PEN> PEN Weekly NewsBlast for March 14, 2003
- From: Gleason Sackmann <gleason@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 07:55:01 -0600
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From: "Public Education Network" <PEN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: PEN Weekly NewsBlast <newsblast@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 00:19:58 -0800
Subject: PEN Weekly NewsBlast for March 14, 2003
Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast
"Public Involvement. Public Education. Public Benefit."
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DONORS CHOOSE SCHOOL PROGRAMS TO FUND
A new model of citizen philanthropy begins with a teacher who wants to
provide his or her students with an activity that school funds would not
cover. At this website, the teacher can describe a student project and
list the materials needed to make it possible. DonorsChoose.org is not a
bulletin board where teachers can directly post their proposals, however.
Before accepting a proposal, DonorsChoose staff and volunteers verify the
teacher's identity; confirm the existence of requested materials;
negotiate discounts and attach a cost to the proposal; and, finally,
review the proposed student project. Next, civic-minded individuals can
browse teachers' submissions. A donor can make a tax-deductible
contribution that fully or partially funds a chosen proposal. When a
proposal is funded, DonorsChoose purchases the materials and has them
delivered to the teacher's school. Staff also mails the teacher a
disposable camera and stamped envelope in which to enclose photographs of
the project taking place, student thank-you notes, and a teacher letter.
Upon receiving this feedback, DonorsChoose attaches receipts, and forwards
this package to the donor.
http://www.donorschoose.org/
TAX INCREASE FAVORED TO BENEFIT SCHOOLS
As they have for three years, South Carolina residents told surveyors that
they're willing to see their taxes raised to pay for better schools. But
state legislators haven't responded, and with the current budget crisis in
Columbia, that's not expected to change anytime soon. "We're in a state
that is in dire straits," said Stacey Denaux, executive director of The
Education Foundation, a local education fund. "What should we be doing?
How can we use this (survey) to help lawmakers set priorities?" The report
shows that 67 percent of local residents think schools are under-funded
and 69 percent said they would support a tax increase to change that.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/022803/loc_28summit.shtml
EDUCATION GROUP MARKS MILESTONE OF INVOLVEMENT
The Bridgeport Public Education Fund (BPEF), a local education fund, has
put more than $1 million into the hands of parents, teachers, students and
school administrators to improve the local school system during its two
decades of existence. Executive director, Marge Hiller, three staff
workers, the directors and hundreds of BPEF volunteers have created a
multi-faceted approach to achieve BPEF's goals. Through a variety of
effective initiatives, the organization increases community support of
city schools; strengthens communication between the schools, government
and business; deepens awareness of the existence of excellence in the
schools and develops programs to enrich and improve education. "Community
involvement is an absolutely necessary ingredient for educational
success," Hiller said.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1343&dept_id=433653&newsid=7346592&PAG=461&rfi=9
MEAGER EFFORT SAID TO FUEL RACIAL ACHIEVEMENT GAP
The noted anthropologist John U. Ogbu argues in a recently published book
that African-Americans' cultural attitudes toward education, their
generally minimal involvement in schools, and black students' own lack of
effort contribute to the persistent achievement gap. "People can hate me
for pointing these things out," he said in a recent telephone interview.
"But you can't leave it all to the school system. This is something we
[African-Americans] have to solve, because the school system will not
solve it." Throughout his book, Mr. Ogbu stresses that addressing the
black community's roles and responsibilities in boosting African-American
student achievement can't by itself eradicate academic disparities.
Instead, he argues for a three-pronged approach, involving the schools,
white society, and the minority community whose children are negatively
affected by the gap. Mr. Ogbu believes that of those, the minority
community's role has been largely neglected in discussions about the
achievement gap. But Mr. Ogbu admitted that his work could be used to
validate the beliefs of those who say that African-American students and
their parents are to blame for the poor achievement of black children.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=26ogbu.h22
BILL COSBY IS CHANGING THE FACE OF EDUCATION
Funny thing about Bill Cosby: He's as passionate about education as he is
about comedy. Maybe even more so. The legendary entertainer supports
education with his time, money, expertise, innovation and celebrity clout.
