Updates and Information Provided by NEA
Los Angeles School District Will Send Out School Report Cards This Week.
The Los Angeles Times (1/12, Blume) reports, “Parents in Los Angeles this week will receive a one-page report card that will provide a less varnished and more accessible picture of how well their child’s school is doing.” The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) “has been collecting information on individual students for about a decade,” but “in the past, the district leaned heavily toward” releasing only “data that demonstrated success or progress while downplaying or submerging difficult truths,” according to Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines. The high school report cards that will be released this week, however, “will provide more accurate dropout figures and display, for example, how many students are proficient in English and math — and whether that number is going up or down.” The Times points out that “One element missing from the report card is a summary score or grade for each school. Cortines said he is inclined to leave it that way.”
In the Classroom
Fifth-Grade Teacher Uses Athletic Themes To Keep Students Interested In Learning.
The Burlington (NC) Times News (1/12, Wilder) reports that Michelle Thompson, a fifth-grade teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary, uses athletic themes as part of her “strategy to keep her students interested in learning.” For instance, students can work “on their reading with a book about NBA player Tracy McGrady,” who “went into the NBA after going to high school at Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham.” After reading, Thompson divided her class “into two teams for a game that tested how well they know basketball terms such as ‘possession,’ ‘traveling,’ and ‘block.’” Later on, “the class would…learn about measurements in math using the dimensions of a basketball court.” The Burlington Times News adds, “At other times of year, Thompson uses sports such as football and baseball to help teach students. She finds out at the start of the school year what students are interested in so she can teach accordingly.”
More Schools In Long Island Moving Team Sport- To Skill-Centered Physical Education Programs.
The New York Times (1/11, L15, Saslow) reported that the West Babylon school system “is one of a growing number of school districts across Long Island that have revised their physical education curriculums, moving away from team sports and skills mastery toward activities that school officials say can generate enthusiasm for lifelong fitness.” With that goal in mind, physical education instructors “are incorporating many kinds of activities into gym classes” such as bicycling “at the expense of instruction in team sports.” Some “schools are incorporating yoga and Pilates and even Dance Dance Revolution, a blood-pumping video game.”
Mobile Digital Technologies Can Boost Children’s Learning, Report Concludes.
Education Week (1/9, Trotter) reported, “Children’s lives have been caught up in a tide of mobile digital technologies…that if carefully managed could significantly boost their learning, concludes a report released today by a research center based at the Sesame Workshop.” The Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning report includes a list “of more than 25 projects in which hand-held devices are being used for learning or are the subject of research in the United States and other nations.” For example, Project K-Nect is “a pilot program in its second year that has placed smartphones…in the hands of 9th grade algebra students in four North Carolina high schools. Teachers, from their laptop computers, send specially designed activities related to curriculum topics to students’ smartphones.” The report also calls “for government and philanthropies to make new investments in research and development aimed at understanding the impact of mobile technologies on children’s learning and development.”
Technology Students At Ohio High School Building Electric Car.
The Middletown (OH) Journal (1/12, Ebbing) reports on a car rebuilding program that students in Hamilton High School’s automotive technology and tech prep engineering design programs are taking on. The students are currently working to redesign a “1999 Chevrolet Tracker into an electric car.” According to career tech education director Herb Dietz, “working on the car ‘gives students the opportunity to apply their skills to a current economic, environmental problem.’” He added, “Sooner or later a research team is going to design an electric car that will benefit all society both economically and environmentally.”
NASA Specialist Takes Fourth-Graders At North Dakota School On Virtual Tour Of Solar System.
The Jamestown (ND) Sun (1/10, Rodgers) reported that last week, “forty fourth-grade students” at Lincoln Elementary School “received a virtual tour of the solar system courtesy of NASA.” Through a live webcam conference, NASA education specialist Nathan Lang “showed the class videos of the space station and the neutral buoyancy lab before taking them on a virtual tour of the solar system.” Throughout the virtual tour, Lang asked the students “facts about each planet.” According to the Jamestown Sun, “the [students] have been studying facts and figures about the solar system since the start of December. Some of the pre-conference tasks the class had to complete were tests, quizzes, and model construction.” In addition to math and science skills, the program focuses on “language arts as well. The children were able to talk directly with their planetary guide with the use of a webcam and microphone.”
