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December 12, 2008 Spread holiday cheer: share a gift that supports public education Is your holiday shopping list stressing you out? Do you know someone who went to public school? Who cares about public education? Who wants to ensure that all kids go to great public schools? Does your aunt really need another DVD? Give her a gift that aligns with her passion for public education! Sometimes the most thoughtful gift you can give to someone you care about is a donation to a great cause in their honor. Gifts to PEN fill a direct and tangible need: keeping the NewsBlast free for all who want it, improving college access, supporting teacher professional development, and mobilizing the public to demand accountability from education leaders. Each gift of $25 or more will be personally acknowledged informing the person you designate that a gift was given in their honor to support the work of Public Education Network. Give a gift today: http://transaction.publiceducation.org/donate/index.cfm Education prospects for the world's poor need urgent attention, UNESCO warns UNESCO has released its annual Education for All Monitoring report, entitled "Overcoming inequality: why governance matters." In it, UNESCO warns that "unacceptable" national and global education disparities are undermining efforts to achieve international development goals. The current global financial crisis only compounds problems due to the failure of aid donors to act on commitments, weak domestic policies, and political indifference. The report cites grim statistics, such as that one in three children in developing countries (193 million in total) reaches primary school age having had their brain development and education prospects impaired by malnutrition, and that 75 million children of primary school age are not in school, including just under one-third of the relevant age group in sub-Saharan Africa. Gender enrollment gaps remain large across Asia and Africa. "When financial systems fail, the consequences are highly visible and governments act," commented UNESCO's Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, adding: "When education systems fail the consequences are less visible, but no less real. Unequal opportunities for education fuel poverty, hunger, and child mortality, and reduce prospects for economic growth. That is why governments must act with a greater sense of urgency." Read more: http://www.unesco.org/en/education/efareport Poverty dramatically affects children's brains, as in stroke, study finds Certain brain functions in some low-income nine- and ten-year-olds show patterns equivalent to the damage from a stroke, according to a new study to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, USA TODAY reports. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that poverty afflicts children's brains through malnutrition, stress, illiteracy, and toxic environments. Research shows that the neural systems of poor children develop differently from those of middle-class children, affecting language development and "executive function," or the ability to plan, remember details, and pay attention in school. For the new study, researchers used an electroencephalograph to measure brain function of 26 children while they watched images flashing on a computer. The children pressed a button when a tilted triangle appeared. "It is a similar pattern to what's seen in patients with strokes that have led to lesions in their prefrontal cortex," which controls higher-order thinking and problem solving, says lead researcher Mark Kishiyama, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley. "It suggests that in these kids, prefrontal function is reduced or disrupted in some way." Research also suggests that these effects are reversible through intensive intervention such as focused lessons and games that encourage children to think out loud or use executive function. Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-07-childrens-brains_N.htm Report surveys annual status of charter schools nationwide A new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, the fourth annual analysis from the National Charter School Research Project, looks at what's going on in charter schools, how well they're doing, where they need to improve, and what can be learned from the research on these types of public schools. Findings in "Hopes, Fears, & Reality" include observations that, not surprisingly, national charter school achievement is highly varied, and that charter schools distinguish themselves from traditional public schools in their educational strategies and offerings. The report also finds that college-prep charters are an important new development for inner-city students, charter schools deliver new models for special education, and concludes that a more sophisticated understanding of its diverse constituent demand is needed to effectively grow the charter sector. Read more: http://www.crpe.org/cs/crpe/view/csr_pubs/255 Getting strategic with business-high school partnerships U.S.News & World Report has printed the transcript from a panel on the role of businesses in high school at its first education summit, which was sponsored by Intel and held in October. Topics under discussion ranged from American training in science and math to corporation-designed curricula. Said Susan Zelman, senior vice president of education and children's content at PBS: "The reality is that in this new economy, it's not only a knowledge-based economy, but it's going to be a creative, innovative economy. And so, academics alone won't do it. Our students really need the partnerships with the business community to learn how they apply their knowledge to the real world." Also participating in the discussion were Anne Bryant, president of the National School Boards Association; Geno Flores, chief academic officer of the Prince George's County (Md.) school system; and Will Swope, corporate vice president and general manager of Intel's corporate affairs division. According to Will Swope," We're not educators. The government is the educator. The teacher is the educator. We're not trying to take that over at all. We're trying to help; we're trying to assist." Read more: http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2008/12/04/the-role-of-businesses-in-high-school.html A stewardship of practice in education An article by Jill A. Perry and David Imig in Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning profiles the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), a program devised to remedy the common complaint that Ed.D. degrees fail to provide leaders in K-12 and higher education with practical knowledge and the capacity for expert leadership. The project aims to develop professional practitioners who are committed to the highest standards and prepared to take on the challenges of teaching in and leading schools, serving as administrators and clinical faculty in colleges and universities, and leading organizations that serve education. In order to achieve this, the project seeks to define what the