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January 30, 2009 Stimulus package is boon to schools President Barack Obama's stimulus package will be the largest-ever increase in federal money for the nation's schools, an expansion that, once in place, critics fear will be impossible to roll back, according to The Associated Press. Education spending makes up one-sixth of the proposed $819 billion recovery plan, but opponents say the measure is too slow-acting and will hamstring the government with long-term commitments. The legislation will fully fund No Child Left Behind, a long-standing concern for Democrats, who felt it was underfunded during the previous administration. The plan will also allocate $20 billion to build and renovate classrooms and distribute $39 billion to states to ease education cutbacks. The prospect of massive education spending is not popular in some quarters, however. "None of this is going to stimulate anything," said Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Read more: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153ap_stimulus_schools.html See a state-by-state breakdown: http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/79/42/7942.pdf The Obama effect on school testing Researchers have documented a positive "Obama effect" in test-taking among blacks following his successful candidacy, according to The New York Times. Performance gaps between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test given before Mr. Obama's nomination "all but disappeared" when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the November election. Historically, an achievement gap between white and nonwhite students has surfaced on nearly every standardized test, and researchers in the last decade found that when testing university students with identical SAT scores, blacks performed significantly worse if asked at the start to fill out a form identifying themselves by race. The researchers concluded that anxiety caused black test-takers to tighten up in exams when they risked confirming a racial stereotype. Ronald F. Ferguson, a Harvard professor who studies the factors surrounding the persistent gap, called the study's results "provocative," despite its small sample: "There is a certainly a theoretical foundation and some empirical support for the proposition that Obama's election could increase the sense of competence among African-Americans, and it could reduce the anxiety associated with taking difficult test questions." Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/education/23gap.html?_r=1&ref=education No surprise: kids need to play, blow off steam As the pressures of NCLB accountability have caused schools to cut free time and recess -- depriving children of exercise and socialization -- unruly classrooms are the result, Reuters reports. A new study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine compared the behavior of 10,000 children aged eight and nine, finding that children who had at least a 15-minute break during the school day had superior classroom behavior. The report, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, states that "recess may play an important role in the learning, social development, and health of children in elementary school." The research team added that lack of free time had implications for the obesity epidemic, and raised concerns "in light of evidence that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds are not free to roam their neighborhoods or even their own yards unless they are accompanied by adults," the team said. "For many of these children, recess periods may be the only opportunity for them to practice their social skills with other children." Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE50P0PK20090126 Related article: http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-liphys256012039jan25,0,2764179.story See the report: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/short/123/2/431 Moment of silence unconstitutional in Illinois public schools A federal judge has ruled unconstitutional the Illinois Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act, which requires a moment of silence in public schools across the state, writes The Associated Press. U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman found the law to be "a subtle effort to force students at impressionable ages to contemplate religion," violating the separation of church and state. The lawsuit, brought by Illinois talk show host and atheist Rob Sherman and his daughter, sought to prevent enforcement of the statute. Under the law passed by the Illinois General Assembly, teachers were obligated to instruct their pupils "about prayer and its meaning, as well as the limitations on their 'reflection'." Proponents of the law contend that it allowed reflection on the day's activities rather than prayer if a student so chose, and didn't force religion on anyone. The ruling contradicts a federal ruling last year on a challenge to a similar law in Texas, where the challenge was thrown out of court. Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1392033%2Cw-illinois-moment-silence-law-ruling-012209.article Harlem Children's Zone hit hard The highly regarded "Harlem Children's Zone," which serves 8,000 children across 97 blocks of Central Harlem in New York City, is yet another institution suffering from the downturn on Wall Street, according to a profile in The Wall Street Journal. The extensive services provided by the program, which follow children from birth to college, require an annual budget of $68 million, up from $12 million when it started in 1997. The program, predicated on the idea that $3,500 spent annually to keep a poor child out of jail saves $50,000 that would be spent to keep the same kid behind bars, was popular with Wall Street titans both for the simplicity of this pitch and for the consistency and quality of its good results. Now, with 20 to 30 percent of its revenue from Wall Street (including some that had been invested with disgraced financier Bernard Madoff), founder and director Geoffrey Canada is facing a revenue reduction of at least seven percent for this year, and next year is uncertain. As a result, he and his board have cut 140 positions from the program and have scrapped expansion plans. Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123275804805311965.html Inaugurating an expanded federal role in education In a new, ongoing commentary that he labels "somewhere between a blog and a column," Gov. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Education, writes that as we enter into a major new phase in the federal role in education, government funds and involvement must proceed strategically. "What that expanded role will look like is still uncertain; that the federal government will see education as even more of a responsibility is inevitable," he writes. "Important forces have converged. The equity imperative that all children have a quality education joins with the national economic imperative that demands a quality workforce." He notes expectantly that President Obama has frequently stressed the connection between education and the economy. While Wise concedes there are grounds for pessimism, and that other priorities -- two wars, healthcare, financial and energy crises -- may supersede education concerns, he feels that the very direness of the situation is a basis for optimism, since the greatest change is often the result of the darkest circumstances. "When the 'car is deep in the ditch'," Wise writes, "Everyone needs to jump in to push it out. No one has the luxury of holding back because of preexisting beliefs." Read more: http://www.all4ed.org/publication_material/ThoughtsEd_Ditch 'College-ready' may be the new standard in Arizona Given the number of Arizona high school graduates that need remediation when they get to college, Arizona legislators are proposing a pilot program that would count the number of students who are "college-ready" rather than track standardized assessment scores as a way to judge school performance, The Arizona Republic reports. The move comes after the Arizona Community Foundation released its College Readiness Study, finding that in a single county, nearly a quarter of graduated students were unprepared for college-level English courses without extra help, and only half were ready for college algebra. The study tracked graduates who entered one of Arizona's three state universities or a county community college, approximately 17,400 students. The legislation for the pilot would include Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) scores and graduation rates as part of a new formula to evaluate school instruction, but college readiness data would play a key role. Under the current system, the AIMS tests are based on 10th-grade skills, which critics say are insufficiently challenging. Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/01/20/20090120ready0119.html Scientists say new Texas policies undermine evolution instruction New changes to the state science curriculum proposed by the Texas Board of Education will continue to undermine evolutionary theory, and come on the heels of a significant deletion of a different pro-creationist standard, The Houston Chronicle reports. The original, deleted provisions had required educators to teach "the strengths and weaknesses" of evolutionary theory, and had been in place for 20 years; its removal was applauded by scientists. The day following its removal, however, the board proposed that students must evaluate a variety of fossil types and assess the arguments against universal common descent -- the theory that all organisms have a common ancestor -- which is a central theory of evolution. "It's really unscientific," said Steve Schafersman, president of Texas Citizens for Science. "It promotes creationism. It says that students will be required to learn arguments against common descent or ancestral connections. The only alternative to common descent is creationism, in their minds." Scientists have said they will fight the plan before the board takes final action in March, when standards will influence new science textbooks for the state's 4.7 million public school children beginning in the 2010-11 school year. One board member who pushed for the change said that fossil records create scientific evidence against universal common descent, and students should be allowed to study this possibility. Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6227807.html New tactics to tackle bystander's role in bullying A new study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry indicates that an easily implemented school-wide intervention can have a significant impact on the incidence of bullying, Science Daily reports. The intervention, which focuses on empathy and power dynamics, can reduce children's experiences of aggression in school and improve classroom behavior. Rather than simply targeting aggressive children, the Creating a Peaceful School Learning Environment (CAPSLE) program works to develop mentalizing skills -- the capacity to interpret one's own and others' behavior in terms of mental states (beliefs, wishes, feelings) -- in students and staff across the wider school community. It begins with bystanders perceiving and accepting their own (unthinking) role in maintaining the bully-victim relationship through abdicating responsibility and making an implicit decision not to think about what the bully/victim is experiencing. The program was found to generate more positive bystanding behaviors, greater empathy for victims, and less favorable attitudes towards aggression in CAPSLE schools. In these schools, fewer children were nominated by their peers as aggressive, victimized, or engaging in aggressive bystanding compared with the control schools. Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090125193150.htm Read the abstract: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121661170/abstract National education "action tank" mobilizes push for education reform The Forum for Education and Democracy has launched a national web-based campaign that challenges all Americans to transform the optimism of the past election into the promise of collective future action to improve public education. A short web film, an homage to the "Yes We Can" campaign video, sets in motion a national petition drive in which all signers commit to work with President Obama to honor four promises that must be fulfilled if we are serious about supporting young people and public schools: 1) Every child deserves a 21st Century education; 2) Every community deserves an equal chance; 3) Every child deserves a well-supported teacher; and 4) Every child deserves high-quality health care. Learn more at http://www.willwereally.com BRIEFLY NOTED Lawmakers debate teaching sex ed in Bible Belt Due to a teen pregnancy rate 60 percent higher than the national average, Mississippi legislators are considering allowing more comprehensive sex education in classrooms. http://www.sunherald.com/306/story/1091576.html Dallas district to have mega-database for student information The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give $3.8 million to help fund a mega-database to provide Dallas educators with instant access to student information from preschool to graduation. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/012209dnmetgates.3cb8503.html Some NYC immigrant teens new to any kind of formal schooling New York City public schools struggle to teach immigrant teenagers, many of whom are illiterate in their own language and have never attended school before. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/education/25ellis.html?_r=1&hp Study finds students dropping out of remediation, and therefore college A new analysis of remedial education at community colleges has found that institutions are losing students before they even start. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/01/19/remedial See the report: http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?uid=659 Washington State will revamp assessments The newly elected Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn plans to replace the Washington Assessment of Student Learning with two better, shorter, less-expensive exams. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2008656964_wasl22m.html North Carolina to aim high for graduation numbers Legislators in North Carolina are considering a goal of 90 percent graduation rate for state high schools by 2015. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1377346.html Pennsylvania governor hopes to reduce remediation needs Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania plans to create 10 new exams called "graduation competency assessments" in various subjects, of which high school seniors would have to pass six in order to graduate. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09026/944505-298.stm Minnesota will more strictly regulate charters Minnesota, which pioneered the charter school concept, plans to subject its charters to tighter regulation and greater scrutiny. http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/38197249.html NEW GRANT & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Open Meadows: Grants for Women and Girls Open Meadows Foundation is a grant-making organization for projects that are led by and benefit women and girls. It funds projects that reflect the diversity of the community served by the project in both its leadership and organization; promote building community power; promote racial, social, economic, and environmental justice; and have limited financial access or have encountered obstacles in their search for funding. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations with an organizational budget no larger than $150,000. Projects must be designed and implemented by women and girls. Deadline: February 15, 2009. http://www.openmeadows.org/ RWJF: Communities Creating Healthy Environments Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Communities Creating Healthy Environments program aims to prevent childhood obesity by increasing access to healthy foods and safe places to play in communities of color. The program will advance RWJF's efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015 by supporting diverse, community-based organizations and federally chartered tribal nations in the development and implementation of effective, culturally competent policy initiatives to address childhood obesity at the local level. Maximum award: $250,000. Eligibility: individuals and organizations with a track record of at least two years of successful community organizing and policy advocacy to address health-related problems in communities of color; leadership and membership of any applicant organization should reflect the communities they seek to serve, and youth-led organizing groups and community-based groups with youth-organizing components are encouraged to apply. For further eligibility guidelines, see website. Deadline: February 26, 2009. http://rwjf.org/files/applications/cfp/cfp_CCHE2009.pdf U.S. Government: Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program The federal Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program supports the implementation and enhancement of comprehensive, community-wide plans that focus on multiple elements, including safe school environments, mental health treatment services, and early childhood learning programs. Successful applicants propose plans that address these issues with a well-coordinated strategy that links services in a systematic and effective manner. Maximum award: $2 million. Eligibility: school districts. Deadline: March 4, 2009. http://www.ed.gov/programs/dvpsafeschools/ Questbridge: College Prep Program for High School Juniors Questbridge, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving high-achieving low-income students resources during the college application process, is accepting applications for its College Prep Program for High School Juniors. Maximum award: full scholarship to summer program, college admissions counseling, and attendance at college preparatory conferences. Eligibility: qualified low-income high school juniors. Deadline: March 31, 2009. http://www.questbridge.org/access/collegepreptext/ Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are among the nation's highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science and recognize highly qualified teachers for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: teachers 7-12 with five years experience teaching math or science. Deadline: May 1, 2009. http://www.paemst.org/ QUOTE OF THE WEEK "An understanding heart is everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child." -Carl Jung, Swiss psychologist (1875-1961) 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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