On the Job
Louisiana Education Officials To Announce Fate Of 32 Underperforming Schools.
The Shreveport (LA) Times (1/11, Northington) reported, “State education officials analyzed student performance on standardized tests, observed classroom teaching and school leadership among other things to compile reports on 10 Caddo schools eligible for placement in the state’s Recovery School District.” State education officials used the reports to help determine whether or not the schools will be taken over by the state. This week, “the 10 Caddo schools and 22 others statewide” will find out their fate. The Shreveport Times focuses on Oak Park Elementary School in particular. According to the state report, Oak Park has been “moving slowly toward its academic goals.” Meanwhile, “struggling leadership, poor planning and classroom management, high suspension rates, a lack of academic rigor and low expectations for students are the findings for most of the [other] 10 underperforming Caddo schools, according to the Education Department reports.”
Teachers Should Be Open To Parents’ Suggestions, Columnist Writes.
Washington Post (1/12, B2) columnist Jay Mathews writes, “With two massive parental revolts nearing victory in Fairfax County…it is time to disclose a great truth about even the best educators I know: As much as they deny it, they really don’t like outsiders messing with the way they do their jobs.” Mathews continues, “I don’t like that either. Do you? We know what we are doing. Most other folks don’t.” But, he adds, “that schools, unlike most institutions, are handling parents’ most precious possessions, their children.” According to Dick Reed, “a two-time PTA president in Fairfax,” educators “see the students as their customers, rather than their true customers — those who pay the bills.” Mathews agrees, stating, “I think I speak for most parents when I say we would appreciate a more willing suspension of disbelief when we pitch a suggestion and an openness to data before school officials make up their minds.”
Law & Policy
U.S. Education Secretary Approves Colorado Growth Model Accountability System.
The Denver Daily News (1/12, Davis) reports, “U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced late last week the approval of the Colorado Growth Model — a data system that focuses on a student’s progress over time — as a way to satisfy the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) school accountability system.” Prior to the approval, the Colorado Department of Education calculated adequate yearly progress (AYP) by comparing “the Colorado Student Achievement Program (CSAP) test results from one grade to the same grade the previous year.” Deborah Fallon, spokeswoman for the 38,000 member Colorado Education Association, said that the Colorado Growth Model “gives teachers, parents, schools, and kids a lot better information about the progress that the students are making.”
Twelve High School Students In Virginia Chosen To Serve As Student Advisors.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (1/11, Reid) reported on Kiyoko Timmons, a senior at Richmond Community High School who “is one of 12 students statewide chosen to serve on the Virginia Department of Education’s Student Advisory Committee.” In December, Timmons and three other students brainstormed “the idea of improving technology and online learning options in classrooms. The group will meet again next month, then present its idea to the state Board of Education in the spring.” Timmons said that her goal “is to create equal opportunities throughout the state.” In the spring, Timmons’ group will “present its idea to the state Board of Education.” The Richmond Times-Dispatch added, “There’s a chance the idea will gain traction. Since forming the student panel in 2000, the state board has paid close attention to what students want.”
Special Needs
Florida School District And Parents Of Special-Needs Students Host Advocacy Conference.
The St. Petersburg Times (1/10, Marshall) reported that “parents of special-needs students and the Hernando County Schools are co-sponsoring a conference next week on special education law and advocacy.” The program “will feature 12 hours of presentations on the intricacies of federal special education law, parents’ rights, strategies for negotiating with school districts, and plenty of time for questions.” Included in the $125-175 conference fee are “two law books and materials, as well as continental breakfast and lunch on both days.” The conference will be led by Pete Wright, “an attorney specializing in special education law” who “has represented dozens of families in disputes, and won a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993,” and his wife Pam, “a psychotherapist who works with children and families.”
Safety & Security
Critics Call Texas’ High School Steroids Testing Program A “Waste Of Money.”
