Updates and Information Provided by NEA
Nevada Governor Asks For Education Stimulus Funding Waiver.
The Las Vegas Sun (3/19, Schwartz) reports that Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) “has asked the federal government to waive the requirement that Nevada restore hundreds of millions of dollars in proposed cuts to higher education in order to qualify for a portion of the economic stimulus. … Under Gibbons’ budget, K-12 met that requirement.” However, Nevada “would have to restore $268 million in cuts to higher education, money that Gibbons’ staff said the state doesn’t have. The request for the waiver…was sent to Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Wednesday.” Gibbons said “that Nevada wanted to be first in line if a waiver is granted. He also criticized the stimulus as a ‘usurptation’ by the federal government of the state’s authority.”
The AP (3/18, Riley) added that in order to qualify for “$396 million for K-12 and higher education, the federal stimulus law requires” Nevada “to spend as much on K-12 and higher education as it did in 2006.” In a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Gibbons “said the state is in a severe economic slump and the $396 million in stimulus funds for education could help in eliminating his proposed 6 percent cuts in teacher pay and other education-related cutback plans.”
In the Classroom
Prospect Of More Arts Education Funding Spurs Increase In Museum Programs.
The New York Times (3/19, SPG1, Spears) reports that “for years, with school budgets declining in so many American cities, museums have provided a parallel universe for learning. Now, with the Obama administration poised to support arts education with increased financing, museums nationwide are eager to align themselves with those efforts.” For instance, “at the Oakland Museum in California…where the collection spans art, history, the natural sciences and other disciplines, educators are showing schoolchildren how objects on exhibit are connected to their lives.” And, “in [the] spirit of creating a community gathering place, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has developed an after-school program for third to fifth graders.” Students visit the museum twice a week, and museum workers visit the students at their school twice a week. “The two-to-four-week program, which tries to reinforce what the children are learning at school, culminates in an exhibit of their artwork.”
Education Secretary Reads To Students At Elementary School In DC.
The Washington Times (3/19, Chenoweth) reports that “On Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan sat before 34″ students at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in DC “to read the children’s book Reading Makes You Feel Good.” Duncan’s visit was part of “a lunchtime literacy-and-mentoring program,” sponsored by Everybody Wins, “that brings adult volunteers into low-income elementary schools for one-on-one, read-aloud sessions with students.” According to the Washington Times, “Duncan came to the school in part because students have increased their reading proficiency by 27 percent, according to recent testing.” As he read, he “stopped on almost every page to involve the children in the story.” The education secretary “also told the children that his parents read to him every night and that such an exercise would make a big difference in their lives, too.” After reading, the students asked Mr. Duncan questions “about his family, how old his two children are, how tall he is and whether he ever golfed, bowled or played baseball, football, tennis, or basketball.”
Arkansas District Adopts Smart Core Curriculum For High-Schoolers.
KARK-TV Little Rock (3/18) reported, “Smart Core will be the required high school curriculum for Garland County’s Lakeside School District students beginning with ninth-graders in the 2009-2010 school year.” On Tuesday, the school board “voted on the matter,” deciding to allow an exception “for those students whose course requirements are dictated by individual education plans.” According to KARK, Smart Core “provides the foundation for both college- and career readiness. A fourth-year of higher mathematics after Algebra II and three years of laboratory-based science are the courses that set it apart from the state’s Core curriculum.” Furthermore, “Research by ACT and other groups has shown that students achieve higher scores on college-placement tests and are more likely to succeed in their first year of college or in a career if they have taken the courses required in Smart Core.”
Graduates Of New York City High School Will Earn Diploma, Associate’s Degree.
The New York Times (3/19, A24, Hernandez) reports on the new five-year City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, a “school that officials are billing as a kind of hybrid between a high school and a community college.” According to the Times, graduates of the school, “set to open in Brooklyn this fall,” will be awarded “both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. The school will blend a curriculum focused on career and technical education with advanced courses in subjects like computer systems and architectural technology at the New York City College of Technology.”
On the Job
Eugene, Oregon Teachers Agree To Removing Contract Days Next School Year.
