USA Today (2/3, Sarrio, Bazar) reported, “The expulsion of a high school basketball player who posted angry messages on Facebook highlights a growing debate over students’ privacy and free-speech rights online. Taylor Cummings, 17, a senior at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School” in Nashville, TV “logged onto Facebook at home on Jan. 3 and wrote, among other things, ‘I’ma kill em all.’” According to USA Today, “School officials decline to discuss the case but say they have suspended and expelled students in the past for infractions that involved social networks, text messaging, e-mail and other technologies.”

Experts: Rights Of Student Expelled From Honor Society May Have Been Violated. The Tampa Tribune (2/4, Blair) reports, “Two Florida experts in First Amendment law” say the rights of Alex Fuentes, a senior at Wesley Chapel (FL) High School “may have been violated when he was kicked out of the National Honor Society over a Facebook page critical of the school.” Fuentes said the Facebook page was created as “just a joke at first, though he was also frustrated that he was going to be graduating from a D school. Other students discovered the page and began adding their own comments – sometimes profane – about the school.”

USA Today (2/4, Gillum, Toppo) reports that the “number of students taking Advanced Placement tests hit a record high last year, but the portion who fail the exams – particularly in the South – is rising as well, a USA TODAY analysis finds.” According to USA Today, the “findings about the failure rates raise questions about whether schools are pushing millions of students into AP courses without adequate preparation – and whether a race for higher standards means schools are not training enough teachers to deliver the high-level material.” USA Today’s analysis “finds that more than two in five students (41.5%) earned a failing score of 1 or 2, up from 36.5% in 1999.”

Maryland School’s Hardships With Computer Classes Seen As Representative Of Many Schools.

The Washington Post (2/4, Birnbaum) reports on Surrattsville High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland, which is struggling “to find a qualified computer teacher” for its classes, which are already short on textbooks. Additionally, “the computers were removed because the substitute was unable to control the students and they were damaging the equipment,” according to students. The issue is not unique to Surrattsville High School, which is “just a dozen miles away from an education department that is investing millions in science and technology education.” According to the article, this situation illustrates “the basic problems that schools face even as reform rhetoric increases.”

Michigan Agreement Would Allow High Schoolers Statewide To Earn Davenport University Credits.

The Grand Rapids (MI) Press (2/4, Murray) reports that Michigan high school students “will be able to get Davenport University credit while still in high school as part of what state educators are calling a ‘landmark’ agreement that could get more people into college.” The agreement would permit “allows any Michigan student enrolled in a state-approved career and technical education center or high school program to receive Davenport credits,” according to a state Education Department official. “University leaders said there is some risk in entering a statewide agreement, but the Education Department has done a good job creating standards for far-flung programs.”

Rhode Island School’s Achievements Despite High Student Poverty Rate Applauded.

The Providence Journal (2/4, Borg) reports that Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist has “joined state and local officials in” applauding Anthony Carnevale Elementary School in Providence, R.I. “for beating the odds. Carnevale “students here have made double-digit gains in the latest round of state tests: 17.1 points in reading and 15.6 points in math. The school has flourished despite formidable challenges: 88 percent of the children live in poverty, and 25 percent receive special education services.”

Educators Seek To Boost Overall Student Performance Through Music Enrichment Program.

The Naples (FL) Daily News (2/4, Donovan) reports on Enhanced Learning Through Music, a “free after-school musical enrichment program” at Pinecrest Elementary School in Naples, FL in which students in grade three through six learn “how to play mariachi music on violins and guitars. … A Florida Department of Education study shows a correlation between student participation in fine arts courses, higher grade point averages and higher FCAT scores.” According to the Daily, News, Judy Evans, director of the enrichment program, “believes that by learning how to play an instrument, the Pinecrest students will probably improve their overall academic performance.”

Indianapolis Public Schools Delayed One Hour Due To Super Bowl.

The AP (2/4, Martin) reports that Indianapolis Public Schools will delay start times on Monday for one hour “to give bus drivers more time to get to work the morning after the Super Bowl.” The district wanted to delay the start of school by two hours, “but changed course after the Indiana Department of Education said such delays should only be used for emergency situations.” And, because the Super Bowl game “between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints didn’t qualify for an automatic waiver for emergency two-hour delays, missed time would have to be made up,” according to State Superintendent Tony Bennett.

Analysis Shows Dallas High Schools Had Largest Decline In Teacher Morale.

Diane Rado writes in the Dallas Morning News (2/3) Dallas ISD blog that according tot the Dallas Independent School District’s 2009-10″organizational health” results, “morale is down across Dallas elementary, middle and high schools, with dozens of schools showing double-digit decreases” in scores. According to Rado, who compared the latest scores with the scores from 2008-09, high schools show “the biggest decrease in scores.” She notes that some high schools “are under intense pressure to improve or they face closure by the state.”

Fourth Grade Teacher’s Career In Education Spans More Than 50 Years.

The Dallas Morning News (2/4, Hundley) reports on Hebron Valley Elementary School Teacher Dale Swall, who has been teaching “for more than half a century and has no plans to quit anytime soon.” Now, at age 80, Swall teaches fourth grade. His career began in 1954, and he started teaching in the Lewisville, TX, school district in 1997. Throughout “his career, he’s been a school superintendent and principal in Peru, a headmaster in Chile and a principal in Colombia, and has taught in Germany and Hawaii.” Swall’s colleagues “say the energetic octogenarian is dedicated to helping students succeed.”

Op-Ed: School Accountability Push Will Fail Without Proper Metrics.

University of Virginia Psychology Professor Daniel Willingham writes in an op-ed in the Boston Globe (2/4), “In an effort to improve public schools, President Obama wants to hold individual teachers accountable for student test scores; indeed, states that prohibit the practice are ineligible for the ‘Race to the Top’ funds.” However, “we do not have good tools to measure teachers, and when you hold people accountable with poor measures, things…get worse. The reason is simple: Accountability changes workers’ focus from ‘do a good job’ to ‘do a job that looks good according to the measure.’”

Second-Largest Virginia District Planning Budget Cut Amid Enrollment Growth.

The Washington Post (2/4, Chandler) reports, “Prince William County [VA] School Superintendent Steven L. Walts has proposed a $762 million spending plan for next fiscal year that would increase class size, cut 700 jobs, charge new student fees for athletics and cut transportation to many magnet schools.” According to the Post, “The budget proposal for the state’s second-largest school system represents a 3 percent reduction in spending. At the same time, officials are budgeting for 3,564 additional students, a nearly 5 percent increase in enrollment.”

Virginia District Struggling To Fund School Renovation Projects Amid Student Enrollment Boom. The Fairfax (VA) Connection (2/3, O’Donoghue) reported that the Fairfax County [VA] School Board “has set a goal of renovating school buildings every 25 to 30 years, but in reality, most schools are waiting approximately 40 years before their physical plants receive an upgrade.” According to the Connection, “School Board members unanimously approved a capital improvement plan Jan. 21 that included many school renovation projects several years overdue.” Also, a boom “in the student population is expected to continue, with an estimated 11,500 more students in the school system in the fall of 2014 than were enrolled in this past fall.”

Middle School Principal Calls On Volunteers To Help Clean Campus Ahead Of District Review.

The St. Petersburg Times (1/4, Ritchie) reports, “Nearly 200 people fanned out over the West Hernando Middle School campus on Jan. 23: students, staffers…even visitors from other counties” to help clean “the campus as part of the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day volunteer program.” Volunteers can earn “one ticket to Walt Disney World or Disneyland…for at least four hours” of work. West Hernandez Principal Rick Markford saw the incentive as an opportunity to get people to help make the campus “look good” for an upcoming Quality Assurance Review Team visit “during the district’s accreditation review.” One of the “the challenges was clearing vegetation damaged by recent freezes.” But, Markford said, “The biggest job being done is raking leaves and remulching. … That’s being done in every corner of the campus,” he added.

Rhode Island Governor Wants To Give Tax Credits To Private School Donors, Cut Public School Budget.

The AP (2/4, Henry) reports that Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri’s (R) state budget proposal “would expand a four-year-old program so it could offer $2 million in tax credits to companies that give money to Roman Catholic, Jewish and independent schools across the state.” Meanwhile, the governor “wants to cut funding for public schools to close a ballooning state deficit.” According to Carcieri, his plan is “justified since taxpayers would face greater costs if students in private and religious schools attended public school districts.” But many state educators do not agree with the plan. Rhode Island NEA executive Director Robert Walsh, for instance, pointed out, “In this environment, taking another million dollars from the public schools … he’s really not helping in a tough time. … He’s being awfully charitable with the public’s money while he’s preaching austerity everywhere else.”

Education Minnesota Buys Television Ads To Push For More School Funding.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune (2/4, Draper) reports that beginning on Super Bowl Sunday, Education Minnesota — an NEA affiliate — “will take to the airwaves to push for…more money for schools.” Members of Education Minnesota “will be featured in” the television ads. Said union President Tom Dooher at a news conference, “There’s been much speculation about cutting education to solve the budget crisis. … But cutting education is the wrong move at the wrong time. … Now is the time to protect it, reform the way we pay for it and make it our top priority.” He also said that “polls show that Minnesotans don’t want the state to cut education funding and might even be willing to pay more for schools.”

