[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — September 30, 2014

[Gifted and Talented in Ohio Discussion List]

                                  ?                September 30, 2014 - In This Issue:
       Latino strides in education
  Teaching ELLs well
  AYP reconsidered
  Extreme conclusions about education 'efficiency'
  Setting up principals to succeed
  Teachers at the helm
  There for the long haul in Mississippi
  The online gap
  BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
  BRIEFLY NOTED
  GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
                                            Latino strides in education
A new report from Child Trends indicates Hispanic children are gaining ground in education, but challenges remain in terms of high rates of poverty, troubling health indicators, and high rates of teen childbearing among the country's 17.5 million Hispanic youth. The overall number of high school dropouts has declined in recent years, but among Latinos the drop is substantial -- from 29 percent in 1999 to 13 percent in 2012.?The percentage of Latino 8th graders achieving at or above "proficient" in math has increased, from 8 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2014. Latinos are now the largest racial/ethnic minority group on college campuses, though progress has not been as steady in regard to college completion. Latino preschoolers lag behind white and black children in knowing their ABCs and numbers, and being able to write their names or read, but have higher levels of social-emotional skills such as self-control and cooperation. Latino children are less likely than white and black to participate in center-based early care and education, but their participation has increased by a third since 2007. Fifty-two percent of Latino children were in early care programs in 2012, compared to 63 percent of white children and 68 percent of black children. The report offers a comprehensive portrait of Hispanic children in terms of demographics, economics, family, education, health, and media use. More
 Teaching ELLs well
A new report from the Education Trust-West identifies districts across California that are breaking away from educating ELLs with insufficient academic supports, ill-prepared teachers, and less rigorous coursework. The report includes an analysis of data from 276 unified school districts based on their performance on four indicators, including the California Standards Test, English Language Arts proficiency rates, California English Language Development Test advancement rates, long-term English learner rates, and reclassification rates. It identifies districts rising to the top on each metric, as well as 11 districts that performed well on 3 of 4 indicators. The report also includes detailed information on who California's English learners are and how state and national policies have shaped programs, services, and funding for them; case studies of promising practices and strategies contributing to positive results for English learners in top-performing districts; a summary spreadsheet showing how all 276 districts performed on the four indicators; and a review of Local Control and Accountability Plans regarding programs and services that top districts plan to provide to English learners. With reforms like the Local Control Funding Formula and the Common Core dramatically shifting California's education landscape, the report concludes with several policy recommendations to ensure action is taken to capitalize on these reforms to better serve English learners. More
AYP reconsidered
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) finds a possible upside to NCLB's much-maligned accountability system, reports Lauren Camera for Education Week. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) required states to increase the number of students rated proficient on state tests each year, with the goal of reaching 100 percent proficiency by 2014. The law established tiered consequences for schools that failed to meet the yearly proficiency goals, increasing in severity each subsequent year that a school missed its target. Researchers from the NBER analyzed student-level data from North Carolina and found the early, more lenient sanctions for schools that initially failed to meet AYP -- such as simply being labeled failing or allowing students to transfer out of the school -- positively impacted performance. Intermediate interventions for schools that failed to meet AYP for a couple of years in a row, such as mandatory tutoring for low-income students, had no demonstrable effect. Leadership and management changes associated with school restructuring -- one of the most stringent sanctions for schools that chronically failed to meet AYP -- yielded the most positive impact. The study also showed that low-performing students gained most from the sanctions, though there was no evidence that low-performing students gained anything from another one of the most severe sanctions, which deprived high-performing students of resources. More
Extreme conclusions about education 'efficiency'
A new review by the National Education Policy Center of a recent report from GEMS Education Solutions that scores and ranks national education systems on efficiency finds the report generates extreme conclusions and unrealistic policy proposals. The report ranks 30 countries on their educational system "efficiency" through a model that compares national test scores, national teacher-wage rates, and pupil-teacher ratios. Test scores used are from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Based on its model, the report identifies wage levels and class sizes it deems optimally efficient for each country, which are sometimes surprisingly drastic. Switzerland, for example, would have to cut wages nearly in half to achieve its "optimal" teacher salary, while Indonesia would have to triple teacher wages. For four countries, the optimal class size is estimated at fewer than two students per teacher. Such anomalies expose weaknesses in each of the study's three key elements, the reviewer writes, since "the output measure is questionable, the input measures are unclear, and the econometric method by which they are correlated does not have a straightforward economic interpretation." Consequently, the report does nothing more than "satisfy an apparent keenness for reports that rank countries -- and especially for reports that castigate low-rank countries." It fails to advance an understanding of how to make education more efficient. More
Setting up principals to succeed
A new report from New Leaders and the Bush Institute offers a framework of conditions that effective school systems have in place to enable principals to succeed, dividing conditions into different "strands." Strand 1 is alignment among goals, strategies, structures, and resources, so that the work of every staff member in the district supports system-wide goals focused on increasing student achievement. Strand 2 is a culture of collective responsibility, balanced autonomy, and continuous learning and improvement. Strand 3 is effective management and support for principals, with ongoing opportunities for development and feedback, as well as roles and responsibilities that are feasible. And Strand 4 is systems and policies to effectively manage talent at the school level. The Conditions for Effective Leadership Project has also created the Great Principals at Scale Toolkit, a set of tools aimed at helping school system leaders assess and improve leadership conditions to scale. To enable a great principal in every school, systems must recognize the pivotal role of school leaders and implement these conditions. This change will require a deep cultural shift in many districts to create a climate of shared ownership, trust, and mutual accountability in which central office and school-level leaders see one another as partners in meeting students' needs. More