He speaks his mind at stand-up comedy gigs, commencement addresses and
fundraising benefits; produces educational software and school videos;
develops innovative classroom programs and even drafts concrete plans for
overhauling the public school system. "Many kids and teachers are
succeeding in spite of the system rather than because of it," he says.
Whether speaking at a college fundraiser or entertaining in a packed
concert arena, Cosby doesn't mince words on the topics of schools and
kids. When discussing the challenges facing teachers he asks, "How do you
grade a teacher when the system is an F?" Sometimes he offers the quip,
"Teachers should make a least a dollar more than police officers!" In this
interview, Cosby reveals how his passion for education deeply influences
his work as an entertainer.
http://www.aarp.org/nrta/Articles/a2003-02-14-billcosby
VOTERS SEE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY AMONG PUBLIC OFFICIALS ON EDUCATION
Only about one-third of American voters say that public officials are
being held accountable for their actions on education, according to a
recent national poll. The poll, sponsored by the Public Education Network
and Education Week, found that 57 percent of voters surveyed reported that
they did not think officeholders were being held accountable for their
education records. Only 34 percent agreed that public officials are being
held accountable. The remaining 9 percent said they didn't know. The
survey, released last month, reported that a large majority of voters want
more funding for education, and support accountability for those funds.
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=26pen.h22
TRADE-OFFS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOUR STATE?
Taxpayers in South Carolina will pay $804.00 million for a potential
invasion of Iraq. For the same amount of money, the following could have
been provided: 17,304 elementary school teachers or 3,573 fire trucks or
125,602 Head Start places for children or 364,130 children receiving
health care. A new feature on the National Priorities Project website
shows the impact of how tax dollars are spent.
http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=4288
SCHOOL BUDGETS SHRINK, CREATIVE FUNDING RISES
One school system shaved 13 percent off the district's utility bill last
year by switching lights off early, turning heat on late and shutting
computers down overnight. In these tough fiscal times, school officials
say, the job of superintendent requires that critical combination of
common sense and creative thinking. Without it, budget cuts can reach into
the sacred space of the classroom, shutting down key programs and
sometimes threatening jobs. As Washington state wrestles with a projected
$2.4 billion budget shortfall, school districts across the region are
bracing for cuts from the legislature. Individual districts could face
shortfalls from $500,000 to $8 million and beyond, with some of the cuts
linked to declining enrollment. Some districts, such as Riverview, are
nipping and tucking their expenses, trying to keep hold of a quality
education. Others, such as the Northshore School District, are taking a
more entrepreneurial approach, looking hard at business-school
partnerships and exploring the possibility of allowing advertising on
school grounds. And then there are districts such as Bellevue looking to
school foundations and other private donations to play an even bigger role
in shoring up vital programs. But for some districts, there is just no way
to get around deep cuts in teaching staff and programs. Everett School
District may be forced into layoffs for the first time since the 1970s.
Federal Way, which could face a cut of about $8 million, is considering
closing an elementary school, doing away with outdoor education and
reducing hours for paraprofessionals. Seattle and Shoreline also say
teacher layoffs are possible next fall.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/134649794_creative10e0.html
CONFUSING HIGH STAKES WITH HIGH LEVERAGE
Most everyone across the political spectrum would agree that the heart of
educational improvement is the improvement of teaching and learning. Many
would also agree that this progress must be viewed through the lens of
equity. This is the purported intent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It
seems to Scott Thompson that those who crafted this legislation and those
who must grapple with its influence would do well to remember that even
the best of intentions can lead to unintended consequences -- consequences
that may not be apparent in the short run, but that in the long run can be
adverse, or even devastating, in their effects. We need to take both a
deeper and longer view and ask, "Where will an approach to educational
accountability that is tied to annual standardized testing take us?" One
powerful set of lenses for gaining a deeper perspective on these issues is
provided by systems thinking. The disciplines of organizational learning
provide the concepts and tools for uncovering the underlying dynamics that
cause complex human systems, such as school districts and multinational
corporations, to behave the way they do. Using this view, one sees that
low test scores are the symptom, not the underlying problem.
