NEA UPDATES
Stimulus Spending On Education Poses Challenge For Duncan.
On its front page, the New York Times (2/17, A1, Dillon) reports that “the $100 billion in emergency aid for public schools and colleges in the economic stimulus bill” could transform Arne Duncan into an exceptional figure in the history of federal education policy: a secretary of education loaded with money and the power to spend large chunks of it as he sees fit.” But “the money also poses challenges and risks for Mr. Duncan,” who must “develop procedures on the fly for disbursing [the] budget,” and “communicate the rules quickly to all 50 states and the nation’s 14,000 school districts.”
According to the Washington Post (2/14, Glod, A11), “over two years, the stimulus will funnel $53.6 billion to states to prevent cutbacks and layoffs and modernize schools.” And, “An additional $25 billion will be dedicated for public school students who are disabled or in poverty.”
The Los Angeles Times (2/13, Mehta) added that “more than $12 billion is included for special education, and $13 billion for the schools that serve the nation’s neediest children. Money is also set aside for state student-data systems, teacher-quality grants, education technology, Head Start preschools and other programs.”
Education Week (2/13, Klein, McNeil) noted that “The final level of education aid in the bill is a middle ground between the roughly $80 billion for education in the Senate version of the measure and the $140 billion approved by the House last month.” As such, it “includes lower levels of funding in the state fiscal-stabilization fund and smaller amounts for special education and education technology than in earlier versions.” The Baltimore Sun (2/17, Bowie), the Providence Journal (2/17, Mulligan), the Virginian-Pilot (2/17, Fiske), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2/15, Sheinin), Alabama’s Dothan Eagle (2/17), and the Missourian (2/17) covered the impact that the federal stimulus legislation is expected to have on education in their respective states.
In the Classroom
Middle School Infuses Math Into All Subjects To Help Students Better Retain Concepts.
California’s Press-Telegram (2/16, Butler) reported that “at Franklin Classical Middle School, students just can’t seem to get away from math even after they are done with math class for the day.” That is because “as part of a push to boost math scores, Franklin has recently incorporated math into other subjects. The hope,” according to Franklin math coach Megan Traver, “is that by seeing math content in other classes, students will better understand the content and retain knowledge.” She added that the cross-curricular lessons will allow students to “see how math skills can be applied in real-world situations.” The school has also implemented a “small-group approach to math instruction — called Map 2D” — in which students work together and teach each other how to solve math problems. “This verbalizing reinforces learning as students are forced to walk through the problem step by step, Traver said.”
High School Student In Kansas Identifies Error On State Test.
The AP (2/14) reported that last week a student in Kansas “caught a state test error that managed to slip past teachers, test coordinators and other students for almost a year.” The student “discovered during a Kansas writing test last week that an essay question concerning greenhouse gases incorrectly used the word ‘omission’ for the word ‘emission.’” The AP noted that “the state Department of Education has e-mailed a corrected version of the essay question to test coordinators around the state.”
High School Holds Sensitivity Assembly After Some Students Chant Slurs At Basketball Game.
The Denver Post (2/15, Nicholson) reported, “Students at Mullen High School will attend a school assembly this week on sensitivity after a section of the school’s students chanted racial slurs at visiting players during a basketball game.” Some parents of students on the rival team from Overland High School “said a group of Mullen students…chanted derogatory terms in unison as black Overland players stepped to the foul line during last Wednesday’s game.” Mullen principal Greg Gotchey was at the game, and heard some of the students’ comments. “‘We are taking this pretty seriously,’ Gotchey said. ‘We don’t want to minimize this. We think our students had an error in judgment. We’re going to do what we can to correct their behavior.’”
Opinion: Educators Urged To Use New Media Tools To Heighten Students’ Interest In Math.
In an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic (2/17) Taylor Lawrence, president of Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems, asks, “How do you increase the number of Americans in science, technology, engineering, and math careers when Baby Boomers currently in these jobs are starting to retire and young people are losing interest in these subjects?” According to Lawrence, business and labor statistics show that employment in the fields of science and technology “will increase about 70 percent faster than the rate for all occupations.” And while elementary students “are great at math compared with their international peers,” only 32 percent of students “are at or above a proficient level in math” by the time they reach middle school.” Lawrence suggests using “new media tools” to reach middle school students in the area of math, because “they need to see how math is related to their interests, such as music, fashion, or sports,” and that it “can be fun, and that math can lead to scholarships and rewarding careers.”
Elementary School Resumes Artist-In-Residence Program After Decade-Long Hiatus.
The Grand Island (NE) Independent (2/17, Coddington) reports that last week, Gates Elementary School hosted its first artist-in-residence “in at least a decade.” Gates Principal Julie Martin said that “money had always been the obstacle to getting an artist-in-residence in the past. … But the school had the cost of Fairbanks’ stay split between a Nebraska Arts Council grant and donations from the parent-teacher association and an individual parent.” During the week-long residency, artist Nancy Fairbanks “will spend time with Gates’ two fourth-grade classes…teaching the groups pottery, Pawnee culture and Nebraska history.” In addition, she will “work her way around to every class in the school, helping each one of Gates’ students to create his or her own piece of pottery.”
Texas Teacher Plays Role Of Darwin.
In a commentary for the Houston Chronicle (2/17) Lisa Falkenberg writes that Robert Dennison, an Advanced Placement Biology teacher at Houston’s Lee High School, presented himself to his students as Charles Darwin to commemorate Darwin’s birthday last week. “The teacher, named Texas’ top AP instructor last year, brought the father of evolution to life with little tidbits: Darwin wasn’t such a good student when he was young, but he had extraordinary curiosity.” During “the 45-minute talk,” Dennison also touched on Darwin’s theories. According to Falkenberg, Dennison has performed Darwin for his high school classes for the last 20 years, and “for conferences across the U.S. and in Canada and Britain, once even being permitted special access to Darwin’s preserved home, Down House, to be photographed in character.”
