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July 30, 2010 |
Click here to read printable version |
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| Left behind, yet again |
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Eight civil rights organizations including the NAACP have released a letter stating that the U.S. Department of Education is promoting ineffective approaches for failing schools, the Associated Press reports. In the view of the signatories, the $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition leaves out many minority students. Citing federal data, the groups find just three percent of the nation's black students and less than one percent of Latino students are impacted by round one of the Race to the Top, which awarded $500 million and $100 million to Tennessee and Delaware respectively for undertaking reforms. The letter also proposes standards for equal access to early childhood education, effective teachers, a college preparatory curriculum, and quality resources, and takes a critical view of the administration's approach to turning around failing schools. One notable absence in the roster of groups signing on is any Hispanic organization. Raul Gonzalez from the National Council of La Raza said his group decided not to endorse the letter over concerns about how the signatories see charter schools. According to Gonzalez, the signatories want charters to focus more on attracting diversity than on needs of children in their community.
Read more | See the letter | Back to top
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| Round two |
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The Obama administration has named 18 states and the District of Columbia as finalists in the federal Race to the Top competition, The Wall Street Journal reports. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia applied for a piece of the $3.4 billion still available. The finalists are: Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. Since its rollout last year, the competition has won praise from some reformers and enjoyed bipartisan support, but in the last few weeks has fallen under greater scrutiny. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to cut $800 million from the program earlier this month (the Senate rejected those cuts), and a group of civil-rights leaders met this week with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to express displeasure over aspects of the initiative, which they say leaves low-income and minority schools wanting for resources. Some observers are disappointed with the large number of finalists, arguing that various states did not adopt dramatic enough changes. Kentucky, for example, doesn't allow charter schools, a centerpiece of the administration's education agenda. "If you give money to states that have not really embraced reform, then you can kiss reform goodbye," said Mike Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
Read more | Related | Back to top
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| Mr. Smith goes to Oakland |
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In his five-year plan to turn around the lowest-performing schools in the Oakland Unified School District, Superintendent Tony Smith thinks his students need social and health services, engaged parents, and activities outside the classroom more than improved teachers, textbooks, and test scores, The New York Times reports. Mr. Smith has a promising track record: As superintendent in Emeryville, Calif., he recruited social workers from Cal State and nurses from Berkeley to work in the system, and instituted internships and enrichment programs for students. He enlisted the entire community, including businesses, to improve the schools, according to The Times, leading to opportunities not only for students but for parents. When Smith left in 2007, Emeryville had the highest test score gains of any district in Alameda County. In June, Mr. Smith packaged similar ideas for Oakland into a five-year strategic plan, which the school board unanimously approved. However, there are those who question whether Mr. Smith's agenda is realistic. "It's awfully hard to establish that kind of support and sustain it over time, when we're simply unable to even fill the classrooms with teachers," said David Plank of Policy Analysis for California Education. "The fact that it doesn't happen very often isn't because people haven't realized it. It's because it's awfully hard to pull off."
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| Rhee's IMPACT |
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D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has fired 241 teachers, including 165 who received poor appraisals under the new IMPACT evaluation system, which holds some educators accountable for students' standardized test scores, The Washington Post reports. Dismissals for performance are rare in D.C. schools -- and in school systems nationwide -- and the firings "mark the beginning of Rhee's bid to make student achievement a high-stakes proposition for teachers, establishing job loss as a possible consequence of poor classroom results." Although the teachers dismissed for poor performance represent about four percent of the city's 4,000-member corps, Rhee also announced Friday that 737 other instructors were rated "minimally effective." Under IMPACT, they have one year to improve their performance or face dismissal. Rhee declined to speculate how many might be let go next year, but said that over the next two years, "a not-insignificant number of folks will be moved out of the system for poor performance." The Washington Teachers' Union will contest the terminations. WTU President George Parker said the union will pursue the appeals processes legally available: directly petitioning Rhee, and participating in a hearing before an independent arbitrator. The union will also probably collectively file an unfair labor practice complaint with the District.