http://nochildleft.com/2003/mar03leverage.html
KEY WORK OF SCHOOL BOARDS
Take a top-quality guided tour of tools and information for improving
school board leadership in raising student achievement. The Key Work of
School Boards is a framework of eight key action areas intended to support
and guide schools boards as they focus their efforts on student
achievement. The materials on the Key Work website and in the Key Work
guidebook will help board members and concerned citizens understand each
key area and decide on actions and resources most needed in your own
district.
http://www.nsba.org/keywork/
TEACHING THE AMERICAN WAY
According to Jay Mathews, there is some weakness in the argument that
American schools are losing out to foreign education systems. Americans
think our schools have problems. Our average test scores are often not
quite as high as those found abroad. But foreigners still think we
encourage creative thinking in ways their own schools do not. That
success, they say, seems to be reflected in the innovative triumphs of our
businesses and laboratories. Also, foreigners envy the strength and
accessibility of American universities and often want their children to
attend them. And as Larry W. Dougherty, headmaster of the American
Overseas School of Rome, reports, foreign parents notice that American
educators want them involved in school affairs, while their own schools
freeze them out. In the eyes of those around the world who keep track of
education, we are doing much better than many of us think we are. That is
worth keeping in mind.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10275-2003Mar11.html
STUDENT DISINTEREST: IS THERE A CURE?
Students check out of the learning process for a variety of reasons --
including poor self-esteem, being under- or over-challenged by the
curriculum, turmoil at home, boredom, or illness. Most educators, however,
are always seeking concrete ways to re-engage those disinterested students
in the learning process. Is it an educator's job to re-engage them? If so,
how can that be accomplished? In this column at Education World, educator
Brenda Dyck reflects on some ways to tackle the sticky problem of student
disinterest. She includes practical ideas from middle-level teachers, plus
links to additional articles on the subject.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev046.shtml
THE FUTURE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES
Forward-thinking educators usually accept the idea that tomorrow?s
classrooms will look different than today?s. Instead of large schools,
52-minute class periods, and rambling curricula, they foresee classrooms
and schools that are personalized and focused; they look for teachers that
will emphasize mastery over breadth. Whether these aspirations are
realized now or years down the road, they are unconstrained by the current
routines found in America?s schools. Innovative educators realize that
industrial-age assumptions about learning -- that everyone learns the same
way and that there are "smart" kids and "dumb" kids -- are obsolete.
Tomorrow?s classrooms will be based on something different. Instead of
assuming that the future of learning has to take place in buildings we
happen to have now, districts can let innovations in instruction and
learning drive how they provide, design, and use school buildings. This
report looks at five trends in education and what they imply about the
kinds of buildings and spaces districts will need for tomorrow?s schools.
http://www.crpe.org/pubs/introFacilities.shtml
GOOD TEACHERS: AN ENDANGERED SPECIES IN POOR SCHOOLS?
