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HOW SHOULD TEACHERS BE GRADED
As the curtain opens on a new school year, the spotlight is on
teachers. Off in the wings, a noisy debate ensues about how to
ensure that public school teachers are well qualified -- and receive
enough support -- to do their jobs. There is some consensus on the
situation: Students with experienced, highly skilled teachers tend
to do better academically. And schools with high concentrations of
minority or low-income students have a more difficult time
attracting and keeping those teachers. Agreeing on solutions isn't
so easy, reports Stacy Teicher Khadaroo in The Christian Science
Monitor. Some advocates urge tying pay to performance. Others say
more good teachers will stay when the profession gets more respect
and pay, and when school leaders improve. Some clamor for tighter
state rules on how teachers are educated and certified. Others want
more flexibility. Stirring the current debate is the fact that
Congress is expected to take up re¬authorization of the federal No
Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) this fall. One part of the law requires
states, districts, and schools to have 100 percent "highly
qualified" teachers for key subjects. That generally means they need
to have a bachelor's degree, demonstrate knowledge of their
subjects, and be state-certified. As of last winter (the latest data
available), 17 percent of U.S. school districts did not expect to
meet the June 2007 deadline for highly qualified teachers, according
to a new report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP). In
addition, 33 states were not on track for all teachers in their
state to be "highly qualified." Whatever the level of compliance,
the utility of the NCLB teacher requirement is being challenged.
AS MINORITIES INCREASE, STUDENT
BODIES CHANGE
As minorities continue to increase their share of America's
population, white students are less likely to attend nearly
all-white public schools, while African-American and Hispanic
students are more likely to attend nearly all-minority schools,
according to a new report from the Pew Hispanic Center. The
nationwide enrollment shift comes because the Hispanic share of the
public school population has increased from 12.7 percent in 1993-94
to 19.8 percent in 2005-06. The African-American share of public
enrollment rose from 16.5 percent to 17.2 percent during this
period. The white share fell sharply from 66.1 percent to 57.1
percent. "In part because whites now comprise a smaller share of
students in public schools, white students are now more likely to be
exposed to minority students," said the report, titled "The Changing
Racial and Ethnic Composition of U.S. Public Schools." But as the
white share of the nation's public school population shrinks, "it
has also led to a diminished exposure of black and Hispanic students
to white students," the report said. About three in 10 black
students (31 percent) and Hispanic students (29 percent) attended
nearly all-minority schools in 2005-06, up from 28 percent for black
students and 25 percent for Hispanic students from the 1993-94
school year. During this same period, the proportion of white
students attending nearly all-white public schools fell from one in
three (34 percent) to one in five (21 percent). Nationwide, the
number of nearly all-minority schools has increased from 5,498 in
1993-94 to 10,135 in 2005-06. The number of nearly all-white public
schools decreased from 25,603 to 16,769 during this same period. The
report said school populations are determined largely by local
housing patterns, reports Bob Dart for Cox News Service.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS SEARCH FOR SPANISH
SPEAKING TEACHERS
With explosive growth in the number of Hispanic students in public
schools in Oklahoma, school districts are searching for more
bilingual teachers and classroom assistants. In a 10-year period
from 1996 to 2006, the population of students in pre-kindergarten
through the 12th grade in public Oklahoma schools went up 2.8
percent, while the Hispanic portion of that population jumped 135.5
percent, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics. And
to teach students the English language, school districts need a
growing number of professionals who speak Spanish. The problem is,
there aren't enough Oklahomans graduating from the public
universities to fill those spots. Some school districts are turning
to other countries for help, reports The Associated Press. In a few
weeks, representatives from Tulsa Public Schools will fly to Puerto
Rico and offer contracts on-the-spot to December graduates of the
University of Puerto Rico. In March, they'll go back to lure some of
the May graduates, said John Harris, director of human resources for
the district. "It's kind of like the NFL. If you've got a starter
player, you try to get them in their junior year," Harris said. "You
snooze, you lose." The district has offered about 15 contracts to
Puerto Ricans in the past two years, he said. Tulsa also recruits
teachers from 33 universities in five states, he said, but there are
a limited number of Spanish-speaking education majors and a lot of
competition for them. The Oklahoma City school district hasn't made
the offshore trip yet. But school board member Wilfredo Santos
Rivera, the District 7 representative and a native of Puerto Rico,
said he suggested the idea to some colleagues a while back. "Puerto
Ricans are already citizens, so you get that off the table right
there, so you don't have to do a lot of paperwork. And their
universities are bilingual, so it's a win-win situation."
SEGREGATION IN U.S. SCHOOLS IS
INCREASING
Public schools in the United States are becoming more racially
segregated and the trend is likely to accelerate because of a
Supreme Court decision in June, according to a new report by the
Civil Rights Project of the University of California in Los Angeles.
