Indianapolis - Gov. Mitch Daniels has promised that change will continue to dominate the last two years of his administration. When the legislature goes into session in January, education will be at the top of that list.
In the first of three parts of our year-end conversation with Gov. Mitch Daniels, he talks to Eyewitness News the type of change he would like to see in Indiana schools.
WTHR: "Let's start with the obvious here. You have a Republican majority in the House and the Senate. It makes me think of the quote, 'to whom much is given, much is expected.'"
Daniels: "We expect a lot of ourselves. We asked to be entrusted with the leadership in the legislature as well as here and now we have to turn that into positive change for Hoosiers, but that is exactly what we intend to do."
WTHR: "Where do you want to take the state? I know you want to start with education so let's start there. What are your key points there?"
Daniels: "Teacher quality by runaway margin the most important predictor of how our children will do. It trumps everything - poverty, class size they are small by comparison. So teacher quality first. More flexibility. We have more accountability in the system now. Starting this year every school is graded A through F. Every parent will be able to understand it. We've got to get the local superintendents and school boards and principals enough authority and flexibility to meet the expectations. And then finally more options for our families and we will be able to choose among public schools, among charter public schools or even non-government schools. Whatever they think is best for their child. We trust them to make that decision."
WTHR: "The devil is always in the details as it is negotiated, but on teacher accountability I have talked to some instructors who have said, 'It is not always what we do. Sometimes it is the class. It can vary from year to year.' How do we address all that is out there?"
Daniels: "Right. Well let's start by saying nothing is less fair then it is today. The very very best teacher gets absolutely no credit or advantage for that compared to the very poorest teacher in a given school. They get the same raise at the end of the year. It's all seniority-based. So that can't be the best answer. It's very fair to say that we should evaluate teachers not on how children do in absolute terms because some classes will start out well behind others, but how much did they grow? How much did they learn during the year? We can measure this now and local leadership can devise their own ways of evaluating which teachers are the most often helping children wherever those kids started grow at least a year for every year in school."
WTHR: "On the issue of early graduation, there are several questions, like who will get the money and whether it will be universal."
Daniels: "Visiting Indiana high schools I kept running into seniors who had already completed their graduation requirements and they would tell you they were more or less cruising through senior year, which led me to the idea that maybe, purely on a voluntary basis, if they would rather have the money we're gonna spend on them and begin applying it to the high cost of college or some kind of post-secondary education might be a good idea."
Daniels said 77 percent of students polled said they'd love to have that choice.
Daniels: "I think the idea is to - at the student's option - let them direct if not all, at least most of the money we would otherwise spend on a wasted senior year - as long as they're gonna use it somewhere in the state to pursue their education and growth."
WTHR: "Is there some concern by schools that they might lose more money that way?"
Daniels: "Schools are always concerned about money, sometimes I think more than they seem to be about how the students are doing. But we have to focus in Indiana education on the young people, on the students, what is best for them? What will help them grow the most? Everything else is a means to that end. If a family or a student through his or her own diligence completes graduation requirements in less than 12 years, let's help them with the cost of college. Let's think about them first and this idea would accomplish that."
Tuesday night, we'll talk to the governor about the state's dire need for jobs.
Source: Eyewitness Politics
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Education should trump tax breaks in Kansas
Kansans not only placed Sam Brownback in the governor’s seat in 2010, they cleared out any semblance of potential political obstacles.
The GOP sweep in Kansas leaves Democrats a token force in the Legislature. For Brownback’s agenda in 2011, that’s the good news. It should be smooth sailing.
Here’s the not-so-good news: The governor-elect will arrive in office facing a $500 million revenue shortfall. The early signs for how he will deal with it aren’t good.
Brownback keeps talking about backing economic development in the state, but at the same time he is looking at slashing funding to our greatest economic development tool: education at Kansas schools and universities.
While there may be some short-term gain in tax incentives attracting new businesses, it will be a long-term failure if it comes at the expense of a high-quality education. Without good employees, businesses fail, regardless of the tax situation. And without high standards from elementary school through postgraduate levels, the state fails to produce not only the skills needed in the work world, but minds nimble enough to adapt and evolve, an essential for the modern business world.
Brownback has said he wants to avoid cutting economic development specialty areas, such as the KU Medical Center and pharmacy school, Kansas State’s veterinary medicine school and Wichita State’s aviation institute, while perhaps dropping less economically productive degree tracts.
Successful university systems, however, cast broad nets to bring in students in a wide range of majors, many of whom will benefit their states in unexpected ways.
Disappointing some supporters, Brownback has said he sees no way to reverse the penny sales tax increase passed this year under Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson. This is smart. Parkinson didn’t back the tax because he favored big government. He did so because life in the Sunflower State without it would be life without essential services.
But Brownback is talking about targeted economic development tax cuts. If the state cannot afford $50 million to beef up our universities (which he says it cannot), it also cannot afford more tax cuts. Already, the Kansas tax burden is shouldered by too few.
For every penny of sales tax collected in Kansas, the state exempts 2 cents. Brownback should be looking at ways to spread, not increase, the tax burden more fairly so everyday Kansans aren’t asked to prop up breaks for businesses.
Brownback has resisted the notion of tax increases to shore up state coffers. Surely, though, even a small reduction in subsidies so easily handed out by lawmakers to everyone from manufacturers to Girl Scouts makes more sense than to see a proud education system fail.
By the end of the 2011 legislative session, Brownback will not be able to complain that he couldn’t get through his agenda for political reasons.
But if his agenda cripples education, future Kansans will look back on the broom that swept the Republican Party into complete control in the state with great sadness.
Editor’s note: This is part two of an editorial series on issues that cross over from 2010 to 2011.
Source: Kansas City
The GOP sweep in Kansas leaves Democrats a token force in the Legislature. For Brownback’s agenda in 2011, that’s the good news. It should be smooth sailing.
Here’s the not-so-good news: The governor-elect will arrive in office facing a $500 million revenue shortfall. The early signs for how he will deal with it aren’t good.
Brownback keeps talking about backing economic development in the state, but at the same time he is looking at slashing funding to our greatest economic development tool: education at Kansas schools and universities.
While there may be some short-term gain in tax incentives attracting new businesses, it will be a long-term failure if it comes at the expense of a high-quality education. Without good employees, businesses fail, regardless of the tax situation. And without high standards from elementary school through postgraduate levels, the state fails to produce not only the skills needed in the work world, but minds nimble enough to adapt and evolve, an essential for the modern business world.
Brownback has said he wants to avoid cutting economic development specialty areas, such as the KU Medical Center and pharmacy school, Kansas State’s veterinary medicine school and Wichita State’s aviation institute, while perhaps dropping less economically productive degree tracts.
Successful university systems, however, cast broad nets to bring in students in a wide range of majors, many of whom will benefit their states in unexpected ways.
Disappointing some supporters, Brownback has said he sees no way to reverse the penny sales tax increase passed this year under Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson. This is smart. Parkinson didn’t back the tax because he favored big government. He did so because life in the Sunflower State without it would be life without essential services.
But Brownback is talking about targeted economic development tax cuts. If the state cannot afford $50 million to beef up our universities (which he says it cannot), it also cannot afford more tax cuts. Already, the Kansas tax burden is shouldered by too few.
For every penny of sales tax collected in Kansas, the state exempts 2 cents. Brownback should be looking at ways to spread, not increase, the tax burden more fairly so everyday Kansans aren’t asked to prop up breaks for businesses.
Brownback has resisted the notion of tax increases to shore up state coffers. Surely, though, even a small reduction in subsidies so easily handed out by lawmakers to everyone from manufacturers to Girl Scouts makes more sense than to see a proud education system fail.
By the end of the 2011 legislative session, Brownback will not be able to complain that he couldn’t get through his agenda for political reasons.
But if his agenda cripples education, future Kansans will look back on the broom that swept the Republican Party into complete control in the state with great sadness.
Editor’s note: This is part two of an editorial series on issues that cross over from 2010 to 2011.
Source: Kansas City
Friday, December 24, 2010
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Scott transition team’s education plan worries voucher advocate
The “universal voucher” proposal floated this week by Gov.-elect Rick Scott’s transition team is drawing opposition from at least one longtime supporter of school vouchers.
In documents released this week, Scott’s education advisers — led by Patricia Levesque, a veteran of the Department of Education under Jeb Bush and the current director of one of his school reform groups — outlined a hypothetical program that would allow parents of public schoolchildren to receive 85 percent of the money the state spends per student, which they could keep in “education savings accounts” to use as they see fit on online “virtual schools,” private schools, tutoring or even college expenses.
Andrew Coulson, a voucher advocate from the libertarian Cato Institute, worries that the idea couldn’t fly in Florida, and should instead be tried in states with friendlier legal climates, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
He bases his thinking on a 2006 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court, which struck down a voucher program floated by then-Gov. Bush on the grounds that the state constitution provides for universal public education, and channeling public money to private institutions violates that principle. For Scott’s plan to pass legal muster, the court would probably have to overturn its own ruling.
What’s more, Scott’s plan calls for phasing out the corporate income tax, which currently allows for the state’s existing voucher program, the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, in which companies can sponsor student vouchers in exchange for tax breaks.
According to the Times, Coulson writes:
The result of simultaneously passing the [education savings accounts] program and abolishing the corporate income tax would thus be to gut Florida’s existing, successful, popular, money-saving scholarship donation tax credit program without providing a viable alternative. That would decimate school choice in Florida.
The ideas laid out by Scott’s transition advisers bear many hallmarks of the Bush education agenda, but don’t provide many specific ideas for overcoming the same constitutional barriers that stymied the former governor.
Source: The Florida Independent
In documents released this week, Scott’s education advisers — led by Patricia Levesque, a veteran of the Department of Education under Jeb Bush and the current director of one of his school reform groups — outlined a hypothetical program that would allow parents of public schoolchildren to receive 85 percent of the money the state spends per student, which they could keep in “education savings accounts” to use as they see fit on online “virtual schools,” private schools, tutoring or even college expenses.
Andrew Coulson, a voucher advocate from the libertarian Cato Institute, worries that the idea couldn’t fly in Florida, and should instead be tried in states with friendlier legal climates, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
He bases his thinking on a 2006 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court, which struck down a voucher program floated by then-Gov. Bush on the grounds that the state constitution provides for universal public education, and channeling public money to private institutions violates that principle. For Scott’s plan to pass legal muster, the court would probably have to overturn its own ruling.
What’s more, Scott’s plan calls for phasing out the corporate income tax, which currently allows for the state’s existing voucher program, the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, in which companies can sponsor student vouchers in exchange for tax breaks.
According to the Times, Coulson writes:
The result of simultaneously passing the [education savings accounts] program and abolishing the corporate income tax would thus be to gut Florida’s existing, successful, popular, money-saving scholarship donation tax credit program without providing a viable alternative. That would decimate school choice in Florida.
The ideas laid out by Scott’s transition advisers bear many hallmarks of the Bush education agenda, but don’t provide many specific ideas for overcoming the same constitutional barriers that stymied the former governor.
Source: The Florida Independent
Thursday, December 23, 2010
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Woman who promoted education after 9/11 loss dies
Sarah "Sally" Goodrich lost her son on Sept. 11. Struggling in 2004 with how to memorialize him with the $49,000 donated to them from family and friends, she and her husband, Donald, helped start a school for girls in Afghanistan.
"The idea that we could go to Afghanistan where the Afghan people were taken advantage of by al-Qaida, manipulated, and where the planning for our son's death took place and provide an alternative way of looking at the world, was very appealing to us," Donald Goodrich said.
Sally Goodrich, a former teacher, died Saturday of cancer at her home in Bennington. She was 65. The E.P. Mahar and Son Funeral Home in Bennington confirmed her death to The Associated Press.
Her 33-year-old son, Peter, was aboard the second plane that hit the World Trade Center in 2001.
The school project grew out of an e-mail from a neighbor, a friend of her late son, who was serving as a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan. He wrote about a school that needed supplies, which prompted Sally Goodrich to get involved.
"She was a person who loved humanity. And if there was any love in your soul you would reciprocate with my wife. And that's really what has allowed us to do what we've been able to do," Donald Goodrich said.
David Edwards, a professor of anthropology at Williams College and an Afghanistan expert, at first discouraged Goodrich's idea of starting a school after seeing a lot of well-intentioned projects go awry. But before he knew it, he had agreed to go to Logar province to inspect the school site.
"Sally had a kind of relentlessness to her, and I say that and it sounds like it could be a negative thing. But she had just a quality of determination that was really striking, but also a real sense of humor," he said.
Edwards ended up connecting her with Afghanistan's deputy minister of interior - his former research assistant. After meeting the provincial director of schools and the director of education, they found a better, safer site for the school, Edwards said. The Goodriches went on to build one for $230,000.
Goodrich had visited Afghanistan numerous times, met struggling Afghanis and regained a sense of hope.
"I found that suffering is a universal language that allows for a greater understanding," she told the AP in 2006.
The Goodriches also helped to bring at least 14 exchange students from Afghanistan to schools including the Berkshire School, many of them staying in their small Vermont home during the summer and holidays. The students have gone on to get scholarships at colleges such as Williams, Mount Holyoke and Bates.
Goodrich is survived by her husband, a daughter and son, three brothers and five grandchildren, according to the funeral home's obituary.
Sourse: Washington Post
"The idea that we could go to Afghanistan where the Afghan people were taken advantage of by al-Qaida, manipulated, and where the planning for our son's death took place and provide an alternative way of looking at the world, was very appealing to us," Donald Goodrich said.
Sally Goodrich, a former teacher, died Saturday of cancer at her home in Bennington. She was 65. The E.P. Mahar and Son Funeral Home in Bennington confirmed her death to The Associated Press.
Her 33-year-old son, Peter, was aboard the second plane that hit the World Trade Center in 2001.
The school project grew out of an e-mail from a neighbor, a friend of her late son, who was serving as a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan. He wrote about a school that needed supplies, which prompted Sally Goodrich to get involved.
"She was a person who loved humanity. And if there was any love in your soul you would reciprocate with my wife. And that's really what has allowed us to do what we've been able to do," Donald Goodrich said.
David Edwards, a professor of anthropology at Williams College and an Afghanistan expert, at first discouraged Goodrich's idea of starting a school after seeing a lot of well-intentioned projects go awry. But before he knew it, he had agreed to go to Logar province to inspect the school site.
"Sally had a kind of relentlessness to her, and I say that and it sounds like it could be a negative thing. But she had just a quality of determination that was really striking, but also a real sense of humor," he said.
Edwards ended up connecting her with Afghanistan's deputy minister of interior - his former research assistant. After meeting the provincial director of schools and the director of education, they found a better, safer site for the school, Edwards said. The Goodriches went on to build one for $230,000.
Goodrich had visited Afghanistan numerous times, met struggling Afghanis and regained a sense of hope.
"I found that suffering is a universal language that allows for a greater understanding," she told the AP in 2006.
The Goodriches also helped to bring at least 14 exchange students from Afghanistan to schools including the Berkshire School, many of them staying in their small Vermont home during the summer and holidays. The students have gone on to get scholarships at colleges such as Williams, Mount Holyoke and Bates.
