More Iowa schools seek four-day week.
The AP (9/29) reports, “An increasing number of Iowa school officials want to shorten the school week to four days to reduce costs.” The policy “has caught on in other states,” and “seems to have its biggest supporters in small districts, where enrollment has shrunk and budgets have been beaten by increasing fuel costs.” The fifth day is accounted for by increasing the length of the school day by two hours, to eight. Although “not everyone is sold on the idea,” according to school “officials in Arizona and Colorado…the shorter week has resulted in fewer absences by students and teachers.” Additionally, it has proven to be “a good tool to recruit teachers.” Arizona educators noted “that change hasn’t affected student achievement, and that some districts have used the day off to offer tutoring students or teacher training.”
Iowa’s Des Moines Register (9/28, Hupp) noted that education officials in some districts “want a waiver from the mandatory state schools calendar so they can switch to a four-day week as soon as next year,” while “other educators who aren’t completely sold on the idea want state lawmakers to free them from the calendar’s confines, just in case.” Heather Chikoore of the National Conference of State Legislatures pointed out that, “in many cases, state laws give school districts the freedom to decide.” In terms of Iowa, Jeff Berger, the education department’s legislative liaison, said that “one approach is to set a minimum number of hours in the school year instead of days.”
In the Classroom
Some Wisconsin schools end class ranking.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/27, Richards) reported that some schools in Wisconsin have quit ranking high school students in a move to improve students’ chances of getting into college. In Waukesha County, “last year’s seniors with a GPA of 4.05 weren’t in the top 10 percent of their class, and 3.8 GPA students didn’t clear the top 20 percent.” Administrators in districts that have ceased using the statistic “say they’ve seen more seniors being accepted into the University of Wisconsin-Madison.” But while “reports show that college admission departments have already started to ease scrutiny on class rank” nationwide, “at least one UW-Madison official is still perturbed by the trend at high schools, saying that withholding a piece of data impedes their work and forces them to more heavily emphasize ACT or SAT scores.” The official noted that “the UW system has comprehensively reviewed incoming freshmen, rather than making an initial determination based on GPA and class rank.”
Most students are not overscheduled with activities, studies indicate.
The Washington Post (9/28, C1, St. George) reported on the front page of its Style section that two recent studies “into the lives of middle-class children bucks conventional wisdom and concludes they are not the overscheduled, frazzled generation that many believe them to be.” The research found “that only a minority are heavily scheduled and that organized activities are linked to positive outcomes in school, emotional development, family life and behavior.” Specifically, “a higher level of activity was not linked to such stress symptoms as depression, anxiety, alienation and fearfulness.” In fact, the results indicated that “the children most at risk have no activities at all.” However, “parental stress…might be another matter.” One of the researchers said that parents “are having a hard time trying to figure out how to manage children’s lives as well as their own.” The Post noted that, “until recently, overscheduling as a phenomenon has not been widely explored in data-based studies.”
School officials, parents clash over math program.
The Washington Post (9/28, PW3, Shapira) reported on “the math wars in Prince William County,” Virginia, where parents and education officials have been at odds over the district’s use of the Investigations in Numbers, Data and Space program. “County school officials have presented data indicating that elementary students are improving in math,” and say “that county schools need “to push on with the…program as long as it is balanced with traditional lessons.” Parents who oppose the program counter that “the school system is experimenting at their children’s expense,” and say they “will continue to scrutinize school system data and might file Freedom of Information Act requests to examine documents related to the evaluation of the program.” The Post noted that “the Investigations program requires students to use inanimate objects and protracted methods that school officials say prepare them for algebra, but some parents think it does not focus enough on traditional drills and the memorization of algorithms.”
Oregon develops more rigorous physical education curriculum.
The Oregonian (9/29, Melton) reports that as Oregon “moves to teach fitness and nutrition to a new generation, hallowed physical education traditions are morphing into a more rigorous curriculum that emphasizes specific skills, building self-esteem, and reducing alarming obesity rates.” The emerging physical education curriculum includes activities such as “hiking and geocaching (an outdoor treasure hunt using navigation tools) to build practical skills such as walking on uneven terrain and using a compass.” And, “Unusual sports such as juggling, table tennis, and cup-stacking to give kids an opportunity to excel at more things.” Many schools are also beginning to include textbooks in physical education classes because “the Oregon Department of Education last year added PE to its list of subjects that must have books. Districts have until 2015 to get them into schools.” According to some advocates, “the state PE effort is a targeted response to the growing obesity and health problems facing young people today.”
Full K-12 curriculum to be made available to Florida students online.
