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September 19, 2008
Middle-school years called optimal time for teaching critical thinking
The notion that the middle-school years may be the best time to train people in complex reasoning and critical thinking has been borne out in initial studies by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas's University Center for BrainHealth, writes Robert Miller, a columnist at the Dallas Morning News. "High-level reasoning and critical thinking are skills that have to be learned and practiced," says Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, BrainHealth's chief director. "If teens do not acquire the ability to learn strategically during this developmental period, they might never do so." Researchers at the center have created a program called SMART -- Strategic Memory and Reasoning Training -- to teach teens how to think critically. Special benefits are seen for those with attention deficit disorder.
Read more at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/rmiller/stories/DN-miller_14bus.ART.State.Edition1.26df6de.html
Remedial Education 101: One-third of new college students need it
They may be high school graduates, but a great many of them are not ready for college-level work. Describing a study by the nonpartisan group Strong American Schools, the Associated Press says an estimated one-third of American college students need to take remedial classes when they get to college. The cost to taxpayers: $2.3 billion to $2.9 billion a year. Strong American Schools calls its report "Diploma to Nowhere." It says 43 percent of students at community colleges and 29 percent of those at public four-year universities need to retake subjects they should have learned in high school. Says Eloy Oakley, president of Long Beach City College in California: "I don't believe that the public in general really understands the magnitude of the problem."
Read more at http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-09-15-Colleges-remedialclasses_N.htm
Maryland moves toward major restructuring of failing schools
The Center on Education Policy (CEP) says Maryland education officials are advising failing schools to replace their principals and teaching staffs, the Baltimore Sun reports. Such a step is an option under the No Child Left Behind Act, but it has not been used extensively elsewhere in the country. CEP’s president, Jack Jennings, says Maryland's move signals frustration on the part of state officials, who have tried more gradual remediation efforts without much result. Since NCLB was enacted, the number of Maryland schools designated as needing major change has grown from four to 38, half of them in Baltimore.
Read more at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.schools12sep12,0,4073809.story
Locate the report at http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document_ext.showDocumentByID&nodeID=1&DocumentID=247
Survey points to potential pool of new teachers
A survey by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation shows that 42 percent of college-educated 24- to 60-year-olds would consider teaching as a career, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The finding comes as the nation anticipates needing 2.9 million to 5.1 million new teachers between now and 2020 because of retirements, turnover, and enrollment increases. Of those who responded positively about trying a career in teaching, nearly half would consider switching careers within five years and three out of 10 would find it very appealing to work with children from disadvantaged backgrounds or in a low-performing school.
Read more at http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0911/p02s01-usgn.html
Alabama schools seen underperforming despite good financing
The Alabama Policy Institute says in a report that the state's education system is not performing well even though it is well funded, according to the Birmingham News. Students' scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are below those in most other states, Alabama's graduation rates are 45th in the nation, and the state spends $304 million to $454 million a year on remedial education. The institute's report (“Alabama's Public Education Dilemma: Does Funding Influence Outcomes?") says teachers' salaries and benefit packages rank 19th highest in the nation when adjusted for pensions, cost of living, and other factors. The institute describes itself as "a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to the preservation of free markets, limited government, and strong families."
Read more at http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1221034688128870.xml&coll=2
Chicago finds big jump in AP enrollments across ethnic groups
The number of Chicago Public Schools students taking Advanced Placement tests for college has risen by 108 percent during the past four years, says the Chicago Tribune. Moreover, reports Arne Duncan, the district's chief executive officer, students enrolled in AP classes and receiving a passing score on the exams increased across all ethnic groups. In the last eight years, Latino students scoring a 3 or better on the tests rose by more than 243 percent, while the proportion increased by 169 percent for African-American students, 161 percent for white students, and 109 percent for Asian students. Says Duncan: “We're strengthening the core curriculum in high schools across the city and really raising the bar."
Read more at http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-cps-act-scoressep11,0,5204249.story?track=rss
Where 'paternalism' succeeds
In an examination of highly successful inner-city schools that he characterizes (positively) as warmly “paternalistic,” David Whitman, a freelance journalist, says such "highly prescriptive" institutions teach students not only how to think, but also how to act according to so-called traditional, middle-class values. Whitman, a former senior writer at U.S. News & World Report, writes in the Hoover Institution’s Education Next that such an approach is "deeply at odds with the conventional wisdom of the K-12 education establishment.” All the same, he says, it is the only effective way to reduce the "immense achievement gap" between disadvantaged minority students and their more privileged peers.