Goodrich is survived by her husband, a daughter and son, three brothers and five grandchildren, according to the funeral home's obituary.
Sourse: Washington Post
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Italian students demonstrate against education reforms
Thousands of students are demonstrating in Italy ahead of a Senate vote on controversial education reforms.
Rome police have sealed off the area around parliament after last week's violent protests when Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi survived a no-confidence motion.
Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini says reforms will save billions and create a more merit-based system.
Critics say universities are already severely under-funded.
On the march
In Rome, students in their thousands have been marching peacefully through the streets.
"We are in the square to protest against minister Gelmini and to show that after the 14th of December we are not divided, we are not violent, we are simply here to demonstrate and to validate our ideas," a student called Franco told Reuters TV.
But clashes have been reported in Palermo, Sicily, where some students were reported to be throwing stones at police and trying to enter a local government building.
In the northern city of Turin, protesters attacked a publishing house owned by the prime minister, while in Naples students reportedly brought traffic to a standstill.
Demonstrations are taking place in other cities across Italy, including Milan, Venice, and Perugia.
Reforming the system
The reforms will cut the number of university courses, merge some smaller universities, reduce funding for grants, increase the role of the private sector and limit the duration of rectorships.
The BBC's David Willey in Rome says there is excessive power in the hands of ageing professors and teachers.
But while many agree that reforms of the education sector might be needed, there has been criticism of the swingeing cuts, thought to total around 9bn euros (£8bn, $12bn).
Italy spends less than 5% of its Gross Domestic Product on education - lower than many developed countries.
But the cuts are part of wider austerity measures that the government is introducing in order to reduce its public debt.
Job losses
Students have held a number of demonstrations in recent months over the cuts, which some estimate will lead to the loss of about 130,000 jobs in the education sector.
"We are asking for this bill to be blocked and for the whole public education system to be refinanced," the Student Network said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Education Minister Ms Gelmini said she was open to talks on the reforms.
But she has insisted the measures were urgently needed to equip Italian students for employment.
"It is essential to restore dignity and usability to Italian university degrees," she said in an open letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Our correspondent says there is heavy youth unemployment in Italy and many university graduates take years to find jobs.
The education bill proposed by Ms Gelmini is being discussed in the Senate on Wednesday, although the vote may be delayed until Thursday.
If it is passed, Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano would then have to sign the bill into law.
A student delegation is expected to meet the president later to present a list of complaints.
Rome police have sealed off the area around parliament after last week's violent protests when Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi survived a no-confidence motion.
Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini says reforms will save billions and create a more merit-based system.
Critics say universities are already severely under-funded.
On the march
In Rome, students in their thousands have been marching peacefully through the streets.
"We are in the square to protest against minister Gelmini and to show that after the 14th of December we are not divided, we are not violent, we are simply here to demonstrate and to validate our ideas," a student called Franco told Reuters TV.
But clashes have been reported in Palermo, Sicily, where some students were reported to be throwing stones at police and trying to enter a local government building.
In the northern city of Turin, protesters attacked a publishing house owned by the prime minister, while in Naples students reportedly brought traffic to a standstill.
Demonstrations are taking place in other cities across Italy, including Milan, Venice, and Perugia.
Reforming the system
The reforms will cut the number of university courses, merge some smaller universities, reduce funding for grants, increase the role of the private sector and limit the duration of rectorships.
The BBC's David Willey in Rome says there is excessive power in the hands of ageing professors and teachers.
But while many agree that reforms of the education sector might be needed, there has been criticism of the swingeing cuts, thought to total around 9bn euros (£8bn, $12bn).
Italy spends less than 5% of its Gross Domestic Product on education - lower than many developed countries.
But the cuts are part of wider austerity measures that the government is introducing in order to reduce its public debt.
Job losses
Students have held a number of demonstrations in recent months over the cuts, which some estimate will lead to the loss of about 130,000 jobs in the education sector.
"We are asking for this bill to be blocked and for the whole public education system to be refinanced," the Student Network said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Education Minister Ms Gelmini said she was open to talks on the reforms.
But she has insisted the measures were urgently needed to equip Italian students for employment.
"It is essential to restore dignity and usability to Italian university degrees," she said in an open letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Our correspondent says there is heavy youth unemployment in Italy and many university graduates take years to find jobs.
The education bill proposed by Ms Gelmini is being discussed in the Senate on Wednesday, although the vote may be delayed until Thursday.
If it is passed, Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano would then have to sign the bill into law.
A student delegation is expected to meet the president later to present a list of complaints.
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Kno Education Tablet Pre-Orders Begin Shipping This Week
If you happen to be in the group that pre-ordered a tablet from Kno, then it looks like you will soon get a holiday gift. Well, a holiday gift that you ordered (and most likely paid for), but still, the Kno tablets will begin shipping out as of this week.And for those wondering what the Kno tablet is, worry not because it is not yet available for anyone and everyone to buy. Furthermore, it is aimed at the education market, with special emphasis that students would be able to read and take notes at the same time. Hence the dual-display version.
The tablets are sporting a 14.1 inch display and are available as a single, or a dual-display version. To touch a little bit on the ability to take notes, while that is possible, the Kno tablet also allows the user to annotate and highlight as well as take handwritten notes in the margins. Basically, they are made to be used just like a regular textbook.
That said, while regular textbooks are certainly not inexpensive, the Kno tablet comes with a starting price of around $900. And on top of that, there has been few (if any) reviews and current sales numbers remain a mystery. Given that, I would be a little nervous to buy in.
Of course, it is not all that easy to just make a purchase at this time. Despite those early pre-orders going out as of now, the product is not open for any and all. At present the order system was still described as being invitation only and that invitation is dependent on a “request for purchase” that must be filled out. Basically, it sounds like you need to get approval from the company before you can make a purchase.
Bottom line, we can only hope a few of those who pre-ordered and are about to receive a unit will be kind enough to post some pictures and share some thoughts.
Source: TFTS
BestEssayHelp | EEOC sues Washington Post subsidiary over the use of credit checks in hiring
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against an education company for rejecting a class of black job applicants because of their credit history.
The EEOC claims that Kaplan Higher Education — a subsidiary of the Washington Post — had been doing this since at least 2008.
"This practice has an unlawful discriminatory impact because of race and is neither job-related nor justified by business necessity," the EEOC said in a statement.
A Kaplan spokeswoman Michele Pore told the Associated Press that the company does background checks on all prospective employees, including checking credit histories of those whose duties would entail financial matters. Pore added the company as a diverse work force and doesn't discriminate.
The EEOC in October held a hearing to address the growing use of credit checks in hiring.
Lawyers representing employers at the hearing says credit checks have become necessary because former employers give little information in references for fear of being sued. Worker advocates argued that someone's credit record has nothing to do with how they would perform on a job.
Source: The Baltimor Sun
The EEOC claims that Kaplan Higher Education — a subsidiary of the Washington Post — had been doing this since at least 2008.
"This practice has an unlawful discriminatory impact because of race and is neither job-related nor justified by business necessity," the EEOC said in a statement.
A Kaplan spokeswoman Michele Pore told the Associated Press that the company does background checks on all prospective employees, including checking credit histories of those whose duties would entail financial matters. Pore added the company as a diverse work force and doesn't discriminate.
The EEOC in October held a hearing to address the growing use of credit checks in hiring.
Lawyers representing employers at the hearing says credit checks have become necessary because former employers give little information in references for fear of being sued. Worker advocates argued that someone's credit record has nothing to do with how they would perform on a job.
Source: The Baltimor Sun
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
www.BestEssayHelp.com | N.J. education chief nominee Christopher Cerf calls for reform of state's worst schools
Vowing to focus on "issues that have long been neglected" in public education, Gov. Chris Christie Monday introduced former deputy New York City schools chancellor Christopher D. Cerf as the state’s next education commissioner.
At a press conference in the Statehouse, Christie called Cerf, 56, of Montclair, someone whose "record of reform and innovation...is well known" and whose "philosophical approach in many areas of education is in line with mine."
Cerf, who now is CEO of Sangari Education, a global math and science technology company, called for the need to reform the state’s worst schools, closing the "shameful" achievement gap between "those born to economic circumstances that are positive and those born to poverty."
He praised Christie for drawing "clear lines" to address it, and offered a prescription that includes finding the best teachers and school leaders; increasing accountability in schools; allowing parents to choose their child’s school; giving schools more opportunity to make decisions for themselves; and more use of technology and other innovation.
News of Cerf’s nomination was first reported last week by The Star-Ledger and Wall Street Journal. His nomination now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing on the $141,000 a year cabinet post.
A former high school history teacher, and a member of the board of TEAM Academy, a Newark charter school, Cerf Monday also spoke of targeting issues that have long been sacred to teachers. He said he supports "differentiated pay" for teachers, with "rewards and consequences" based on how well children are learning, instead of the current system where salary is based on years of service and a teachers’ degree of education.
Cerf also called tenure, the job protection that teachers earn after three years and one day on the job, something that was once "a guard against arbitrariness" but that has "massively mutated ... into essentially lifetime protection."
Both he and Christie called for making decisions on school reform based on what is good for children, not adults.
But Cerf also praised teachers, calling them "an essential component in student learning" and the "spiritual guides" who can lead a child to success in the classroom.
"The effectiveness of a teacher is far and away the single greatest determinant in closing the shameful achievement gap," Cerf said. "I have the highest regard and deepest appreciation for teachers in the state. I look forward to working with them."
In Cerf, Christie, a Republican, crossed the aisle to nominate a Democrat. Cerf is an attorney who worked in the Clinton White House. He was also former president of Edison Schools Inc., which at the time was the nation’s largest private sector manager of public schools.
Christie, who has waged a nearly year-long battle with the New Jersey Education Association over teacher pay and tenure, showed no sign of easing up, however. He said the tone of his administration going forward will be "determined by the partner we have on the other side."
He alluded to teachers as "one group standing in the schoolhouse door blocking reform."
"I am looking forward to the time when the teachers union wants to be part of real reform," Christie said. "I have seen nothing that indicates they will be. However, I wait in hope."
NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said later the union looks forward to meeting with Cerf and "hopefully establishing the type of dialogue that ought to exist between the commissioner and NJEA." He pointed to an agreement Cerf made with New York City’s teachers’ union, which created a system where schools earned bonuses when students excel.
Christie selected Cerf to fill the job left vacant when the governor, in August, fired former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler over the state’s failed Race to the Top bid for federal education stimulus money.
Acting Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks, who was assistant commissioner of education, and who was a candidate for the permanent post, has filled the role since Schundler was fired. Christie also thanked her, and said she will be staying on in his administration.
Cerf’s appointment has been praised by many in education.
Ryan Hill, CEO of TEAM Academy, said Cerf is "very bold and has high expectations for what education should look like."
"Fundamentally, Chris is about what’s good for kids," he said.
Hill also said Cerf is still a member of the TEAM Academy board, but he expects the commissioner-elect to have to step down from that post before becoming commissioner.
Source: N.J.
At a press conference in the Statehouse, Christie called Cerf, 56, of Montclair, someone whose "record of reform and innovation...is well known" and whose "philosophical approach in many areas of education is in line with mine."
Cerf, who now is CEO of Sangari Education, a global math and science technology company, called for the need to reform the state’s worst schools, closing the "shameful" achievement gap between "those born to economic circumstances that are positive and those born to poverty."
He praised Christie for drawing "clear lines" to address it, and offered a prescription that includes finding the best teachers and school leaders; increasing accountability in schools; allowing parents to choose their child’s school; giving schools more opportunity to make decisions for themselves; and more use of technology and other innovation.
News of Cerf’s nomination was first reported last week by The Star-Ledger and Wall Street Journal. His nomination now moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing on the $141,000 a year cabinet post.
A former high school history teacher, and a member of the board of TEAM Academy, a Newark charter school, Cerf Monday also spoke of targeting issues that have long been sacred to teachers. He said he supports "differentiated pay" for teachers, with "rewards and consequences" based on how well children are learning, instead of the current system where salary is based on years of service and a teachers’ degree of education.
Cerf also called tenure, the job protection that teachers earn after three years and one day on the job, something that was once "a guard against arbitrariness" but that has "massively mutated ... into essentially lifetime protection."
Both he and Christie called for making decisions on school reform based on what is good for children, not adults.
But Cerf also praised teachers, calling them "an essential component in student learning" and the "spiritual guides" who can lead a child to success in the classroom.
"The effectiveness of a teacher is far and away the single greatest determinant in closing the shameful achievement gap," Cerf said. "I have the highest regard and deepest appreciation for teachers in the state. I look forward to working with them."
In Cerf, Christie, a Republican, crossed the aisle to nominate a Democrat. Cerf is an attorney who worked in the Clinton White House. He was also former president of Edison Schools Inc., which at the time was the nation’s largest private sector manager of public schools.
Christie, who has waged a nearly year-long battle with the New Jersey Education Association over teacher pay and tenure, showed no sign of easing up, however. He said the tone of his administration going forward will be "determined by the partner we have on the other side."
He alluded to teachers as "one group standing in the schoolhouse door blocking reform."
"I am looking forward to the time when the teachers union wants to be part of real reform," Christie said. "I have seen nothing that indicates they will be. However, I wait in hope."
NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said later the union looks forward to meeting with Cerf and "hopefully establishing the type of dialogue that ought to exist between the commissioner and NJEA." He pointed to an agreement Cerf made with New York City’s teachers’ union, which created a system where schools earned bonuses when students excel.
Christie selected Cerf to fill the job left vacant when the governor, in August, fired former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler over the state’s failed Race to the Top bid for federal education stimulus money.
Acting Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks, who was assistant commissioner of education, and who was a candidate for the permanent post, has filled the role since Schundler was fired. Christie also thanked her, and said she will be staying on in his administration.
Cerf’s appointment has been praised by many in education.
Ryan Hill, CEO of TEAM Academy, said Cerf is "very bold and has high expectations for what education should look like."
"Fundamentally, Chris is about what’s good for kids," he said.
Hill also said Cerf is still a member of the TEAM Academy board, but he expects the commissioner-elect to have to step down from that post before becoming commissioner.
Source: N.J.
BestEssayHelp | It's time to explode 4 taboos of parenting
Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman, in a lively tag-team, expose 4 facts that parents never, ever admit -- and why they should. Funny and honest, for parents and nonparents alike.
www.BestEssayHelp.com | The case for collaborative consumption
At TEDxSydney, Rachel Botsman says we're "wired to share" — and shows how websites like Zipcar and Swaptree are changing the rules of human behavior.
Monday, December 20, 2010
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Deloitte CEO: Better Career Preparation Starts in High School
Even in a good economy, the transition from college to the workplace can be tricky. Some people sail through academia to work without a hitch. Others have a harder time finding the right fit; they’ll need to adjust their expectations and/or improve their skills before they begin their careers.
So where’s the disconnect? Why isn’t everyone coming out of college career- and future-ready?
For many students, it may be because they had to spend time getting up to speed on college-level work. That leaves them less time to reap the benefits of higher education and grow into the kinds of young professionals employers expect to hire.