The Palm Beach Post (9/28, Breen) reported, “Next school year, the first generation of Florida students can begin to earn a diploma from local public schools entirely online, without ever setting foot in a classroom from kindergarten through 12th grade. A new state law requires districts to create their own full-time virtual schools, collaborate with other districts or contract with providers approved by the state.” The law’s “vague reference to providing computers and Internet access to students ‘when appropriate’” is open to interpretation to each district, “raising concerns that the program may not benefit students whose families cannot afford home computers and reliable Internet access.” Officials in Palm Beach County are working to resolve that issue. Because “it would be too expensive to provide computers to all virtual students to use at home,” school “administrators have proposed opening school computer labs.”
Science curriculum emphasizes genetics.
The Baltimore Sun (9/28, Gvozdas) reported on a “two-week lesson on genetics” developed at Glen Burnie High School in Maryland by science teacher Pam Engel that allows students to “create their own family trees.” The “students had to list three generations and include medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, along with causes of death. Then they had to act as genetics counselors and predict which conditions might be passed on in their families.” The Sun noted that the program “helped Engel earn a certification from the Geneticist-Educator Network of Alliances (GENA).” She had been “part of a pilot project of 13 teachers nationwide who teamed up with geneticists to develop lesson plans for high school students.” Engel and her partner focused “on inherited traits,” as they are “the ‘cornerstone’ of any genetics patient’s visit.” The Sun noted that “the National Science Foundation provided the grant for the GENA project to improve science education and get more high school students to pursue careers in the field.”
On the Job
D.C. teacher vacancies concern some educators.
On the front of its Metro section, the Washington Post (9/29, B1, Turque) reports, “After spending more than $200 million this summer to renovate and repair its buildings, the D.C. school system is having trouble filling them with teachers, listing more than 90 vacancies five weeks into the academic year.” The vacancies indicated on “a list generated by the system’s human resources department” include special education, math, science, English, and foreign language positions, as well as elementary teacher positions. And, “despite Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee’s promise that every school would have a music and art teacher, the list shows several openings in those areas” as well. But, Rhee’s spokeswoman “said that the document is outdated and that the chancellor’s office is aware of only 42 openings.” The Post points out that even “in a teacher corps of about 4,000 in 120 schools…teachers say that” a small number of “vacancies can have significant ripple effects. Teachers” could be “pressed into classroom service instead of having free periods to work on lesson plans, and class sizes can grow.”
Law & Policy
Arizona considering statewide district unification.
The Arizona Republic (9/ 29, Reid) reports, “For the first time in Arizona’s history, voters will be considering proposals to merge districts around the state. The proposals on the Nov. 4 ballot would unify 76 elementary and high school districts into 27 K-12 districts.” The unification proposals were developed by the Arizona School District Redistricting Commission “after nearly three years of discussions.” Those who support the proposals say that “unification would improve Arizona education by saving administrative costs and putting more dollars into classrooms.” Jay Kaprosy, chair of Maricopa County United for Student Success, said, “By eliminating administrative duplication and inefficiencies more money can be directed to teacher salaries and classroom spending.” Still, many “school boards” have “strongly opposed unification.” Unification “opponents say the proposal is vague, lacks funding, and its cost and legal impact has not been thoroughly analyzed.”
Special Needs
Documentary studies potential of disabilities-awareness education.
The Christian Science Monitor (9/29, Khadaroo) reports on Maggie Doben, a first grade teacher and the creator of a “new documentary, ‘Labeled Disabled,’ which she hopes will help parents and teachers see the potential of disabilities-awareness education.” Doben developed an eight-week curriculum during which her students “have the chance to befriend at least half a dozen people with a wide range of physical disabilities.” Prior to the visits, the students “learn the alphabet in sign language or make textured vases for a blind guest,” and learn why certain terms are used to refer to specific conditions while others are not. They also “find out it’s OK to ask whatever they’re curious about.” An educator who works with Doben explained that “the students start off not knowing what ‘disability’ means and become ‘completely conversant … about disabilities in a way that’s mature for little guys.’”
New York schools offer gym class with greater accessibility for special needs students.
New York’s Observer-Dispatch (9/28, Potts) reported that several New York school districts have found “ways to make…gym classes accessible for all students, regardless of their abilities.” The districts “provide special equipment for students with disabilities. Examples include softer foam balls, larger bats and beeping soccer balls for visually impaired students. Games themselves also can be modified by using smaller playing areas or simpler rules.” And, “the most severely disabled students make use of the swimming pool several times a week with the help of individual aides.” Meanwhile, “students with anxiety disorders often engage in physical activity outside a classroom setting and log their hours toward gym credits.” The purpose of making such accommodations, school officials said, is “to help each student make the most of his or her own physical abilities.” Teachers, meanwhile, said that “it really comes down to making sure students are having fun.”
