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Two foundations end financing of education-awareness drive
Ed in '08? About 16 months ago, two of philanthropy's strongest
supporters of education -- the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and
the Broad Foundation -- pledged a total of up to $60 million to make
education reform a top issue in the 2008 presidential election. But
now, after jointly contributing about $24 million, the two
foundations have stopped spending money on their nonpartisan Strong
American Schools campaign (branded "Ed in '08"), the Puget Sound
Business Journal reports. Although education has had a relatively
low profile so far in the presidential campaign, spokespeople for
both foundations say their efforts have been successful. But the
newspaper quotes Arnold Fege of Public Education Network as saying:
"For some reason in 2004, everyone wanted to be the education
president. In 2008, nobody wants to be the education president."
Fege, PEN's director of public engagement and advocacy, adds that in
2004, much of the public's attention was generated by the No Child
Left Behind Act, while this year 38 states are cutting their
spending on education. All the same, the link between education and
the economy seems clear. "People are not saying that education is
not important," observes the pollster Mark Hibbits, but "the issue
of the day -- and the remainder of this presidential race -- is
going to be dealing with finance and economic issues."
The 'ugly reality' of urban education
The takeover of a troubled high school in Los Angeles's Watts
neighborhood by Green Dot Schools, a private charter school
organization, is the vehicle for a strongly worded online critique
of American urban education in Dissident Voice, a self-described
"radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice."
The writer, Reggie Dylan, focuses on what he calls "the ugly reality
of the urban cores of this country, and the schools that serve them.
It is producing a massive section of youth, seething with anger, who
have been written off by this system, told 'there's nothing here for
you,' and then shoved into the prisons at world record rates." Dylan
says Green Dot seeks to close the "achievement gap" between racial
groups by producing "a small number of students from inner city
schools who will help fill the need for 'knowledge workers' in this
society" -- professionals such as engineers, analysts, and
marketers. But Dylan says those who do make it into that world
actually "serve as a political and ideological force to shore up
this system of exploitation and inequality."
Alabama bars illegal immigrants from community colleges
Alabama's state education board has voted to bar illegal immigrants
from admission to Alabama's two-year colleges, according to the
Montgomery Advertiser. The vote was 4-0 with one abstention, and it
came despite the absence of four of the board's nine members. The
new policy holds that, beginning next spring, applicants to
community colleges in the state must show an Alabama driver's
license, a state ID card, or an unexpired U.S. passport or permanent
resident card. International applicants must provide a visa and an
official translated copy of their high school or college transcript,
along with other information such as exam scores and proof of
adequate financial support. Shay Farley, a lawyer and spokeswoman
for the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, questioned the
policy. "We are bound by federal law to provide education to any
student, K-12, regardless of legal status," she said. "A lot of
children are brought [to the U.S.] by their parents -- they did not
choose to come here. If we deny them a two-year college education,
where will they go for their education?"
Utah bill would permit alternative approach to testing in some schools
Utah lawmakers have passed a bill to allow exemptions from state
testing requirements in some school districts and charter schools so
they can try an alternative approach, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
If the U.S. Department of Education agrees, some Utah schools would
no longer have to give the standardized tests that are currently
used statewide. Instead, they would administer the ACT and so-called
computer adaptive tests, which adjust to students' skill levels as
they take them. The goal would be to provide better assessment data,
according to supporters of the alternative program. Critics,
however, say that widespread adoption of the new approach would
increase the amount of time that students spend on testing.
Federal grant aims at reducing preschool expulsion rates in Delaware
According to the Yale Child Study Center, Delaware has the fourth
highest rate for preschool expulsions -- 13 children for every 1,000
enrolled in daycare, reports the Delaware News Journal. That could
change, however, as a result of a $9 million grant from the Center
for Mental Health Services in the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. The money will be used to teach parents how to bond
with their emotionally disturbed children through parent-child
interaction therapy, which is said to improve relationships,
increase children's pro-social behavior, and improve parenting
skills. About 60 families annually will receive in-home treatment
and about 85 families will be served as outpatients at a therapist's
office. The effort will focus on troubled children, typically 2 to 5
years old, who often act out in aggressive ways, such as by hitting
other children, pulling their hair, or throwing things across the
room, says Susan Cycyk, director of Delaware's Division of Child
Mental Health Services.
