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August 6, 2010 |
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| There go the wheels |
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In a post on The Answer Sheet blog in The Washington Post, education historian Diane Ravitch writes pointedly that the arguments for mayoral control of schools essentially "went up in smoke" with the release of New York City's 2010 state test scores last week. With different standards for proficiency, the pass rate on the reading test fell from 69 percent to only 42 percent, and on the math test, it dropped from 82 to 54 percent. The gap among students of different racial and ethnic groups grew larger, about what it was when Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office in 2002. The larger story of these scores, in Ravitch's view, is that mayoral control is not a panacea for the ailments of urban districts. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been touting the New York City model over the past 18 months, and Ravitch observes that "he will have to find a new example when he lectures urban audiences, because the New York model just lost its wheels." What is this model? Ravitch characterizes it as "all decision-making power vested in the office of the mayor, who chooses the school leadership; testing and accountability; report cards for schools with a single letter grade; bonuses for principals whose schools have rising scores; closing schools whose scores do not rise; opening charter schools and small schools; and devolving authority to principals to make decisions about spending and instructional programs."
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| Just when they need it most |
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States are cutting hundreds of millions from their prekindergarten budgets, the Associated Press reports. States will slash nearly $350 million from their pre-K programs by next year, with more cuts likely once federal stimulus money ends, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. The reductions mean fewer slots, teacher layoffs, and fewer services for needy families who can't afford private preschool programs. Arizona has proposed eliminating its 5,500-child program entirely. Illinois cut $32 million from last fiscal year's pre-k budget, and will eliminate another $48 million this year. "The overall impact is less access to a quality education in the early years, at a time when parents have reduced capability to purchase that on their own," said Steve Barnett, co-director of the Rutgers Institute. "Families are getting hit from both sides." Barnett said four states made cuts last year, but the number jumped to 14 this year, and will likely add another 14 next year. The cuts come when the demand for quality prekindergarten is at an all-time high, and states struggle to improve test scores in early grades and help students earn a high school diploma. As of last year, 38 states had pre-k programs serving more than 1.2 million 3- and 4-year-olds.
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| The perils of pensions |
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The Great Recession has left nearly every state pension plan in a precarious position, according to a new report from Education Sector. A recent analysis found 47 states owe more in pension obligations for current and future teacher retirees than they have on hand, and collectively, the gap between what states have and what they'll need totals almost $500 billion. States have recently moved to raise retirement ages, lower benefit payments, and reduce cost-of-living adjustments. Yet in the view of the authors, the problems are not merely financial. Key structural elements in teacher retirement plans impair the ability of schools to recruit, hire, retain, and compensate high-quality teachers and principals. The current set-up works well for those who qualify for it, but shortchanges teachers who leave the profession or switch between state and municipal systems. Certain aspects compel teachers to stay on the job -- regardless of burnout or desire to pursue a new career -- until they reach certain milestones, after which they retire immediately. Reforming these systems is complicated and difficult, but the authors issue recommendations for modernizing the system, which include both the technical aspects of pension plans as well as strategies for overcoming political obstacles or legal limitations.
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| Would you want this job? |
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For years, teachers were paid in good will rather than money or status, writes Claus von Zastrow on the Learning First Alliance's Public School Insights blog, but the new rhetoric of education reform suggests you won't get even that. It would have you believe you need a missionary zeal and a belief in your own expendability after five or 10 years -- not a great advertisement for long-term career viability. Von Zastrow fears that "the growing tendency to describe older teachers as expensive deadwood may prompt young people to see teaching as a brief pit stop on the way to a 'real' career." This is likely compounded by the high profile of Teach for America (TFA) in the media, which perhaps is making teaching cool again, but also disparages other, non-TFA teachers by comparison. Pundits should consider the long-term effects on the teaching profession when painting scenarios in terms of mission: impossible. "I'm at least as concerned by what's missing from the common rhetoric of school reform," writes von Zastrow. "Why can't pundits say more about the support teachers need to succeed, the climate they need to thrive, the career opportunities they need to grow, and the respect they need to maintain their sanity?"
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| Off message? |
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In an opinion piece in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Williams writes that the involvement of the NAACP in recent controversies surrounding Shirley Sherrod and the Tea Party indicates a shift away from the organization's core values. "Today," says the senator, "the long-revered civil rights group seems more concerned about public relations, political positioning, and currying interest-group favor than providing a voice to the voiceless." This shift is no more evident than in the area of education, in his view. Williams cites the NAACP's participation in a lawsuit to fight the closure of 19 public schools deemed failing in New York City. He also cites Florida, where the NAACP worked with teacher unions to end the country's first statewide school-voucher program. He also faults the NAACP for lobbying the U.S. Senate to close Washington, D.C.'s voucher program. In Williams' opinion, letting children of color stay in low-quality schools is in direct opposition to the organization's stated mission of ensuring political, educational, and socioeconomic equity for all people. Lack of money is not the core issue: "The problem is a system that chooses to keep low-income children segregated in failing schools in order to protect the jobs of the adults who operate those failing schools. The NAACP sacrifices the futures of tens of thousands of children by suing to keep failing schools open."
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| Documenting what works |
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A new report from the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University looks at 15 outstanding public high schools from Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Texas, and Washington, D.C. These high schools were featured at the fifth annual conference of the AGI in June 2009, where teams from each school made presentations and then faced questioning from experts about the methods by which they had achieved progress, such as high value-added test score gains on statewide assessment tests and narrowing test-score achievement gaps. The main lesson from the presentations was that student achievement rose when leadership teams focused on improving instruction. Leaders took public responsibility for raising achievement, and stakeholders drafted mission statements to help schools stay on track. Schools carefully organized learning experiences for teachers, and clearly defined criteria for high-quality teaching and student work in ways that engaged entire faculties. As leaders implemented plans, schools monitored student and teacher work to continuously refine approaches. Leadership teams demonstrated commitment through hard work and long hours, studying research-based literature to expand knowledge and competence, and found ways to remain respectful of peers, even when asking them to improve their performance. In these ways, leadership teams earned the respect of their colleagues and gained authority to push people outside their comfort zones.
