[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — April 8, 2014

[Art Snyder]

                                                              Waiting for Someone to Speak Out by guest blogger Mark Elinson
  
    Having taught for 36 years, I cannot remember a time in the  history of education in Los Angeles when there was essentially no  dialogue about education policy. Sure there are blogs, and postings that  criticize the direction in which LAUSD policy is going. But there is  not a single elected or appointed official who will speak out against  the shameful behavior of the Superintendent and the Board.?
   Read More and Comment
  
   
 
                            ?                                      April 8, 2014- In This Issue:
                Mediocre problem-solving by U.S. teens
      Aiming too low in kindergarten
      Don't opt out yet
      How it all fell apart in Indiana
      Diane, Bill, and Eva
      Child wellness and race
      Child nutrition and tremendous waste
      Tackling obesity through data
      BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
      BRIEFLY NOTED
      GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
                                                                                                                  Mediocre problem-solving by U.S. teens
  
     American 15-year-olds  are barely above the average of 44 countries and economies in  problem-solving skills, and far behind teens in Asia, reports Joy  Resmovits for The Huffington Post. U.S. teens on average earned a score  of 508 on the Programme for International Student Assessment Creative  Problem Solving test, between top-ranked Singapore's 562 and  bottom-ranked Colombia's 399. The PISA results put U.S. students in the  middle of the pack, hardly reflecting the American workforce's  reputation for creativity. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation  and Development administered the computer-based problem-solving test for  the first time in 2012 in response to a job market that increasingly  demands what the group called "non-routine analytic" and "non-routine  personal tasks." American students fared particularly well on  "interactive" questions that "require students to uncover useful  information by exploring the problem situation and gathering feedback on  the effect of their actions," according to test results. This indicates  that U.S. students can "tolerate doubt and uncertainty, and dare to use  intuitions to initiate a solution." The United States performed higher  than 28 countries, with results close to Austria, the Czech Republic,  Estonia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Singapore,  Korea, and Japan came out on top, followed by China, Finland, Canada,  and Australia. Colombia and Bulgaria were lowest.?More
  
  
           Aiming too low in kindergarten
  
   A  spate of new research suggests that Americans may be underestimating  students, especially the youngest, in terms of ability to think about  numbers, writes Annie Murphy Paul in The New York Times. A study  published this month in the American Educational Research Journal finds  that kindergarten students learn more when exposed to challenging  content such as advanced number concepts, and even addition and  subtraction; this is true regardless of economic background or initial  skill level. Elementary school students who were taught more  sophisticated math as kindergarteners made bigger gains in mathematics  later on. Another study published last year found the "vast majority" of  kindergarteners have already mastered counting numbers and recognizing  shapes before setting foot in the classroom, yet kindergarten teachers  report spending much of their math teaching time on these skills.  Increasing the introduction of advanced math concepts in kindergarten  may be a simpler and more cost-effective way to boost learning. And time  for social interaction and play could easily be preserved by replacing  instruction on basic math concepts with more sophisticated ones, which  might free up time for the blocks corner and the dress-up closet, Paul  suggests.?More
  
      Don't opt out yet
   In  an article in The Hechinger Report that looks at the pros and cons of  standardized testing, Sarah Garland spoke with parents of kids who are  opting out, and with Sandi Jacobs of the National Council on Teacher  Quality, who advocates having kids participate in the testing process.  Three complaints surface most often with opting-out parents. First, that  tests don't actually measure the skills they want students to learn,  such as critical thinking, creativity, and complex problem-solving.  Second, standardized tests aren't reliable measures of how much students  know and how well teachers can teach. Third, schools spend too much  time prepping for the exams, especially at struggling schools where  students could benefit from more enrichment. Yet Sandi Jacobs counters  that the tests are about to get a lot better, now that Common  Core-aligned exams are rolling out next year in many states. The new  tests will have problems that ask students to do more than pick an  answer from a list of four choices. Second, while tests may not reveal  everything about how much a student has learned, they're an important  element of a more holistic picture of student performance. Finally, the  tests show how unequal the school system is, and identify which schools  need more help and resources because their students are falling behind. More
  
