[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — July 16, 2013

[Art Snyder]

                July 16, 2013 - In This Issue:
       Small suit, broad implications
  Philadelphia: It Could Happen to You
  Forecasting state experiences with the Common Core
  Engaged behaviorally -- but emotionally and cognitively?
  What we know and don't know about teaching ELLs
  What New Orleans has really taught us
  Tougher standards for teacher prep
  BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
  BRIEFLY NOTED
  GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
                                            
Small suit, broad implications

A California lawsuit against teachers unions could have national import, according to Sarah Butrymowicz in The Hechinger Report. Ten non-union teachers and the Christian Educators Association are suing their local, state, and national unions, alleging the organizations are forcing them to financially support political activities with which they disagree, in violation of their First Amendment rights. The plaintiff's lawyers are attempting to fast-track the case by eliminating the discovery phase, then appealing immediately to the U.S. Supreme Court. A decision in their favor could turn every state in the country into a right-to-work state. Unions say they are complying with existing law and with the California Constitution. California Teachers Association (CTA) officials see the suit as part of a broader mission to weaken public-sector unions. Since 2010, three states -- Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin -- have passed and maintained laws restricting labor rights. In 24 states, including California, teachers and other public workers are automatically enrolled in unions. Individuals are allowed to opt out, but few do. Those that do are still required to contribute agency fees that go toward the union's collective bargaining efforts because they are covered by the contract the union negotiates. The courts have held for decades that unions can't charge these non-members for political activity.?More


 
Philadelphia: It Could Happen to You

Philadelphia, one of the nation's largest districts, is also one of its most bankrupt, writes Suzi Parker in Take Part. It currently faces a $304 million deficit, with 20 percent its total staff laid off -- about 3,800 employees, including assistant principals, teachers, and secretaries. Though the district has been troubled for 10 years, its financial straits could occur in any U.S. district as pressure from charter schools mixed with funding cuts for traditional schools create a "perfect storm" of financial distress, writes Parker. Jerusha Conner of Villanova University, who has tracked Philadelphia's fate, says Pennsylvania bears a lot of blame for the district's problems. The state ranks 8th-lowest in per-pupil spending nationally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Conner says were it not for "deliberate underinvestment and disinvestment in Philadelphia schools by the state, and the misguided investment in an oversized and exceptionally costly charter school sector... the district could easily be enjoying a multibillion-dollar surplus." Some also blame Gov. Tom Corbett, whom they feel should have allocated more money for Philadelphia in his budget. Currently, a state rescue package of $141 million awaits his signature. Still others point to Philadelphia's former superintendent?Paul Vallas, who also presided over Chicago's schools, where he enacted similar reforms and ushered in widespread privatization.?More



Forecasting state experiences with the Common Core

A new report from the Education Trust uses data from the NAEP to compare student outcomes in particular states over the past decade to the nation as a whole. It finds that New Jersey, Maryland, and Massachusetts fostered high performance and strong improvement for all groups of learners in recent years. New Jersey improved faster than the nation as a whole in most subjects and grades, and had stronger outcomes for African-American students. Maryland performed better and improved faster for students overall in all subjects and grades on the NAEP, as well having a high performance from low-income and African-American students. In Massachusetts, overall student performance and improvement were significantly higher than national averages on the NAEP, with the strongest outcomes nationally for low-income students. For these states, "the Common Core will be a stretch, but they have successfully stretched themselves before," the report says. But other states will begin at a disadvantage. West Virginia performed significantly worse and improved significantly less than the nation for students overall. Oregon also showed below-average performance and improvement for students overall, low-income students, and Latino students. Other states had a mixed picture, with trends good relative to other states but with significant student groups lagging. Both Ohio and Wisconsin have relatively strong track records overall, but have weaker showings for one or more underserved groups.?More



Engaged behaviorally -- but emotionally and cognitively?