Resources for Indispensable Schools and Educators (RISE) is dedicated to
making teaching in K-12 public (mostly charter) schools serving low-income
communities more sustainable by providing resources that improve teacher
effectiveness and job satisfaction. RISE supports teachers with its free
professional network that connects its members nationally to other
experienced educators, financial resources, and regional job opportunities
at K-12 public schools serving low-income areas.
http://www.risenetwork.org/
WHEN IT GOES WRONG AT A CHARTER SCHOOL
Life at a charter school is always exciting, as Tracey Benson, a mom, has
learned. She has enrolled her children in three charters in four years,
and if there is one word she'd use to describe their educational
experience, it's turmoil. She pulled her three youngsters out of their
first charter in 2001. "It had the same problem lots of charters have,
teachers leaving in droves, teachers coming in droves," she says. "Not
good for learning." When charters first appeared, they were touted as the
free-market alternative to bad old public schools. Charters get public
money for each child they attract ($5,100 a head in Arizona). To lure
students, charter leaders often derided the bad old public schools and
promised fast results, including sky-high test scores. But like a lot of
1990's market miracles, the charter bubble has burst. In Arizona, which
has 457 charters, one-sixth of the nation's total, they have been labeled
underperforming by the state at nearly twice the rate (36 percent) as
public schools (19 percent), according to Gene Glass, an Arizona State
University professor. Regulation is so loose that the state charter board
is often the last to know that a school is collapsing. At one school,
parents complained to the board that the custodians had been fired and
students were spending an hour a day cleaning.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/education/05EDUC.html
MASSACHUSETTS ACCUSED OF INFLATING EXAM PASS RATE
Boston College researchers accused state education officials yesterday of
inflating the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) passing
rate in the Class of 2003 by 20 percent by not counting students who were
formerly enrolled in the class. Last week, state officials jubilantly
announced that after four tries, 90 percent of the Class of 2003 had
passed both the English and math sections of the 10th grade MCAS test, a
new requirement for graduation. The percentage was based on the number of
this year's seniors who had passed the test. But the Boston College
researchers said the passing rate should be based instead on the number of
students in the Class of 2003 when its members were ninth graders, before
some dropped out, transferred out of state, or were held back. Based on
that number, the passing rate for the Class of 2003 would be closer to 70
percent, said Anne Wheelock, a frequent MCAS critic and a researcher at
Boston College. "If you only care about the results for the kids who make
it to the finish line, then you're really admitting that education reform
isn't about everybody," Wheelock said. "And the data just aren't useful
for helping education and policy makers make informed decisions."
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/070/metro/MCAS_pass_rate_inflated_trio_says-.shtml
ANNENBERG TASK FORCE RECEIVES $900,000 GRANT
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform's National Task Force on the
Future of Urban Districts, called "School Communities that Work", was
awarded a $900,000 grant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to begin
the second phase of its work in urban school district redesign. The Task
Force recommended last fall that communities build "smart districts" to
provide schools, students, and teachers with needed supports and timely
interventions; to ensure that schools have the power and the resources to
make good decisions; and help make decisions and hold people throughout
the system accountable with indicators of school and district performance
and practices. The Annenberg Institute Task Force's widely distributed
survey last fall confirmed that most urban Americans (74%) support
district-by-district, system-wide approaches to addressing the needs of
failing schools (71% overall; 82% of minorities) over the more common
school-by-school improvement efforts. The poll also said that Americans
in urban communities overwhelmingly (89% overall) want to make changes to
school districts to ensure that every school receives the specific
resources and supports it needs to offer all students a quality education.
Additionally, large majorities also support giving the community a larger
role in reforming urban schools (83%) and greater responsibility for what
happens to students in their city (83%).
http://www.schoolcommunities.org/
YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT GIRLS? EDUCATION WORLDWIDE -- HERE?S HOW!
On April 9, thousands of people in over 50 countries will teach "Girls
Education: The Biggest Lesson" to support girls? education and break the
world record for the biggest lesson ever taught. NetAid and the Global
Campaign for Education invite you to join in this record-breaking effort!