        How it all fell apart in Indiana
  
     Four years ago, "Common  Core standards" did not signal federal overreach or limits on teacher  autonomy, writes Eric Weddle for the Indianapolis Star. Back in 2010,  then-Gov. Mitch Daniels and Tony Bennett, superintendent of public  instruction, persuaded lawmakers, educators, and others that Indiana  should adopt the standards to improve student performance, take  advantage of federal incentives, and raise the competitiveness of  Indiana's workforce. Yet when Daniels left office and Bennett fell from  power, grass-roots opponents -- many fueled by the president's  endorsement of the Common Core -- turned key lawmakers from supporters  to foes. Gov. Mike Pence recently signed a bill that voided adoption of  the Common Core and required new K-12 math and English standards by July  1. Contributing factors were quick adoption of the standards without  consensus-building to guarantee long-term support; Bennett's 2012  re-election loss to Democrat Glenda Ritz, who favored a review of the  Common Core but doesn't agree with its conservative opponents;  opposition by a dedicated network of tea party conservatives; and a  smaller but growing number of liberals who view the Common Core as an  attack on teacher autonomy. Indiana is the first to officially shed the  standards, but some 100 bills have been introduced in state legislatures  nationally to slow or halt implementation, according to the National  Conference of State Legislatures.?More
  
  
      Diane, Bill, and Eva
   In  a post on The New York Review of Books blog, Diane Ravitch chides New  York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for his recent conciliatory tone toward  the charter sector in NYC public schools. "How did a privately managed  school franchise that serves a tiny portion of New York's students  manage to hijack the education reforms of a new mayor with a huge  popular mandate?" Ravitch asks. While de Blasio was pressing for  universal pre-kindergarten, Ravitch explains, he was faced with a  decision about dozens of co-locations and new charters that had been  hurriedly endorsed by Bloomberg's Panel on Education Policy in the last  months of that mayor's term. The three charter proposals de Blasio  rejected were part of Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy network. She had  asked for eight new schools, the mayor allowed five. According to  Ravitch, Moskowitz's "friends on Wall Street and the far-right Walton  Family Foundation" funded television ads attacking de Blasio as  heartless, ruthless, and possibly racist. "Somehow this man who had run a  brilliant campaign to change the city was left speechless by the  charter lobby. His poll numbers took a steep dive. He never called a  press conference to explain his criteria for approving or rejecting  charters, each of which made sense." De Blasio caved, Ravitch suggests,  and the charter lobby triumphed.?More
  
                     Child wellness and race
   The  latest Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation introduces  the Race for Results index, comparing how children are progressing on  key milestones across racial and ethnic groups at the national and state  level. The index uses 12 indicators to measure a child's success from  birth to adulthood, grouped into four areas: early childhood; education  and early work; family supports; and neighborhood context. Overall, no  one racial group has all children meeting all milestones. Using a scale  of one to 1,000, Asian and Pacific Islander children have the highest  index score at 776, followed by whites at 704. Scores for Latino (404),  American-Indian (387), and African-American (345) children are much  lower in nearly every state. The Rust Belt and Mississippi Delta in  particular -- Michigan, Mississippi, and Wisconsin -- have the poorest  opportunities for black children. Children of Southeast Asian descent  (Burmese, Hmong, Laotian, Cambodian, and Vietnamese) also face barriers.  For Latinos, kids from Mexico and Central America face the biggest  hurdles. The report makes four policy recommendations: gather and  analyze racial and ethnic data to inform polices; utilize data and  impact-assessment tools to target investments for children of color;  develop and implement programs and practices focused on improving  outcomes; and integrate strategies that connect vulnerable groups to new  jobs and opportunities in economic and workforce development.?More
  
      Child nutrition and tremendous waste
   On  hundreds of campuses in Los Angeles Unified, which serves 650,000 meals  a day, students toss at least $500,000 worth of food per week, reports  Teresa Watanabe in The Los Angeles Times. That's $18 million a year --  based on a conservative estimate of 10-percent food waste -- which LAUSD  Food Services Director David Binkle says would be better spent on  higher-quality items like strawberries or watermelon. Under federal  school-meal rules finalized in 2012, students must take at least three  items -- including one fruit or vegetable -- even if they don't want  them, or the federal government won't reimburse districts for meals. The  rules, part of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by  First Lady Michelle Obama, impose an array of requirements on calories,  portion sizes, even color of fruits and vegetables served. The rules  also increased the amount of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that  must be offered, imposing higher costs on districts. The School  Nutrition Association, representing 55,000 school-food providers, plans  to lobby for revision of the law, up for reauthorization next year.  Among other things, the group wants to remove the requirement forcing  students to take a fruit or vegetable, suspend rules requiring lower  sodium, and drop a planned shift from half to full whole grain in food  products beginning in July.?More
  