Safety & Security
Some Massachusetts districts adopting stricter anti-drinking policies.
The Boston Globe (9/28, O’Brien) reported that “a growing number of high schools” in Massachusetts “are now using breathalyzers at school events, testing students they believe to be intoxicated or sometimes testing every single student to make sure no one has been drinking.” Some schools are even requiring parents “to sign in their students at the door,” and “have adopted zero-tolerance policies” such as denying the ability to graduate to students who are “caught drinking at the prom.” The Globe noted that “even though Massachusetts’ rates of underage drinking overall have fallen in recent years, state and local officials are troubled by” the level of binge drinking that some studies have found. But while many administrators tout the use of breathalyzers in particular, others “say breathalyzers…offer a false sense of security,” and instead advocate “adopting stiffer penalties for alcohol use,” such as “banning violators from the prom and other dances for the rest of the year.”
Also in the News
Album based on California State Standards.
California’s Press Enterprise (9/29, Dean) reports on “the album ‘Math’ by Rockin’ the Standards,” which addresses the California State Standards and “has held a top 10 position…in bestseller downloads in the Children’s Music/Compilations/Education category of Amazon.com.” The album was created by teacher Tim Bedley. It is based, he said, “on the standards and what I’ve experienced in the classrooms…the things kids tend to forget.” The album was preceded by “Singin’ the standards: Simple to Learn, Impossible to Forget,” which Bedley released in 2006. “Bedley offers training for educators interested in using “Rockin’ the Standards” albums in the classroom.”
NEA in the News
NEA voices opposition to Massachusetts ballot measure to repeal income tax.
The New York Times (9/28, A21, Belluck) reported on a ballot contest in Massachusetts regarding the elimination of the state income tax. “It would save the average taxpayer about $3,600 a year. Annual revenue from the tax is about $12.5 billion, roughly 45 percent of the state’s budget of about $28 billion.” The measure has caused concern among state officials, such as Gov. Deval Patrick (D), who “has called the ballot measure ‘just a dumb idea.’” Additionally, “healthcare workers, small-business owners and unions are especially concerned about that prospect.” Karen White, “director of campaigns and elections for the National Education Association, said the ‘reckless proposal’ would have ‘dire consequences that will put education at risk, healthcare at risk, public safety at risk.’” White added, “We’re prepared to commit more money if we need to. We’re going to do what we need to do to make sure that we win this one.”
New federal rules give school districts oversight of 403(b) accounts.
Education Week (9/29, McNeil) reported that, because of new federal rules (pdf) regarding supplemental retirement plans, “district business officials must now vet and pick the investment firms that offer such plans, craft a highly technical document governing the 403(b) accounts, and assume responsibility for making sure employees seeking hardship withdrawals or loans from their accounts are following the rules.” According to experts, “the changes represent dramatic new responsibilities in oversight and administration that had been ‘virtually nonexistent’ for district business officials” in the past. Because of the new rules, “teachers and other employees may find their investment choices limited as their districts…seek to scale down the number of investment companies allowed to offer their plans.” Additionally, “employers used to dealing directly with their investment houses for loans and other withdrawals will have to apply through their districts, or through designated school system contractors.” However, “some district decisions…may be subject to collective bargaining with employees’ unions, depending on the existing labor contract.”
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In the Classroom
Fifteen D.C. schools launch experimental student performance-pay program.
On the front page of its Metro section, the Washington Post (9/30, B1, Turque) reports on Capital Gains, an experimental program which pays students “cash for good grades and behavior.” The program, created by Harvard economist Roland G. Fryer, “began yesterday at 15 D.C. schools.” The program is aimed at closing “the academic achievement gap that separates white and minority children.” Fryer has said that “it is important to find ways for children to learn that academic achievement also has short-term and tangible rewards.” The Post explains, “Under Capital Gains, every two weeks, students will be scored on 10-point scales according to a series of performance indicators. All schools in the program” must “review behavior and attendance,” but “individual schools can choose other criteria, including grades, homework, class participation, and adherence to the dress code. Each point is worth $2.” Half of the program’s $2.7 million budget will be funded by the District, the rest will be “from a grant to Harvard by the Broad Foundation.”
Program builds English language, science skills.