The AP (3/19) reports that “public school teachers in Eugene [OR] have agreed to remove seven contract days from the upcoming school year to help the district bridge a $16 million budget gap.” Eliminating the seven days will save the district $1.9 million. The AP points out that “only one day is a school day for students. The rest are for planning and training.” Meanwhile, “Portland Superintendent Carole Smith is seeking agreements on cost-of-living freezes next year for most employees.”
Wisconsin Governor Would Raise Retirement Plan Benefits For School Workers.
The AP (3/19, Bauer) reports, “Education support staff would be treated the same as teachers in terms of how quickly they can enter the state retirement system and when they can retire under a proposal in [Wisconsin] Gov. Jim Doyle’s (D) budget.” Doyle proposes increasing “costs to the system and” raising “benefits for teachers’ aides, cafeteria workers and clerical staff who would be affected,” although “exact costs weren’t included in [his] budget or an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.” The analysis “only says that benefit levels to retired employees could be affected. It does not estimate how much that cost could be or how many workers may be added to the system.”
Georgia District Superintendent Requests Review Of Employment Contract Decisions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (3/18, Matteucci) reported that “after receiving complaints from the” Clayton County Education Association (CCEA), Clayton County’s interim Superintendent Valya Lee “has set up a committee to re-evaluate employment contract decisions made by former Superintendent John Thompson.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains that “last week, Thompson and his staff distributed contracts for next school year to teachers and other employees. Between 100-200 teachers didn’t get contracts, meaning they don’t have a job next year.” According to school officials, “the cuts were necessary because of a $23 million decrease in state aid and lower enrollment numbers.” CCEA “officials said they expected teachers to be laid off, they did not expect tenured teachers with stellar records to be cut.” Moreover, “the union has…threatened litigation, since some of the teachers who were not given contracts are tenured and have appeal rights granted through state law.”
Florida Education Leaders Recommend Continuing Performance Pay.
The Tampa Tribune (3/18, Emerson) reported that Florida “education leaders this week heralded the release of a report they commissioned and that highlights some policy suggestions for a state dragging in a souring economy.” The suggestions include continuing to fund “programs that tie teacher pay to a school’s performance,” and “asking voters to amend the state Constitution, reining in the most stringent requirements of Florida’s class-size law.” But the recommendations “have inflamed partisan tensions between the…education officials who favor the ideas of weakening teacher tenure and strengthening school choice and the teachers union and state Democrats who condemn them.”
Michigan District Issues Pink Slips To All Employees.
NPR (3/19, Ovshinsky) reports, “While officials in school districts across the country are making some very tough decisions in this dour economy, one school district in Michigan is doing the unprecedented: pushing the reset button and laying off every employee.” Pontiac public schools can “accommodate 20,000 students, but current enrollment is but a third of that.” As a result, “the school board has sent every employee a pink slip.” The Board of Education will “recall only those employees needed for next school year. District officials argue that it’s the most efficient way to handle a very complex situation, because this way the staff will know much earlier than usual if they still have jobs.”
Law & Policy
Delaware Bill Would Restrict Trans Fat In Food Served At Schools.
Delaware’s News Journal (3/19, Miller) reports that Delaware state representatives this week “passed House Bill 60, sponsored by” Rep. John Kowalko (D), “which would prohibit public schools from offering food with more than 0.5 gram of artificial trans fatty acids to students.” The legislation “could cost parents a bit more if schools are forced to raise meal prices to adjust to the ban.” According to Kowalko, “the ban could add three to five cents to the cost of a meal.” Already, “many school districts,” including Dover’s Capital School District, “have eliminated trans fats from their menus.”
Safety & Security
Students Evacuated From Ohio Elementary School During Meth Lab Raid.
Ohio’s Plain Dealer (3/19, Baird) reports that “children were evacuated from Marion Champlin Seltzer Elementary School in Cleveland today as police raided a suspected nearby methamphetamine lab on the city’s West Side.” The students “were taken to the nearby Cudell Recreation Center as the SWAT unit, armed with a search warrant, entered the house” while “the bomb squad…went in and dismantled the lab.” The evacuation is said to have been “a precaution because chemicals used to make the drug are combustible. No one was injured.”
Water At Washington State Elementary School Tested Positive For E.Coli.
