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WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS CHARTER SCHOOLS? Charter schools are gaining in popularity, with approximately 4,000 now open, enrolling some 1.1 million U.S. children with more participating every year. These schools have filled a need in American society, giving individuals, communities, and local associations a chance to create their own schools -- with tax dollars paying the basic costs. However, a major, unresolved question remains: What about opening and funding religious charter schools? How would localities handle the many complexities of funding charter schools that have a religious, social, and cultural mission? Direct public funding for religious schools is still not legal for K-12 education, writes Lawrence D. Weinberg and Bruce S. Cooper in Education Week. Tax dollars may not be used to support a particular religious ideology, activity, or program. In effect, public tax money cannot be used to endorse religion. Hence, salaries for elementary and secondary school teachers of Bible, Koran, or catechism classes could not be paid from the public purse, if the teachers were endorsing these religious beliefs. How, for example, did a government-sanctioned religious charter school open its doors in Minnesota four years ago? How does this school walk the fine line between serving a public purpose (educating children in a sensitive, culturally specific, values-oriented program) and being an Islamic religious school? Might we someday see a different system of both public and private education in the United States, one in which many schools are, in some sense, charter programs? These new charter schools would be publicly funded by tax revenues, available to all children based on parental choice, and as diverse, culturally and religiously, as our society. Read Article GOVERNORS’ SPEECHES SEND GRADUATES ON THEIR WAY This year at least 22 governors -- 15 Democrats and seven Republicans -- made the commencement rounds to laud graduates. Governors and their speechwriters largely adhered to commencement cliches, reports Pauline Vu for Stateline.org. The governors congratulated grads, encouraged them to reach for the stars, and cited cartoonist Garry Trudeau’s quote that commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that graduates "should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated." To which Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) added, "If I cannot be transcendentally inspirational, I at least hope not to sedate you." But one governor strayed from the usual script. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) used the University of Massachusetts-Boston podium to unveil an ambitious, 10-year education plan that includes universal preschool, all-day kindergarten, extending the school day and year, plus free community college. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) returned to Northwest High School, where he was senior class president in the McDermott, Ohio school’s first graduating class in 1959, and told students, "Your roots here will provide you strength no matter what you encounter." He said he still wears his high school ring as a reminder of his Appalachian background. Read Article THOUSANDS OF FAILING SCHOOLS FACE MAJOR OVERHAUL The scarlet letter in education these days is an "R." It stands for restructuring -- the purgatory that schools are pushed into if they fail to meet testing goals for six straight years under the No Child Left Behind law. Nationwide, about 2,300 schools are either in restructuring or are a year away and planning for such drastic action as firing the principal and moving many of the teachers, according to a database provided to the Associated Press by the U.S. Department of Education. Those schools are being warily eyed by educators elsewhere as the law's consequences begin to hit home. Schools fall into this category after smaller changes, such as offering tutoring, fall short. The effort is supposed to amount to a major makeover, and it has created a sense of urgency that in some schools verges on desperation. "This is life and death," says John Deasy, superintendent of schools in Prince George's County, Maryland, where several schools are coming face-to-face with the consequences of President Bush's signature education law. "This is very high-stakes work." The schools bearing the label are often in poor urban areas, like Far Rockaway, at the end of the subway line in the New York borough of Queens. But they're also found in leafy suburbs, rural areas and resort towns. Only schools that receive federal aid for low-income students -- known as Title I -- are subject to the law's consequences. But they can be brand-new facilities with luxuries like television studios. Schools in low-income communities have trouble attracting and keeping sought-after teachers. Working conditions are often thought to be poor, and teachers in failing schools face increased scrutiny. The federal law says schools in restructuring can replace teachers. Local union contracts can make that difficult, but some collective bargaining agreements are starting to permit it. Usually, the teachers transfer to another school or work as substitutes. Read Article TEACHER TURNOVER COSTS THE NATION $7.3 BILLION The teacher dropout problem is costing the nation billions of dollars, draining resources, diminishing teaching quality, and undermining the nation’s ability to close the student achievement