Answers to Your Top Six Shutdown Questions — Whole Child Education

Answers to Your Top Six Shutdown Questions — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Answers to Your Top Six Shutdown Questions

October 1, 2013 by Melissa Mellor

The U.S. government shut down this morning because Congress was unable to pass a bill to fund federal programs as the new fiscal year begins. This week's Capitol Connection cuts through the politics and brinkmanship to outline what a shutdown means for the nation's students, educators, and schools.

1. What's the bottom line for schools and districts? How would a government shutdown affect daily operations?

Most schools and districts are unlikely to feel immediate effects of a shutdown because the advanced funding nature of federal education spending means that states and districts have already received much of their federal funding for the school year. In addition, the vast majority of school funding (about 90 percent) comes from state and local sources. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded dozens of competitive grants in the past several days so that it is not held up by a shutdown.

2. Will any education programs be affected in the short-term?

Head Start (which provides early childhood education to low-income families) and Impact Aid (which helps fund school districts that cannot fully rely on local tax revenue, such as those on military bases or tribal lands) depend heavily on federal dollars that are not necessarily distributed at the beginning of the school year. Thus, these programs could experience more acute and immediate shutdown consequences. This is especially concerning because Head Start and Impact Aid have already deeply felt the effects of sequestration. More

ED Pulse Poll Results: Does More Recess Increase Academic Learning?

October 1, 2013 by Kit Harris, ASCD Research

ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently theASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll addressed the debate about recess in elementary schools.

In the rush to meet new standards in math and reading, some school districts across the country have reduced the time for other subjects and for recess. For example, the Washington, D.C., schools started the school year with 15 minutes a day of recess, but after parent protests, the dedicated recess time was inched up to 20 minutes a day. At the same time, D.C. was the first school district in the country to fully commit to First Lady Michele Obama's Let's Move! Active Schools program, which aims to help schools provide at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day for students, either before, during, or after school. In D.C., then, this would leave 40 minutes of daily activity that would be performed presumably in physical education class, or before and after school. As testing requirements and budget cuts take hold, about 40 percent of U.S. elementary schools have reduced or eliminated recess, mostly to make room for more academics, reportsUSA Today.

There are multiple studies that point to the fact that increased activity and aerobics are related to better learning, memory, and better performance on tests while school districts across the country are finding more reasons to cut back on recess. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first policy statement on the issue of recess, with its medical members strongly supporting increased recess time, reporting that "recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child's development and, as such, it should not be withheld for 

Head Start hit hardest by federal shutdown, but other education programs face problems in long term | HechingerEd Blog

Head Start hit hardest by federal shutdown, but other education programs face problems in long term | HechingerEd Blog:

Head Start hit hardest by federal shutdown, but other education programs face problems in long term

For the short term, most schools will likely be unaffected by the federal government shutdown that went into effect today. But if the impasse in Congress lasts a long time, schools may feel the financial squeeze.

The shutdown is a result of the House and Senate’s failure to agree on a funding bill, which forced more than 800,000 federal employees into furlough Tuesday morning.

U.S. Capitol. (Photo: Katie Harbath)

If it lasts beyond one week, the government interruption is expected to delay funding to school districts, colleges and universities that rely on federal funds, according to a U.S. Department of Educationcontingency plan. With more than 90 percent of its employees expected to be furloughed, officials at the Department of Education will be unavailable to assist school districts or answer questions as they attempt to implement reforms, The Washington Post reports.

The biggest immediate impact could be felt in Head Start programs, though, which are still reeling from federal sequestration cuts that pushed 57,000 children out of the preschool program for low-income children. According to the National Head Start Association (NHSA), an advocacy group, 23 programs in 11 states with grant cycles that begin Oct. 1 are poised to lose grant money due to the shutdown.

“Beyond the headline numbers, this shutdown has real consequences,” said NHSA Director Yasmina Vinci in a statement. “Government shutdown is one cut atop an already deep wound.”

