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Public Education Network (PEN) celebrates 25 years of local education funds
Just one exciting week away is the launch of PEN's 2008 Annual
Conference (November 16-18, 2008) honoring and celebrating 25 years
of local education funds by examining the legacy of LEFs, the focus
of their resources, and the impact of their transformative work on
public education. LEF members and many others will come together to
recognize the historic contributions of LEFs to education reform and
public engagement, and to look to the future of the field. Selected
speakers include: Susan Berresford (Immediate Past President, Ford
Foundation), Carlos Garcia (Superintendent, San Francisco Unified
School District), Carol Gilligan (Professor of Humanities and
Applied Psychology, New York University), and Rudy Crew (nationally
renowned public education leader/reformer & 2008 AASA National
Superintendent of the Year).
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation releases ambitious new education giving plans
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced its intention to
refocus its education giving strategy on four core issues, according
to The Seattle Times: double the number of low-income students who
complete a college or post-high school degree, identify and pay
higher salaries for good teaching, help average teachers get better,
and create more accurate tests and a national set of learning
standards for high schools. The new initiative will increase the
amount that the foundation -- already the biggest giver in U.S.
education -- spends each year to improve the nation's schools.
Foundation officials are not yet saying how much the foundation
plans to give, but it spent $4 billion on education in the past
eight years -- half on scholarships and half on its work to improve
high schools.
What do we know about the outcomes at KIPP schools?
With its reputation for high standards, highly committed teachers
and longer school days, the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) has
been widely hailed as a model for urban education. A new policy
brief from the Great Lakes Center -- What Do We Know About the
Outcomes of KIPP Schools? -- concludes that available evidence
indicates that KIPP is indeed providing good opportunities for
students but it also warns that some claims are exaggerated; the
current evidence incomplete and policymakers should proceed with
cautious optimism. Among the positive findings of the report are
that students who enter and stay in KIPP schools -- most of whom are
minorities and many of whom have done poorly in prior schools --
tend to perform better than comparable students in traditional
public schools, and this performance does not seem due to selective
admissions. On the other hand, student turnover appears selective,
with lower-performing students continuing to perform poorly at KIPP
and being more likely to leave. Teacher enthusiasm at KIPP is high,
but so are the demands and burnout, leading to an unrelieved
pressure to find and train new people." And although KIPPs
extended-day policy has attracted a lot of attention, no hard
evidence has linked this policy to the schools success.
See the report at
http://www.greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_Briefs/Henig_Kipp.pdf
Generation O: Politics holds new role in high school classrooms
Across the country, the day after the election, high school teachers
discussed results with a cohort of students who differ from those of
the past few decades, according to USA TODAY. Current high school
students are said to be more politically engaged and civic-minded
than recent predecessors, but they are also better informed, more
cynical about government, and less race-obsessed than their parents.
This is can be explained by the Internet, with its many channels for
information and opportunities such as Facebook for dialogue and
political self-expression. "They felt like they were a part of [the
election] just because of the connectedness of the back and forth,"
said Gil Stange, a high school economics teacher in Towson, Md.
Beyond this, they may be more engaged because for many of them,
their decisions were immediate. For the past 20 years, school
districts have pushed parents to hold off registering their children
for kindergarten until they're six years old. As a result, nearly
half of the countrys high school seniors were eligible to vote on
November 4. They heavily favored Barack Obama.
NOLAs charters face closer supervision
New Orleans' recent rapid-fire embrace of charter schools propelled
the city to the vanguard of national education reform circles. But
state and local educators are only now working on a
charter-oversight system that demands performance and allows schools
autonomy at the same time. In a city where nearly 60 percent of the
city's public school students attend charter schools, charter
oversight has been spotty, according to The Times-Picayune. State
and local educators are working to change that by drafting a set of
evaluation guidelines that both allow charters autonomy but enable
quick closing of those that fare poorly. Currently, Louisiana law
calls for a third-year evaluation of charters and for a decision
after five years as to whether a charter will be renewed. Charters
must submit audited budgets and participate in the state's
standardized testing system, and have contracts with the agencies
that granted them charters, stipulating performance goals. Some
charter advocates are leery of getting further bogged down in red
tape. Charter leaders say the School Board has developed a far more
detailed and, some allege, overly bureaucratic review process than
the state or the Recovery School District, which have both done less
monitoring so far. Whatever form the evaluation ultimately takes,
officials hope a more consistent process will help ensure that
troubled schools do not slip through the cracks -- giving the entire
movement a black eye.
