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A REMARKABLE RESEARCH PROJECT UNEARTHS WORLD WAR II HERO
Some enterprising students from rural Kansas discovered a Catholic
woman who saved Jewish children during World War II. The story began
when four high school students were shown a news clipping, which
said, "Irena Sendler saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto in
1942-43." The students began to research this amazingly
underreported story by looking through primary and secondary
sources. They eventually found that Irena Sendler, a Warsaw social
worker, had gone into the ghetto and talked Jewish parents and
grandparents into letting her take their children in order to save
them from death camps. She then took the children past Nazi guards
and had them adopted into the homes of Polish families or hid them
in convents and orphanages. In addition, she made lists of the
children's real names and put the lists in jars that were then
buried. At one point, the Nazis captured her and she was beaten
severely, but the Polish underground bribed a guard to release her,
and she went into hiding. After the students' diligent research,
they wrote a play depicting Sendler's life. Since then, they have
performed for numerous clubs and civic groups all over the U.S. and
Europe, notching at least 225 presentations. The students also bring
a jar to every performance, aptly titled "Life in a Jar," and
collect funds that are to Poland for the care of Irena and other
rescuers.
EVEN TEACHERS THINK IT'S TOO HARD TO FIRE BAD APPLES
More than half of the teachers recently surveyed by the Education
Sector believe it's too hard to weed out ineffective tenured
teachers, reports Nancy Zuckerbrod for the Associated Press. Tenure
is intended to ensure teachers cannot be fired on the whims of new
principals or angry parents, yet it also makes it extremely
complicated to dismiss a teacher who is doing a poor job. While
tenure provides a sort of safe harbor for teachers, 70 percent of
those surveyed said receiving tenure was just a formality that has
little to do with teacher quality. In fact, only a quarter said
their most recent evaluation was "useful and effective." In recent
years, some educators have been looking to Toledo, Ohio for ideas on
how to make evaluations more meaningful. There, experienced teachers
evaluate first-year teachers and help determine the fate of veterans
who get poor reviews from principals.
A KEY TO LITERACY: PARENTS TALKING WITH THEIR KIDS
It is undeniable that low-income students face a harsh reality
when it comes to post-secondary education. In fact, only seven
percent of low-income kids earn a college degree by the age of 25,
and college going rates for the highest achieving low-income
students are equivalent to those of the lowest achieving more
affluent kids. Recently "NOW on PBS" aired a year-long investigation
of a program trying to level the college access/attainment playing
field. College Summit, which has worked in partnership with schools,
districts and colleges to develop a sustainable model for raising
college enrollment rates, wants to close this gap by helping needy
students select schools, complete applications, write personal
statements and navigate financial aid. After months of documenting
student participants in Denver (Colo.), PBS found that many of the
students profiled are realizing their dreams. In fact, according to
College Summit statistics, nearly 80 percent of participants in
their Peer Leadership program go on to college.
IS YOUR SCHOOL CLEAN? OK, BUT IS IT GREEN CLEAN?
The environmentally friendly glass cleaner used in Northwest
Suburban District 214 in Arlington Heights, Ill. has been leaving
streaks, reports Mick Zawislak for the Chicago Daily Herald. Still,
that's easily fixed by making simple adjustments in how the green
formula is used. Requiring such cleaners has become part of a move
to reduce toxic chemicals and thereby improve air quality in schools
across Illinois. In compliance with the Green Cleaning Schools Act,
5,659 schools are required to use environmentally sensitive products
in six categories covering the majority of day-to-day cleaning
tasks. Just five years ago, green products either didn't work or
were too costly. However, the market has changed to the point that
requiring the use of green products is the logical next step in
improving the environment. Also, going green does not only provide
health benefits, it can save money too, reports the Tyler (W.V.)
Star News team (link below). In fact, by going green, Tyler County
Schools have saved nearly $1 million during the course of the past
five years. In addition to the monies conserved through retrofitting
lighting and other green modifications, there has been a significant
reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels and the release of
polluting emissions into the atmosphere.
Also:
http://www.tylerstarnews.com/News/story/new77_572008103105.asp
NO MORE WALKING TEN MILES BOTH WAYS IN THE SNOW TO GET TO SCHOOL
Logging onto the home computer is now the preferred method of
education for about 48,000 British Columbia students, reports
Cathryn Atkinson for the Globe and Mail (Canada). The Learning NowBC
program has almost tripled its online student body in just three
years. The program appeals to families who home school their
children or travel for extended periods of time, students who want
to take a course that is not offered at their local school, adults
who want to complete their secondary school education and young
people who are either not succeeding at local schools or are not
challenged by the curriculum. At the very least, virtual learning
provides a reprieve to the oppressive travel some students are
required to make to get to the schoolhouse. However, according to a
new book from Clayton Christensen, a business professor at Harvard
University, technology-based forces of "disruptive innovation" are
gathering around public schools and will overhaul the way students
learn, reports Andrew Trotter for Education Week (link below). The
book also predicts that the growth in computer-based delivery of
education will accelerate swiftly until, by 2019, half of all high
school classes will be taught over the Internet.