In Prentiss, Miss., a town of about 1,100 people an hour south of Jackson, the Five County Child Development Program closed its Head Start classes on Tuesday after failing to receive funding. “The 

Shanker Blog » Underlying Issues In The DC Test Score Controversy

Shanker Blog » Underlying Issues In The DC Test Score Controversy:

Underlying Issues In The DC Test Score Controversy

Posted by Matthew Di Carlo on October 1, 2013

In the Washington Post, Emma Brown reports on a behind the scenes decision about how to score last year’s new, more difficult tests in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the District’s charter schools.

To make a long story short, the choice faced by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, or OSSE, which oversees testing in the District, was about how to convert test scores into proficiency rates. The first option, put simply, was to convert them such that the proficiency bar was more “aligned” with the Common Core, thus resulting in lower aggregate proficiency rates in math, compared with last year’s (in other states, such as Kentucky and New York, rates declined markedly). The second option was to score the tests while “holding constant” the difficulty of the questions, in order to facilitate comparisons of aggregate rates with those from previous years.

OSSE chose the latter option (according to some, in a manner that was insufficiently transparent). The end result was a modest increase in proficiency rates (which DC officials absurdly called “historic”).

I don’t have a particularly strong opinion about how OSSE should have proceeded. I can see it going either way. Setting cut scores is as much a political and human judgment call as anything else.

The controversy surrounding this decision, however, is both ironic and instructive. My understanding is that the actual scale scores are comparable between years (albeit imperfectly), even with the changed tests. The issue, again, is where to set the minimum score above which students are called advanced, proficient, etc., which in turn determines the rates for each of these designations (with proficiency rates getting the most attention). Unfortunately, OSSE doesn’t report anything except the rates. This severely limits the value of their annual testing results as reported to the public.

In other words, much of this controversy is about choosing between two cut score configurations, both of which present the data in an incomplete manner. Changes in the actual average scores, though still cross-sectional and therefore not “progress” measures, arguably provide a better sense of the change in performance of the typical 

10-1-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Wilson-Pacific; a New Wrinkle

I recently wrote to the Board with some of the bigger ideas that I have heard here and percolated up from the Growth Boundary meetings.   Here's what I told them about Wilson-Pacific:What I hear from parents is that they do NOT want to share their valuable neighborhood space with any program if they don't have to.  APP is NOT a beloved program and it will not be welcomed with open arms anywhere in

by Melissa Westbrook / 4min 

Class Size Count for Washington Kids

Class size matters so let them know YOUR child's class size(s).  Do it today.As it says at the Class Size Counts webpage; Washington State's class size is ranked 47th out of 50 states. 

by Melissa Westbrook / 14min mark as read  //  save

Garfield Hazing Has Principal Upset

Principal Ted Howard of Garfield apparently got wind of hazing happening off-campus and went to inspect.  He was not happy with what he found.He sent this note to parents (red mine):  Do you know where your son or daughter is at tonight? I spent the afternoon with Officer Radford and many other officers walking through the Arboretum. One hundred or more Garfield students were participating in hazi

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

Tuesday Open Thread

Interesting six-part series on math in the NY Times, Me, Myself and Math.Oh those kids! Looks like LA high school students found it quite easy to hack into their new school-issued iPads.One week after students started receiving their iPads, students attending at least three Los Angeles high schools had figured out how to disarm a built-in security lock that was supposed to limit what they could do

by Melissa Westbrook / 53min 

9-30-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: FACMAC Response to Growth Boundaries draftThe FACMAC made a response to the Growth Boundaries plan. You can read the summary of the response here.Here's the short version:Include high schools now. They take the longest to address, there isn't that much time, and the system is integrated.Instead of messing with nearly all of the elementary school attendance areas an

by mike simpson / 9h 

Arne Duncan Goes After "Armchair Pundits" - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Arne Duncan Goes After "Armchair Pundits" - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Arne Duncan Goes After "Armchair Pundits"

By Anthony Cody on October 1, 2013 12:23 PM

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke publicly of Diane Ravitch in an interview in 2011, where he said: "Diane Ravitch is in denial and she is insulting all of the hardworking teachers, principals and students all across the country who are proving her wrong every day,"

Yesterday he expanded a bit on this sentiment. Though he did not mention Ravitch by name, he seemed to have her in mind when labeling his critics "armchair pundits" who are "so supremely confident in their perspective that they have simply stopped listening to people with a different viewpoint."