KHQ-TV Spokane, WA (3/18) reported that Great Northern Elementary School in Spokane “is providing bottled water to students and staff because routine water testing showed E. coli bacteria in the school’s drinking water supply” on Tuesday. The state Department of Health “will inspect the school’s water system today to try to find the contamination source.” According to the Health Department, “most strains of E. coli are harmless,” but “the presence of the bacteria indicates that fecal contaminants are entering the water system.”
School Finance
Philadelphia School Officials Approve Record-Setting Budget.
The Philadelphia Inquirer (3/19, Graham) reports that the Philadelphia school district’s “School Reform commission today approved a lump-sum budget that will allow it to spend $3.1 billion next school year.” Officials expect that “$244 million in federal stimulus money” and “an increase in state aid will offset a loss in local tax revenue.” With those funds, in addition to “$2.367 billion in revenues and” a “$5.3 million surplus carried over from this year,” the school “district will hit the $3 billion mark for the first time,” according to Chief Business Officer Michael Masch.
Also in the News
First Lady To Visit DC School In Honor Of Women’s History Month.
In the Washington Post’s (3/18) 44 blog, DeNeen L. Brown wrote, “In another star-packed, White House-coordinated event, first lady Michelle Obama and a line-up of A-list stars…plan to fan out to Washington-area schools on Thursday, where they will speak with students about setting career goals and reaching their dreams.” Celebrity guests include “Alicia Keyes, Sheryl Crow, Debbie Allen, and Alfre Woodard.” The visits will be made in conjunction with Women’s History Month. Mrs. Obama will visit Anacostia High School. A spokesperson for the first lady said, “These events are an extension of the Obama administration’s commitment to engage with the D.C. community and open the White House for arts, culture and educational purposes.”
Book’s Absence From School Library In Utah Prompts Rumors Of Censorship.
The Salt Lake Tribune (3/19, Stewart) reports that “a parent’s complaint over sexual content in” the novel Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer, “coincided with the book’s temporary absence from the library at Brockbank Junior High.” School officials “purchased copies of the book some time ago, but as of Wednesday hadn’t placed them on library shelves. Principal Terri Van Winkle would not say whether the delay stemmed from” the parent’s complaint. Another parent, meanwhile, has claimed to be “‘appalled’ by the ‘censorship’ of a book she says promotes chastity and tolerance.” But “Granite district spokesman Ben Horsley downplayed the book ban as fiction.” Horsley said, “The book is available at the local library and this mom can buy the book. No one has banned it.”
Employees At Dallas High School Accused Of Sanctioning “Cage Fights” Between Students.
In a story first investigated by the Dallas Morning News that has gained international attention from sources such as the UK’s Guardian (UK) (3/20, Glaister) and Australia’s Daily Telegraph (3/20), the New York Times (3/20, A17, Kovach) reports that “the principal of South Oak Cliff High School” in Dallas, TX, has been “accused by several school employees of sanctioning…’cage fights’ between students in a steel equipment enclosure in a boy’s locker room.” According to a 2008 report by the Dallas Independent School District’s (DISD) Office of Professional Responsibility (ORP), the principal, Donald Moten, “and his security staff shut feuding students in a steel cage to settle disputes with bare-knuckle fistfights.”
The AP (3/20, Robbins) reports DISD “was rocked by” the allegations appearing in the ORP report released Thursday. On its website, FOX News (3/20) describes one of incidents, in which “Moten allegedly told security staff to put two teens who were already fighting with each other in the cage to ‘let’em duke it out.’”
According to the Dallas Morning News (3/20, Hobbs, Fischer), “District investigators learned of the fights as part of an investigation into grade-changing for student athletes that ultimately cost the school its 2006 boys state basketball championship.” DISD reports “describe a culture of sanctioned violence” at South Oak Cliff. Frank Hammond a former staff member called it “gladiator-style entertainment for the staff.” Moten denied the allegations saying, “Ain’t nothing to comment on. …. I never put a stop to anything because it never happened.” Yet, DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa “confirmed that there were ‘some things that happened inside of a cage.’” He added that while no criminal charges were filed, “there was discipline taken.”
