Duncan, Genachowski Discuss Digitizing Textbooks With Tech Executives

Brendan Sasso writes in The Hill (3/30) "Hillicon Valley" blog that Education Secretary Arne Duncan and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski "led a discussion on Thursday with technology executives and education groups about how to replace textbooks with tablet computers in schools. The United States spends about $7 billion per year on textbooks, but many students are still using books that are seven to ten years out of date, according to the FCC." The piece notes that Genachowski focused on the strides that other nations are making in switching to textbooks on tablet computers, and the savings per student that such a transition could bring.

 

Katie Ash writes at the Education Week (3/30) "Digital Education" blog that Duncan, Genachowski, and "the newly formed LEAD Commission...met today with textbook publishers and technology providers in Washington to discuss the future of digital textbooks in K-12 classrooms." Duncan "appealed to the crowd of technology company CEOs and senior executives, urging them to consider how they can contribute to lowering the dropout rate and improving education throughout the country. 'Things are tough, so we're going to keep limping along, or we're going to change the game. And I think you guys collectively have the ability, potentially, to change the game,' he said. Duncan expressed interest in fostering dialogue with the ed-tech execs to determine what role government can play in removing barriers for innovation."

California District Board Shoots Down Parent Trigger Effort

The Los Angeles Times (3/30, Watanabe) reports that the Mojave Desert, California, School Board "late Wednesday denied a petition by parents to overhaul their children's failing school, dealing a major blow to forces aiming to win the first reform under the state's pioneering parent trigger law. Adelanto school board members unanimously rejected the petition to turn Desert Trails Elementary into a charter campus, finding that it failed to win the support of parents representing at least half of the school's 642 students, as the law requires." However, "Petition supporters, who allege that opponents doctored documents to sink their campaign, said they would challenge the board decision in court."

 

In a subsequent article, the Los Angeles Times (3/30, Watanabe) reports that a day after the board rejected the parent trigger bid, "the embattled campus finally appeared calm even as supporters vowed to continue the fight. David Mobley, principal at Desert Trails Elementary in Adelanto, said Thursday that the school was free from weeks of conflict between supporters and opponents of the petition to hand over management to a charter operator under the state's landmark parent trigger law. ... But petition supporters reiterated their outrage and said they would challenge the school board action in court."

NEA's Van Roekel Blasts "Corruptive Influence" Of NCLB-Based Testing

In a piece for the Huffington Post (3/29), National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel laments "the corruptive influence high-stakes tests have had on our students, teachers and schools," pointing to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's report last weekend about its analysis of testing irregularities in districts across the country. Van Roekel stresses that educators must not condone cheating regardless of cause, but adds that "we should never miss an opportunity to underscore the possible consequences when real learning and effective teaching are sacrificed at the altar of high test scores. ... For the last 10 years we have shortchanged countless children because of NCLB's overemphasis on standardized multiple choice tests." He concludes by calling for a lessened role for standardized testing and a greater focus on broader classroom teaching.

Advocates Accuse California District Of Failing To Identify Special Needs Students

The Contra Costa (CA) Times (3/29, Hagen) reports that advocates for special needs students say that San Gorgonio High School in San Bernardino, California, "is failing many students without giving them legally required early intervention and testing." School board member Gil Navarro said "I have families that have called me for help, and I end up advocating for their students that have multiple Fs and there's no documented intervention that would be specific as far as getting those Fs corrected."

New York Organization Holds Workshops To Keep Math Teachers Energized

Writing at the New York Times (3/29, Subscription Publication) "SchoolBook" blog, Yasmeen Khan profiles Gil Kessler, a "self-described math enthusiast" who "taught math in New York City schools for 30 years." Now retired, Kessler "conducts math workshops for fellow teachers as part of the New York Math Circle, a non-profit organization that holds courses for both teachers and students. ... Kessler led a four-session course this month for about 10 teachers who decided that, once a week, they would like to unwind at the end of their workdays by learning new geometry proofs and theorem applications."

Research Points To Teachers As Potential Asset For Positive School Change

Diette Courrege writes at the Education Week (3/29) "Rural Education" blog that a new study published in the Journal of Staff Development indicates that teachers are "an untapped, powerful asset that can spur school-based changes." Courrege writes that researchers "studied a two-year partnership between faculty from a state university and three rural schools. ... The study didn't identify the schools or university involved, but it said the partnership was created to help facilitate professional learning communities in mathematics. Its major finding-teachers are powerful yet overlooked assets-has applicability to all types of schools, and it can be an especially important truth for rural schools facing diminishing resources."

Seattle Schools Using Grant To Develop K-12 Arts Curriculum

The Seattle Times (3/29, Rosenthal) reports on the deleterious impact that budget cuts have had on arts instruction in Seattle, Washington, noting that "students' access to the arts varies widely - and often depends on parent fundraising. ... Seattle Public Schools officials recently received a $1 million grant from The Wallace Foundation to confront that reality. The money comes with a January 2013 deadline for the district to develop a districtwide arts curriculum - essentially, minimum requirements for visual arts, music, dance and theater - as well as strategies to enlist support from principals and community partners." The piece notes however, that the effort faces funding and logistical challenges.

