PEN Weekly NewsBlast for October 3, 2008

Two foundations end financing of education-awareness drive
Ed in '08? About 16 months ago, two of philanthropy's strongest supporters of education -- the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation -- pledged a total of up to $60 million to make education reform a top issue in the 2008 presidential election. But now, after jointly contributing about $24 million, the two foundations have stopped spending money on their nonpartisan Strong American Schools campaign (branded "Ed in '08"), the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. Although education has had a relatively low profile so far in the presidential campaign, spokespeople for both foundations say their efforts have been successful. But the newspaper quotes Arnold Fege of Public Education Network as saying: "For some reason in 2004, everyone wanted to be the education president. In 2008, nobody wants to be the education president." Fege, PEN's director of public engagement and advocacy, adds that in 2004, much of the public's attention was generated by the No Child Left Behind Act, while this year 38 states are cutting their spending on education. All the same, the link between education and the economy seems clear. "People are not saying that education is not important," observes the pollster Mark Hibbits, but "the issue of the day -- and the remainder of this presidential race -- is going to be dealing with finance and economic issues."
Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/09/29/story1.html?b=1222660800^1706214&page=1

The 'ugly reality' of urban education
The takeover of a troubled high school in Los Angeles's Watts neighborhood by Green Dot Schools, a private charter school organization, is the vehicle for a strongly worded online critique of American urban education in Dissident Voice, a self-described "radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice." The writer, Reggie Dylan, focuses on what he calls "the ugly reality of the urban cores of this country, and the schools that serve them. It is producing a massive section of youth, seething with anger, who have been written off by this system, told 'there's nothing here for you,' and then shoved into the prisons at world record rates." Dylan says Green Dot seeks to close the "achievement gap" between racial groups by producing "a small number of students from inner city schools who will help fill the need for 'knowledge workers' in this society" -- professionals such as engineers, analysts, and marketers. But Dylan says those who do make it into that world actually "serve as a political and ideological force to shore up this system of exploitation and inequality."
Read more at http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/09/restructuring-inner-city-schools-for-the-global-marketplace-locke-high-school-and-the-green-dot-"solution"

Alabama bars illegal immigrants from community colleges
Alabama's state education board has voted to bar illegal immigrants from admission to Alabama's two-year colleges, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. The vote was 4-0 with one abstention, and it came despite the absence of four of the board's nine members. The new policy holds that, beginning next spring, applicants to community colleges in the state must show an Alabama driver's license, a state ID card, or an unexpired U.S. passport or permanent resident card. International applicants must provide a visa and an official translated copy of their high school or college transcript, along with other information such as exam scores and proof of adequate financial support. Shay Farley, a lawyer and spokeswoman for the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, questioned the policy. "We are bound by federal law to provide education to any student, K-12, regardless of legal status," she said. "A lot of children are brought [to the U.S.] by their parents -- they did not choose to come here. If we deny them a two-year college education, where will they go for their education?"
Read more at http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080926/NEWS02/809260328/1009

Utah bill would permit alternative approach to testing in some schools
Utah lawmakers have passed a bill to allow exemptions from state testing requirements in some school districts and charter schools so they can try an alternative approach, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. If the U.S. Department of Education agrees, some Utah schools would no longer have to give the standardized tests that are currently used statewide. Instead, they would administer the ACT and so-called computer adaptive tests, which adjust to students' skill levels as they take them. The goal would be to provide better assessment data, according to supporters of the alternative program. Critics, however, say that widespread adoption of the new approach would increase the amount of time that students spend on testing.
Read more at http://www.sltrib.com/education/ci_10575355

Federal grant aims at reducing preschool expulsion rates in Delaware
According to the Yale Child Study Center, Delaware has the fourth highest rate for preschool expulsions -- 13 children for every 1,000 enrolled in daycare, reports the Delaware News Journal. That could change, however, as a result of a $9 million grant from the Center for Mental Health Services in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The money will be used to teach parents how to bond with their emotionally disturbed children through parent-child interaction therapy, which is said to improve relationships, increase children's pro-social behavior, and improve parenting skills. About 60 families annually will receive in-home treatment and about 85 families will be served as outpatients at a therapist's office. The effort will focus on troubled children, typically 2 to 5 years old, who often act out in aggressive ways, such as by hitting other children, pulling their hair, or throwing things across the room, says Susan Cycyk, director of Delaware's Division of Child Mental Health Services.
Read more at http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080926/NEWS03/809260338/1006/news

Massachusetts district pushes bilingual programs
Under a six-year-old state law, Massachusetts students younger than 10 must first spend 30 days in an English-only classroom. The Boston Globe reports, however, that some educators think the requirement may do more harm than good. After the waiting period, parents or guardians can sign a waiver that allows their children to go into bilingual classes if they are having problems with English-only instruction. But Tony Marin, a bilingual special-education teacher in Framingham, says that makes no sense. "The kid is not even learning anything," he says. Critics of so-called immersion programs cite rising dropout rates and special-education referrals for English-language learners, and they point to alternatives such as "sheltered English" classes taught mostly in English by bilingual teachers who can explain concepts in the students' native language when that is needed. Another approach is teaching English as a second language. Massachusetts gauges English-language proficiency and progress toward that goal through a system called Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives. Last year the Framingham district, the only one in Massachusetts that aggressively offers families a bilingual option for their children, exceeded its targets for student progress and educational attainment.
Read more at http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/09/25/english_period

