Some gifted students receive no specialized instruction.
The Los Angeles Times (5/12, Rivera) reported that, overall in the U.S., “about 3 million kindergarten through 12th-grade students are identified as gifted, but 80 percent of them do not receive specialized instruction.” Further, “[s]tudies have found that 5 percent to 20 percent of students who drop out are gifted.” The Times added that “[t]here is no federal law mandating special programs for gifted children,” despite the fact that “many educators argue that these students — whose curiosity and creativity often coexist with emotional and social problems — deserve the same status as those with special needs.” There is also concern in some states that do maintain gifted and talented programs that “students who might benefit from the program are never identified, particularly those in economically disadvantaged communities.” A member of the Sacramento County Board of Education said that “low-income gifted students are doubly deprived,” as they generally lack advocates and teachers trained to identify their abilities.
In the Classroom
Chess curricula increasingly popular.
The AP (5/13) reports that “[c]hess is finding a place in” Minnesota “classrooms even as a chess-based curriculum is gaining popularity nationwide.” Nationally, a number of nonprofit organizations, including First Move and Chess-in-the-Schools, are working “with schools…to implement chess curricul[a],” while on the local level some districts have developed their own programs. Advocates of using chess in the classroom say the game helps “students develop abstract-thinking skills they can use to solve math problems,” as well as critical thinking skills. The game’s links to history and writing can also be explored. Further, chess can be used as both “a teaching and motivational tool,” as some educators use it to reward students for completing assignments. The AP notes several indicators of the rise in chess’s popularity, pointing out that “[t]his school year 18 states used First Move with about 25,000 students, and next year at least 24 states will implement the curriculum among 50,000 students.”
Georgia high school wins mock trail championship.
The AP (5/13) reports that Jonesboro High School (JHS) of Jonesboro, Georgia “won an annual National High School Mock Trial Championship over the weekend,” defeating 41 teams from other schools. JHS is “the first to win two years in a row.” The AP points out that, despite the mock trial team’s performance, the Jonesboro “school system could lose accreditation September 1st if it fails to meet nine mandates from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.”
Florida given C-plus for NCLB standards.
The AP (5/13) reports, “Florida rated a C-plus for difficulty on reading and math tests used to meet requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act last year,” with only a third of its schools making adequate yearly progress, according to a study from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. The ranking was based on “proficiency standards for fourth and eighth grade tests for…the Nation’s Report Card.” A spokesman for the state’s Education Department argued “that the federal assessment system penalizes states with higher standards.” The AP explains that NCLB “lets each state set its own standards for measuring annual progress,” and as a result “states with lower standards did much better” in the assessment. Georgia, for example, received “an F for its proficiency standards,” yet had a high percentage of “adequate yearly progress.” To Florida’s credit, the study found that its “improvement was still better than most of the 40 states that had standards in 2003, including 16 that reduced the difficulty of their tests.”
Students in South Carolina district to receive free laptops.
The AP (5/12) reported that “[a]bout 500 elementary and pre-kindergarten students in” Marion School District 7, “one of South Carolina’s poorest areas, will begin receiving free laptop computers next week.” The laptops are being provided to the classrooms through the One Laptop per Child South Carolina pilot program. The AP noted that the laptops “have a keyboard meant for children’s small hands, are rain-proof and won’t break when dropped.” State officials hope “early access to technology will help prepare [students] for the computer skills they’ll need to be successful in school.”
On the Job
North Texas teacher shortage spurs hiring war.
The Dallas Morning News (5/12, Goolsby, Leal) reported, “A lack of qualified instructors in some critical subject areas has set off a hiring war in North Texas.” In order to attract greater numbers of “math, science and foreign language instructors,” as well as bilingual teachers, the “districts are raising teacher salaries, awarding signing bonuses and offering annual stipends” that can cumulatively exceed $50,000 for a new teacher. However, some experts say that “a few extra dollars are not going to close the gap between what a science or math graduate can make in the classroom vs. the private sector.” Further, “[s]igning bonuses [can] create a vicious cycle of teacher job-hopping from one district to another to collect the bonuses,” and there are concerns “that throwing extra money at a few teachers sends the wrong message to others.”
Pennsylvania lawmakers consider plan that would increase educators’ pensions.
Pennsylvania’s Lebanon Daily News (5/13, Fellinger) reports that a Pennsylvania House “committee has given initial approval to a bill sponsored by Rep. Steven Nickol (R), calling for staggered” pension “increases for about 250,000″ state and school retirees. Although “other lawmakers say [they are] concerned taxpayers will end up with heftier bills for pension costs,” the bill “would help only those who retired before July 2007. Those who retired before 1990 would get the biggest increase, about 25 percent, while the most recent retirees would get a 2.7 percent boost.” The plan is expected to “cost an estimated $10.4 billion over 20 years.”
Special Needs
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Federal hearing considers vaccine, autism link.