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| And what probably doesn't |
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A new analysis from Communities for Excellent Public Schools is highly critical of the Obama administration's School Improvement Grants (SIG), which it feels revisits "old territory" by "adding teeth to the largely unsuccessful turnaround strategies of No Child Left Behind." The authors feel that the outlines in the administration's "Blueprint for Reform" continue a practice of rigid, top-down solutions that are not supported by research and that exclude meaningful input by parents, students, and local communities. The report lists all "Tier I" and "Tier II" schools eligible for federal intervention under the SIG program, an analysis of which demonstrates that communities of color are disproportionately affected by turnarounds. Of the 2,136 listed schools, attended by nearly 1.5 million students, 81 percent of students are non-white, and 85 percent of the most urgently targeted schools (Tier I) have high concentrations of poverty. Black students are 72 times more likely to be in a SIG-eligible school than white students, and Hispanic students are 42 times more likely to be in a SIG-eligible school. The report proposes a new approach to school intervention called "sustainable school transformation," which emphasizes a comprehensive, inclusive process in partnership with parents and communities, research-based strategies, and a broader look at both schools' and students' unique and individual needs.
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| Ten steps to regain our footing |
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As America's aging and highly-educated workforce moves into retirement, the nation must rely on young Americans. A report from the College Board finds that among developed countries, the U.S. ranks 12th in college completion for citizens aged 25 to 34, where once we ranked first. For this key demographic, Canada, Korea, the Russian Federation, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland, Norway, Israel, France, Belgium, and Australia surpass us. To achieve the goal of 55 percent college attainment by 2025, growth in degree attainment must increase significantly over the next 15 years. Toward achieving this, the commission recommends a 10-part action agenda. First, provide a program of preschool education universally available to children from low-income families. Second, improve middle and high school counseling. Third, identify students at risk of dropping out early and provide a safety net. Fourth, align K-12 with international standards and college admission expectations. Fifth, improve teacher quality, focusing on recruitment and retention. Sixth, clarify and simplify the college admission process to encourage first-generation students. Seventh, provide more need-based grant aid while simplifying financial aid processes. Eighth, keep college affordable by controlling costs and insisting that state governments meet funding obligations. Ninth, increase college completion rates by reducing dropouts, easing transfer processes, and using data-based approaches to improve completion rates at both two- and four-year institutions. And finally, provide postsecondary opportunities as an essential element of adult education programs, supplementing basic skills training with a new "honors GED" and with better coordination of adult education, veterans' benefits, outreach programs, and student aid.
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Venture Philanthropy is Powerful
A $5.5 million grant by Venture Philanthropy Partners will dramatically expand the number of Knowledge Is Power Program charter schools in Washington, D.C., with a goal of more than doubling the number of city students enrolled by 2015.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/01/AR2010080103406.html
Spreading the knowledge
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has developed the country's first high school stem cell curriculum, which will be pitched to science teachers nationally this fall, and is already being taught at a handful of Bay Area high schools.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/30/MN7E1EMKFL.DTL#ixzz0vjNchcyj
Minnesota: thanks, but no thanks
While more than three dozen states will adopt voluntary national standards for K-12 education, Minnesota's educators and lawmakers say the national standards are lacking and the time frame for switching to national standards is too short.
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_15655121?nclick_check=1
48-year old desegregation case closes in Florida
A U.S. District judge has ruled that the Orange County school district no longer requires federal intervention.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-desegreation-orange-schools-08-02-20100802,0,6998351.story |
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| NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION |
TASH: Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Awards
The TASH Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Awards honor important contributions of individuals and school districts in advancing inclusive education and equitable opportunities for students grades K-12, particularly those with the most significant disabilities and support needs. Awardees will be selected from these categories: Inclusive Education Administrator of the Year; Inclusive Education Teacher of the Year; Inclusive Education Advocate of the Year; Most Promising Inclusive School; Most Promising Inclusive School District. Maximum award: All awardees will be recognized at the TASH 2010 Conference in Denver, Co., December 8-10, 2010, in the conference program, on the TASH website and at the general session. Attendees will receive a commemorative plaque, and TASH will promote awardees' accomplishments to the trade media and local press. Eligibility: school districts and education professionals that work inclusively with students K-12 with disabilities. Deadline: October 1, 2010.
http://www.tash.org/awards_breakthroughs.html
U.S. Soccer Federation: Field Grants
U.S. Soccer Federation Field Grants support projects throughout the U.S. that focus on keeping children in vulnerable communities active, healthy, and safe from the dangers of the streets. The foundation awards grants to help pay for field development, uniforms, player equipment, travel costs, facility rental, registration costs, and training for players, coaches and referees. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: not-for-profit organizations, schools, municipalities, colleges or universities, public schools, or sovereign tribal nations that meet the established focus for the 2011 grant cycle, which is the development of players, coaches, and referees in economically disadvantaged urban areas encompassing populations of 50,000 or more. Deadline: October 29, 2010.
http://www.ussoccerfoundation.org/site/c.ipIQKXOvFoG/b.5482625/k.CF87/Annual_Program__Field_Grants.htm
For more grants, see http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
"If we work together and each do our part, I'm confident that we can give our children the opportunities they need to succeed -- and the energy, strength and endurance to seize those opportunities."
-- First Lady Michelle Obama, in an op-ed in The Washington Post in support of the Child Nutrition Bill.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/01/AR2010080103291.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
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