DC-Area Schools Try Different Approaches To Foreign Language Instruction.
The Washington Post (2/17, B2, Strauss) compares different approaches to foreign language education used by teachers at some schools in the DC area. “Spanish teacher Lisa Vierya emphasizes basic conversational skills” for her students at Evergreen Mill Elementary School in Loudoun County [VA]. “First- and second-graders receive 30 minutes of instruction a week; children in grades 3 through 5 have two 30-minute classes weekly.” According to Vierya, “assessments in fifth grade…show that the program gives students a grounding in the language that allows them to converse.” Meanwhile, Susanna Winebrenner, uses another partial immersion to teach Spanish to her second-graders at Spanish Immersion Elementary School in Prince George’s County [MD]. Winebrenner’s “students receive instruction in Spanish and English virtually every day; subjects taught in Spanish are Spanish language arts and social studies.” The Post points out that kindergartners and first-graders at the elementary school receive all their instruction in “the target language through a variety of techniques.”
On the Job
School Librarian Positions Often First Cut In Budget Crunch.
On its front page, the New York Times (2/16, A1, Rich) reported that “as school librarians increasingly teach students crucial skills needed not only in school, but also on the job and in daily life, they are often the first casualties of school budget crunches.” For instance, Mesa, Arizona’s “largest school district…began phasing out certified librarians from most of its schools last year.” The Times also pointed out that according to federal statistics, “more than 90 percent of American public schools have libraries…but less than two-thirds employ full-time certified librarians.” And “school librarians still fight the impression that they play a tangential role” in school operations.
Teachers Suggest Ways Schools Can Make Improvements Without Increases In Spending.
Jay Mathews wrote in the Washington Post (2/16, B2), “As happens in every recession, Washington area school systems are cutting back.” Mathews suggested that schools “harness the creativity of educators, parents, and students to” make improvements “without more spending,” and listed seven ideas from teachers that would help schools. The ideas include replacing “elementary school homework with free reading;” encouraging the creation of charter schools, having “teachers call or e-mail parents” each day “with praise for their children;” having “parents call or e-mail teachers with praise;” having “every high school student read at least one nonfiction book before graduation;” encouraging “teachers to call on every student in every class;” and furloughing “everybody — including teachers, students and parents — for an unpaid national reading holiday.”
Educators In Yuma, Arizona, Share Best Practices During Professional Development.
The Yuma (AZ) Sun (2/14, Roller) reported on Yuma County’s fourth annual Professional Staff Development Day, during which educators exchanged “best teaching practices proven to increase academic performance.” Throughout the day “there were 60 breakout sessions, after which teachers chose their own areas of interest ranging from engaging learners to curriculum and activities designed for math classrooms.” Yuma County School Superintendent Tom Tyree said that the theme of last Friday’s development day was “connecting resources/connecting learning.” He also noted that the “half-day teacher training at Gila Ridge High School was a chance to network with each other about cutting-edge concepts – and it was very uplifting.”
Programs Help New Teachers In Washington’s Tri-Cities Understand Professional Standards.
The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune (2/15, Schilling) reported on programs implemented by some Tri-City school districts to help new teachers “navigate [the] complicated system of standards and requirements that keep changing.” The Richland School District pairs new teachers with mentors, and the teachers “receive regular classroom visits from an instructional coach. They also meet for coffee each week and participate in professional development classes through the Teacher Assistance Program.” Meanwhile, Pasco schools have “a five-year induction program for teachers fresh out of college or those with experience who are new to the district.” Under the program, “First-year teachers are paired with mentors, and there’s extensive professional development throughout the five years. The goal is that when teachers are done, they’re ready to be mentors themselves.”
Law & Policy
Florida Bill Would Eliminate Permanent “Professional Service” Contracts For Teachers.
The St. Petersburg Times (2/17, Matus) reports that “a sweeping plan to make it easier to fire teachers and put a bigger spotlight on teacher quality is headed to the Florida Legislature.” The plan calls for changes to the state’s teacher-tenure policy. “Instead of permanent ‘professional service’ contracts, teachers would get annual contracts for the first 10 years, then contracts of no longer than five years after that, according to” a draft of the legislation. The changes would only “only to teachers hired after July 2009,” and “would not affect the 170,000 teachers currently in the system.” Teachers’ unions say the current teacher-tenure rules are meant to “protect teachers from vindictive administrators.” But critics say those rules “more often keep bad teachers on the job.” Rep. John Legg (R), “who chairs the House Education Policy Committee,” expects for opposition to the tenure changes to be “intense, if not ferocious.”
Bill Would Require New Jersey Districts To Obtain Criminal Records Of Students Over 18.
The AP (2/15) reported that “A bill moving through the” New Jersey State “Legislature would require school districts to try to obtain the criminal history, if one exists, of new students over the age of 18.” The AP notes that “schools don’t normally keep criminal files on record. Under existing law, police only need to verbally inform principals if students are involved in a crime.” However, it is “up to the principals whether that information is shared.”
NEA in the News
Obama’s “Blunt” Comments About Firing Ineffective Teachers Surprise Some Advocates.