The AP (5/13) reports, “Parents claiming that childhood vaccines cause autism should not be awarded by the courts when the scientific community has already rejected any link,” a lawyer for the Justice Department (DOJ) argued Monday at a federal hearing considering “whether vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal caused autism.” DOJ lawyer Lynn Ricciardella “said that the theory has not moved beyond the realm of pure speculation,” and pointed out that a number of research institutes “have rejected any link between thimerosal and autism.” Lawyers for the families, in turn, “will attempt to show” that in two test cases children “were happy, healthy and developing normally” until they were “exposed to vaccines with thimerosal,” after which “they began to regress.” The AP notes that “nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children,” with their counsel “presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism.”
Safety & Security
Dallas school uses GPS to track truant students.
The New York Times (5/12, A17, Kovach) reported on Jaime Pacheco, a student at Bryan Adams High School, in Dallas, Texas, who “was selected by a judge to be enrolled in a pilot program…in which chronically truant students are monitored electronically.” According to the Times, “[s]ince Jaime started carrying the Global Positioning System unit April 1, he has had perfect attendance.” The example of Jaime Pacheco highlights the problems that the Dallas school system has in managing “the large numbers of truant students.” It “is among the first in the nation to experiment with the electronic monitoring,” notes the Times. “At Bryan Adams, nine of the more than 300 students sent to truancy court this year are enrolled in the six-week pilot program.” Dallas began electronically “tracking truancy…three years ago,” after “case managers used a GPS system to locate a truant student on the verge of overdosing on drugs.”
Los Angeles school tightens security as it investigates riot.
The Los Angeles Times (5/13, Blume) reports that “on Monday, the first school day following the roving, half-hour-long melee last week that involved 600 students and required more than 100 police officers to defuse,” Locke High School in Los Angeles had increased security and conflict-resolution teams on-site. “A dozen school police officers patrolled the campus while Los Angeles police manned perimeter streets, standing next to bicycles and parked patrol cars.” In addition, 20 conflict-resolution specialists broke into teams of two, working with more than 300 students before noon” in order to “determine what and who started the riot [last week], which resulted in four arrests and numerous minor injuries.” Some students “blamed ongoing racial tensions and gang problems,” while others “said the brawling was prompted by their peers — bored with school and ready to ignite.” The Times notes that this year the school has seen “an influx” of “students who live in a neighborhood associated with rival gangs.”
Facilities
Architecture firms may do preliminary work for schools at no cost.
The Northwest Arkansas Times (5/12, Bennett) reported that for the past two years, Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates (CTSA) “architecture and engineering firm has provided guidance for the Fayetteville School District on a possible high school project,” at no cost. According to Thad Kelly, “an architect with Cromwell Associates,” it is not uncommon for architecture firms to do “preliminary work at no cost upfront to clients as long as there is an understanding that” the firm “will be hired for the job.” Kelly added that “the decision on how long to do upfront research and planning without a fee can depend on the relationship and whether the architect thinks it is a viable project at the end of the day.” Fayetteville assistant Superintendent Randy Wilson noted that the firms are “investing in an opportunity to get the contract.” The district’s relationship with CTSA began three years ago when they “entered into a contractual arrangement,” which stated that the district would “use the firm exclusively on projects that required architectural services.”
School Finance
Atlanta district approves teacher raises, new buses.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5/12, Diamond) reported, “Atlanta school board members Monday approved a budget for next year that includes pay raises for all teachers, money to improve middle and high schools and to buy 84 new school buses.” Specifically, the “budget includes a raise of 2.5 percent for teachers and all other district employees. It will also include $7.3 million to improve instruction at high schools by offering students more assistance such as tutoring and mentoring, as well as teacher training.” In addition, “the general fund,” which includes salaries and benefits, transportation, and teaching materials, “will increase about 6.7 percent to about $662 million for the 2009 fiscal year.”
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Virginia district does not receive expected $6 million return after student “exodus.”
The Washington Post (5/13, B5, Chandler) reports that Prince William County, Va., school officials “say that the departure of nearly 760 students this school year from the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program has not brought” the estimated $6 million “in savings cited by Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R).” Since state aid “is distributed to school systems according to poverty and enrollment data,…[w]hen students leave a school system, so does state funding.” The ESOL student “exodus” caused Prince William schools to lose $2 million in state funding, and “the school system was unable to reduce spending accordingly because students left from many schools. Officials could not reduce teaching staff, for example, or send back textbooks.” However, school officials say that if “ESOL students continue to leave in the longer term…the school system will be able to plan for fewer students and save on operational costs.”
Also in the News
Australian teachers must allow students the opportunity to take national tests.
Australia’s ABC News (5/13) reports that Australia’s “Education Department says it will dock the pay of teachers who refuse students the opportunity to” take the “national literacy and numeracy tests,” which began this week. John Serich of the Education Department said that the statement was made so that teachers understand that they may refuse to administer the tests themselves without losing pay, as long as “acceptable arrangements are in place” for students to take the tests “and the principal has sanctioned those arrangements.” Last week, the “State School Teachers’ Union (SSTU) was forced to scrap its plans to boycott the tests” after “being ordered to do so by the Industrial Relations Commission.”