[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — December 16, 2014

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                            December 16, 2014 - In This Issue:
       Mission impossible
  Funding in California
  A triumph in redesign
  An all-encompassing tool for expanded learning time
  Educating young offenders
  Adverse childhood experiences
  Stereotypes, gender, race, and discipline
  Another country
                                            Mission impossible
What burned teacher Ellie Herman out after five years, she relates on the Answer Sheet blog in The Washington Post, was a photocopier dubbed "La Bestia" in her low-income high school in Los Angeles. Herman, decades-long TV writer/producer for shows like "Desperate Housewives," "Chicago Hope," and "Newhart," switched in 2007 to teaching Drama, Creative Writing, English 11, and 9th-grade Composition at a South Los Angeles charter that was 97 percent Latino and where 96 percent lived below the poverty line. "The day I definitively and conclusively gave up, it was after six o'clock and I was making 100 copies of 11 different scenes for my Drama class. I'd been at work since before 7 a.m.; it was dark when I arrived at school and dark now," Herman writes. A self-professed workaholic, she found that in teaching, "no matter how fast or long I worked, I could not get everything done... Everything felt like an emergency." On that particular day, La Bestia jammed mid-job and Herman, "just stood there. All I could think was: 'I can't live this way'." She did not renew her contract. When teachers in other countries aren't in front of students, they plan curricula, grade papers, call parents, conference with students, create assignments, meet with other teachers, innovate, and learn. In the U.S., Herman says, public school teachers get no time to do the other half of their job. More
 Funding in California
In an effort to fund its schools more efficiently and effectively, California has chosen a lead-from-behind approach that gives more state money to districts but pushes communities to hold local schools accountable for how this aid is used, writes Andrew Ujifusa in Education Week. In practice, the process varies widely, as districts throughout California put the Local Control Funding Formula and locally driven accountability plans into full effect. Supporters say the system eliminates the state's ineffective dominance over K-12 spending, and argue it empowers diversity in the state's approximately 1,000 districts and 11,000 public schools. Local officials say it will still take several years for state aid to match what it was before the Great Recession. It's not clear whether districts are using increased funds to explore new approaches to instruction or simply rebuilding programs and staff positions. Some worry districts that continue to shortchange struggling students won't be identified often enough or be required to restructure. In shifting to this system, the state eliminated most categorical programs it used to fund and control. Regardless, updated budget projections from the California Legislative Analyst's Office show that $2 billion in unexpected state tax revenue in fiscal 2015 may be made available to public schools. More
A triumph in redesign
In a profile of Guilmette Elementary School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Jennifer Davis writes in The Hechinger Report that Principal Lori Butterfield didn't want to boost literacy and math scores at the cost of everything else. Lawrence Receiver Jeff Riley gave district principals "charter-like" autonomies, including control over budgets, curricula, schedule, professional development, and how much time (200 or 300 hours) to add to a full school year (contracts approved by the union). Expanded time, and a year to plan for it, proved critical for Guilmette, writes Davis. Instructional priorities included reading comprehension, experiential learning, and teacher collaboration. Guilmette now runs from 7:30 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. To ensure all students are on track, the schedule incorporates a Learning Lab where students receive targeted interventions from instructional coaches and special education teachers. Other students take part in accelerated studies, like small debate teams or higher math-skills groups. Teachers regularly review student data. In 2014, after one year with a redesigned schedule, 46 percent of Guilmette's third- and fourth-graders were proficient in reading, a ten-point increase over 2013. Sixty-three percent of third- and fourth-graders were proficient in math, a five-point bump over 2013 -- and 22 points higher than 2012 -- outperforming the state by three points. More
An all-encompassing tool for expanded learning time
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) has released a web-based tool for school and district leaders, reform support partners, researchers, and community organizations around effectively measuring the process and impact of expanded and re-imagined learning time. The tool offers a range of measures beyond standardized test scores that encompass the entire context surrounding educational improvement -- academic research, data tools, videos, etc. -- on indicators such as teacher leadership; engaged student learning; and student, family, and community engagement. The project was undertaken with the goal of making research accessible to those around the country working to create equitable education systems, according to Michelle Renée of AISR. "After we created our initial framework of 24 indicators, our partners had more questions: Does research support these measures? Have any data already been collected on more challenging measures such as social and emotional growth?" The site's resources aim to provide a deeper understanding of how more and better learning time can influence students' lives, school policy, and the systems surrounding schools. The project is part of the Ford Foundation's more and better learning time initiative, which seeks to reinvent urban public schools by adding and improving learning time to ensure that students are prepared for college, career, and civic participation. More