Also:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/05/07/36disrupt_ep.h27.html?tmp=618887288
BLOGGING HELPS ENCOURAGE TEEN WRITING
The big news from a recent survey that explored the links between
formal writing that teens do for school and the informal
communication they exchange through email and text messaging was
that emoticons and abbreviations have crept into students' formal
writing assignments, reports the eSchool news staff. However, there
was another interesting finding that proves promising: blogging
helps many teens become more prolific writers. While teens who
communicate frequently with friends and those who own more
technology tools do not write more often than less communicative
teens, teen bloggers write more frequently both online and offline.
In fact, 47 percent of teen bloggers write outside of school for
personal reasons at least several times a week compared with 33
percent of teens without blogs. In addition, 65 percent of teen
bloggers believe that writing is essential to later success in life.
ARE WIRED KIDS WELL SERVED BY SCHOOLS?
An increasing number of teens are hyper-motivated to learn a special
skill like creating podcasts, directing YouTube videos, publishing a
website or hacking an iPhone, reports Stefanie Olson for CNet
NewsBlog. However, teachers largely have not kept up with this trend
and remain unable to inspire much of the same ingenuity. In
addition, researchers have begun to notice that digital media is
minting a new brand of kids who are creators of media rather than
simple passive consumers. Within these digital environments, kids
who create and evaluate media derive a sense of competence,
autonomy, self-determination and connectedness among their peers. In
fact, it appears many kids are drawn to create media online because
their work can be immediately recognized and evaluated by their peer
groups and potentially a much larger audience. In contrast, it can
take kids much longer to reap the rewards or build recognition from
hard work in school.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS KEY TO CHANGING COLLEGE-GOING CULTURES
Community involvement is an extremely important factor in any
college access marketing campaign, yet many campaigns forego this
vital element. Ultimately, on-the-ground outreach and engagement
within a community will sustain a message and change the
college-going behaviors of students. Consequently, all events,
presentations, outreach, partnerships and publications should be
strategized and leveraged into a comprehensive community engagement
plan. A new brief from the Pathways to College Network provides
information on how best to target the various community audiences of
a college access marketing campaign.
DO VOUCHERS STIMULATE DISABLED STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PROFICIENCY?
A new paper from Jay Greene and Marcus Winters of Manhattan
Institute fame investigates the impact of voucher programs on
disabled students in Florida, as compared to the academic
performance of disabled students who remain in the public school
system. The study finds that public school students with relatively
mild disabilities made statistically significant test score
improvements in both math and reading as more nearby private schools
began participating in the voucher program. This seems to indicate
that students eligible for vouchers who remained in public schools
made greater academic improvements when their choices increased. In
addition, disabled public school students' largest gains as vouchers
opportunities increased were made by those diagnosed as having the
mildest learning disabilities. Meanwhile, the academic proficiency
of students diagnosed with relatively severe disabilities was
neither helped nor hindered by increased voucher exposure.
NEW SURVEY FINDS LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS
Seventeen years after the first state charter law passed, a majority
of adults still have little or no clue what a charter school is,
reports Erik Robelen for Education Week. In fact, almost 60 percent
of respondents to a recent survey conducted by the National Alliance
for Public Charter Schools said they knew "very little" or "nothing
at all" about the independent public schools. In addition, 37
percent of respondents guessed that charters are private or
religious entities. The survey also found that 77 percent of
respondents either strongly or somewhat favor giving "parents more
options when choosing a public school for their children."
CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS APPEAR TO HAVE HIGHER COLLEGE-GOING RATES
A new study from the Rand Corporation finds that students who attend
Chicago's multi-grade charter high schools appear more likely to
enroll in college than their counterparts in traditional public
schools. In fact, the charter school students were seven percent
more likely to graduate from high school and 11 percent more likely
to enroll in college. The research also indicates that charter
school students perform slightly better on ACT college entrance
exams, reports the Associated Press.
TUITION DOESN'T APPEAR TO MAKE COLLEGE CLASSROOM IMPACT
As higher education costs continue to climb, a new study fuels
concerns about whether the investment in post-secondary education by
families and taxpayers translates into better results, reports Mary
Beth Marklein for USA Today. Students remain a growing source of
revenue for colleges, yet little of that money appears to be going
into classroom instruction. In addition, the study notes that the
percentage of students who complete a degree hasn't kept place with
increases in enrollments, revenue or total spending.
THERE IS A NEED FOR INCREASED EMPHASIS ON "MIDDLE" SKILLS
Recently, the Council on Competitiveness urged an increased emphasis
on "middle" skills (those inherent to jobs that don't require a
bachelor's degree but do require training beyond high school). The
thrust of the need is a workforce that is enabled to better interact
with customers, reports Mark Schoeff for Workforce Management. While
it is evident that the United States needs to produce more
scientists and engineers, quality alone is insufficient. For
instance, technology workers need to have stronger interdisciplinary
and entrepreneurial skills.