The AP (1/10) reported that lawmakers in Texas must decide whether or not to keep a two-year high school steroids testing program. “The first 10,000 tests found only four positive results,” leading critics to declare the program “a waste of time and money.” According to the AP, even though “the program’s $6 million pricetag is a mere .004 percent of the $167 billion state budget, the money could be an easy target for lawmakers strapped for cash in a struggling economy.” Rep. Dan Flynn (R) sponsored the testing bill in 2007, and said “the point of testing was to act as a deterrent against steroid use, not catch teens using drugs.” Flynn “wants to keep testing, but is willing to consider scaling down the program providing it remains an effective deterrent.”
“Let’s Talk About It” Allows Students To Report Bullying Behavior Anonymously.
The AP (1/12) reports on “Let’s Talk About It,” an idea being piloted at “middle, junior high, and senior high schools” in Forrest City, AR, that allows “students to remain anonymous” when reporting bullying behavior by other students. “Students with access to a computer or texting can let selected faculty members know what’s going on, and do it anonymously.” Carter B. Myers, a representative of “Let’s Talk About It,” said, “The service is really about empowering students to play a role, not only in keeping themselves in school, but playing an active role in keeping the school safe and building a connected school environment.” It also “can empower students to be a part of the solution, as opposed to having to walk though every metal detector and being considered as part of the problem,” he added. This month, faculty, administrators, and student leaders will attend training sessions for “Let’s Talk About It.”
School Finance
Arizona District Seeks To Collect Outstanding Balances From Students.
The Yuma (AZ) Sun (1/10, Roller) reported, “Outstanding student fees are not just an issue for Kofa High School, but are a matter the Yuma Union High School District is trying to resolve to maintain sound financial practices, says a district official.” Overall, schools throughout the district “carry an outstanding student fee balance of nearly $285,000 that has accumulated over the past 20 years.” According to YUHSD associate superintendent Richard Faidley, “there is no way to collect a fee once a student leaves high school.” So “if a student fails to return a textbook at the end of a term, the district has to replace it out of its own capital fund.” Faidley also pointed out that “repeated notification has been handed out to students in school, mailed to homes, and even telephone calls made to inform families about outstanding balances.”
Also in the News
Education Is Freedom Program Rewards High-Achieving Students In Dallas.
The Dallas Morning News (1/9, Yan) reported on the Education is Freedom program, which rewards middle and high school students in Dallas who “maintain at least an 85-percent grade average, stay in school and work toward going to college.” Students receive “prizes such as trips, sound systems, laptops, and cash.”
NEA in the News
Iowa Teacher Salaries Nearing National Average.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls (IA) Courier (1/11, Boshart) reported, “Iowa officials appear to be on track for achieving the goal of boosting public school teachers’ salaries to the national average, according to the state’s largest teachers’ union.” Data from the National Education Association (NEA) “indicate the average yearly pay for teachers in Iowa climbed from 42nd place during the 2005-06 school year to 38th the following year and up to a No. 31 ranking” in the NEA’s most recent report. The average salary “for Iowa public school teachers” was $43,130 “during the 2006-07 school year,” and increased “to $46,664 for the following year.”
NEA Executive Director Sets Record Straight On Work Of Partnership For 21st Century Skills.
In a letter to the Washington Post (1/12, B6), National Education Association Executive Director John Wilson writes, “The Partnership for 21st Century Skills would like to set the record straight on three points that Jay Mathews made about our work in his Jan. 5 column, “The Latest Doomed Pedagogical Fad: 21st-Century Skills,” on the Schools & Learning page. The first point Wilson makes is that the partnership’s “work with states involves a thoughtful, detailed implementation period because it takes several years to fully affect standards, assessments and professional development.” Secondly, “the teachers organizations built around core subjects agree…that it is tough, but imperative, to infuse 21st-century skills into teaching.” And last, the partnership’s “work reflects the common vision of key education groups, including the National Education Association, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the American Association of School Librarians, as well as the business community.”