The Washington Times (2/17, Hallow) reports that President Barack Obama’s “blunt but little-noted statement last week that bad teachers need to be fired and that some fellow Democrats resist real change in public schools has jolted educators and education critics alike. … The president’s education comments were tucked in the prime-time press conference Feb. 9 that he had structured to corral public support for his $800 billion economic-stimulus bill.” But some “teachers unions sought to play down any impression of a schism between them and the Democratic president.” They noted that “the President was discussing a stimulus bill with huge new spending projects for teachers and schools.” Joel Packer, spokesman for the National Education Association, said, “If charter schools and getting rid of bad teachers were the only things he talked about, yeah, we would be concerned.” But he added, “There’s nothing he said that would make us say, ‘Oh, my God, that awful; we’re going to have a big fight with him.’”
NEA Co-Sponsors Worldwide E-Book Project.
The AP (2/16) reported that “thousands of kids detailed their hopes and expectations for President Barack Obama in letters and drawings as part of a worldwide project, with 150 chosen for a free e-book…released on Presidents Day.” Called “Dear Mr. President,” the “project [is] a joint effort between the National Education Association and kidthing.com, which is putting out the book for use with its downloadable media player.” In addition, “a special hardcopy edition of the book will be sent to the White House for Obama, who,” according to the AP, “has done wonders to bring the office of the presidency to life for young people.” The AP notes that “kids ages 5-12 were eligible to” submit their creations for consideration
Obama Seeks To Transform Schools With Stimulus Funds.
The AP (2/18, Quaid) reports that President Barack Obama “wants to do more than save teachers’ jobs or renovate classrooms with his economic recovery bill. He wants to transform the federal government’s role in education.” The AP notes that public schools “will get an unprecedented amount of money — double the education budget under George W. Bush — from the stimulus bill in the next two years. With those dollars, Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan want schools to do better.” Secretary Duncan is quoted saying that the bill is “an opportunity to redefine the federal role in education, something we’re thinking a whole lot about. … How can we move from being (about) compliance with bureaucracy to really the engine of innovation and change?” The bill “includes a $5 billion fund solely for these innovations, an amount that might not seem like much, considering the bill’s $787 billion price tag. But it is massive compared with the $16 million in discretionary money Duncan’s predecessors got each year for their own priorities.”
T.H.E. Journal (Feb 2009, Nagel) reports that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed into law on Tuesday by President Barack Obama “assigns significant funding to a variety of education and education-related programs.” T.H.E. Journal points how the stimulus package will benefit education. Among the provisions included in the bill for education are “$13 billion for Title 1 help for disadvantaged students…$7.2 billion for “broadband and wireless services in underserved areas” for business, healthcare, and education sectors; $2.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start;” and “$250 million for competitive grants targeted toward the design and development of student achievement data analytics.” Another $70 million will go toward “grants for the education (among other things) of homeless kids,” and $100 million will go toward “teacher workforce ‘modernization.’” The AP (2/18) also covers the story.
In the Classroom
Technology Seen As Largely Untapped Resource For Assessing Student Performance.
Education Week (2/17, Ash) reported, “The power of technology to improve assessments, in part by providing useful data on not just what students know, but also on how they arrive at their answers, has been left largely untapped, especially in science, concludes a paper released” on Tuesday. The report “by the Washington-based think tank Education Sector” noted that “computerized testing can be less expensive and deliver faster results…but it also has the potential to provide richer data on student performance, which could help inform curriculum and instruction.” And even though “little progress has been made in harnessing the potential technology has to craft performance-based assessments…there are a handful of promising models.” The Problem-Solving in Technology-Rich Environments (TRE), for instance, “assesses scientific-inquiry skills by presenting students with a problem…to be answered in a performance-based model, rather than by multiple-choice questions.” The report suggests that the “the federal government…provide incentives to states or districts that” implement “innovative assessment models.”
Class Sizes In New York City See Largest Increase Since 2002.
The New York Times (2/18, A22, Medina) reports, “Class sizes rose at nearly every grade level across [New York City] last year, according to a report released by the city’s Education Department on Tuesday, the largest increases since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) took over the school system in 2002.” The report shows that “the largest growth was in the third grade, where the average moved to 21.8 students per class, compared with 20.9 students last year.” Meanwhile, “roughly 45 percent of kindergarten students…are in classes of 22 to 25, and more than 4,000 of the city’s roughly 61,000 first-graders are in classes with at least 28 students, according to Education Department figures.” According to some “critics of the department…the increases showed that the mayor and Chancellor Joel I. Klein have ignored efforts by the state and the City Council to reduce class size.”
Students At School In New Jersey Celebrate Picasso’s Life, Work.
New Jersey’s News Transcript (2/18, Rosen) reports that “Pablo Picasso was highlighted during January at the Taylor Mills School, Manalapan, where pupils studied the life of the artist and created Picasso-like artwork.” Art teacher Robbie Schafler developed the Picasso celebration, during which “students were immersed in an aesthetic experience in which they not only created their own art based on the works of Picasso, they learned history, culture, language arts and creative thinking skills while studying” his life and work. “The month-long Picasso celebration culminated in a traveling art exhibit that featured giant floor-to ceiling reproductions of some of Picasso’s works hanging in the school’s main hallway.”
Elementary, Junior High Students In Iowa District To Showcase Classroom Technology.
The Cresco (IA) Times-Plain Dealer (2/18, Daehn) reports that “Crestwood Elementary and Junior High School students and staff are preparing for a night showcasing how technology is utilized in the classroom.” The event will feature demonstrations by “Kindergarten through eighth grade students and school staff…showcasing the types of technology currently used throughout the elementary and junior high to help support student achievement in the 21st Century.” They will demonstrate “technology such as the school’s electronic card catalog, PowerPoint presentations, a 3-D landscaping program and how parents can access grades and attendance records for their children on the internet, in addition to many other types of technology used at school.” A silent auction at the event “will help…raise money to purchase more technology for the elementary and junior high building.”