gap, according to a new policy brief by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF). NCTAF estimates that the national cost of public school teacher turnover could be over $7.3 billion a year. The policy brief is based on an 18-month pilot study NCTAF recently completed on the cost of teacher turnover in five school districts. The research was supported by grants from the Joyce Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. A user-friendly calculator enables anyone to determine how serious the problem of teacher turnover is for a particular school or district. The policy brief, the full research report, and an online Teacher Turnover Cost Calculator can be found at: Read Article LONG REVILED, MERIT PAY GAINS AMONG TEACHERS For years, the unionized teaching profession opposed few ideas more vehemently than merit pay, but those objections appear to be eroding as school districts in dozens of states experiment with plans that compensate teachers partly based on classroom performance. Minnesota’s $86 million teacher professionalization and merit pay initiative has spread to dozens of the state’s school districts, and it got a lift this month when teachers voted overwhelmingly to expand it in Minneapolis. A major reason it is prospering, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said to Sam Dillon in a New York Times interview, is that union leaders helped develop and sell it to teachers. Scores of similar but mostly smaller teacher-pay experiments are under way nationwide, and union locals are cooperating with some of them, said Allan Odden, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who studies teacher compensation. A consensus is building across the political spectrum that rewarding teachers with bonuses or raises for improving student achievement, working in lower income schools or teaching subjects that are hard to staff can energize veteran teachers and attract bright rookies to the profession. The rewards teachers receive for outstanding performance range from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 or more in a few districts. Read Article COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ARE TAKING HOLD & EXPANDING ACROSS THE COUNTRY Coalition for Community Schools recently honored several places that have been particularly successful in bringing together the assets and expertise of schools and their communities to help student succeed. Three schools and three communities were recognized. These award-winning schools and communities see the increasing diversity of their student population as a potential source of strength and find ways to tap those strengths. They engage school and community leadership in unique ways that make the school a center of the community and a resource to students and the community itself. Working with partners and families, community schools make sure that all students succeed. To read more about these schools and communities, and how they are ensuring success for all young people, click: Read Article LOCAL EDUCATION FUND TO CONDUCT SCHOOL DISTRICT AUDIT A school advocacy group issued a challenge yesterday to Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and acting chancellor Michelle A. Rhee to open up all city schools for a "community audit" that would check whether schools had been cleaned, teachers hired and other classroom-readiness issues resolved for the new school year. DC VOICE, a local education fund, said it planned to recruit hundreds of volunteers citywide to interview principals and teachers beginning in September as a way to hold city leaders accountable under the new system of mayoral control of education. Executive director Jeff Smith said the group's "community audit" would serve as an academic counterpoint to the $3.3 million audit of school finances that Fenty ordered this spring. DC VOICE has conducted its "Ready Schools Project" for the past three years. This year, it plans to expand its volunteer corps from 150 people citywide to 125 from each ward and expand the audit from about 50 schools to every school in the D.C. system, said program director Erika Landberg. The group plans to solicit volunteers over the summer, working with civic associations, church groups and advisory neighborhood commissions, Landberg said. Fenty promised to cooperate with the group's audit, reports Theola Labbe and David Nakamura in The Washington Post. The audit would start a week after school opens Sept. 1 and last for a month. The group plans to tabulate its findings in October and publish a report in November. Results from previous years have included information on teacher hiring delays and the number of teaching vacancies in music, art and librarian positions. Read Article D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS The District of Columbia’s special education department paid $160 million in 16 months to send some 2,000 children to outside schools. But don't expect school officials to be able to give a full account of where the money went. More than a year after the U.S. Department of Education threatened to cut off federal funds to the schools because of shoddy accounting practices, the schools and the city finance office continue to mismanage their dollars. There are problems throughout the school system, critics say, but nowhere are they as acute as the special education department, which is supposed to teach and nurture some 10,000 students, reports Bill Myers in The Examiner. Records show, and sources within