Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast

PEN Weekly NewsBlast for June 29, 2007

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JUSTICES LIMIT ABILITY OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO MANAGE RACIAL BALANCE
In a decision of sweeping importance to educators, parents and schoolchildren across the country, the Supreme Court has sharply limited the ability of school districts to manage the racial makeup of the student bodies in their schools, writes David Stout in the New York Times. The court voted, 5 to 4, to reject diversity plans from Seattle and Louisville, Ky., declaring that the districts had failed to meet "their heavy burden" of justifying "the extreme means they have chosen -- discriminating among individual students based on race by relying upon racial classifications in making school assignments," as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. wrote for the court. The decision, one of the most important in years on the issue of race and education, need not entirely eliminate race as a factor in assigning students to different schools, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in a separate opinion. But it will surely prompt many districts to review and perhaps revise programs they already have in place, or go back to the drawing boards in designing plans. The opinion’s rationale relied in part on the historic 1954 decision in Brown vs. Board of Education that outlawed segregation in public schools -- a factor that the dissenters on the court found to be a cruel irony, and which they objected to in emotional terms. Mark Rahdert, a Temple Law School professor and a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, said that the ruling means that "racial balance" will be "the new catchphrase conservatives will use to attempt to eradicate any form of affirmative action."

STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT RULING FROM PUBLIC EDUCATION NETWORK
The following is a statement from Public Education Network President and CEO Wendy D. Puriefoy regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject voluntary public school assignment plans in Seattle and Jefferson County, Ky.: "The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to reject voluntary public school assignment plans based on race is a sad point in our democracy’s history. Given the impact race has in American society, this decision will inflict serious damage to our nation’s moral compact, now and well into the future. This compact, which Americans hold so dear, promises protection of certain inalienable rights, accorded regardless of race. In the more than 50 years that have passed since the Brown v. Board of Education decision, we have seen countless benefits accrue to generations of children as a result of conscious racial diversity policies. Racially diverse educational settings provide sound environments for children of all races to achieve academically, develop socially, and live and work on a diverse planet. The majority of Americans believe in racial diversity in their public schools. Many advocates had hoped that this court would provide a legal breakthrough to endorse continued public school integration."

TOO OFTEN, THE SCHOOL YEAR ENDS IN TRAGEDY
The end of the school year is normally a time for celebration, but traffic-related deaths involving students around graduation time have parents, school officials and police mourning and concerned that careless behavior may prompt numerous tragedies. Authorities warn that some high school students are novice drivers, reports Jonathan Abrams and Sara Lin in the Los Angeles Times. Students and families don't realize that reckless celebrations at the end of the school year that include alcohol can have deadly consequences. "It is a large responsibility to go out there with a vehicle, especially as congested as Southern California is," said Arden Wiltshire, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (Calif.). "You have to pay attention and be on your toes, and kids can get distracted by a lot of things."They just don't have as much experience." Dr. Michele Roland, director of the teenage health center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, said parents should make a pact with their teenagers so they can call and get a ride home if they are a passenger in a car with a reckless driver. "They need to talk to young people about the risks involved," Roland said. "Teens are more concerned about getting in trouble than riding with someone. They need to know it’s OK if they need a ride home and that they can call someone."

BUSINESS COALITION LEADERS SPEAK OUT ON EDUCATION
Business coalitions were identified as the most desired community partners of schools and districts in a recent national survey of administrators. But what do coalitions look for in a partnership? And how can school and district leaders successfully develop relationships with the coalitions in their areas? To help administrators determine when and how to pursue such partnerships, DeHavilland Associates polled coalition leaders on their activities, interests, and experiences in working with schools and districts. Key findings from this survey of coalition leaders include:

"TACO BELL HIGH" OR "WAL-MART PUBLIC SCHOOL" SOON IN CANADA?
Canadian students could soon be graduating from "Taco Bell High" or "Wal-Mart Public School" if trustees here go ahead with a scheme to sell school naming rights to corporations to raise extra funds. The proposal has pitted members of the cash-strapped Ottawa-Carleton (Ont.) District School Board with public education advocacy groups who fear it would jeopardize universal education." No one wants to go to Taco Bell High," Ellen Dickson, chair of the Ottawa Carleton Assembly of School Councils, told the daily Ottawa Citizen. But proponents say it would help eliminate growing budget deficits at many of Canada's school boards, hit by rising enrollment and cuts in provincial funding. The Ottawa school board, for example, passed a $701 million budget last week, but even after deep cuts, it as left with a deficit of $7.3 million. Ottawa trustee Riley Brockington told the Citizen in support of the plan: "I have no problem with the Loeb Library or the Cognos Centre of Performing Arts," invoking the names of a grocery chain and a software firm, respectively. But Annie Kidder of the parents group People for Education countered: "The minute you end up with a Wal-Mart Public School ... you are taking away the notion of the importance of public education, which is to provide every child, no matter where they live or the income of their parents, with an equal chance at success."

REVIEW OF FRANK McCOURT’S "TEACHER MAN"
The popular media often embrace teachers as protagonists who act as agents of change, often radical, within schools and children’s lives. Frequently, these teachers are outsiders in some way, not bound by the conventional norms of school and so better able to resist traditional school practices. "To Sir with Love" "Stand and Deliver" and "Dangerous Minds" are examples of movies that suggest that an interesting teacher must be one who, against all odds, battles the forces of the status quo. Each of these examples, and there are many more, suggest that the life of an ordinary teacher, who struggles to do his or her job each day, does not make for an interesting story. In "Teacher Man", Frank McCourt writes a different sort of tale -- one that captures the complexity of teaching, while exposing the frailty of the teacher’s identity that rests at the heart of the difficult work of teaching. And he does it in a way that portrays the daily life of a teacher as compelling, interesting, and realistically complicated. The opening paragraph captures perfectly the tone of the book -- sometimes hilarious, sometimes melancholy, and always filled with self-doubt: "On the first day of my teaching career, I was almost fired for eating the sandwich of a high school boy. On the second day I was almost fired for mentioning the possibility of friendship with a sheep. Otherwise, there was nothing remarkable about my 30 years in the high school classrooms of New York City. I often doubted if I should be there at all. At the end I wondered how I lasted that long." So begins the tale of his long career, intertwined with the stories of his life outside teaching, flashbacks to his childhood in Ireland, and his years in college preparing to be a teacher. One of the great strengths of this book is the way that it captures the complexity of schools and the work of teachers, writes Jeffrey J. Rozelle in this insightful book review.

EXIT EXAM UNFAIR
Alaska spends enough money on schools to meet state constitutional standards, an Anchorage judge ruled recently. However, the state has failed to adequately supervise local school districts and, as a result, some students are not getting the education they are legally entitled to, said Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason. Therefore, requiring those students to pass the state exit exam to get a diploma violates their constitutional rights, Gleason ruled in a lawsuit challenging state education funding. There are schools "that are not according to children a meaningful opportunity to acquire proficiency in the subject areas tested by the state," Gleason wrote in her decision. "It is fundamentally unfair ... to hold students accountable for failing this exam when some students in the state have not been accorded a meaningful opportunity to learn the material on the exam." Gleason gave the state a year to fix the problems and report back to her, reports Katie Pesznecker in the Anchorage Daily News, postponing a final judgment in the case until June 2008.

SCHOOL APOLOGIZES FOR CENSORING STUDENT KISSING BOYFRIEND
A New Jersey school district said it regretted ordering a picture of a male student kissing his boyfriend blacked out from all copies of a high school yearbook and said it apologized to the student. Andre Jackson, the student, said that he was disappointed that the Newark schools superintendent, Marion A. Bolden, had not delivered the apology face-to-face and in public. Because of that, he said he did not accept it as sincere. Jackson, 18, said he learned of the apology through the media. The district issued a statement saying it regretted the decision and that it would issue an unredacted version of the yearbook to any student of East Side High School who wants one. Jackson said his teachers, classmates and his parents all knew he was gay and that his sexual orientation was never a problem at school, reports Jeffrey Gold for the Associated Press. Previously, Bolden had described the picture, which showed Jackson kissing boyfriend David Escobales, as "illicit."