A new study in the journal Learning and Instruction examines how subtle facets of student engagement are critical for long-term academic success, reports Sarah Sparks in Education Week. Researchers tracked 1,000 mostly minority students from 23 public middle schools in a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the beginning of 7th grade and the end of 8th grade, researchers interviewed students about emotional support from administrators, teachers, and other students; ability to choose projects and teammates for class assignments; and whether they considered class material relevant to their lives. Separately, researchers assessed students on behavioral engagement, including how often the student completed homework on time, followed school rules, and responded in class discussions; emotional engagement, including whether the student felt interested in class subjects and accepted in the school culture; and cognitive engagement, including how well the student managed and monitored his or her own learning. Researchers found that what improves student behavior only sometimes engages them emotionally and cognitively. Students who said teachers set clear expectations and responded consistently were more likely to participate in class and feel connected. Teacher emotional support didn't directly affect student cognitive engagement -- rather, students were more likely to take ownership of learning when studies were personally interesting. Similarly, control over schoolwork did not improve student motivation or enhance feelings of competency unless choices were aligned with personal interests.?More



What we know and don't know about teaching ELLs

Surprisingly little research exists on common practices and recommendations for teaching the more than five million English Language Learners (ELLs) in our nation's schools, writes Claude Goldenberg in American Educator. This inadequacy applies to all areas, including English language development, math, and history. Rather than list instructional practices specifically validated by research, Goldberg instead identifies four principles: Generally effective practices are also effective with ELLs; ELLs require additional instructional supports; home language can promote academic development; and ELLs need ample opportunities to develop proficiency in English. In general, quality of instruction and curriculum, as well as school supports that bolster them, are more determinant of ELL achievement than language of instruction, Goldenberg writes. Home language instruction clearly benefits home language skills. Little is known about effects of bilingual education in curricula beyond English Language Arts, and to a small extent, math, and many gaps remain. The Common Core State Standards will likely make those gaps glaring. In the end, progress on this topic will require creating these conditions in schools, continued research, and thoughtful practice to see what works in classrooms. Practitioners have an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to our knowledge base for educating ELLs.?More


     
What New Orleans has really taught us

In New Orleans, a single-minded focus on school improvement through certain reform models has given hope to many low-income families, but it has also destabilized the broader community in unanticipated ways, writes Sarah Carr in an opinion piece in The New York Times. Many veteran educators, who formed the core of the city's black middle class, were dismissed after Katrina; officials fired 7,500 school employees, and an unknown number were ultimately rehired by reconstituted traditional and charter schools. Test scores might have risen, but fewer educators are considered part of the community and understand the social and cultural context in which their students live. The most challenging students -- those with severe special needs, a history of school expulsions, or a criminal record -- can also suffer disproportionately from a narrow focus on school improvement and test-score gains. Schools have the least incentive to enroll these students, yet they are the ones who must be reached to reduce the city's high rates of gun violence and incarceration. The New Orleans experiment has lifted the average student from a state of academic crisis to one of academic mediocrity, Carr writes -- not insignificant for a city where 42 percent of children live in poverty. Yet as another summer begins, Carr says we should also reflect on a different takeaway from the New Orleans experience: We can ask more of our public schools without asking them to save our cities all on their own.?More



Tougher standards for teacher prep

A national panel has finalized a set of standards that for the first time establishes minimum admissions criteria for teacher-preparation programs and requires "value-added" measures for post-graduate evaluation, reports Stephen Sawchuck in Education Week. Programs seeking approval from the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) say the standards are significantly more demanding than those from earlier accreditors. The draft standards include performance measures and requirements for surveying graduates and employers on program quality, concepts that many higher-education representatives opposed during a 2012 attempt by the U.S. Department of Education to revise federal accountability rules for teacher preparation. The standards fall into five broad categories: equipping candidates with content knowledge and appropriate pedagogical tools; working in partnership with districts to provide strong student-teaching practice and feedback; recruiting a diverse and academically strong group of candidates; demonstrating that graduates are successful in boosting student academic achievement; and maintaining quality-assurance. Preparation programs would be assessed on the evidence they produced to meet each standard. The commission also established eight criteria that programs must report annually, such as graduation rates and teaching effectiveness. Because accreditation typically occurs only once every seven years, the annual report will help gauge programs' shorter-term changes.?More


BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
At the helm
Janet Napolitano, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona, has been named the next president of the University of California system, an unusual choice that brings a national-level politician to a position usually held by an academic.?More
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A welcome return
After five years of brutal cuts in arts education, Los Angeles Unified will bring more music, dance, theater, and visual arts into core academic classes under a three-year, $750,000 initiative from the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education.?More
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The price tag
Buying and installing a new system of K-12 student assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards will likely cost California $67 million.?More

BRIEFLY NOTED?
Stonewalling
The Boston School Department has refused to release overall ratings of teacher performance at individual schools.?More
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Getting it
Vermont has allocated $400,000, matched by the $400,000 that foundations raised privately, to help pay for about 400 pre-kindergarten-aged children in 12 communities to attend child-care programs.?More
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Take heed
A technical review panel set up by the U.S. Department of Education is urging both Common Core assessment consortia to pay better attention to ensuring tests are accessible to students with disabilities and to those whose native language is not English.?More
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Still state-run
Newark public schools have been controlled by the state for nearly 20 years, and the monitoring will continue until Trenton deems the large urban district ready for autonomy, a panel of New Jersey appellate court judges has ruled.?More
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The cost of potential violence
As more schools consider arming their employees, some districts are encountering a daunting economic hurdle: insurance carriers threatening to raise their premiums or revoke coverage entirely.?More
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OK drops out
Oklahoma State Superintendent Janet Barresi has announced that she is withdrawing Oklahoma from a consortium of 20 or so other states around the new Common Core curriculum standards.?More
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How refreshing
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has said that future expansion of a new statewide voucher program should be based on whether voucher students perform as well as or better than they did in public school.?More
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Good thing they're paid so well
Roughly half the amount that the nation's public school teachers are spending on educational products is being covered with their own money, a new nationwide survey shows.?More

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

NSTA: Awards for Excellence in Inquiry-based Science Teaching
The Delta Education/Frey-Neo/CPO Science Awards for Excellence in Inquiry-based Science Teaching will recognize and honor three (3) full-time PreK-12 teachers of science who successfully use inquiry-based science to enhance teaching and learning in their classroom. Maximum award: $1,500 towards expenses to attend the NSTA National Conference, and $1,500 for the awardee. Eligibility: PreK-12 teachers of science. Deadline: November 30, 2013.
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VSP: Sight for Students
Sight for Students is a VSP charity that provides free vision exams and glasses to low-income, uninsured children. The program operates nationally through a network of community partners who identify children in need and VSP network doctors who provide the eyecare services. Parents and guardians interested in seeking assistance through the Sight for Students program must work through VSP's established network of community partners. VSP does not issue gift certificates directly to the public. Eligibility: There are five basic qualifications a child must meet in order to receive a Sight for Students gift certificate: family income is no more than 200% of federal poverty level (see website for chart); child is not enrolled in Medicaid or other vision insurance; child is 18 years old or younger and has not graduated from high school; child or parent is a U.S. citizen or legal immigrant with a social security number; and child has not used the Sight for Students program during the past 12 months. Deadline: N/A.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I hope [the Race to the Top is] part of a bigger story, that the department can help be a force for reform... That it advanced the idea that smart government can do politically smart things. The waivers are a 50-state play, and are also transformative. Government is designed for one-size-fits-all, but that's not right. It's about how can we, in a way that's fair, enable and empower? How can we be not one-size-fits-all?" - Joanne Weiss, exiting chief of staff for Arne Duncan, in an interview with Education Week.


 

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