the schools and finance office say, that special education officials: raided the special education fund to settle a lawsuit filed against another school department; disbursed millions more in duplicate payments; released funds without properly scrutinizing contracts; and, gave millions more to unnamed vendors. David McBride, a special education advocate and former district employee said, "School officials know about these problems. They just don't care." Read Article THE MIGRANT-STUDENT CHALLENGE Imagine being pulled out of school to work in a field picking fruit, or moving from state to state, week by week, as seasonal crops are harvested. For the nearly 900,000 migrant kids throughout America, this is a way of life, and education is the only way most of these migrant children will break away from a cycle of subsistence living that is their parents’ reality. A migrant child -- defined by section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 as a child who is a migratory agricultural worker who has moved in the preceding 36 months to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural work, or who has one or more parents who fit this description -- faces a formidable array of challenges, including language problems, lack of access to educational programs while his or her family travels, problems with transportation, inadequate or nonexistent basic health and social services, and work or family responsibilities that may limit school attendance. As migrant students move throughout the school year, one of the biggest problems states face is obtaining the students’ records. Without these records readily available, migrant students may not be able to enroll in school, further disrupting an already fractured education. Forty years after federal recognition, the educational lot of migrant students has improved, writes Catherine LaCroix in Edutopia, but keeping transient kids connected to learning is still a major challenge. Read Article ARE FOOD FIGHTS PART OF THE FABRIC OF SCHOOL LIFE? It often starts with the slinging of a single French fry, perhaps a slice of pepperoni or a Twinkie, before escalating into a flurry of slushies, sandwiches and milk cartons crisscrossing the school cafeteria as students run for cover. Food fights have been part of the fabric of high school life for decades, especially near the end of the academic year when spring fever and senioritis have students firmly in their grasp. But the frequency and intensity of such culinary combat in schools across Canada and the United States in recent weeks -- as well as evidence that the skirmishes were premeditated and staged for video broadcast over the Internet -- have school administrators and local officials in a twist. Recently, police used pepper spray and batons on students at a Montreal high school while trying to quell a food fight that snowballed into what authorities termed a "mini-riot" that spilled outside the building. Last week, three students at a high school in suburban Chicago were arrested for instigating a massive food fight that reportedly involved 200 students and left a police officer injured, reports David Andreatta in The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Read Article IN SEARCH OF VICTORY IN SERVICE TO CHILDREN With mayors across California -- indeed, across the nation in such places as Oakland, Los Angeles and St. Louis -- recently fighting with boards and unions to take over the schools, perhaps they should put aside that agenda to pursue a different strategy, one much more likely to benefit children. What is needed is a plan that is a win/win situation for all concerned, writes Christopher T. Cross in the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee. Mayors should mobilize the considerable resources that they command in social and health services and law enforcement, plus use their ability to inspire the nonprofit sector, to work with school boards and superintendents in creating comprehensive plans to serve children. By starting with a number of neighborhoods to look at the needs of children, the roles that all agencies could play in meeting those needs and then developing an iron-tight agreement for cooperation, mayors could become national leaders and local heroes. This plan should assure that everything from health care to after-school programs to internships for middle and high school students and real jobs for older students are provided, as well as help with college admission and costs. There is widening agreement that meeting the educational, social and citizenship needs of students in this century requires the combined efforts of all segments of every community. Read Article A DIFFERENT WAY TO THINK ABOUT STUDENT PERFORMANCE Lloyd Bond is one of the world's most respected experts on educational measurement and testing. He has published widely on research issues in psychometrics, and is called upon to advise many test developers. However, he also is one of the most persistent and incisive critics of the testing movement. In the world of educational testing, Lloyd Bond is unquestionably a "critical friend." In this month's Carnegie Perspectives, "My Child Doesn't Test Well," Bond examines a variety of reasons why test performance may not be a valid measure of a person's competence or potential. Although the standardized test is one of the most important inventions of the past century, it remains a special setting, fundamentally different from those contexts in which we confront the challenges