Teachers’ Unions Jointly Develop Suggested Lesson Plans About Obama’s Inauguration.
The Washington Times (1/13) reports that the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have “jointly developed five suggested lesson plans about” president-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration that are mostly “geared to grades six through 12.” In addition, they have created a similarly-themed recommended reading list. The plans can be found on the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s (PIC) website, www.pic2009.org/content/lessonplans. According to a PIC spokesman, “the idea for the suggested lesson plans came from the inaugural committee, which approached the NEA and AFT to draw them up.” The Times adds, “Some of the suggested plans focus on the historic nature of the inauguration of America’s first black president.” NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said, “It is crucial that our students understand that we are not only living history and making history with this inauguration, but also carrying forward the historical contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his influence on our incoming 44th president.”
“The lesson plans include information about the inauguration and suggest ways to supplement the lessons with discussion topics, films, books and other educational websites,” according to the Boston Globe (1/13, Rhee). “They are divided into three sections: ‘Learning History’ on the evolution of inaugural events beginning with George Washington’s in 1789; ‘Making History’ to let students follow along with Obama’s swearing-in on Jan. 20, and ‘Living History’ to encourage students to continue studying US government and the presidency beyond Inauguration Day.”
In the Classroom
Use Of Native Language In Curriculum Said To Help Native American Students Succeed.
The Yuma (AZ) Sun (1/13, Roller) reports that according to some studies, 70 percent of high school students graduate, but “only 51 percent of Native Americans get a [high school] diploma.” That is why the Campaign for High School Equity (CHSE) “focuses on high school education reform and aims to eliminate achievement gaps for Native students.” According to Willard Gilbert, a CHSE member, educator, and former National Indian Education Association president, “the way to provide Native students an avenue to succeed…is to incorporate Native language into the curriculum along with Native oral history, legends, and greater involvement of Native elders in the classroom.” For instance, “Arizona tribal students” recently organized a program “with the National Science Foundation,” in which “Native language was used to teach science. The result was significant increase in academic scores as well as improved attitude toward science, Gilbert said.” He also emphasized the importance of preparing Native American students in “science, technology, engineering, and math.”
Enrollment At St. Louis County, Missouri, Technical High Schools Credited To Economy.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/13, Clubb) reports that “over the last five years enrollment in the two…technical high schools” in St. Louis County “has increased from 1,860 to 2,150,” according to Randy Dillon, “director of technical education for the Special School District in St. Louis County.” Furthermore, the number of “juniors and seniors participating in the technical programs at South Tech” and North Tech “has grown over [the same] time period from 4.3 percent to 6.3 percent.” Dillion said that the enrollment increase is due, in part, to the economy. “When the economy is doing well he said, it’s easier for people to get a job without training. When the economy is doing poorly, as it is now, he sees more people enrolling in technical schools.” The technical high schools in St. Louis County “offer programs that range from nursing to auto body, carpentry to fashion design, computer programming to cosmetology and early childhood careers to law enforcement.”
Fairfax County, Virginia, School Board Members To Consider Changing Grading Scale.
The Washington Post (1/13, B8, Chandler) reports, “A majority of Fairfax County School Board members yesterday indicated their desire to ease the county’s tough grading scale, a sign that thousands of parents who seek change might win a victory.” The board will “vote on the grading policy Jan. 22.” According to the Post, “A groundswell of parents have urged the school system, which requires a 94 for an A and a 64 to pass, to adopt the more broadly used practice of giving an A for 90 or better and setting 60 as the passing score.” They say that “the current policy puts students at a disadvantage when they apply to colleges and for scholarships.”
Poverty And Minority Students Seen As Major Challenges To Some Oklahoma Districts.
The AP (1/13) reports that “poverty and a growing population of minority students, including non-English speaking Hispanics, are presenting major challenges to public schools in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, a state school official said Monday.” According to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett, in both districts, “more than 80 percent of students in both districts qualify for free or reduced lunches because of their families’ low income levels.” Garrett joined “Higher Education Chancellor Glen Johnson “to present performance reviews of their systems” to the budget panel. During the presentation, Garrett “stressed her preference for expanding the school year and the school day to improve the education of Oklahoma students.” She told the panel that “excessive testing to meet state and federal mandates is leaving little time for teachers to teach, suggesting that some testing chores in some subjects could be handled at the local level.”