As colleges prepare for final exams this month, millions of first-year students will get concrete data on how well they’ve been prepared for higher education. More than two-thirds of high-school students in Deloitte’s 2010 Education Survey told us they felt well-prepared for college, while more than two-thirds of high school teachers fear their students are not prepared to handle college course work.
Which view is correct? The sad truth of the matter is no one really knows.
Graduation rates tell high schools how well they’re doing in moving their “products”—students—along the line and out the door. But we don’t routinely gather data on how well those students perform once they’re out in the world. I can’t imagine any successful business operating this way. Why do our schools?
If we’re really serious about improving college enrollment and graduation rates—and preparing our young people to enter the job market—we need to gather information on college performance and channel it back to our high school teachers, principals and administrators. Teachers we surveyed were nearly unanimous in agreeing that without data on students’ academic performance in college, they cannot properly evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum and teaching methods. Yet, only 13% of the teachers in our survey receive such reports; whatever other feedback they receive is anecdotal, from alumni or parents.
The information is out there. All we need to do is collect it and make sure it gets to where it will do the most good: our nation’s high schools and teachers. That way, we can maximize the effectiveness of the education our children receive and the competitiveness of our nation’s business sector. Everybody wins.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
So where’s the disconnect? Why isn’t everyone coming out of college career- and future-ready?
For many students, it may be because they had to spend time getting up to speed on college-level work. That leaves them less time to reap the benefits of higher education and grow into the kinds of young professionals employers expect to hire.
As colleges prepare for final exams this month, millions of first-year students will get concrete data on how well they’ve been prepared for higher education. More than two-thirds of high-school students in Deloitte’s 2010 Education Survey told us they felt well-prepared for college, while more than two-thirds of high school teachers fear their students are not prepared to handle college course work.
Which view is correct? The sad truth of the matter is no one really knows.
Graduation rates tell high schools how well they’re doing in moving their “products”—students—along the line and out the door. But we don’t routinely gather data on how well those students perform once they’re out in the world. I can’t imagine any successful business operating this way. Why do our schools?
If we’re really serious about improving college enrollment and graduation rates—and preparing our young people to enter the job market—we need to gather information on college performance and channel it back to our high school teachers, principals and administrators. Teachers we surveyed were nearly unanimous in agreeing that without data on students’ academic performance in college, they cannot properly evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum and teaching methods. Yet, only 13% of the teachers in our survey receive such reports; whatever other feedback they receive is anecdotal, from alumni or parents.
The information is out there. All we need to do is collect it and make sure it gets to where it will do the most good: our nation’s high schools and teachers. That way, we can maximize the effectiveness of the education our children receive and the competitiveness of our nation’s business sector. Everybody wins.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
BestEssayHelp | Government eases cut to school sports funding
(Reuters) - The government staged a partial retreat on the scrapping of 162 million pounds of annual school sports funding on Monday after a wave of protests from teachers, pupils and Olympic athletes like diver Tom Daley and heptathlete Denise Lewis.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said schools would instead be given 65 million pounds to cover two years of additional sports teaching after existing funding ends in the summer.
Gove sparked outrage in October when he said he was cutting funding for 450 School Sports Partnerships (SSP), which organise PE, sports clubs and competitions at schools where there are no specialist sports staff.
Gove believed the 2.4 billion pounds spent on the scheme over the past seven years had brought some benefits but said it was overly bureaucratic and that too few children were taking part in competitive sport.
Prime Minister David Cameron had called the scheme a "complete failure" but earlier this month adopted a more conciliatory tone after public criticism of the move.
More than 70 British Olympic athletes wrote to Cameron last month warning that the "ill-conceived" ending of funding for the sports partnerships would risk the future of children's health.
They said the move would destroy any hope of delivering the promised legacy of wider participation in sport promised in London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics.
Earlier this month, around 500 pupils delivered to Cameron's Downing St office a petition with half a million signatures appealing for the scheme to be saved.
Funding for the sports partnerships will continue to the end of the school summer term next year but will be reduced to 118 million pounds, Gove's education department said.
The replacement funding of 65 million pounds, spread over two academic years to 2013, will allow schools to pay for one PE teacher to spend a day a week out of the classroom, allowing them to organise more competitive sports.
Labour education spokesman Andy Burnham said the move was an embarrassing climbdown by the coalition government.
"They spent weeks trying to justify a bad decision with dodgy statistics and they have finally given in today," Burnham told BBC television.
"It's a victory for thousands of young people, teachers and athletes... But I'm still worried that fewer children will be playing sport in the run up to 2012," he added.
Source: Reuters
Education Secretary Michael Gove said schools would instead be given 65 million pounds to cover two years of additional sports teaching after existing funding ends in the summer.
Gove sparked outrage in October when he said he was cutting funding for 450 School Sports Partnerships (SSP), which organise PE, sports clubs and competitions at schools where there are no specialist sports staff.
Gove believed the 2.4 billion pounds spent on the scheme over the past seven years had brought some benefits but said it was overly bureaucratic and that too few children were taking part in competitive sport.
Prime Minister David Cameron had called the scheme a "complete failure" but earlier this month adopted a more conciliatory tone after public criticism of the move.
More than 70 British Olympic athletes wrote to Cameron last month warning that the "ill-conceived" ending of funding for the sports partnerships would risk the future of children's health.
They said the move would destroy any hope of delivering the promised legacy of wider participation in sport promised in London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympics.
Earlier this month, around 500 pupils delivered to Cameron's Downing St office a petition with half a million signatures appealing for the scheme to be saved.
Funding for the sports partnerships will continue to the end of the school summer term next year but will be reduced to 118 million pounds, Gove's education department said.
The replacement funding of 65 million pounds, spread over two academic years to 2013, will allow schools to pay for one PE teacher to spend a day a week out of the classroom, allowing them to organise more competitive sports.
Labour education spokesman Andy Burnham said the move was an embarrassing climbdown by the coalition government.
"They spent weeks trying to justify a bad decision with dodgy statistics and they have finally given in today," Burnham told BBC television.
"It's a victory for thousands of young people, teachers and athletes... But I'm still worried that fewer children will be playing sport in the run up to 2012," he added.
Source: Reuters
www.BestEssayHelp.com | California's public schools are being asked to do more even as funding is cut
Two court cases this month put California's public schools on notice. In one, the court ruled that schools no longer could ignore the state's requirements for physical education; a survey had found that fully half the schools in the state were providing fewer hours of gym instruction than the law requires in an effort to save money or to devote more hours in the day to teaching. In the other case, the state reached an out-of-court settlement in which it pledged that its schools would stop charging parents for basic supplies, and would provide parents with a way to challenge what they believe to be illegal fees.
These were the right outcomes. Individual schools and school districts can't unilaterally decide how many hours of gym students will get; physical activity is important to children's development, just as English and math lessons are. And parents shouldn't have to worry about whether they can afford to send their children to public school. Yet as justified as they were, these cases were not remedies for the malaise that afflicts California schools, but reflections of that malaise.
Our schools have been backed into a corner. Until Gov.-elect Jerry Brown spoke last week about how shocking the state's budget crisis is, and how yet more of the financial pain might fall on schools, the state had been pretending that education was going on as usual, with some snips and some trims and some new freedom to spend sums previously earmarked for specific programs. But that is a gross understatement of the severe problems facing California's schools, and we're no longer at the point where they can make their finances whole by cutting extraneous items and putting the administrative budget on a diet. Over the last three years, the average amount spent per pupil has dropped about $1,500, to about $8,300.
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Many school districts, including the gargantuan Los Angeles Unified School District, have been forced to cut eight to 10 instructional days from the usual 180-day schedule. They have placed teachers and other staff on furlough. They don't have money for necessary janitorial work, much less art supplies. Primary-grade classes capped at 20 students are already a fading memory in many schools, as class sizes bump up toward 30 and near 40 in some classes for older students. California has long spent a little less money per student than the national average; now it ranks even lower: 43rd. The top-spending state, New York, lavishes more than $15,000 on each student.
State and federal policies aren't aligned with these fiscal realities. The federal No Child Left Behind Act is labeling more and more schools as failing as the nation nears the 2014 deadline by which all students theoretically must be proficient in English and math. We are nowhere near such an achievement, and without money it will become even more difficult to get there. Reformers are talking about paying and firing teachers based on whether their students' scores on standardized tests rose enough. The Obama administration wants more charter schools — which, it should be noted, often get private funding.
California's public schools are patching together what they can. They're trying to push more expenses onto parents, which runs counter to the state Constitution's promise of free public schools. With less instructional time and higher testing goals, they have sharply reduced recesses and gym. Neither action improves education. In fact, physical activity has been found to improve learning. But then, so do music and art, which also have been cut as schools press forward on core academics. State and federal authorities are putting more demands on schools but failing to give them the guidance, flexibility and resources to bridge the gap between reality and lofty expectations.
The argument among reformers is that no matter how much money is poured into schools, they won't improve without greater accountability, and that's true. One reason that No Child Left Behind gained favor with both Democrats and Republicans was that Title I money for schools with impoverished students had gone into programs that sounded good but made no real difference. But making ever-greater demands isn't enough on its own to create better schools.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to this dilemma consisted largely of lambasting teachers unions for their failure to accept needed reforms. We supported many of his suggestions, such as making tenure and seniority rules more flexible. It harms students when teachers must be laid off; it hurts them even more when contract rules and state law demand that low-performing and sometimes uncaring teachers must be protected by seniority rules while more effective but newer teachers are let go.
Brown has not yet made his education policies clear, but there are indications that he takes a more sympathetic approach to teachers. It's likely that he will lay out a painful education budget before the public, showing just how dire things will be without new revenue. That would be a good first step. The public must be made aware that there is a yawning gap between what it thinks schools can deliver and what schools can pay for with current funding.
The tougher job for Brown will be to guide the schools through a time that almost certainly will include more cuts. He and Tom Torlakson, who will become superintendent of public instruction in January, should work with school leaders and teachers unions on setting priorities. We don't like the idea of reducing gym periods, but if schools need that flexibility to meet testing demands or financial shortfalls, a temporary softening of the law might be in order. The Legislature has spent decades heaping new requirements on the schools, resulting in an Education Code thick enough to boggle the mind. How many of those rules could be suspended during such difficult times? Brown also should lobby Congress for a sane rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act, and he should consider supporting a state initiative that allows parcel taxes for schools to pass with a 55% vote, as school bonds do now.
The weak economy doesn't give schools an excuse to stop the pursuit of improved achievement. Reform efforts should continue. But schools cannot continue to do more with less. It's time for Californians to stop pretending otherwise.
Source: Los Angeles Times
These were the right outcomes. Individual schools and school districts can't unilaterally decide how many hours of gym students will get; physical activity is important to children's development, just as English and math lessons are. And parents shouldn't have to worry about whether they can afford to send their children to public school. Yet as justified as they were, these cases were not remedies for the malaise that afflicts California schools, but reflections of that malaise.
Our schools have been backed into a corner. Until Gov.-elect Jerry Brown spoke last week about how shocking the state's budget crisis is, and how yet more of the financial pain might fall on schools, the state had been pretending that education was going on as usual, with some snips and some trims and some new freedom to spend sums previously earmarked for specific programs. But that is a gross understatement of the severe problems facing California's schools, and we're no longer at the point where they can make their finances whole by cutting extraneous items and putting the administrative budget on a diet. Over the last three years, the average amount spent per pupil has dropped about $1,500, to about $8,300.
Get the best in Southern California opinion journalism delivered to your inbox with our Opinion L.A. newsletter. Sign up »
Many school districts, including the gargantuan Los Angeles Unified School District, have been forced to cut eight to 10 instructional days from the usual 180-day schedule. They have placed teachers and other staff on furlough. They don't have money for necessary janitorial work, much less art supplies. Primary-grade classes capped at 20 students are already a fading memory in many schools, as class sizes bump up toward 30 and near 40 in some classes for older students. California has long spent a little less money per student than the national average; now it ranks even lower: 43rd. The top-spending state, New York, lavishes more than $15,000 on each student.
State and federal policies aren't aligned with these fiscal realities. The federal No Child Left Behind Act is labeling more and more schools as failing as the nation nears the 2014 deadline by which all students theoretically must be proficient in English and math. We are nowhere near such an achievement, and without money it will become even more difficult to get there. Reformers are talking about paying and firing teachers based on whether their students' scores on standardized tests rose enough. The Obama administration wants more charter schools — which, it should be noted, often get private funding.
California's public schools are patching together what they can. They're trying to push more expenses onto parents, which runs counter to the state Constitution's promise of free public schools. With less instructional time and higher testing goals, they have sharply reduced recesses and gym. Neither action improves education. In fact, physical activity has been found to improve learning. But then, so do music and art, which also have been cut as schools press forward on core academics. State and federal authorities are putting more demands on schools but failing to give them the guidance, flexibility and resources to bridge the gap between reality and lofty expectations.
The argument among reformers is that no matter how much money is poured into schools, they won't improve without greater accountability, and that's true. One reason that No Child Left Behind gained favor with both Democrats and Republicans was that Title I money for schools with impoverished students had gone into programs that sounded good but made no real difference. But making ever-greater demands isn't enough on its own to create better schools.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to this dilemma consisted largely of lambasting teachers unions for their failure to accept needed reforms. We supported many of his suggestions, such as making tenure and seniority rules more flexible. It harms students when teachers must be laid off; it hurts them even more when contract rules and state law demand that low-performing and sometimes uncaring teachers must be protected by seniority rules while more effective but newer teachers are let go.
Brown has not yet made his education policies clear, but there are indications that he takes a more sympathetic approach to teachers. It's likely that he will lay out a painful education budget before the public, showing just how dire things will be without new revenue. That would be a good first step. The public must be made aware that there is a yawning gap between what it thinks schools can deliver and what schools can pay for with current funding.
The tougher job for Brown will be to guide the schools through a time that almost certainly will include more cuts. He and Tom Torlakson, who will become superintendent of public instruction in January, should work with school leaders and teachers unions on setting priorities. We don't like the idea of reducing gym periods, but if schools need that flexibility to meet testing demands or financial shortfalls, a temporary softening of the law might be in order. The Legislature has spent decades heaping new requirements on the schools, resulting in an Education Code thick enough to boggle the mind. How many of those rules could be suspended during such difficult times? Brown also should lobby Congress for a sane rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act, and he should consider supporting a state initiative that allows parcel taxes for schools to pass with a 55% vote, as school bonds do now.
The weak economy doesn't give schools an excuse to stop the pursuit of improved achievement. Reform efforts should continue. But schools cannot continue to do more with less. It's time for Californians to stop pretending otherwise.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Friday, December 17, 2010
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Diana Laufenberg: How to learn? From mistakes
Diana Laufenberg shares 3 surprising things she has learned about teaching — including a key insight about learning from mistakes.
BestEssayHelp | Moseley Braun talks education before tonight's CTU forum
An education-themed week continued to unfold in the Chicago mayor's contest today, as former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun offered her ideas on the city's public school system.
Moseley Braun said she would focus on improving neighborhood schools so that students don't have to test in to magnet and selective enrollment schools to receive a good education.
"The opportunity for a quality education is not something we should have to compete for," Moseley Braun said. "We can provide children with quality education in the neighborhoods where they live."
