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President reasserts his commitment to education
In his State of the Union address on January 27, President Barack
Obama called for greater investment in public schools as part of a
push to renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA),
Education Week reports. Though he pledged to tamp down spending on
most non-defense programs, his fiscal year 2011 budget, to be
released next week, will seek a 6.2 percent increase to the U.S.
Department of Education's budget, including up to $4 billion more
for K-12 education. Of the increase, $1.35 billion will be aimed at
extending Race to the Top (RttT) grants to school districts, with
the goal of expanding RttT reform priorities -- among them turning
around failing schools and increasing the supply of effective
teachers -- to all 50 states. The president said that the RttT
initiative had "broken through the stalemate between left and
right." Its idea, Mr. Obama explained, is "simple": "Instead of
rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the
status quo, we only invest in reform -- reform that raises student
achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and
turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young
Americans, from rural communities to inner cities." The president is
also taking the unusual step of making $1 billion of the increased
education funds contingent on renewal of the ESEA, whose current
version is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.
Our future success demands new systems of education
A new book by Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University proposes
a clear set of policies that can be used to create high-quality and
equitable schools. In The Flat World and Education: How America's
Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future, Darling-Hammond
bases her recommendations on the successes of effective school
systems in the U.S. and abroad, and looks at the roots of our modern
education system and how skills required for our 21st-century global
economy cannot be learned in traditional education systems.
Darling-Hammond identifies an "opportunity gap" that has evolved as
new kinds of learning have become necessary -- a gap that leaves
low-income students, students of color, and English language
learners without the same access as others to qualified teachers,
high-quality curricula, and well-resourced classrooms. "Once again,
Darling-Hammond brings clarity to complexity, thoughtful analysis to
politically charged issues, and sound policy recommendations to the
hysteria of what to do to save America's public schools," says
advance reviewer Gloria Ladson-Billings of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. "In this volume, the macro meets the micro on
terms that lets all democratically-minded citizens breathe a sigh of
relief."
The journey continues in Florida
The Orange County, Fla. school board has approved a settlement with
plaintiffs in a decades-long school-desegregation case that should
free the nation's 10th largest public school district from nearly 50
years of federal oversight, reports The Orlando Sentinel. Pending
approval from a federal judge, the agreement will lift a mandate
that has governed Orange County schools since 1962, when eight black
families sued for equal access to a system once reserved for whites.
The agreement leaves many desegregation-era practices -- such as
cross-town busing -- in place, and focuses heavily on upgrading the
technology and buildings of old schools in black neighborhoods.
Under the plan, the school board will agree to rush renovations of
17 schools, most in low-income black neighborhoods, and vow not to
close them unless an emergency situation warrants it. The board also
promised to set new recruitment goals for hiring minority teachers,
while actively ensuring equal access to all district extracurricular
activities. "I see this not as an ending, but as a continuum," said
Pam Woodley, who was 11 when her mother, a community leader, joined
the lawsuit. "We need to continue this journey."
What future for hybrids?
Unionized charter schools have been cropping up across the country,
writes Alexander Russo in The Harvard Education Letter, but their
future as a model, or even what that model is, remains unclear. Some
"hybrids" are the result of teachers organizing in response to labor
conditions, but others were formed by charter operators like the
well-known Green Dot organization that have worked with unions from
the start. Various states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Maryland
require charters to take part in a district's union contract, and
regulations in New York state and California vary according to
school size and development process. For Green Dot founder Steve
Barr, these blended endeavors are a foregone conclusion: "I don't
think you're going to change a public education system that's 100
percent unionized with nonunion labor," Barr says. AFT president
Randi Weingarten calls unionization a "new path" for charter
schools, exhorting them to bring the same kind of innovation to
labor agreements that they bring to programming. To encourage
charter-unionizing, the AFT has created a national initiative called
the Alliance of Charter Teachers, and announced grants to eight
teacher unions for "entrepreneurial, teacher-driven public education
reform." So whither this model, neither fish nor fowl? Russo says
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is "officially agnostic," but
thought by some observers to be enthusiastic about the potential
benefits of a model that has "a commonsense, middle-ground appeal
and challenges both charter operators and teachers unions to move
beyond the constant warring of the past."
Bleak times for public education in California
The annual Educational Opportunity Report from the UCLA Institute
for Democracy, Education & Access paints a grim picture of the
recession's impact on California schools. Its survey was conducted
with a representative sample of 87 principals from across the state,
revealing common themes across socioeconomic and demographic
diversity, but also differences in the degree of impact on families
and school programs. Seventy-four percent of elementary principals
and 54 percent of secondary principals were forced to increase class
sizes. Seventy percent had cut back or eliminated summer school, and
58 percent had either reduced or eliminated textbook purchases.
Forty-three percent reported teacher layoffs, and 25 percent
reported cuts to school psychologists, social workers, and nurses.