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| A skilled steward makes his exit |
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Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has confirmed that he plans to retire next spring. In an editorial, The Los Angeles Times writes that Cortines saw the district through terrible budget cuts, partially successful transformations of the worst-performing schools, and a wave of new reform demands from the federal government. In neither of two stints with the LAUSD did he distinguish himself through sweeping reforms, says The Times, but after the inadequate leadership of his predecessors and as schools fell on hard financial times, Cortines possessed "exactly the right skills to take the reins." He is an "able budget trimmer," and made cuts necessitated by the state's budget crisis as judiciously as possible. Part of this entailed dismantling the huge central bureaucracy that had built up in the years before his tenure. Cortines also worked with unions to develop agreements for furlough time and a shorter academic year, which reduced spending while limiting layoffs. He was "refreshingly blunt" about the district's shortcomings, and supported reconstituting troubled schools as charters in various instances.
Read more | Related | Back to top
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| The legacy of Vallas in New Orleans |
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Superintendent Paul Vallas, who has overseen the Recovery School District in New Orleans for the past three years, is moving on, PBS's NewsHour reports. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the state seized control of most city schools, and State Superintendent Paul Pastorek appointed Vallas. Every year Vallas has been in New Orleans, test scores have improved, and though the city scores far below students statewide, its gains are among the highest in Louisiana. Vallas credits a host of innovations, including new school buildings, curriculum and technology, an extended school day and year, and "hundreds of young, idealistic teachers recruited from the nation's top colleges." But the largest and most controversial of Vallas' impacts on the system has been his embrace of charter schools. Before Katrina, just two percent of New Orleans schools were charters; by next year, they will amount to two-thirds of all schools. No other system in the country has tried charter schools on this scale, and this has affected teacher union membership in the city. "What I have tried to do is create a dynamic where you really don't need a collective bargaining agreement," says Vallas. "We have really worked to develop a set of rules that take the wind out of the sail of those out there who say we need an ironclad contract with the Recovery School District to protect our members."
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| The real takeaway from the 'gifted' debate |
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In the wake of the furor over revelations that middle-class parents were prepping preschoolers for New York City's gifted placement tests, the crux of the matter has gotten lost in a number of related but less central concerns, Sara Mead writes on her Education Week Policy Notebook blog. "The core issue here is NOT the use of test prep providers by middle-class parents, the validity of the 'gifted' designation for kindergarteners, or the developmental appropriateness of the tests used," says Mead. The key issue is that New York City, like far too many other places, uses the "gifted" designation to ration access to quality educational opportunities. Kids who don't win the "gifted" lottery often lack access to public schools that enable them to fulfill their potential. "The real solution here isn't changing the way New York identified gifted students -- although there may be a case for that," Mead writes. "It's dramatically increasing the supply of good schools so that all kids -- gifted or not -- have access to quality public education opportunities." The New York Times article in question examined ways that the city's gifted assessment served to perpetuate educational inequities between low-income children and middle-class and affluent families who can pay to prep their children for the test.
Read more | See the NYT article | Back to top
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| Essential issues in linking student and teacher data |
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Given the current emphasis of state and federal reform initiatives on statewide longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement, a new brief from the Data Quality Campaign outlines the critical challenges facing states and districts as they develop and implement policies that link teacher and student data. According to the authors, policymakers must understand the importance of defining the purposes for and developing the policies to support a valid and reliable teacher/student data link. This brief provides guidance on emerging best practices for effective implementation, and makes several suggestions. States must first determine how data from the teacher/student link will be used, which should drive the conversation around how states will define teacher of record. Although IT and data staff are critical to developing the technical solutions for capturing appropriate data, policymakers and educators must own the process from the beginning, since they are best positioned to resolve issues relating to the appropriate attribution of student learning to educators. Teachers must also have means to periodically review their rosters to ensure they are linked to the correct students. States and districts must work together collaboratively on all aspects of the teacher/student data link.
See the brief | Back to top
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| Linking learning to life |
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Over the past 10 years, many of California's high schools have gotten worse, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. In an encouraging trend, however, thousands of high schoolers across California have joined an educational approach called Linked Learning, which changes the way core academics are taught by combining classroom learning with real-world, work-based experience. The idea behind Linked Learning is simple: To make it easier for students to stay engaged, coursework must be relevant to their aspirations. For instance, at Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., every 10th-grader chooses from seven different career-themed programs where they spend the next three years combining out-of-school internships in their academy field with a rigorous academic core, taught through the lens of their industry theme, which qualifies every student for college. Teachers are trained to incorporate this work-based experience into the classroom, and vice versa. In Skyline's architecture academy, for example, algebra and physics teachers show their students how the formulas they're learning are used in real-world projects like building bridges or designing buildings. The Chronicle describes one student, Cynthia Gutierrez, who entered high school "bored" and garnered mostly Cs and Ds her first year. In the 10th grade, she joined the education academy, centered on careers in education. "Before, I couldn't really connect with my teachers all that well," Gutierrez says. "But in the academy, it was different." Gutierrez's grades improved despite a more demanding course load, and have qualified her for admission to the state university system.