Examining the link between 'student loads' and student performance
The theory: Fewer students per teacher -- that's "total student loads," or TSLs, in eduspeak -- leads to better student performance. Many people say that ought to be a no-brainer, but it's not always easy to implement. Now, in a column for the Washington Post, education writer Jay Mathews cites fresh evidence from a management expert, William G. Ouchi, that "when middle or high school principals are given control of their schools' budgets -- a rare occurrence in big districts -- they tend to make changes in staffing, curriculum, and scheduling that sharply reduce TSL." Some urban school districts, Mathews adds, have TSLs approaching 200. "But after principals get budgeting power, the load drops sharply, sometimes to as low as 80 kids per instructor. When that happens, the portion of students scoring 'proficient' on state tests climbs." Mathews quotes Ouchi, a UCLA professor and author of "Making Schools Work," as saying: "When a district has too few classroom teachers, student loads per teacher rise to the point where teachers can no longer know their students well enough to establish a bond of trust with them. Without this trust, a teacher can neither establish an orderly classroom nor push a student to do his or her best, and the teacher's job often becomes frustrating and constantly stressful."
Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092600801.html?hpid=news-col-blogs

Class rankings bite the dust at some Wisconsin high schools
In an effort to improve their students' chances for college admission, a number of high schools in Wisconsin have ended the practice of reporting the students' class rankings, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. School officials say the change has helped more of their students get into competitive colleges, including the University of Wisconsin at Madison. At Milwaukee's Whitefish Bay High School, where rankings were eliminated five years ago, the principal, Bill Henkle, says the removal of class rankings also has reduced students' anxiety during the college-application process. "They used to be obsessed with it," he says. "With each passing semester, it was like kids were watching their stock go up or down, thinking, 'I just fell out of the top 10 percent and now I'll never get into such-and-such a place.' " That said, a lack of class rankings can put extra emphasis on ACT and SAT test scores at a time when some critics have called for less dependence on standardized testing for college admissions.
Read more at http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=799998

Arkansas program turns school bus rides into learning opportunities
Coordinators of an Arkansas school district's pilot program that turns school buses into mobile virtual classrooms say it should be expanded, reports the Arkansas News Bureau. Begun in April 2007 in the Sheridan School District, the project equips students with laptop computers and iPods and allows them to take online math and science courses while traveling to and from school. The project's director, Vanderbilt University professor Julie Hudson, says it makes constructive use of transit time for students in rural areas who have bus rides of up to three or four hours a day. So far, students in the pilot program have completed 14 semesters of study in addition to their regular courses.
Read more at http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2008/09/28/News/348102.html

Florida requires districts to offer online schooling for K-12
A new Florida law requires that, starting next year, school districts create their own full-time virtual schools, or provide them by collaborating with other districts or contracting with state-approved providers, the Palm Beach Post reports. But while the law is wide-ranging, it speaks only vaguely about providing computers and Internet access to students "when appropriate," leaving it up to individual districts to determine what that means. The uncertainty has raised concerns that the program may not benefit students whose families cannot afford home computers or reliable Web access. Some school administrators have proposed opening school computer labs as a less expensive alternative to giving students laptops to use at home. Online programs are not expected to save the schools money because, even though they would not have to accommodate students themselves, they would still have to pay teachers, revamp their curricula, and buy new technology.
Read more at http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/local_news/epaper/2008/09/28/a1a_virtual_school_0929.html

Kentucky urged to correct 'highly unequal' college prep for blacks, whites
Kentucky's educational system has "massive leaks" that negatively affect the prospects for its minority students for college enrollment and success, according to a study commissioned by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and described by the Louisville Courier-Journal. A report of the study, by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California Los Angeles, concludes that "the preparation of black and white students for college remains highly unequal, as do the family and community conditions in which children develop." Among the project's recommendations: Include consideration of race in admitting students to highly competitive state colleges and universities, as well as in awarding financial aid. The report also calls for stronger collaboration between institutions to ensure that minorities graduate from high school, have the skills necessary for college, and receive information early on about financial aid. In addition, the state is urged to expand its definition of diversity to include Hispanics and American Indians, and to consider creating an accountability system for recruiting and enrolling students of any race from the poorest counties in Eastern Kentucky.
Read more at http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080925/NEWS0105/809250394
See the report at http://www.courier-journal.com/assets/B2118646925.pdf

Differentiated instruction: challenges and benefits
The idea that teachers should work to accommodate and build on students' diverse learning needs, often referred to as differentiated instruction, is explored in a recent Teacher Magazine interview with Carol Ann Tomlinson, an education professor at the University of Virginia. Pretending all kids are alike and teaching them the same things in the same way over the same time period usually doesn't work very well. To use differentiated instruction, Tomlinson says, teachers have to get to know and understand their students -- their learning styles, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. The key, she says, is "to actively get kids to show you who they are and what their needs are."
Read more at http://www.teachermagazine.org/tsb/articles/2008/09/10/01tomlinson.h02.html