Opinion: School Administrators Qualifications Should Be Examined.

William H. Mayes, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Administrators, wrote in an opinion piece for the Jackson (MI) Citizen-Patriot (2/3), “A spokeswoman for the Michigan Education Association told the Huron Daily Tribune this month that when making budget cuts, administration should be one of the first areas examined by school boards.” Mayes pointed out “that school administrators make an impact on students.” They “make decisions” each day that can “keep students safer, push them to achieve more, and measure how well the system is working — for everyone.” Mayes added that he does agree that school boards should examine whether administrators “are well-qualified to lead.” He concludes, “Michigan’s school administrators are choosing to fight for creative solutions that serve children well.”

In the Classroom

 

Students Participate In National Groundhog Job Shadow Day.

 

KHTS-AM Santa Clarita, CA (2/2, Rock) reported on area students’ participation “in the 13th annual National Groundhog Job Shadow Day,” in which students “spread across the valley, from Boston Scientific to Sweetwater Veterinary Clinic, rode with Newhall County Water District workers and stood in surgical suites at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.” The event was organized by the SCV School and Business Alliance, and featured mentors from “dozens of local businesses” who “welcomed the students and gave them first-hand experience in their day-to-day work lives.” Following the job shadowing, “the students and their mentors were treated to lunch at the City of Santa Clarita’s Activities Center. Keynote speaker Jay Thomas, President of Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor spoke about the importance of leadership in the students’ success.”

Students Tour Naval Ship Exhibit. Massachusetts’ Herald-News (2/3, Vital) reports on Fall River students’ participation in the job shadowing event, which for some included “an opportunity to work alongside staff members at Battleship Cove,” the historic naval ship exhibit. The students met with the group sales manager, a mechanic, and the “first lieutenant in charge of maintenance operations,” among others. “Battleship Cove partnered with Taunton Area School to Career Inc., a nonprofit educational service agency that organizes Groundhog Job Shadow Day in southeastern Massachusetts.”

Pre-Engineering Students Visit Nuclear Plant, Manufacturing Facilities. The Dothan (AL) Eagle (2/2, Cook) reported on students from Dothan Technology Center’s pre-engineering academy, who “visited Farley Nuclear Plant, the Sony plant, the Michelin plant, Polyengineering and SAMC” as part of a recent job shadowing event. “Terry Scott, pre-engineering academy coordinator, said jobs in the fields covered by the pre-engineering academy will be in high demand over the next 10 years.” He added that “these obs also tend to be a little more resistant to economic downturn than other professions.”

Students Gain Broadcasting Experience. WACH-TV Columbia, SC (2/2, Harris) reported that “hundreds of students in South Carolina got an in depth look at today’s job market” through their participation in the 13th Annual National Job Shadow Day, which included visits relating to local television. Bette Jamison, Coordinator of ITV South Carolina Department of Education said, “We’re actually telling them about our jobs, and really we multi-task a lot so we show them how we are the producer or director on different projects.”

Close Relationship Seen Between Job Shadowing And Career Choices. The New Bern (NC) Sun Journal (2/3, Oleniacz) reports on National Groundhog Job Shadow Day, which was held yesterday, where area high schoolers shadowed professionals “in fields ranging from law to medicine to law enforcement.” Paula Hodge, New Bern High’s career development coordinator, said past events have been “amazing; I’d say 80 percent of the students end up focusing on the profession they shadow in.” Hodge noted, “They stay in touch with the people they shadow. They hear the story of how the person they’re shadowing got to where they got — it’s inspiring!” The article goes on to describe the experiences of students who shadowed various workers at CarolinaEast Medical Center.

Student Energy Project Heading To Mars Desert Research Station For Testing.

 

The Naples (FL) Daily News (2/3, Albers) reports a team from Golden Gate High School were “winners” in Space Florida’s Mars Experiment Design Competition for Mission Operations. “The Golden Gate High School experiment, ‘How to Produce Energy,’ will ‘help NASA conserve and produce energy without the use of fossil fuels or gasoline,’” said freshman Fredy Molina. A version of the experiment, one of three selected, will now be tested at the Mars Desert Research Station this March. “NASA personnel will transmit scientific results obtained from the experiments to the three winning teams. During these transmissions, each of the winning teams will have an opportunity to interact directly with NASA engineers.”

More Texas High School Students Taking Classes On College Campuses.

 

The Dallas Morning News (2/3, Unmuth) reports that most of the students who graduated last year from Richland Collegiate High School, on the campus of Richland College in Dallas “not only obtained their high school diploma, but also associate degrees.” According to the Morning News, “A plethora of dual-credit courses are now available in Texas high schools. But more students are actually taking courses on college campuses, working beside older peers.”

Study Finds Abstinence-Focused Programs Are Effective.

 

The Washington Post (2/2, Stein) reported, “Sex education classes that focus on encouraging children to remain abstinent can persuade a significant proportion to delay sexual activity, researchers reported Monday.” The study found that “only about a third of sixth- and seventh-graders who completed an abstinence-focused program started having sex within the next two years,” while “nearly half of the students who attended other classes, including ones that combined information about abstinence and contraception, became sexually active.”

CNN (2/3, Hayes) reports that “the study did not impart any moral aspects to delaying the onset of intercourse, such as portraying sex in a negative light.” It also did not ask students during “the abstinence lesson…to delay intercourse until marriage — only until they are ready.” It focused on “662 African-American sixth- and seventh-graders recruited from four public middle schools that serve low-income communities in an unidentified city in the northeastern United States.” The students “were recruited between September 2001 and March 2002.” The AP (2/2, Tanner) reported, “Advocacy groups favoring traditional abstinence-only programs praised the study and said it shows that the Obama administration’s move away from funding these programs is misguided.”

Law & Policy

Facilities

School Finance

Also in the News

Duncan Apologizes For Hurricane Katrina Comments.

 

The Washington Post (2/2, Anderson) reported that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan “apologized Tuesday for asserting that Hurricane Katrina was ‘the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans,’ calling the remark ‘a dumb thing to say.’” Duncan’s “apology on the MSNBC show ‘Morning Joe’ came nearly four days after his Katrina comment began circulating in the blogosphere and two days after it aired on another cable television channel.” According to the Post, Duncan told MSNBC that he was attempting to highlight improved education outcomes in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit but acknowledged that he “said it in a poor way.”

 

Obama Administration Proposes NCLB Overhaul Within 2011 Budget Request.

 

USA Today (2/2, Toppo) reports that the Obama administration “will seek Congress’ help in overhauling a key part of the 8-year-old No Child Left Behind education law,” proposing that “a requirement that states increase the percentage of students meeting standards each year” be eliminated. Instead, President Obama “wants lawmakers to consider rewarding states that show progress toward internationally benchmarked, nationally developed standards.” According to USA Today, Education Secretary Arne Duncan “told reporters the law ‘often does little to reward progress’ of schools that help students achieve – and lets states set standards that are too low to allow U.S. children to get into college or compete internationally.”

The AP (2/1, Quaid) reported that President Obama is proposing an NCLB overhaul, “replacing the school accountability system that has slapped a failing label on more than a third of schools, including many that made big gains but just missed their annual targets.” According to the AP, President Obama’s budget plan aims to “recognize and reward schools for helping kids make gains, even if they aren’t yet on grade level.”

The Washington Post (2/2, Anderson) reports, “As legions of schools nationwide fall short of academic targets, the Obama administration proposed Monday to toss out the pass-fail measure that for 15 years has been the bedrock of the school accountability system and replace it with an index that would reward educators who prepare students for college and careers.” Duncan “credited” NCLB “for exposing achievement gaps but said it has focused too much on reading and math and unfairly labeled many schools.”

The Christian Science Monitor (2/2, Paulson) reports, “Included in Monday’s 2011 budget proposal were some significant – and controversial – shifts in federal education policy, even though a formal” NCLB reauthorization plan “has yet to be submitted. … The administration would like to replace the annual yearly progress (AYP) benchmarks with new standards based on college and career readiness.” Bloomberg News (2/1) reports that according to NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, “the largest U.S. teachers’ union is ‘very pleased’ with the administration’s planned changes to the law.”

In the Classroom

 

 

Thousands Of Florida Students Opt-Out Of Physical Education Classes.

 

The Orlando Sentinel (2/2, Balona) reports that ever since Florida began allowing students to opt-out of physical education with parental approval, “tens of thousands of Florida children” are giving up “gym classes.” The “physical-education waivers” were introduced last semester. Then, “about 15,000 kids in Central Florida alone decided to skip running laps and playing basketball to take other courses, according to the Florida Department of Education.” Some “fitness advocates” speculate that “one reason kids are skipping gym is that some P.E. programs aren’t as good as they should be.” For instance, some “gym teachers aren’t certified, and the classes are seen as a means of simply letting kids burn off energy.” Other teachers do not use “the newest tools and equipment to pique children’s interest in how their bodies move and how to be healthy, said John Todorovich, chairman of the University of West Florida’s Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science.”

