[Ohiogift] Public Education NewsBlast — June 16, 2015

[Art Snyder]

                                           The LAEP NewsBlast will be on break until September 8. Enjoy your summer!

           ?                June 16, 2015 - In This Issue:
       To play or not to play
  Too demanding too soon?
  Gross disparities
  Vergara: careful what you wish for
  Times a-changin' in Berkeley's policies
  As teachers see it
  Better teacher selection and preparation
  About that 81-percent graduation rate
  BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA
  BRIEFLY NOTED
  GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
                                            To play or not to play
As American classrooms focus on test scores, younger students have gotten more instruction and less time in sandboxes, writes Motoko Rich for The New York Times. Nationally, schools have curtailed arts and recess in favor of longer blocks for reading and math. A study by the University of Virginia comparing federal surveys of kindergarten teachers in 1998 and 2010 found the number of teachers whose students had daily art and music dropped drastically. Teaching of spelling, writing complete sentences, and basic math equations jumped. These changes affect all demographics, but schools with more low-income students and/or greater concentrations of non-white children were most likely to reduce playtime, art, and music and to increase use of textbooks. Experts do not support elimination of playtime. Using play to develop academic knowledge and social skills undergirds philosophies such as Maria Montessori and Reggio Emilia. Even the Common Core deems play a "valuable activity." Now districts in Maryland, Washington, and Minnesota are training teachers in "purposeful play" -- guiding children to academic goals through games, art, and fun. Vermont's new K-3 recommendations emphasize playtime's importance. And North Carolina is urging kindergarten teachers to evaluate paintings, scribbles, or block-building to assess reading, math, and social skills. Yet educators in low-income districts warn that poorer children may not learn the basics of reading and math at home, and could fall behind if playtime dominates. More
 Too demanding too soon?
Do the Common Core Standards ask too much of 5- and 6-year-olds in reading? asks Liana Heiten in Education Week. The debate is heated, at its heart the standard stating kindergartners should be able to "read emergent-reader tests with purpose and understanding." Experts agree it's a more advanced expectation than previously, but have less agreement about whether it's an overreach. Critics argue the standard is not "developmentally appropriate," and that kindergartners should be in play-based programs, whereas the standard encourages "drill-and-kill" teaching. Proponents, however, say these arguments misread the standard, that it doesn't demand mastery of foundational skills, merely requires kindergartners to show progress. The standard is compatible with play-based experiences, they say, and contains a note encouraging them. Yet while the standard itself may be developmentally appropriate, instructional methods teachers use to tackle it may not be so. However, this is an instructional issue. "It's important to understand that drill-and kill is not the right way to teach almost anything," says David Liben of Student Achievement Partners. "That doesn't mean we should eliminate the standard because some people are implementing it incorrectly." More
Gross disparities
A new report from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights examines how lack of resources create vastly unequal educational opportunities, even within the same state. The report finds many students, especially in rural and urban areas, lack access to the academic courses, before- and after-school programs, extracurricular activities, facilities, well-qualified staff, and transportation options enjoyed by peers in better-funded systems. In Philadelphia, for example, students lack adequate special education services, career and technology courses, access to arts and technology, and additional support systems in low-wealth neighborhoods. Mississippi's failure to follow its own required funding levels has resulted in schools unable to afford Advanced Placement, to repair dilapidated buildings, or to install adequate technology. These are two of many examples. The report recommends that states at a minimum comply with court funding rulings, report data on per-pupil expenditures, and fund districts and schools through weighted formulas that send additional funding to areas of concentrated poverty or with a larger share of English Learners. Federal policymakers should require transparent reporting of, and plans to address disparities in, real school and district per-pupil expenditures, as well as student access to other critical educational resources. The Department of Education should use its authority under the Civil Rights Act to intervene where schools and districts unfairly deny students access to critical educational resources. More
Vergara: careful what you wish for
A new article by Kevin Welner from the National Education Policy Center weighs whether the Vergara plaintiffs, in their eagerness to take on teacher unions, have invited litigation from policy and reform rivals. When the Vergara decision was first handed down, it was celebrated by advocates who sought a revision of the teacher dismissal process, particularly of teachers with low results from value-added models of student scores. These accountability-focused reformers are locked in battle with those who seek enriched learning opportunities and greater resources for students. Welner argues that Vergara's advocates are unwittingly setting the legal table for this latter group. Though critical of the legal and factual reasoning in the court's opinion, Welner argues that the rule as outlined and applied by the trial court would -- if embraced by the appellate court -- open the door to a wide variety of education-rights litigation, including around tracking systems that ration college-prep classes; disparities in working conditions between teachers in wealthier and lower-income communities; laws and policies that result in inequities in class size; access to high-quality preschool; grade retention; exclusionary discipline; access to enriched and engaging curricula; transportation; buildings and facilities; funding formulas; access to and use of technology; testing and accountability policies; and school choice. More