Educating young offenders
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. have released guidelines for improving education for youth in the nation's juvenile detention centers, reports Moriah Balingit for The Washington Post. An estimated 60,000 young people are in custody nationally on any given day, many already behind in school; poor schooling in custody puts them further behind. A Washington Post investigation last month detailed how incarcerated juveniles on Native American reservations languish in facilities without instruction. The new guidance clarifies education rights of juvenile offenders, indicating they have many of the same rights to special education as their peers. The guidelines do not create new policy, nor expand federal authority to enforce provisions, but advocates see their issuance as a sign that federal authorities are taking the education of incarcerated youth seriously. The guidelines also clarify that some incarcerated juveniles are eligible for Pell grants, which have helped millions of poor students attend college, and could enable young offenders to take college classes in custody. Studies have shown that inmates who receive a college education are less likely to re-offend. To incarcerate a juvenile offender costs an average of $88,000 per year; good schooling could reduce the likelihood that young people will be arrested again. More
     Adverse childhood experiences
A new study in Health Affairs uses the 2011-12 National Survey of Children's Health to assess the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among U.S. children, including exposure to violence, extreme economic hardship, family discord, and mental health and substance abuse problems. The authors find nearly one-half of U.S. children have encountered at least one of nine types of adverse experiences. Over 22 percent (one in five) had two or more such experiences; these children were more than twice as likely to have a chronic condition or special health care needs, and were over 2.5 times more likely to repeat a grade in school. The authors also found that children who learn resiliency skills -- such as the capacity to usually stay calm and in control when faced with a challenge -- had mitigated negative effects and better engagement in school. Children receiving care in a family-centered medical home were more likely to demonstrate key aspects of resilience even when exposed to higher numbers of adverse childhood experiences. The authors recommend a coordinated effort to fill knowledge gaps and translate existing knowledge about adverse childhood experiences and resilience into national, state, and local policies, with a focus on addressing childhood trauma in health systems as they evolve during ongoing reform. More
Stereotypes, gender, race, and discipline
For all the attention on the problems black boys face with school discipline and criminal justice, focus is growing around these issues as they pertain to black girls, writes Tanzina Vega in The New York Times. Data from the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education show that from 2011 to 2012, black girls in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide were suspended at a rate of 12 percent, more than girls of any other race or ethnicity, and compared with only two percent for white girls. An analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health also indicates that black girls with the darkest skin tones were three times more likely to be suspended than black girls with the lightest skin. Different gender expectations exist for black girls compared with white girls and within a cross-sections of black girls: "When a darker-skinned African-American female acts up, there's a certain concern about her boyish aggressiveness, that she doesn't know her place as a female, as a woman," says Lance Hannon of Villanova University, who conducted the analysis. Compared with black boys, who are disciplined at higher rates than boys of other races and ethnicities, researchers find black girls are penalized more subjectively, such as for having a bad attitude or being defiant. More
Another country
Since its birth, the U.S. has defined itself as egalitarian, fundamentally distinct from the class-ridden societies of Europe, writes Matt Phillips in Quartz. This has sometimes been true: On the eve of the American Revolution, income distribution for American colonists was much better than in England, slavery aside (if you can put it aside). Yet the U.S. has become increasingly unequal since the Civil War. For an interval in the 20th century, parity existed; since the 1980s, inequality has climbed sharply, and social mobility has plummeted. A poor Moroccan kid in France is now much more likely to join the middle class than a child born to a poor family in Mississippi. Many agree that any change must be driven by the American education system, but this system itself is an offshoot of an increasingly class-driven society, Phillips writes. Since the 1950s, the proportion of Americans who are middle-income has shrunk, with effects spilling over to schools. Some effects stem from schools themselves: Poorer kids receive lower-quality, poorly financed instruction. Other issues stem from a low-income monoculture in schools segregated by class. Perniciously, the effects of socioeconomic and racial segregation linger in college: Lower-income kids graduate at far lower rates, further indication of the socioeconomic gulf that keeps Americans from different class backgrounds living in what are effectively different countries. More
          BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
 