Education Week (9/29, Cavanagh) reported that “more than 400 educators in the Miami-Dade County, Fla., school system” are “taking part in a professional-development and curriculum program that attempts to build students’ science knowledge while also helping them master English.” The program, Promoting Science among English Language Learners (P-SELL), “addresses a number of the crucial challenges facing elementary teachers in urban districts and other communities that have seen an influx of non-native English-speakers.” Educators involved in P-SELL attend professional-development workshops that are “focused on improving teachers’ science understanding,” and also demonstrate “how different activities, such as hands-on experiments, small-group discussions, and writing, can improve students’ knowledge of both science and English.” According to P-SELL officials, hands-on projects and small group activities are particularly effective. Educators involved in the Florida effort called P-SELL “a very easy and manageable curriculum,” and noted testing gains made by students under the program.
California district applying interactive whiteboards to most classroom subjects.
California’s San Mateo County Times (9/30, Scott) reports on the use of interactive whiteboards in San Mateo County and surrounding areas. “The whiteboard is a projector, a movie screen and a drawing pad all at once — with instant Internet access and hundreds of pre-programmed learning games designed to function with a child’s touch” — that can be applied to nearly every academic discipline. During “a unit on fossils,” for example, “teachers [were] screening videos of dinosaurs off the Internet, stopping the video and ‘drawing’ on the screen to help make a point.” Educators also note that whiteboards foster group learning. According to the article, “Not only do students absorb more information” using such whiteboards, “they are training for a time in their lives when they will be creating everything with computers.” The Times notes that “many of the programs used in the classroom are available on the Web for free, and students download them to complete their homework assignments.”
CSMonitor calls for de-emphasis of SAT, ACT.
The Christian Science Monitor (9/30) editorializes that “the frenzy and anxiety that have built up over [the] potentially life-altering” SAT and ACT admissions tests “must recede.” The Monitor points out that a “study released last week by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)” suggested that “students spend far too much time and money on the SAT and its counterpart, the ACT.” The study “recommends that colleges and universities review the role of the SAT and ACT in admissions and merit aid and, if the tests don’t predict performance, consider not requiring them.” In order to “de-emphasize standardized tests,” the NACAC study suggested “that U.S. News & World Report magazine…stop using the test scores as a benchmark,” and that “the National Merit Scholarship Program stop using the PSAT…as the initial screen for eligibility.” The Monitor argues that “the onus is on colleges to more fairly weigh the tests along with other measures — and to get that message out to applicants.”
Teacher coaching program focuses on learning retention, testing scores.
California’s Tri-Valley Herald (9/30, Gokhman) reports on the Direct Instruction (DI) coaching program, which provides “a way for teachers to help improve students’ learning retention as well as their standardized testing scores.” The certification “program is a means of intervention to help” schools raise their status under NCLB, and “includes a lesson structure guide that breaks up lessons into pieces so that teachers can frequently check for understanding and pinpoint where a child needs help.” According to educators certified under the program, “benefits of the Direct Instruction style include being able to get through lessons faster and to cover more material, to more quickly identify students who need help and to keep students moving so they don’t ‘tune out.’” And although “lessons are structured in certain steps” under the program, educators say “that there’s room for teachers’ own creativity and style,” noting that “DI should look different in everybody’s class.”
Author advocates for financial literacy classes.
In an opinion piece for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (8/30), financial author Braun Mincher asks, “Why does the school system require classes such as math, English, and science but not basic personal finance?” A “2007 survey commissioned by the National Council on Economic Education” reveals that “only seven states require students to receive some form of financial education in the school system.” Meanwhile, recent headlines about “the mortgage meltdown, the stock market crisis, the housing slump,” and “the rising cost of oil” are indicators that financial literacy will be relevant “for the next generation.” Moreover, “personal finance is a subject that will affect each and every consumer for the rest of their lives.” And, since schools have “an obligation to prepare students for success in an ever-changing world,” Mincher concludes, “the public needs to put pressure on lawmakers to mandate” that financial literacy “be properly taught in the school system, alongside traditional math, English, and science.”
On the Job
Two states to institute performance-based teacher evaluations.
Education Week (9/29, Sawchuck) reported, “With the pressure on to increase student learning,” Georgia and Idaho “are in the process of overhauling what analysts say is among the most neglected pieces of the teacher-quality continuum: evaluation.” The states “are working to help districts institute performance-based teacher evaluations built on clear descriptions of effective teaching practices.” The “evaluation frameworks…are built on standards of teacher behavior that research links to improved student learning.” And, each standard falls under one of “four domains: instruction, classroom environment, professional responsibilities,” or planning and preparation. Typically, every standard “includes a description of the practice and examples of the evidence, such as lesson plans and student work, [which] evaluators are expected to seek in making judgments about teacher attainment of the standard.” Some experts say that “evaluating teachers against [the] framework” allows the evaluations to “essentially become a form of professional development that helps teachers…analyze their cognitive decision-making.”