LOCAL EDUCATION FUND PROFILES "EDUCATION ON THE EDGE"
A hard-hitting magazine, produced by a local education fund, fosters public discussion and debate leading to the development of local and state level policies designed to improve the performance of Colorado's public schools and the academic achievement of all students. HeadFirst Colorado-- Education on the Edge -- is published by the Public Education & Business Coalition, with the help of several contributing foundations and organizations. HeadFirst serves as a bully pulpit, a forum for diverse viewpoints, a platform for the objective evaluation of current issues affecting the quality of education in Colorado, and a catalyst for putting good ideas into practice. HeadFirst currently features a series of stories focusing on the widespread dysfunction in urban middle schools, and why a lack of commitment rather than design flaws, has led to the decline of the middle school model. The previous issue, also available on the website, focused on the controversy surrounding online education. The HeadFirst website also features the new "Schools for Tomorrow" blog. The blog is dedicated to promoting fundamental change in public education.

NEW SAN FRANCISCO SUPERINTENDENT A CATALYST FOR CHANGE
San Francisco public school students are forced to learn with fewer faculty and staff, scant physical education, art and music programs, out-of-date text books, unsafe hallways, leaking roofs and crumbling walls. To determine what it would take to bring families and students back into its schools, the school district, the San Francisco Education Fund (a local education fund), Parents for Public Schools and Parent Advisory Council held nearly 90 meetings reaching out to more than 900 parents, youth and community members throughout San Francisco. San Franciscans report that their top issues are quality schools, safe schools, and a family friendly enrollment process, write Warren Hellman and Sandra Hernandez for the San Francisco Chronicle. The new superintendent, Carlos Garcia, will inherit declining enrollment, school closures, school assignment battles and a critical opportunity to begin a productive relationship with the teachers union. What will we do as a community to help ensure success for our vitally important public schools? We must continue our effective public-private partnership and our commitment to our shared vision. Together, we can create the first-class schools our community needs and wants. Based on the research, we now know everyone wants quality schools in every neighborhood. Quality means much more than test scores; it means parents and students want the fundamentals of strong math, reading and writing. Non-negotiable items also include science, art, music, technology and physical education. City residents want safe schools, safe neighborhoods and a strong community. Our diverse community of school families value both strong academics and proximity to their neighborhoods. Finally, parents want school leaders to implement a proactive, clear, long-range plan to make all of this happen. We have the knowledge and capacity to do this, as exemplified in some of our best-practice schools. What we need is collective and coordinated action to make sure the implementation is consistent and enduring.

SEGREGATED SCHOOLS HINDER READING SKILLS
Children in families with low incomes, who attend schools where the minority population exceeds 75 percent of the student enrollment, under-perform in reading. This is true even after accounting for the quality of the literacy instruction, literary experiences at home, gender, race and other variables, according to a new study. The majority of black and Hispanic children in the United States attend such "minority segregated" schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. "Good instruction is essential, but it’s not enough," said Kirsten Kainz, an author of the study. "Most current reading instruction initiatives and policies are aimed at improving classroom instruction," Kainz said. "This research shows that characteristics of the child, the home, the classroom and the school influence reading development, and that maximally effective reading policy should address all four systems simultaneously." Kainz and her colleagues found that classroom and school characteristics had a larger affect on low-income students’ long-term reading abilities than the method of instruction or a child’s background, such as the parents’ employment patterns or size of the household.

LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE IN A PILOT SCHOOL
"Leadership and Governance," the second in a series of "Essential Guides" to Pilot Schools, is now available free from the Center for Collaborative Education. The Pilot School model originated in Boston, where it has been known for transforming schools into places where all children can develop and flourish intellectually. Measured outcomes in Pilot Schools have been impressive, in comparison to other in-district schools. In Boston there are 20 Pilot Schools, with several more in planning stages, and more are now being created across Massachusetts and as far away as Los Angeles. Pilot Schools are unique public schools within school districts, with negotiated union contracts, yet with autonomy from the district and the union in matters of budget, staffing, governance, schedule, curriculum, and assessment. They place students at the center of learning, always involving families, the school staff, and the community in planning their education. In "Leadership and Governance," readers learn the essentials of building a strong framework in Pilot Schools, including setting a school mission, transforming leadership roles, and creating a professional collaborative culture. The guide describes the role of governing boards and election-to-work agreements in Pilot Schools, and how shared decision-making and leadership are essential to these structures.

BEYOND THE BATTLE LINES IN NEW YORK’S CHARTER CAPS FIGHT
A new report explores the politics of an effort -- ultimately successful -- to raise the cap and expand the number of charter schools in New York State. Author Lisa M. Stulberg explores the pros and cons of charter caps and how they play out in local communities. The report examines lessons from New York’s experience, and provides policy considerations relevant to the growing number of states in which charter schools are reaching their legislated limit. The paper tracks the politics of New York’s charter schools from 1998 through the spring of 2007. New York charter school and charter caps politics have been highly partisan and, at times, quite brutal. But as this report makes clear, nuanced discussions and sophisticated policies are what will ultimately benefit both districts and charter schools nationwide. The observations and proposals in Beyond the Battle Lines will help policymakers understand the political dynamics and arguments in play in many states, and the specific recommendations will help to create more productive charter cap policies.

KEY INGREDIENTS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT SUCCESS
How can districts organize and manage themselves to achieve excellence in every school and classroom, and not just a few? For the past four years, a joint project of Harvard University’s business school and its graduate school of education has been pressing that question in partnership with nine large school districts around the country. Coherence is key, reports Lynn Olsen in Education Week. Districts have to start by focusing on the "instructional core," the critical work of teaching and learning that goes on in classrooms. They have to set concrete performance objectives and intermediate milestones to determine if they're making progress. District leaders also have to bring the key organizational elements of the school system together in a way that is congruent with the improvement strategy. Those elements include the culture of the district, or expectations about "how things work around here"; formal and informal structures and systems, such as the way decisions get made; accountability mechanisms; compensation arrangements and training programs; the allocation of resources, including people, technology, and data; the management of stakeholder relationships both inside and outside the organization; and the external environment, such as state rules and regulations, union contracts, and public and private funding sources.

INFORMATION UNDERLOAD: FLORIDA'S FLAWED SPECIAL-ED VOUCHER PROGRAM
Florida's popular McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program promises to give parents seeking private placements for their special needs children an alternative to the costly, complicated, and time-consuming federal process -- a voucher they can use at a public or private school of their choice. And school choice advocates promote the McKay program as a model for other states and the federal government. Four other states have programs modeled after McKay, and at least a half-dozen others are weighing whether to follow suit. But despite its promise and growing popularity, the McKay program has not yet proven that it works as either an adequate school choice or special education reform measure. In a new Education Sector report, Senior Policy Analyst Sara Mead identifies some serious flaws in the program, namely its lack of public accountability and dearth of information on student outcomes. Mead argues that under the current structure of the program, taxpayers have almost no knowledge of how their money is being spent, and neither taxpayers nor parents have access to solid information about the performance of McKay schools. Mead suggests that expanding school options for students with disabilities is a worthy objective. But she cautions against using McKay as a model and advises policymakers on steps to take as they seek to replicate the program in other states.

FINDINGS ON PERFORMANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY OF NONPROFIT BOARDS
Nonprofit boards are an increasing focus of those interested in nonprofit accountability and transparency. To help inform current policy debates and initiatives to strengthen nonprofit governance, the Urban Institute conducted a study, led by Francie Ostrower that examined relationships between public policy and governance, board composition, board performance, and board compensation. Key Findings:

Recruitment challenges were negatively associated with levels of board engagement in every role.

