) grants require proof that states are fostering innovation, improving achievement, raising standards, recruiting effective teachers, turning around failed schools, and building data systems. The metric for these: test scores. Before a state can apply for RttT funds, it must have no "barriers to linking data on student achievement or student growth to teachers and principals for the purpose of teacher and principal evaluation," the rules say. While some education leaders have strongly criticized fund rules, the two national teacher unions have not formally commented, though they've opposed using test scores for evaluations in the past. Several states, including Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, and Tennessee, have reconfigured education laws to align with the administration's take on charter schools and merit pay, the better to compete for RttT money. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/education/17educ.html?pagewanted=2 Related: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h9UAdVT4nGfrS4rc0UzXyItAPwjwD9A4PAV80 Data rich, information poor A new policy brief from the Alliance for Education brings attention to data use in the classroom, stating "while many policy discussions focus on data-driven decision-making as the answer, too often these conversations do not include how classroom teachers can and should use data to improve instruction." Ensuring effective data use by teachers requires focus from policymakers at all levels, and the recognition that it's a significant shift for most teachers in how they perform their jobs. Not all data are equally useful for daily instructional practices. The brief argues against summative assessments for teachers (while acknowledging their usefulness for administrators and the public), and cautions against district-administered interim assessments. Instead, the brief endorses formative assessments, "the process whereby teachers diagnose where individual students are in their learning and adjust instruction to ensure that all students are mastering the desired outcomes." Read more: http://www.all4ed.org/files/AchievingWealthOfRiches.pdf 'Opening a door in a wall' via a bid for grant money As its new focus in public education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will look at teacher effectiveness, according to The Associated Press. Over the next five years, the foundation will spend half a billion dollars in its quest to figure out what qualities make the best teachers, and how those qualities can be measured in the classroom. The project will include research to develop and test methods to rate teachers, and experiments in selected school districts on recruiting, training, assigning, and assessing teachers. Measures will include putting strong teachers in challenging classrooms, having them mentor and coach others while keeping them in front of children, making tenure a meaningful milestone, getting rid of ineffective teachers, and using money to motivate people and schools to move toward these goals. Foundation officials say they have been impressed with the thought put into proposals by applicant districts and how clear it was that teacher's unions, school officials, and elected school board members were working in concert to draft ideas. Pittsburgh Superintendent Mark Roosevelt found the application process in and of itself moved his district forward. "I'd say we made almost ten years of progress with our union in three months," he said. "It was like a door had been opened that we didn't know was in the wall anymore." Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g_03De68Vu2JdLt1tNtqTM9vMPMgD9A5RDDO5 Debating the merits of an education degree On its "Room for Debate" blog, The New York Times posed the question to a spectrum of educators about whether an education degree should carry its present weight in teacher pay and promotion decisions. C. Kent McGuire, dean of Temple University College of Education, writes that the challenge "is identifying the knowledge and skills that align with our educational goals and accurately measuring whether teachers possess and demonstrate these skills." He finds most districts "mediocre" at teacher assessment, "especially once tenure has been achieved." Mike Goldstein, founder of a high-profile charter in Boston, argues that merit pay will make teachers "more demanding customers," with veterans prized as lecturers "in lieu of ivory tower theorists." Veteran teacher Patrick Welsh faults a bureaucracy "obsessed with education courses and 'certification'," and recommends that schools advertise for positions, with principals and panels of teachers choosing colleagues. Commenters in qualified support of ed degrees stressed that teachers need three things: deep knowledge of content, skills to encourage learning that go beyond behavior management, and methods to reach all students, including challenging ones. Ed schools are slowly changing, but have a ways to go. Read more: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/education-degrees-and-teachers-pay/ BRIEFLY NOTED Mad, and won't take it anymore Minneapolis school board member says he'll no longer nod politely when people criticize public education and the competence of educators and administrators. http://www.startribune.com/local/53515682.html Equal time for a peace activist in military-friendly district Quaker Sally Ferrell can now work alongside military recruiters in North Carolina's Wilkes County. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090812/ap_on_re_us/us_counter_recruiting Student journalist gets Obama interview Florida sixth-grader Damon Weaver of Pahokee, Florida interviews the president on education matters. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111899499 Saving computers from the landfill, and helping needy schools Project Tree refurbishes computers donated from business, outfitting them with the free Linux operating system. http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/ht.ssf?