Educator Lists Seven Skills That Should Be Taught In Schools.
The Northwest Arkansas Times (2/17, Bennett) reported that according to Tony Wagner, “co-director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard University and author of The Global Achievement Gap,” modern schools face the challenge of having to “find ways to keep students continuously engaged.” He acknowledges, however, that “schools have so much pressure to teach to state assessments, they haven’t been able to focus on teaching the critical-thinking skills students need.” Nevertheless, Wagner argues that there are seven skills that should be taught in schools. They are “critical thinking and problem-solving, collaboration across networks and leading by influence, agility and ability, initiative and entrepreneurialism, effective oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, curiosity and imagination.”
On the Job
Virginia Board Of Education Will Vote On Graduation Benchmarks For Schools.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (2/18, Meola) reports that “Virginia’s public schools could soon have to meet graduation benchmarks just as they do for academics to earn accreditation, depending on the outcome of a state Board of Education vote expected tomorrow.” The proposed regulations would require the state to award “points for various credentials, ranging from 100 points for students who graduate in four years or less, to 75 for those who earn a General Educational Development diploma.” To be considered fully accredited, “a school would need a graduating class with a minimum of 85 percentage points.”
Illinois Teacher Battles District Over Right To Wear Respiratory Mask On Campus.
The Chicago Tribune (2/18, Hood) reports that Patricia McReynolds, an elementary school teacher in the Joliet School District 86 “who suffers from severe allergies, is on leave this week as she battles school district officials who have barred her from wearing a respiratory mask on campus.” The 14-year teaching veteran “filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after” district officials “questioned her need to use the small white masks and told her she could not wear one on school grounds.” The school system “has asked her to go to her doctor for written proof that she needs a mask,” but “McReynolds said she already has notes from three doctors.” According to the Chicago Tribune, “at issue is whether the district’s stance violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Law & Policy
Utah House Education Committee Endorses Performance-Pay Bill.
The Salt Lake Tribune (2/18, Stewart) reports that “two measures — a performance-pay pilot program and a resolution in support of tying compensation to multiple measures of excellence — were unanimously endorsed Tuesday by” Utah’s House Education Committee. Under HB328, the State Board of Education would award $300,000 “in competitive grants…to school districts and public charter schools. … Districts would come up with their own best ideas for how to measure and compensate teacher performance, but” the funds would be “restricted for use at the elementary school level and would last two years.” In addition, “The bill stipulates that 40 percent of the performance compensation be awarded based on gains in student learning. Another 40 percent would be based on instructional quality as gauged by classroom observations. The remaining 20 percent would reflect peer, student and parent satisfaction.”
Safety & Security
North Carolina District Limits Access Sex Offenders Will Have To School Campuses.
North Carolina’s News & Observer (2/18) reports, “In compliance with a new state law, the Wake County school board approved a policy today limiting the access that registered sex offenders will have on school campuses.” Under the new policy, parents, students, and voters that are registered as sex offenders “must get permission ahead of time to come on campus and, depending on the situation, be supervised while there.” In addition, “every school principal [must] register to receive e-mail notification when a registered sex offender moves within a one-mile radius.”
School Finance
Employees In Florida District Could Face 10 Percent Pay Cut.
The St. Petersburg Times (2/18, Winchester) reports, “Pinellas school employees could face pay cuts of up to 10 percent this fall in response to a district budget shortfall that could grow to more than $100 million.” Superintendent Julie Janssen told school board members that the “$47.8 million in cuts already identified” may not be enough to help balance the district’s budget. The St. Petersburg Times adds that “based on original projections of a $68.9 million funding loss, the district would be left with a $21 million gap after applying the $47.8 million in identified reductions.” The worst-case scenario, meanwhile, “follows the state’s newest projection of an additional 15 percent reduction for next year.” In that case, “the district would be looking at a $107 million shortfall, calling for a 10 percent pay cut.”
Also in the News
Elementary School Teacher Overcomes Fear Of Math With Help Of Teen Tutor.
The Denver Post (2/18, Meyer) reports on aspiring elementary school teacher Emma Schultz’s journey to improve her understanding of mathematical concepts. As a teaching intern, “mathematics made [her] sick — to the point where she would get nauseous or faint when confronted with a fraction problem, long division or something to do with decimals.” To overcome her fear, Schultz received tutoring twice-a-week from an 18-year-old high school senior. “The two figured out ways to make Schultz understand, used repetition and drilled in the essence of the math concepts. Schultz said once she got over being the only adult getting tutored and being taught by a teenager, her fear of math faded, and she began to learn.” During those tutoring sessions, Schultz “said she learned a valuable lesson that she now tries to impart to her students: ask questions, take time and work with your teacher to figure out ways to understand the core ideas.”
NEA in the News
NEA President Has “High Hopes” For Duncan.
In the Seattle Post Intelligencer’s (2/18) School Zone blog, Jessica Blanchard writes, “I had the chance to sit down Friday afternoon with the president of the National Education Association,” Dennis Van Roekel. Blanchard provides a list of highlights from that interview. Regarding the Obama Administration, Van Roekel said that “he has ‘high hopes’ for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and the two have scheduled monthly meetings — a change from the previous regime.” Van Roekel also expressed concern that No Child Left Behind has “narrowed the curriculum” and “‘taken the joy out of teaching,’ he said.” Sill, “he doesn’t think Congress will tackle changes to the law until at least next year.” Blanchard also highlighted Van Roekel’s thoughts on merit pay and high school graduation rates.