I do not want to be guilty of this, so I listened closely to Secretary Duncan's talk. Here is some of what he said:

Secretary Duncan:

Also inhabiting this bubble are some arm chair pundits who insist our efforts to improve public education are somehow doomed to fail, either because they believe the government is incapable of meaningfully improving education or because they think education reform can't possibly work since the real problem with schools is that so many children are born poor. In blogs, in books, in tweets, some pundits even say our schools are performing just fine and that fundamental change isn't needed or that we have to 

Former education chief weighs in on No Child Left Behind | K-12 Zone | a Chron.com blog

Former education chief weighs in on No Child Left Behind | K-12 Zone | a Chron.com blog:

Former education chief weighs in on No Child Left Behind

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

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Rod Paige, the former HISD superintendent and U.S. education secretary, attended a ceremony in May 2008 for the new Roderick Paige Elementary School in Houston. (Steve Campbell)

Rod Paige, the former U.S. education secretary who implemented No Child Left Behind, said Tuesday he worries that education standards are being lowered as states continue to get waivers from the federal law.

Paige, in a brief phone interview, said he respected the decision by Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams to seek a waiver from the law. Still, Paige said he was troubled by the waiver process that has let Education Secretary Arne Duncan grant exemptions to 42 states and the District of Columbia.

“It’s kind of a disregard for Congress,” said Paige, who served as superintendent of the Houston Independent School District before he joined then-President George W. Bush in Washington.

Williams announced Monday that Texas was the latest state to get a break from parts of No Child Left Behind. Texas no longer will have to demonstrate by the 2014 deadline that 100 percent of students are proficient in reading and math, based on standardized test scores. Critics have called the 100 percent standard unreasonable, 

10-1-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

The in box. “The state’s objective, according to CMS, is to save on insurance costs and satisfy an agreement reached by Governor Pat Quinn with the employees’ union, AFSCME Council 31.”

The Illinois Observer: (Chicago) ­– Extra: UnitedHealthcare has won a $3.6 billion contract to provide health care insurance benefits for retired Illinois state employees. As the Affordable Care Act went live today, the Illinois Department of Central Management Services todayissued a notice that it will award contracts to UnitedHealthcare and two other companies to provide Medicare supplemental co

1 by Fred Klonsky / 53min 

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Toilet paper for the schools

  36th Ward Alderman Nick Sposato, member of the Chicago City Council’s Progressive Caucus. He had to ask the community for toilet paper because the Mayor spent the money on a new stadium for De Paul University. Photo: Alderman Bob Fioretti.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 12min 

Archer Daniels Midland. The very picture of capitalism at work.

. The veto session of the Illinois General Assembly takes place in about three weeks. Will there be a pension bill? Will they vote to give millions in tax breaks to Archer Daniels Midland. ADM is shuttering their Decatur offices. Decatur has among the highest unemployment rates in Illinois, which has among the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. ADM is a mega-agribusiness. The very picture of

1 by Fred Klonsky / 28min 

Illinois is broke? Cut teacher pensions and give millions to Archer Daniels Midland.

Remember the phony front group that Civic Committee president Ty Fahner set up called Illinois is Broke? He wanted you to think the state was broke because of huge pensions to teachers, firemen and cops. Y’know. That $43,000 a year average teacher pension is a real budget buster. Meanwhile Archer Daniels Midland, the giant food processing corporation is leaving job-starved Decatur, Illinois. But

1 by Fred Klonsky / 18min mark as read  //  save

An insult to turds.

