Judge Places Pennsylvania District In Receivership

The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/14, Giordano) says Delaware County Judge Chad F. Kenney on Thursday granted state Education Secretary Ronald J. Tomalis' petition to place the Chester-Upland school district in receivership and "accepted his recommendation to appoint Joseph P. Watkins, who was already serving as the district's state-selected chief recovery officer." Kenney's decision accepts Watkins overhaul plan that "calls for increasing scholastic achievement, luring back students who have fled the district's schools, increasing programs, and attracting private funding. However, it also calls for closing and consolidating schools, including two of the district's higher achievers; increasing class sizes; raising taxes, and turning the schools over to external control, such as education-management companies or converting them to charter or cyber schools if they fail to met federal progress goals by the end of the 2014-2015 school year."

 

The Delaware County (PA) Daily Times (12/13, Kopp) notes the receivership will last for three years and quotes Kenney's order as saying, "The petition for appointment of Joseph P. Watkins to serve as receiver for the Chester Upland School District is not arbitrary, capricious or wholly irrelevant to restoring the school district to financial stability. In fact, the petition with an attached recovery plan speaks to only, and addresses only, the specific issue of restoring the school district to financial stability."

Philadelphia Officials Mull Safety Impact Of School Closures

The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/14, Snyder, Purcell) reports that some 14 "most dangerous" schools in Philadelphia are among the 44 that have been scheduled for closure, adding, "But just what impact the closing of the schools will have on overall safety in the 146,000-student district is uncertain and some officials say the potential exists for things to actually get worse. Some schools will grow larger as they are forced to take in students from shuttered buildings. ... And Philadelphia is known for its neighborhood rivalries, which over the years have erupted in violence inside and out of school." The piece quotes Kelley B. Hodge, the state-appointed "safe schools advocate" saying, "I think it's definitely going to have an impact on safety. How significant, I can't say at this point. It's a very intense social experiment. I think every student in the district is going to be affected in some way, shape or fashion."

District Officials Welcome Results From Nation's First Standardized Health Test

The Washington Post (12/14, Cohen) says students in the District "scored an average of 62% on the nation's first standardized health test, results that were better than education officials had expected because D.C. schools have not had a long history of teaching subjects the test covered." Sandra Schlicker at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education told DC Council members that she was "pleasantly surprised" with the results. Leaders of organizations that "work on teen health in the District said at Thursday's hearing that the test results are a valuable evaluative resource. Scores on the reproductive health section of the test, where high school students answered an average of 75% of the questions correctly, might improve if schools devoted more class time to that subject, said Shana Bartley, a peer health and sexuality education program coordinator at the Young Women's Project."

 

The ABC News (12/13, Jennings) "Health" blog quotes Ayan Islam, communications specialist for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, as saying the results "will be very helpful in determining the improvements needed to be made for teacher professional development training and create challenging material that can further student's interest and knowledge in personal health. ... Fifth-graders seem to know a lot more when it comes to recognizing their own personal health. When it comes to general knowledge and physical education on alcohol, tobacco and drugs, they have a slight idea, but may not be exposed enough to give them an awareness to be prepared when they are exposed to those things."

 

Students Show Greater Proficiency In Health Than Math, Reading.The Washington Times (12/14, Howell) says the test results "exceeded the public school students' proficiency on in math and reading, at about 49 percent and 46 percent, respectively, in scores released in July. However, respondents to the health questions may have included students who did not take the traditional DC CAS in those core subjects." Adam Tenner of the Metro TeenAIDS organization praised the exam as "historic," adding: "While the results are concerning to Metro TeenAIDS, they demonstrate exactly how serious this epidemic is and which schools are most in need of improvement."

Writer: Cultural Sensitivity Requirements May Stymie Common Core Assessment Creators

In commentary for Bloomberg News (12/14), Emory University professor of English Mark Bauerlein writes that despite the Common Core Standards' bipartisan support and widespread acceptance, "a battle may break out once states and districts develop curricula and administer tests that align with Common Core's standards on English language arts. The clash revives the so-called canon wars from 25 years ago, when multiculturalists in high school and college demanded an end to the dead-white- male dominance of the humanities." Bauerlein states that the Common Core is "unambiguous" in its preference for the classics, adding that the "mandate is a problem for test developers," who must "heed 'bias and sensitivity guidelines' that rule out race and sex imbalances, stereotypes and pretty much anything that might upset or disserve any particular group of students."