Second Graders Learn About Storytelling In Screenwriting Course.

 

California’s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (2/2, Leung) reports that this week, second-graders at Coyote Canyon Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga “are scrutinizing and picking apart the elements of” fairy tales for a screen writing class. Opera Singer Ann Noriel “of Southland Opera, a nonprofit focused on music outreach, is leading a series of children-friendly courses on how to create a musical.” The purpose of the lessons is to “teach music and story writing. … The youngsters learn about setting and plot,” for instance. At the end of all the lessons, students will take “a field trip to the Lewis Family Playhouse” to “watch a production of ‘Cinderella.’”

Ecology Clubs At Rival Los Angeles High Schools Find Common Ground.

 

The Los Angeles Times (1/31, Sahagun) reported that 77 students “from two Los Angeles high schools best known for their rivalries on the athletic field and turf battles in the streets took a hike together in the lush scenery of Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area on Saturday as part of what one described as ‘a compromise for nature.’ The Dorsey and Crenshaw high school students were from ecology clubs that have become such close partners that they are now known as the Dorshaw Eco Club.” According to the Times, this year, “for the first time, the clubs are sharing more than $60,000 in grants from the Sierra Club.”

Anne Frank’s Diary To Remain On Reading List In Virginia District.

 

The Washington Post (2/2, Chandler) reports that Culpeper County, VA schools Superintendent Bobbi Johnson “said Monday that the school system had never formally removed a version of Anne Frank’s diary from classrooms following a parental complaint that some passages were objectionable” due to some sexual content. According to the Post, Director of instruction James Allen “last week told The Washington Post that the definitive edition of the diary would not be used in the future and that the decision was made quickly, without adhering to a formal review policy for instructional materials that prompt complaints.” Johnson “said Monday that the book will remain a part of English classes, although it may be taught at a different grade level.”

Editorial: Keeping Public School Bible Classes Nonreligious Will Be A Major Challenge.

 

Tennessee’s Commercial Appeal (2/1) editorialized that the Tennessee Board of Education “has approved guidelines to teach the Bible in high schools, even though the feeling is the curriculum will be challenged in court as a constitutional violation of separation of church and state. State officials think the guidelines would survive a court challenge because they are a nonsectarian, nonreligious elective academic study.” However, “human nature being what it is, the potential problem arises when an instructor intentionally or unintentionally crosses the line and starts teaching a Bible class as a Sunday school course.”

Parents, Students In Virginia District Fight To Save Music Education From Budget Cuts.

 

The Washington Post (2/2, Chandler) reports, “Toting empty violin and trombone cases, Fairfax County [VA] students appeared at School Board hearings for three days last week to protest potential cuts to the instrumental music program in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. With their parents, teachers and a former music director for the U.S. Air Force Band, they said cuts would be academically, economically and personally detrimental.” According to the Post, “As unprecedented cutbacks in school spending are being proposed across the Washington region, parents…have appealed to cash-strapped state and county officials for funds to protect the high-quality, well-rounded education they expect for their children.

Study Finds Abstinence-Only Education As Effective As Other Forms Of Sex Education.

 

WebMD (2/1, Boyles) reported that a new study led by John B. Jemmott III, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania found “an abstinence-only program to be as effective as safe-sex education or a combination approach and more effective than nothing at all for delaying the onset of sexual activity in preteens and young teens.” The study involved sixth and seventh grade African-American students. “Two years after attending single-day sessions that focused on abstinence, safer sex, or both, about a third of the” students “who took part in the study reported having had sex.” Meanwhile, “about half of the students who took part in a day-long health program in which sex was not discussed reported being sexually active two years later.” WebMD notes that “the Obama administration eliminated federal funding for” abstinence-only education programs last spring. National Abstinence Education Association Director Valerie Huber said that “she hopes the new research will lead the administration to rethink the move.”

Elementary School Invites Parents To Sit-In On Classes.

 

Massachusetts’ Herald News (2/2, Vital) reports that Bring Your Parents to School Day, a “monthly program” at Alfred S. Letourneau Elementary School in Fall River “allows parents to sit in on their children’s classes,” giving “them first-hand exposure to the lessons…being taught” to students. Times for the sit-in lessons “are staggered so that each month, the parents will get to see a different subject area covered.” Fifth-Grade Teacher Lesley Froment said that in a typical month, about 12 parents sit in on one of her lessons.

On the Job

 

Op-Ed: Teacher Licensing Rules In Maryland Hamper Efforts To Attract Top Teachers.

 

Abell Foundation President Robert C. Embry Jr. wrote in an op-ed for the Baltimore Sun (2/1), “While most proposals to improve public education are debatable, on one point there is universal agreement: A high-quality teacher offers a sure path to improving student achievement.” However, “Maryland’s teacher licensing rules remain among the most cumbersome in the nation,” hampering the state’s ability to attract the best teachers. Embry added, “Revising the Resident Teachers Certificate process and the teacher licensing process overall would also position Maryland as more competitive for federal Race to the Top funding aimed at improving teacher quality.”

Law & Policy

 

 

Bill Would Force Virginia Districts To Put 65 Percent Of Budgets Toward Instructional Spending.

 

The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch (2/1, Meola) reported that a bill approved by the Virginia House of Delegates on Monday would require state districts to use “65 percent of their operating budgets [for] instructional spending,” although the bill does not define instructional spending. The state Board of Education “would use a lengthy public input process to develop a definition.” Under the bill, school districts would have to “report annually to the Board of Education the percentage of their operating budgets allocated to instructional spending.” Districts that do not “meet the 65 percent threshold…would have to come up with a plan to increase the expenditure by .5 percent the next fiscal year.”

School Finance

 

 

Students Leading School Levy Campaign In Washington State District.

 

The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune (2/1, Maynard) reported that high school seniors Riley Germanis and Charlene Yamasaki are leading a “campaign to pass a $21.2 million technology levy on Feb. 9.” Germanis and Yamasaki are “co-chairs of Students for Federal Way Schools. It’s a branch of Citizens for Federal Way Schools, the nonprofit group that usually runs campaigns to pass school levies in the South King County [WA] district.” According to the News Tribune, “This year, the adult group turned to students Germanis and Yamasaki to lead the campaign — with the adults’ help.”

Atlanta Public Schools Receive $10 Million Grant For Teacher Recruitment, Training.

 

The Atlanta Business Chronicle (2/2) reports that Atlanta Public Schools has received a “three-year, $10 million grant” from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation “to recruit and train top teachers.” The money will go toward the district’s “10-year-old ‘Effective Teacher in Every Classroom (ETEC)’ initiative, which has a stated goal of recruiting, preparing, placing and supporting effective instructors in every district.” ETEC “has developed a teacher evaluation system based on student achievement, and the system is working to improve the abilities of principals to monitor teacher effectiveness.”

NEA in the News

 

 

Indiana Teachers, NEA Leaders Will Meet With Lawmakers To Discuss Education Funding.

 

WSBT-TV South Bend, IN (2/2) reports that “a dozen teachers from” South Bend and NEA members are “planning a trip to Indianapolis” on Tuesday to “to work with state legislators to increase cash flows at area schools.” NEA South Bend Vice President Linda Lucy said of the meeting, “It’s not so much a risk but a need to go and help do whatever we can to help education be stronger.” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) “and leaders from several school corporations have been vocal about funding cuts to public education.” But Lucy points out, “Cuts are not going to help us go where we need to go to help” educate children.

 

Obama Administration Proposing “Sweeping Overhaul” Of NCLB.

 

The New York Times (2/1, A1, Dillon) reports on its front page that the Obama administration “is proposing a sweeping overhaul” of NCLB “and will call for broad changes in how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, as well as for the elimination of the law’s 2014 deadline for bringing every American child to academic proficiency.” However, the Times adds that the “administration is not planning to abandon the law’s commitments to closing the achievement gap between minority and white students and to encouraging teacher quality.” The Times notes that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan “foreshadowed the elimination of the 2014 deadline in a September speech, referring to it as a ‘utopian goal,’ and administration officials have since made clear that they want the deadline eliminated.”

School Board Leaders In Arizona Raise “Race To The Top” Concerns. The Arizona Republic (1/31, Gersema) reported that school board leaders in Arizona “fear the Obama administration’s ‘Race to the Top’ school-reform program will diminish local control over schools, while several teachers worry it will lead to more student testing, evaluation tools and federal requirements crafted without their input.” According to the Republic, “Roughly 60 percent of Arizona school districts and charter-school officials who serve more than 80 percent of the state’s students backed the application by signing a memorandum of understanding. Superintendents overwhelmingly supported it, but many governing-board presidents and teachers’ union representatives were cautious.”