On the Job
Dallas Schools Need To Fill About 200 “Critical” Teaching Positions.
The Dallas Morning News (1/13, Cantãš) reports that the Dallas Independent School District “needs to fill about 200 teaching positions in ‘critical need’ areas like science, math and bilingual education for the 2009-10 school year.” The district will hold an information fair Tuesday night “to provide details about the district’s alternative certification program, which prepares new teachers for state certification when they don’t have traditional credentials.” The Dallas Morning News notes, “The fair comes three months after more than 300 teachers were laid off because of a hefty budget deficit.”
Pinellas County, Florida, Superintendent Will Maintain Seven-Period Schedule Despite Ruling.
The St. Petersburg Times (1/13) reports, “The Pinellas teachers union and the school district are in a serious standoff over a new seven-period schedule for middle schools.” The new schedule, which began in August, “lengthened the middle school day by 14 minutes, and added a seventh period.” As a result, “the district’s 1,500 middle school teachers were required to teach six classes instead of the maximum of five called for in their contract.” An arbiter “ruled Nov. 26 that the new schedule violated the teachers’ contract and ordered the district to restore the six-period schedule in time for the second semester.” But more recently, Superintendent Julie Janssen said “in a letter to the union that she will not return to the old six-period day when the second semester starts Jan. 20.” Mark Herdman, the union’s lawyer, said that “if Janssen goes through with her plan next Tuesday, the union will sue the district.”
Law & Policy
Education Department Approves Pennsylvania’s Value-Added Assessment For NCLB.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1/13, Chute) reports, “This year, Pennsylvania schools will have an additional way to meet the student progress measure known as adequate yearly progress or AYP.” ED “has approved an additional tool, the Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessment System, which measures student growth to see whether students are on a trajectory to success. If that measure had been in place for the spring 2008 tests, another 242 schools would have met AYP, according to a report filed with the state in the fall.”
Spellings Urges Duncan To Stay Focused On Needs Of Students.
In an open letter printed in the Washington Post (1/13, A15) US Education Secretary Margaret Spellings writes to Arne Duncan, “Your experience as chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools will be invaluable in continuing the work we in the Bush administration began doing to close the achievement gap and provide all children, regardless of race, income level or background, the skills needed to succeed.” Spellings argues that NCLB is “working” because “test scores in reading and math have reached record highs. And the children once left behind — African American, Hispanic, those living in urban areas — are driving these academic gains.” Spellings urges Duncan to seek “allies” among “the unique and growing nationwide coalition of reformers.” Spellings concludes, “Many in Washington will judge you on your popularity with adults. If some adults are made uncomfortable by your policies, so be it. The needs of children must come first.”
Rhode Island Attorney General Will Not Pursue Charges Against School For Time-Out Room.
The Block Island Times (1/13, Barrett) reports, “On Christmas Eve the state attorney general’s office announced its decision not to pursue charges against the Block Island School or any teachers or administrators in regard to the time-out room that came to light there last summer.” A spokesman for the Attorney General said that the room is “improper,” but not illegal. “‘The only possible charge would have been child neglect, but the key word in the child neglect statute is ‘habitual,’ and in the instance of the time-out room or chill room or whatever term you want to use there was no evidence at all that the conduct was habitual,’ Healey said.” The room was revealed to the public “after an anonymous package arrived at news outlets in Rhode Island containing a DVD and a letter. On the DVD, a video showed Room 20 with sliding locks and a boarded up window. The letter reportedly implied that unruly children were held in the room.”
Safety & Security
Class Teaches How To Identify Characteristics Of A Would-Be School Shooter.