Milwaukee voucher program pressures its conventional schools
The Journal Sentinel reports that the number of Milwaukee children
attending private schools using publicly funded vouchers has
exceeded 20,000 for the first time, while the number of students in
the main roster of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) elementary, middle
and high schools has fallen below 80,000 for the first time in over
a decade. Milwaukees voucher program is the largest and oldest urban
school voucher program in the United States. Its success, and
declining enrollment in the MPS, has put financial pressure on the
district, forcing school closings and pushing the district to find
new ways to attract students and raise overall levels of
achievement. Wisconsin officials estimate that $128.8 million,
approximately one tenth the MPS budget, will be paid to 127 schools
that enroll voucher students this year. Participation in the
Milwaukee voucher program has risen every year since 1998, when the
Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled it was legal to include religious
schools.
The kids are alright
In an opinion piece in The Boston Globe, Jay Mathews takes exception
to the idea that American students are falling behind the students
of our nations competitors, especially those in Asia. Mathews, an
education reporter for The Washington Post, spotlights the
documentary Two Million Minutes, which compares two students from
Carmel, Ind., unfavorably with their dedicated and industrious
counterparts in India and China. The films message, which Mathews
sums up as Beware, the rising Third World powers are going to eat
our lunch, is in his view overblown. The top 70 percent of US public
high schools, he writes, are still quite good compared with the rest
of the world, and graduate more excellent students than our elite
universities can accommodate. The problem lies with the bottom 30
percent of schools, which serve urban and rural low-income children.
Not only are we denying the children who attend them the equal
education that is their right, but we are squandering almost a third
of our intellectual capital. We are beating the world economically,
but with one hand tied behind our back, Mathews writes.
Pittsburgh makes moves toward merit pay
Pittsburgh school officials are considering merit pay for
high-performing teachers who switch to low-performing schools,
according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Linda Lane, deputy
superintendent for instruction, assessment and accountability in the
Pittsburgh Schools, is said to be exploring federal funding for the
initiative, which would shore up instruction in some of the citys
failing schools. Lane said she intends to discuss the incentive plan
with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and its parent union, the
American Federation of Teachers. As in many urban districts, under
collective bargaining agreements, teachers with seniority --
generally the most experienced and effective instructors -- are able
to transfer away from difficult schools, leaving novice instructors
to teach the most struggling students. Pittsburgh currently has a
five-year, $7.4 million grant that pays performance bonuses to
principals districtwide.
Concern over math basics brings specialists to early grades
Many elementary schools are turning to math specialists or coaches
to add expertise to a teaching workforce dominated by generalists
who, studies show, are vastly under-prepared in math. In light of
widespread struggles by many students in the middle grades over
math, and with an eye toward the high-stakes tests that these same
students are failing, new focus is being turned toward the building
blocks of complex math in younger grades, The Washington Post
reports. Competence in high-level math like calculus is not
necessary to teach multiplication, but elementary teachers need to
understand enough algebra, geometry and probability to see how
beginning skills link to more complex ones. Many elementary-level
educators lack confidence in these areas, a problem compounded by
weak math training and requirements in teacher colleges.
Texas pre-K reform program draws fire
Controversy has engulfed a Texas pre-K program that cost $80 million
-- three times the normal pre-K cost per student -- to implement and
has netted its administering staff $500,000 in royalties from
participating vendors and book publishers. The Houston Chronicle
reports that the Texas Early Education Model (or TEEM), which
evolved from a 2003 state law to improve pre-kindergarten
coordination among public schools, Head Start programs, and
child-care centers, raises conflict-of-interest issues for the staff
at Texass State Center for Early Childhood Development, which
administers it. TEEMs proponents say that it stresses teacher
training and early literacy development, but its critics feel its an
effort to market research and products through a variety of
commercial vendors, and that it tests, rather than educates, very
young children in anticipation of standardized assessment. "It's a
very narrow perspective on how children learn and, particularly, how
they learn early literacy skills," according to Samuel Meisels, a
leading authority on the assessment of young children. The
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, which oversees
the State Center, requires disclosure by its faculty, but has not
yet released program financial records requested by the Chronicle
since third parties, the vendors and publishers, are involved.