In the Classroom

 

 

Class Size Limit Prompts Mid-Year Shuffling Of Students In North Carolina County.

 

North Carolina’s News & Observer (1/30, Hui) reported, “Elementary school students scattered across Wake County [NC] will be saying goodbye to their teachers and classmates as they change classes in the middle of the school year to comply with state class size limits.” According to the News & Observer, the North Carolina Board of Education “said no in December to Wake’s request to allow 329 kindergarten through third-grade classes to have more than the state limit of 24 students. … The changes are drawing protests from parents, even those whose children aren’t being moved.”

Students Throughout South Jersey Raising Money For Haiti.

 

New Jersey’s Courier Post (1/30, Rothschild) reported that each month, students at Joyce Kilmer Elementary School in Cherry Hill, NJ, attend a character education assembly. “For February, the character trait being emphasized at Kilmer is compassion and the focus is ‘Hope for Haiti.’” In addition to raising money to help quake survivors, student at Kilmer “study how earthquakes occur in science and learn about physical and occupational therapists in health.” The Courier Post points out that throughout South Jersey, “students have been energized to help Haiti by collecting funds and supplies.” At DeMasi Middle school in Evesham, for instance, “students collected crutches, canes and walkers and forwarded them to a local hospital which will send them to Haiti.”

Community Learning Center Grants Fund After School Programs In Florida Counties.

 

The Florida Times-Union (1/30, Palka) reported that in Florida, “Putnam, Baker, Duval and St. Johns counties have all received a total of $3.7 million in 21st Century Community Learning Center grants this year. They are administered by the state, and some of the districts have received them in previous years.” According to the Times-Union, “In Duval County, the grants have helped the school district and Jacksonville Children’s Commission fund Team Up after-school programs at various schools.”

On the Job

 

 

Training Aims To Help Science Teachers Engage Students In Higher-Level Thinking.

 

The St. Petersburg Times (1/30, Solochek) reported that “University of Central Florida aerospace engineering associate professor” Larry Chew “spent two days this week at John Long Middle School training science teachers how to better engage their students in their daily lessons.” For one lesson, he used a game involving “straws, markers and pingpong balls” as an introduction for “instruction on Newton’s First Law of Motion, which states that an object generally keeps doing what it has been doing — moving or standing still — unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” Long “science teachers decided to bring in Chew to help them” teach students “higher-level thinking concepts.” As part of the training, Chew also “modeled how to get the students talking in a controlled environment, where he focused the learning but didn’t dominate.”

Nevada District Responds To Declining AP Pass Rate With Teacher Training Requirement.

 

The Las Vegas Sun (1/31, Richmond) reported that Nevada’s Clark County school district has “sold thousands of students and their families on the value of college prep classes,” and now “district officials are concerned that some of the most challenging classes have become so crowded, the quality of the instruction may be suffering.” Since 2002, the number of students taking AP classes “has nearly tripled…from 5,675 seats to 16,669 this year.” Now, some classes have up to 45 students, “because there is no cap on classroom enrollment.” Meanwhile, the number of students passing these tests has been on the decline. “In 2009, the pass rate was 43.8 percent, down from 57.8 percent in 2002.” In response to the declining pass rate, the Clark County school district next school year will begin requiring “AP teachers to attend a summer institute at least every three years, and the district plans to offer weekend refresher sessions.”

Law & Policy

 

 

Bill Would Allow Utah Districts To Extend Teachers’ Provisional Status.

 

The Salt Lake Tribune (1/30, Schencker) reported that on Friday the Utah State House also passed a bill that “would allow districts to extend” teachers’ “provisional status for up to two more years for a total of five years.” Current law requires that teachers remain “on provisional status for their first three years, meaning they can be fired at the end of the school year for any reason without explanation.”

Bill Would Require Utah School Employees To Get Background Checks At Own Expense. The Salt Lake Tribune (1/30, Schencker) reported that the Utah State House passed HB81 on Friday, which requires “school employees and volunteers to undergo background checks at their own expense.” Currently, teachers must “undergo background checks every time they renew their teaching licenses” and “non-licensed school employees” also must “undergo periodic checks.” HB81 “extends those checks to include volunteers who are ‘given significant unsupervised access to a student.’”

Des Moines, Iowa Considering Saturday School To Make Up Snow Days.

 

The AP (1/31, Welte) reported that due to heavy snow, school district officials in Des Moines, IA “have had to cancel classes enough times this academic year that they’re considering holding classes on Saturdays and cutting into spring break to avoid pushing the school year into mid-June. With six snow days already and two months of winter ahead, the district has set up an online poll through Monday to help it make some decisions.”

Duncan Says Katrina “Best Thing That Happened” To New Orleans Education.

 

The Washington Post (1/30, Anderson) reported that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan “called Hurricane Katrina ‘the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans’ because it forced the community to take steps to improve low-performing public schools, according to excerpts from a television interview made public Friday.” In the interview, scheduled to air Sunday on TV One, Duncan said, “I spent a lot of time in New Orleans, and this is a tough thing to say, but let me be really honest. I think the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina. That education system was a disaster, and it took Hurricane Katrina to wake up the community to say that ‘we have to do better.”

In a Washington Post (1/30, 684K) op-ed, Teach for America Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Huffman writes, “Duncan has been getting flak this week” for his words, “but he’s right to praise the enormous progress there since 2005. New Orleans schools have seen significant growth in student achievement levels over the past three years, and the state has real lessons to apply to other struggling schools. … For systemic change, though, local political leaders need to understand the difference between talk and action on education reform. Too many states are attempting to Amble to the Top with their reform plans.”

Safety & Security

 

 

Education Stakeholders Taking Steps To Prevent Head Injuries Among Athletes.

 

The AP (1/31, Rieken) reported, “The House Judiciary Committee will host a forum on head injuries in high school and college football Monday in Houston, following two earlier hearings on the problem in the NFL. The NCAA has endorsed the idea of requiring athletes to be cleared by medical personnel before returning to competition and at least six states are considering measures that would toughen restrictions on athletes returning to play after head injuries.” The AP added, “Texas, with its deep devotion to high school football, is one of only three states with a law dealing with the treatment and prevention of head injuries in high school sports, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.”

Also in the News

 

Some Schools In Haiti Will Reopen On Monday For The First Time Since Jan 12.

 

The Wall Street Journal (1/ 30, Chon) reported that while some schools in Haiti will open again on Monday for the first time since an earthquake hit the island on Jan 12, most schools in Port-Au-Prince will not be open. The UN and Haiti’s education ministry will begin looking at the condition of schools in the capital city and other places severely affected by the quake on Monday.

Military Officials In Hawaii Commission Research On Attitudes Toward State’s Public Education.

 

The AP (2/1) reports that Hawaii’s “decision in October to shrink the school year by 10 percent, giving it the fewest number of instructional days in the nation at 163, is adding to the dismal reputation Hawaii’s public schools have among servicemen and women.” According to the AP, “commanders are so concerned about the overall health of isle schools that the military is paying researchers from Johns Hopkins University $1.5 million to study military attitudes toward Hawaii public education over a three year period to see if there’s any concrete data to support the unhappy anecdotes.” Researchers “will track families who have received assignments to Hawaii, those who are currently here and those who have left the islands” and analyze “whether the education their children received in Hawaii put them at a disadvantage or prepared them well for their next school.”

NEA in the News

 

 

Educators Discuss Issues Affecting Teachers At NEA Delegation Assembly.

 

KTUU-TV Anchorage(1/30, Kim) reported that this weekend “about 400 people” came to the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, AK, “for the National Education Association’s 49th annual delegation assembly.” At the meeting, they discussed issues such as “class size, teacher retention, and rural housing for teachers.” Teacher Megan Larson pointed out, “In Alaska, we have certain challenges that are not found in other states. … So we may have a population where you have 10 kids and they’re coming from a huge region, and you have one teacher that’s to teach all of the different grade levels.”

 

Report: State Policies Protect Ineffective Teachers.

 

The AP (1/28, Turner) reported, “Most states are holding tight to policies that protect incompetent teachers and poor training programs, shortchanging educators and their students before new teachers even step into the classroom, according to a new” study from the National Council on Teacher Quality. The study “paints a grim picture of how states handle everything from pay to discipline for public school teachers. States are using ‘broken, outdated and inflexible’ policies that ultimately hurt how children learn, according to the report.”

The Denver Post (1/29, McGhee) reports that the report finds Colorado “regulations governing teachers fail to ensure that all students have effective teachers.” The report “gave the state an overall grade of D-plus in its 2009 review of state laws, rules and regulations governing the teaching profession.” The “organization found that Colorado’s teacher policies largely work against the nation’s goal of improving teacher quality at a time when Race to the Top, a $4.5 billion federal grant competition has put unprecedented focus on education reform and teacher quality.”