In a separate story, the Dallas Morning News (3/20, Hobbs, Fischer) reports that ORP inspector and report author Frank McCammon said that after the report was finished, district officials “immediately sent it to the Dallas County district attorney’s office,” but, “the district attorney’s office declined to prosecute because the statute of limitations had run out by the time the cage fights were discovered.” The Dallas Morning News (3/20, Hobbs, Ramshaw) also notes that former South Oak Cliff High School principal Donald Moten “resigned from the district after [the] investigation into allegations that student athletes’ grades were changed so they could remain academically eligible to play basketball.”
In the Classroom
Obama Visits Student Filmmakers At High School In Pomona, California.
NBC Los Angeles (3/19, Baldonado) reported, “A dream come true is how one Village Academy High School student described meeting President Barack Obama in Pomona on Thursday.” Students in the Village Academy’s AP Literature and Composition class last year produced the video, Is Anybody Listening, which “features [them] openly and honestly talking about the economy and how rising unemployment and foreclosure rates are affecting them and their families.” They “put the video on You Tube with the hope that somehow it would reach the then presidential candidates. Once President Obama was elected, they worked to get the video seen by him.” In a speech he made earlier this month, President Obama mentioned the students. This week, the school was notified that “the President wanted to meet with the students while he was in Pomona.”
Robin Abcarian wrote on the Los Angeles Times’ (3/19) Top of the Ticket blog, “Teacher Michael Steinman said that when his students learned Wednesday that Obama would visit them, their reaction was ‘disbelief.’” He also “said he hoped the students would draw the lesson that if they ‘set their sights on something that seems unattainable, and if they focus and stay with it, they can actually have it fulfilled.’” Some of the students who participated in the video project, meanwhile, said that they were thankful the President was listening and is acknowledging their efforts.
First Lady Leads “Amazing Group Of Women” In Tour Of DC Schools.
The New York Times (3/20, A18, Swarns) reports that First Lady Michelle Obama “left the glittering splendor of the White House on Thursday to visit one of the poorest neighborhoods in the capital to push, prod, and inspire struggling high school students.” Obama’s visit to Anacostia High School “was the start of a star-studded career day organized by Mrs. Obama, who said she had long dreamed of gathering an ‘amazing group of women’ to talk to young people.” Among the women who accompanied Obama to the public school were singers Sheryl Crow and Alicia Keys and former astronaut Mae C. Jemison, who all “scattered to public and private schools across the region in honor of Women’s History Month.” Obama “told the students that she attended public schools because her parents could not afford private schools. She said she took pride in getting good grades, even though that was not always popular in her neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.”
USA Today (3/20, Puente) reports, “To all the varied (and unpaid) jobs of the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama has lately added cheerleader-in-chief. On Thursday, she employed her pep-rally skills to exhort students at Washington, D.C.-area high schools that they, too, can achieve their highest dreams.”
The AP (3/20, Superville) reports, “First lady Michelle Obama promoted the value of a college education and hard work Thursday, telling high school students that the people who doubted her when she was younger only encouraged her to aim higher. …. Mrs. Obama’s appearance at Anacostia High School was part of a day in which she put an array of talented, accomplished women in front of area high school students as an example of the types of success they, too, can achieve if they are willing to work hard for it.” Amy Chozick also covered this story in a “Washington Wire” blog for the Wall Street Journal (3/19).
Law & Policy
West Virginia Teachers’ Union Opposes “No Pay For Snow Days” Proposal.
The Charleston (WV) Gazette (3/20, Kabler) reports that “a ‘no pay for snow days’ provision inserted into the school calendar bill Thursday has lobbyists for the state’s teachers unions hopping mad.” The purpose of the legislation is to ensure “that West Virginia schoolchildren receive 180 days of classroom instruction, even in bad-weather years.” The original version of the bill came “with a $10 million a year price tag.” But “an amendment by Senate Education Chairman Robert Plymale, D-Wayne, would eliminate that additional cost” by making sure that “teachers and school personnel” receive no pay “for days when school is cancelled, if the closing announcement is made prior to 6 a.m.” Instead, “those employees would be paid for the subsequent makeup day.” Members of the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA) and the state Federation of Teachers do not support the proposed amendment. “WVEA President Dale Lee said teachers should get paid for snow days, since they work on instructional plans and homework on days when school is cancelled.”
