Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast

PEN Weekly NewsBlast for August 3, 2007

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THREE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT MISTAKES (AND HOW TO AVOID THEM)
Despite having well-intentioned, thoughtful improvement plans, many schools still struggle to raise student performance -- often because their improvement efforts are doomed to failure from the very start by three common, yet avoidable, mistakes. In the lead article of the latest issue of Changing Schools, the free magazine from McREL, a Denver-based nonprofit education research and development organization, Ceri Dean and Bryan Goodwin assert that "Mistake #1" is "treating the symptoms, not the underlying problem." They write that, "Everyone knows cough syrup doesn't cure you; it just treats your symptoms. But all too often, like cough syrup, school improvement plans attempt to treat the symptoms, but not the root causes of low student achievement." The second mistake, according to the authors, is "Focusing only on tangibles and ignoring intangibles." School culture, teacher attitudes and beliefs, and other norms and values are at the heart of low school performance. Indeed, recent McREL research suggests that a key distinction between high- and low-performing schools is that high-performing schools work to create a "culture of high expectations." Finally, the authors warn against "Biting off more than you can chew." They note that instead of focusing on one or two clearly defined efforts, many school improvement plans outline sweeping efforts with multiple goals and several action items related to each goal -- as many as 30-40 actions for a single year. "That’s far too many initiatives for school faculty and staff to keep in their heads or take seriously. As a result, usually very little happens," conclude Dean and Goodwin. The full article is available online at the above link.

GIVING PENCILS, PAPER & PRIDE
Nearly one child in five in Ohio and Kentucky lives in poverty. Thousands more dance along the line. So when schools send home lists of school supplies needed for the coming year -- which often ring up to $50 or more -- families panic. So do teachers, write the editors of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Nationally, teachers spend on average $500 to $1,000 out of their own pockets to provide supplies for their students or make up for budget cuts. But Linda DiBenedetto and 16,000 local teachers like her shop for free at Crayons to Computers, an extraordinary educational supply store that matches donated goods to the teachers who need them. DiBenedetto, a first-grade teacher, says, "It's not a 6-year-old's fault that he doesn't have a pencil or scissors for school, but he's the one who suffers for it." As school districts face tighter budgets, they pass the squeeze on to individual buildings, classrooms and families. Caught in the middle are conscientious teachers, who should not have to dip into their own pockets for basic classroom supplies -- but often do because they see the hardship not having such supplies places on their students. The teachers who shop at Crayons to Computers use the same word when they sum up what the store means to them -- respect. They say it's not just a matter of the community sharing their financial burden -- which they appreciate -- but sharing their concern for their students.

BUILDING SMART EDUCATION SYSTEMS
There is a growing recognition that improving schools and school systems, while essential, is not enough. Ensuring that every child becomes proficient and beyond will require the support and active engagement of organizations and agencies outside of schools as well. The role of out-of-school factors in educational success has sparked heated debate. But the debate over whether in-school or out-of-school factors are more salient in children’s learning -- a debate that has raged at least since the 1966 publication of James S. Coleman’s Equality of Educational Opportunity -- is in many respects a false one. Both factors are important, and both must be addressed if the nation is to fulfill its 60-year-old promise of equal educational opportunity, and its more recent pledge to ensure that all children learn to high levels. The experiences of middle-class and affluent children make this proposition clear. To be sure, relatively affluent students tend to have schooling advantages that support higher levels of learning. Numerous studies have documented the disparities in school facilities, teacher quality, and curriculum offerings that favor more-advantaged students. Less well known, however, are the numerous out-of-school advantages that middle-class and affluent students are more likely than poorer students to have access to. From museum visits to club memberships to internships in professional offices, relatively affluent students routinely take part in activities that enhance their learning and widen the in-school disparities. If we are serious about ensuring that all children learn to high levels -- writes Robert Rothman in Education Week -- we need to address both the inequities within schools and those outside of schools.

K-12 SPENDING MORE RELIANT ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SINCE NCLB
New data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that the federal government has been commandeering a continually larger role in K-12 education in recent years, especially since 1999 and the January 2002 passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. The new statistics include detailed financial data about school districts across the nation for the 2004-05 school year. Five years earlier, during the 1999-2000 school year, public school districts received an average of $578 per pupil from the federal government. By 2004-05, that number had risen to $919. That's a 60 percent increase, and even after adjusting for inflation, it's a 39 percent boost in federal aid. In a new study, the Tax Foundation ranks the states on how much more reliant they have become on Uncle Sam for this traditionally local government function. There are costs and benefits of the federal government's role in K-12 education. On one hand, low-income states can use federal money for capital costs like new school buildings, or for recurring costs such as higher salaries and even more generous pensions for administrators and teachers. The money may be spent well or poorly. On the other hand, accepting federal money means giving up some local control and quite possibly a less efficient education program.