The candidate also said she supports full-day kindergarten and more early childhood education and believes both can be accomplished within Chicago Public Schools' current budget.
She declined to give a checklist of what is required to improve the system because "every community is different."
She announced her education plan at the South Side's Amelia Earhart Elementary School, flanked by Democratic state legislators who are endorsing her mayoral candidacy, including: state Reps. Marlow Colvin, Ken Dunkin, and Esther Golar and state Sens. Mattie Hunter and Martin Sandoval.
CPS' next leader should be an educator, Moseley Braun said. And teachers should not be scapegoats or "blamed for so much of what is wrong that's not your fault," she told a round table of educators in the school's library before her press conference.
"This pitch battle between the administration and the union has been a distraction," she said, just hours before she and several other major candidates were scheduled to appear at a mayoral forum hosted by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Mayoral candidates state Sen. James Meeks and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel talked about their thoughts on Chicago education earlier this week.
Source: Washington Post
Moseley Braun said she would focus on improving neighborhood schools so that students don't have to test in to magnet and selective enrollment schools to receive a good education.
"The opportunity for a quality education is not something we should have to compete for," Moseley Braun said. "We can provide children with quality education in the neighborhoods where they live."
The candidate also said she supports full-day kindergarten and more early childhood education and believes both can be accomplished within Chicago Public Schools' current budget.
She declined to give a checklist of what is required to improve the system because "every community is different."
She announced her education plan at the South Side's Amelia Earhart Elementary School, flanked by Democratic state legislators who are endorsing her mayoral candidacy, including: state Reps. Marlow Colvin, Ken Dunkin, and Esther Golar and state Sens. Mattie Hunter and Martin Sandoval.
CPS' next leader should be an educator, Moseley Braun said. And teachers should not be scapegoats or "blamed for so much of what is wrong that's not your fault," she told a round table of educators in the school's library before her press conference.
"This pitch battle between the administration and the union has been a distraction," she said, just hours before she and several other major candidates were scheduled to appear at a mayoral forum hosted by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Mayoral candidates state Sen. James Meeks and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel talked about their thoughts on Chicago education earlier this week.
Source: Washington Post
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Hope for higher education lies in coordinating efforts
The claims made by Darryl Greer, CEO of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, in his guest opinion editorial, "Hope for a new vision for N.J. higher education" (Dec. 2), raise more questions than answers.
It is true that the annual exodus of graduating seniors to out-of-state institutions is a problem. However, in-state institutions would be much more attractive if school managers performed long-overdue maintenance, upgrades and modernization of existing facilities, rather than embarking on grandiose projects that can only be financed by excessive borrowing and hikes in tuition and fees.
It is also true that our public institutions are not adequately funded. Unlike Mr. Greer's association, New Jersey's higher education unions have consistently taken the lead in lobbying the Legislature for more funding. Public higher education unions commissioned an update of the New Jersey Policy Perspective report "Flunking Out: New Jersey's Support for Higher Education Falls Short," which calls for making an honest assessment of what is needed, giving real thought to priorities, investing in the future -- and then doing everything possible to make sure the resources are available.
Higher education faculty and staff are advocating for the formation of a statewide master plan for higher education. Unfortunately, the practical application of this professional experience is opposed by the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, which advocates for allowing the individual institutions to continue destructive one-upmanship rather than coordination.
The fact is that our state colleges' and universities' managers cannot be entirely trusted to focus on expanding quality education rather than their personal portfolios. Without state oversight, the presidents and their boards of trustees made budgetary decisions as if they were running private corporations. It will continue to make no difference to them what each of the other schools does until each institution is part of a fully integrated state system of higher education.
In Northern New Jersey, for example, there are five state colleges and universities within no more than 40 miles of one another. They don't coordinate their programs or overall institutional needs. They plan, borrow, build and create or eliminate academic programs with no regard for how those changes affect their sister institutions.
There are even highway billboards in South Jersey that attempt to entice students to attend state colleges and universities in North Jersey and vice-versa. This wasteful competition has burdened public higher education students in New Jersey with among the highest tuition rates and debt loads in the nation.
Mr. Greer makes mention of a new "blue ribbon" report that is due out shortly from the Governor's Task Force on Higher Education, created last spring by Gov. Christie and chaired by former Gov. Tom Kean. He does not mention that not one representative from the higher education unions was appointed to the task force. Nor does he mention that the task force operates in the dark, failing to hold public hearings or to request information from public stakeholders. Without balanced input, the report can only be flawed.
We also care about our students, accountability to the taxpayers and the future of higher education in New Jersey. Mr. Greer's repeated advocacy for the so-called higher education "tool kit bills" could not be more self-serving. Do these bills indeed amount to any more than a naked grab for more power by the state higher education presidents and their boards of trustees?
If Mr. Greer truly believes in greater accountability, we invite him to join in the call that Gov. Christie implement S1609, which was signed into law in January. That law was enacted in response to the State Commission of Investigation report that highlighted serious mismanagement of our public institutions of higher education. The law's provisions include empowering the Commission of Higher Education to impose effective and efficient state oversight of public higher education and more accountability from state college and university governing boards; implementing Sarbanes-Oxley style standards to improve fiscal accountability; enacting controls on higher education lobbying by the individual institutions; expanding the number of members on the commission to represent more constituencies; and creating a new Cabinet-level higher education secretary.
It's astonishing that Gov. Christie, who was charged with enforcing the law while he was a federal prosecutor, has chosen to ignore laws he does not like since becoming governor. Wouldn't our students, their parents and all taxpayers be better served if Gov. Christie enforced this existing law instead of pushing for tool kit measures that reward bad managers? We know they would, but don't hold your breath.
Nicholas Yovnello is president of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals-American Federation of Teachers, which represents faculty and staff at the nine state colleges and universities.
Source: NJ
It is true that the annual exodus of graduating seniors to out-of-state institutions is a problem. However, in-state institutions would be much more attractive if school managers performed long-overdue maintenance, upgrades and modernization of existing facilities, rather than embarking on grandiose projects that can only be financed by excessive borrowing and hikes in tuition and fees.
It is also true that our public institutions are not adequately funded. Unlike Mr. Greer's association, New Jersey's higher education unions have consistently taken the lead in lobbying the Legislature for more funding. Public higher education unions commissioned an update of the New Jersey Policy Perspective report "Flunking Out: New Jersey's Support for Higher Education Falls Short," which calls for making an honest assessment of what is needed, giving real thought to priorities, investing in the future -- and then doing everything possible to make sure the resources are available.
Higher education faculty and staff are advocating for the formation of a statewide master plan for higher education. Unfortunately, the practical application of this professional experience is opposed by the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, which advocates for allowing the individual institutions to continue destructive one-upmanship rather than coordination.
The fact is that our state colleges' and universities' managers cannot be entirely trusted to focus on expanding quality education rather than their personal portfolios. Without state oversight, the presidents and their boards of trustees made budgetary decisions as if they were running private corporations. It will continue to make no difference to them what each of the other schools does until each institution is part of a fully integrated state system of higher education.
In Northern New Jersey, for example, there are five state colleges and universities within no more than 40 miles of one another. They don't coordinate their programs or overall institutional needs. They plan, borrow, build and create or eliminate academic programs with no regard for how those changes affect their sister institutions.
There are even highway billboards in South Jersey that attempt to entice students to attend state colleges and universities in North Jersey and vice-versa. This wasteful competition has burdened public higher education students in New Jersey with among the highest tuition rates and debt loads in the nation.
Mr. Greer makes mention of a new "blue ribbon" report that is due out shortly from the Governor's Task Force on Higher Education, created last spring by Gov. Christie and chaired by former Gov. Tom Kean. He does not mention that not one representative from the higher education unions was appointed to the task force. Nor does he mention that the task force operates in the dark, failing to hold public hearings or to request information from public stakeholders. Without balanced input, the report can only be flawed.
We also care about our students, accountability to the taxpayers and the future of higher education in New Jersey. Mr. Greer's repeated advocacy for the so-called higher education "tool kit bills" could not be more self-serving. Do these bills indeed amount to any more than a naked grab for more power by the state higher education presidents and their boards of trustees?
If Mr. Greer truly believes in greater accountability, we invite him to join in the call that Gov. Christie implement S1609, which was signed into law in January. That law was enacted in response to the State Commission of Investigation report that highlighted serious mismanagement of our public institutions of higher education. The law's provisions include empowering the Commission of Higher Education to impose effective and efficient state oversight of public higher education and more accountability from state college and university governing boards; implementing Sarbanes-Oxley style standards to improve fiscal accountability; enacting controls on higher education lobbying by the individual institutions; expanding the number of members on the commission to represent more constituencies; and creating a new Cabinet-level higher education secretary.
It's astonishing that Gov. Christie, who was charged with enforcing the law while he was a federal prosecutor, has chosen to ignore laws he does not like since becoming governor. Wouldn't our students, their parents and all taxpayers be better served if Gov. Christie enforced this existing law instead of pushing for tool kit measures that reward bad managers? We know they would, but don't hold your breath.
Nicholas Yovnello is president of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals-American Federation of Teachers, which represents faculty and staff at the nine state colleges and universities.
Source: NJ
Thursday, December 16, 2010
BestEssayHelp.com | Teachers union officials say they are not 'villains of education'
After receiving several public bashings amid unprecedented political and community pressure for school reform, leaders of the Los Angeles teacher's union said Wednesday that they are not "the villains of education."
Union leaders also laid out their plan to push for teacher-led reforms, as they prepare for a new round of salary negotiations with school district officials.
The teachers union has faced growing criticism in recent months from Los Angeles Unified officials, community groups and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for opposing key proposals for school improvement, including key changes to teacher evaluations and the hiring and firing process of educators.
At a news conference Wednesday, labor leaders denounced the idea that they are "defenders of the status quo."
"Too often we are painted as greedy and uncaring, well today, we are setting the record straight.. that is not true and we are pushing back," said Julie Washington, a vice-president for United Teachers Los Angeles.
Facing one of the toughest rounds of contract negotiations to date, UTLA leaders said they want LAUSD to stabilize schools by reducing staff layoffs. Union leaders also said they wanted to push for more freedom for educators to decide how they teach state required subjects and how they measure student success.
"District mandated programs have killed ingenuity," said teacher Queena Kim, who works at the UCLA Community School in Koreatown.
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However, union leaders maintained their opposition to using test scores and to the elimination of the seniority system, which forces the district to keep teachers who have worked with LAUSD the longest, regardless of performance, during layoffs.
In an interview this week, LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he saw the union as a critical and integral part of the district, however he said recently his own negotiation invitations to labor leaders have gone ignored.
"I've always felt the union has to be a part of the reform agenda," Cortines said. "But they cannot continue to stonewall."
Union leaders said they have not turned down any district negotiation meetings.
Some in the community though have grown increasingly impatient with the union, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who last week blasted the teacher's union as "one unwavering roadblock to reform."
"We all welcome a more progressive teachers union in Los Angeles .... but up until now they have been the party of no," said LAUSD school board member Yolie Flores.
Source: Daily News
Union leaders also laid out their plan to push for teacher-led reforms, as they prepare for a new round of salary negotiations with school district officials.
The teachers union has faced growing criticism in recent months from Los Angeles Unified officials, community groups and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for opposing key proposals for school improvement, including key changes to teacher evaluations and the hiring and firing process of educators.
At a news conference Wednesday, labor leaders denounced the idea that they are "defenders of the status quo."
"Too often we are painted as greedy and uncaring, well today, we are setting the record straight.. that is not true and we are pushing back," said Julie Washington, a vice-president for United Teachers Los Angeles.
Facing one of the toughest rounds of contract negotiations to date, UTLA leaders said they want LAUSD to stabilize schools by reducing staff layoffs. Union leaders also said they wanted to push for more freedom for educators to decide how they teach state required subjects and how they measure student success.
"District mandated programs have killed ingenuity," said teacher Queena Kim, who works at the UCLA Community School in Koreatown.
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However, union leaders maintained their opposition to using test scores and to the elimination of the seniority system, which forces the district to keep teachers who have worked with LAUSD the longest, regardless of performance, during layoffs.
In an interview this week, LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he saw the union as a critical and integral part of the district, however he said recently his own negotiation invitations to labor leaders have gone ignored.
"I've always felt the union has to be a part of the reform agenda," Cortines said. "But they cannot continue to stonewall."
Union leaders said they have not turned down any district negotiation meetings.
Some in the community though have grown increasingly impatient with the union, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who last week blasted the teacher's union as "one unwavering roadblock to reform."
"We all welcome a more progressive teachers union in Los Angeles .... but up until now they have been the party of no," said LAUSD school board member Yolie Flores.
Source: Daily News
BestEssayHelp | Washington state education leaders lament major budget cuts
Class sizes in kindergarten through fourth grade would grow and about 1,500 teachers could lose their jobs under Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed budget, state Superintendent Randy Dorn said Wednesday.
For college students, tuition at the University of Washington and other state universities would jump 11 percent a year for two years, and by 9 percent a year at state community colleges. But the increases still wouldn't be enough to make up for cutbacks in state higher-education funding.
Education leaders on Wednesday kept coming up with the same word for Gregoire's proposal: devastating.
Dorn said K-4 class sizes could increase to 26 or 27 students. Currently, class size in the earliest grades is about 23 students, depending on the school and the district.
Larger classes would save the state $216 million, but would have a profound effect on student achievement, he said.
The state began funding smaller classes in the early grades about 20 years ago after research showed that lowering class size was "a great investment — it paid off in the future with higher graduation rates, higher literacy, all those positive things," Dorn said.
He said the proposed budget also cuts dropout-prevention assistance and other programs that aim to erase the achievement gap. "Literally, the services that help kids get through school are the things that are getting cut," he said.
Some districts would likely go back to voters to ask for more money to backfill state cuts, but many poorer districts can't count on voters to help out, said Chris Korsmo, executive director of the League of Education Voters. That means education would become more inequitable from district to district, she said.
In higher education, tuition would jump 11 percent each year at the University of Washington, Washington State University and Western Washington University. The Evergreen State College and Central and Eastern universities would see tuition increase by 10 percent a year, while community and technical colleges would increase by about 9 percent each year.
The budget would reduce state support of higher education by about 4.2 percent — that's the portion not backfilled with tuition money.
The UW has asked a governor's task force on higher education to consider allowing universities to use differentiated tuition pricing, said UW Vice President Randy Hodgins.
Under that model, the universities would charge higher tuition for students seeking degrees in high-demand fields, such as the sciences or engineering. It can cost more to educate a student in those fields, but that student will often find a job faster and make more money upon graduation than a student who majors in another field, such as English.
Under Gregoire's budget, state aid to help lower-income students pay for college would be increased by $92 million. But even with the additional tuition dollars, colleges and universities will see more than $220 million in cuts.
Source: The Seattle Times
For college students, tuition at the University of Washington and other state universities would jump 11 percent a year for two years, and by 9 percent a year at state community colleges. But the increases still wouldn't be enough to make up for cutbacks in state higher-education funding.
Education leaders on Wednesday kept coming up with the same word for Gregoire's proposal: devastating.
Dorn said K-4 class sizes could increase to 26 or 27 students. Currently, class size in the earliest grades is about 23 students, depending on the school and the district.