The Yuma (AZ) Sun (1/13, Roller) reports that “the Yuma Police Department and Kofa High School are sponsoring a presentation Wednesday to show parents, educators, students and others how to identify the characteristics of a would-be school shooter.” A person familiar with the presentation said, “The goal is to explain how to anticipate and stop these shootings. … Most shooters exhibit some signs that go undetected or ignored.” The class covers “profiles of a school shooter, warning signs, where to report suspicious behavior, precursors to school violence, whether schools are safe, and what schools and individuals can do to prevent shootings.” It also “explores the U.S. Secret Service findings from the Safe Schools Initiative, how the findings apply to students on campus, and what parents, educators and students can do to help prevent shootings.”
School Finance
Florida’s Hillsborough District Solicits Employee Input On Budget-Related Decisions.
The St. Petersburg Times (1/13, Stein) reports, “The Hillsborough school district is asking its 25,000 employees to weigh in on possible actions if the Florida economy continues its downward spiral.” School employees are asked to indicate their preferences between choices such as “Layoffs or salary reductions?” and “Pay more for health care or eliminate a day from the school year?” Respondents are encouraged to “voice their views — from strongly agree to strongly disagree — on the six worst-case scenarios. Possibilities include layoffs and salary reductions for all employees.” Yvonne Lyons, executive director of the teachers union, said, “The survey was important to let people know just how dire it is out there. … I don’t think our children or our teachers have really suffered like they have in some other districts.”
Duncan Praised By All At Confirmation Hearing.
The Washington Post (1/14, A9, Glod) reports, “Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick for education secretary, promised yesterday to work to expand preschool, build the ranks of quality teachers and support such initiatives as charter schools and performance pay, setting out an agenda that won him broad bipartisan support at a Senate confirmation hearing. Duncan’s warm reception before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee indicated that he will be confirmed without a hitch.” Duncan said, “We must build upon what works. We must stop doing what doesn’t work. And we have to continue to challenge the status quo.”
The Chicago Tribune (1/14, Oliphant) calls the hearings “as much of a kumbaya moment as any appointee to Barack Obama’s Cabinet is likely to see,” noting that Duncan “offered few details as to how he would alter federal education policy, particularly the polarizing Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind law.”
Duncan did say that “the law should not sanction schools where only a few students are behind academically,” the New York Times (1/14, Dillon) adds. He also “laid out a thoroughly pragmatic agenda, vowing ‘to scale up what works’ to raise student achievement.’”
The AP (1/14, Quaid) reports that Duncan said that “he wants to improve the No Child Left Behind law and lure more people into teaching.” Duncan would also “like longer school days, Saturday school and summer school.” While Duncan “praised [NCLB] for shining a spotlight on children who need the most help,” he “suggested he’s open to letting more special ed kids take a modified version of the annual tests required by No Child Left Behind.” Education Week (1/14, Klein) also covers the story.
In the Classroom
Texas District Advises Teachers Not To Allow Students To Watch Inauguration In Class.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (1/14, Brown, Jinkins) reports that “Administrators in the Keller (TX) school district have advised teachers that they shouldn’t ’sacrifice the instructional time’ to allow students to watch the” presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. Deana Lopez, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said, “Because there is so much technology and media coverage, we feel that students will be able to go home and view it at home with their families.” Meanwhile, “Many campuses in the Northwest school district will watch the event live, said Lesley Weaver, district spokeswoman.” In addition, “Students at Northwest High School are among a handful at schools nationwide who will participate in an interactive program using distance-learning technology. After the swearing-in, students can ask questions of people attending the inauguration.”
Ohio District Implements Saturday School As Alternative To Out-Of-School Suspension.
The Mansfield (OH) News Journal (1/13, Caudill) reported, “Mansfield City Schools will start a Saturday school program later this month as an alternative to out-of-school suspensions.” Students will attend Saturday school at the recommendation of their principal, and they will “be responsible for their own transportation.” The program will be divided into 16 sessions that “will run from 9 a.m. to noon.” Both the high school and Malabar Middle School “will offer prevention education on topics including violence, alcohol and tobacco; and a life-skills development program.”
Opinion: Students Should Be Taught Thinking Skills For Financial Literacy.