Recession Leads To Slightly Reduced Raises For New Jersey Teachers.
New Jersey’s Star-Ledger (2/17, Alloway) reported, “With the country in a recession and job losses mounting, many New Jersey school districts and education unions said the state of the economy is influencing their contract talks.” While “New Jersey teachers — who were paid an average salary of $62,667 during the 2007-08 school year — are still getting raises…they have shrunk slightly.” According to the “New Jersey School Boards Association…the average salary increase for teachers for the 2009-10 school year is 4.5 percent statewide, and many of those deals were negotiated a few years ago. But for contracts that have been settled since last October, the average raise has dropped to 4.4 percent.” The Star-Ledger also notes that “districts are looking to cut health care costs.” The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) acknowledges that “economy always plays a role in negotiations,” but the organization “does not believe the recession should mean lower raises for teachers.”
Some States Make It Easier For Schools To Meet NCLB Requirements, Study Shows.
The AP (2/18) reported that “some schools deemed to be failing in one state would get passing grades in another under the” No Child Left Behind (NCLB) “law, a national study found.” A report that will “be issued Thursday by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute” looked at the “test scores of 36 elementary and middle schools” and measured them “against accountability rules in 28 states.” Results show that “the schools failed to meet yearly progress goals in states with more rigorous standards, such as Massachusetts. But they met yearly progress goals in states with lower standards, such as Arizona and Wisconsin.” Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the nonprofit Fordham Foundation, concluded, that NCLB “misleads people into thinking that we have a semblance of a national accountability system for public schools, and we actually don’t. … And it’s produced results I would call unfair from one state to the next.”
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune (2/19, Johns), the Fordham study “shows it is easier for Minnesota schools to meet the federal No Child Left Behind law requirements than for schools in many other states.” For the study, researchers “picked a diverse group of 18 elementary and 18 middle schools from around the nation.” They “used these schools’ test results from a common, nationwide test to predict how the schools would fare on state benchmarks if located in each of 28 states.” According to the Star Tribune, “in Massachusetts…only one of 18 schools made state benchmarks. In Minnesota, half of the schools made the grade.” According to the report, “Minnesota makes it easier for schools to pass No Child Left Behind by calculating margin-of-error measurements for student proficiency rates differently than many states.”
In the Classroom
Racially Diverse Students At High School In Washington Excel Beyond Peers.
The Tacoma (WA) Weekly (2/19, Jensen) reports that “the achievement gap phenomenon, which has plagued the nation and the district for years, illustrates that low-income and minority students simply do not perform as well statistically as their white, middle class counterparts.” But at Lincoln Center, “an extended-day school curriculum for about one third of” the freshmen at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, “the racially diverse, low-income population of students…has had higher achievement rates than their peers outside of Lincoln Center.” Hispanic students at the school “have the highest GPA at an average of 2.6 for their first semester. The lowest GPA for a demographic at Lincoln Center is 2.3, with both black and white students performing equally.” The Tacoma weekly notes that all students at Lincoln Center are “enrolled in honors English, regardless of their ability level when they signed up for the pilot project. Students are also required to do one hour of relevant homework or reading at home each night.”
Traditional High School Students, Adult Learners May Share Classroom Under Texas Law.
The Dallas Morning News (2/19, Hobbs) reports, “A state law that went into effect last school year that was designed to save dropouts has changed the definition of what a high school freshman can look like in Texas schools.” Under the new policy, “school districts are being enticed with state funding to enroll students up to 25 years old.” Previously, the state provided “funding for high school students up to age 20, or 21 for special education students.” But some school districts avoid “having classrooms with [widely] divergent ages” by opening over-age schools. For instance, “In Fort Worth, students cannot attend traditional high school if they are 21 or older, but they can enroll in a special school for older students who are close to graduating.” State Rep. Scott Hochberg (D), who wrote the measure, said he “believes the legislation will result in more diplomas and more money for school districts.”
Lawyer Dressed As Lincoln Encourages Students To Practice Honesty.
The Salt Lake Tribune (2/19, Kartashova) reports that Grant Clayton, a patent attorney, dressed as Abraham Lincoln “paid a visit to students at Park Lane Elementary on Feb. 12″ — Lincoln’s “200th birthday — to show them the significance of being involved in government and the importance of being diligent.” Clayton spoke to the children about being honest. In an effort “to help children follow his advice,” Clayton “shows them a penny with an image of Honest Abe on its obverse and asks them who it is. They usually shout out the man’s name right away.” Clayton then asks the students “to be honest as Honest Abe,” he said. He also “brought chocolate pennies with him to reward children.”
Officials In Maryland District To Vote On Dropping Gifted And Talented Program.
Maryland’s The Gazette (2/18, Moore) reported that “few issues are as contentious these days as the question of what the Montgomery County [MD] school system should do with ‘gifted and talented’ education.” Next week, the school board is expected to vote on “a school system proposal to drop the ‘gifted and talented’ label.” Under the proposal, Montgomery County schools would still offer “accelerated instruction in regular classes.” But “some parents argue that students who aren’t given the” gifted and talented “label suffer academically — that they tend to take less-rigorous classes during the course of their academic careers.” Yet “other parents say the school system should do away with the ‘gifted and talented’ label because of the stigma it creates.” Even though “all county public school students are tested in second grade for accelerated instruction” under current policy, “white and Asian-American students are far more likely to be labeled ‘gifted and talented’ than are their black and Hispanic peers.” And students in affluent areas “receive more rigorous accelerated instruction than do students in” other areas.
On the Job
Texas District Considers Reinstating Substitute Teachers.
