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May 22, 2009 A comprehensive look at the opportunities to learn in the U.S. The Schott Foundation for Public Education has released a new 50-state report on the opportunity to learn in America. "Lost Opportunity" is a state-by-state analysis of student performance data reported by state departments of education that determines the opportunity to learn in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Schott Foundation used resource models to identify the four core minimum resources that are necessary if a child -- regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status -- is to have a fair and substantive opportunity to learn: high-quality early childhood education; highly qualified teachers and instructors in grades K-12; college preparatory curricula that will prepare all youth for college, work, and community; and equitable instructional resources. As the nation observes the 55th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision, the study shows that minority and low-income students have half the opportunity to learn in public schools that their white, non-Latino peers do. The report also gives a state-by-state comparison of both academic proficiency (percentage of students scoring at or above proficient on eighth grade NAEP reading measures) and equity (as measured by a tool created by the Schott Foundation, called the Opportunity to Learn Index). See the report: http://blackboysreport.org/otlwebsite/ The limits of transparency Transparency is useful but will not, on its own, bring reform, writes Andrew J. Rotherham in U.S. News & World Report. This was shown with the No Child Left Behind Act, whose architects now concede they thought information alone would in large part drive change. In fact, says Rotherham, over the past half-century, "federal education policy has succeeded only when coupled with civil rights laws or linked to clear conditions and enforcement." For this reason, he finds aspects of the Obama education policy "disconcerting." The $100 billon in stimulus education spending, an amount close to 16 percent of annual federal expenditures on public schools, requires that states supply data on student performance and make "assurances" they'll work toward improvement. The bill does not, however, require actual change. In Rotherham's view, "parents and students lose in the policy battles more often than they win because information alone does not force change on powerful stakeholders or the formidable array of special-interest groups resisting reforms with costs for the groups they represent. In that way, education reform is an old story in a representative democracy like ours: The unorganized general interest is often trumped by organized special interests." Read more: http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/05/14/in-politics-of-school-reform-transparency-doesnt-equal-accountability.html Cradle-to-prison, not cradle-to-college In The San Francisco Examiner, columnist Caroline Grannon asks: Why are so many black boys disrupting class? She reproduces a post on the blog Perimeter Primate, which deems these kids part of "the incarcerated class" -- those who are pre-, currently, or post-incarcerated, and their offspring. This echoes a recent essay by Marion Wright Edelman on a cradle-to-prison cycle that entraps many of the urban poor. To the blogger's mind, "The extreme numerical escalation of this group is what feeds the interest in charter schools. The non-I.C. parents who live in areas where members of this class are numerous are desperate to separate their kids from the offspring of the incarcerated class." I.C. kids are an expanding population in public schools, yet educators are failing to meet the specific challenges these students bring. "Legal arguments and important civil rights concerns have all restrained public schools from developing the strategies that would be necessary for dealing with large numbers of kids from the subgroup of children experiencing risk factors that increase the likelihood that they will end up in prison." In her opinion, their behaviors are a social disability, and treatment should be funded accordingly. "Bad school climates are what drive parents away. Public schools will need a great deal of help to manage their increasing numbers of this most-difficult-to-educate population." Read more: http://www.examiner.com/x-356-SF-Education-Examiner~y2009m4d7-The-heart-of-the-education-crisis-the-incarcerated-class Read the blog post: http://perimeterprimate.blogspot.com/2009/04/where-sociology-criminology-and-charter.html See Wright Edelman's essay: http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/marian-wright-edelman-child-watch-column/Cradle-to-prison-pipeline-americas-new-apartheid.html Drastic times demand drastic characterizations in support of mayoral control In his recent visit to Detroit, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared the city's school system "ground zero" for education in the United States, comparing it to New Orleans' after Katrina, minus the hurricane, The Associated Press reports. The visit was the second in Duncan's national "Listening and Learning Tour." Duncan is a strong proponent of mayoral control for this and other ailing systems, and said he is encouraged by Mayor Dave Bing's interest in turning around the Detroit Public Schools. An elected school board currently runs the system, and Detroit voters in 2004 overwhelmingly turned down a proposal to hand power to the mayor, but the zeitgeist is changing the views of the electorate. "It's going to be a legislative effort," Bing said of mayoral control. "But I think the mood of this city and its citizens has really changed since five years ago. Everybody is pretty much outraged with the outcomes at this point, and a change is necessary." Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently appointed a district emergency financial manager, whose control over the system's budget and hiring decisions has sapped much of the school board's power. Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jXWdEQbvUP5VkWuGtz10NCna-yUAD985IDU00 Related: http://www.freep.com/article/20090515/NEWS01/90515072/1001/news/33+Detroit+principals+fired+in+school+shakeup Weight bias in the classroom: tools for educators Overweight or obese children are vulnerable to weight bias and may be the target of stereotypes, prejudice, and unfair treatment because of their weight. A new resource from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity helps schools and educators think about and intervene in weight bias issues. Weight bias can be expressed in different ways among students: verbal comments (e.g., name-calling, derogatory comments, and teasing); physical aggression (e.g., being pushed, shoved, kicked, and bullied); and social exclusion (e.g., being avoided, ignored, and excluded by others). The bias most often occurs in the school setting, according to the center, but teachers can play an important role in reducing it. Studies show that overweight and obese children who are victimized because of their weight are more susceptible to depression, low self-esteem, and poor body image. Some research has also demonstrated that victimized obese youth are two to three times more likely to engage in suicidal thoughts and behaviors than overweight children who are not victimized. Weight bias also limits children's social relationships, making them more likely to be socially isolated and less likely to be chosen as friends. Read more: http://yaleruddcenter.org/what_we_do.aspx?id=200 Merit pay has new detractors A new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) cautions that merit pay for teachers may not be all it's cracked up to be, according to Education Week. Incentive plans are less common than the current debate in education implies, the report says, and research suggests that pay-for-performance schemes can have contrary results. John S. Heywood, an economist who co-wrote part of the study, is a skeptic: "A general lesson from [the private sector] is that when you have jobs where it's hard to identify all the dimensions of productivity, and when it's hard to measure all the individual contributions of productivity, formulaic pay plans tend to be suspect and do more harm than good." Part of the problem, according to economist Richard Rothstein, is that bonus plans based on narrow indicators often lead to unintended, negative consequences -- workers may game the system, or the measures themselves may induce perverse incentives. For instance, researchers documented with health-care "report cards" listing mortality rates on a hospital-by-hospital basis that some providers declined to treat more difficult, severely ill patients. The EPI report is the first of three on teacher merit-pay programs, aiming to add context to the current pay-for-teacher-performance debate. Read more: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/05/13/32meritpay.h28.html See the report: http://www.epi.org/page/-/pdf/20090514_merit_pay_pr.pdf Related: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051809dntexmerit.4530d1d.html ETS parses the achievement gap, again A new report by the Educational Testing Service follows up on a 2003 study that examined how life experiences and life conditions correlated to cognitive development and student achievement. "Parsing the Achievement Gap II" brings the synthesis of research up to date, and further asks if the gap among various population subgroups has narrowed in the intervening years. (Answer: no.) As with the first report, the follow-up identifies 16 factors as they correlate to achievement. These break down into three clusters -- school factors, home and school connection, and factors present before and beyond school. School factors are curriculum rigor, teacher preparation, teacher experience, teacher absence and turnover, class size, availability of instructional technology, and school climate. The home-school factor concerns parent participation. Factors before and beyond school are frequent changing of schools, low birth weight, environmental damage, nutrition, talking and reading to babies, excessive television watching, parent-pupil ratio, and summer achievement gain/loss. As Debbie Viadero points out in her Education Week blog, the report doesn't sound like breaking news, but it yields some startling statistics. For instance, in 2007, more than half of African-American 8th graders, compared with a fifth of white 8th graders, had a teacher who left before the end of the school year. Among students poor enough to qualify for federal free-lunch programs, two-thirds had teachers who failed to finish out that year. Read more: http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICPARSINGII.pdf Related: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2009/05/getting_at_the_causes_for_naep_1.html Study pinpoints indicators for dropping out as early as 6th grade A new study from Johns Hopkins finds that Denver students who get at least one failing grade on their report cards, even in sixth grade, are at higher risk of dropping out of school later. The study analyzed data from the 3,657 students who dropped out of Denver schools in the 2006-07 year, finding common characteristics. In ninth grade, most dropouts had gotten at least one F that year, a third had four or more F's in a semester, and two-thirds had missed 20 or more days of school. In sixth grade, one third of the dropouts had been failing at least one course, 44 percent had missed more than 20 days of school, and one in five had at least one suspension. Most dropouts were male, 61 percent were Latino, and 84 percent quit in high school, with most kids leaving freshman year. While the overall gist of the report is not news to Denver educators, it underscores the urgency of the issue and the need to reengage disaffected teens and intervene as early as possible. "Part of the solution is paying attention," said Steve Dobo, director of Colorado Youth for a Change, a nonprofit that works on the dropout problem. Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12373593 More: http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2009/0515/20090515_122610_Denver_Dropout_Report_Final.pdf BRIEFLY NOTED Public education's odd couple Newt Gingrich and the Rev. Al Sharpton team up for education reform. What, no Joel Klein? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/16/AR2009051602265.html?hpid=sec-education L.A. high school dropout rate climbs to 35 percent Rates rose in the city, where more than one-third of students are officially classified as dropouts. http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-drop-out-rate13-2009may13,0,7269847.story A wild idea, but it just might work Suburban Chicago high school teacher leads class in chi-renewing exercises before each lesson. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-brain-exercises-13-may13,0,3735769.story In with the new in North Carolina Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will bring in 100 new Teach For America cadets as the district lays off experienced teachers next school year. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/722338.html Helping kids learn what it takes, post-graduation New Colorado legislation requires that every ninth-grader sign up for a state-run website that helps them plan their post-secondary life, academically and financially. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12387246 Delaware teachers walk out on the bell In school districts across the state, teachers and other school employees are participating in a "Bell to Bell" demonstration to protest Gov. Jack Markell's proposed eight percent salary cut for all state employees. http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090519/NEWS03/905190341/1006/NEWS NEW GRANT & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Youth Service America: Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards Youth Service America is launching its first annual Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards to recognize young female social entrepreneurs whose initiatives serve the common good. Maximum award: $2,000 for the winner's social enterprise, travel to and registration for Youth Service Institute, an invitation to serve on the executive board of Girls Helping Girls, and access to YSA's resources to support and expand social enterprise. Eligibility: girls between the ages of 14 and 17 (as of December 31, 2009) who reside in the United States and have their own social enterprise. Deadline: June 15, 2009. http://ysa.org/MyYSA/YSAContent/YSANews/tabid/219/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/147/TheGladysMarinelliCocciaAwards.aspx Disney/YSA: Minnie Grants for youth-led service projects Disney Minnie Grants fund children's efforts to improve their communities via youth-led service projects that address the issues of poverty, hunger, education, environment, global citizenship, sustainable community development, and disaster prevention and relief. Funded projects must take place between September and November 2009. Maximum award: $500. Eligibility: children between the ages of 5 and 14, or the organizations that engage them. Applications are accepted from all over the world. Applicants from India, China, and Russia are especially encouraged to apply. Deadline: June 15, 2009. http://ysa.org/MyYSA/YSAContent/YSANews/tabid/219/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/134/DisneyMinnieGrant2ndRound2009.aspx Save-the-Redwoods League: grants for redwood education The Save-the-Redwoods League, a nonprofit organization that works to protect the ancient redwood forest from destruction, will grant funds to schools, interpretive associations, and other qualified nonprofits engaged in quality redwood education. Grants are designed to foster and encourage public awareness of redwoods, redwood ecology, and forest stewardship. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: schools and 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: June 30, 2009. http://www.savetheredwoods.org/education/edgrants.shtml KnowledgeWorks/American Architectural Foundation: Richard Riley Award KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the American Architectural Foundation seek submissions for the Richard Riley Award, which recognizes design and educational excellence in "schools as centers of community" -- schools that provide an array of social, civic, recreational, and artistic opportunities to the broader community and to students, often clustering educational and municipal buildings together. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: all existing elementary and secondary public schools. Deadline: July 1, 2009. http://www.nationalschoolsearch.org/en/Index.html American Legion: Grants for Child Welfare American Legion Child Welfare Foundation Grants to Help Children fund proposals that contribute to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare of children through innovative organizations and/or their programs designed to benefit youth. Maximum award: $70,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: July 15, 2009. http://www.legion.org/cwf/grantseekers/overview QUOTE OF THE WEEK "[We must resist] ... the reduction of teachers into civil servants within a bureaucratic machine that constantly fails to emancipate the poor and the invisible." -John Baldacchino, Associate Professor of Art Education, Teachers College at Columbia University, excerpt from the introduction to Education Beyond Education: Self and the Imaginary in Maxine Greene's Philosophy (Peter Lang, 2009) 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. |
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