Fiction or Nonfiction? Considering the Common Core’s Emphasis on Informational Text

By AMANDA CHRISTY BROWN and KATHERINE SCHULTEN

 

(From the New York Time)

 

Overview | Does the emphasis on reading "informational text" in the new Common Core State Standards set up a "fiction versus nonfiction smackdown" in English classes? If so, is that good or bad?

In this lesson, students will reflect on their reading experiences in and out of school and discuss the roles that both nonfiction and fiction have played. Then, they will become familiar with what the Common Core standards say about reading, and what critics and supporters have written in reaction, in order to discuss and write about the question "What Should Children Read?"

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Rural Districts' After-School Programs Benefit From 21st Century CLC Grants

Education Week (12/12, Courrégé) reports on the high degree to which rural districts rely on grant programs like the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant program for after-school programs, which "face a host of challenges because of their isolated locations," such as low funding, staffing difficulties, and transportation programs. "That lack of money is huge for Sherry Comer, who has directed an after-school program in Camdenton, Mo., for 14 years. Her program was one of the original recipients of the federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, and it's relied on a combination of sources, such as federal Title I and economic-stimulus money, to keep afloat since then." The article notes that many rural communities need 21st Century Community Learning Center grants to operate, adding that it "offers funding for centers that provide academic-enrichment opportunities during nonschool hours for children, especially those who are considered poor and attend low-performing schools."

Advocates Complain ED Focus On ELL Instruction Waning

Education Week (12/12, Maxwell) reports that advocates for English language learners are concerned "that the distinctive needs of those students and the educators who work with them are receiving diminishing attention from the US Department of Education." The piece notes that despite the rising ELL population and roughly $750 million in annual Federal spending, ED's Office of English Language Acquisition "has seen its clout steadily shrink. In mid-October, the office lost its director, Rosalinda B. Barrera, who was appointed in August 2010 and became the first permanent political appointee in that post since 2008. The department did not publicize her departure, and no one has been named to replace her." Education Week notes that OLEA also declined to renew a contract with George Washington University to manage ts National Clearninghouse for English Language Acquisition without explanation. Meanwhile, "Raúl Gonzalez, the director of legislative affairs for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic-advocacy group in Washington, said ELL issues have not been front and center in the Education Department in President Barack Obama's first term because officials have been focused on major initiatives such as the Race to the Top grant program and No Child Left Behind Act waivers." The piece quotes Gonzalez saying, "I think there's an opportunity in the second term to engage the department more intensely on English-learner issues."

 

Lesli A. Maxwell writes at the Education Week (12/13) "Learning the Language" blog about the above article written by her, noting that advocates complain about "the splitting of responsibilities over Title III, the provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that provides roughly $750 million in federal aid to states and local districts for English-language acquisition programs. Since 2008, authority over the funds has been in a division of the department's office of elementary and secondary education, a change made at the tail end of President George W. Bush's administration and continued under President Barack Obama. That move has left the Office of English Language Acquisition-where authority over all of Title III had originally been placed-largely on the sidelines when it comes to major policy decisions that impact English-learners."

California Governor's Top Education Advisor Retiring

EdSource Today (12/11, Baron) reports that California State Board of Education Executive Director Sue Burr is stepping down after "guiding California through decades of education reform." The piece describes Burr as "Gov. Jerry Brown's top advisor on education policy," and notes that she "gave no specific reason for leaving other than the end of the year marking 40 years in public service. Her retirement follows the administration's exhausting and successful campaign to win voter support for Proposition 30, Brown's ballot initiative to raise taxes on the wealthiest Californians and increase the sales tax to boost education funding." The piece quotes Brown saying in a statement, "Sue brought a deep understanding of school policy and operations to her many years of public service. I thank her for her counsel and steady leadership."

ACLU Files ED Complaints Against Schools With Same-Gender Classes

The Bayou Buzz (12/11) reports that the ACLU has filed complaints with ED against school districts in Middleton, Idaho, and Birmingham, Alabama, that have middle schools that offer single-gender classes. "The ACLU said the programs...appear to violate federal law 'by forcing students into a single-sex environment with little or no alternative options, rely on harmful gender stereotypes and deprive students of equal educational opportunities merely because of their sex.' The organization filed the complaints last week, saying the schools are in violation of Title IX, which 'prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs.'"