Massachusetts district pushes bilingual programs
Under a six-year-old state law, Massachusetts students younger than
10 must first spend 30 days in an English-only classroom. The Boston
Globe reports, however, that some educators think the requirement
may do more harm than good. After the waiting period, parents or
guardians can sign a waiver that allows their children to go into
bilingual classes if they are having problems with English-only
instruction. But Tony Marin, a bilingual special-education teacher
in Framingham, says that makes no sense. "The kid is not even
learning anything," he says. Critics of so-called immersion programs
cite rising dropout rates and special-education referrals for
English-language learners, and they point to alternatives such as
"sheltered English" classes taught mostly in English by bilingual
teachers who can explain concepts in the students' native language
when that is needed. Another approach is teaching English as a
second language. Massachusetts gauges English-language proficiency
and progress toward that goal through a system called Annual
Measurable Achievement Objectives. Last year the Framingham
district, the only one in Massachusetts that aggressively offers
families a bilingual option for their children, exceeded its targets
for student progress and educational attainment.
Examining the link between 'student loads' and student performance
The theory: Fewer students per teacher -- that's "total student
loads," or TSLs, in eduspeak -- leads to better student performance.
Many people say that ought to be a no-brainer, but it's not always
easy to implement. Now, in a column for the Washington Post,
education writer Jay Mathews cites fresh evidence from a management
expert, William G. Ouchi, that "when middle or high school
principals are given control of their schools' budgets -- a rare
occurrence in big districts -- they tend to make changes in
staffing, curriculum, and scheduling that sharply reduce TSL." Some
urban school districts, Mathews adds, have TSLs approaching 200.
"But after principals get budgeting power, the load drops sharply,
sometimes to as low as 80 kids per instructor. When that happens,
the portion of students scoring 'proficient' on state tests climbs."
Mathews quotes Ouchi, a UCLA professor and author of "Making Schools
Work," as saying: "When a district has too few classroom teachers,
student loads per teacher rise to the point where teachers can no
longer know their students well enough to establish a bond of trust
with them. Without this trust, a teacher can neither establish an
orderly classroom nor push a student to do his or her best, and the
teacher's job often becomes frustrating and constantly stressful."
Class rankings bite the dust at some Wisconsin high schools
In an effort to improve their students' chances for college
admission, a number of high schools in Wisconsin have ended the
practice of reporting the students' class rankings, the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel reports. School officials say the change has helped
more of their students get into competitive colleges, including the
University of Wisconsin at Madison. At Milwaukee's Whitefish Bay
High School, where rankings were eliminated five years ago, the
principal, Bill Henkle, says the removal of class rankings also has
reduced students' anxiety during the college-application process.
"They used to be obsessed with it," he says. "With each passing
semester, it was like kids were watching their stock go up or down,
thinking, 'I just fell out of the top 10 percent and now I'll never
get into such-and-such a place.' " That said, a lack of class
rankings can put extra emphasis on ACT and SAT test scores at a time
when some critics have called for less dependence on standardized
testing for college admissions.
Arkansas program turns school bus rides into learning opportunities
Coordinators of an Arkansas school district's pilot program that
turns school buses into mobile virtual classrooms say it should be
expanded, reports the Arkansas News Bureau. Begun in April 2007 in
the Sheridan School District, the project equips students with
laptop computers and iPods and allows them to take online math and
science courses while traveling to and from school. The project's
director, Vanderbilt University professor Julie Hudson, says it
makes constructive use of transit time for students in rural areas
who have bus rides of up to three or four hours a day. So far,
students in the pilot program have completed 14 semesters of study
in addition to their regular courses.
Florida requires districts to offer online schooling for K-12
A new Florida law requires that, starting next year, school
districts create their own full-time virtual schools, or provide
them by collaborating with other districts or contracting with
state-approved providers, the Palm Beach Post reports. But while the
law is wide-ranging, it speaks only vaguely about providing
computers and Internet access to students "when appropriate,"
leaving it up to individual districts to determine what that means.
The uncertainty has raised concerns that the program may not benefit
students whose families cannot afford home computers or reliable Web
access. Some school administrators have proposed opening school
computer labs as a less expensive alternative to giving students
laptops to use at home. Online programs are not expected to save the
schools money because, even though they would not have to
accommodate students themselves, they would still have to pay
teachers, revamp their curricula, and buy new technology.