Times a-changin' in Berkeley's policies
Across California, which has some of the most economically and racially segregated schools in the country, well-off districts are taking increasingly drastic measures to remove students they think are lying about residency to escape the poor-performing schools they're zoned for, writes Kyle Spencer for The Hechinger Report. Until now, Berkeley, a city of 117,000, has refused to follow suit, eschewing private investigators, late-night "bed checks," stringent fines, or threatened calls to the district attorney, common practices elsewhere in the state and in the top-performing districts Berkeley borders. But the city is experiencing a population boom, with overcrowding that's sent more kids into portable classrooms and parents into conflict over who belongs. School board members are reluctant to discuss the issue, and district officials insist they're not lax. Enraged parents -- many new to the area and lacking what some longtime residents consider the Berkeley ethos -- claim otherwise. The Berkeley Accountable Schools Project argues that the number of out-of-district students at Berkeley High School alone could be as high as 40 percent. The district will now institute a program where fifth-graders applying to middle school must verify their addresses as part of the application process, and the superintendent will look at policies in neighboring districts, although not necessarily copy them. More
As teachers see it
A new Public Opinion Strategies survey of 700 elementary and secondary teachers nationally indicates that student poverty, lack of parental engagement, over-testing, weak administrators, and student apathy are major barriers to learning, reports Lyndsey Layton for The Washington Post. Nine out of 10 teachers reported spending personal money on school supplies, 51 percent on money to feed students, 49 percent on new shoes or clothes for students, and 29 percent facilitated medical care for students. Respondents devoted 20 percent of their school time helping students resolve non-academic problems. "Twenty percent is the equivalent of one day a week or four days a month, or, extrapolated out, roughly 2.5 to 3 years out of a child's 12-year career," observes Dan Fuller of Communities In Schools. Educators under 34 or with less than five years experience spent the most time helping students with problems unrelated to classroom instruction. Grouped by race, half of white teachers identified over-testing as the biggest problem, followed by lack of parental engagement. African-American teachers gave equal weight to lack of parental engagement and over-testing, while Hispanic teachers said their greatest problem is students coming to school distracted by outside problems, followed by over-testing. A majority of teachers want school-based social services to help low-income students, and community partnerships and outside professionals to work with students in schools. More
Better teacher selection and preparation
A new report from the American Institutes of Research distills existing research on teacher preparation programs for successful characteristics, and determines which attributes of teacher candidates contribute to better outcomes. The report divides teacher preparation into the components of selection, coursework, student teaching/clinical preparation, and certification/licensure. While the profession may be too large to select its way into better professional practice by eliminating teacher-school spots, programs should still require an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or above and SAT scores in the top third, with candidates screened for tenacity or "grit." Programs must also reach consensus about a standard curriculum that all future teachers must pass in order to have basic content knowledge; this could be reinforced at state-level approval processes for programs. The most compelling evidence from research, according to the report, is the importance of high-quality student teaching, which encompasses preparation length, structure, and mentorship; novice teachers indicate that high-quality, hands-on experience is crucial. The promising clinical preparation model has several variants, which the report outlines. Finally, the report calls for more rigorous, practice-focused licensure assessments so that districts can be certain that any new hire is capable of leading instruction, and parents know that if their child is assigned to a new teacher's class, the quality of instruction is up to acceptable standards. More
     About that 81-percent graduation rate...
In a series examining the nation's 81-percent high school graduation rate, NPR looks at numerous fixes schools use to boost numbers, from well-intentioned to irresponsible. For instance, many Chicago high schools mislabel students who leave before graduating, listing them as moving away or attending private schools when in fact they enroll in district alternative or GED programs. One school classified 120 students from a single class as leaving to be home-schooled; this type of mislabeling is a national problem. Another is credit recovery, online programs for students who must recoup credits after failing or missing requirements. Detroit's programs are typical, where a handful of students work at computers and a teacher sits and supervises. Many teachers express ambivalence about credit recovery, often the only thing keeping students from dropping out but with courses of lower quality, shorter and easier than traditional courses. Ninety percent of American districts use credit recovery. Finally -- exit exams. New Jersey students failing a first-round high school exit exam, for example, can take a second, easier, untimed one. If they fail this, they can appeal. Since functionally, the mandatory exam is no longer a barrier to graduation, why have it? These are just several of 14 backstories to the touted 81 percent national graduation rate that NPR examines. More
          BRIEFLY NOTED CALIFORNIA