More than half of the principals reported a sharp increase in
student needs for health, psychological, or social services; many
reported extremely high social needs -- "an epidemic of hunger" --
with children receiving no food when they go home for the night or
weekend. Educators have responded by connecting students and
families with social service providers or by contributing food and
clothing, but budget cuts to social welfare programs and school
services have left the system with less capacity to respond to these
growing needs.
For adolescent literacy, look to first-grade neighborhoods
A new study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) finds that
children who live in neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty show
reduced scores on standardized tests seven years later, regardless
of the child's place of residence in Grade 7. Science Daily reports
that the study is the first of its kind to compare the relative
effects of neighborhood poverty at early childhood and early
adolescence. "Our findings suggest that it's not necessarily where
children live later in life that matters for understanding literacy
in early adolescence -- it's where they lived years earlier," says
lead researcher Jennifer Lloyd of UBC's Human Early Learning
Partnership (HELP). "Children's reading comprehension may be set on
a negative course early in life if children and their families are
living in resource-deprived places." The researchers say it's
possible that the socioeconomic conditions of children's early
residential neighborhoods exert a strong effect later because
acquiring reading skills involves the collective efforts of parents,
educators, family friends, and community members, as well as access
to good schools, libraries, after-school programs, and bookstores.
"Sadly, our findings demonstrate the lasting effect of neighborhood
poverty on children's reading comprehension -- highlighting that
children's literacy is not simply an important issue for parents,
but also for community leaders and policymakers alike," Lloyd says.
Pre-K: the biggest bang for your education buck
A new study by Wilder Research of St. Paul, Minn., undertaken at the
behest of Michigan nonprofit Early Childhood Investment Corp., finds
that Michigan preschool programs over the past 25 years are saving
the state $1 billion this year in crime and education costs, as well
as contributing to increased state productivity. Michigan school
superintendent Mike Flanagan said the study shows the state should
spend much more than it does getting pre-kindergarten children ready
for school, and suggested that the state and districts consider
reducing the cost of school employee benefits and using the savings
to expand preschool programs. "In a K-12 system, we spend $1 billion
a grade, but we don't spend anywhere close to that where it would
get the biggest bang for the buck." Among the savings cited in the
study were a $220 million savings to public schools because fewer
students repeat grades and there is less need for special education
instruction; $584 million less for programs for juvenile
corrections, child abuse, and welfare; and $347 million less in
social costs as a result of less crime and substance abuse, as well
as increased income for parents. It also affected state
unemployment, and boosted work productivity when children enter the
workforce.
See the report:
http://www.greatstartforkids.org/content/study-early-childhood-programs-save-mi-1b-annually
Tools, Rules, and Schools
Local education fund A+ Schools of Pittsburgh has released a report
on the distribution and mobility of teachers across the Pittsburgh
Public Schools (PPS), analyzing the policies, practices, and
learning environment that influence where and how teachers are able
to teach. The research project encompassed a 15-month study that
included a quantitative analysis of three years of staffing data, as
well as interviews with district administrators and human resources
personnel, school board and union representatives, principals, and
teachers. Its primary finding echoes that of research conducted in
public schools across the United States: Students with the highest
needs attend schools with the highest teacher turnover. When
teachers move from one school to another within the district, they
most often move from more "vulnerable" schools -- those with the
highest percentage of low-income students, higher number of
disciplinary incidents, and lower student achievement -- to less
vulnerable schools. At the time research was initiated (policies
have since changed), PPS hiring and retention policies worked
against staffing the most vulnerable schools with teachers best
suited for those schools and their students. The initiative was
launched in July 2008, before the PPS and Pittsburgh Federation of
Teachers released its comprehensive Empowering Effective Teachers
Plan, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which carries
many of the same recommendations.
Puzzling opacity at ED
On Education Week's Politics K-12 blog, Michele McNeil writes that
though Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has pledged to conduct an
open, transparent competition for $4 billion in Race to the Top (RttT)
funds, the Education Department is opaque in one respect. The
department has selected 60 peer reviewers to vet the 40 state
applications submitted at deadline, but the identity of these
reviewers will only be announced in April when the winners in the
funding competition are named. According to ED spokesman Justin
Hamilton, the rationale is that RttT reviewers "should be able to
conduct their work without having to worry about inappropriate
pressure, lobbying, or other attempts to influence the competition."
This, he says, is to protect both the peer reviewers and the
integrity of the contest. "With so much at stake," writes McNeil,
"it would seem in the department's best interests -- and the
public's -- to disclose who will be scoring the applications."
McNeil also points out that if there's a problem or undiscovered
conflict-of-interest with one of the peer reviewers, isn't it better
to find out now, before the first-round winners are announced, than
to be embarrassed after the fact?
