Parents Push For More Free Play Time For Kindergartners At New York City School

The New York Times (1/12, Otterman) reports, "Some kindergarten parents at Public School 101, a graceful brick castle in Forest Hills, Queens, wanted more free play time for their children; so they decided to do something about it. Gone were the play kitchens, sand and water tables, and dress-up areas; half-days were now full days." Subsequently, there were "whiteboards, and the kindergartners, in classes of up to 27, practiced reading and math on work sheets on desks at P.S. 101, also known as the School in the Gardens." According to the Times, "Time and space for imaginative play in city schools seem to be shrinking as the academic emphasis on reading and math grows, said Clara Hemphill, who researches the city's schools."

Babies process language like adults

Babies, even those too young to talk, can understand many of the words that adults are saying—and their brains process them in a grown-up way.

Combining cutting-edge technologies, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, show that babies just over a year old process words they hear with the same brain structures as adults, and in the same amount of time. In addition, the researchers found that babies were not merely processing the words as sounds, but were capable of grasping their meaning

Learn more on ScienceDaily. The study is being published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.

Achievement gaps remain significant

A new report shows that the achievement gap between white students and African American and Latino students in California will take years to narrow—and that boys are falling further behind girls.

"School districts are working diligently and collaboratively to narrow the gap by working with parents, by adding professional development for teachers and through student intervention," said Ronda Adams, associate superintendent for education services for the Yolo County Office of Education.

Read the full article by Diana Lambert in the Education section of The Sacramento Bee.

Study Calls For Better Identification Of ELLs For Federal Funding

Sarah D. Sparks wrote in a blog for Education Week (1/10), "Federal support of programs for English-language learners depends on a formula based on the number of ELL students in each state and district, but a long-awaited national study suggests officials need a more comprehensive way to identify the students who need help. The final report, developed by Washington-based National Research Council for the US Department of Education, calls for federal policymakers to change the funding formula for ELL grants to incorporate state-level counts of students with limited English proficiency in addition to the Census Bureau data now used to identify them."

Duncan Discusses Education Reform On NPR

NPR (1/10, Martin) broadcast an interview with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on its "Tell Me More" program during which he discussed the potential for bipartisan collaboration on education policy issues. Duncan is quoted saying that education "is the civil rights issue of our generation. The dividing line in my mind today is much less around race and class than it is around educational opportunity. It's also a national security issue. So whichever lens you look at it, you know, it's a civil rights issue, as one of an economic comparative or one of national security, we have to drive a huge amount of change and reform and help lead the country where we need to go and we cannot afford to wait."

Education Department Backs English-Proficiency Tests For Common Standards

Education Week (1/11, Zehr) reports, "The federal government plans to pay for states to work together to create English-language-proficiency tests for the Common Core State Standards Initiative, according to a notice for proposed grant priorities published in the Federal Register on Friday. The plan calls for a minimum of 15 states to join together in each consortium that applies to create an English-proficiency test, prompting some observers to speculate that federal officials favor the idea of having a very limited number of such tests, if not one national test." According to Education Week, "Currently, states can choose from a wide variety of English-proficiency tests that were developed by state consortia or commercial publishers for accountability purposes under the federal No Child Left Behind Act."

Judge Rules New York City Can Disclose Names In Teacher Rankings

The New York Times (1/11, Otterman) reports, "A Manhattan judge ruled Monday that the city may release performance rankings of thousands of teachers to the public, denying a request by the teachers union to keep the teachers' names confidential. But the public is unlikely to see the rankings soon" and the United Federation of Teachers "said Monday that it would appeal the ruling, and lawyers for the city said the rankings would be withheld pending the outcome." According to the Times, "In her decision, the Manhattan judge, Cynthia S. Kern of State Supreme Court, wrote that the union had failed to prove that the city's decision to release the names was 'arbitrary and capricious,' the high bar for preventing their release under state disclosure laws." The Los Angeles Times (1/11, Felch, Song) also covers this story.

New York City School Experiments With Large, Open Classroom Format

The New York Times (1/11, Otterman) reports on its front page on "the early stages of an audacious public education experiment taking place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, one that its founder hopes will revolutionize both how students learn and how teachers are trained. Instead of assigning one teacher to roughly 25 children, the New American Academy began the school year with four teachers in large, open classrooms of 60 students." According to the Times, "The school stresses student independence over teacher-led lessons, scientific inquiry over rote memorization and freedom and self-expression over strict structure and discipline. ... At its heart is the idea that the teachers, not to mention the students, will collaborate and learn from one another, rather than being isolated in separate classrooms."

Two Blog Posts…

…by National Writing Project Fellow Tamara Anderson.

Click on the link at the end of either post to read the piece in its entirety.

