What Makes a Great Teacher? - The Atlantic (January/February 2010)

What Makes a Great Teacher? - The Atlantic(January/February 2010):

"ON AUGUST 25, 2008, two little boys walked into public elementary schools in Southeast Washington, D.C. Both boys were African American fifth-graders. The previous spring, both had tested below grade level in math.

One walked into Kimball Elementary School and climbed the stairs to Mr. William Taylor’s math classroom, a tidy, powder-blue space in which neither the clocks nor most of the electrical outlets worked.

The other walked into a very similar classroom a mile away at Plummer Elementary School. In both schools, more than 80 percent of the children received free or reduced-price lunches. At night, all the children went home to the same urban ecosystem, a ZIP code in which almost a quarter of the families lived below the poverty line and a police district in which somebody was murdered every week or"

New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media � PBS TeacherLine Blog

New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media � PBS TeacherLine Blog:

New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media

Arlington, Va. (Jan. 5, 2010) – According to a new national research report, “Digitally Inclined,” compiled by Grunwald Associates LLC for PBS, teachers are making significant progress in adoption of digital media and Internet use. These findings clearly signal widespread changes in both early childhood and K-12 education, including more effective individualized instruction.

Grunwald Associates LLC, the independent research and consulting firm, which conducted the study under a grant from PBS, released the findings today from their annual survey on educators’ use of media and technology. PBS is sharing select findings from the 2009 survey conducted by Grunwald, which has been examining educators’ media use for PBS since 2002, to provide information about both instructional needs and trends to education leaders, policymakers, and the media industry. This year’s survey includes data collected from Pre-K educators for the first time.

“The significant increases in the usage, frequency and access to digital media in the classroom over the past several years, along with the research showing that integrating multimedia and technology into instruction can boost student achievement, is driving our strategy to produce the most effective media for 

Get the Report: New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media 

Education Week: States Struggle to Stitch Together Pre-K-20 Data

Education Week: States Struggle to Stitch Together Pre-K-20 Data:

"Spurred by the prospect of grant funding from the federal Race to the Top competition, as well as money made available from other parts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more states are taking strides to link K-12 data systems with postsecondary agencies to develop a more holistic picture of each student.

But despite the emphasis among policy leaders on K-20 data systems, the progress that states have made toward that goal varies greatly, and many challenges—both technical and political—remain."

Southern Education Foundation A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South’s Public Schools

Southern Education Foundation:

Southern Education Foundation A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South’s Public Schools

"Welcome. The Southern Education Foundation offers this site with easy-to-use information and analysis on the key issues of education in the American South.

Fairness and excellence are crucial challenges in Southern education. The South has America's lowest levels of education and income largely because children who need the most help to succeed in school often get the least support. In turn, America and the South need these children to succeed to meet the nation's growing economic imperatives.

Fairness and excellence also define SEF's mission. For almost 140 years, SEF has carried out strategic, innovative work to expand the benefits of education to all people. Today, SEF brings a sense of history and a cutting-edge perspective to our work. Please join us."

Get the Report: A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South’s Public Schools

Sacramento Press / Bookstore showcases Sac's "Living Library"

Sacramento Press / Bookstore showcases Sac's "Living Library":

"Behind every good book is a writer with something to say and a talent for saying it.

Booksellers like Peter Keat know this. They make a living finding these people and making their voices more accessible on the shelves of bookstores.

But not all the great stories are written down.

Starting this month, Keat and his tiny staff at Time Tested Books are offering a series of monthly talks and lectures from Sacramento's living and breathing cultural icons, thinkers and experts — and people who have just led intriguing lives. The free series, which will be held every third Sunday, is called the Sacramento Living Library"

Schools Matter: Just How Private are Charter Schools?

Schools Matter: Just How Private are Charter Schools?:

"There's been a concerted effort by the pro-charter crowd to 'educate' the public about the so-called publicness of charter schools. You'll regularly see 'charters' referred to as 'public charter schools' these days, and don't think this slight change in label was accidental. The variety, quality, and types of charter schools - from your blatantly for-profit EMOs like the Edison Schools, the assortment of no excuses charter chaingangs like KIPP, rather progressive versions like the Big Picture schools, 'mom and pop' charters started and run by legitimate teachers, and a number of other different types - makes this field more complicated than it first appears."