More States Enacting Third Grade Retention Policies

Education Week (3/28, Robelen) reports that Oklahoma and a number of other states have "recently adopted new reading policies that-with limited exceptions-call for 3rd graders to be held back if they flunk a state standardized test." The piece notes that these changes appear to be modeled on one made in Florida under then-Gov. Jeb Bush, adding, "Supporters say that retention is intended as a last resort, and that a key goal of the policies is to place a greater focus-and apply some extra pressure-to make sure schools intervene early with struggling readers. ... But critics say that it's misguided to base a promotion decision on a standardized-test score, and that holding a child back may do more harm than good."

California Anti-Crime Group Releases Report Supporting Early Education Funding

The Pasadena (CA) Star-News (3/28, Cruz) reports that Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California has released a report titled "Pay Now or Pay Much More Later" which "says protecting early education funding in the state could be a long-term solution to keeping children in school, reducing crime and saving money. The news comes as California grapples with difficult budget choices and may propose significant cuts to its preschool and transitional kindergarten programs, which serve 3- and 4-year-old children across the state." The report "cites studies in Chicago and Michigan, as well as data from similar programs in other states, showing that 'high quality programs provide solid evidence that preschool education is an effective way to get kids on the right path and avoid costly problems later.'"

More Schools Using iPads In Classroom

McClatchy (3/28, Tate) reports that Jamestown Elementary in Arlington, Virginia, is "on the leading edge of what many educators describe as the classroom edition of the digital revolution." Noting that students at the school are using iPads in the classroom, the article notes that "while this revolution is far from complete amid concerns about its cost and effectiveness, schools and textbook publishers say it's opened up a new chapter in education, changing the way students interact with teachers and with one another."

Writers: Research Points To Importance Of Early Math Skills

In commentary for Education Week (3/28), Deborah Stipek of the school of education at Stanford University; Alan Schoenfeld of the University of California at Berkeley, and Deanna Gomby, vice president for education at the Heising-Simons Foundation, write that despite concerns about literacy rates in the early grades, early math skills are better predictors of later academic success than are literacy skills. The writers cite research which found "that in a comparison of math, literacy, and social-emotional skills at kindergarten entry, 'early math concepts, such as knowledge of numbers and ordinality, were the most powerful predictors of later learning.' A large-scale Canadian study from 2010 echoes those findings: Math skills at school entry predicted math skills and even reading skills in 3rd and 2nd grade, respectively, better than reading skills at school entry."

Teachers Group Urges Parents To Opt Children Out Of Standardized Testing

The Miami Herald (3/28, McGrory) profiles Ceresta Smith, a teacher in Florida's Miami-Dade school district who "had a litany of concerns about high-stakes testing," and therefore allowed her teenage daughter to "opt out" of Florida's FCAT standardized test. "Smith is part of a coalition of teachers urging parents across the country to opt their children out of standardized tests. The group – which says parents have a right to say no to standardized tests - has supporters in all 50 states, Smith said, and has caught the attention of education bloggers and think tanks. State education officials, however, say state law requires all children to participate in the testing program."

Paper Praises California Governor's Plan As Way To End Chronic Layoffs

An editorial in the Marin Independent Journal (3/26) laments the policy of many school districts in California to issue teachers pink slips every year, because they "are required to adopt preliminary budgets for the coming school year months before knowing for sure how much money they can count on from the state. With the state's annual budget crisis and political gridlock holding the adoption of a state budget hostage, local school budgets are often based on a best guess. ... This year, much depends on passage of Gov. Jerry Brown's sales tax plan" which is dedicated to "stabilizing" education funding.

Nebraska Educators Discuss Rural Education With ED Teacher Ambassador

The Kearney (NE) Hub (3/26, Giboney) reports that Bruce Wellman, an ED Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellow and teacher at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kansas, "met Friday with six Amherst [Nebraska] teachers to discuss the rural teaching experience." Wellman "meets with teachers to gather information that will be used to transform federal education policy as part of the RESPECT Project. ... Wellman's goal at Amherst was to listen to the concerns and ideas of rural teachers."

District Ordered To Replace Internet Filter That Blocks Gay Sites

The New York Times (3/27, Winerip, Subscription Publication) reports that under the 2000 Children's Internet Protection Act, schools must use Internet filters to block inappropriate content. However, some of these filtering programs discriminate against gay rights websites. "'These filters are a new version of book-banning or pulling books off the shelf,' said Pat Scales of the American Library Association." Meanwhile, "over the last year, the American Civil Liberties Union has asked officials from hundreds of school districts around the country to make changes in their Internet screening systems to eliminate bias, said Anthony Rothert, a civil liberties lawyer based in St. Louis." However, the district in Camdenton, Missouri, refused to do so, and the ACLU sued it last year. The Times notes that a Federal judge has ruled that the district must replace the screening system with one that does not discriminate against pro-gay websites.