      Tackling obesity through data
     Amid the nation's  childhood obesity epidemic, schools in nearly a quarter of all states  record body-mass index scores, measuring hundreds of thousands of  students, reports Julie Watson for the Associated Press. Some districts  measure anonymously how many are at risk for weight-related health  problems. Others track the weight of individual students and notify  parents whose children are classified at an unhealthy weight. When Chula  Vista, California measured nearly 25,000 students in 2010, it  discovered 40 percent of its children were overweight. Officials used  the data to make a color-coded obesity map of the district and showed  the community. Schools boosted partnerships with doctors, planted  gardens, banned cupcakes at school birthdays, and tracked kids' activity  levels. Yet not all parents react favorably to so-called "fat letters."  Vicki Greenleaf received one from the LAUSD for her daughter, who does  Brazilian martial arts four times a week and is built like a gymnast but  classified as overweight. "I think those letters make kids feel bad  about themselves," Greenleaf said. "For a kid predisposed to an eating  disorder, those are the kind of triggers that can set it off." Eighteen  percent of U.S. children were obese in 2012, and 21 percent of U.S.  adolescents ages 12 to 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control  and Prevention.?More
  
  
                        BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
    Serrano, redux
   Southern California  researchers are finding that foundations, set up to raise money for  public schools, are reintroducing funding inequality that was supposed  to be eliminated back in the 1970s. More
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   Fiscal cliff on the horizon
   The pension fund for  public school teachers in California faces a long-term shortfall of $74  billion, threatening its ability to pay for the retirement of nearly one  million teachers and administrators. More
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   Faring poorly
   California's African  American, Latino, and American Indian children lag far behind white and  Asian children in access to health and education opportunities,  according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. More
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   Excellent move
   In an effort to improve  literacy rates among children from low-income families, public housing  authorities across the state are piloting programs that help parents  prepare their children for school and increase their access to books. More
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   Where it's all going
   The California State  Controller's Office has launched a website tracking how money from Prop  30 is being spent by?charter schools, districts, and community colleges.  More
                        BRIEFLY NOTED?
    Next steps?
   As Indiana's charter  school association completes a shutdown, questions about what sort of  group might replace it remain unanswered. More
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   No dice
   The Philadelphia  Federation of Teachers has asked the state Supreme Court to toss out a  petition from the district and the School Reform Commission that seeks  to eliminate seniority and other work rules, claiming they are bargained  privileges. More
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   Church and state
   A federal appeals court  in New York City has ruled that the Board of Education was abiding by  the law in prohibiting the Bronx Household of Faith from using public  school facilities for worship services during off-hours. More
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   Vouchers halted
   The Mississippi House  voted 63-57 to reject a bill that would have given vouchers worth more  than $6,000 to parents of some Mississippi special education students. More
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   They want no credit
   A lawsuit filed by  Georgia parents argues that a Georgia program offering tax credits to  people who fund private school scholarships is unconstitutional and robs  public schools of much-needed financial support. More
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   Church and state, take two
   The American Civil  Liberties Union of Hawaii wants a court to order the state to stop  providing preschool tuition subsidies for children attending religious  institutions. More
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   Pledge realized
   Two days after Albany  lawmakers allocated $300 million for pre-kindergarten in New York City,  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that pre-k expansion was underway, with  an additional 4,268 full-day seats found in public school buildings. More
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   Slightly more demanding
   Washington state high  school students will need 24 credits to earn a diploma, with an extra  credit of math and science, starting in?2019. More
                        
  GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
 
 
     AAPT: Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment for the Support of Physics Teaching
   The American Association  of Physics Teachers Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment for the  Support of Physics Teaching was established to support special  activities in the area of physics teaching. Activities can include but  are not limited to the development and distribution of innovative  apparatuses for physics teaching; traveling exhibits of apparatuses; and  local workshops. Maximum award: $500. Eligibility: AAPT members.  Deadline: July 1, 2014.
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   PTO Today: Parent Group of the Year
   PTO Today's Parent Group  of the Year Contest is an excellent opportunity to showcase your hard  work while giving your school the chance to win cash and prizes. Maximum  Award: $3,000, plus a free DIRECTV system for the school, installed in  up to eight rooms. Eligibility: all parent groups -- PTO, PTA, HSA, PTC,  etc.; public and private schools; rural, suburban, and urban schools.  Deadline: June 1, 2014.?
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   National Weather Association: Sol Hirsch Teacher Grants
   National Weather  Association Sol Hirsch Teacher Grants improve students' education in  meteorology. Teachers selected will be able to use the funds to take an  accredited course in atmospheric sciences, attend a relevant workshop or  conference, or purchase scientific materials or equipment for the  classroom. Maximum award: $750. Eligibility: K-12 teachers. Deadline:  June 1, 2014.
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   QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
   "As we parents began to  see public spaces--playgrounds, streets, public ball fields, the  distance between school and home--as dangerous, other, smaller daily  decisions fell into place. Ask any of my parenting peers to chronicle a  typical week in their child's life and they will likely mention school,  homework, after-school classes, organized playdates, sports teams  coached by a fellow parent, and very little free, unsupervised time.  Failure to supervise has become, in fact, synonymous with failure to  parent." - Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic Magazine.
  
 
   
 
    
  

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