If you can't teach the lesson, there are other ways you can show your
support. You can register online to teach the lesson, post stories and
photos, get updates on breaking the world record and more! NetAid, a
nonprofit organization committed to ending extreme poverty through access
to education, is a member of the Global Campaign for Education. For the
latest information on Action Week activities, visit:
http://www.netaid.org/campaigns/actionweek/gce_home.pt
|---------------GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION--------------|
"Technology Grants"
The Beaumont Foundation of America is granting state-of-the-art,
Internet-enabled, wireless laptop computers to qualifying school
districts, schools and other educational programs and organizations where
a minimum of 50% of the students qualify for the National School Lunch
Program. Application deadline: March 15, 2003.
http://www.bmtfoundation.com/
"NSPRA Gold Medallion Awards"
The National School Public Relations Association?s Gold Medallion Award is
a national competition recognizing excellence in educational public
relations. Entries may come from public and private schools;
vocational-technical schools beyond 12th grade; two-year community
colleges; state/national education groups; and any public relations agency
or private business serving such schools and colleges. A Gold Medallion
will be given for each winning entry selected by the competition judges.
Judges may award more than one Gold Medallion in a category and winners
will be recognized nationally and presented with their Gold Medallions at
the NSPRA National Seminar. Entry deadline: April 15, 2003.
http://www.nspra.org/entry.htm
"Teaching Tolerance"
Grants of up to $2,000 are available to K-12 teachers from the Teaching
Tolerance project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group
that fights discrimination. The grants are awarded for activities
promoting diversity, peacemaking, community service, or other aspects of
tolerance education. Requests should include a typed, 500-word
description of the activity and the proposed budget. Application
deadline: open.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/expand/gra/index.jsp
"School Funding Services Grant of the Week"
Each week School Funding Services, a division of New American Schools,
features a new grant on their website. This week they highlight the Texas
Instruments Foundation Grants.
http://www.schoolfundingservices.org/newsViewer.asp?docId=2546
"FastWEB"
FastWEB is the largest online scholarship search available, with 600,000
scholarships representing over one billion in scholarship dollars. It
provides students with accurate, regularly updated information on
scholarships, grants, and fellowships suited to their goals and
qualifications, all at no cost to the student. Students should be advised
that FastWEB collects and sells student information (such as name,
address, e-mail address, date of birth, gender, and country of
citizenship) collected through their site.
http://www.fastweb.com/
"Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)"
More than 30 Federal agencies formed a working group in 1997 to make
hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to
find. The result of that work is the FREE website.
http://www.ed.gov/free/
"Fundsnet Online Services"
A comprehensive website dedicated to providing nonprofit organizations,
colleges, and Universities with information on financial resources
available on the Internet.
http://www.fundsnetservices.com/
"Department of Education Forecast of Funding"
This document lists virtually all programs and competitions under which
the Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications
for new awards for FY 2003 and provides actual or estimated deadline dates
for the transmittal of applications under these programs. The lists are in
the form of charts -- organized according to the Department's principal
program offices -- and include programs and competitions the Department
has previously announced, as well as those it plans to announce at a later
date. Note: This document is advisory only and is not an official
application notice of the Department of Education.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCFO/grants/forecast.html
"eSchool News School Funding Center"
Information on up-to-the-minute grant programs, funding sources, and
technology funding.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/funding/
"Philanthropy News Digest-K-12 Funding Opportunities"
K-12 Funding opportunities with links to grantseeking for teachers,
learning technology, and more.
http://fdncenter.org/funders/
"School Grants"
A collection of resources and tips to help K-12 educators apply for and
obtain special grants for a variety of projects.
http://www.schoolgrants.org
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The space where learning takes place has both sacred and non-sacred uses,
but when formal learning occurs, it becomes a sacred learning space.
Sacredness can in its way be an impediment to change. For instance, sacred
space often implies rituals, time-honored routines and ceremonies that
give structure to our lives. The rituals of schooling may be deeply
comforting, but they contribute to the static, difficult-to-change nature
of schools. ?One of the hard things about changing schools is that much of
what goes on in them is, in fact, ritual?Once tacitly accepted, rituals
can become routines and lose meaning. They become mere habits, hard to
break."
-Etta Kralovec (author/educator), "Schools That Do Too Much"
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