In an opinion piece for the Tucson Citizen (1/14) James Bowers, the managing director of the nonprofit Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy writes, “Every few years, 15-year-old American students participate in the Program for International Student Assessment, a standardized test comparing student skills in various countries. And every few years, our students fail the math section.” The Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy recently “released the startling results of a survey that shows our financial literacy tracks our math skills.” The survey indicated that “the same math problems plaguing 15-year-olds continue to vex us into adulthood,” and that “the average American cannot answer basic math questions involving percentages.” According to Bowers, “We can try to pin the blame on Wall Street bankers, Congress or Washington regulators…but ultimately we need to address the underlying problem: our complete failure to provide students with vital thinking skills in math and financial literacy.”
On the Job
Cincinnati Public Schools To “Redesign” Three Elementary Schools.
The Kentucky Post (1/14) reports that Cincinnati (OH) Public Schools (CPS) “plans to replace entire staffs at three elementary schools that repeatedly failed to improve on standardized test scores.” Employees at the three schools will be able to “reapply for their jobs, or take positions somewhere else in the district.” On Friday, CPS plans to announce which schools are “slated for ‘redesign.’”
North Carolina Earns Grade Of C In “Quality Counts” Report.
North Carolina’s Daily Advance (1/14, Tate) reports that based on Education Week’s [2008] Quality Counts report, “North Carolina’s educational system gets a grade of C, but when it comes to teacher pay, the state ranks dead last in the nation.” In the six categories of the report, North Carolina receives “a C-plus under ‘chance for success,’ a D-plus for ‘K-12 achievement,’ a B-plus for ’standards, assessments and accountability,’ a D-plus for ‘transitions and alignment,’ a B for ‘the teaching profession,’ and a C-minus under ’school finance.’” Some educators in Elizabeth City, NC, said that the report “can serve as a wake-up call to show where changes should be made.” For instance, Bill Luton of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Board of Education said that North Carolina can improve its score “by opening the lines of communication between all the people who stand to lose or gain when…schools get better or worse.” He added, “Instead of just looking for someone to blame, we need to figure out what each member of the team can do to make things better.”
Workshop Teaches Educators In Mississippi How To Integrate Arts Into Lessons.
WTOK-TV Meridian, MS (1/14, Bowers) reports, that the Mississippi State University Riley Center “and a host of partners presented arts education workshops for local teachers” for the purpose of teaching them “to effectively integrate the arts into” their lessons. For instance, one workshop “focused on what art integration is, what it is not, and how to effectively use it in the classroom.” According to WTOK, “Teachers at the workshop said that arts integration into education cuts down on discipline problems by keeping students engaged and allowing them to do something different and fun.”
Georgia Governor Proposes Rewarding Principals, Teachers For Student Achievement.
The AP (1/14) reports that “at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s annual ‘Eggs and Issues’ breakfast,” Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) said that “he wants to reward Georgia principals and teachers who boost student achievement” and to “lure new science and math teachers to the state by boosting their entry level pay to those of fifth year teachers.”
Also at the breakfast, Perdue “called for lawmakers to support bonuses for principals of schools that show consistent improvement and for merit pay for top teachers,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1/14, Salzer). The Atlanta Business Chronicle (1/13) also covers the story.
Fellowship Program Trains Urban Superintendents On How To Be Effective Leaders.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune (1/14, Johns) reports that Valeria Silva, “the chief academic officer for the St. Paul public schools” recently completed a “10-month fellowship by the Broad Foundation.” The Broad fellowship program “trains urban schools superintendents.” Fellows travel “to different sites around the country on weekends to learn about what it takes to be an effective urban superintendent.” Silva said that one aspect of the program that she “really liked” was that fellows were able to speak with “major superintendents.” Silva added, “We [got] to talk to [Chicago Superintendent and incoming U.S. Education Secretary] Arne Duncan. He has the experience of being an urban superintendent and knows what it takes. He’s a young leader, who can take a vision and put it in place.”
Los Angeles School Board Agrees To Lay Off Up To 2,300 Teachers.