The math anxiety contagion
First- and second-graders whose female teachers were anxious about
mathematics were more likely to believe that boys are hard-wired for
math and that girls are better at reading, according to a new study
reported in The Los Angeles Times. The study also found that girls
who believed this scored significantly lower on math tests than
their peers who didn't. The gap in test scores was not apparent in
the fall when kids were first tested, but emerged after spending a
school year in the classrooms of teachers with math anxiety.
"Teachers who are anxious about their own math abilities are
translating some of that to their kids," said University of Chicago
psychologist Sian Beilock, who led the study. Beilock and her
colleagues recruited seven female teachers from a Midwestern school
district and assessed their level of math anxiety -- a condition in
which the prospect of doing math evokes unpleasant physiological and
emotional responses. They then tested their students over the course
of a year. The study is the first both to examine math attitudes of
teachers and to show that those feelings can spread to students and
undermine their performance, said co-author Susan C. Levine, also a
psychologist at the University of Chicago.
BRIEFLY NOTED
Play, eat lunch
At the advice of experts, some schools are sending students out to
play before they sit down for lunch, which appears to have led to
positive changes in both cafeteria and classroom.
Evaluation overhaul in the works for Denver
Denver schools on Thursday received the largest grant in district
history -- $10 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that
will help develop a new teacher evaluation system.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em
Students in Fayette County, Ky. are using a textbook called Math in
Focus, nearly identical to the text used by about 80 percent of
elementary students in Singapore.
An equally inconvenient truth
A new documentary "Waiting For Superman" by director Davis
Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth") looks at what Bill Gates and
Guggenheim say is a U.S. public school system in shambles.
'Sneaky' moves in Ohio
State officials say 113 Ohio school districts are diverting $22
million in federal stimulus money intended for special-education
services, and spending it on other programs.
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"Bezos
Family Foundation: Bezos Scholars Program at the Aspen Institute"
The Bezos Scholars Program at the Aspen Institute seeks students who
are independent thinkers, demonstrated leaders, and engaged
community members. Participants meet one another and engage in
seminars and informal meetings with international leaders, acclaimed
thinkers, and creative artists who participate in the annual Aspen
Ideas Festival. Following attendance at the Aspen Ideas Festival,
the student/educator scholar teams will return home and create Local
Ideas Festivals in their schools. Maximum award: participation in
the Aspen Ideas Festival, July 5 - 11, 2010. Eligibility:
applicants' schools must be public high schools (including charter
and magnet schools) where at least 25 percent of students are
eligible for the free/reduced lunch program. Potential scholars must
be legal U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents in their junior year
with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and be taking Advanced Placement or
International Baccalaureate classes. Scholar applicants should
demonstrate leadership in school and community and have scored
exceptionally well on PSAT/SAT/or ACT. Deadline: February 12, 2010.
"Motorola
Foundation: Innovation Generation Grants"
The Motorola Foundation Innovation Generation Grants will
support targeted STEM education programs for U.S. pre-school through
12th grade students and teachers. Funding priority will be placed on
programs that engage students and teachers in innovative hands-on
activities, teach STEM as well as develop innovative thinking and
creative problem-solving skills, focus on girls and minorities that
are currently underrepresented in the STEM disciplines, and take
place in communities with Motorola employees. Maximum award:
$50,000. Eligibility: U.S. non-profit organizations, schools, or
school districts. Deadline: March 1, 2010.
"Siemens/NSTA: We Can
Change the World Challenge"
In the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, teachers, mentors
or other adults work with and supervise teams of eligible students
in the creation of a contest entry identifying an issue in the
community that needs to "go green" and providing a plan to
positively impact that issue and further "green living" in their
community. Each team's entry should include the following steps:
choosing a topic, writing a problem statement, doing background
research, writing a hypothesis, developing a plan, collecting data,
drawing a conclusion, reporting the results and explaining how to
replicate this project. Maximum award: (students) a $10,000 Savings
Bond, appearance on Planet Green, a Discovery trip, a pocket video
camera, and a Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge green prize
pack; (teachers/mentors) a Discovery trip, free registration to the
next NSTA National (or Area) Conference; hotel accommodations for
three nights at the conference; a pocket video camera; a one-year
membership to NSTA; a 12-month subscription to Discovery Education
Science; and a Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge green prize
pack. Eligibility: Teams may be made up of two, three, or four
students who have been approved and recommended by a teacher/mentor,
each of whom is a legal U.S. resident enrolled in kindergarten
through 5th grade at a public, private, parochial, or home school
located in the United States at the time of entry. Deadline: March
15, 2010.
"Jenzabar
Foundation: Student Leadership Awards"
The Jenzabar Foundation Student Leadership Awards will honor 10
student-led campus groups or activities that have made a significant
impact serving others through service and philanthropic activities
beyond their own higher education institutions. This year, the
awards will include a new Social Entrepreneur of the Year category,
which will recognize one outstanding leader or organization
committed to tackling social issues and promoting social
entrepreneurship.
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