Dave Murray writes in a column for the Grand Rapids (MI) Press (1/29) that Michigan received a “grade of D-, saying that our state fails to ensure that all students will have effective, well prepared teachers. That seemed kind of harsh, since I know Michigan has some great college education programs, and it’s rare that I run into an ineffective teacher.” However, the “group said the state has some bright spots, including ‘requiring induction for all new teachers.’”

In the Classroom

 

 

Preschools In Massachusetts Must Teach Oral Hygiene.

 

The New York Times (1/29, A10, Zezima) reports, “Massachusetts is the first state to add toothbrush time to” the preschool curriculum, “requiring that all children who eat a meal at day care, or attend for more than four hours, brush their teeth during class and be educated about oral health.” According to the state’s Early Education Commissioner Sherri Killins, “parents who feel strongly about the regulation can opt out.”

Virginia District Stops Assigning 50th Anniversary Edition Of Anne Frank’s Diary.

 

The Washington Post (1/29, Chandler) reports that public school officials in Culpeper, VA, “have decided to stop assigning a version of Anne Frank’s diary, one of the most enduring symbols of the atrocities of the Nazi regime, after a parent complained that the book includes sexually explicit material and homosexual themes.” The 50th anniversary addition of Anne Frank’s diary, titled, “The Diary of a Young Girl: the Definitive Edition,” contains “passages previously excluded from the widely read original edition, first published…in 1947.” Some of those “passages detail [Anne's] emerging sexual desires” and “unflattering descriptions of her mother and other people living together.” Culpeper’s director of instruction, James Allen, said, “The school system did not follow its own policy for handling complaints about instructional materials,” which requires that complaints be “submitted in writing and for a review committee to research the materials and deliberate.” This decision, however, was “made quickly by at least one school administrator.”

Congresswoman Named “Principal For A Day” At Elementary School In Maryland.

 

Maryland’s Gazette (1/28, Garner) reported that Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) was named “Principal for a Day” at Glassmanor Elementary School in Oxon Hill, MD, last week. “Edwards didn’t attend any staff meetings or hand out hall passes,” still, school “administrators urged students to take the opportunity of her visit to learn more about the political process.” Edwards spoke to the students at an assembly, “giving the students a brief lesson on politics and explaining the duties of the political leaders who serve Prince George’s County.” During her hour-long appearance, she answered questions from students, ranging from, “Did you always want to be a politician?” to “whether she would run against Barack Obama for president.”

Biz Town Teaches Students Skills Needed For Adulthood.

 

WFOR-TV Miami (1/28) reported, “Biz Town in Coconut Creek [FL] is a bustling community that comes to life when the students stop by.” The community is “set to imitate real life situations” to help “students learn what its like to run a business, pay employees, and manage a personal budget.” The program is run through Junior Achievement of Broward County, FL, with support from several local business partners, including Bank Atlantic.

Elementary School’s Walk For Water Campaign Helps Supply Clean Water In Haiti.

 

South Carolina’s Upstate Today (1/29) reports that money raised last November by students at Townville Elementary School during the school’s first Walk for Water campaign is now being used to help International Child Care Ministries set up water filters “in strategic places to help provide clean water to the people affected by” Haiti’s Jan 12 earthquake “and in some other areas of the country as well.” The walk was held in conjunction with the organization, “which routinely supplies water filters and other necessities for Haiti, and Fitness Finders, an educational supply company.”

On the Job

 

 

Los Angeles District Reveals New School Report Cards.

 

The Los Angeles Times (1/28, Blume) reported that on Wednesday, Los Angeles public school officials “unveiled a more user-friendly school ‘report card’…that is more focused on information than public relations.” According to the Times, “last year’s report cards…were difficult to read and had not yet incorporated features such as an annual survey of parents, students and school staff.” The new reports include “student proficiency rates for special programs at a school, such as a magnet program,” and at the high school level they include “the percentage of ninth-graders who move to the 10th grade — a key indicator of whether a school is reaching troubled students.” However, they do not show “proficiency rates for a school once students from higher-scoring special programs are removed from the calculation.”

New York City Schools Cut Whole Milk, Eliminate 4.6 Billion Calories.

 

Bloomberg News (1/29, Randall) reports that according to a new report from the CDC, in eliminating whole milk from its cafeterias in 2006, the New York City public school system has “cut 4.6 billion calories and 422 million grams of fat a year from students’ diets.” The study is “the first to measure how banning whole milk affects school nutrition,” adding that “school districts across the country are tweaking their cafeteria offerings and developing programs to get children to eat better and exercise more.” Bloomberg notes that some 21% of New York City students are obese.

Law & Policy

 

 

Bill Banning Abstinence-Only Sex Education Advances In Wisconsin Legislature.

 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (1/29, Marley, Bergquist) reports that under a bill passed yesterday by the Wisconsin state senate, “public schools that teach sex education would be required to instruct students about birth control and sexually transmitted disease,” noting that “Sen. Judy Robson (D-Beloit), a former nurse, said teaching a solely abstinence-based curriculum has resulted in high rates of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. ‘We have done it your way,’ she told Republicans. ‘President (George) Bush spent $1.5 billion on abstinence-only education and it failed — it failed miserably.’ But Republicans said the bill took control away from local school officials.”

The AP (1/4, Bauer) reports also covers the vote, though there is some dissonance between the two articles regarding whether both houses of the legislature have passed the bill. The AP reports that it was the state assembly that passed the bill on Thursday, with the state senate still yet to approve it.

Safety & Security

 

 

Students Hack Into Maryland High School’s Computer System, Alter Grades.

 

The Washington Post (1/29, Birnbaum, Johnson) reports that some students at Churchill High School in Maryland’s Potomac school system “hacked into the school’s computer system and changed class grade…and officials are investigating how widespread the damage might be.” School workers are not yet sure of the “extent of the apparent security breach,” and teachers are “being asked to review their grades for discrepancies.” But, said some sources, “teachers at the school no longer keep separate log books of their grades,” so “it might be difficult to go back and find a student’s original grade.” The Post adds that the hackers “used a computer program to capture passwords from at least one teacher, according to school sources familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.”

Facilities

 

 

Massachusetts Officials To Distribute $215 Million To Fund School Building Projects.

 

The Boston Globe (1/28, Parker) reported that Massachusetts officials “agreed to pay $215 million toward school construction and renovation projects in a dozen communities yesterday, including about $87 million in funding for new high schools in Natick and Tewksbury, which will use existing designs.” According to the Globe, Natick and Tewksbury “are taking advantage of the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Model School program, which qualifies communities to receive an additional 5 percent in state reimbursements for school construction costs if the school districts use one of two of the authority’s school designs.”

Also in the News

 

 

Haiti Officials Uncertain About When Schools Will Reopen.

 

The New York Times (1/29, A8, Rivera) reports that on Thursday, government officials in Haiti said “they hoped schools would begin reopening Monday, but it was unclear how many schools would be able to open — or how many students would be able to return.” According to one official on the emergency disaster committee, “up to 97 percent of the city’s schools — built to withstand hurricanes, not earthquakes” may have been destroyed, and “the dead within [are] still being counted.”

Kindergarten-Only School In Oregon Wins Over Skeptics.

 

The Oregonian (1/29, Melton) reports, “Five- and 6-year-olds rule at North Powellhurst School — one of three in Oregon that serve only kindergartners.” Students at the school scored “slightly better than their peers in the rest of the district” last year, and once-skeptical parents “now say the all-kindergarten school is helping preserve the magic of childhood.” According to Principal Kate Barker, “teachers don’t have to worry about the bullying by older kids.” However, she added that “those older students aren’t there to model good behavior, either.” So, teachers “must spend more time teaching kids how to keep their hands to themselves and not to chew with their mouths open.”

NEA in the News

 

 

Proposed Virginia Budget Could Eliminate Up To 23,000 Teachers.

 

The Richmond Times-Dispatch (1/28, Meola) reported that under Virginia’s proposed budget for 2010-2012, “public schools could lose as many as 23,000 jobs” according to the Virginia Education Association (VEA), which compared the proposal “to an ‘out of control freight train’ barreling down the tracks.” VEA President Kitty Boitnott that “the quality of instruction in Virginia’s schools will unquestionably plummet” if the proposal is approved. The proposal “put forth by then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine” (D) would eliminate $1.6 billion “from public K-12 education.” Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) now “must make $4 billion in [overall] budget cuts to balance the budget for the 2010-2012 budget.”

 

Obama Seeks Up To $4 Billion More For Education.

 

The Washington Post (1/28, Anderson) reports, “The Obama administration launched an effort Wednesday to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law, with a proposed increase in federal spending.” According to the Post, the administration plans to “reserve $1 billion to fund programs that may emerge through a revision of the 2002 law.” In addition, Obama “is proposing to raise elementary and secondary education spending by $3 billion in the fiscal year that begins in October.” The AP (1/27) reported that also included in the increase is “$1.35 billion for Obama’s Race to the Top competitive grant program.” With that money, “states not awarded money in the first round would get another chance to compete. Local school districts also would be allowed to apply.”