Law & Policy
Texas considering standardized GPA calculation.
Education Week (9/29, Gewertz) reported, The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board “is expected to vote on [a] proposed rule at its Oct. 23 meeting” that would require all Texas high “schools to compute GPAs by including only courses in English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and foreign languages.” Additionally, all schools would have to calculate GPAs “on a four-point scale,” and extra points would be limited to “Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual-enrollment courses.” According to the article, this would mark “a significant change” in policy, as “many districts…give added weight to honors, ‘pre-AP’ and ‘pre-IB’ courses.” Districts have also traditionally given GPA credit for “a vast array of courses ” that would no longer qualify. The proposal “is encountering strong resistance from educators who fear it could discourage teenagers from taking challenging courses.” There are also “widespread concerns about the…elimination of career and technical education courses from the calculation.”
Facilities
Maryland district’s school lunch program praised.
In the Eat Drink, & Be Healthy column on the front page of the Washington Post’s (9/30, HE1) Health section, Jennifer Huget writes about the praise-winning lunch program in Maryland’s Montgomery County public school system. In addition to providing “a variety of nutritious meals,” such as “Teriyaki Beef Bites With Asian Vegetables” and “Baked Shrimp Poppers With Cheesy Rice,” the district “also uses applesauce instead of fats when baking cookies and doesn’t add salt to foods it offers, instead adding flavor through a variety of spices.” Eight dieticians have been staffed by Montgomery County “to plan and implement its school lunch program.” In addition, the school system “solicits input from parents.” And, “last year, the system hired a private company to run the food service. Now, along with such lunch-menu choices…District schools offer information about foods’ nutritional content and guidance in making sound choices, and advise parents on how to encourage healthy eating habits at home.”
School Finance
Connecticut districts seek more state funding for student meals.
UPI (9/30) reports, “A number of Connecticut school districts say they plan to ask the state Legislature for more money to pay for student lunches.” This year, “some school lunch programs in Connecticut [are] facing huge deficits” because of “increasing poverty, lagging subsidies, and rising food costs.”
According to Connecticut’s Hartford Courant (9/29, Stacom), “in communities where poverty is rising sharply…more needy families mean more children lining up for free and lower-cost lunches,” which can “lead to deficits for programs that emphasize nutritious foods and operate with relatively high fixed costs.” Meanwhile, some “districts hold down costs by contracting their lunch programs.” Others, like the Enfield district, limit “expenses by cooking all meals at two kitchens, then distributing them to the schools. That saves dozens of hours of preparation and cooking time at individual schools. Enfield students pay in their classrooms for meals, so” no cafeteria cashiers are needed.
Also in the News
Male teachers serve as important role models, study suggests.
The U.K.’s Press Association (9/30) reports, “Male primary school teachers are vital role models for boys, new research suggests.” A poll “commissioned by the Training and Development Agency (TDA)” of over “800 men looked at the impact of male primary teachers in boys’ development.” Results showed that nearly half of those surveyed believe “that a male teacher has been a fundamental role model in their life,” and “more than a third (35 percent) felt that having a male primary teacher challenged them to work harder at school.” Furthermore, 50 percent of respondents said they “were more likely to approach a male teacher about bullying,” 49 percent “were more likely to approach them about problems with school work,” and 29 percent “went to them with problems at home.”
According to the U.K.’s Independent (9/30, Garner), “the research…comes as the number of males qualifying to teach is at its lowest for five years — 23.8 percent. Only 13 percent of all primary school teachers are men.” The U.K.’s Telegraph (9/30, Paton) adds that according to child psychologist Tanya Byron, “paranoia about child abuse” accusations drives many men away from teaching. Dr. Byron also noted that the male teacher “shortage particularly [affects] children from single-parent families who often” do not have “father figures in the home.” The Independent notes that the TDA is launching a campaign urging “men to consider” teaching.
Harvard institute to address perceived decline in U.S. education system.
The Financial Times (9/30, Knight) reports that the United States “public education system, once considered the ‘great equalizer’ in U.S. life, is failing its students, and multibillionaire Eli Broad wants to do something about it.” Broad “has announced the creation of an education research institute at” Harvard University “that will focus on public schools.” The Times explains that “the $44 million…Education Innovation Laboratory will connect economists and scholars from other academic fields with research and development teams embedded in school districts in New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.” Broad believes that “the troubled public school system [has] hurt U.S. competitiveness,” and noted that countries in Europe and Asia “are rapidly improving their education systems.” Roland Fryer, “the Harvard economist who in January at the age of 30 became the youngest black professor ever to earn tenure from the university,” has been selected to “serve as the head of” the project.