Kentucky urged to correct 'highly unequal' college prep for blacks, whites
Kentucky's educational system has "massive leaks" that negatively
affect the prospects for its minority students for college
enrollment and success, according to a study commissioned by the
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and described by the
Louisville Courier-Journal. A report of the study, by the Civil
Rights Project at the University of California Los Angeles,
concludes that "the preparation of black and white students for
college remains highly unequal, as do the family and community
conditions in which children develop." Among the project's
recommendations: Include consideration of race in admitting students
to highly competitive state colleges and universities, as well as in
awarding financial aid. The report also calls for stronger
collaboration between institutions to ensure that minorities
graduate from high school, have the skills necessary for college,
and receive information early on about financial aid. In addition,
the state is urged to expand its definition of diversity to include
Hispanics and American Indians, and to consider creating an
accountability system for recruiting and enrolling students of any
race from the poorest counties in Eastern Kentucky.
See the report at
http://www.courier-journal.com/assets/B2118646925.pdf
Differentiated instruction: challenges and benefits
The idea that teachers should work to accommodate and build on
students' diverse learning needs, often referred to as
differentiated instruction, is explored in a recent Teacher Magazine
interview with Carol Ann Tomlinson, an education professor at the
University of Virginia. Pretending all kids are alike and teaching
them the same things in the same way over the same time period
usually doesn't work very well. To use differentiated instruction,
Tomlinson says, teachers have to get to know and understand their
students -- their learning styles, interests, strengths, and
weaknesses. The key, she says, is "to actively get kids to show you
who they are and what their needs are."
BRIEFLY NOTED
Financial pressures forcing states to recast budgets for 2009
Their leaders take urgent steps to cushion the effects of the Wall Street crisis on state programs.
Economic problems threaten local spending, bond offerings
The nation's recent economic turmoil and tightening of credit have severely damaged prospects for city budgets and local bond offerings, including those for public schools.
AAA credit ratings little help to two NC counties
In a sign of the times, Wake and Durham Counties found it almost impossible to borrow from banks to pay for schools and other projects.
Most states struggling to meet NCLB standards on weak schools
Only a third of state education officials in a nationwide survey say their departments have adequate capacity to improve low-performing schools, as required by the federal law.
Many teaching slots go unfilled in DC schools
After spending more than $200 million on repairing and renovating school buildings, the District of Columbia is having a hard time filling them with teachers.
Georgia's governor challenges local schools on lawsuits against the state
Gov. Sonny Perdue wants the state's attorney general to determine whether school districts can use local tax revenue to finance legal challenges.
Need help opening college doors? (It'll cost you)
NPR tells how a high-priced consultant paves the way for kids to get into prestigious institutions.
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"ECS: James Bryant Conant Award"
The Education Commission of the States James Bryant Conant Award
recognizes an individual for outstanding contributions to American
education. Nominations deadline: Oct. 24, 2008.
"VFW: Teaching of Citizenship Education"
The Veterans of Foreign Wars' National Citizenship Education
Teachers' Award recognizes the nation's top elementary, junior high,
and high school teachers who teach citizenship education topics
regularly and promote America's history and traditions. Maximum
award: $1,000. Eligibility: K-12 teachers. Deadline: Nov. 1, 2008.
"AIAA: Grants for Science and Math Programs"
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Science and Math
Programs Grants assist educators in presenting mathematics, science,
and technology principles to K-12 students in an exciting, hands-on
manner. Maximum award: $1,000. Eligibility: AIAA Educator Associate
K-12 teachers. Deadline: Nov. 30, 2008.
"Goldman Sachs Foundation: Prizes in International Education"
The 2008 Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in
International Education seek to increase awareness of the growing
importance of international knowledge and skills for U.S. students.
Maximum award: $25,000. Eligibility: Any public or private
elementary, middle, or high school with a clear focus on raising
American awareness of the world and bridging the international
knowledge gap. The prizes are also available to states, large school
districts, and media/technology programs within a U.S.-based public
or private organization. Deadline: Dec. 1, 2008.
"Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program"
The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, administered by the
federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, supports efforts
to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians and the
faculty members who will prepare them for their careers. It also
supports grants for research related to library education and
library staffing needs, curriculum development, and continuing
education and training. Maximum award: $1,000,000. Eligibility: all
types of libraries except federal and for-profit libraries. Eligible
libraries include public, school, academic, special, private
(not-for-profit), archives, library agencies, library consortia, and
library associations. Also eligible are institutions of higher
education, including public and not-for-profit universities and
colleges. Deadline: Dec. 15, 2008.
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