Georgia Lawmakers Approve Student Fitness Assessment Bill.
The AP (3/20) reports that the Georgia state Senate on Thursday approved “new requirements for each school system to conduct an annual fitness assessment program on their students by the 2011-2012 school year. The proposal, which was already adopted by the House, was sent to Gov. Sonny Perdue.” A similar proposal died last year “amid criticism of a provision that required students to step on the scales twice a year. The new version stripped out the twice-yearly ‘weigh-ins.’” The new proposal also specifies that “no students would be punished if they failed to live up to the standards.” Instead, the tests would be aimed at identifying and rewarding “students who meet the new benchmarks.” Still, “critics worried that the state can’t afford to increase the burden on school boards amid the lean economic times,” and that the responsibility of monitoring students’ health should be left to parents.
Virginia Adopts New Special Education Regulations.
The AP (3/20) reports that Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) “has signed off on the state Board of Education’s revised special-education regulations.” In September, the Board “approved the regulations, after stripping out two contentious proposals opposed by parents of students with disabilities.” The rejected proposals “would have allowed schools to stop providing special-education services to students without their parents’ consent” and “would have moved educational appeals hearings from the Virginia Supreme Court to the Department of Education.”
Florida Governor Seeks Public’s Help In Securing Stimulus Waiver.
The AP (3/20, Kaczor) reports that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) “urged Floridians to help persuade the federal government to release $3.4 billion to the state in recovery money for education Thursday as he announced Florida’s stimulus Web site is up and running. Florida needs a waiver from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to get the stimulus money because the state is spending less on public schools than it did three years ago.” Though state officials “had hoped they’d have the waiver by now,” Crist’s “budget director, Jerry McDaniel, said he’s now been told a decision may not come until the end of the month.”
School Finance
School Funding Affects Teams’ Participating In FIRST Robotics Competition.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (3/20, Lizama) reports, “This year, many of the 70 participating high school teams from Virginia, Canada and Brazil” participating in “the annual FIRST Robotics Competition NASA/VCU Regional” this weekend “are feeling the effects of a weak economy.” In addition to losing “school-funded transportation and sponsors,” some have “cut their budgets, skipped competitions, and worked harder to raise money.” For instance, “the robotics program’s budget” for Goochland High School in Virginia “shrank to $10,000 from $16,000 last year. So the team did not participate in a second competition and could not build a robot prototype for practice.” Meanwhile, James River High School relied on a grant from NASA to attend this year’s FIRST competition. Still, “budget constraints forced the team to skip a Washington competition about two weeks ago, coaches did not receive their polo shirts, and team members had to pay for food.”
Also in the News
Massachusetts District Offers Students Wide Selection Of Healthy Foods.
The Lexington (MA) Minuteman (3/19, Kelly) reported that “on a recent tour of the lunchroom cafeteria at the high school, Food Service Director Nancy Wiseman said the school lunches in Lexington [schools] are in a class of their own.” Wiseman described the meals as “very health conscious.” Also, “schools…try to encourage students to try new food and expand their palates.” In honor of National Nutrition Month, for instance, this month, “the public schools’ food service, Chartwells, is offering free samples of different cuisines — Moroccan, Greek, Italian, and French.” According to the Minuteman, “High school students have the most choices when it comes to their school lunch. … The high school’s two cafeterias resemble college or office cafeterias. They offer, depending on the day, a wide variety of foods, from made-to-order sandwiches to a pasta bar.” The school also offers “a daily salad bar and soups offered by Au Bon Pain.”
Three San Francisco Middle Schools Participate In Early Commitment to College program.
The San Francisco Chronicle (3/19, B2,Tucker) reported, “State and local education officials made San Francisco middle school students a simple promise Wednesday: Qualify for college and you’ll have a reserved seat as well as financial aid when you get there.” Three middle schools in San Fransisco — Horace Mann, Martin Luther King Jr., and A.P. Giannini — are “participating in the state’s Early Commitment to College program,” which was “signed into law last year. … The program promises that the students who sign the ‘Save Me a Spot in College’ pledge – and later meet entrance and eligibility requirements — will receive a fee waiver for two or more years at a California community college, as long as the student continues to show financial need.”