William McKenzie wrote in “The Education Front” blog for the Dallas Morning News (1/27) that in a conference call with reporters, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said amid budget cuts in other areas, “education spending would go up six percent if the president’s 2011 budget is adopted.” McKenzie added, “I’m glad to see him pushing forward with investments here, especially in trying to get more students into college. We can’t let up on this front.”

In the Classroom

 

 

Students Learn To Program “CalcBots” Provided By NASA, NDEP.

 

The Washington Post (1/28, Arias) reports that members of the Takoma Park Middle School Science Club are learning “to program calculator robots donated by NASA” and the National Defense Education Program. The “CalcBots” are TI-84 calculators combined with “small, flat-back carts with two wheels and a jack to connect the TI-84s.” Students can program the robots “by entering an equation or command in the calculator.” A portion of the NDEP’s support pays for weekly visits from “Michael Britt-Crane, a naval mechanical engineer who meets with the club members on Wednesdays to teach them how to use the robots.” He said, “The curriculum is all related to the Mars rover project.” Britt-Crane “explained that for students to complete their ‘missions,’ they must figure out a math equation or approximate measurement within a scenario faced by real NASA and Navy scientists.”

National Trend Seen Towards K-12, Higher Ed Collaboration On STEM Education.

 

Government Technology (1/27, Nichols) reports on “a national trend of collaboration between K-12 and higher education institutions to put more students on track for STEM careers.” These efforts allow schools to “connect across district lines, share resources and develop in-depth programs,” and give students the opportunity “to learn through hands-on activities, project-based assignments and apprenticeships in the field.” Experts say that “many students don’t know enough about the industry to even think about pursuing STEM jobs,” and say they are working to change this through a variety of programs. The article profiles the Hughes STEM High School in Cincinnati which, among other things, has partnered with the University of Cincinnati for STEM learning, “introduces students to the myriad career possibilities a STEM education can help them obtain” and “offers high school/college enrollment programs, co-ops and internships.”

On the Job

 

 

Houston School District Awards $40 Million In Performance Bonuses.

 

The Houston Chronicle (1/27, Mellon) reported that on Wednesday, the Houston Independent School District paid “more than $40 million in performance bonuses” to “teachers and other staff whose students made the biggest academic gains.” The bonuses ranged “from $25 to nearly $25,000,” and were earned by nearly “90 percent of the eligible employees.” The largest bonuses awarded to teachers — $10,890 — were given to two elementary teachers and one middle school teacher. On average, teachers earned $3,606, “while principals pocketed almost twice that. Executive principals and regional superintendents received $16,157 on average.” WKRK-TV Houston (1/27, Cisneros) reported that the bonuses are “part of the much touted ASPIRE program, started three years ago by former HISD Superintendent Dr. Abe Saavedra.” The evaluation “measures teacher, principal, and certain staff member performances in the classroom, tied to TAKS tests scores.”

Florida Education Department To Make Professional Development Resources Available Online.

 

T.H.E. Journal (1/27, Aronowitz) reports that the Florida Department of Education and the School Improvement Network are collaborating on a system that “will allow educators throughout the state 24/7 access to extensive professional development resources through the company’s PD 360 library.” Resources include “follow-up tools, activities, tracking, collaboration, community discussion forums, file sharing, and, most recently, social networking” forums. In addition, “expert-authored content” will also be available through PD 360, including “assessment, scheduling, classroom management, coaching/mentoring…instructional strategies, student motivation, special education, team teaching, and educational leadership.”

Report Says Principals’ Authority To Dismiss Teachers Affects Absences.

 

Education Week (1/27, Aarons) reported that a new working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that Chicago teachers “who didn’t have tenure took fewer days off after principals were given more flexibility to dismiss probationary teachers.” According to Education Week, “The policy reduced teacher absences on an annual basis by about 10 percent and cut the number of teachers with 15 or more annual absences by 20 percent, according to the report by Brian A. Jacob, a professor of education policy and economics at the University of Michigan.” The study “examines the effects of the policy from that year through the 2006-07 school year, and compares teacher-absence rates from before and after the policy was implemented for probationary vs. tenured teachers.”

Law & Policy

 

 

South Carolina Lawmakers Consider Teacher Furlough Days To Save $100 Million.

 

WYFF-TV Greenville, SC (1/28) reports that lawmakers in South Carolina are considering shortening the school year as an option for saving about $100 million. On Tuesday, “the House panel approved a measure that would require teaches statewide take a five-day furlough and that administrators take 10 days.” Tommie Reece, a trustee on the Greenville County Schools Board, suggested that the state “give local legislation a number to cut [and] give school districts the responsibility to” make cuts at the district level.

South Carolina Senate Education Panel Approves Calorie Limits For Food Sold In Schools. The AP (1/28, Adcox) reports that a South Carolina Senate Education panel tentatively approved legislation in Wednesday that would bar “honey buns, greasy pizza and chocolate bars from being sold to students during the school day.” The bill would limit the percentage of “calories from fat” in each cafeteria item to 35, “and 10 percent from saturated fat.” If the bill becomes law, “South Carolina would join at least six other states that require school meals to be healthier than USDA guidelines, according to the School Nutrition Association.” Some lawmakers and “school groups vowed to fight the bill as passed Wednesday.” Sen. Larry Grooms (R), for instance, said that “the state has no business micromanaging what students can buy.” Grooms “said he’s OK with, for example, students selling cookies for Haiti earthquake victims, or PTAs having the occasional brownie fundraiser.”

Appeals Court Rules That Union Leaders’ Emails Are Not Public Record.

 

The AP (1/27) reported, “The Michigan Court of Appeals court has overturned a judge’s ruling that the email messages of Howell teachers’ union leaders are public records under the state Freedom of Information Act.” The decision was made in regards to “a 2007 lawsuit brought by the Howell Education Association against the Howell Public Schools.” According to the court, “the union and district agreed on a ‘friendly’ suit to establish if three union officials’ email traffic was subject to disclosure if it was recorded in the district’s computer system.”

Federal Desegregation Order Faulted For Not Focusing On Teacher Quality.

 

Reporter Mike Thomas wrote in a blog for the Orlando (FL) Sentinel (1/27) that the federal desegregation order for Orange County, FL schools “will not, by itself, improve high-poverty schools. Data shows that there are two things that improve schools. Great administrators and teachers is one. And parental involvement is the other.” The desegregation order “contains nothing that requires Orange to put high-performing teachers in low-performing schools. Instead, it says Orange will do more to hire more minority teachers.” Thomas added, “Race has nothing to do with teacher quality. Putting a less qualified black teacher in with black kids, instead of a more qualified white teacher, will hinder, not help, their education. … The focus needs to be on the quality of the teachers in these schools. And I don’t see that in this order.”

Special Needs

 

Special Education Enrollment, Litigation Have Increased Over Past Two Decades.

 

Pennsylvania’s Patriot-News (1/27, Andren) reported, “Broadening definitions have put more conditions under the special education umbrella and parents’ increasing awareness of their child’s legal rights have contributed to increased special education enrollment and litigation,” according to Lehigh University law and education professor, Perry Zirkel. Special education enrollment, including enrollment in gifted classes, increased from 14.5 percent to 19 percent between 1990 and 2008. Zirkel said that the “increase can be attributed, in part, to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder becoming recognized disorders under federal special education law within that time span.” During that same period, “due process hearings have increased nationally,” and Pennsylvania is among the 10 states with the highest number of special education cases.

School Finance

 

 

Three School Districts In South Carolina Will Get Nearly $40 Million For Reconstruction.

 

The Washington Post (1/27) reported that three school districts in Dillon, SC, “will receive a $4 million grant and a $35.8 million loan to build two schools and renovate two others.” The city’s schools gained national attention in 2008 when President Obama “twice visited Dillon during his campaign for the presidency. He then specifically highlighted the poor conditions at J.V. Martin Junior High during a speech to Congress last February.” The AP (1/28, Kinnard) reports that according to Dillon School District 2 Superintendent Ray Rogers, “some of the money will be used to refurbish existing facilities and build a new early childhood development center. But about $25 million will go toward building a new J.V. Martin Junior High School.”

Also in the News

 

 

Removal Of Dictionaries From Schools Seen As Harmful To Students.

 

Carl Love writes in a column for the Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise (1/28) that “well-intentioned folks” in the Menifee, CA district blocked elementary school students’ access to dictionaries “after a parent complained about an elementary school kid coming across ‘oral sex’ in a classroom Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. … Tuesday, the district announced the dictionaries would return and an ‘alternate’ dictionary would available.” Love adds that why “do some people in southwest Riverside County continue to think they can shield their kids from everything bad the grown-up world has to offer? … If a dictionary doesn’t support curriculum, what does?”

 

Debate Over Increase In US Teen Pregnancies Centers On Sex Education.