The Dallas Morning News (2/19, Goolsby) reports that “eliminating the budget for substitute teachers, a cost-cutting idea introduced in Lancaster schools four months ago, is getting mixed reviews from parents, students, and staff.” Last “October, the district stopped hiring substitute teachers and instead asked office staff, counselors, librarians and other personnel to fill in for absent teachers.” But the policy proved challenging “for principals, who shuffle employees from job to job in an attempt to cover all classes.” Consequently, “the state-appointed monitor who controls the district’s purse strings is promising to restore the funding next school year.” First she must get permission “from James Damm, the district’s state-appointed financial conservator.” According to Damm, “eliminating subs from the 2008-09 budget saves about $300,000.”
Some Experts Say Seniority-Based Layoff Policies May Oust Effective Teachers.
Education Week (2/17, Sawchuk) reported, “With the growing financial strain” causing districts to have to lay off new teachers, “researchers and policymakers have begun to question the human-capital costs of ‘last hired, first fired’ layoff policies.” According to those experts, “such layoffs…do not consider teacher effectiveness, meaning that teachers who make vital contributions to school success can nevertheless be among those to receive pink slips.” Still, “to a database maintained by the National Council on Teacher Quality” shows that “all but five of the nation’s 25 largest school districts follow seniority-based layoff policies set by contracts or state law.” Meanwhile, “researchers and union officials say” that “alternatives to seniority-based layoffs have been tied up in the knotty question about how to evaluate teachers’ performance in a fair, uniform way.”
Mississippi District Makes Supporting New Teachers A Priority.
The Hattiesburg (MS) American (2/19) reports that “despite a national report recently scolding Mississippi on recruiting and retaining quality teachers and removing those who are ineffective, Pine Belt school officials said finding and keeping good teachers is a priority.” Last month, “the National Council on Teacher Quality, a national nonprofit advocacy group, released its 2008 State Teacher Policy Yearbook,” which graded each state on its efforts in “identifying effective new teachers, retaining effective new teachers, and exiting ineffective new teachers.” Mississippi received “a D-plus in identifying effective new teachers, a D in retaining effective new teachers and a D-plus in eliminating ineffective new teachers.” School officials in the Pine Belt district, however, say they have programs in place for new teachers to receive support. “New teachers are paired with veteran instructors who serve as mentors and observe their classes to offer suggestions.” In addition, “new teachers meet each month at the school and district level to collaborate and share ideas for improvement.”
Law & Policy
Florida Budget Shortfall Seen As Threat To Class-Size Initiative.
The St. Petersburg Times (2/18, Solochek) reported that “for six years now, opponents of Florida’s class size reduction amendment have fretted that it would cost too much.” But now that the state legislature faces “a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, it’s clear that the class size amendment and its price tag of $13 billion to date will not go unscathed.” And while “lawmakers say they’re likely to delay full implementation for one more year,” they are not sure what to do after that. According to the St. Petersburg Times, their choices are to “put the issue back before voters, asking them to undo the classroom counts in favor of school class size averages;” place a suspension on “the amendment until the state has money to pay for it;” or “increase taxes and other revenue streams to cover the costs.”
Senate-Approved Bill Would Require Kindergarten For All Students In North Dakota.
The AP (2/18) reported that “youngsters would be required to attend kindergarten before enrolling in first grade under a bill approved by the North Dakota Senate” on Wednesday. The measure would require that students “finish a full-day or half-day kindergarten program before enrolling in the first grade, and must be six years old before Aug. 1 of the school year, unless testing shows” that they are “ready at a younger age.”
Proposal Would Make Drug-Testing Mandatory For Educators In Missouri.
KOLR-TV Springfield, MO (2/18, Denman) reported that a bill being proposed by Missouri State Rep. Don Wells (R-Cabool) “would require teachers and school officials to get tested for the use of controlled substances.” Although the Missouri National Education Association says this is an invasion of privacy, some teachers welcome the tests, because they say that they have nothing to hide. Others, meanwhile, are concerned about how the tests may affect school budgets.
Safety & Security
US Schools Loosen Policy On Sending Home Students With Head Lice.
The AP (2/19) reports that “For generations, children with signs of head lice were summarily sent home by the school nurse to their everlasting shame. Now,” however, “schools have become less nitpicky.” Most schools throughout the US “are allowing youngsters to stay in class if they have nits — that is, lice eggs — but no crawling lice in their hair.” The change “has been welcomed by many educators and parents, who worried that students were missing too much school…and children were being made to feel ashamed” because they suffered from head lice. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses also endorsed the change. According “the pediatrics academy…kids who are found to have crawling head lice should be allowed to stay in school for the rest of the day but discouraged from close head contact with others.”
School Finance
Students Raise Money For Elementary School In California By Spelling Words Correctly.
California’s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (2/19) reports that “Allen Avenue Elementary School in the Bonita Unified School District has found a way to raise money by testing students’ spelling.” Students collect “pledges from family and friends,” and “raise money as they spell words correctly in a series of tests.” So far, students throughout the school have raised over $11,000. “Half of the money each classroom raises goes toward technology on campus and the other half will be used for instructional materials.”
Also in the News
Ohio Eighth Graders Win “Green” Model City Competition.
USA Today (2/19, Bedrosian) reports, “Iceland’s economy may be on the ropes, but a group of middle-school students still envisions an eco-inspired day when the nation has housing units with reusable water systems and rooftop fields for farming or recreation. With their scale model of this futuristic vision for Iceland, the team of eighth-graders from Bexley Middle School in Bexley, Ohio, won the 17th Annual National Engineers Week Future City Competition.” According to USA Today, the competition “challenges schools around the country to apply engineering solutions to modern problems. … Each group was assigned to use recycled materials and a budget of $100 to build a model city that conserves, recycles and reuses water sources.”