Larger classes would save the state $216 million, but would have a profound effect on student achievement, he said.
The state began funding smaller classes in the early grades about 20 years ago after research showed that lowering class size was "a great investment — it paid off in the future with higher graduation rates, higher literacy, all those positive things," Dorn said.
He said the proposed budget also cuts dropout-prevention assistance and other programs that aim to erase the achievement gap. "Literally, the services that help kids get through school are the things that are getting cut," he said.
Some districts would likely go back to voters to ask for more money to backfill state cuts, but many poorer districts can't count on voters to help out, said Chris Korsmo, executive director of the League of Education Voters. That means education would become more inequitable from district to district, she said.
In higher education, tuition would jump 11 percent each year at the University of Washington, Washington State University and Western Washington University. The Evergreen State College and Central and Eastern universities would see tuition increase by 10 percent a year, while community and technical colleges would increase by about 9 percent each year.
The budget would reduce state support of higher education by about 4.2 percent — that's the portion not backfilled with tuition money.
The UW has asked a governor's task force on higher education to consider allowing universities to use differentiated tuition pricing, said UW Vice President Randy Hodgins.
Under that model, the universities would charge higher tuition for students seeking degrees in high-demand fields, such as the sciences or engineering. It can cost more to educate a student in those fields, but that student will often find a job faster and make more money upon graduation than a student who majors in another field, such as English.
Under Gregoire's budget, state aid to help lower-income students pay for college would be increased by $92 million. But even with the additional tuition dollars, colleges and universities will see more than $220 million in cuts.
Source: The Seattle Times
www.BestEssayHelp.com | Education colleges to be put to test
Ohio will soon become the first state in the nation to grade colleges on how well they train teachers to help students succeed.
Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut announced 15 measures yesterday that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the education colleges at Ohio's public and private universities.
The evaluation will be similar to the state report cards of Ohio's K-12 schools, which look at whether students learned a year's worth of material over the previous school year.
The single greatest factor in student learning is teacher quality, Fingerhut said.
"And so we have a moral, professional and institutional obligation to make sure the quality of teachers is as high as possible," he said.
The schools will submit annual data on how well their students do on the state teacher licensure exam, as well as on a "value-added" component that is being developed by the State Board of Education as part of Ohio's Race to the Top plan. Value-added data allows tracking of academic growth of individual students from year to year, regardless of the school attended.
Ohio was among 12 states awarded funding in President Barack Obama's $4.3billion Race to the Top competition. The $400 million awarded to Ohio will be shared by the state and participating school districts and charter schools. The money will finance data systems to help teachers fine-tune lessons, redesign teacher evaluations, provide mentoring programs for educators and expand efforts to close the achievement gap between white and minority students.
The state also will create a teacher-performance assessment that measures how well new teachers communicate with parents, structure lesson plans and manage classrooms.
Colleges will be able to gain extra recognition for working with academically struggling schools, placing graduates in hard-to-staff Ohio school districts or demonstrating a high-quality student-teaching experience.
Schools will start submitting data as soon as benchmarks are created for each component of the plan, but the first comprehensive report won't be ready until the end of 2012.
"We're essentially starting from scratch, and a lot of this information isn't even available yet," said Rob Evans, press secretary for the Ohio Board of Regents.
New teachers often complain that the training they received in college didn't do enough to prepare them for the real world of education. And many critics say few colleges provide teachers-to-be with enough training in English, math and other core subjects or in classroom management and dealing with difficult students.
The two groups representing the teacher-education programs at Ohio's public and private colleges said the new standards should help.
"It is important ... that we prepare the most-effective teachers, match them with highly seasoned mentors, place them in schools and districts that need them the most and provide them with tools and guidance for continued success," said Renee A. Middleton, chairwoman of the State University Education Deans.
Holding the programs up to the highest level of accountability can only help students thrive, said Mifrando Obach, president of the Ohio Association for Private Colleges of Teacher Education.
Source: Dispatch Politics
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
BestEssayHelp.com | Harvard Business Education: Can Introverts Lead?
Francesca Gino, associate professor at Harvard Business School, explains how quiet bosses with proactive teams can be highly successful.
BestEssayHelp | Wall Street Hurts Education at For-Profit Colleges
Wall Street investment firms’ pursuit of short-term gains interferes with the educational goals of the for-profit colleges they invest in, said U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the education committee.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which owns 39 percent of Education Management Corp., is among Wall Street firms that “have no interest in the long-term educational outcomes of the students attending the schools,” Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said today on the Senate floor.
About 1.5 million students are enrolled in for-profit colleges owned by 15 publicly traded U.S. education companies, and another 33 for-profit educators are partially or fully owned by private equity firms or hedge funds, Harkin said. Unlike nonprofit universities and public institutions, for-profit colleges are legally bound to work in the interests of investors, he said.
“The result is that the vast majority of for-profit schools have prioritized growth over education to satisfy the demands of investors,” Harkin said.
Harkin, the U.S. Government Accountability Office and state prosecutors have been investigating misleading recruitment practices and high student default rates at for-profit colleges.
A call to Education Management spokesman Steve Forde wasn’t returned, and Andrea Raphael, a spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs, didn’t respond to a call and an e-mail seeking comment.
Education Management gained 3 cents to $14.05 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. An index of 13 education companies fell less than 1 percent.
‘Inaccurate’ Attack
Harkin’s speech was “another inaccurate anti-business attack on for-profit education,” said Lanny Davis, spokesman and counsel for the Coalition for Educational Success, a Washington-based industry group. Harkin is ignoring the stories of millions of for-profit college graduates who get good educations and jobs, he said.
“For-profit higher education is succeeding because our students are succeeding,” Davis said in an e-mail. “These students seek out our schools because they want what we can offer: A path to a new or better job through effective skills training and focused job placement assistance.”
The Education Department has issued rules for for-profit colleges that will take effect next year, and Harkin has said he plans to file legislation to further restrict education companies. Republican Representative John Kline, who will become chairman of the House education committee in January, has said he opposes more industry regulation.
Source: Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which owns 39 percent of Education Management Corp., is among Wall Street firms that “have no interest in the long-term educational outcomes of the students attending the schools,” Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said today on the Senate floor.
About 1.5 million students are enrolled in for-profit colleges owned by 15 publicly traded U.S. education companies, and another 33 for-profit educators are partially or fully owned by private equity firms or hedge funds, Harkin said. Unlike nonprofit universities and public institutions, for-profit colleges are legally bound to work in the interests of investors, he said.
“The result is that the vast majority of for-profit schools have prioritized growth over education to satisfy the demands of investors,” Harkin said.
Harkin, the U.S. Government Accountability Office and state prosecutors have been investigating misleading recruitment practices and high student default rates at for-profit colleges.
A call to Education Management spokesman Steve Forde wasn’t returned, and Andrea Raphael, a spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs, didn’t respond to a call and an e-mail seeking comment.
Education Management gained 3 cents to $14.05 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. An index of 13 education companies fell less than 1 percent.
‘Inaccurate’ Attack
Harkin’s speech was “another inaccurate anti-business attack on for-profit education,” said Lanny Davis, spokesman and counsel for the Coalition for Educational Success, a Washington-based industry group. Harkin is ignoring the stories of millions of for-profit college graduates who get good educations and jobs, he said.
“For-profit higher education is succeeding because our students are succeeding,” Davis said in an e-mail. “These students seek out our schools because they want what we can offer: A path to a new or better job through effective skills training and focused job placement assistance.”
The Education Department has issued rules for for-profit colleges that will take effect next year, and Harkin has said he plans to file legislation to further restrict education companies. Republican Representative John Kline, who will become chairman of the House education committee in January, has said he opposes more industry regulation.
Source: Bloomberg
BestEssayHelp.com | Problem with education is not ‘bad’ teachers
If only educating children was as simple as most Americans and nearly all state and federal lawmakers believed it to be.
Results from an Associated Press-Stanford University Poll released Tuesday revealed that almost 80 percent of Americans think that it’s too hard for schools to get rid of bad teachers.
That, by itself, yields little more than a “no kidding.” But it’s what lies beneath that complaint that’s so revealing. Clearly, many Americans think that bad teachers are why student achievement test scores are so worrisome. That’s a problem.
Most of all, it’s troublesome because it oversimplifies a complex and serious problem: Too many American children aren’t learning what they need to so that they can reach their full potential after high school; and if more American schools only had better teachers, all of that would change.
It would not. First off, “bad” teachers is a misnomer. Some teachers are amazing in how they can engage even the most reticent student enrolled in what are often considered some of the most wearisome classes, such as geometry or economics. These teachers are few and far between. For the most part, most teachers in most school districts are dedicated, enthusiastic instructors who have enough basic knowledge of their core material to effectively pass it onto children. So much is known about how humans learn, that teaching has become a skill of presentation, not teaching theory.
There’s no doubt, however, that there are some teachers out there who are burned out from the exhausting rigors of being an effective teacher. They’re not so bad to warrant a quick dismissal, which is certainly possible under current education systems. They’re marginal, and the system gives those teachers the benefit of the doubt in hopes that they might turn their classrooms around.
But the reality is, if the country were to find a way to excuse every poor and questionable teacher from the classroom, the nation would still have a serious problem with student achievement.
None of this is new, yet the country, and more importantly, state and federal lawmakers, continue to focus on “cleaning house.” It’s clearly time to change teacher tenure and other teacher employment traditions to better accommodate the removal of what the community can agree upon is a “bad” teacher.
Only then will the country be able to focus on the real problems here, which is the expectation that learning should be as fast-moving and entertaining as an X-Box game, or that parents shouldn’t have to take any active part in a child’s education, or that a serious truancy program isn’t an important investment.
Congress and the Colorado Legislature need to do what they can to empower schools to rid themselves of whatever slovenly instructors they can find, which will be few, and then get down to the real business of improving public education.
Source: Aurora Sentinel
Results from an Associated Press-Stanford University Poll released Tuesday revealed that almost 80 percent of Americans think that it’s too hard for schools to get rid of bad teachers.
That, by itself, yields little more than a “no kidding.” But it’s what lies beneath that complaint that’s so revealing. Clearly, many Americans think that bad teachers are why student achievement test scores are so worrisome. That’s a problem.
Most of all, it’s troublesome because it oversimplifies a complex and serious problem: Too many American children aren’t learning what they need to so that they can reach their full potential after high school; and if more American schools only had better teachers, all of that would change.
It would not. First off, “bad” teachers is a misnomer. Some teachers are amazing in how they can engage even the most reticent student enrolled in what are often considered some of the most wearisome classes, such as geometry or economics. These teachers are few and far between. For the most part, most teachers in most school districts are dedicated, enthusiastic instructors who have enough basic knowledge of their core material to effectively pass it onto children. So much is known about how humans learn, that teaching has become a skill of presentation, not teaching theory.
There’s no doubt, however, that there are some teachers out there who are burned out from the exhausting rigors of being an effective teacher. They’re not so bad to warrant a quick dismissal, which is certainly possible under current education systems. They’re marginal, and the system gives those teachers the benefit of the doubt in hopes that they might turn their classrooms around.
But the reality is, if the country were to find a way to excuse every poor and questionable teacher from the classroom, the nation would still have a serious problem with student achievement.
None of this is new, yet the country, and more importantly, state and federal lawmakers, continue to focus on “cleaning house.” It’s clearly time to change teacher tenure and other teacher employment traditions to better accommodate the removal of what the community can agree upon is a “bad” teacher.
Only then will the country be able to focus on the real problems here, which is the expectation that learning should be as fast-moving and entertaining as an X-Box game, or that parents shouldn’t have to take any active part in a child’s education, or that a serious truancy program isn’t an important investment.
Congress and the Colorado Legislature need to do what they can to empower schools to rid themselves of whatever slovenly instructors they can find, which will be few, and then get down to the real business of improving public education.
Source: Aurora Sentinel
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
BestEssayHelp.com | Special-education costs rise and so do questions
During the height of the Felix consent decree, there were widespread concerns about where special-education funding was going, whether it was resulting in effective services and whether big increases in funding were sustainable.
Some state lawmakers also asked whether funding for special education was becoming too large a portion of the Department of Education's overall budget.
Today, five years after the consent decree was lifted, those concerns have diminished.
Legislators and advocates say although big questions remain about the poor achievement and post-secondary school outcomes of special-education students, the department has made progress in outlining where special-education money is going and why.
Spending on special education accounts for about 20 percent of the Education Department's budget and has increased by nearly 40 percent, or $145 million, since 2004. During the same period, overall education spending has increased by 56 percent, or $900 million, to $2.5 billion a year.
The average per-pupil cost for a special-education student is about $24,000 annually. For general-education students the per-pupil funding is $9,559 a year.
Some advocates say they are concerned about some special-education costs, including the $5.8 million being spent this school year to send 79 special-needs children to private schools, and question whether that money would not be better used to bolster public school programs.
Among the 10 Hawaii and five mainland institutions that special-needs children attending are Kaimuki Christian School, Saint Francis School, Loveland Academy, Pacific Autism Center and Heartspring School in Kansas.
The most intensive programs can cost upward of $180,000 a year.
Hawaii sends special-needs students to private institutions when public schools cannot provide adequate services for them. And many states spend far more on private-school placement (though several states spend less).
Meanwhile, other issues remain.
The Department of Education continues to spend millions of dollars on litigation related to special education, but officials do not have a firm handle on just how much money is being funneled to settlements and other court costs.
In each of the last two school years, the department said it spent about $1 million on attorney's fees related to cases involving students with disabilities.
But the department was not able to provide year-by-year cost totals for settlements in special-education lawsuits or due-process cases. When asked for those figures, the department said they are kept on paper at each complex.
The same process is used for the costs of sending special-needs kids to private schools here and on the mainland, though the department was able to call each complex to get this school year's totals for private-school placement.
Department spokeswoman Sandy Goya said, "At this time, expenditures data for settlements and private-school placement need to be compiled manually as these transactions from various funding sources occur at the state, complex and school level. This process is quite cumbersome and time-consuming."
She added the department is looking at ways to "expedite ... data gathering."
Source: Star Advertiser
Some state lawmakers also asked whether funding for special education was becoming too large a portion of the Department of Education's overall budget.
Today, five years after the consent decree was lifted, those concerns have diminished.
Legislators and advocates say although big questions remain about the poor achievement and post-secondary school outcomes of special-education students, the department has made progress in outlining where special-education money is going and why.
Spending on special education accounts for about 20 percent of the Education Department's budget and has increased by nearly 40 percent, or $145 million, since 2004. During the same period, overall education spending has increased by 56 percent, or $900 million, to $2.5 billion a year.
The average per-pupil cost for a special-education student is about $24,000 annually. For general-education students the per-pupil funding is $9,559 a year.
Some advocates say they are concerned about some special-education costs, including the $5.8 million being spent this school year to send 79 special-needs children to private schools, and question whether that money would not be better used to bolster public school programs.
Among the 10 Hawaii and five mainland institutions that special-needs children attending are Kaimuki Christian School, Saint Francis School, Loveland Academy, Pacific Autism Center and Heartspring School in Kansas.
The most intensive programs can cost upward of $180,000 a year.