The rise in segregation threatens the quality of education received
by non-white students, who now make up 43 percent of the total U.S.
student body. Many segregated schools struggle to attract highly
qualified teachers and administrators, do not prepare students well
for college and fail to graduate more than half their students. The
resegregation trend damages the prospects for non-white students and
will likely have a negative effect on the U.S. economy, reports
Matthew Bigg for Reuters. Part of the reason for the resegregation
is the rapidly expanding number of black and Latino children and a
corresponding fall in the number of white children, it said.
Contrary to popular belief, the surge in the number of minority
children in public schools was not mainly caused by a flight of
white students into private schools. Instead, it said, the
post-"baby boom" generation of white Americans are having smaller
family sizes. Latinos are the fastest growing minority in U.S.
schools and for them segregation is often more profound than it was
when the phenomenon was first measured 40 years ago, according to
the report, "Historic Reversals, Accelerating Resegregation and the
need for new Integration Strategies." "Too often Latino students
face triple segregation by race, class and language," it said.
TEACHING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
The new issue of Urban Education Journal, "Teaching for Social
Justice," from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of
Education, asks: how can we, as educators, confront the social
injustices entangled in a wide range of social tragedies including
racism, classism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, and environmental
injustice? The articles included tackle a wide range of issues and
share a theme of searching, and struggling for re-engagement in the
meanings, ways of teaching, learning, and speaking about social
justice in education. The "searches" in this issue fall into two
categories: investigations into how teachers become social justice
practitioners, and analyses and arguments regarding the discourses
surrounding teaching for social justice. The concept of "becoming"
is addressed from many perspectives. In one engaging feature
article, Bree Picower and Anne Burns Thomas share stories of new
teachers struggling to build a sense of identity that includes a
core belief in social justice.
SCHOOLS LURE SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
Gone are the days when a substitute teacher might pocket only a
shiny red apple as a reward. As students prepare to head back to
classes, school districts facing staff shortages are offering even
bigger incentives -- from gift certificates to job training -- to
lure substitutes. With stiff competition among districts, officials
know they must try harder to make spitball-dodging subs feel
appreciated in what's often a thankless job. "We're locked by four
or five school districts around us and subs have a choice of where
to go," said Dave Kuschel, spokesman for the Maplewood (Mo.)
Richmond Heights School District near St. Louis, where subs get a
free movie pass after 15 days of work, a $20 book store gift
certificate after 20 days and a $100 bonus after 50 days. That's on
top of a daily rate of $80 to $147, depending on experience. "We
hope that incentives will steer them in our direction," Kuschel
said. Every school day, about 5 million children in 274,000
classrooms have substitute teachers, said Geoffrey Smith, director
of the Substitute Teaching Institute at Utah State University. And
all indications are that the need is growing, reports Megan
Reichgott for the Associated Press. Seventy-three percent of U.S.
districts had an "immediate, urgent need" for subs that was "likely
to grow to a crisis level within the next 10 years," according to a
2003 bill that would have established a grant program to help
alleviate the substitute shortage. The bill died in a U.S. House of
Representatives education subcommittee. Some districts have chronic
substitute shortages that worsen during the holidays or flu season,
while others are just trying to keep up with exploding enrollment.
LATER SCHOOL STARTS GAIN POPULARITY
After a swing toward starting the school year earlier, sometimes as
early as the first week of August, momentum has grown in several
states to begin school later in August or after Labor Day. Pressure
from parents and the tourism industry has pushed 11 states to limit
how early school may begin, rankling school boards that want local
control and more time to prepare students for state-mandated tests.
This year, new laws took effect in Florida, where the 67 public
school districts may not begin classes earlier than 14 days before
Labor Day, and Texas, where the 1,033 public school districts may
not begin until the fourth week in August. In Michigan, a law
enacted last year said the 838 school districts must begin classes
after Labor Day. Other states, including Pennsylvania, Tennessee,
Alabama and Kentucky, are debating the start date, reports Marisol
Bello in USA TODAY. The average school year, which each state
determines, is 180 days, the Department of Education says. Parents
don't want vacation time with their children cut off so early, says
Tina Bruno of San Antonio, who heads the Coalition for a Traditional
School Calendar, which works with parents in other states to push
back the start of school. Most schools start before Sept. 1,
according to an annual survey of the nation's 14,000 public
districts, conducted by Market Data Retrieval, a research firm for
companies that do business with schools. Last year, 75 percent
started before Sept. 1, compared with 51 percent in 1988. The
tourism industry also has pushed for change. It complains about lost
income and a lack of student workers when school starts in early
August.
WANT TO USE MOVIES IN YOUR CLASSROOM?