Another city agency keeps watch at S. Phila. High | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/07/2010

Another city agency keeps watch at S. Phila. High | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/07/2010:

"The racial violence at South Philadelphia High School last month has drawn the official attention of yet another government agency.

The Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs yesterday expressed 'deep concern' over the Dec. 3 beatings of 30 Asian students by large groups of primarily African American pupils, and announced that it would monitor the situation at the school.

The advisory commission, which has no enforcement power, is at least the sixth authority to open an investigation, hold hearings, or focus an official eye on the school. They include the Philadelphia Police Department, the city and state Commissions on Human Relations, and Vietnam's deputy ambassador to the United States."

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Memorization wrong path to proficiency in spelling

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Memorization wrong path to proficiency in spelling:

"The recent article by Chronicle reporter Ericka Mellon about how schools are dropping weekly spelling tests in favor of teaching methods that focus less on memorization and more on understanding why and how words are constructed has created quite a stir. The article prompted letters to the editor and an editorial supporting the more traditional approach.

Noah Webster, noted lexicographer, once wrote, “Spelling is the foundation of reading and the greatest ornament of writing.” Webster's quote so succinctly captures the importance of spelling instruction. Students' spellings provide insight as to how well students are connecting sounds to reliable patterns in the language. Students who have a sense of how the language works spell more accurately and use more sophisticated words. The trick is how to provide students with instruction that will lead to improved spelling."

Class Struggle: More freedom, fewer rules for gifted students? - washingtonpost.com

Class Struggle: More freedom, fewer rules for gifted students? - washingtonpost.com:

"My Dec. 10 column about that Washington area troublesome but gifted child, future billionaire Warren Buffett, said our schools are never going to help such kids much. I said the gifted designation was often arbitrary and should be disposed of. Instead, we ought to find ways to let all kids explore their talents.

This produced a flood of comments on my blog. Many readers thought I was callous and daft. 'Unfortunately, eliminating the label generally means that the schools give up doing anything for advanced learners,' wrote a reader signing in as EduCrazy. Another commenter, CrimsonWife, said, 'if educators are fine with giving special attention and services to kids who are far out of the mainstream on the low end of the spectrum, why is it so controversial to provide specialized services to kids who are far out of the mainstream on the high end?"

Obama announces teacher training initiative - USATODAY.com

Obama announces teacher training initiative - USATODAY.com:

"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama announced a $250 million initiative Wednesday to train math and science teachers and help meet his goal of pushing America's students from the middle to the top of the pack in those subjects in the next decade.

Obama also gave awards for excellence in teaching and mentoring to more than 100 educators — and joked about putting them to work.

"So you're going to have assignments after this," he said. The audience laughed. "These awards were not free," he added.

Obama said teacher quality is the most important single factor that influences whether students succeed or fail in the "STEM" fields of science, technology, engineering and math. But, he said, U.S. students trail their peers around the world.

He said a substantial shortage of teachers in these subject areas will deepen unless steps are taken to reverse the trend, and that doing so requires outside help because the federal government cannot do it alone.

'I believe so strongly in the work that you do,' Obama said at a ceremony in the White House East Room. 'And as I mentioned to some of you, because I've got two girls upstairs with math tests coming up, I figure that a little extra help from the best of the best couldn't hurt."

Delaware education: Early Head Start to reach further | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Delaware education: Early Head Start to reach further | delawareonline.com | The News Journal:

"An unusual day for Carolyn Graves is one when she doesn't arrive at work to find phone messages on her desk.

Graves is family service advocate for New Directions Early Head Start at the Neighborhood House in Wilmington's Southbridge section. Parents call nearly every day seeking a space in the program, the only one of its kind in the neighborhood. With admission comes child care and resources to help moms and dads achieve family goals, such as employment, job training and paying the bills on time.