Hawaii sends special-needs students to private institutions when public schools cannot provide adequate services for them. And many states spend far more on private-school placement (though several states spend less).
Meanwhile, other issues remain.
The Department of Education continues to spend millions of dollars on litigation related to special education, but officials do not have a firm handle on just how much money is being funneled to settlements and other court costs.
In each of the last two school years, the department said it spent about $1 million on attorney's fees related to cases involving students with disabilities.
But the department was not able to provide year-by-year cost totals for settlements in special-education lawsuits or due-process cases. When asked for those figures, the department said they are kept on paper at each complex.
The same process is used for the costs of sending special-needs kids to private schools here and on the mainland, though the department was able to call each complex to get this school year's totals for private-school placement.
Department spokeswoman Sandy Goya said, "At this time, expenditures data for settlements and private-school placement need to be compiled manually as these transactions from various funding sources occur at the state, complex and school level. This process is quite cumbersome and time-consuming."
She added the department is looking at ways to "expedite ... data gathering."
Source: Star Advertiser
BestEssayHelp | Education fills big space on Brown's chalkboard
As Gov.-elect Jerry Brown prepares to take office, major headwinds are buffeting the biggest component of his upcoming budget: California's schools. They are being confronted by a lack of funding that threatens to further harm pupils and a controversial reform movement that could dramatically reshape how classrooms are run.
Most immediate and pressing is the state's fiscal crisis — a $28-billion gap is forecast for the next 18 months. How that will affect school districts already reeling from years of multibillion-dollar cuts will be the subject of Brown's second budget forum, which is scheduled for Tuesday in Los Angeles.
"Jerry Brown is entering office at a moment when the capacity of the system is weaker than any time in recent memory," said John Rogers, director of the Institute for Democracy, Education and Access at UCLA. "I worry we may be reaching a breaking point."
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Schools' financial health is intricately tied to the state budget because roughly 40% of it is earmarked for K-12 education. In recent years, as legislators struggled to close large deficits, schools have seen round after round of funding cuts — $21 billion in the last two years alone. California's per-pupil spending is now lower than that in nearly every other state, resulting in widespread teacher layoffs, the cancellation of summer school, the shortening of the school year and the overcrowding of classrooms.
Educators say the state is seeing the result of these actions — the dropout rate rose three points, to 22%, in the 2008-09 school year — and fear that more cuts could push some districts into insolvency.
"I attribute the increase in the dropout rate to some extent on the budget cuts — fewer counselors, fewer classes in music and the arts, less career-technical education," said Jack O'Connell, the outgoing state superintendent of public instruction.
Brown, who has called finding more funding for schools a "very top priority," acknowledges the difficulty of doing so in tough economic times.
"I'd like to get as much money for the schools as I can, but there's only as much money as the economy and the taxpayers make available," he said in October.
His focus on education has evolved during his four decades in public life. Even among his supporters, Brown is viewed as having had little interest in the topic during his previous stint as governor (1975-1983).
"I don't think he had a huge mark on education in his first two terms," said Michael Kirst, a Stanford University professor and Brown advisor who served on the state Board of Education when Brown was last governor. "What changed is that he got to be mayor of Oakland, and he took over at a time the school district was imploding."
Brown sought mayoral control of Oakland's failing schools but never achieved it. He did gain the power to appoint three members to the school board, but failed to have a real effect on the district.
Brown's advisors say his experiences tangling with the district's bureaucracy, as well as his founding of two charter schools in the city, gave him both an interest in improving education in California and concrete ideas on how to do it.
"That really transformed him," Kirst said. "When I began discussing education with him again for this race, it was like talking with a school administrator.… He could talk about teachers and how to evaluate them. He hired and fired several principals. He has an on-the-ground operational grasp of education."
The charter experience also led to his skepticism of the national education reform movement.
Among other things, reform advocates have focused on dramatically altering the way teachers are hired, evaluated and fired, which has caused major clashes with teachers unions. Some proposals include instituting merit pay, tying teachers' evaluations to their students' performance and altering a tenure system that makes it difficult to fire ineffective teachers and a seniority system that leads to layoffs of effective but young instructors.
These issues gained prominence when the Obama administration began pushing them last year, using the federal Race to the Top competition as leverage. That competition for billions of federal dollars, at a time when many states were facing budget deficits, prodded California and other states to implement legislative changes aligned with the reforms. California failed to qualify for the federal money in two Race to the Top rounds because it did not win significant backing from unions and districts and because other states enacted more reforms.
Parents in Compton this week became the first in the state to tap a school-turnaround law prompted by the Race to the Top competition when they petitioned to turn an elementary school into a charter. And Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a former organizer for the United Teachers Los Angeles, savaged the group's leadership, describing it as the "one unwavering roadblock to reform."
Brown has expressed serious reservations about some of those proposals.
"Look, we're facing big changes, and people who haven't been around always want to reinvent the wheel with yesterday's tried-and-failed programs," Brown told representatives of the California Teachers Assn. in June.
He was even more blunt last year, when as the state's attorney general he weighed in on Race to the Top. He castigated the draft regulations as simplistic, unproven and overly "top-down, Washington-driven" and called for a "little humility."
"What we have at stake are the impressionable minds of the children of America. You are not collecting data or devising standards for operating machines or establishing a credit score," he wrote in the August 2009 letter. "In the draft you have circulated, I sense a pervasive technocratic bias and an uncritical faith in the power [of] social science."
During his gubernatorial campaign, Brown released an education plan that many experts criticized as lacking specifics. Kirst suggested he would occupy a middle ground.
"Declaring war from Day One on your employees is not the strategy here," he said. "He's going to see if there are any agreements that can be reached, rather than declaring teachers organizations and employee organizations the enemies."
Teachers unions spent millions of dollars supporting Brown against Republican Meg Whitman. But as mayor, Brown repeatedly clashed with teachers unions, and they don't expect him to walk in lockstep now.
Educators, academics, labor leaders and others will parse the governor-elect's words and actions to try to get an idea of his focus.
"A huge question for Brown is will he pull together his mental energy and innovative instincts to really focus on education over time," said Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley professor who worked for Brown on education issues in the early 1980s. "I don't think he's yet shown that he has that kind of passion about uplifting the schools. That remains a big question as he starts to appoint key advisors and figure out the priorities of his first term."
Source: LA Times
Most immediate and pressing is the state's fiscal crisis — a $28-billion gap is forecast for the next 18 months. How that will affect school districts already reeling from years of multibillion-dollar cuts will be the subject of Brown's second budget forum, which is scheduled for Tuesday in Los Angeles.
"Jerry Brown is entering office at a moment when the capacity of the system is weaker than any time in recent memory," said John Rogers, director of the Institute for Democracy, Education and Access at UCLA. "I worry we may be reaching a breaking point."
Save Up to 90%: Sign up for our free daily e-mail to get in on exclusive deals around L.A. Powered by Groupon. Subscribe Now.
Schools' financial health is intricately tied to the state budget because roughly 40% of it is earmarked for K-12 education. In recent years, as legislators struggled to close large deficits, schools have seen round after round of funding cuts — $21 billion in the last two years alone. California's per-pupil spending is now lower than that in nearly every other state, resulting in widespread teacher layoffs, the cancellation of summer school, the shortening of the school year and the overcrowding of classrooms.
Educators say the state is seeing the result of these actions — the dropout rate rose three points, to 22%, in the 2008-09 school year — and fear that more cuts could push some districts into insolvency.
"I attribute the increase in the dropout rate to some extent on the budget cuts — fewer counselors, fewer classes in music and the arts, less career-technical education," said Jack O'Connell, the outgoing state superintendent of public instruction.
Brown, who has called finding more funding for schools a "very top priority," acknowledges the difficulty of doing so in tough economic times.
"I'd like to get as much money for the schools as I can, but there's only as much money as the economy and the taxpayers make available," he said in October.
His focus on education has evolved during his four decades in public life. Even among his supporters, Brown is viewed as having had little interest in the topic during his previous stint as governor (1975-1983).
"I don't think he had a huge mark on education in his first two terms," said Michael Kirst, a Stanford University professor and Brown advisor who served on the state Board of Education when Brown was last governor. "What changed is that he got to be mayor of Oakland, and he took over at a time the school district was imploding."
Brown sought mayoral control of Oakland's failing schools but never achieved it. He did gain the power to appoint three members to the school board, but failed to have a real effect on the district.
Brown's advisors say his experiences tangling with the district's bureaucracy, as well as his founding of two charter schools in the city, gave him both an interest in improving education in California and concrete ideas on how to do it.
"That really transformed him," Kirst said. "When I began discussing education with him again for this race, it was like talking with a school administrator.… He could talk about teachers and how to evaluate them. He hired and fired several principals. He has an on-the-ground operational grasp of education."
The charter experience also led to his skepticism of the national education reform movement.
Among other things, reform advocates have focused on dramatically altering the way teachers are hired, evaluated and fired, which has caused major clashes with teachers unions. Some proposals include instituting merit pay, tying teachers' evaluations to their students' performance and altering a tenure system that makes it difficult to fire ineffective teachers and a seniority system that leads to layoffs of effective but young instructors.
These issues gained prominence when the Obama administration began pushing them last year, using the federal Race to the Top competition as leverage. That competition for billions of federal dollars, at a time when many states were facing budget deficits, prodded California and other states to implement legislative changes aligned with the reforms. California failed to qualify for the federal money in two Race to the Top rounds because it did not win significant backing from unions and districts and because other states enacted more reforms.
Parents in Compton this week became the first in the state to tap a school-turnaround law prompted by the Race to the Top competition when they petitioned to turn an elementary school into a charter. And Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a former organizer for the United Teachers Los Angeles, savaged the group's leadership, describing it as the "one unwavering roadblock to reform."
Brown has expressed serious reservations about some of those proposals.
"Look, we're facing big changes, and people who haven't been around always want to reinvent the wheel with yesterday's tried-and-failed programs," Brown told representatives of the California Teachers Assn. in June.
He was even more blunt last year, when as the state's attorney general he weighed in on Race to the Top. He castigated the draft regulations as simplistic, unproven and overly "top-down, Washington-driven" and called for a "little humility."
"What we have at stake are the impressionable minds of the children of America. You are not collecting data or devising standards for operating machines or establishing a credit score," he wrote in the August 2009 letter. "In the draft you have circulated, I sense a pervasive technocratic bias and an uncritical faith in the power [of] social science."
During his gubernatorial campaign, Brown released an education plan that many experts criticized as lacking specifics. Kirst suggested he would occupy a middle ground.
"Declaring war from Day One on your employees is not the strategy here," he said. "He's going to see if there are any agreements that can be reached, rather than declaring teachers organizations and employee organizations the enemies."
Teachers unions spent millions of dollars supporting Brown against Republican Meg Whitman. But as mayor, Brown repeatedly clashed with teachers unions, and they don't expect him to walk in lockstep now.
Educators, academics, labor leaders and others will parse the governor-elect's words and actions to try to get an idea of his focus.
"A huge question for Brown is will he pull together his mental energy and innovative instincts to really focus on education over time," said Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley professor who worked for Brown on education issues in the early 1980s. "I don't think he's yet shown that he has that kind of passion about uplifting the schools. That remains a big question as he starts to appoint key advisors and figure out the priorities of his first term."
Source: LA Times
BestEssayHelp.com | Where education reform is heading: From extreme to extremum
If you want to understand where public education reform is heading, look south and east to Florida, where the governor-elect, Rick Scott, is talking about a new funding student formula that is more likely to destroy the public school system than accomplish anything else.
Scott wants to expand a voucher program that allows low-income and disabled students to use public money to go to private schools to ALL students.
Here’s how it would work, according to a preliminary plan: Vouchers, euphemistically termed “education savings accounts,” would be created and the state would deposit public education funds into them for each eligible students. Parents would shop for the school they like -- public or private -- and help pay for it with 85 percent of the state’s per-student funding figure -- which this year is $6,843.
State public education money would no longer flow through a public education system.
The idea may well be the most radical public education idea any state has ever considered, as the St. Petersburg Time noted.
Once upon a time in America, it may have sounded preposterous not only in concept but in chances of implementation.
But the Republicans in Florida, who just tightened their control in the state capital in the last election, are making in clear that they are determined to push for such a system in the state legislature next year.
There are legal, constitutional and other hurdles, but in today’s political and education atmosphere, no bad idea is impossible to implement.
There have long been those who have advocated for the destruction of the current system; in a 2007 Weekly Standard article, author David Gelernter argues for a system of private schools that would be paid for with public funds. Sound familiar?
A 2009 paper by the conservative Goldwater Institute in Arizona, outlined how a universal voucher program could work, and it was supported by the Foundation for Florida’s Future, one of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s vehicles for promoting change. Bush is still the most powerful politician in the Sunshine State.
The notion that private schools would inherently be any better than a system of public schools overlooks all the key factors -- poverty being the first but not the only one -- that affect our most troubled public schools right now.
Such a system in Florida faces a number of obstacles. The Florida Constitution calls for a “uniform system of free public schools.” The state Supreme Court in 2006 struck down one voucher program, the Opportunity Scholarships, based on this language; two other voucher programs -- for low-income families and for disabled students -- have yet to be tested in court.
Nobody knows how much such a system would cost, or how the state would pay for it; Florida already has a $2.5 billion budget-deficit, and Scott is talking about cutting school property taxes almost 20 percent and eliminating the corporate tax, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
One of the ironies of this whole idea is that the folks who support it are big supporters of “accountability” in education. That means grading schools and students and teachers on standardized test scores. But private schools aren’t subject to this type of accountability. And some public charter schools aren’t either.
According to a summary on charter schools from the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Analysis & Government Accountability: “Due to grade configurations and small enrollment, 124 out of 382 charter schools (32%) did not earn a grade or school improvement rating as part of Florida’s accountability system during the 2008-09 school year. In contrast, 353 out of 3,138 (11%) traditional public schools did not receive a grade or school improvement rating.”
The public school systemin the United States, however flawed, has been the country’s most important civic institution.
From education historian Diane Ravitch:
“There is a strong rationale for public support of public education. As Robert Hutchins once wrote, they are part of the res publica, the public thing. Like public parks, public libraries, and fire departments, they are part of our communal responsibility. We must strengthen them, make them far better than they are now. To blame them for all the ills of our society, for all the demographic changes of the past generation, for all the burdens imposed by courts and legislatures, is wrong. To destroy them would be a civic crime.”
Yes, it would. But that’s where it seems like we may be headed.
Source: Washington Post
Scott wants to expand a voucher program that allows low-income and disabled students to use public money to go to private schools to ALL students.
Here’s how it would work, according to a preliminary plan: Vouchers, euphemistically termed “education savings accounts,” would be created and the state would deposit public education funds into them for each eligible students. Parents would shop for the school they like -- public or private -- and help pay for it with 85 percent of the state’s per-student funding figure -- which this year is $6,843.
State public education money would no longer flow through a public education system.
The idea may well be the most radical public education idea any state has ever considered, as the St. Petersburg Time noted.
Once upon a time in America, it may have sounded preposterous not only in concept but in chances of implementation.
But the Republicans in Florida, who just tightened their control in the state capital in the last election, are making in clear that they are determined to push for such a system in the state legislature next year.