of the world. At times, it provides an uncannily accurate portrait of individual and group capacities. At other times, tests may distort and deceive. Lloyd Bond helps us think about why. Read Article HOW TO SUPPORT SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION A growing body of research is illuminating the conditions and strategies that enable schools to change from low- to high-performing. According to this analysis by WestEd, one key to school transformation is how external technical assistance providers establish close collaborations and trusting relationships with internal advocates for change. When external assistance providers, such as local education funds, build strong relationships with internal advocates and other influential educators, their teamwork helps the key players sense trouble as it develops, choose appropriate responses, delegate responsibilities, and provide mutual support and encouragement. Read Article THE WHOLE CHILD: HEALTHY, SAFE, SUPPORTED, ENGAGED & CHALLENGED All children deserve a 21st century education that fully prepares them for college, work, and citizenship. That means the basics of reading, writing, and math, of course. But we should expect more from our schools and communities. We also want our children to be healthy, safe, engaged in their learning, supported by caring adults, and involved in courses such as art and music. ASCD has launched a new public engagement and advocacy campaign and you can be a part of it. WholeChildEducation.org is a website that calls on parents, educators, policymakers, and communities to join forces to ensure our children become productive, engaged citizens. This is an opportunity for you to make a difference in how schools and communities work together to ensure each student has access to a challenging curriculum in a healthy and supportive climate. Visit this new website to find out how well your school and community are doing with a "Grade Your School and Community" tool. Find materials to share with your friends and neighbors in the Resource Clearinghouse. The Policy Blackboard highlights policymakers who are speaking up for the whole child and fighting for change. But they need your help: please spread the word about these efforts. Our children deserve an education that emphasizes academic rigor as well as the essential 21st century skills of critical thinking and creativity. Read Article DOES MONEY MATTER IN K-12 EDUCATION? Does money matter in K-12 education? It certainly matters to those people who are trying to convince everyone else that money doesn't matter. That’s one lesson we've learned from reading reports produced by America’s network of well-funded free-market think tanks. Over the past three decades, these think tanks have gained considerable influence, writes Kevin G. Welner in The School Administrator. They have done so, in part, by producing generously financed "research" documents that advance their agenda. Given the money promoting these efforts, it is ironic that one key part of that agenda is the proposition that, for public schooling at least, money doesn't matter. They contend past increases in funding have not resulted in improved student achievement so policymakers should now resist proposals for more school funding. Concerns about public school finance equity and adequacy cut to the core of our national democratic commitment. Read Article CENSORSHIP OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE This year's Newbery Medal, the highest honor in children's literature, was awarded to Susan Patron for "The Higher Power of Lucky," a novel for fourth through sixth graders about a 10-year-old girl grieving her mother's death. As the school year comes to a close, "The Higher Power of Lucky" will surely top many summer reading lists -- but in some libraries, students won't find it on the shelf. Why? Because of one word on the first page: scrotum. What is acceptable content in children's literature? Should librarians and parents be able to decide what books are appropriate not just for their children, but for all children? It's an old debate that's still going strong. John Merrow spoke with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, another Newbery winner, whose "Alice" books were among the most banned books of 1999 (second only to Harry Potter). Naylor's critics object to her frank discussions of sexual curiosity and use of "vulgar" language. To hear Naylor's response -- and what she thinks is inappropriate content for children's literature -- listen to a special podcast from Learning Matters: Read Article INDIAN MAN FAILS HIGH SCHOOL EXAM 39 TIMES A 73-year-old man who failed his 10th grade high school exams for the 39th time vowed to try again next year in the hopes that an education will improve his job and marriage prospects. Shivcharan Jatav, a farmer from the desert state of Rajasthan in western India, had no formal education as a child. He has been trying to pass the exams since 1969, when an army recruiter told him it would improve his chances of being accepted into the military. "Since then I have been trying to pass this examination, but without any success," Jatav said, days after receiving the bitter news that he had failed again. Jatav passed only one subject -- the ancient language of Sanskrit -- and he said he scored just 103 out of a total of 600 in the examinations. Even though he is too old to join the army he has kept at it, reports the Associate Press, hoping to become a more eligible