ADVERTISING ON SCHOOL BUSES DRAWS STRONG CRITICISM
Some cash-strapped districts have wrestled with the question of whether or not to allow advertising in schools. The controversial idea has districts weighing the value of revenue gained against the potential intrusion of commercial interests into school life. Another dilemma is ensuring that any ads are age-appropriate and health oriented in light of new wellness policies governing soft drinks, potato chips and sweets, which recently have been nearly eliminated from many school contracts to promote healthy lifestyles. Critics of advertising say that it unethically takes advantage of a "captive audience" of children and runs contrary to traditional public educational values. "The purpose of education is to gain knowledge, acquire a love of learning," says Robert Weissman, managing director of Commercial Alert, a critic of ads. "Those are the processes that are interfered with and undermined by marketing messages. The role of the school in helping children and youth develop their own authentic personality is undermined by pervasive commercial influence." Not all states allow ads on buses, writes Kevin Butler in District Administration magazine, and those that do differ on whether they allow the ads inside or outside the buses. Some school districts even allow audio advertisements piped in over radios in school buses.

START THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR BY ENCOURAGING NEW GOALS
From the smallest personal beginnings to the largest human triumphs, why are we here if not to dream? Teachers and parents can play an important role in helping students discover who they are and what their dreams and goals are, according to the Legacy Project. Just as spring is a time for new growth in nature, fall is a time for new growth in education. It's a fresh start -- a time to build on what you've already learned, and get past any challenges you faced during the last school year. To set a positive tone for the school year and help young people develop important skills, it's valuable to encourage students to set goals they can work toward throughout the year. Click below to review an activity set for starting the school year right.

SOME SAY SCHOOLS GIVE MUSLIMS SPECIAL TREATMENT
Some public schools and universities are granting Muslim requests for prayer times, prayer rooms and ritual foot baths, prompting a debate on whether Islam is being given preferential treatment over other religions. An elementary school in San Diego created an extra recess period for Muslim pupils to pray. Critics see a double standard and an organized attempt to push public conformance with Islamic law. "What (school officials) are doing ... is to give Muslim students religious benefits that they do not give any other religion right now," says Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel at the Thomas More Law Center, an advocacy group for Christians. Supporters of the accommodations say they are legal, reports Oren Dorell in USA TODAY. "The whole issue is to provide for a religious foundation for those who are observant while respecting separation of church and state," says Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Many schools accommodate the Christian and Jewish sabbaths and allow Jewish students to not take tests on religious holidays, he says. Barry Lynn, of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, says that the law is murky on these expressions of faith. And the American Civil Liberties Union says overt religious symbols such as crucifixes are not legal, but whether Muslim foot baths and prayer rugs fall into that category is not clear. The ACLU, which has often sued schools for permitting prayer, says it is waiting to see what kind of policy the San Diego school settles on before deciding whether to sue. It says promoting prayers is unconstitutional.

PRE-K FOR MILITARY FAMILIES: HONORING SERVICE, EDUCATING CHILDREN
For the children of our nation’s military personnel, frequent relocations and parental deployments present a unique set of social, emotional, and educational challenges. High-quality, state-funded pre-kindergarten programs provide stability and security and foster the skills these children need to cope with change and to succeed in school and in life. State policymakers can better support our country’s service men and women by ensuring that military children have access to high-quality pre-k programs. Though states across the country are making impressive progress toward providing pre-k for all 3-and 4- year-olds, many families still lack access to high-quality programs. Because eligibility for pre-k varies widely from state to state, a military-connected child may be able to attend in one state, but upon moving to another, would lose the opportunity, thus creating more stress and disruption in their young lives. Currently, Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma are the only states to provide pre-k for all 4- year-olds. Remarkable advocacy efforts at the local level in Kansas and Texas, however, have led both states to recently enact legislation ensuring military children are eligible for pre-k programs in their states. A new report from Pre-K Now entitled "Pre-K for Military Families: Honoring Service, Educating Children" -- includes case studies on these recent developments.