 

The Washington Post (1/26, Stein) reported that according to an analysis conducted by the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, “The pregnancy rate among 15-to-19-year-olds increased 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 — the first jump since 1990.” The issue of teen pregnancy has “triggered intense political debate over sex education, particularly whether the federal government should fund programs that encourage abstinence until marriage or focus on birth control.” Consequently, the report has prompted debate about “the cause of the increase,” with “several experts” blaming it “on sex-education programs that focus on encouraging abstinence” and others saying “the reversal could be due to a variety of factors, including an increase in poverty, an influx of Hispanics and complacency about AIDS.”

In the Classroom

 

 

Texas Rolls Out New Standardized Testing System.

 

The AP (1/27) reported, “Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott announced Tuesday that the much-maligned Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills will be replaced with the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. The new testing system, which was mandated by the Legislature, will replace the TAKS beginning in the 2011-2012 school year.” The tests are still in development, but are expected to “debut in 2013, according to the Texas Education Agency.”

Some High Schools In Denver Still Offering Wood Shop Classes.

 

The Denver Post (1/26, Meyer) reported that citing budget cuts, school administrators “have been dismantling industrial arts classes like wood shop, welding, and carpentry for two decades.” Meanwhile, schools have increased their “emphasis on the core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics.” But some say that “the nation’s labor force could suffer with the lack of hands-on skills among students — especially as baby boomer plumbers, electricians and carpenters begin to retire in greater numbers.” In Denver, wood shop classes remain in three of “10 traditional high schools and at Career Education Center Middle College of Denver.” At East High School, for instance, wood shop “classes have built acoustic guitars, Stratocaster clones and, this year, most students are crafting heavy metal guitars in the Gothic design of famed manufacturer BC Rich.”

California’s Top Teachers Say Law Hampers Classroom Creativity, According To Study.

 

California’s Press Enterprise (1/26, Straehley) reported, “The best teachers don’t like the effects of the No Child Left Behind act, saying it hampers creativity in the classroom and makes it harder to teach students to love learning,” according to a UC Riverside study published in Policy Matters today. Researchers “surveyed 740 national board certified teachers in California” and “found that 84 percent reported overall unfavorable attitudes about the” law. Many teachers said that “too much class time is devoted to teaching what’s on the state tests, and there’s little time left for creative and fun lessons.” Titled, “Does the No Child Left Behind Act Help or Hinder K-12 Education,” the reports also says that “teachers did see value in the focus and high expectations set by the act, but” did not see NCLB as helping students reach those standards.

On the Job

 

 

Leader Of DC Schools Explains Claims About Laid-Off Teachers.

 

The Washington Post (1/27, Anderson) reports that in a letter to the DC Council, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee said, regarding her comments “about laid-off teachers” published in the magazine Fast Company, that “only one of the 266 employees the school system dismissed last fall had been accused of sexual misconduct.” She also explained that “six of the laid-off employees had been suspended for using corporal punishment and two for being absent without leave ‘on multiple occasions.’” Rhee “declined to apologize for telling the magazine “that some of the teachers laid off in October’s budget cuts ‘had sex with children,’ hit them or were chronically absent without authorization.”

Rhee Urged To Be More Apologetic. Jay Mathews wrote in a “Class Struggle” blog for the Washington Post (1/26), “I think Rhee needs to be more apologetic. Her comments were over the line.” Mathews writes that he fears “any political battle over this might get bad enough to get her fired, or more likely convince her to leave,” adding, “I think that would have terrible consequences for D.C. schools.”

US Space Foundation Pilots PreK-Second Grade Teacher Training.

 

The Colorado Springs Gazette (1/27, McMillin) reports that for the “a new PreK-2 teacher training program piloted this week in Colorado Springs by the U.S. Space Foundation,” several “educators spent a couple of days this week engaged in such activities as building robotic arms out of tongue depressors and simple circuits that set off flashing UFO balls.” The teachers will take the lessons they learned “back to classrooms where they teach preschool, kindergarten and first and second grade and see if they can start a new generation on the path to science literacy,” the Colorado Springs Gazette adds.

Law & Policy

 

 

South Carolina Adopts New School Grading Scale.

 

The Greenville News (1/26, Barnett) reported that South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee has “approved a new grading scale that widens the level schools have to reach to make Excellent and lowers the range for schools on the bottom end of the scale.” Committee Executive Director Jo Anne Anderson said that “the new criteria were put in place to go along with a new standardized test the state is using” called the Palmetto Achievement Challenge. “Using a simulation based on the 2009 PASS scores, 14.7 percent of the state’s elementary and middle schools would rate Excellent, with 15.8 percent rating Good, 47.3 percent rating Average, 15.9 percent Below Average, and 6.2 percent At Risk” with the new scale.

Review Committee Authorizes Fourth, Fifth Graders’ Use Of Alternative Dictionaries.

 

California’s Southwest Riverside News Network (1/26, Arballo) reported that students at Oak Meadows Elementary School in the Menifee Union School District “will have the option of using an alternative dictionary rather than one that was temporarily removed from the classroom because of language a parent found objectionable.” The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Tenth Edition and the McGraw-Hill School Dictionary have been approved by a review committee for use by fourth and fifth graders at the school. However, the McGraw Hill Dictionary requires parental consent. Southwest Riverside News Network notes that Menifee “had been at the center of a growing controversy since word of the dictionary’s removal became public.” A district spokeswoman “said she had been busy fielding many media calls and that some had wrongly believed the district had removed all dictionaries from classrooms.”

Op-Ed: Education Reform Efforts Should Focus On Bolstering Veteran Teachers’ Skills.

 

Illinois Institute of Technology science professor Leon Lederman writes in an op-ed for Education Week (1/27), “While many in government, nonprofits, and the foundation world have focused their reform ideas on attracting new blood to the teaching profession,” the Illinois Teachers Academy for Mathematics and Science “experience shows that working teachers, including the most senior classroom veterans, are eager to learn new strategies to help their students master the math and science they will need to succeed in further education and in life.” According to Lederman, “With modeling and in-class support, working teachers can successfully change their instructional practices. Their classrooms can become more open to the inquiry and hands-on experimentation that breed true scientific thought and understanding.”

School Finance

 

Teachers In Modesto, California, Brainstorm Ways For District To Cut Budget.

 

The Modesto Bee (1/26, Hatfield) reported, “About 120 people — mostly teachers and staff — broke into small groups Monday night to hash out how the Modesto City Schools District can cut $25 million in spending for the next school year.” The groups spent about 45 minutes “brainstorming…then voiced their concerns during an open-microphone session.” Suggestions included “saving programs such as AVID, music, arts and sports and…chopping spending on drug-sniffing dogs, summer school and administrative tasks.” School trustees acknowledged, however, that with “as many as 75 percent of the participants” working “for the school district,” the input may be “skewed.”

Also in the News

 

 

Elementary Teachers In Toronto Say Curriculum Requirements Are “Unrealistic”.

 

The Toronto Sun (1/27, Lem) reports that according to a report by the Elementary Teachers of Toronto, “Toronto elementary teachers say they’re overworked” and “bogged down by administrative matters and unrealistic curriculum requirements, which hinder their ability to teach.” The report is based on interviews with 81 teachers, and “found that while teachers are satisfied with the opportunity to work with children and colleagues in a positive, wider school community, and the salary and benefits of the job, there are a number of issues they’re not happy with.” For instance, several teachers said that there are not enough “resources available” at their schools “to serve the growing number of students with special needs.” They also “said they’re obliged to give undue priority to forcing information on students and teaching too quickly under unreasonable pressure.”

Study: Childhood Bullying Can Lead To Health Problems In Later Life.

 

MSNBC (1/26, Carroll) reported that even though some adults “can sometimes find a positive outcome to the bullying they endured as children, there is now mounting evidence that many are left with scars – in terms of poorer mental and physical health – that can last a lifetime. A study just published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry found that adults who were bullied as children were more likely than others to suffer from depression and anxiety, as well as a host of physical ills, including fatigue, pain and a greater susceptibility to colds.” According to MSNBC, “No one knows exactly how bullying might lead to future physical health problems, says the study’s lead author, Dr. Stephen Allison, a researcher in the department of psychiatry at Flinders University of South Australia. But, he adds, scientists suspect that the daily stress of being bullied can translate into long-term damage to your body.”

NEA in the News

 

 

NEA Did Not File Brief Against Limits On Union Political Speech.

 

Education Week (1/27) reports that “the restrictions on political communications” in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 “applied not just to corporations, but to labor unions as well.” But most teachers unions’ did not join the AFL-CIO and “many business and conservative groups in seeking to overturn the restrictions.” The NEA, for instance, “declined to file a brief” against “limits on union political speech.” The Supreme court on Jan. 21 “overturned limits on spending by corporations and unions on political communications around election time.” Following the decision, the NEA released a statement, saying, “Corporations will be able to inject enormous amounts of money into the political arena.”

 

More US Schools Offering Chinese, Dropping Other Foreign Languages.