Stimulus Will Avert Thousands Of Teacher Layoffs, Duncan Says.
The AP (2/19, Quaid) reported that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan “said the economic stimulus plan will help avert thousands of teacher layoffs, and he released the first estimates of where the money will go. Duncan visited a charter school Thursday in New York, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said state budget cuts might force layoffs of 14,000 teachers. Nationwide, nearly 600,000 teaching jobs are at risk.” According to the AP, the stimulus “will spend about $100 billion on education. New York should get nearly $4.8 billion under the bill, and about $1.9 billion of that should go to New York City.” Duncan also said “he also wants to use the money to press states for more rigorous academic standards and tests. In states with low standards, ‘we lie to children and tell them they are on track.’”
In the New York Times’ (2/19) City Room blog, Javier C. Hernandez wrote that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan “stressed the need to establish common achievement standards for the nation’s 14,000 school districts and finance creative school reforms during a visit to” Explore Charter School in Brooklyn on Thursday. Hernandez added, “Calling current economic challenges a ‘perfect storm for reform,’ Mr. Duncan unveiled how the federal Department of Education would allocate the first dollops of the $100 billion in emergency aid to public schools provided by the federal stimulus bill.” He also “presented a doomsday portrait of education in the United States if the stimulus money were not available,” saying that “up to 600,000 jobs could be lost and average class size could rise to 40 students from 25.”
In the Classroom
Teachers At Elementary School In Georgia Impart Daily Environmental Lessons.
WTOC-TV Savannah, GA (2/19, Kelley) reported that “at White Bluff Elementary school the students sing songs about” recycling, “they learn about it and even create works of art out of it.” In keeping with the school’s environmental theme, White Bluff has a garden that students tend to, “and teachers often use lessons plans that involve saving the environment.” The school is also “on a waiting list with the City of Savannah to get a 30 foot recycling bin, but that’s not stopping them from collecting lots of items.” Every classroom in the school has its own recycling bin. And, according to WTOC, “the effort to save the environment is really catching on” with students.
Four Teachers In Pennsylvania Teach Writing Lessons Through Music.
Pennsylvania’s Patriot News (2/20, Gibson) reports on the Grammarheads, a band “comprised of four Eastern Lebanon County School District teachers who began writing songs and performing in 2005 as a way to musically teach writing lessons to students.” On Thursday, the Grammarheads performed at Silver Spring Elementary School and Hampden Elementary School. According to the Patriot News, during the performance, students “waved their arms, sang, and bounced in their seats to songs on forming sentences, replacing nouns with pronouns, and punctuating sentences.”
Students Experiment With Smart Phones As Alternative To Computers.
The Dallas Morning News (2/20, Unmuth) reports that Keller Independent School District’s Trinity Meadows Intermediate School “and schools in North Carolina and Singapore are among those experimenting with smart phones as a replacement for computers.” For the experiment, “the 53 students taking part in the Keller Mobile Initiative are unable to make phone calls or send text messages.” They will, however, be able to “access the Internet, a calculator, take photos and video, sketch drawings, beam information to one another and enter data into Microsoft Excel or Word.” According to the Dallas Morning News, “Keller’s effort is part of a larger trend of school districts that are seeking to equip every child with a computer, known as 1:1 computing.”
Virtual City-Building Project Helps ESL Students Polish Vocabulary.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (2/20, Lizama) reports that students in Ashby McNeil’s “English as a second language at Falling Creek Middle School in Chesterfield County” are designing “three-dimensional models of a city of the future to help them learn English and to interact with other students.” Working in teams, the students “used an interactive computer game, ‘Sim City,’ to design their cities over time. And then they created a three-dimensional model.” Principal Stephannie D. Crutchfield said that when listening to the groups present their projects, it was obvious the students’ English was improving. “Just listening to them, you can see that working on the project has helped them to develop their vocabulary,” she said.
On the Job
Florida District Implements Volunteer Substitute Program.
Florida’s News-Journal (2/20, Trimble) reports that Volusia County Schools’ volunteer substitute teacher program that was “announced this week grew out of inquiries from parents and others in the community about how they could help schools weather the financial storm,” according to Superintendent Margaret Smith. This year’s “budget for substitutes has been slashed in half due to $13.7 million in budget cuts.” The News-Journal notes that the “cut had already led some principals to institute ‘arena subbing’ — the practice of having a couple of substitutes oversee as many as 200 students at a time — because they couldn’t afford to hire subs for every teacher who was absent.” Volunteer substitutes will be required to “have at least a high school diploma, undergo criminal background and drug tests, and complete a day of training on classroom management and other policies before being placed in a classroom.”
Law & Policy
Florida Lawmakers Implore Duncan To Waive Eligibility Requirements For Education Stimulus.
The Media General News Service (2/20) reports that on Thursday, “nine Republican House members from Florida joined with nine Democratic House members from the state…in writing to the U.S. Education Secretary for a waiver so that the state may qualify for the $2.7 billion in a key funding category of the bill.” The state does not currently “meet the requirements to receive its share of a huge $54.4 billion pot of money in the $787 billion stimulus package signed into law by Obama this week.” In order to be eligible to receive the money, a state “must be funding K-12 and higher education at no less than 2006 levels. States that are not would forfeit their share of the so-called ‘State Fiscal Stabilization Fund’ money to other states.” With “30,000 fewer students” now “than in 2006,” Florida misses the requirement by about $600 million, according to Media General News.
Virginia Adjusts Standards For High School Accreditation.