article calls "stewards of practice" should know, value, and be able to do, as well as design the course of study and experiences that can develop this type of practitioner. Read more: http://www.changemag.org/November-December%202008/full-stewardship-practice.html Many Northwest region improvement plans lack crucial parental component A new report by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory finds that 54 percent of school improvement plans in the Northwest region (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Washington) lack parent involvement components mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. NCLB requires that Title I schools labeled in need of improvement submit a school improvement plan to their state education agency that contains specific strategies for increasing parent involvement as a means to increasing student proficiency and bringing schools out of improvement status. "Parent Involvement Activities in School Improvement Plans in the Northwest Region" found that more than half of the 308 plans examined did not include provisions to involve parents in developing and approving school improvement plans or include what the report deemed "effective" parent involvement activities, nor did the schools notify parents of their improvement status. The report also found that while 75 percent of the schools in improvement serve English language learner students, only 33 percent of the school improvement plans included activities for communicating with parents in a language they could understand. Read more: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=170&productID=122 Will "cash for grades" fix dismal college dropout rates? The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $13 million to study whether paying low-income college students between $1,000 to $4,000 to maintain a half-time schedule and a C average is effective, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Gates-funded study will be conducted by MDRC, a social policy and education research institution, with the aim of reversing the dismal dropout rates for low-income college students, particularly those in community college. "The reasons people drop out are complex, and there's no one thing responsible, but financial reasons are a big factor," said Thomas Brock, head of the MDRC unit running the study. "The idea is to create an incentive so if you stay in college and demonstrate you're a serious student, you'll be rewarded." Right now, he said, about half of those students break off their education before completing a certificate or degree program. Most receive no help with room and board costs while they are studying. Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gates9-2008dec09,0,5609527.story Related story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/education/09gates.html Michigan to intervene in Detroit Public Schools again Just three years after returning control of its schools to Detroit, the state of Michigan has announced that it will once again step in and assert control, this time to manage the district's finances, according to The Detroit News. The Michigan Department of Education will install an emergency financial manager with the power to negotiate contracts, hire and fire staff and close schools. The "financial emergency" was announced by Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan a week after he warned that the district had one final chance to get its finances in order and meet the terms of an agreement crafted by a state review team. The district submitted documents past their due dates and did not file a deficit elimination plan as mandated by the state, prompting state action. The decision follows months of controversy over the district's finances, with administrators first declaring a fund surplus, then announcing a $408 million deficit, forcing the board to approve hundreds of layoffs and other cuts. Vendors stated they weren't being paid, and the state to advance funds so the school system could meet its payroll. The emergency manager appointment would last a year, but could be renewed. Read more: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081208/METRO/812080412 Arizona districts create exclusive tier of private-style public schools As a means of turning around stagnant or declining enrollment, Arizona's public school districts are creating a new system of schools that operate more like private academies, The Arizona Republic reports. Students must apply, get teacher recommendations, take placement exams, and in some cases, interview for a spot. In Arizona, students can attend any district or charter school with available space, and parents have shown willingness to drive to other districts to find smaller class size, better school climate, or a specialization that matches their child's interest -- spurring competition among districts, who stand to lose an average of $6,232 per student annually when a student opts for schooling elsewhere. These charter schools are smaller, with greater flexibility in salaries and staffing, which, along with an admissions policy, makes them more academically competitive. The problem, according to critics, is that they exacerbate an existing divide between poor and affluent in the state. Bright but poorer kids often can't pass the entrance requirements because neighborhood have left them poorly prepared, and most charters don't provide busing, making it logistically or financially impossible for some kids to attend. "[The schools] become private schools paid for by the public for an elite group," said Gary Orfield, a professor at UCLA. "It's fragmenting the school system." Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/12/06/20081206publicprivate1206.html Merit pay program in Texas successful, within limitations According to a two-year evaluation of the Texas Educator Excellence Grant program, 90 percent of the eligible schools have participated in the voluntary merit pay initiative, writes The Dallas Morning News. To be eligible, schools must have a high percentage of low-income students, and must earn a recognized or exemplary state rating, or have passing rates on the state math and reading tests that rank in the top quarter of Texas schools. It's unclear if the program has yielded higher student achievement, but turnover was lower among teachers who received bonus pay than those who did not. The main problem with the program to date has been that too few schools were eligible to participate after an initial year because they failed to meet the academic requirements. Teachers who participated in programs that lasted both years were more likely to favor the program, and in keeping with national trends, younger and less experienced teachers more often supported merit pay. Higher incentive pay amounts also led to greater teacher satisfaction with the program. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-incentives_05tex.ART.State.Edition1.4a83c96.html BRIEFLY NOTED 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. Public Education Network |
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