/base/news/1250500533138500.xml&coll=1 Just when you thought it couldn't get worse in Illinois Widespread admission corruption reaches into state university system and elite public schools. http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/08/07/illinois-corruption-includes-states-largest-school-systems/ An easy way to donate unwanted gift cards to schools Ever wonder what to do with that lingering $11.86 left on a gift card for Lowe's or Bloomingdale's? What about donating it to charity? http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/an-easy-way-to-donate-unwanted-gift-cards-to-schools/ First day of school: It'll be okay, Mr. Principal School budget cuts leave principals crying for mommy. http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54f8c25c988340120a4fef421970b-pi Changes urgently needed after educators abuse students Minnesota Department of Human Rights investigations found that two high-school teachers "made regular 'gay' jokes in the classroom, and did nothing to stop subsequent 'homo and gay jokes' by classmates. http://www.minnpost.com/community_voices/2009/08/18/10927/changes_urgently_needed_after_educators_abuse_students NEW GRANT & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES 21st Century School Fund/Healthy Schools Campaign/Critical Exposure: Through Your Lens -- School Facilities Across America The 21st Century School Fund, Healthy Schools Campaign, and Critical Exposure have launched Through Your Lens: School Facilities Across America, a national photo and essay contest that will open as Congress is considering legislation to fund the repair, renovation, and construction of safe, healthy, and green school buildings. Maximum award: Winning photos and stories featuring conditions in public school buildings from students and teachers will be displayed in Washington, D.C. Five student winners will also receive a Vado pocket video camcorder from Creative Labs. Eligibility: students and teachers at U.S. public schools. Deadline: September 14, 2009. http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/getinvolved/action/yourlens/ UnitedHealth Group/Youth Service America: Grants for 'Health Heroes' UnitedHealth Group and Youth Service America are offering children the opportunity to become "Health Heroes" by learning about childhood obesity, designing programs to address it, and implementing the programs in their communities. Maximum award: $1,000 in support of service-learning projects that focus on childhood obesity, engage youth between the ages of 5 and 25 in the planning and implementation process, and take place during Semester of Service (MLK Day, January 18, to Global Youth Service Day, April 23-25, 2010). Eligibility: educators, service-learning coordinators, and students in the health professions. Deadline: October 22, 2009. http://ysa.org/MyYSA/YSAContent/YSANews/tabid/219/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/175/UnitedHealthHEROESServiceLearningGrantsDeadlineOctober22.aspx Prudential: Spirit of Community Awards The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people in grades 5 through 12 who have demonstrated exemplary voluntary service to their communities. Maximum award: $5,000 for honoree; $5,000 grant from the Prudential Foundation to a nonprofit, charitable organization of their choice. Eligibility: students grades 5-12 who have conducted a volunteer service activity within the past year. Deadline: November 2, 2009. http://spirit.prudential.com/view/page NSTA/Ciba Specialty Chemicals: Exemplary Middle Level and High School Science Teaching Awards Ciba Specialty Chemicals Exemplary Middle Level and High School Science Teaching Awards recognize teachers who have demonstrated exemplary science teaching in one or more of the following areas: creativity using science teaching materials; design and use of innovative teaching plans and ideas; and development and implementation of department, school, or school-community programs that improve science instruction and/or stimulate interest in science and the learning of science. Maximum award: $4,000, a one-year membership in the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and up to $1,000 to attend the NSTA National Conference on Science Education, March 18-21, 2010 in Philadelphia. Eligibility: full-time classroom teachers. Deadline: November 30, 2009. http://www.nsta.org/pdfs/awards/CibaTeaching.pdf QUOTE OF THE WEEK "If we close the achievement gap, then a big chunk of economic inequality in this society is diminished... We're not going to transform the urban school system in a year. It's going to have to be a sustained effort, including a change of attitudes about education within our own communities." The PEN Weekly NewsBlast, published by Public Education Network, is a free electronic newsletter featuring resources and information about public school reform, school finance, and related issues. The NewsBlast is the property of Public Education Network, a national association of 79 local education funds working to improve public school quality in low-income communities throughout the nation. Please forward this e-mail to anyone who enjoys free updates on education news and grant alerts. Some links in the PEN Weekly NewsBlast may change or expire after their initial publication here, and some links may require local website registration. People wishing to add a NewsBlast subscription can go to PEN's website (http://www.publiceducation.org) and follow the instructions in the lower left-hand section of the homepage. Current subscribers can unsubscribe by clicking the appropriate link near the bottom of the NewsBlast mailing. If you use spam filters to protect your inbox, you may wish to take a moment right now to add PEN@publiceducation.org to your e-mail address book, spam-software whitelist, or mail-system whitelist. Adding the address will help ensure that you receive the NewsBlast and that your e-mail software displays HTML and images properly. |
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