4 by Fred Klonsky / 38min 

Fear, loathing and audits for Illinois retired teachers.

In the legislature they are debating whether to cut our meager 3% cost of living adjustment on our average $43,000 a year pension – a pension that you never failed to contribute your 9.4% a paycheck to, but into which the state regularly failed to pay their share. To make matters more threatening and confusing, we have heard that the supplemental insurance, the part we pay for to go along with yo

1 by Fred Klonsky / 1h 

9-30-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: The NY Times wants to refight the Sixties?You’ve heard the old joke. If you say you remember the Sixties, you weren’t there. Funny. But not true. I was there. And I remember it. At sixty-five I sometimes forget where I put the keys. Or where I left Ulysses. But the Sixties? I remember it vividly. Bill

by mike simpson / 9h 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, October 1, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Education Headlines

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Absenteeism crimps Kern schools' funding

Kern County is among the most severely affected counties in the state for public funding lost by students missing school, according to a report released Monday.

Early truancy problems spiral statewide

Calaveras County has the highest truancy rate for elementary school students in California, contributing to a crisis that harms K-6 education statewide, according to a report issued Monday by the state Attorney General's office.

Report: Truancy costs Monterey County schools $19.5 million

Last year alone, habitual truancy and chronic absenteeism cost public schools across the state $1.4 billion.In Monterey County, schools lost $19.5 million or $283 per pupil, according to “In School and On Track,” a report released Monday by state Attorney General Kamala Harris.

New law helps with the schooling of foster kids

A state bill designed to help foster kids stay on track toward high school graduation is now law. AB 216, by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, was signed last week by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Elementary-school truancy a ‘crisis’ in California

Truancy among California’s elementary school students has reached a “crisis” level, jeopardizing their education, draining district coffers and costing the state billions through higher crime and poverty, according to a study released Monday by the state Attorney General’s Office.

iPad rollout in Coachella Valley Unified schools delayed

The Coachella Valley Unified School District has delayed the rollout of thousands of iPads after watching another school district struggle with hackers and thieves.

Former Newport-Mesa teacher alleges harassment, unlawful termination

A former Newport-Mesa Unified teacher is suing the district over allegations that she was terminated because of her age and humiliated with charges of drinking on the job, according to the complaint filed with the Orange County Superior Court.

State AG targets elementary school truancy

About 1 million elementary school students in California — about one in four — were truant in the past year, a problem that has cost districts billions of dollars and set children on the path to academic and social troubles, the state attorney general said Monday.

Adams: What would federal shutdown mean for California education?

Federal money for education will continue to flow into California, with some caveats, even with a government shutdown.

L.A. Unified School District takes back iPads

Los Angeles school officials have taken back iPads from students at Westchester and Roosevelt high schools and possibly other campuses as well until further notice, the latest fallout from student hacking of the devices.

Monday, September 30, 2013

In nation's richest farmland, some workers' kids get no education at all

Kern County is an American agricultural giant whose soil produced more than $6 billion worth of grapes, almonds and other farm products last year. Yet some of its workers' children, after being disciplined for relatively minor offenses, are getting zero education.

Stockton USD, police force sued over arrest

A 32-year-old Stockton man filed a $10 million battery lawsuit this week against Stockton Unified and its police force, which has been buffeted in recent days by controversial leadership issues.

Eco education with an eye toward jobs

The event was a celebration not only of the new, green facility, but of career-focused training increasing numbers of Manteca Unified students are opting for at the site that includes the district's main offices.

Rural schools legislation advances

The U.S. Senate passed a bill Thursday that will bring more than $1 million to the Mother Lode for public schools and county roads.

NEA - NEA’s Bully Free: It Starts With Me – Resources to Prevent Bullying

NEA - NEA’s Bully Free: It Starts With Me – Resources to Prevent Bullying:

NEA’s Bully Free: It Starts With Me

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