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December 11, 2009 |
Click here to read printable version |
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| Feds strengthen turnaround program under NCLB |
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The Obama administration will spend at least $3.5 billion to push local education officials to close failing schools and reopen them with new staff, the Associated Press reports. Education Secretary Arne Duncan wants the 5,000 worst-performing schools, approximately one percent of all U.S. schools, turned around in five years. "As a country, we need to get into the turnaround business," Duncan said. "Adults need to have the courage to make these tough decisions and do right by our kids." Since the president doesn't have power to close and reopen schools himself -- authority rests with local districts and states -- the administration is using financial incentives. To receive federal turnaround money, a district must: fire a school's principal and at least half its staff and reopen with new personnel; turn a school over to a charter school operator or other management organization; close a school and send students to higher-achieving schools in the district; or replace only the principal and take other steps to change school governance. The administration indicated that a special focus of the refashioned program will be fixing middle schools and high schools, especially "dropout factories" where two in five kids fail to graduate.
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| Less variability makes for success at scale |
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As part of his series on "public education visionaries" on his Public School Insights blog, Claus von Zastrow interviews Dr. Jerry Weast, superintendent of schools in Montgomery County, Md. Weast has "presided over a decade of strong and steady gains" in student achievement, "not by using any of the cure-all strategies that have captivated the national media, says von Zastrow." To Weast's thinking, "There is something structurally wrong with a system where about a third of the children in America never make it out and about half of employees can't survive more than five years." Using AP tests as the correlative to college readiness, Montgomery County reorganized its curriculum back to preschool so that students would be prepared to perform well in AP math and English by the time they reached that level. In so doing, the county had to streamline its processes, and take a hard look at how it was thinking about equity for and differentiation among students. A key insight Weast has had is that to bring about large-scale, systemic change, you need to decrease, rather than increase, variability: "People talk about, 'We have a new and different kind of unique school, and it really does a wonderful job with children.' There is nothing wrong with that. But if you have 100,000 children to address, you cannot just point out your heroes and sheroes. You have got volume that you have to address."
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| If charters are the answer, what was the question? |
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As a contribution to the ongoing (never-ending?) charter debate, The National Journal put the question "Do charter schools deserve the spotlight?" to a range of panelists, most in some way affiliated with the charter movement or vociferously opposed to it. The breakdown of responses (20 at this writing) was somewhat more varied than expected. Among these, David Kirp of U.C. Berkeley feels "charters" can't be spoken of as an undifferentiated whole, and questions our ability to bring their successes to scale. Andrew Rotherham of Education Sector would have charters be part of any conversation about transforming education, but agrees with Kirp that "charter" as a generic term is almost meaningless. Chad Wick of KnowledgeWorks points out that the present ideology of competition has created a space too bitter for the sharing of new ideas, stifling dialogue between charters and regular public schools. Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, urges strong national standards for charter authorizing to eliminate some of the wild variation in charter outcomes. Diane Ravitch of NYU argues that privatization is creating a well-compensated private sector but doing nothing for the majority of kids. For Nelson Smith, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the question is not "do charter schools work?" but "how do the best charter schools work?"
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| For better ed coverage, lose the defensive crouch |
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The biggest barrier to excellent education journalism, writes Linda Perlstein on her Educated Reporter blog, is not jaded reporting or oversimplifications from the mainstream media: It "lies within the schoolhouse doors. And the boardroom doors. And the superintendent's office doors." The world of education is secretive, she says, with educators operating in a culture of fear. Schools bar access to reporters, and paranoia prevents anyone from speaking honestly about what works and what doesn't in education. "If I were a principal and politicians were visiting my school, I would show them the worst things in the building, so they could see our challenges," she states. "I would allow my teachers to speak to the press without prepackaged messages to deliver. I would be starkly frank with my own bosses." Access and honesty would bring greater understanding. As an example, for years The Washington Post, where Perlstein was a reporter, had so little access to D.C. schools that they only covered the district as an inept bureaucracy. The reality was more complex. But now school leaders have told Perlstein that because they can control their message through electronic media, they don't "need" journalists anymore. This has troubling implications for education coverage, she writes.