Columnist Dismisses Idea Of Longer School Days

In her column in the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record (12/10, Liu), Pauline Liu writes, "Starting next year, 20,000 public school kids in the U.S. will spend an extra hour and a half each day in school, to boost achievement." Liu dismisses the "idea of keeping them late for more of the same instruction," saying, "If it's not working now, how will it be better if they're tired? There are many grown-ups and kids alike who would call that punishment." Liu adds, "some people in high places support longer school days, including U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. He believes children of poverty can be helped if you 'give them the time to learn more.' While there are some studies to support this view, what about the importance of play in the development of a healthy child?"

AIR Releases ELL Support Guide For Waiver States

Lesli A. Maxwell writes at the Education Week (12/11, Maxwell) "Learning the Language" blog that a team from the American Institutes for Research has "developing guides to help states and districts keep the promises they made to win" NCLB waivers. "English-language learners are the focus of the first of these AIR waiver guides, which, among other things, highlights promising practices that state and local leaders may use to ensure that the particular needs of the English-language learners in their schools are served well under states' waiver plans." Maxwell writes that Diane August, who wrote the guide, "lays out concrete steps states and districts must take on behalf of English-learners under three of the four main principles that the Education Department required as a condition for states to receive flexibility."

English Teachers Express Concerns About Common Core's "Informational Text" Standards

The Huffington Post (12/10, Zhao) reports on growing concerns among "teachers and parents that literary classics will go the way of the dinosaurs" under the Common Core Standards, which "call for 12th grade reading to be 70 percent nonfiction, or 'informational texts' - gradually stepping up from the 50 percent nonfiction reading required of elementary school students." The Post notes that "the new guidelines are increasingly worrying English-lovers and English teachers, who feel they must replace literary greats like The Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye with Common Core-suggested 'exemplars,' like the Environmental Protection Agency's Recommended Levels of Insulation and the California Invasive Plant Council's Invasive Plant Inventory." However, the piece adds that David Coleman, who helped to craft the standards, says educators "are misreading the guidelines. The boost in informational texts, he says, is intended across disciplines: When social studies, science and math teachers increase nonfiction and informational reading assignments, English teachers won't have to alter their literature lessons."

 

Voxxi (12/10, Gillette) also runs an article on the angst teachers are expressing about deciding "which novels and poems will be eliminated from the classroom in favor of informational reading. ... Proponents of the new non-fiction book reading policies – including the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers - claim students are entering college ill-prepared for the rigors of research." However, teachers argue that students' boredom with school will be exacerbated by emphasizing non-literary prose.

Maryland District Superintendent Calls For Assessment Moratorium

Valerie Strauss writes at the Washington Post (12/11) "Answer Sheet" that Montgomery County, Maryland, Superintendent Joshua Starr "said Monday that the country needs a three-year moratorium on standardized testing and needs to 'stop the insanity' of evaluating teachers according to student test scores because it is based on 'bad science.'" Starr, speaking at a Washington Post educaiton event, "solidified his role as a prominent and thoughtful critic of federal education policy as he challenged major initiatives launched by the administration and the reform community," Strauss writes.

Education Experts Debate Common Core

In an online "Room for Debate" feature, the New York Times (12/10, Subscription Publication) presents the views of a number of education stakeholders on the Common Core Standards. In his commentary, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (12/10, Subscription Publication) (R) praises both state and Federal governments for having adhered to their "proper roles" in developing the standards, which he stresses should be crafted by the states. Texas Board of Education chairwoman Barbara Cargill (12/10, Subscription Publication) writes that states should be free to design and implement their own standards, free from the funding vagaries she associates with the Federal government. Frederick M. Hess (12/10, Subscription Publication) of the American Enterprise Institute also argues against the "conformity" of the standards, while Rishawn Biddle (12/10, Subscription Publication), the editor of Dropout Nation, argues that the Common Core is key to ensuring equitable education opportunities for all students.

Special Needs Teachers See Assessments As Irrelevant

The Twin Cities (MN) Daily Planet (12/9, Brown) reports on the use of standardized testing on special needs students, relating the story of a teacher who must spend time assuaging the concerns of parents who are dismayed by their children's low scores. "That standardized test scores flatten the incredible variety of circumstances kids bring to school is something that all teachers recognize, but the problem is amplified in special education programs. For students in special education, the potential is greater for the test to mislabel an excelling student as failing." The piece notes that many Minnesota special education teachers see standardized testing "as being irrelevant to instruction."