There are legal, constitutional and other hurdles, but in today’s political and education atmosphere, no bad idea is impossible to implement.
There have long been those who have advocated for the destruction of the current system; in a 2007 Weekly Standard article, author David Gelernter argues for a system of private schools that would be paid for with public funds. Sound familiar?
A 2009 paper by the conservative Goldwater Institute in Arizona, outlined how a universal voucher program could work, and it was supported by the Foundation for Florida’s Future, one of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s vehicles for promoting change. Bush is still the most powerful politician in the Sunshine State.
The notion that private schools would inherently be any better than a system of public schools overlooks all the key factors -- poverty being the first but not the only one -- that affect our most troubled public schools right now.
Such a system in Florida faces a number of obstacles. The Florida Constitution calls for a “uniform system of free public schools.” The state Supreme Court in 2006 struck down one voucher program, the Opportunity Scholarships, based on this language; two other voucher programs -- for low-income families and for disabled students -- have yet to be tested in court.
Nobody knows how much such a system would cost, or how the state would pay for it; Florida already has a $2.5 billion budget-deficit, and Scott is talking about cutting school property taxes almost 20 percent and eliminating the corporate tax, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
One of the ironies of this whole idea is that the folks who support it are big supporters of “accountability” in education. That means grading schools and students and teachers on standardized test scores. But private schools aren’t subject to this type of accountability. And some public charter schools aren’t either.
According to a summary on charter schools from the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Analysis & Government Accountability: “Due to grade configurations and small enrollment, 124 out of 382 charter schools (32%) did not earn a grade or school improvement rating as part of Florida’s accountability system during the 2008-09 school year. In contrast, 353 out of 3,138 (11%) traditional public schools did not receive a grade or school improvement rating.”
The public school systemin the United States, however flawed, has been the country’s most important civic institution.
From education historian Diane Ravitch:
“There is a strong rationale for public support of public education. As Robert Hutchins once wrote, they are part of the res publica, the public thing. Like public parks, public libraries, and fire departments, they are part of our communal responsibility. We must strengthen them, make them far better than they are now. To blame them for all the ills of our society, for all the demographic changes of the past generation, for all the burdens imposed by courts and legislatures, is wrong. To destroy them would be a civic crime.”
Yes, it would. But that’s where it seems like we may be headed.
Source: Washington Post
Monday, December 13, 2010
BestEssayHelp.com | Teachers being killed in southwest Pakistan
QUETTA, Pakistan — Nationalist, sectarian and Islamist networks are killing teachers, damaging education and limiting development in one of Pakistan's most deprived areas, a US-based rights group said Monday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said at least 22 teachers and other education professionals were killed by suspected militants between January 2008 and October 2010 in the southwestern province of Baluchistan.
Since 2008, more than 200 teachers have transferred to the relatively more secure provincial capital, Quetta, or moved out of the province. Nearly another 200 are in the process of transferring, the group said.
Baluchistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has this year seen a surge in separatist Baluch violence, sectarian attacks on Shiite Muslims and killings blamed on the Taliban and other hardline Islamist groups.
"To educate or to seek education in Baluchistan today means risking your life and your family?s," said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"By perpetrating such atrocities, Baluch nationalists are harming Baluchistan?s development instead of advancing it," he added.
Killing teachers, harming students and targeting schools "only increase Baluchistan?s problems and deprive its youth of the benefits of education", HRW said in its new 40-page report documenting dozens of attacks.
"Fearing for their safety, many teachers have sought transfers, further burdening what is already the worst educational system in Pakistan in terms of education opportunities and outcomes," the report said.
The provincial government in Baluchistan said the situation was beginning to improve and that fewer teachers were asking to transfer.
"But I think we still need some sort of confidence-building among teachers so that they return to their areas and resume their duties," Akbar Hussain Durrani, head of the provincial home department, told AFP.
University academics said the killings were political and said the answer would only lie in the government addressing their core concerns.
Hundreds of people have died since rebels rose up in 2004 demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's natural oil, gas and mineral resources.
HRW said the education sector was targeted disproportionately because militants view them as representatives of the Pakistani state and symbols of perceived Punjabi military oppression.
"The government must address their (Baluch youth) grievances and build an atmosphere of confidence for teachers," Mehmud Ali Shah, head of political science at the University of Baluchistan, told AFP.
"A lacklustre approach to resolving the issue will ruin the education system in Baluchistan."
In ethnic Baluch areas, schools are often understaffed, so any further loss of teachers severely jeopardises children?s chances of an education.
HRW also said that many teachers who stay on the job complain about being so preoccupied with security that their teaching has been adversely affected.
In October, Amnesty International called on Pakistan to investigate the alleged torture and killing of more than 40 Baluch political leaders and activists against a backdrop of Pakistani military activities in the province.
Source: AFP
BestEssayHelp | Bart Weetjens: How I taught rats to sniff out land mines
At TEDxRotterdam, Bart Weetjens talks about his extraordinary project: training rats to sniff out land mines. He shows clips of his "hero rats" in action, and previews his work's next phase: teaching them to turn up tuberculosis in the lab.
BestEssayHelp.com | Halla Tomasdottir: A feminine response to Iceland's financial crash
Halla Tomasdottir managed to take her company Audur Capital through the eye of the financial storm in Iceland by applying 5 traditionally "feminine" values to financial services. At TEDWomen, she talks about these values and the importance of balance.
Friday, December 10, 2010
BestEssayHelp.com | More enroll in college, but grad rates lag
The nonprofit Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board - which suggests ways to improve education to politicians, educators and residents - released a report this week detailing how its 16 member states stack up in enrolling and retaining students in public colleges and universities.
University System of Georgia administrators and educators are familiar with the trend and already are working to keep more students in college, said Susan Herbst, the system's chief academic officer.
"It's right on target and exactly where we know we are," Herbst said of the study.
In 2008, Georgia was sixth in the nation for the number of high school graduates enrolling in public two- or four-year schools, with 72 percent of students starting a college education, said Jeff Gagne, the SREB's director of education policies.
About 11 percent more Georgia high school graduates enrolled in college from 2000 to 2008, Gagne said.
"That's a huge improvement and we're really proud of them," he said.
But only half of the students who started at a public four-year school in Georgia in 2002 graduated, according to the report. The country's average rate is 55 percent.
The graduation rate rises to 76 percent when SREB included students who graduated within six years, were still enrolled after six years or transferred to another institution.
Georgia students enrolling in two-year schools are even less likely to earn degrees than their counterparts across the country.
About 12 percent of students who started at a two-year Georgia college in 2005 graduated with a degree by 2007. Nationally, the rate is 20 percent.
"There's no question that we have a challenge," Herbst said.
Students might drop out because they aren't able to structure their time, don't become engaged on campus, or can't pay the bills for their education, she said.
The university system strives to keep students in school by using tactics they've seen work such as pairing students with an adviser who can help them overcome difficulties, engaging them through clubs and travel abroad and teaching them time management skills in small groups, she said.
"There's all kinds of mechanisms that we know work for keeping students in school," she said. "(And) knowing how to apply for that financial aid is vital."
Despite those programs, some students won't graduate although they enroll, because they're more comfortable serving in the military or attending a trade school, Herbst said.
The rigor of Georgia's education and promise of the HOPE scholarship has pushed more students to go on to college, said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the state's Department of Education.
"From the state level all the way down to the classroom level, it's one of the things that we and teachers are working tirelessly on," Cardoza said.
It's possible that the number of high school graduates enrolling in college will remain high, even as state legislators look to tighten the budget, Cardoza said.
"I think it's difficult to make a direct correlation between budgets and student performance because as budgets have decreased over the last several years, we still have seen student achievement increase in almost every area," he said.
Source: Online Athens
University System of Georgia administrators and educators are familiar with the trend and already are working to keep more students in college, said Susan Herbst, the system's chief academic officer.
"It's right on target and exactly where we know we are," Herbst said of the study.
In 2008, Georgia was sixth in the nation for the number of high school graduates enrolling in public two- or four-year schools, with 72 percent of students starting a college education, said Jeff Gagne, the SREB's director of education policies.
About 11 percent more Georgia high school graduates enrolled in college from 2000 to 2008, Gagne said.
"That's a huge improvement and we're really proud of them," he said.
But only half of the students who started at a public four-year school in Georgia in 2002 graduated, according to the report. The country's average rate is 55 percent.
The graduation rate rises to 76 percent when SREB included students who graduated within six years, were still enrolled after six years or transferred to another institution.
Georgia students enrolling in two-year schools are even less likely to earn degrees than their counterparts across the country.
About 12 percent of students who started at a two-year Georgia college in 2005 graduated with a degree by 2007. Nationally, the rate is 20 percent.
"There's no question that we have a challenge," Herbst said.
Students might drop out because they aren't able to structure their time, don't become engaged on campus, or can't pay the bills for their education, she said.
The university system strives to keep students in school by using tactics they've seen work such as pairing students with an adviser who can help them overcome difficulties, engaging them through clubs and travel abroad and teaching them time management skills in small groups, she said.
"There's all kinds of mechanisms that we know work for keeping students in school," she said. "(And) knowing how to apply for that financial aid is vital."
Despite those programs, some students won't graduate although they enroll, because they're more comfortable serving in the military or attending a trade school, Herbst said.
The rigor of Georgia's education and promise of the HOPE scholarship has pushed more students to go on to college, said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the state's Department of Education.
"From the state level all the way down to the classroom level, it's one of the things that we and teachers are working tirelessly on," Cardoza said.
It's possible that the number of high school graduates enrolling in college will remain high, even as state legislators look to tighten the budget, Cardoza said.
"I think it's difficult to make a direct correlation between budgets and student performance because as budgets have decreased over the last several years, we still have seen student achievement increase in almost every area," he said.
Source: Online Athens
BestEssayHelp.com | Chicago Public School parents file complaint with U.S. Dept. of Education
Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE), a nonprofit organization comprised of persons with children in the Chicago Public Schools, has filed a complaint with the United States Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights this week. The concern is with the CPS’s correlation of the state mandated standardized tests to the failing of students.
The required tests are administered at all public schools in Illinois in grades 3, 6, 8, and once during the secondary education years. PURE’s concern is with CPS' failing of students in the elementary and middle school grades: 3rd, 6th, and 8th. The group contends that the Chicago Schools’ policy of failing any student who performs poorly on the state tests is disproportionately harmful to Black and Latino students.
This is the second time the group has filed a complaint against CPS. Eleven years ago, some issues were resolved after the filing. However, PURE says they needed to re-file because Chicago Schools are still flunking too many students in the face of data showing that retaining students does not help them and is often no more than a route to dropping out.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the state's authority on such matters, commented on the situation by stating that the tests are designed to gauge how well a school is performing – not to determine if a student should be held back.
Since 1996, Chicago Public Schools have failed in excess of 100,000 students based on either scoring below the 24th percentile on a portion of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) in reading or math, receiving below a grade of C in reading and math at the student's school, or having more than 9 unexcused absences. Additionally, in grade 8, a student must have a grade of C in writing or pass the Chicago Schools’ writing test if he wishes to be promoted.
Current policy states that when a student does not succeed by the end of the regular school year, he is referred to summer school. If he fails summer school as well, he must repeat the grade level.
At present, CPS says it is not beneficial to a student to send him on to the next grade level until he is academically prepared, and the parent group says the basis for holding a student back is unfair to minorities.
Source: Chicago Public Schools/Chicago Tribune/Pure's website
The required tests are administered at all public schools in Illinois in grades 3, 6, 8, and once during the secondary education years. PURE’s concern is with CPS' failing of students in the elementary and middle school grades: 3rd, 6th, and 8th. The group contends that the Chicago Schools’ policy of failing any student who performs poorly on the state tests is disproportionately harmful to Black and Latino students.
This is the second time the group has filed a complaint against CPS. Eleven years ago, some issues were resolved after the filing. However, PURE says they needed to re-file because Chicago Schools are still flunking too many students in the face of data showing that retaining students does not help them and is often no more than a route to dropping out.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the state's authority on such matters, commented on the situation by stating that the tests are designed to gauge how well a school is performing – not to determine if a student should be held back.
Since 1996, Chicago Public Schools have failed in excess of 100,000 students based on either scoring below the 24th percentile on a portion of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) in reading or math, receiving below a grade of C in reading and math at the student's school, or having more than 9 unexcused absences. Additionally, in grade 8, a student must have a grade of C in writing or pass the Chicago Schools’ writing test if he wishes to be promoted.
Current policy states that when a student does not succeed by the end of the regular school year, he is referred to summer school. If he fails summer school as well, he must repeat the grade level.
At present, CPS says it is not beneficial to a student to send him on to the next grade level until he is academically prepared, and the parent group says the basis for holding a student back is unfair to minorities.
Source: Chicago Public Schools/Chicago Tribune/Pure's website
BestEssayHelp | State adds 21 more to Department of Education's list of 'failing' schools
Just two days after the city Education Department announced its list of schools to close, the state added 21 schools to its official list of failures.
That means the city now has to develop formal plans to improve 43 city schools that the state has deemed "persistently lowest-achieving" - including the 22 designated last year that the city has yet to officially address.
To win up to $2 million a year for each school from the federal government, the city has to follow strict rules.
For half of the schools, the city can use the "transformation" model - hiring experienced superteachers, lengthening the school day and evaluating staff with tough new criteria.
But the rest must go through more radical change. The city expects to use a "turnaround" model, which includes getting rid of the principals and half the staff.
Ten of the 43 schools already have been slated for closure this year. But to win the money, Education Department spokesman Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld said officials need to use a version of the "turnaround" model instead, which requires support from the teachers union.
"For nine months, we've tried to get these schools the millions in federal funds that they need and deserve," he said.
Teachers union President Michael Mulgrew said he was in talks with the city over the plans. "My frustration is they tend to look to being paper-compliant, and I am adamant we need to see a real educational plan," he said. "There's no sense in doing this as an exercise."
Bronx:
Alfred E Smith Career-Tech High Sch
Banana Kelly High School
Bronx Academy High School
Bronx High School of Business
Herbert H Lehman High School
IS 339
JHS 22 Jordan L Mott
JHS 80 Mosholu Parkway
JHS 142 John Philip Sousa
MS 391
School of Community Research & Learning*
Samuel Gompers Career/Tech Ed Hs
Queens:
I.S. 231
P.S. 30
Beach Channel High School
Jamaica High SchoolWilliam Cullen Bryant High School
Brooklyn:
Bushwick Comm High School
IS 136 Charles O Dewey
John Ericsson Middle School 126
JHS 166 George Gershwin
JHS 296 The Halsey
Pacific High School
Manhattan:
Harlem Renaissance High School
IS 195 Roberto Clemente*
*Already slated for closure.
Source: NY Daily News
That means the city now has to develop formal plans to improve 43 city schools that the state has deemed "persistently lowest-achieving" - including the 22 designated last year that the city has yet to officially address.
To win up to $2 million a year for each school from the federal government, the city has to follow strict rules.
For half of the schools, the city can use the "transformation" model - hiring experienced superteachers, lengthening the school day and evaluating staff with tough new criteria.
But the rest must go through more radical change. The city expects to use a "turnaround" model, which includes getting rid of the principals and half the staff.