'Most of our parents are low-income, and we look at getting them employment if they are not employed and what we can do to empower them to be self-sufficient,' Graves said. 'The teachers take care of the child, and I take care of the family.'"

K-12 cuts proposal could help — or hinder — Gibbons - Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

K-12 cuts proposal could help — or hinder — Gibbons - Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun:

"Democrats and Republicans agreed that the chances of success for many of the ambitious education proposals floated Wednesday by Gov. Jim Gibbons range from slim all the way to none. But that wasn’t necessarily the point.

Gibbons’ plan — which reads like the wish list of a conservative education reformer — appears aimed at exciting the conservative Republican base, while offering a way to cut the state budget.

It certainly has put his political opponents on the defensive."

Recession fuels shift from private to public schools - USATODAY.com

Recession fuels shift from private to public schools - USATODAY.com:

"When the family budget started feeling the recession's pinch last year, Angela Allyn and her photographer husband, Matt Dinnerstein, pulled their three kids out of Chicago-area private schools and enrolled them in Evanston, Ill., public schools.

It has been a challenging transition: Maya, 16, now a high school sophomore, 'doesn't like crowds — and her high school is as big as a small college,' her mother says. Though Maya is learning a lot in the 'amazing' science program, she's also hoping to leave the crowds behind by doubling up on coursework, graduating by the end of junior year 'and then going and doing interesting things,' Allyn says. Her younger children face their own challenges, from bullying to sheer boredom.

The transition also has been an education for Maya's parents, who say they had 'no choice' in the struggling economy but to switch to public schools."

Unions v. Race to the Top - WSJ.com

Unions v. Race to the Top - WSJ.com:

"Is the Obama Administration going to side with school reformers, or will it reward state and local teachers union affiliates that defend the status quo? This is a question states are asking as they prepare their applications for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top competitive grants. Some guidance from Education Secretary Arne Duncan would be helpful.

Teachers unions in Minnesota and Florida are currently threatening to withhold support for their state Race to the Top applications, which are due later this month. So is the school boards association in Louisiana. This matters because the Administration has placed a premium on states garnering 'local school district support' in order to win a grant. Not having union buy-in isn't fatal, but it definitely hurts a state's chances of getting federal funds."

Schoolchildren told to avoid Wikipedia - Telegraph

Schoolchildren told to avoid Wikipedia - Telegraph:

"Children should use Google and Yahoo to improve their essays, according to the official exams watchdog."

Ofqual said putting keywords into internet search engines was a “good starting point” when researching pieces of coursework and dissertations.

But guidance sent out to schoolchildren in England warns pupils to be extremely wary when using other websites such as Wikipedia.

The on-line encyclopaedia – created using contributions from readers – was not “authoritative or accurate” and in some cases “may be completely untrue”, said Ofqual.

Children can also be easily tripped up by copying passages from websites containing American phrases and spellings – a clear sign of plagiarism.

The comments were made in a series of documentssent to pupils, parents and teachers warning against cheating at school.

Ministers have already outlined plans to scrap GCSE coursework in most subjects – replacing it with controlled projects in the classroom under teacher supervision. It followed the publication of a report that warned coursework had become "less valid" as children were increasingly tempted by websites offering to help them script essays.

Milestones on Minorities and Poverty in Southern Schools - NYTimes.com

Milestones on Minorities and Poverty in Southern Schools - NYTimes.com:

"ATLANTA — The South has become the first region in the country where more than half of public school students are poor and more than half are members of minorities, according to a new report."


The shift was fueled not by white flight from public schools, which spiked during desegregation but has not had much effect on school demographics since the early 1980s. Rather, an influx of Latinos and other ethnic groups, the return of blacks to the South and higher birth rates among black and Latino families have contributed to the change.

The new numbers, from the 2008-9 school year, are a milestone for the South, “the only section of the United States where racial slavery, white supremacy and racial segregation of schools were enforced through law and social custom,” said the report, to be released on Thursday by the Southern Education Foundation, a nonprofit group based here that supports education improvement in the region. But the numbers also herald the future of the country as a whole, as minority students are expected to exceed 50 percent of public school enrollment by 2020 and the share of students poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches is on the rise in every state.