Read more at http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/26967964.html
Nearly half of Milwaukee's students called truants
The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau has found that 46 percent of Milwaukee Public School students were habitually truant in 2006-07, based on the state's definition of at least five unexcused absences per semester, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee's statistic compares with nine percent in the state overall, and is up from 30 percent in the past decade. The Milwaukee Police Department has assigned four officers to patrol for truants, but last year they netted less than a fifth of about 38,000 students who skipped school. The state Department of Public Instruction has passed along nearly $1.3 million in federal funds to Milwaukee's schools over the past four years, with mixed results. Habitual truancy rates increased at three of six schools receiving the funds, despite the additional resources.
Read more at http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=793909
Massachusetts pre-K pilot puts quality over quantity
Although universal preschool is the goal of a two-year pilot program in Massachusetts, money to date has not been spent on expanding access, despite a waiting list of 4,400 children whose families need financial assistance. Instead, according to the Boston Globe, the funds have gone to strengthening programs already in existence. Amy Kershaw, acting commissioner of the state’s Department of Early Childhood Education and Care, points to studies indicating that only high-quality preschool, rather than the availability of preschool per se, can help erase the achievement gap between lower-income students and their peers.
Read more at http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/09/09/state_slow_to_raise_preschool_access
Investment woes pressuring teachers' pensions, school budgets
How times have changed. In the 1990s, spurred by spectacular stock market gains, lawmakers in Missouri and Kansas provided generous retirement benefits for teachers and other public school employees. In today's environment, those benefits are putting great stress on school budgets, the Kansas City Star notes, and other major school-budget priorities, including teachers' salaries, are feeling the effects of a declining market. As with other public pension systems across the country, revenue for the funds in Missouri and Kansas relies heavily on investment returns.
Read more at http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/797090.html
BRIEFLY NOTED
New execs named for Broad residencies in urban education
The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems has announced the selection of 31 "emerging executives" for paid two-year assignments in urban school systems.
Donors' guide: 'Achieving Teacher and Principal Excellence'
The Philanthropy Roundtable has issued a guidebook for philanthropists on "new ways to tackle the human capital challenge," especially in schools serving disadvantaged students.
Preschool education's 'lasting effects'
A policy analyst looks at the research and its implications.
Title I: Who's Gaining, Losing This School Year?
The Center on Education Policy has posted a new analysis of changes in federal allocations.
Education Secretary cites gains for kids in lower grades but sees 'a long way to go'
In an interview, Margaret Spellings says that, while youngsters are doing better in elementary and middle schools, there's been little progress among high school and college students.
Collaboration for Youth issues national policy agenda
The coalition offers "a unifying strategy" for federal work on issues affecting young people.
Superintendent in Ohio donates 1 pct. of salary to schools
The Little Miami administrator wants to spur voters to approve a 1-percent school tax in November.
'Week of the Classroom Teacher': October 5-11
The special week, promoted by the Association for Childhood Education International, has been scheduled in conjunction with UNESCO's World Teachers' Day on October 5.
PEN's annual conference: new information
Public Education Network has posted new information about its forthcoming annual conference (San Francisco, November 16-18).
NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION
Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation: Grants to Organizations
The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation grants support curricula that empower and encourage students to help solve environmental and social problems through basic ecological principles. Maximum award: $1,500. Eligibility: schools, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and other organizations (including international applicants). Deadline: Sept. 27, 2008.
State Farm, Youth Service America: Service Learning
The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant Program offers grants to teachers and service-learning coordinators who engage young people (ages 5 to 25) in implementing service-learning projects that will begin on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19, 2009, and continue through Global Youth Service Day in April. Maximum award: $1,000. Eligibility: teachers or professors currently teaching in a public, private, faith-based, charter, or higher education institution within the United States or Canadian provinces, or school-based service-learning coordinators whose primary role is to coordinate service-learning projects in a school or university. Deadline: Oct. 15, 2008.
Weather Channel: Forecast Earth Summit for High School Students
The Weather Channel is looking for 20 outstanding students to be eco-ambassadors for its Forecast Earth Summit, Dec. 5-7. Contestants must submit an essay describing their love for our planet and what they have done to keep it clean and green. Maximum award: three-day, two-night trip for two (entrant and a parent or guardian) to Washington, DC, for participation in the 2008 Forecast Earth Summit. Eligibility: U.S. high school students. Deadline: Oct. 18, 2008.
Mickelson ExxonMobil: Teachers Academy
The 2009 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy offers a five-day program of camps in New Jersey, Texas, and Louisiana that is intended to provide selected elementary school teachers with information and skills needed to motivate students to pursue careers in science and math. Maximum award: an all-expense-paid five-day program in July 2009. Eligibility: third- through fifth-grade teachers in the United States. Deadline: Oct. 31, 2008.
Goody's Good Deeds for Schools
Goody’s Good Deeds for Schools grants help local schools pay for things they really need but can’t afford through regular education funding. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: schools in communities where Goody’s stores are located. Deadline: Nov. 1, 2008.
For more grants, see http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 1902-1932
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