The Los Angeles Times (1/14, Song) reports that “because of the state’s budget uncertainty, the Los Angeles school board agreed Tuesday to potentially lay off up to 2,300 teachers if no other options become available this year.” Teachers most at risk of being laid off would be those “with fewer than two years of experience. … About 1,100 academic coaches and 400 administrators with teaching credentials could return to the classroom in that scenario, according to the district.” If teachers are let go, “Elementary school class size could rise to more than 30 students,” according to Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) superintendent Ramon C. Cortines. LAUSD “faces up to a $250 million shortfall, and the move could shave about $50 million from that figure,” the Times notes.
Law & Policy
New York City Council To Evaluate Education Department’s Ban On Nativity Displays.
The New York Times (1/14, A30, Hernandez) reports that “On Wednesday, the battle over whether to allow crèches in” New York City public “schools will go to City Hall. The New York City Department of Education does not allow nativity scenes to be displayed in schools, “because it sees them as purely religious.” But “opponents of the Education Department’s policy [will] try to persuade members of the City Council’s education committee to support an effort to overturn the ban on nativity scenes.” According to the Times, “The United States Supreme Court has since declined to take up the matter,” but an appellate court “left open the possibility that crèches could be considered legal, saying it was not ruling one way or the other on the issue.” The Times notes that “other school districts vary in the approach to deciding which symbols the government can, in effect, sponsor during the holidays.” While “some cities do not allow crèches; others…do not have a formal policy and leave the decision up to each school.”
Special Needs
New York City DOE To Overhaul Tracking Of Students With Disabilities.
The New York Times (1/14, A30, Gootman) reports, “The New York City Department of Education (DOE), long criticized for a haphazard approach to special education, has signed a $55 million contract with a Virginia company to overhaul the way it tracks information about 190,000 students with disabilities.” Under the five-year contract, the DOE will rely on the Maximus company to track information on 157,305 students with disabilities “who attend city public schools” and “33,084 others — mostly New York City residents — who attend private or parochial schools but receive services like physical and occupational therapy through the department.” Special education “advocates say that the new system is desperately needed, and that it will replace an antiquated computer system, which is supplemented by roomfuls of paper documents. The combination, they say, too often results in children being denied services they need and are required by law to receive.”
Facilities
Elementary School In Chicago May Close Due To Underutilization.
The Medill Reports (1/14, Linden) reports that the Peabody Elementary School in the Chicago Public School District is set to “close next year due to ‘underutilization,’ the district’s way of saying enrollment was too low.” The school “is one of an estimated 20 schools targeted for closing, phase-out, consolidation and turnaround under the district’s Renaissance 2010 program.” In December, “the Chicago Board of Education…said it would determine school closings by using standardized test scores from the last three school years,” Medill notes. “But the measure does not mention criteria for closures based on non-academic reasons, such as low enrollment.”
Also in the News
Improving Principal, Teacher Quality Essential To Building Better Schools, Report Says.
Education Week (1/14, Gewertz) reports that according to the Accelerating the Agenda report “released jointly by the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Association of State Boards of Education,” all “states need to do much more to make sure that U.S. high school students are poised for success.” The report identified “improving teacher and principal quality” as “an area of weakness in building better high schools.” It said, “No state has yet undertaken a comprehensive effort to upgrade the effectiveness of their high school teacher and principal workforce. … Without a renewed focus on teachers and principals, efforts to fix the American high school will likely fall short.” According to the report, “An evaluation system that isolates individual teachers’ effects on student performance over time…is “key” to building a corps of effective teachers.” It added that “building a strong cadre of principals requires freeing them from some duties so they have time to be instructional leaders, and allowing them more authority to decide who works in their buildings.”
NEA in the News
NEA To Offer Online Professional Development Courses.
T.H.E. Journal (January 2009, Aronowitz) reports that the National Education Association (NEA) Academy “has agreed to partner with Educational Impact to provide online professional development courses to its members.” The course is intended to “strengthen educators’ skills in the areas of language and ESL education, inclusion of students from diverse backgrounds, instructional and curriculum design, and assessment, among others.”