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| An early look at ARRA implementation |
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A new report from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) examines implementation by state education agencies and governors' offices of ARRA provisions for elementary and secondary education. States seem more confident about fulfilling program assurances to create longitudinal data systems and adopt new academic standards than about improving effectiveness and distribution of teachers and turning around low-performing schools. This is perhaps because the first set of goals can be accomplished by state actions, said Jack Jennings, CEP's president and CEO, whereas the second set are "more explicitly local responsibilities, and their implementation will depend a great deal on local decisions." Thirty-three states are considering adopting common standards for core subjects. Twenty-one states said adoption of internationally benchmarked standards were critical to meeting assurances for rigorous standards. Most states are planning longitudinal data systems for tracking student achievement. Professional development was most frequently mentioned as a strategy for improving teaching, as well as for implementing new standards and turning around low-performing schools. This suggests states are choosing traditional strategies over those that could be more expensive, controversial, or sweeping. Teacher recruitment and placement, and redesigning school schedules and calendars, were also popular strategies to reform low-performing schools.
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| New guide for parental engagement |
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A new publication from the National PTA provides key facts, background, analysis, noteworthy statutes, and policy recommendations for state PTAs and other family and child advocates for crafting successful school-family engagement legislation at the state level. The reference guide has two declared purposes. It provides information on family engagement provisions within state education laws, so that families can better advocate for their children's education on the school and district levels. It also guides policymaker and advocate development of legislative reform initiatives, as well as efforts to monitor implementation of laws already in place. Research shows compelling evidence that children benefit from family engagement in their schools, and that family engagement helps close educational gaps between children from different racial groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. "These are exciting times for the field of family and community engagement, given the renewed emphasis on shared responsibility in uplifting our nation's education system and standing in the global community," write the authors. "The time is now to advocate for bold policy reforms that support the advancement of systemic family engagement initiatives in all of our schools." In their view, implementation of state policies at the local school level is a critical component of achieving greater family engagement in education.
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| Knowing parents, boosting achievement |
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At a time when education reform often emphasizes parental involvement, the community school model, which has gained a foothold in many cities nationally, holds lessons for schools that have struggled to connect with urban parents, writes The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The article profiles the once-failing Robert L. Ford School in Lynn, Ma., where relationships thrived once the school focused on serving parents as well as children. As a community school, Ford opens early and closes late, has partnerships with outside agencies to provide support and enrichment services, and is a community center for the neighborhood. "We started by doing a questionnaire to see what parents wanted," Principal Claire Crane said. "The top three things they wanted were education, day care, and a clean and safe neighborhood. Nobody had ever asked them that before." She acknowledges that transitioning to a community school was challenging, but says the process got easier with time. "After you get one or two grants or partnerships going, others become easier to get," she said. "Start slow, start small, and it will build itself for you." Low-income schools that receive extra money from the federal government may have to reshuffle their priorities, but Crane says it is worth it. Knowing parents, their issues, and how to help them goes a long way toward breaking down barriers to student achievement.
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| Harvard's new education leadership degree |
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For columnist Bob Herbert of The New York Times, "the greatest national security crisis in the United States is the crisis in education." For this reason, he is heartened by a new doctoral degree to be offered by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, tuition-free and conducted in collaboration with faculty members from the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The purpose of the degree will be to "develop dynamic new leaders" in education who will have the "creativity, intellectual rigor, and professionalism" needed to transform public schools in the U.S. The scarcity of this kind of leadership is what has hampered education reform in this country, according to Kathleen McCartney, the graduate school's dean. "If you look at people who are running districts," she said, "some come from traditional schools of education, and they understand the core business of education but perhaps are a little weak on the management side. And then you've got the M.B.A.-types who understand operations, let's say, but not so much teaching and learning." Students will spend the third year of the doctoral leadership program in a "field placement" at some organization or agency -- for instance, a large urban school district or educational advocacy group -- to gain practical experience. Instead of a dissertation, the students will undertake an education reform project.
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| Extended learning time, higher student performance? |
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As more and more schools experiment with an extended learning day, it's become important to build a base of knowledge about how schools are using extra time and what outcomes they're seeing. The National Center on Time & Learning has compiled a nationwide database of schools that have added learning time to their schedules, and its accompanying analysis suggests that extra time might play a role in boosting middle and high school achievement, reports Education Week. The center found a "moderate association" between increased time and how well students did on their states' standardized English and mathematics tests compared with their peers in nearby schools on regular schedules. Another analysis in the study found that schools that added the most time had better student performance in grades 7 and 10 than those that added less time. No similar pattern was found at other grade levels. The authors of the study emphasize that the data are not complete or representative enough to support a definite conclusion, but hope the results will prompt further research about practices and outcomes of extended-time schools. An-Me Chung of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which has supported and studied after-school programs and extended learning time in schools, welcomes the study but said the focus was too narrow. "What is it that is happening during that time that's different? I would like to have seen more about that," Ms. Chung said. "Learning needs to be the focus here, not just time."