TEACHER OPPOSED TO STANDARDIZED TESTING RECONSIDERS
Teacher Chela Delgado recently offered a commentary on National
Public Radio's May education series, and talked about how she hated
the idea of making her students take standardized tests. Yet in
getting to know her pupil's parents, she began to rethink her
position. In her commentary, Delgado reveals how families in
under-resourced schools are pursuing what they see as best for their
kids and sometimes this pursuit dovetails with testing.
HOW TO REALLY MEASURE QUALITY TEACHERS
Identifying the skills of certain teachers who have a greater impact
on student performance than others is of utmost importance. It also
is vital that teacher evaluation systems transform into mechanisms
for improving student learning. To that end, a new Teacher Quality
Research & Policy Brief provides an overview of current teacher
evaluation tools and processes and identifies the strengths and
limitations of each. The brief also reveals results of new research
from a REL Midwest study of district guidance to schools on teacher
evaluation policies and presents policy options for states and
districts.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR CHEMISTRY HOMEWORK
Indiana University has recently set up a free web-based learning
tool that allows high-school students to get instant feedback on
chemistry questions. Indiana teachers, participating in the program,
have found the experience quite positive, and there has been special
praise for the quick feedback. This partnership provides a new
example of the great benefits tat arise when the higher education
world and communities work together.
THE LIMITATIONS OF "CRITICAL FRIENDS GROUPS"
In a new study released in the Teachers College Record, Marnie
Curry, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley,
reports on a three-year examination of "critical friends groups" at
a Pacific Northwest high school. Many staff members enjoyed the
discussion groups, mostly because they enhanced relationships,
boosted their awareness of research-based practices and reforms,
increased their knowledge of school-wide issues and improved their
capacity to undertake instructional improvement. However, Curry
notes that the critical friends groups were a weak lever for
improving student achievement because they actually have minimal
influence on teachers' content knowledge. In fact, such groups are
by nature places in which in-depth attention to subject matter is
unlikely. Curry also discovered key limitations that prevented the
groups from having a more positive impact in school.
VIDEOS LINK EFFECTIVENESS OF TECHNOLOGY USE WITH EDUCATION
The National Center for Technology Innovation recently held a panel
on the effectiveness of research on educational technology. The
video clips show a debate over how findings from education
technology research can effectively drive improvements in the field.
In today's education climate, it has become critical for technology
products, devices and tools to demonstrate their effectiveness. In
the videos, panelists outline effective strategies to communicate
research-based findings in user-friendly terms to the public. In
another discussion, participants highlighted lessons learned from a
wide array of implementation efforts in education, revealing the
core components of successful and sustainable initiatives.
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"Grants for Tolerance Programs"
Teaching Tolerance offers grants for programs that engage
collaboration between educators, researchers, parents/guardians and
student groups that aim to equalize students' experience in schools.
Such programs might include equitable discipline policies and
practices; consistent educational experience for migrant, homeless
or foster-care students; special education advocacy, with emphasis
on parent and students' rights; prejudice reduction efforts in
racially isolated schools; and equitable school assignment plans.
Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: educators, researchers,
parents/guardians and student groups. Deadline for Letter of
Inquiry: May 15, 2008.
"Nature of Learning Grants Program"
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation give grants to
organizations to start or expand Nature of Learning programs in
their communities. Grants support start-up expenses associated with
new programs and offer continued support to existing Nature of
Learning programs. Nature of Learning is the National Wildlife
Refuge System's community-based environmental education initiative
that seeks to use National Wildlife Refuges as outdoor classrooms to
promote greater understanding of local conservation issues;
encourage interdisciplinary approaches to learning that enhance
student academic achievement; use field experiences and student-led
stewardship projects to connect classroom lessons to real world
issues; and, partner local schools, community groups, natural
resource professionals and local businesses. Maximum Award: varies.
Eligibility: Programs involving a partnership among a local
school(s), community group (e.g., Refuge Support Group), and
National Wildlife Refuge. Deadline: June 16, 2008.
"Children's Dental Health Grants"
The American Dental Association Samuel Harris Fund for Children's
Dental Health Grants Program awards grants to oral health promotion
programs designed to improve and maintain children's oral health
through community education programs. Maximum Award: $5,000.
Eligibility: community-based, not-for-profit, oral health promotion
programs in the United States. Deadline: July 17, 2008.
"Grants for After-School Music Programs"
The Mr. Holland's Opus Special Projects Program provides musical
instruments and instrument repairs to existing K-12 school music
programs that have no other source of financing to purchase
additional musical instruments and materials. Eligibility:
After-school music programs that are at least three years old or
have a music-related umbrella organization that is at least three
years. Maximum Award: $8,000. Deadline: August 1, 2008.
"Awards for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education"
The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge Leavey Awards for Excellence
in Private Enterprise Education honors outstanding educators who
excite a commitment in their students to the free enterprise system
and unleash the entrepreneurial skills of their students at the
elementary, junior high school, high school and college level.
Maximum Award: $7,500. Eligibility: teachers at K-12 schools,
colleges and universities. Deadline: October 1, 2008.
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