GAUGING GROWTH: HOW TO JUDGE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Many policymakers feel pressure to claim that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is boosting student performance as Congress reconsiders the federal government’s role in school reform. But how should politicians and activists gauge NCLB’s effects? In the recent issue of Educational Researcher, Bruce Fuller, Joseph Wright, Kathryn Gesicki, and Erin Kang offer evidence on three barometers of student performance, drawing from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and state data spanning 1992-2006. Focusing on the performance of fourth graders, where gains have been strongest since the early 1970s, the authors find that earlier test score growth has largely faded since enactment of NCLB in 2002. Gains in math achievement have persisted in the post-NCLB period, albeit at a slower rate of growth. Performance in many states continues to apparently climb. But the bar defining proficiency is set much lower in most states, compared with the NAEP definition, and the disparity between state and federal results has grown since 2001. Progress seen in the 1990s in narrowing achievement gaps has largely disappeared in the post-NCLB era. The fact that student performance has generally reached a plateau raises the crucial question as to whether standards-based accountability is sufficient to advance more effective and equitable schools. The very slow rise in reading proficiency over the past 15 years remains worrisome as well, especially when compared with the more robust gains in mathematics, notwithstanding the slowing growth rate post-NCLB. Recent analyses have sparked debate over whether the states can be trusted to devise reliable gauges of achievement, particularly in how they define proficient levels of achievement. Some reformers are calling for national examinations, presumably pegged to standards set by the NAEP governing board.

SUMMER OF FATE
Urban violence and riots in more than 100 cities in the mid-1960s was a "body blow" to urban education. Some will tell you the wounds of that brief, if terrible, period are long healed. Others disagree. But it’s worth noting that the conditions that sparked the violence still linger in many of the nation’s urban centers. The influences of racism, poverty, blighted neighborhoods, joblessness, and hopelessness continue to make themselves felt. These influences reach into classrooms and hinder student achievement, writes Del Stover in American School Board Journal. They affect policy decisions at all levels of government and explain why school reform has proven so intransigent and insolvable. It’s questionable whether the nation has ever had the political will to tackle the social ills that drag upon urban education. President Johnson’s war on poverty fell victim to the cost of the Vietnam War, and later federal anti-poverty initiatives were curbed by a political backlash against affirmative action, entitlement programs, and the "undeserving poor." President Bush called education the great civil rights issue of the 21st century, but since 9/11, the federal government’s focus has been the war on terror. To date, funding for the No Child Left Behind Act has fallen $43.5 billion below what was originally authorized. Some critics argue that more money isn't the answer. Since the 1967 riots, billions in state and federal dollars have been invested in the nation’s inner cities, but urban renewal, public housing, and economic development programs have proven ineffective as a counterweight to poverty or the social problems that flourish in impoverished neighborhoods. The same can be said of Title I funding, which certainly has made a huge difference in the education of urban students -- but has not been enough to raise academic performance to that of their more affluent suburban peers. But, most urban school policymakers would argue, more money would help. It costs more to educate students in an environment of poverty, high mobility, and, in more recent years, limited English proficiency. Yet the financial resources of urban schools rarely have matched those of their suburban counterparts.

UTAH WANTS FEDERAL MONEY BACK FOR EDUCATING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Utah legislators frustrated by illegal immigration are finished being nice -- they're sending a strongly worded letter to the feds. Armed with a legislative audit estimating the cost of educating undocumented immigrants, members of the Education Interim Committee voted to send the audit to Utah's congressional delegation and the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Education. An accompanying letter will request "reimbursement to the state from the federal government of costs resulting from their failed immigration policy." "I doubt they'll pay it," said Rep. Steve Urquhart, who made the motion to send the letter. "But I think it's important that they hear from the state." The audit estimated Utah spends between $63 million and $98 million educating undocumented immigrants. Its narrow scope considered neither the U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants nor the taxes contributed by such workers, reports Nicole Stricker for The Salt Lake Tribune. The audit estimated costs to educate undocumented immigrants by roughly estimating their numbers -- somewhere between 11,000 and 17,000 -- and figuring the state spends the per-pupil average, plus low-income and English-language learner funds on them.

TEACHERS TELL RESEARCHERS THEY LIKE THEIR JOBS
Ninety-three percent of teachers reported satisfaction with their jobs 10 years after entering the field, according to a new survey that also found attrition rates for teachers were actually lower than for other professionals. The report, released by the National Center for Education Statistics, surveyed 9,000 graduates who received their bachelor’s degrees in various disciplines in the 1992-93 school year. Nearly 20 percent of those graduates entered the teaching profession. The findings from the survey debunk several long-held views on teacher pay, turnover, and job satisfaction. For instance, it found that only 18 percent of those who entered teaching changed occupations within four years of getting a degree. Given that other professions experienced attrition rates between 17 percent and 75 percent during that period, the number of career-switchers from teaching was on the low end of the scale, according to the data. More than half those who became teachers were still teaching 10 years later, reports Vaishali Honawar in Education Week. Teacher advocates and unions have long claimed that turnover among new teachers ranges from 30 percent to 50 percent within the first five years. The survey also stands on their head some commonly held beliefs about teacher salaries. Teachers’ unions have often cited low pay as a major reason for teacher dissatisfaction. But only 13 percent of those who left teaching by 2003 gave it as the reason for leaving. Forty-eight percent of those who remained in the profession said they were satisfied with their salaries.