BETTER WATCH YOUR STEP
To a generation of kids weaned on movies, using film in the
classroom may seem like a natural educational tool for smart
teachers. But the move to use cinema to teach a whole range of
subjects -- history, sociology, perspective, and visual literacy
quickly spring to mind -- may be a lot trickier than it seems. It
can also get downright explosive, writes James Daly in Edutopia.
Earlier this year, suburban Seattle parents complained that by
showing the film "An Inconvenient Truth", their high school didn't
present a balanced perspective about the film's warning of global
warming. Meanwhile, the Chicago Board of Education was sued in May
after a substitute teacher showed the R-rated (and Oscar-winning)
film "Brokeback Mountain" to an eighth-grade class. The lawsuit
claims student Jessica Turner suffered psychological distress after
viewing the movie at Ashburn Community Elementary School. Teachers
have long known that community standards -- which vary widely around
the country -- often dictate what they can (and can't) show in the
classroom. Typically, parents are informed a few days before the
showing of a film, allowing them a chance to have their child
dismissed from the showing. Still, controversies remain. These
concerns have some prominent filmmakers worried. "The one thing that
each and every one of us uses every day is our creativity," says
John Lasseter, an Academy Award-winning American animator and
director. "Teaching film is not the issue; we're teaching
creativity. We want to show kids how to imagine and create. We can
use filmmaking to do that. We need to help kids nurture their
creative side."
SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS DRESS CODE & IS
BUYING THE UNIFORMS TOO
Many public schools are supplying their students with an
ever-growing list of essentials that go far beyond textbooks to
include scientific calculators, personal laptops and free breakfast.
Now they are dressing them, reports Winnie Hu in The New York Times.
The Elizabeth school district has spent more than $2 million since
January 2006 to buy navy blazers, khaki pants, polo shirts, gym
shorts and even socks as part of a new policy to put all its
students in uniforms. The district, which serves mostly poor and
minority families, has outfitted more than 9,000 students -- nearly
half its enrollment -- so far as it phases in the uniforms a few
schools at a time over five years to spread out the cost. "They're
just getting another school supply; that’s how we see it," said the
Elizabeth superintendent, Pablo Muñoz, noting that schools had long
provided uniforms for athletic teams, choirs and marching bands. "If
we expect high-quality academic achievement in the Elizabeth
schools, not only do we need the staff and the materials, the kids
need their uniforms." But some critics have questioned whether the
district should be getting into the clothing business while schools
are facing budget cuts and state lawmakers are under pressure to
reduce property taxes. As schools across the country have moved
toward stricter dress codes, some parents have objected to the cost
of buying the prescribed outfits, typically solid-color shirts and
khaki pants or skirts. Earlier this year, an Indiana couple who sued
over a school dress code contended that it violated not only their
children’s constitutional right of free expression, but also the
guarantee of a free public education. Increasingly, some urban
districts have responded by asking for community donations,
organizing used-clothing drives and carving out money from their
budgets.
WHY SCHOOL CHOICE IS PROVING TO BE SO
HARD
While charter schools are getting mixed results, as are the few
public voucher programs now in existence, choice is spreading. But
it is doing so slowly, writes Paul T. Hill in Education Week.
Districts, too, have been slow to improve their own schools in
response to the competition from schools of choice. So it is right
to ask why everything once envisioned for the choice movement is
taking so long. The reason is that building a system of choice on
top of one based on regulation is different from creating choice
from the ground up. It is time to acknowledge that getting dramatic
results from school choice will be harder than expected --and that
the actions that must be taken will be more difficult than some
supporters had hoped. It is now clear that schools of choice present
some challenges not adequately factored into the original equation.
For example:
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1.
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They are hard to run; |
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2.
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They are demanding places to teach and aren't for
everyone; |
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3.
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They can't compete successfully with district-run schools
unless they get as much money as their competition for pupils they
educate; |
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4.
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They need to prove themselves on the same tests and other
outcome measures as other schools; |
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5.
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They need strong, not weak, government oversight; |
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6.
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They do not automatically inspire districts to improve;
and |
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7.
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They segment the market. |
Hindsight makes
these conclusions obvious. But together, they mean that schools
of choice have a tougher time than expected finding leaders and
teachers, getting the funds they need to be run effectively,
proving that their programs work, and creating stable parent
clienteles. And the more that schools of choice develop clear
missions and specialties, the more that they will be open to
attack.
HELPING CHILDREN WITH CANCER & THEIR SIBLINGS
At a time when an estimated 40,000 children return to school after
battling a pediatric cancer, a new Web site now makes it possible
for students and teachers to welcome these young survivors back to
the classroom. Inspired by the critically acclaimed A LION IN THE
HOUSE documentary -- www.mylion.org -- provides instant access to
information about pediatric cancer and to service-learning projects
where classmates can help a peer undergoing cancer treatment.