Read more | See the report | See the database | Back to top
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| Hot for charters |
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In New York City, hedge fund managers and analysts are at the epicenter of the city's charter school movement, and they bring their zeal for competition and fundraising ability to charters' boards and support organizations, reports The New York Times. "If you're at a hedge fund, this is definitely the hot cause," said Joe Williams, the executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, a nonprofit group that lobbies for charters and is financed by hedge funders. "These are the kind of guys who a decade ago would have been spending their time angling to get on the junior board of the Met, the ballet." That multimillionaires have embraced the charter movement may seem odd, says the Times, since their own children are unlikely ever to see the inside of a neighborhood school, and there are more traditional philanthropic routes to social prominence. But to those who know the sociology of Wall Street, it makes sense. Charter schools appeal to the maverick instincts of many who run hedge funds. The schools are "exactly the kind of investment people in our industry spend our days trying to stumble on," said Ravenel Boykin Curry IV of Eagle Capital Management, "with incredible cash flow, even if in this case we don't ourselves get any of it."
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Latest NAEP results: most cities flat, except D.C.
Still, federal and schools officials said that many districts have shown large gains since 2003, and haven't lost ground despite budget constraints.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126031166515882565.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Well, not exactly 'eliminated'
Aaron Pallas of Gotham schools looks at the data behind the contention on 60 Minutes that Harlem Children's Zone has eliminated the achievement gap.
http://gothamschools.org/2009/12/07/just-how-gullible-is-anderson-cooper/
No bankruptcy for Detroit if teachers kick in
The $10,000 that each member of the Detroit Federation of Teachers is being asked to defer until departure from the school district would save Detroit Public Schools $25.4 million.
http://www.freep.com/article/20091208/NEWS01/912080463/1322/Teacher-loans-can-save-DPS-millions
L.A. teachers can launch 'pilot schools'
LAUSD officials and the teachers union have reached a tentative deal that would help groups of teachers bid for control of 30 campuses under a recently adopted school-reform plan.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/12/deal-would-let-la-teachers-create-pilot-schools.html
Steps to stave off costly remediation in Md.
Maryland students applying to state universities would have to take a fourth math course and take math during their senior year of high school under revised requirements up for consideration by the university system's Board of Regents.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.regents01dec01,0,408359.story |
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| NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION |
United States-Japan Foundation: Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award
The United States-Japan Foundation Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. The award is presented annually to two pre-college teachers in two categories, humanities and Japanese language. Maximum award: $7,500 ($2,500 monetary award, $5,000 in project funds). Eligibility: current full-time K-12 classroom teachers of any relevant subject in the United States who have been teaching for at least five years. Deadline: February 1, 2010.
http://www.us-jf.org/elginHeinz.html
Sprint Foundation: Grants for Character Education
The Sprint Foundation offers grants to school districts and individual schools in support of resources that facilitate and encourage character education among K-12 students through programs that promote and/or address youth leadership, youth volunteerism, a positive school culture, and drop-out prevention. Maximum award: $5,000 for individual schools, $25,000 for school districts. Eligibility: all U.S. public schools (K-12) and U.S. public school districts. Deadline: February 5, 2010.
http://www.sprint.com/responsibility/education/character/index.html?id8=vanity:educationgrants
Intel Foundation: Schools of Distinction
The Intel Foundation Schools of Distinction Program honors U.S. schools that have demonstrated excellence in math and science education. In order to be considered as an Intel School of Distinction, schools must develop an environment and curricula that meet or exceed benchmarks, including national mathematics and science content standards. Maximum award: $25,000. Eligibility: middle and high schools in the U.S. Deadline: February 17, 2010.
http://www.intel.com/education/schoolsofdistinction/application.htm#Categories
For more grants, see http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
"But here's the problem. We're not in the fourth quarter. We're in the first quarter, and most of the game still lies ahead. The Harlem Children's Zone is not a mature intervention. No child has gone through his entire childhood and youth exposed to the intervention, and we don't know what the outcomes will look like until that occurs. I am hard-pressed to conclude, based on the most recent data available, that the results are, in Cooper's terms, 'nothing short of stunning,' or that the gap is gone for good."
-- Aaron Pallas of GothamSchools.org, December 7, 2009, commenting on a recent 60 Minutes segment on HCZ
http://gothamschools.org/2009/12/07/just-how-gullible-is-anderson-cooper/
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