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| As crises continue, ED shifts position |
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U.S. Department of Education (ED) officials have urged states and districts to show "courage" in using stimulus funds to hire personnel and alleviate the impact of hundreds of thousands of predicted staff layoffs in the 2010-11 school year, the Thompson website reports. This differs markedly from last year, when ED officials warned states and districts to avoid falling over a "funding cliff" when ARRA funds end in 2011. However, with a projected loss of up to 300,000 educator jobs due to budget shortfalls, ED has altered its stance. "When this ARRA money came out last year to address the economic crisis, I think most of us were at least hopeful that the economy would have turned around a little more than it has," said Maura Policelli, ED's senior advisor for external affairs. "But it hasn't, and we're hearing more and more about layoffs." While many districts have invested in one-time expenditures like equipment and technology, Policelli now urges states and districts "to use ARRA funds to support primarily the staffing needs for your Title I and IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] programs." In a webinar, she offered appropriate strategies for districts to hire staff without running afoul of supplanting rules, which require federal funds to supplement, not supplant, activities previously funded with state or local resources.
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A Global Village School Zone is born
The Newark, N.J. school district will create a special enterprise zone for education in September, bringing together seven low-performing schools for an ambitious program of education and social services provided through a coalition of colleges and community groups led by New York University.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/education/26newark.html?_r=1
Aiming for support instead of pink slips
After working for three years to come up with a new method for evaluating teachers, officials from the teachers union and from the district in Buffalo, New York have developed a more thorough annual evaluation process that requires principals to provide supports for struggling teachers.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/buffalo/article81398.ece
A windfall for 'innovative compensation'
D.C. charter schools will share nearly $10 million to use during the 2010-11 school year for "innovative compensation strategies" for their teachers.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-charters-to-split-_10-million-for-teacher-pay-1004135-99390409.html#ixzz0v5okTWuZ
Not exactly what Bloomberg had campaigned on
After applying new, tougher standards, New York State education officials said Wednesday that more than half of public school students in New York City failed their English exams this year, and 54 percent of them passed in math.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/education/29scores.html?_r=1&ref=education |
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| NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION |
Mockingbird Foundation: Grants for Music Education
The Mockingbird Foundation grants funds to schools and nonprofits to effect improvements in music education for children (see website for specific requirements). Mockingbird is interested in targeting children 18 years or younger, but will consider projects that benefit college students, teachers, instructors, or adult students. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: public schools K-12, 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline for letters of inquiry: September 1, 2010.
http://www.mockingbirdfoundation.org/funding/guidelines.html
Herb Society of America: Donald Samull Classroom Herb Garden Grant
The Herb Society of America has established indoor herb garden grants for teachers in grades 3 through 6, to ensure that teacher Donald Samull's tradition of using herbs with students will continue for years to come. Maximum award: $200. Eligibility: public and private 3rd-through-6th grade teachers with classes of a minimum of 15 students. Deadline: November 1, 2010.
http://herbsociety.org/resources/samull-grant.html
SeaWorld/Busch Gardens: Environmental Excellence Awards
The 2011 SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of students and teachers across the country who are working at the grassroots level to protect and preserve the environment. This is an awards program, not a grant; project applicants should be able to demonstrate significant accomplishments prior to the submission deadline. Maximum award: $10,000 to the winning project; all-expenses-paid trip for three students and one adult leader to a SeaWorld or Busch Gardens park for a special awards event; 100 T-shirts to share with school and community partners; award trophy and participation certificate for the project leader. Eligibility: all schools (grades K-12) in the United States; community-based projects such as those managed and operated by community service organizations, public recreation centers, 4-H clubs, and other public, nonprofit groups working to protect the environment at the grass-roots level. Deadline: December 10, 2010.
http://www.seaworld.org/conservation-matters/eea/about.htm
For more grants, see http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
"I don't think we can say [mayoral control's] been associated with success, but in some cases it's been associated with action."
-- Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Henig, regarding potential mayoral control of Detroit schools.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100726/NEWS01/100726050/1001/NEWS/Schools-chief-Let-voters-decide-mayors-DPS-role
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