U.S. failing to develop math skills equally for boys, girls, report indicates.

The New York Times (10/10, A15, Rimer) reports, “The United States is failing to develop the math skills of both girls and boys, especially among those who could excel at the highest levels,” according to a study “published Friday in Notices of the American Mathematical Society.” The report also indicates that “girls who do succeed in [math] are almost all immigrants or the daughters of immigrants from countries where mathematics is more highly valued.” Lead author Janet E. Mertz, an oncology professor at the University of Wisconsin, and colleagues, examined “data from the most difficult math competitions for young people, including the USA and International Mathematical Olympiads for high school students, and the Putnam Mathematical Competition for college undergraduates” for the study. Among other findings, the researchers noted that all members of the U.S. team at the International Olympiad, “considered to be the world’s toughest math competition for high school students,” were boys from 1974 to 1998.

Schools in inner suburbs of Washington, D.C. see increase in enrollment.

The Washington Post (10/10, B1, Chandler, de Vise) reports on the front page of its Metro section, “Schools in Washington’s inner suburbs have put more seats in classrooms this fall as economic and demographic shifts bring a windfall of new students.” In Virginia’s Fairfax County, “officials drew a connection between declining home sales and the decreasing number of students who leave the county,” while officials in Maryland’s Montgomery County “cited an unusually large influx of students from private schools and said fewer students are moving out of the county.” Officials from Arlington County and Alexandria “suggested that fewer families are trading in townhouses or condominiums for single-family homes in outer suburbs.” Fairfax saw its school system expand “more than two percent, reaching about 169,000 students in a preliminary count of fall enrollment. Montgomery’s enrollment climbed more than one percent, to 139,400, the first significant increase in six years for the region’s second-largest school system. In Alexandria, enrollment grew six percent to about 11,200; in Arlington, it grew 4.5 percent, to about 19,500.” And, “Prince George’s County schools held comparatively steady, with about 129,500 students after several years of notable decline.”

Wisconsin district grades kindergarten through second-graders on character.

The AP (10/9) reports, “Besides math, science and other basics, young students in” Wisconsin’s Kaukauna Public Schools “are being graded on their character.” Teachers of kindergarten through second grade students “are looking at multiple character features such as whether students use good manners, talk at appropriate times, work independently and are trustworthy,” according to Wisconsin’s Post-Crescent (10/9, Espino). Assistant Superintendent Deb Hunt said that “Kaukauna is following a growing number of school districts to put focus on the pillars of character.” She added, “I want the students to feel good about themselves…[and] have trust in their peers so that they are comfortable learning.” A second-grade teacher, Jessica Ullmer, added that the new system, which is intended “to resolve or prevent bullying incidents by reviewing character traits,” also “gives parents a detailed look at what is expected” of their children. Although the “system for now is being used at three grade levels…the intent is to have it in place from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade by next year.”

Expert lists benefits, drawbacks of having teachers administer standardized tests to their students.

In an opinion piece for Missouri’s Columbia Daily Tribune (10/9), Joycelin Brown Hulett, an educational consultant, responded to the question, “Is it a conflict of interest for classroom teachers to administer standardized tests to their own students?” Hulett pointed out that it may be beneficial for “someone other than the teacher to give the test” because then, “no one would accuse teachers of giving answers; teachers could not be accused of lengthening the time the students are tested; [and] teachers could attend in-service training while someone else was doing the testing.” Hulett also noted that if teachers gave the test, “young children would likely test better…because they would be more comfortable,” and “the school district would not have to pay other people to administer the tests.” But, she concluded, “no matter who gives the test, way too much emphasis is placed on them. A portfolio for each child will tell us so much more about the child’s progress.”

Pennsylvania district implements team leader concept in elementary, high schools.

Pennsylvania’s Tribune-Review (10/10, Basinger) reports, “Southmoreland School District administration is hoping to implement a ‘team leader concept’ at the elementary and high school levels in order to improve” Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) scores. “The team leader concept is implemented through a Professional Learning Committee (PLC) format,” according to Dr. Tim Scott, the district’s curriculum coordinator, and a primary school principal. “Team leaders meet with their teams nearly every day and discuss with other teachers how they’re teaching and what seems to be working. They encourage teachers who aren’t involved in the math or language arts, which are a part of the PSSA testing, to implement some aspect from the subjects into their teaching,” the Tribune-Review explains. Dr. Scott said that “team meetings are being held at the elementary school and high school to begin to implement the PLC format.”

South Carolina schools compete for title of “Inside-Out Center for Learning.”

South Carolina’s Independent-Mail News (10/9, Staed) reported, “An Anderson School District 5 school is among three competing to be the state’s first Inside-Out Center for Learning.” The winning school “will develop initiatives that transform teaching and learning for the future, according to a statement.” According to Joanne Avery, deputy superintendent for Anderson School District 4 and co-chair of the South Carolina National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future Coalition, “The goal of South Carolina’s Inside-Out Center is to be a model for the state and nation on cost-effective educational services.”

NCLB assessment scores improve in Kansas school district.