PESTICIDES & SCHOOLS: A TRAGIC HEALTH HAZARD
Pesticides in schools are a pervasive, unnecessary health hazard, according to Marc Lame, an entomologist and professor in Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. "Over 80 percent of schools in America are applying pesticides on a regular basis, whether they have a pest problem or not," he said. "This is tragic not only because of the well-documented link between pesticides and health problems in children, such as asthma and neurological disorders, but also because pesticides generally do not work in a preventive manner in the school environment. Applying pesticides does not prevent pests from coming in, so using them when pests are not present does nothing other than expose children and staff to toxic chemicals." The most widely used insecticides are nerve poisons, which cause nerves to fire in an uncontrolled manner and disrupt endocrine (hormone) systems, Lame said. Prolonged exposure to these chemicals can result in similar effects on the human nervous system, with symptoms ranging from vomiting to severe breathing problems. Although research is limited, these endocrine disrupting pesticides are suspected in problems ranging from ADHD to autism to infertility, Lame said. Exposure during childhood carries the greatest risk. Lame said pest problems are better managed with an integrated approach that involves recognition and remediation of conditions that attract pests or allow pests to enter facilities. "It's common sense proaction rather than toxic reaction," he said.

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"Call for Entries to Recognize Schools Making Dramatic Improvements in Student Achievement"
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the MetLife Foundation are calling for entries in the search for the nation’s top "Breakthrough Schools." Applicants should be high achieving middle or high schools, or schools that are making dramatic improvements in student achievement, whose best practices and outstanding results can inform other schools as they further their own improvement efforts. Honorees will be chosen based upon documented success in implementing strategies aligned with the three core areas of NASSP’s Breaking Ranks II publication. Those three areas are collaborative leadership; personalization; and curriculum, instruction and assessment. Maximum Award: $5000. Eligibility: middle and high schools with 40% or more students eligible for free and reduced priced meals. Deadline: September 28, 2007.

"Grants to Support Youth-led Service Projects by Youth in Foster Care"
Youth Service America and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention are providing YouthPower grants support youth-led service projects by youth in foster care (ages 5-18) and youth who have recently transitioned out of foster care (ages 19-25) who will plan and implement service projects in their community. Service projects will take place as part of Global Youth Service Day on April 25-27, 2008. Projects can address themes such as the environment, disaster relief, public health and awareness, community education, hunger, literacy, or any issue that youth identify as a community need. Maximum Award: $1000. Eligibility: Youth-serving organizations with prior experience in working with youth in the foster care system. Deadline: October 1, 2007.

"Awards Recognize School District Best Practices"
American School Board Journal (ASBJ) is accepting nominations online for the 2008 Magna Awards through October 1, 2007. Presented in cooperation with Sodexho School Services, winners of the Magna Awards receive national recognition in a special supplement to ASBJ and are honored at a luncheon at the National School Boards Association's annual conference. Awards are handed out in three enrollment categories -- under 5,000, 5,001 to 20,000, and more than 20,000. Grand prize winners in each category receive a $3,500 cash award from Sodexho. Nominations this year are being accepted only online. For more information, call (703) 838-6739.

"Grants to Help Low-Income Schools Purchase Books for School Libraries"
The NEA Foundation will make awards to public schools serving economically disadvantaged students to purchase books for school libraries. Maximum Award: $1000. Eligibility: practicing preK-12 school librarians, teachers, or education support professionals in a U.S. public school in which at least 70 percent of the students are eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program. Deadline: November 12, 2007.

"Recognition Award for Outstanding Elementary Teacher of Reading & Language Arts"
The International Reading Association Regie Routman Teacher Recognition Award honors an outstanding elementary teacher of reading and language arts dedicated to improving teaching and learning through reflective writing about his or her teaching and learning process. Maximum Award: $1,000. Eligibility: regular classroom elementary teachers of reading and language arts grades K-6; must be IRA members. Deadline: November 1, 2007.

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

QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"For voucher proponents who told African American parents that students would learn to read and write better in private school, now is the time to speak up. Now is the time to make clear that parental satisfaction, in the absence of improved test scores, is not enough to justify a voucher plan. And now is most certainly the time to demand that every voucher program be assessed in such a way that the parents and the community can learn how much students are learning."

 - James Forman (co-founder of the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, DC)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062901848_2.html

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