Goal post moved
The Los Angeles Unified School District board has unanimously agreed to ease high school graduation requirements -- no longer requiring a C grade or better in college-prep classes -- since over 22,000 LAUSD students in the Class of 2017 risked falling short of a diploma that they would have earned in a neighboring district or nearby charter. More
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If it isn't potable, it won't be legal
California districts, already required to provide free, fresh drinking water for students during meal times, could soon be mandated to ensure that water, if from the tap, is safe to drink.?More
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Potential growth spurt
LAUSD is considering expansion of its transitional kindergarten to more 4-year-olds -- a move that could affect other districts statewide.?More
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Help wanted
The California Advising Corps is working to help more students from low-income families apply to college.?More
          BRIEFLY NOTED?

?We're not so special
Dozens of academics, calling themselves Scholars Concerned About Advanced Placement History, have published an open letter opposing the College Board's new framework for AP U.S. History, saying it presents "a grave new risk" to the study of America's past because it ignores American exceptionalism. More
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A clearer view
A bill changing how Connecticut approves charter applications and requiring greater transparency on charters and their management is on its way to the governor's desk.?More
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To what end?
Arkansas will change its provider of standardized tests, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has announced, the first shake-up from an ongoing review of whether to retain the Common Core standards.?More
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Not so fast, pardner
The Arkansas school board has rejected the push by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to use the ACT exam next year instead of PARCC.?More
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A wider net
In an effort to increase the number and diversity of high school students taking computer science, the College Board will launch a new Advanced Placement course in fall 2016 that teaches a broader range of computing skills.?More
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As they see it
A graphic designer has come up with a font that could potentially help people better understand the emotional experience of dyslexic people when reading texts.?More
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Look before they leap
Oregon schools stand to lose $140 million a year or more in federal funding if state lawmakers vote to enable parents to opt out of standardized testing more easily, a top U.S education official is warning.?More?
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Waste or waist
Numerous U.S. districts have decided to opt out of the National School Lunch Program championed by First Lady Michelle Obama due to the rising cost of food waste caused by it.?More
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Tepid endorsement
NYC Teacher union leader Michael Mulgrew and AFT's Randi Weingarten offered only partial support for mayoral control of New York City public schools, a policy due to expire at the end of the month.?More
          
GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

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Thomson Reuters/ASIS&T: Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award
The Thomson Reuters Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award recognizes the unique teaching contribution of an individual as a teacher of information science.?Maximum award: $1,000; $500 towards travel or other expenses to the grant recipient, contingent upon the recipient's attending the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) annual meeting, and $250 to ASIS&T Headquarters towards administrative fees. Eligibility: individuals directly engaged in teaching some aspect of information science on a continuing basis, in an academic or a non-academic setting. Deadline: August 1, 2015. More
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Wild Ones: Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Grant Program
The Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Grant Program gives small monetary grants to schools, nature centers, or other non-profit educational organizations for the purpose of establishing outdoor learning centers. Funds will be provided only for the purchase of native plants and seed. Maximum award: $500. Eligibility: schools, nature centers, and other non-profit places of learning, including houses of worship. Deadline: October 15, 2015. More
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Vernier/NSTA: Technology Awards
The Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards promote the innovative use of data-collection technology using a computer, graphing calculator, or other handheld device in the science classroom. Maximum award: $1,000 in cash for the teacher, $3,000 in Vernier Products, and up to $1,500 toward expenses to attend the annual NSTA National Convention. Eligibility: Current teachers of science in grades K-College. Deadline: November 30, 2015. More
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Quote of the Week:?
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"I was born and raised here on the South Side -- in South Shore -- and I am who I am today because of this community. I know the struggles many of you face: how you walk the long way home to avoid the gangs; how you fight to concentrate on your homework when there's too much noise at home; how you keep it together when your family's having a hard time making ends meet." -- First Lady Michelle Obama, in a commencement speech for Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Chicago. More



 

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