"Cancer is not fair, and childhood cancer is even less so," said
MyLion project director Melissa Godoy. "Not everyone can find a cure
for cancer, but we can all contribute to finding that cure, or we
can make life better for patients and families." To ease the
anxieties for classmates returning to school after cancer treatment,
MyLion.org offers access to service-learning projects and curricular
tools. One project shows students how to sponsor a blood drive to
help children in the community undergoing cancer treatment. "A
pediatric cancer diagnosis affects everyone in the family," said
Melanie Goldish, SuperSibs! Executive Director. "Siblings need to
know, especially during the fight against cancer, that they are
special and important people, too, and that their classmates and
friends are there to support them during this difficult time."
VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS ARE IN NEED OF
REPAIR
A statewide push for better academic test scores has left behind
those students who are looking for careers in the building trades,
the automotive industry and other fields that don't necessarily
require a college degree. Vocational education has been in steep
decline throughout New York for a decade, leaving students with
fewer opportunities and businesses struggling to find skilled
workers. "We overreacted," said James P. Mazgajewski, superintendent
of the Cheektowaga- Sloan School District. "The bent became
preparing kids for college -- period. It’s nice for him to be
exposed to it, but it isn't necessary for a mechanic to quote
Shakespeare while he’s fixing my car." State policymakers, who
earlier crafted an academic reform plan with a tremendous emphasis
on academics, say they will now try to rebuild vocational education.
In 1992, 41 percent of the state’s public high school students took
at least one vocational course. Last school year, just 25 percent
were enrolled, reports Peter Simon in The Buffalo News. Many high
school students, faced with tougher academic demands, are finding
they don't have time in their schedules for vocational training. And
many of those who do manage to enroll get fewer hours of instruction
and fewer course offerings to choose from than they had in the past.
That puts a tight squeeze on local businesses, which have long
relied on vocational education programs and are now scrambling to
fill well-paying jobs with qualified electricians, sheet-metal
workers or plumbers. In Buffalo, enrollment in vocational courses
plummeted by 29.1 percent since 1999, to 5,430 students from 7,664.
The city schools run their own vocational programs.
CONTROVERSIES FORCE SCHOOLS TO DROP
RECOGNITION MONTHS
Dogged by public controversy and "phone calls that bordered on
terroristic threats," the Philadelphia School District has removed
recognition of Gay and Lesbian History Month from its 2007-08 school
calendar, and -- in an effort to be fair -- similar months,
including African American, Hispanic Heritage, and Asian Pacific
American. Other designations, such as the International Day of
Disabled Persons, also are gone from the calendar mailed to about
200,000 parents and other affiliates, district officials said. The
only days that get recognized now are the ones that mean a day off
from school, said Cecilia Cummings, the district's senior vice
president for communications and community relations. For the first
time last school year, the district included the gay and lesbian
month designation -- which is in October -- along with several
others in an attempt to follow a long-standing district policy
requiring equity for all races and minority groups. "Diversity" was
the theme of the calendars. The move brought an immediate backlash,
with people berating district officials at public meetings. "We were
just not prepared for the controversy," Cummings said. "We were
besieged by calls, threats, letters, and we didn't have the manpower
to staff it. Nor did we have the preparation or training to really
figure out how to deal with this issue in a way that could keep kids
safe. We had meetings where adults were calling kids names." Removal
from the calendar has no effect on curriculum, Cummings said.
Furthermore, Black History Month, as well as gay history events,
will continue to be held in schools. The district's decision to
retreat on the calendars was first announced in the Philadelphia Gay
News. Cummings said the district thought it was fair to tell that
newspaper first. But the effort to avoid controversy may backfire,
reports Susan Snyder in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
FREE LESSON PLANS BUILD RACIAL
UNDERSTANDING
A set of four lesson plans on race and diversity can now be
downloaded by educators at no cost. Designed for high school
teachers, and suitable for youth leaders in non-school settings, the
lessons are designed to promote greater understanding of differences
among high school students. The activities in the four lessons have
been tested with high school students in Chicago and have been found
to open up constructive dialogue among students. Teachers have
reported that the activities encourage students to recognize and
respect differences in the classroom and also promote a sense of
community in their classes. Each of the lessons is completely
self-contained and can usually be completed during a 45-minute class
period. One whole-class activity causes students to examine issues
of identity and then commit to making personal changes in behavior.
Another lesson utilizes personal stories to reflect on the
Thanksgiving holiday and on Americans’ acceptance of difference. In
a third, students explore the meanings of "race" and "racism" and
consider how they might personally work to overcome their own
biases. The final unit enhances a sense of community in a classroom
and promotes a broader sense of community outside of school. |