     Teachers at the helm
Teachers across the nation are looking to restructure school governance models and run them on their own, reports Allie Bidwell for U.S. News & World Report. The movement, Bidwell writes, stems in part from a frustration with the structure of America's public school system and top-down reforms. About 60 "teacher-powered" schools operate nationwide in cities such as Denver, San Francisco, Boston, and Cincinnati. Some operate as charters, while others are formed when they receive state waivers. Some are contract schools, similar to charters in autonomy, with seats for students who would normally attend other schools in the district, but retaining district affiliation. All restructured schools give more flexibility to teachers leading them in terms of personnel decisions, salaries, curriculum development, and schedules. In some schools, a separate personnel committee handles teacher evaluation, while committees for technology, special education, and facilities, for example, focus on other needs throughout the school. The model is a way to retain effective teachers, since many leave within five years. A question remains, however, whether these novel examples can be developed on a national scale. Many are smaller schools, and required a group of teachers willing to assume the responsibility and invest large amounts of time to make the structure successful. More
There for the long haul in Mississippi
A small but growing group of Teach For America (TFA) alumni in Mississippi have stayed on in the state to create broader, systemic change, writes Jackie Mader in The Hechinger Report. Of the 2,000 teachers cycling through Mississippi since TFA began sending teachers in 1993, 160 have put down roots. The group has an outsized influence in a state of 3 million, Mader says, and its implications extend beyond the state's classrooms. The policies that TFA alumni push often shake the political and civic fabric of towns that haven't seen change for years. When a charter school is proposed for a community that's had the same school serving the same neighborhoods for generations, long-standing alliances are tested. But high poverty rates and entrenched segregation have kept academic achievement at rock bottom. In 2013, nearly 90 percent of the state's African-American fourth grade students scored below proficient on a national reading assessment, as did 67 percent of white students. Still, some long-time Mississippians and education advocates fear proposed reforms will perpetuate a revolving door of teachers and not necessarily improve schools. TFA is confronting criticism with a focused strategy of education and recruitment of native Mississippians, who are encouraged after assignments have ended to apply to jobs and programs at universities and nonprofits with deep roots in Mississippi communities. More
The online gap
A new study shows lower-income students lag their affluent peers in ability to find, evaluate, integrate, and communicate information found online, reports Motoko Rich for The New York Times. The study also demonstrates a general lack of online literacy among all students, indicating schools are not yet teaching skills needed to navigate digital information; student proficiency with social media is not the same thing. The study focuses on seventh-grade students from two schools in Connecticut and used state reading test scores and assessments that required students to perform tasks like researching the question "are energy drinks heart healthy?" using multiple web resources. Students were evaluated on whether they could use keywords effectively in search engines, determine the credibility of a website, discern bias of an internet author, and communicate findings through email. Despite higher rates of academic internet use among the more affluent students in the study, only a quarter performed well on tasks where required to discern reliability of facts on a particular web page. Only 16 percent of lower-income students performed well on those tasks. Some schools are working to develop student research abilities online, but with districts scrambling to implement the Common Core, many educators are more focused on traditional texts and reading-comprehension skills. More
          BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
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More muddying
Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in late June with the goal of expediting the process of dismissing teachers for egregious misconduct, but some experts say AB 215 will only further muddy an already difficult and costly process. More
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On the rise
According to San Diego County's Office of Education, over 20,000 school-aged children in the county identified their family as homeless during 2012-2013, up from 17,457 the previous school year and 15,826 in 2010-2011. More
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Tuck hearts Vergara
The challenger in the unexpectedly tight race for California's elected schools chief has said that if he wins in November, he will immediately withdraw the state superintendent from an appeal of a landmark legal decision that struck down teacher-tenure laws and other job?protections. More
          BRIEFLY NOTED?
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A decline
The number of due-process hearings for special education students nationwide declined from over 7,000 during 2004-2005 to 2,262 by 2011-2012, according to a review released from?the Government Accountability Office. More
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Not a bad idea
States such as Delaware, Rhode Island, and Hawaii are using Race to the Top funds to hire data coaches who help educators learn how to use student data effectively.?More
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Fightin' words
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan mostly dismissed Gov. Bobby Jindal's federal Common Core?lawsuit against the Obama administration as petty politics during an interview with Yahoo! Screen.?More
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Paltry
Just 15 states require students to attend kindergarten.?More
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Congratulations due
In a first, jurors decided to split the $1 million Broad Prize between Gwinnett County Public Schools in metro Atlanta and Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida.?More
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/districts-orlando-atlanta-split-school-prize-25677209
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Stem the tide
The Louisiana Education Department and three local school systems have been awarded $1.7 million by the federal government to prevent violence and address it when it occurs.?More
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New regime
Next year, all Minnesotan 11th graders will be required to take the ACT in the spring of their junior year. More
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Time on his hands, clearly
An unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate is among plaintiffs suing Missouri officials to stop the state from making payments to a multistate consortium that has been developing tests tied to the Common Core.?More
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Approaching crisis
The number of homeless students in the United States reached a record high during the 2012-13 school year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Education.?More
          
GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

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Lowe's: Toolbox for Education
Lowe's Toolbox for Education grants fund school- improvement projects initiated by parents in recognition of the importance of parent involvement in education. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: K-12 schools (including charter, parochial, private, etc.) or parent groups (associated with a non-profit K-12 school). Deadline: October 15, 2014. More
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AIA/NAR: Team America Rocketry Challenge
The Team America Rocketry Challenge is the world's largest rocket contest, sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). Teams of three to ten students design, build, and fly a model rocket that reaches a specific altitude and duration determined by a set of rules developed each year. The contest is designed to encourage students to study math and science and pursue careers in aerospace. The top 100 teams go to Washington, D.C. for the national finals in May. Maximum award: $60,000 in cash and scholarships split between the top 10 finishers. NASA invites top teams to participate in its Student Launch Initiative, an advanced rocketry program. Eligibility: The application for a team must come from a single school or a single U.S. incorporated non-profit youth or educational organization (excluding the National Association of Rocketry, Tripoli Rocketry Association, or any other rocket club or organization). Team members must be students who are currently enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in a U.S. school or homeschool. Teams may have members from other schools or other organizations and may obtain financing from any source, not limited to their sponsoring organization. Teams must be supervised by an adult approved by the principal of the sponsoring school, or by an officially-appointed adult leader of their sponsoring organization. Minimum team size is three students and maximum is ten students. Each student member must make a significant contribution to the designing, building, and/or launching of the team's entry. Deadline: December 12, 2015.?More
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Toshiba/NSTA: ExploraVision Awards
All inventions and innovations result from creative thinking and problem solving. The Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards Program encourages kids to create and explore a vision of future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. Maximum award: $10,000 bond for each student. Eligibility: Students K-12. Deadline: January 30, 2015.?More
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USGA/Alliance: Grants for the Good of the Game
The National Alliance for Accessible Golf (Alliance) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) believe that golf should be open to everyone and supports a wide variety of programs that create opportunities for individuals with disabilities to participate in the sport. They especially encourage inclusive programming- opportunities that allow participants with disabilities and participants without disabilities to learn and play the game side by side. Maximum award: $20,000. Eligibility: tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations as defined under Section 501(c)3 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code or government entities such as public schools or municipalities. Deadline: rolling.?More
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Quote of the Week:
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"[Charters] still haven't done what no state has really done adequately, which is to set up a review system to keep the original bargain of charter schools, which was if they weren't outperforming the public model, they weren't supposed to get their charter renewed." - former President Bill Clinton at a recent gathering of about 100 international philanthropists and businesspeople. More


 

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