The AP (2/20) reports that “Virginia’s public schools will soon be measured by both test scores and graduation rates under an enhanced accountability plan state education officials approved Thursday.” The new standards will require high schools to “earn at least 85 points on the graduation and completion index, as well as make the cutoff pass rates on state Standards of Learning tests in mathematics, English, science and history/social science.” Also “under the system, each diploma earned would be awarded the same number of points.” The Richmond Times-Dispatch (2/20, Meola) adds that the policy will go into effect “beginning with the 2010-11 academic year.”
School Board In Florida Approves Homework Guidelines.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (2/19, Bushouse) reported that “the Broward County School Board is giving a new assignment to teachers for the upcoming school year: Take care when you’re handing out homework.” On Wednesday, the board approved homework guidelines that “suggest 10 minutes of work for each grade level. A first grader’s assignment would take about 10 minutes to finish, while a high school junior’s total homework load would take 110 minutes.” The policy, however, does not “stipulate time limits for homework.” Moreover, the policy, which “will take effect in the 2009-10 school year,” will require “teachers to provide ‘timely and appropriate feedback’ on assignments, be sensitive about the costs of materials for projects, and collaborate with other teachers so projects are not assigned at the same time.”
Five “Empty Theories” About Education Reform Criticized.
Former Baltimore City School Board Commissioner Kalman R. Hettleman writes in an op-ed for the Washington Post (2/20), “Even with the billions of dollars in economic stimulus aid, public schools stand no chance of getting better until we dispel some empty theories about how to help them.” Hettleman cites what she calls 5 “empty theories,” including “We know how to fix public schools; we just lack the political will to finish the job. … Teachers know best how to teach kids; policymakers should leave them alone. … The federal government meddles too much in the affairs of local schools. … Teacher unions are the enemy,” and there’s “no place in education for politics.” According to Hettleman, mayors Michael R. Bloomberg (I) in New York City and Adrian M. Fenty (D) in Washington “are getting good marks for overturning the status quo. That’s the first step toward replacing myths about school reform with real success stories.”
School Finance
Some DC Area Districts Altering Athletic Programs To Fit Budgets.
The Washington Post (2/20, E1, Williams) reports on the front page of its Sports section that “at least three school jurisdictions in the Washington [DC] area are considering eliminating certain sports or reducing the number of athletic contests for the upcoming school year, and others are rethinking how they transport athletes to competitions as they adjust to a shortage of state funding.” According to the Post, “Fairfax County will likely eliminate gymnastics and also is considering cutting indoor track. Frederick County, which has three schools with pools, has discussed eliminating swimming.” And “Loudoun County is mulling doing away with some sub-varsity sports.” Meanwhile, Montgomery County’s “budget calls for $452,156 less in stipends for extracurricular activities, including sports, but county athletics supervisor Duke Beattie said he does not foresee any major changes in how school sports programs operate.”
Superintendent Of Florida District Seeks To Reduce Work Schedule By One Day.
The St. Petersburg Times (2/20, Solochek) reports that Pasco County Public Schools Superintendent Heather Fiorentino has “floated the idea of reducing employees’ work schedule by one planning day next year as one of several ways to slash spending by as much as $37 million.” To implement the plan, lawmakers would have to grant the district “a one-year, one-day waiver to the law that defines full-time teacher employment as 196 days.” Fiorentino said that the plan is better “than negotiating a pay cut, which could become permanent.”
Also in the News
Elementary School In Illinois Hosts Game Show To Help Prepare Students For State Tests.
The Chicago Daily Herald (2/20, Lester) reports that “for the second year in a row, Harriet Gifford Elementary school in Elgin will host ‘Are You Smarter Than an ISAT Student?’ a spinoff of Fox TV’s ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?’” The goal is “to give Gifford parents an idea of the kinds of questions their children will be exposed to on the upcoming Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT),” and to “get students excited — not stressed — for the test.” For the game, “teams of parents and teams of students will face off and answer mock questions that students in third through eighth grades will see on the ISAT.” The teams will consist of “students with special learning needs, English learners, black and Hispanic students, and students from low-income families.”
Denver School Board Agrees To Change High School’s Controversial Insignia.
The Denver Post (2/20, Meyer) reports that “a controversial Denver high school insignia that looks like a Confederate soldier will be replaced by a mythological beast after a student presentation to the school board Thursday.” South High School Principal William Kohut also came to the meeting to ask the board “to drop the ‘Johnny Rebel’ logo that has represented the school for decades.” According to the Post, “the school’s presentation featured a sophomore’s impassioned speech, a petition signed by scores of students and a mockup of a new professionally designed insignia.” Superintendent Tom Boasberg agreed to the change, saying, “I understand the power and the meaning of these symbols.” Denver Public Schools (DPS) will now change the “insignias posted in every DPS high school gymnasium,” paint “the new logo on South’s walls,” produce “two nylon flags with the new image,” and use “carpets with the new insignia to cover up the old mascot that is ingrained in the floor.”
NEA in the News
Teachers In Columbia, Missouri, Ask Officials To Fully Fund Step-Pay Schedule.
The Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune (2/20, Braden) reports that “two Columbia Public Schools teacher groups asked the school district’s finance committee yesterday afternoon to restore the 2008-09 salary schedule and fully operate it for the 2009-10 budget, even as the district prepares to cut $4.4 million from its operating budget.” Columbia Board of Education funded the educational steps of the schedule” last year, “a cost of $800,000.” In order to “fully operate the schedule,” CPS would need to dedicate up to $2.8 million. The Columbia Missouri National Education Association and the Columbia Public Schools Employee Organization argue that “that operating the salary schedule would improve teacher morale and help teachers financially.”