A rescue mission for education - The Boston Globe

A rescue mission for education - The Boston Globe:

"FORTY YEARS ago, I changed schools. On the South Side of Chicago, my school had few books, 40 children in a classroom (most of us poor), teachers whose role was mainly to keep order, and police at every intersection of the halls. The school I changed to was a private New England prep school with small classes, longer school days, teachers with the latitude to innovate and experiment, and high expectations of each child."

I still want to change schools. But private schools are not the answer. Public schools are where most children get their education, and they should be consistently excellent.

The Legislature is now in final deliberations on a new education bill I filed last July that will close, once and for all, the pernicious achievement gaps that damage the lives of low-income, special needs and minority children. I applaud the House and the Senate for bringing us to the precipice of real and lasting reform.

The bill promotes the creation of “Innovation Schools’’ - a new type of public school featuring more autonomy and flexibility. It authorizes a targeted lift of charter school caps in the Commonwealth’s lowest-performing school districts, allowing only those charter operators with a proven record of successfully serving high needs students. Most important, it expands the ability of local superintendents or the commissioner of education to intervene in low-performing schools by providing new tools to attract the best and brightest educators, and new supports to help teachers, students and families overcome the disadvantages of poverty.

House swiftly OKs sweeping education measure, 119 to 35 - The Boston Globe

House swiftly OKs sweeping education measure, 119 to 35 - The Boston Globe:

"The state House of Representatives passed a sweeping education bill just after midnight that aims to overhaul the state’s worst schools and expand charter schools, capping off a marathon session that began early yesterday afternoon."

The approval came swiftly in a roll call vote, after members plowed through about 150 amendments to the bill. The vote was 119 to 35.

The decisive action surprised a handful of lobbyists who watched the proceedings unfold over the course of nearly 12 hours. Movement appeared so slow at points that many predicted a second day of debate.

But many House members, responding to a push by Speaker Robert DeLeo to pass the bill in a day, remained confident the session would end with a bill ready for a conference committee today. The Senate approved a similar measure in November.

“It’s a great day for the children of Massachusetts,’’ Representative Marty Walz, the Boston Democrat who cochairs the Joint Committee on Education, said in an interview after the vote.
“This bill will lead to significant improvement in our public schools and will make great strides in closing our state’s achievement gap.’’

Op-Ed Columnist - The Happiest People - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - The Happiest People - NYTimes.com:

"Hmmm. You think it’s a coincidence? Costa Rica is one of the very few countries to have abolished its army, and it’s also arguably the happiest nation on earth.

There are several ways of measuring happiness in countries, all inexact, but this pearl of Central America does stunningly well by whatever system is used. For example, the World Database of Happiness, compiled by a Dutch sociologist on the basis of answers to surveys by Gallup and others, lists Costa Rica in the top spot out of 148 nations."

Governor's call for giving colleges priority over prisons faces hard political tests - latimes.com

Governor's call for giving colleges priority over prisons faces hard political tests - latimes.com:

"Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to save money by privatizing prisons and the wisdom of linking the funding of universities and corrections facilities present formidable obstacles in Sacramento."

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - At the center of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's State of the State speech Wednesday was a proposal that outside of Sacramento might seem like common sense: Mandate that the state invest more dollars each year in its public universities than in locking people up in prison.

But to many inside the Capitol, that idea appears all but unattainable.

The plan -- and the reaction to it -- highlights the disconnect between the priorities of voters and the reality of the state's shattered finances and a policymaking process that often seems byzantine.

"In concept, it absolutely makes sense to everyone," said Thad Kousser, visiting professor of political science at Stanford University. But "when you look at the trade-offs that the state might face to get there, it gets a lot harder."

The proposal for a constitutional change that would require more spending on higher education than prisons was the key headline as Schwarzenegger delivered his final State of the State speech, in which he also asked legislators to approve a jobs creation program and urged them to join him in pushing for increased funding from Washington.