Ten of the 43 schools already have been slated for closure this year. But to win the money, Education Department spokesman Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld said officials need to use a version of the "turnaround" model instead, which requires support from the teachers union.
"For nine months, we've tried to get these schools the millions in federal funds that they need and deserve," he said.
Teachers union President Michael Mulgrew said he was in talks with the city over the plans. "My frustration is they tend to look to being paper-compliant, and I am adamant we need to see a real educational plan," he said. "There's no sense in doing this as an exercise."
Bronx:
Alfred E Smith Career-Tech High Sch
Banana Kelly High School
Bronx Academy High School
Bronx High School of Business
Herbert H Lehman High School
IS 339
JHS 22 Jordan L Mott
JHS 80 Mosholu Parkway
JHS 142 John Philip Sousa
MS 391
School of Community Research & Learning*
Samuel Gompers Career/Tech Ed Hs
Queens:
I.S. 231
P.S. 30
Beach Channel High School
Jamaica High SchoolWilliam Cullen Bryant High School
Brooklyn:
Bushwick Comm High School
IS 136 Charles O Dewey
John Ericsson Middle School 126
JHS 166 George Gershwin
JHS 296 The Halsey
Pacific High School
Manhattan:
Harlem Renaissance High School
IS 195 Roberto Clemente*
*Already slated for closure.
Source: NY Daily News
Thursday, December 9, 2010
BestEssayHelp.com | Western Nations React to Poor Education Results
LONDON — A respected international survey that found teenagers in Shanghai to be the best-educated in the world has prompted officials elsewhere across the globe to question their own educational systems, and even led the British education minister to promise an overhaul in student testing.
The results of the survey — the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA — issued early Tuesday, were also called “a wake-up call” by the U.S. education secretary.
PISA, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, based in Paris, is a set of standardized tests that weighs reading comprehension, mathematics and science, and is taken by half a million 15-year-olds in 65 countries.
U.S. officials and Europeans involved in administering the test acknowledged that the Shanghai scores are by no means representative of all of China. But still, the results upended some preconceptions about schooling.
“Two countries with similar levels of prosperity can produce very different results,” Ángel Gurría, the O.E.C.D. secretary general, said in a statement on Tuesday. “This shows that an image of a world divided neatly into rich and well-educated countries and poor and badly educated countries is now out of date.”
In Britain, where results showed students falling behind peers in Estonia and Slovenia, Education Minister Michael Gove promised to overhaul the examination system to make it tougher, using tests from China and South Korea as benchmarks. Britain will “explicitly borrow from these education tiger nations,” Mr. Gove said.
Andreas Shleicher, who directs the O.E.C.D.’s international educational testing program, had described Britain’s performance as “stagnant at best.”
Mr. Gove seemed to agree. “Today’s PISA report underlines the urgent need to reform our school system. We need to learn from the best-performing countries,” he said. “Other regions and nations have succeeded in closing the gap and in raising attainment for all students at the same time. They have made opportunity more equal, democratized access to knowledge and placed an uncompromising emphasis on higher standards all at the same time.”
The British schools minister, Nick Gibb, who oversees primary education, pointed to the proliferation of text messaging and social networks as one possible culprit. “I’m concerned that almost 40 percent of pupils in England never read for enjoyment,” he said. “The difference in reading ability between these pupils and those who read for 30 minutes per day was equivalent to a year’s schooling.”
In Germany, there was some sense of relief, as officials noted that children there have been making steady progress in recent years on the PISA study. But criticism remained.
“Germany has improved its status from ‘horrendous’ to ‘average’ — we are at least satisfied with that upward trend,” Ulla Burchardt, chairwoman of the German government’s education committee, said in a radio interview. “But I don’t think this is cause for celebration, rather continued reflection. We’re still struggling when it comes to literacy skills.”
Luc Chatel, the French education minister, said the study showed that France was, over all, “among the O.E.C.D. average and stable against previous studies.”
He stressed that there were two “significant weak points” in French education that the study had highlighted. First was polarization of performance: The French system had not been able to improve its number of top achievers, while the number of those struggling had increased. Second, Mr. Chatel cited a deterioration in the ability of those from socially difficult backgrounds to pursue education for an extended period.
“It’s a warning sign for us to mobilize and act,” he said. “We will reinforce our action to counter this.”
Mr. Chatel also said the government would announce by the end of January a plan to improve science education and opportunities for work experience for students.
The survey also showed Finland and South Korea far ahead of the United States in reading comprehension, mathematics and science, prompting stern words from the U.S. education secretary, Arne Duncan.
“We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated.” Mr. Duncan said.
Designed to compare standards between different education systems around the world, the PISA survey is held every three years. PISA scores are on a scale, with 500 as the average. Two-thirds of students in participating countries score between 400 and 600.
In math, the Shanghai students performed in a class by themselves, outperforming second-place Singapore, which has been seen as an educational superstar in recent years. On the math test last year, students in Shanghai scored 600, in Singapore 562, in Germany 513.
Warwick Mansell, a British education expert, described PISA as “on the whole a quite good test.” Mr. Mansell, whose recent book “Education By Numbers” is highly critical of what he describes as “the tyranny of testing,” said in an interview that the PISA exams “test understanding of concepts — not just rote learning.”
But in a sign of how politicized any discussion of education has become in Britain, Mr. Mansell rejected Mr Gove’s suggestion that Britain’s poor result showed that the increased spending on schooling by the Labour government had been ineffective. He also warned that efforts to model British schools after Eastern models would face significant cultural barriers.
The report also included a finding that in every country surveyed, girls read better than boys — a gap that has widened since 2000. Also included was a finding that the best school systems are the most equitable — where students do well regardless of social background.
Source: The New York Times
The results of the survey — the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA — issued early Tuesday, were also called “a wake-up call” by the U.S. education secretary.
PISA, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, based in Paris, is a set of standardized tests that weighs reading comprehension, mathematics and science, and is taken by half a million 15-year-olds in 65 countries.
U.S. officials and Europeans involved in administering the test acknowledged that the Shanghai scores are by no means representative of all of China. But still, the results upended some preconceptions about schooling.
“Two countries with similar levels of prosperity can produce very different results,” Ángel Gurría, the O.E.C.D. secretary general, said in a statement on Tuesday. “This shows that an image of a world divided neatly into rich and well-educated countries and poor and badly educated countries is now out of date.”
In Britain, where results showed students falling behind peers in Estonia and Slovenia, Education Minister Michael Gove promised to overhaul the examination system to make it tougher, using tests from China and South Korea as benchmarks. Britain will “explicitly borrow from these education tiger nations,” Mr. Gove said.
Andreas Shleicher, who directs the O.E.C.D.’s international educational testing program, had described Britain’s performance as “stagnant at best.”
Mr. Gove seemed to agree. “Today’s PISA report underlines the urgent need to reform our school system. We need to learn from the best-performing countries,” he said. “Other regions and nations have succeeded in closing the gap and in raising attainment for all students at the same time. They have made opportunity more equal, democratized access to knowledge and placed an uncompromising emphasis on higher standards all at the same time.”
The British schools minister, Nick Gibb, who oversees primary education, pointed to the proliferation of text messaging and social networks as one possible culprit. “I’m concerned that almost 40 percent of pupils in England never read for enjoyment,” he said. “The difference in reading ability between these pupils and those who read for 30 minutes per day was equivalent to a year’s schooling.”
In Germany, there was some sense of relief, as officials noted that children there have been making steady progress in recent years on the PISA study. But criticism remained.
“Germany has improved its status from ‘horrendous’ to ‘average’ — we are at least satisfied with that upward trend,” Ulla Burchardt, chairwoman of the German government’s education committee, said in a radio interview. “But I don’t think this is cause for celebration, rather continued reflection. We’re still struggling when it comes to literacy skills.”
Luc Chatel, the French education minister, said the study showed that France was, over all, “among the O.E.C.D. average and stable against previous studies.”
He stressed that there were two “significant weak points” in French education that the study had highlighted. First was polarization of performance: The French system had not been able to improve its number of top achievers, while the number of those struggling had increased. Second, Mr. Chatel cited a deterioration in the ability of those from socially difficult backgrounds to pursue education for an extended period.
“It’s a warning sign for us to mobilize and act,” he said. “We will reinforce our action to counter this.”
Mr. Chatel also said the government would announce by the end of January a plan to improve science education and opportunities for work experience for students.
The survey also showed Finland and South Korea far ahead of the United States in reading comprehension, mathematics and science, prompting stern words from the U.S. education secretary, Arne Duncan.
“We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated.” Mr. Duncan said.
Designed to compare standards between different education systems around the world, the PISA survey is held every three years. PISA scores are on a scale, with 500 as the average. Two-thirds of students in participating countries score between 400 and 600.
In math, the Shanghai students performed in a class by themselves, outperforming second-place Singapore, which has been seen as an educational superstar in recent years. On the math test last year, students in Shanghai scored 600, in Singapore 562, in Germany 513.
Warwick Mansell, a British education expert, described PISA as “on the whole a quite good test.” Mr. Mansell, whose recent book “Education By Numbers” is highly critical of what he describes as “the tyranny of testing,” said in an interview that the PISA exams “test understanding of concepts — not just rote learning.”
But in a sign of how politicized any discussion of education has become in Britain, Mr. Mansell rejected Mr Gove’s suggestion that Britain’s poor result showed that the increased spending on schooling by the Labour government had been ineffective. He also warned that efforts to model British schools after Eastern models would face significant cultural barriers.
The report also included a finding that in every country surveyed, girls read better than boys — a gap that has widened since 2000. Also included was a finding that the best school systems are the most equitable — where students do well regardless of social background.
Source: The New York Times
BestEssayHelp.com | Colleges That Recruit Veterans Garner Profits and Scrutiny
WASHINGTON — When Congress moved in 2008 to sweeten tuition payments for veterans, it was celebrated as a way to ensure that military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could go to college at no cost and to replicate the historic benefits society gained from the G.I. Bill after World War II.
Now, a year after payouts on the so-called Post-9/11 G.I. Bill started, the huge program has turned into a bonanza of another kind for the many commercial colleges in the United States that have seen their military revenues surge.
More than 36 percent of the tuition payments made in the first year of the program — a total of $640 million in tuition and fees — went to for-profit colleges, like the University of Phoenix, according to data compiled by the Department of Veterans Affairs, even though these colleges serve only about 9 percent of the overall population at higher education institutions nationwide.
As the money flows to the for-profit university industry, questions are being raised in Congress and elsewhere about their recruitment practices, and whether they really deliver on their education promises. Some members say they want to place tighter limits on how much these colleges can collect in military benefits, a move certain federal officials say they would welcome.
These questions come as the for-profit education industry is under increased scrutiny, with the Department of Education proposing regulations that would cut off federal aid to colleges whose graduates have extremely low loan repayment rates.
Amid this debate, the industry’s powerful lobbying forces are pushing for even more, including a change in the law that would allow veterans who sign up exclusively for online classes to also get government housing subsidies, even if they live at home, which would make online education even more attractive.
With their multimillion-dollar advertising and recruitment campaigns, these colleges have pitched themselves as a natural choice for veterans and active-duty personnel, given their extensive online class offerings, accelerated degree programs and campuses spread across the nation, including near many military bases.
“We offer the flexibility and career focus they want,” said Bob Larned, the executive director of military education at ECPI College of Technology, a Virginia institution with a major online program and campuses in three states that collected $16 million in G.I. Bill benefits in the first year.
Active-duty personnel are eligible for free tuition, which explains why the for-profit colleges have received about $200 million in Department of Defense tuition reimbursement benefits and fees in the last year, mostly for online classes, in addition to money collected from the G.I. Bill.
But high dropout rates at some of these colleges, difficulty in transferring credits, higher tuition bills than at public colleges and skepticism from some employers about the value of the degrees are all creating unease among some in Congress.
“For-profit schools see our active-duty military and veterans as a cash cow, an untapped profit resource,” said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate committee that oversees federal education policy. “It is both a rip off of the taxpayer and a slap in the face to the people who have risked their lives for our country.”
It is a concern echoed by eight current and former recruiters from some of the nation’s largest for-profit chains, who in interviews said the intense drive to enroll veterans had led them, at times, to sign up military personnel for classes when they were all but certain they would drop out or fail.
“There is such pressure to simply enroll more vets — we knew that most of them would drop out after the first session,” said Jason Deatherage, who worked as military admissions adviser at Colorado Technical University until this spring, when he was fired, he said, for not meeting his quota. “Instead of helping people, too often I felt like we were almost tricking them.”
More on The New York Times
Now, a year after payouts on the so-called Post-9/11 G.I. Bill started, the huge program has turned into a bonanza of another kind for the many commercial colleges in the United States that have seen their military revenues surge.
More than 36 percent of the tuition payments made in the first year of the program — a total of $640 million in tuition and fees — went to for-profit colleges, like the University of Phoenix, according to data compiled by the Department of Veterans Affairs, even though these colleges serve only about 9 percent of the overall population at higher education institutions nationwide.
As the money flows to the for-profit university industry, questions are being raised in Congress and elsewhere about their recruitment practices, and whether they really deliver on their education promises. Some members say they want to place tighter limits on how much these colleges can collect in military benefits, a move certain federal officials say they would welcome.
These questions come as the for-profit education industry is under increased scrutiny, with the Department of Education proposing regulations that would cut off federal aid to colleges whose graduates have extremely low loan repayment rates.
Amid this debate, the industry’s powerful lobbying forces are pushing for even more, including a change in the law that would allow veterans who sign up exclusively for online classes to also get government housing subsidies, even if they live at home, which would make online education even more attractive.
With their multimillion-dollar advertising and recruitment campaigns, these colleges have pitched themselves as a natural choice for veterans and active-duty personnel, given their extensive online class offerings, accelerated degree programs and campuses spread across the nation, including near many military bases.
“We offer the flexibility and career focus they want,” said Bob Larned, the executive director of military education at ECPI College of Technology, a Virginia institution with a major online program and campuses in three states that collected $16 million in G.I. Bill benefits in the first year.
Active-duty personnel are eligible for free tuition, which explains why the for-profit colleges have received about $200 million in Department of Defense tuition reimbursement benefits and fees in the last year, mostly for online classes, in addition to money collected from the G.I. Bill.
But high dropout rates at some of these colleges, difficulty in transferring credits, higher tuition bills than at public colleges and skepticism from some employers about the value of the degrees are all creating unease among some in Congress.
“For-profit schools see our active-duty military and veterans as a cash cow, an untapped profit resource,” said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate committee that oversees federal education policy. “It is both a rip off of the taxpayer and a slap in the face to the people who have risked their lives for our country.”
It is a concern echoed by eight current and former recruiters from some of the nation’s largest for-profit chains, who in interviews said the intense drive to enroll veterans had led them, at times, to sign up military personnel for classes when they were all but certain they would drop out or fail.
“There is such pressure to simply enroll more vets — we knew that most of them would drop out after the first session,” said Jason Deatherage, who worked as military admissions adviser at Colorado Technical University until this spring, when he was fired, he said, for not meeting his quota. “Instead of helping people, too often I felt like we were almost tricking them.”
More on The New York Times
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