 

The New York Times (1/21, A18, Dillon) reports, “Thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade,” according to survey conducted by the Center for Applied Linguistics. However, “another contrary trend has educators and policy makers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to offer instruction in Chinese.” According to the Times, “No one keeps an exact count, but rough calculations based on the government’s survey suggest that perhaps 1,600 American public and private schools are teaching Chinese, up from 300 or so a decade ago. And the numbers are growing exponentially.”

In the Classroom

 

 

Flat Stanley Pen-Pal Project Helps Students Learn Geography.

 

Pennsylvania’s Times-Tribune (1/20, Hall) reported that through a unique pen-pal program taking place in Susan Mancus’ class at Frances Willard Elementary School in Scranton, PA. “The project is based on the 1964 children’s book “Flat Stanley,” in which [a] boy is flattened by a bulletin board but then realizes he can visit friends and relatives by mailing himself in an envelope.” Mancus’ students sent “Flat Stanleys” to relatives and family friends. “When a Stanley was returned, the students learned about where he had visited, calculated how many miles he traveled and then wrote about the experience.”

Wilkes University Science Professors Teach Fourth Graders.

 

Pennsylvania’s Times Leader (1/20, Seder) reported that this week, fourth graders “from the State Street Elementary School in the Wyoming Valley West School District” participated in a program at Wilkes University in which they learned science lessons taught by university professor Jeffrey Stratford “and a half-dozen other professors.” Debra Chapman, “a biology professor who started the program” eight years ago, said the program offers “the equipment and personnel you don’t find in an elementary school.” The project this week “included [an] owl pellet observation, a crime scene investigation exercise, testing food samples for simple sugars, starch, fat and proteins and finding out the effects of exercise on heart rates.”

Law & Policy

 

 

Florida Public School Official Says High School Curriculum Standards Are “Too Low.”

 

The Tampa Tribune (1/21, Whittenburg) reports that according to Florida Chancellor of K-12 public schools Frances Haithcock, the state “satisfying [the state's] graduation requirements — but not exceeding them — prepares high school students for …remedial coursework at a community college.” Said Haithcock, “We are not transparent to our parents about what a diploma in Florida means.” He asserted that “Florida’s math and science standards in particular are too vague and too low.” Of the four required high school math courses, “the most challenging course is Algebra I,” said the chancellor, adding, “There are science courses — three of them — not defined. That is unacceptable.” The Tampa Tribune notes, however, that state lawmakers are in the process of revising the standards to make them more challenging for students.

Arizona Releases Copy Of Race To The Top Application.

 

The Arizona Republic (1/20, Kossan) reported, “In an effort to win a share of the largest federal education grant ever awarded, Arizona is offering, among other things, to base up to 50 percent of a teacher’s job evaluation on his or her students’ academic progress each year.” Also, the state “to shut down more chronically failing schools and to expand its data system so researchers can track each student’s progress from preschool through college.” These were proposals were among many submitted by the state for “the Obama administration’s $4 billion Race to the Top grant.” On Tuesday, “Gov. Jan Brewer’s office released a copy of the 300-page application.” Chuch Essigs of Arizona ASBO said that “when schools look at the Race to the Top grant,” they’ll see that they will “have to do most of it anyway, so why not get the extra money to do it.” The Arizona Republic lists Some “key proposals” included in the application.

Colorado Promises To Adopt Teacher Merit Pay. The AP (1/20, Slevin) reported that amid a push for Race to the Top funds, Colorado “vowed Tuesday to expand merit pay for teachers, change how educators are evaluated, and hire more Teach for America national service recruits as it tries to win $377 million in federal funding for schools.” Colorado’s Race to the Top bid “was backed by more than two-thirds of Colorado’s public school districts, which account for 94 percent of its 802,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students, along with the teachers union.”

Education Reform Seen As Benefitting From Results Of Massachusetts Senate Race.

 

The AP (1/21, Woodward) reports that education reform may benefit from the results of the Massachusetts Senate race, which left Democrat lawmakers one Senator short of “the necessary 60 votes” needed to pass legislation. “Congress is overdue to rewrite the No Child Left Behind education law, and Obama shares a number of goals in this area with Republican lawmakers,” the AP says. Meanwhile, labor unions are seen as being at a disadvantage by the new distribution of Republican versus Democrat Senators. “Just last week, unions worked out a deal with the White House to soften the impact of taxes on union health plans that would help pay for health care reform. Whether that deal can survive is now in question.”

Testing Of ESL Students Under No Child Left Behind Seen As Beneficial.

 

New Hampshire’s Union Leader (1/20) editorializes that Manchester “Mayor Ted Gatsas and Superintendent Tom Brennan wrote to the state Education Department last week asking that the ‘English as a Second Language’ (ESL) students be exempted from state testing for two years,” saying, “We believe the requirement to include immigrant/refugee students in the NECAP testing process as it is currently designed to be an unrealistic expectation.” The Union Leader asserted, however, “NCLB is full of unrealistic expectations.” Still, it added, “the kids still must be tested. NCLB mandates testing for ESL and special-needs kids because districts used to pad test scores by excluding them.” Schools must educate “all kids, not just the advanced ones.” If ESL students are not tested, the Union Leader says, “They would get left behind and never catch up.” It is up to the city “to figure out how to educate these children,” it concludes.

Safety & Security

 

 

Report Finds Numerous Safety Violations At Manhattan Schools.

 

The New York Times (1/21, A32, Rivera) reports, “More than one third of Manhattan’s public school buildings have hazardous code violations, including many that have gone unresolved for years, threatening the safety of children and teachers, according to a report by the Manhattan borough president’s office.” According to the Times, the report, scheduled for release Thursday, “offers a cutting assessment of the New York City Buildings Department, the much-maligned agency responsible for building safety, which has been stung by charges of corruption, mismanagement and inefficiency.”

New York City School Safety Officers Abusive To Students, Lawsuit Alleges.

 

Colin Moynihan wrote in a “City Room” blog for the New York Times (1/20), “Five public school students and their parents ” have filed a federal lawsuit against New York City, “claiming that school safety officers employed by the New York Police Department have wrongfully handcuffed, assaulted and arrested students.” According to Moynihan, “In addition to damages, the suit seeks judicial orders that schools, rather than officers, deal with disciplinary issues; that the city establish a ‘transparent and meaningful mechanism’ to lodge complaints about officers; and that the city impose new disciplinary measures for officers found guilty of misconduct.”

Facilities

 

Texas District To Construct Energy-Efficient Middle School.

 

The Dallas Morning News (1/21, Unmuth) reports, “The Irving school district plans to build an energy-efficient eighth middle school that will produce as much energy as it uses.” Dubbed “net zero,” the building model features “solar panels and wind turbines [that] will help provide power,” extra “insulation, and high-efficiency windows.” To add to the roughly $24.7 million the district already had “set aside in bond funds for construction of the 150,000-square-foot school,” Irving also “wants to raise more funds from other sources.” Said Superintendent Scott Layne of net zero, “It’s going to be a completely different type of school. … The kids will actually experience the types of technology that are being used to power the building.” The Dallas Morning News adds, “Construction could begin as soon as late March, with the school opening in fall 2011.”

Detroit Advisory Committee Wants Residents To Get First Shot At School Construction Jobs.

 

The Detroit News (1/20, Schultz) reported that in Detroit, “work will begin this summer on 18 school construction projects, and the advisory committee for the $500.5 million project wants to ensure Detroiters are first in line for the estimated 11,000 jobs expected to be created.” At “the first meeting of the 15-member committee formed by Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb to regularly review the largest construction project in the city,” committee member Rev. Wendell Anthony said, “If Detroiters are not retained or hired at every level, all hell is going to break loose.” Bobb, meanwhile, assured, “Our challenge and my commitment is to really drive this process and make sure that we deliver those goals that we committed to the community.” He presented a “30-month construction schedule to renovate 10 schools and build eight.”

School Finance

 

 

Schwarzenegger Goes To Washington Seeking Nearly $7 Billion For California.

 

The Christian Science Monitor (1/20, Wood) reported that on Wednesday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger “met with the California congressional delegation and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius” in Washington, DC. He was in the city to present his case for $6.9 million in additional federal funding for California, including $1 billion for education. The governor’s case “rests on arguments that California gets unfair treatment from Washington.” Many political experts, however, doubt that Schwarzenegger will secure the funds. “US Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D) of California told KQED Public Radio Wednesday, ‘The whole premise that somehow California is being disproportionately treated is just false.’”

Also in the News

 

 

Educators In Port-Au-Prince Uncertain Of School’s Future.

 

The Palm Beach (FL) Post (1/21, Duret) reports that “as rescue crews are ending their searches for survivors at…collapsed school buildings” throughout Port-au-Prince, “educators are struggling to figure out what to do with thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of school-aged children who no longer have a school to attend.” Bernard Augustin, director of St. Jean school, said, “We are all powerless in front of what has happened here.” He “wonders not only when, but also if” his school will be rebuilt. The Palm Beach Post adds, “Even if administrators could manage to hold classes outside in what used to be the school’s courtyard, the debris hanging from the building and the growing stench from the dead bodies trapped below would make learning impossible here.”