 
Getting there
Another bill proposing to significantly expand state-funded preschool has been introduced in California. More
 
So fleeting
Two-thirds of the superintendents of California's 30 largest districts have held their posts for three or fewer years, ten have been in their posts for less than a year, and only three have been on the job for more than five years. More
 
Hoboy
Los Angeles needs to spend at least $11 million more to deal with problems caused by the new and faulty student records system. More
 
Diverse offerings
The San Francisco school board voted unanimously to require all of the city's 19 public high schools to offer ethnic studies courses. More
 
Free bird
Los Angeles Unified has joined with five other major districts to announce plans to ban the use of chickens treated with antibiotics in school meals. More
 
Arts infusion
Thirty-three middle schools that either lack or are grossly deficient in arts instruction will get a share of a $2.5 million allocation approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District board. More
          BRIEFLY NOTED 
 
Right on
Declaring early childhood education "one of the best investments we can make," President Barack Obama has announced $1 billion in public-private spending on programs for young learners. More
 
So long, whole grain
President Obama and first Lady Michelle Obama both would see key education initiatives eliminated if the $1.01 trillion spending bill unveiled by Congressional leaders this week passes without changes. More
 
Facing the future
The seven largest school districts in the U.S. are joining more than 50 others to start offering introductory computer science to all their students. More
 
Wired
The Federal Communications Commission has voted to increase funding that supporters say will expand the Internet capacity for an additional 40 million students in 100,000 schools nationwide. More
 
Merit pay gets a boost
The New Mexico Public Education Department is giving Santa Fe Public Schools $3.8 million to increase teacher salaries as part of a pay-for-performance pilot program for the 2014-15 school year. More
 
Missing out
Louisiana students aren't getting tens of millions of dollars that could help them pay for college because more than half of the state's high school seniors are not completing the application required for federal student aid. More
          
GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

 
 
AASL: Innovative Reading Grant
The American Association of School Librarians Innovative Reading Grant supports the planning and implementation of programs for children that motivate and encourage reading, especially with struggling readers. Selection criteria include the potential to measure and evaluate a literacy project that promotes the importance of reading and facilitates the learners' literacy development by supporting current reading research, practice, and policy. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: reading programs specifically designed for children (grades K-9) in the school library setting. The program must encourage innovative ways to motivate and involve children in reading. Applicant must be a member of AASL. Deadline: February 1, 2015. More
 
AASL: Collaborative School Library Award
The American Association of School Librarians Collaborative School Library Award recognizes and encourage collaboration and partnerships between school librarians and teachers in meeting goals outlined in Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs through joint planning of a program, unit, or event in support of the curriculum and using school library resources. Maximum award: $2,500 to the recipient's school library. Eligibility: school librarians that are personal members of the AASL. Deadline: February 1, 2015. More
 
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 the 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, June 27-July 3, 2015. Eligibility: applicants' schools must be public high schools (including charter and magnet schools) where at least 25 percent of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch. 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 must demonstrate leadership in school and community and have scored exceptionally well on the PSAT/SAT/or ACT. Deadline: February 17, 2015. More 
 
Quote of the Week:
 
"How many of us know that the unemployment rate among adult Americans with disabilities who can work and want to work is over 60 percent? Almost two out of every three Americans with a disability who want to work and who can work cannot find a job. That is a blot on our national character."
-- Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, longtime advocate of people and students with disabilities, in his Senate farewell speech. More


 

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