Death of Innovation

Imagine sitting in elementary school. You are in 3rd grade and you will have no exposure to art, music, or science experiments. Imagine that you have your curiosity, your questions, and imaginary friends, but no one to share it with. There is not one person who is interested in the story that you made up with your mother the night before. Soon you realize that in order to fit in, you must learn quickly how to answer the questions correctly, and stop making up stories. If you like to sing, there is no place for that either. You have an interest in seeing how things work, and you like to take things apart. Unfortunately, those topics are taught with worksheets and definitions. The beauty and reward of thinking outside of the box is lost in manufactured 21st century skills. They are lost in traditional reading, math, and writing classes. They are lost right at the moment that a young mind is eager to discover. Innovation and creativity just silently died, and no one bothered to write an obituary or notify the owners that it was ever lost or at risk.

Tale of a High School Drop Out

New classes of ninth grade students enter a Philadelphia comprehensive high school in the fall. They are excited about being freshmen, and many of them have no idea what to expect. As they nervously find their way to class, and sit anxiously waiting for the teacher to begin class. Ms. Awesome Public School Teacher explains the class rules, expectations, and passes out the books for the class. The bell rings, and they are quickly off to their next class. They are a little scared, but happily chatting with their new friends in the hall. They believe they will conquer the world, and have dreams and aspirations. Next year, close to half of the freshman class will not be promoted to 10thgrade, and a little more than half will graduate with their high school diplomas in 4 years. Only 1 out of 10 of them will persist and successfully complete a postsecondary degree.

 

 

Importance of reading, writing, and tests

It's the best of times and the worst of times for English teachers as they find themselves more accountable than ever for the academic success of their students, while balancing new technologies that change time-honored practices of reading and writing.

Many English teachers say testing drives how and what they teach and that in higher grade levels, students' reading levels vary dramatically. Teachers also say technology can help with research, but using it too much can hurt students, and that computers can be more of a distraction if there aren't enough available. Read the full article by Sally Holland in the CNN Subject Matters series.

Working to bridge the "digital divide"

An increasingly digital world has pushed school districts to incorporate more technology into the learning process. Students tap the Internet to do everything from researching assignments to collaborating with classmates on projects.

But while the "digital divide" is narrowing, it hasn't closed in urban and rural communities. One-third of U.S. households has no Internet access. Those families look to public libraries and school media centers as resources for their children. School districts try to accommodate students by opening libraries and computer labs before and after the school day and at lunch.

Read more in this article by Monica Scott of The Grand Rapids Press.

New website aims to help school leaders use data

The Center for Public Education has launched a new website designed to help school leaders use data and research to improve student learning and school effectiveness.

"School board members and others need solid evidence and facts in order to make tough decisions," said Patte Barth, the Center's Director. "The Data First website provides education data, research and tools to help school leaders make sure their policies will result in higher student achievement."

The Data First website features interactive polls, videos, and discussions on key education issues, including student achievement, teacher effectiveness, college and workforce readiness, school funding and more. Check out the new website.

California Education Chief Declares Fiscal Emergency For State's Schools

Bloomberg News (1/7, Marois) reported that California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said that "California's public schools are mired in a fiscal crisis" and cautioned "that renewed cuts might push some districts further toward insolvency after three consecutive years of deficits." He added that 174 California districts "are in financial jeopardy and may require state oversight. He called on Governor Jerry Brown to resist making more cuts to elementary and high-school education."

 

KGO-TV San Francisco (1/7, Anthony) added on its website that Torlakson also said, "The law won't let me call out the National Guard. Your schools need your help. And they need it now. Continuing some of the current taxes that are in place, that the taxpayers got used to paying, that were put in place to protect schools and education, we need to do that."

 

The San Jose Mercury News (1/7, Gonzales) observed that in addition to Torlakson's declaration, he also identified ways that his office hopes to save districts money ahead of the Governor's budget announcement. Specifically, "Torlakson's ideas of giving districts additional financial flexibility and streamlining the school construction process pleased local education leaders." Howard Blume also covered this story in a blog for the Los Angeles Times (1/7).

Class Sizes Rise Amid California Budget Crisis

The San Jose Mercury News (1/10, Noguchi) reports, "As California crams more kids into classrooms, students are sitting in aisles and on windowsills. Fewer are paying attention and more are certain to be left behind. Teachers are spending more time lecturing and less time leading experiments and devising creative lessons." According to the Mercury News, "Caught in a budget meltdown, the state is forcing schools to abandon one of the most popular education reforms -- smaller class sizes. ... While standardized test scores have yet to measure the result of larger class sizes, teachers and students are reporting the day-to-day struggles, from more unruly classes to more students being neglected."

Florida Officials Propose $43 Million In Penalties For Districts In Violation Of Class-Size Rules

The AP (1/7, Kaczor) reports, "Florida education officials have proposed reducing state funding to school districts and laboratory and charter schools by about $43 million as penalties for violating class size limits." Still, that total "is far less than the $131 million the department had predicted before the school year began." Of the 35 districts in violation of class-size regulations, 25 have appealed so far. "Also, all three laboratory schools and 38 of 44 charter schools found in violation are appealing. The State Board of Education will consider the appeals when it meets Jan. 18 in Pensacola. The fines then must be approved by the Legislative Budget Commission, probably in February."