One step toward closing the achievement gap
In a post in NCCRESTs Leadscape blog, Dr. Donna Y. Ford asks why it
is that despite their qualifications, educators have been unable to
close the persistent and troubling achievement gap between black and
white students. Ford, a professor of Education and Human Development
at Vanderbilt University in the Department of Special Education,
points out that this gap, which in the early grades is a one-year
disparity, widens to four years by the time black students reach
high school, indicating a failure on the part of schools and in fact
an exacerbation the disadvantage that many lower-income black
students enter school with. In Dr. Fords opinion, the explanation
may lie in the training of teachers in this country, who are
overwhelmingly white (and female). Writes Ford, too few courses and
programs have been created and designed to equip future and current
educators/professionals with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions
to work with our nations increasing diversity. This increasing
diversity cannot be ignored or trivialized in any way -- especially
given that over 40 percent of public school students are Black,
Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian.
BRIEFLY NOTED
A significant family choice for the Obamas
The Washington Post speculates whether the new First Daughters will attend private school, as Chelsea Clinton did, or public school, like Amy Carter.
School district tries to lure Asian parents
The new diversity of the Jericho High School (NY) has revealed a
cultural chasm over the meaning of parental involvement. Jericho now
offers free English classes and a multicultural advisory committee
that, among other things, taught one Chinese mother what to wear and
what to bring to a bar mitzvah. The P.T.A. has been trying to
recruit more minority members and groom them for leadership roles.
South Carolina sees jump in high school proficiency scores
Four out of five South Carolina high school sophomores passed both
the math and English/language arts portions on the states High
School Assessment Program test, with an average pass rate of 80.8
percent.
Colorado rejects affirmative action ban, but Nebraska ratifies it
Colorado voters are the first in the nation to reject a ban on state
affirmative action programs, narrowly defeating a measure that
California businessman Ward Connerly has helped pass in four other
states.
Making sure student data reach all who need it
Education Sector blog The Quick and the Ed explains how parents can
ensure that all non-school actors who keep a student on the path to
success can access student data when its made available online.
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"The Terri Lynne Lokoff Childcare Foundation: Childrens Tylenol National Child Care Teacher Awards"
The Terri Lynne Lokoff/Childrens Tylenol National Child Care Teacher
Awards acknowledge the critical role of child care teachers in
providing quality early care and education. Applicants are asked to
design an enhancement project for the children in their classroom
illustrating the educational, social, and emotional benefits from
the project. Maximum Award: $1,000. Eligibility: teachers of infant,
toddler, or preschool age children employed in a home, group, or
center-based program that is fully compliant with local and state
regulations for operating child care programs, who have been working
in their current regulated program for a minimum of 36 months by
December 5, 2008. Deadline: December 5, 2009.
"John S. and James L. Knight Foundation: J-Lab Institute for Interactive Journalism"
The Institute for Interactive Journalism and John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation New Voices grants provide funds to seed innovative
community news ventures in the United States. Maximum award:
$25,000. Eligibility: 501(c) 3 organizations and education
institutions, including civic groups, community organizations,
public broadcasters, schools, colleges and universities; some
preference will be given to projects from former Knight newspaper
communities. Deadline: February 12, 2009.
"The American Historical Association: Beveridge Family Teaching Prize"
The American Historical Association Beveridge Family Teaching Prize
recognizes excellence and innovation in elementary, middle school,
and secondary history teaching, including career contributions and
specific initiatives. Maximum award: $1,500, plus travel expenses
for group leader to travel to annual meeting in January 2010 to
accept award. Eligibility: K-12 teachers in groups. Deadline: March
16, 2009.
"Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams: High School Invention Grants"
Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams grants foster inventiveness among high
school students. InvenTeams composed of high school students,
teachers and mentors are asked to collaboratively identify a problem
that they want to solve, research the problem, and then develop a
prototype invention as an in-class or extracurricular project.
Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: High school science,
mathematics and technology teachers--or teams of teachers--at
public, private and vocational schools; intra- and inter-school
collaborations are welcome. Deadline: April 24, 2009.
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