Kansas’s Independent/Reporter (10/9, McCoy) reported that, according to a report presented Oct. 6 by school counselors and educators to “school board members at their monthly meeting,” assessment scores mandated by the state under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) “have improved for students of Lorraine-based USD 328.” While “the district’s target score is 73 percent in both subjects,” the team “reported that the district had achieved 97 percent in reading, and 100 percent in math.” Specifically, a “breakdown in scores for every grade” revealed that, “in the majority of the scores, the district far surpassed the targets set for the individual course of study.” The school board next discussed “what was being done to help students that are not meeting the standards.” Even though educators have linked the curriculum “to the achievement tests” this year for the first time, and “also use study time to assist at-risk students,” any student who does not meet “the requirements will be required by the state to attend summer school.”

First- through third-year teachers in New Jersey district receive induction training.

New Jersey’s Brick Township Bulletin (10/9, Medina) reported, “Now in its third year, the Induction and Recruitment Committee is a group of 35 staff members who help Brick’s first-, second- and third-year teachers adjust to life in the profession and in the district.” First-year teachers “participate in a five-day workshop over the summer,” which is focused on “forming collegial relationships,” teachers “understanding [the] town as a community, and” teachers understanding what is expected of them. “Throughout the year, first-year teachers also participate in four training workshops in developing time management skills, planning back to school nights, preparing report cards or dealing, with cultural diversity issues.” In their second and third years, teachers “participate in four workshops that are geared to their needs,” as well. The Brick Township Bulletin noted, “Without such programs, teacher retention rates are staggering: 25 percent of teachers leave the profession after the first three years…according to a study by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.”

Massachusetts district’s teacher contract includes creativity, achievement clauses.

Massachusetts’s Inquirer & Mirror (10/10, Baker) reports, “The Nantucket Teachers’ Association and School Committee ratified a new three-year teachers’ contract Tuesday night that includes annual raises of 3.5 and four percent, and incentive clauses for creativity and achievement.” The starting salary for first-year teachers “is just over $50,000 a year” under the new contract, “and on average, the 145 staff members in the teachers’ bargaining unit…make $71,000 per year, the second highest average teacher’s salary in Massachusetts behind Boston.” For the first two years of the contract, teachers will receive “pay increases of four percent” each year; they will receive a 3.5 percent pay increase the third year of the contract. “One notable addition to the contract is the…professional incentive program,” under which staff members will be financially compensated for designing and implementing community-outreach programs or sharing their own specific expertise with other school” employees. In addition, the new contract “provides for up to 12 weeks of paid” maternity or paternity leave.

Column debates pros, cons of Oregon measure to establish merit pay for teachers.

In an opinion column in the Oregonian (10/9), Randall Pozdena, a Portland consultant in economics and finance for EcoNorthwest, and Jim Buck, the executive director of the Oregon School Personnel Association, debated Measure 60, “the measure on the November ballot that would establish merit pay for teachers.” Pozdena argued in favor of financial incentives, saying that “public education is fundamentally a service business.” Pozdena asserted that “financial motivations work the same way in schools as they do in other service settings. The challenge is one of implementation.” While “educators long have been relatively insulated from the discipline of true accountability sanctions or incentives,” Pozdena’s own “research suggests” that such sanctions “may be not only warranted, but necessary to improve student achievement.” Arguing against the measure, Jim Buck wrote that merit pay would fail to address the “major challenges confronting our schools, such as teachers’ willingness to teach in our most challenging schools” or “teach more difficult subjects.” Buck concluded that “Measure 60 is intended more as a reprisal against the Oregon Education Association than as a constructive measure for Oregon education,” and “would reward spite, not effective teachers.”

Hawaii BOE considers cutting $46 million from 2009-2011 budget.

The AP (10/9) reported, “The state Board of Education (BOE) on Thursday night was set to consider lopping $46 million from the 2009-2011 public school budget in the face of opposition from community and education activists.” Gov. Linda Lingle requested for “all state agencies to prepare spending reductions of between 10 and 20 percent. The board’s budget committee voted Tuesday to approve the cuts to the Department of Education’s $2.4 billion overall budget.” The cuts include the elimination of $1.9 million in “funding for student service coordinators at charter schools,” and “$932,000 in state funding for the Peer Education Program, in which students at 25 middle and high school campuses assist other pupils on substance abuse, absenteeism, teen pregnancy, and other issues. Another proposal would slash funding for science books by $2 million a year.”

Doctors’ group petitions USDA not to distribute processed meat to schools.

New York’s Newsday (10/10, Kelleher) reports, “Hot dogs, cold cuts, and other similar processed meats would disappear from school cafeterias on Long Island and across the country if a ban proposed today by a group of doctors takes effect.” This week, the “Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and its subsidiary group, The Cancer Project, filed a petition…asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to stop allowing schools to serve processed meats.” Specifically, the group’s petition calls for “the USDA to eliminate any processed meat products from the commodities they distribute to schools monthly. For schools that purchase the products elsewhere, the petition wants the USDA to withhold the reimbursements that food service programs get for meals served to students.” According to the petitioners, processed meats “are full of added chemical preservatives such as nitrates that are linked to increased cancer risks.” A spokesperson for the USDA said that the petition “would be given serious consideration.”