NAP TIME & PLAY TIME & TIME TO LEARN FARSI
Children such as these in the polyglot Washington, D.C. metro region often surprise their parents with language feats learned in day care. The large number of foreign-born care providers in the area enables many parents to kick-start their children's knowledge of a second or even a third language from among a growing babel that includes Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Pashto, Hindi and Amharic, in addition to French and Spanish. Providers and parents say it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, reports Delphine Schrank in the Washington Post. Some immigrant women find that running a day-care center offers steady income, allowing them to work at home while imparting their culture and language to young children. "Kids are like sponges," said Omayma Eltayeh, a Sudanese-Egyptian day-care provider in Ashburn, Virginia, whose anarchic clients, all age five or younger, fall to attention when she commands them in Arabic to sit down, give a hug or eat their couscous. Experts caution that the academic benefits of bilingual or multilingual day care should not be overstated. The quality of in-home care varies widely. So do licensing requirements. Sometimes, the care is more about babysitting than education. Acquiring fluency requires substantial immersion in a language, beyond a few phrases for numbers and colors. Experts say it can make a difference if a provider speaks a language other than English continuously, frequently or only occasionally. But those youngsters who later lose their skill at a second language might find a payoff from early exposure to other cultures.

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"Grants to Build Global Educational Partnerships"
National Association of Independent Schools Challenge 20/20 Program provides an opportunity for schools to develop globally-based, experiential curricula and to build educational partnerships with schools around the world. Challenge 20/20 students form authentic bonds with students from across the globe and learn first-hand about cross-cultural communication; together, teams tackle real problems. Maximum Award: N/A. Eligibility: elementary and secondary schools, public or private, located anywhere in the world. Deadline: July 23, 2007.

"Awards for Heroes in Animal Welfare"
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is inviting the public to nominate extraordinary pets and people for its annual Humane Awards. Winners will be invited to attend the Humane Awards Luncheon in New York on Nov. 1, at the historic Rainbow Room, where the awards will be presented. Maximum Award: N/A. Eligibility: humans who have worked on behalf of animal welfare, and animals who have engaged in acts of heroism in the United States during the past year. Deadline: August 15, 2007.

"Disney Minnie Grants Support Youth-led Service Projects"
The Walt Disney Company and Youth Service America, through Disney Minnie Grants, are supporting youth-led service projects that are planned and implemented in communities. Service can take place between October 1 and November 26, 2007, and projects can address the environment, disaster relief, public health and awareness, community education, hunger, literacy, or any issue that youth identify as a community need. Maximum Award: $500. Eligibility: teachers, older youth (15-25), youth-leaders, and youth-serving organizations that engage younger youth (5-14) in planning and implementation. Deadline: August 30, 2007.

"Grants for Scholarly Investigations of Ancient Mesoamerican Cultures"
The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies is giving grants for scholarly investigations of ancient cultures of Mesoamerica (limited to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador). Maximum Award: varies. Eligibility: those working in such fields as Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, Epigraphy, Ethnohistory, History, Linguistics, or Multidisciplinary Studies involving combinations of these classifications. Deadline: September 15, 2007.

For a detailed listing of EXISTING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES (updated each week), visit:
http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp

QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"Recently there has been much discussion about the failure of our public education system. The real problem is the moral decline in our society. Crime is up, divorces have increased and child abuse is rampant and the use of drugs is common, particularly among our young people. The real problem is that our churches, the moral leaders of our society, have not been held accountable. The answer is simple. Every church member should be given a $3,000 government voucher. If the church he or she attends fails to perfect the moral acts of its parishioners, the individual can use the voucher to attend a more successful church. The competition will make all churches more accountable. Those that do not achieve excellent results will be shut down. This program will establish a moral nation. It will be as effective as our current reforms of our schools. The program will be implemented as ‘No Sinner Left Behind’."

 - M. Donald Thomas (executive director, Public Education Support Group)

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