bachelor. Read Article NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION "Grants Reward Young Stars of Social Change" By celebrating and spotlighting young stars of social change, Dosomething.org’s BR!CK Award creates a new breed of role models who aren't famous for what they wear (or don't) or who they date, but for what they do. Maximum Award: $25,000. Eligibility: permanent residents of the Unites States and Canada under 25. Deadline: April 12, 2008. http://www.dosomething.org/brick "Grants to Address Students with Special Needs & Engage Parents and Community" US Airways Education Foundation is accepting applications for its 2007 Community Education Grant Program. Grants will be awarded to educational programs that respond to the special needs of disadvantaged or disabled individuals; teach or enhance social responsibility; facilitate parental and/or community involvement; and enhance academic achievement. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations located in the markets served by the airline. Deadline: August 1, 2007. http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/aboutus/corporategiving/education.aspx "Grants Reward Community Colleges Helping First-Generation College Students" The Met Life Foundation and Jobs for the Future invite community colleges to apply for the 2008 MetLife Community College Excellence Award. The award will honor two community colleges for their institution-wide commitment to helping low-income students, first-generation college-goers, and working adults enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Maximum Award: $30,000. Eligibility: community colleges across the United States. Deadline: August 31, 2007. http://www.jff.org/%7Ejff/JFF_Pages.php?WhichLevel=3&lv1_id=3&lv2_id=32&lv3_id=39&ShowProject=2 "Incubation Grants to Start Charter Schools in New Orleans" A total of 5,200 children are expected to return to New Orleans within the next year, and the city lacks the capacity to provide service to all of these students. New Schools for New Orleans is offering an Incubation Grant, the objective of which is to allow a select group of charter school founders to spend one year in New Orleans in advance of the opening of their schools. The grant offers a monthly stipend as well as significant network and technical assistance, training, and exposure to great school models. Maximum Award: $10,000 per month. Eligibility: dynamic and entrepreneurial individuals who can make strategic use of resources while driving the school founding process. Deadline: September 1, 2007. http://www.nsno.org/files/about/IncubationGrant.pdf "Awards Support School and Youth Garden Programs" The National Gardening Association recognizes outstanding youth programs via the Healthy Sprouts Awards. The awards support school and youth garden programs that teach about nutrition and the issue of hunger in the United States. Maximum Award: $500 gift certificate to Gardener’s Supply. Eligibility: schools or organizations that plan to garden with children between the ages of 3 and 18. Deadline: October 15, 2007. http://www.kidsgardening.com/healthysprouts.asp QUOTE OF THE WEEK "The promises children make in the deepest recesses of their hearts are the promises that explain untold acts of courage and risk-taking, change societies, and propel nations." - Diana Lam (educator/school administrator), 15th superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District ===========PEN NewsBlast========== The PEN Weekly NewsBlast is a free e-mail newsletter featuring school reform and school fundraising resources. The PEN NewsBlast is the property of the Public Education Network, a national association of 82 local education funds working to improve public school quality in low-income communities nationwide. Please forward this e-mail to anyone who enjoys free updates on education news and grant alerts. Some links in the PEN Weekly NewsBlast change or expire on a daily or weekly basis. Some links may also require local website registration. Your e-mail address is safe with the NewsBlast. It is our firm policy never to rent, loan, or sell our subscriber list to any other organizations, groups, or individuals. **UPDATE OR ADD A NEWSBLAST SUBSCRIPTION** PEN wants you to get each weekly issue of the NewsBlast at your preferred e-mail address. We also welcome new subscribers. Please notify us if your e-mail address is about to change. Send your name and new e-mail address to PEN@PublicEducation.org. Be sure to let us know your old e-mail address so we can unsubscribe it. If you know anyone who is interested in receiving the NewsBlast, please forward this e-mail to them and ask them to e-mail us and put "subscribe" in the subject field or visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/subscribe.asp To view past issues of the PEN Weekly NewsBlast, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_past.asp To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/subscribe.asp To read the NewsBlast submission policy, visit: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_submission_policy.htm If you would like an article or news about your local education fund, public school, or school reform organization featured in a future issue of PEN Weekly NewsBlast, send a note to: PEN@PublicEducation.org Howie Schaffer Public Outreach Director Public Education Network 601 Thirteenth Street, NW #710S Washington, DC 20005 PEN@PublicEducation.org |
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