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 |  The Associated Press -
Nov-04-2009Education Dep't: Massachusetts did not break rules(topic overview)
CONTENTS:
- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, right, with Senators Jack Reed, center, and Sheldon Whitehouse. (More...)
- High school scores are still flat. (More...)
- Duncan, in a speech last month at Columbia University in New York City, said that most of the nation's colleges and state departments of education are "doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom." (More...)
- A school is not just a facility. (More...)
- All of them. Too many high schools, he said, spend too much time trying to teach students what they should have learned in the lower grades. (More...)
- It takes a visit from a Cabinet member to get Reed, Whitehouse, and Langevin to visit a RI school. (More...)
- Vision 2015 is the state's homegrown reform effort to make Delaware's schools among the best in the world by 2015. (More...)
- Duncan provides it. He never refers to teachers as "terrorists" as another secretary did. (More...)
- Budget committee co-chairman Sen. Mark Miller of Monona asked Duncan in the letter dated Tuesday to provide additional information about the $4.5 billion program. (More...)
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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, right, with Senators Jack Reed, center, and Sheldon Whitehouse. NORTH KINGSTOWN U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan made a rare visit to Rhode Island Monday morning, his first as the federal education chief, and indicated he is well aware of school-reform efforts under way in the state, changes that could help it win millions of dollars in competitive federal grants. "Rhode Island is very much on my radar," Duncan said as he was leaving Hamilton Elementary School, where he met with a group of school support staff. [1] NORTH KINGSTOWN, R. I. -- Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited Hamilton Elementary School Monday morning, and talked with 15 support staff who help to keep schools running -- custodians, cafeteria workers, clerks, teaching assistants and bus drivers, collectively known as education support professionals.[2]
Education Secretary Arne Duncan, third from left, stops at Hamilton Elementary School as part of a national "listening tour." With him Monday, from left, are U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, and Larry Purtill, president of National Education Association of Rhode Island.[2] NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan joined members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation in visiting a North Kingstown elementary school.[3]
The White House then hosted a conference call with Education Secretary Arne Duncan to further trumpet the estimated 640,239 jobs that have been saved, 325,000 of which were education jobs. What's telling is that in the Department's own report, they relied on media reports and accounts from the Council of the Great City Schools to illustrate examples of how federal stimulus money is being spent. That's because, despite the Obama administration's efforts to make economic-stimulus spending as transparent as possible, the first quarterly stimulus reports filed by states and other stimulus recipients don't go into very much detail about how the money was actually spent.[4] Like so many other well-educated Americans, Duncan is apparently not fully versed on all 50 states. Speaking about the effects of stimulus funding on education today, he highlighted the impact in Oregon -- but, over and over, pronouced it "Ory-GONE" or "Or-GONE." The substance of his remarks were reported by Chalk It Up and by The Oregonian's lead stimulus reporter Harry Esteve more than two weeks ago: Federal stimulus dollars have paid for more than 6,000 full-time teacher and professor jobs in our state. Duncan highlighted Oregon (c'mon, let's say it together now: OR-i-gun) because stimulus money played such a huge role in saving Oregon schools' bacon last spring. By his estimate, 9 percent of all the money the state spent on Oregon schools last year, some $282 million, came from the stimulus. As reporters pestered him about problems that could come down the line, when the stimulus money dried up, Duncan spelled out what he saw as the main purpose of the injection of federal money into schools: "What we tried to do was stave off an education catastrophe here."[5]
Duncan has pushed hard for states to make aggressive education reforms and he is offering "Race to the Top" funds, $4.35 billion in competitive grants to states that raise their academic standards, improve educator quality and make strides in collecting better data about student performance. Rhode Island's new education commissioner, Deborah A. Gist, has announced several new initiatives since she took over July 1, including raising the bar on who becomes a teacher, ending teacher assignment based on seniority, and requiring all educators to be evaluated yearly. Gist attended the listening tour visit and said she planned to have lunch with Duncan later in the day. She is hopeful the state will succeed in its efforts to secure some of the federal money to make improvements, she said. Duncan said he is well aware of the reforms underway in Rhode Island.[2] "We appreciate you including us in the conversation about education reform," said Sandie Blankenship, president of the union that represents North Kingstown's education support professionals. "This is an historic event for us." Gist listened to the conversation and said she planned to have lunch with Duncan later in the day. She said she is hopeful the state will succeed in its efforts to secure some of the federal money to make improvements. "I am absolutely confident that we are ready for these changes," Gist said. "That's why we are working tirelessly to make sure Rhode Island has the best educational system in the country."[1]
Duncan is conducting a national listening tour and has visited about 30 states. Rhode Island is the only place he has focused exclusively on the concerns of support staff. North Kingstown's staff told Duncan they are worried about the lack of funds dedicated to professional development and training that would help them become more highly qualified. Cafeteria workers said they are worried about the nutritional value and quality of food they served students.[1] Duncan is conducting a national listening tour and has visited about 30 states so far. Rhode Island is the only place he has focused exclusively on the concerns of support staff. Reed said he knows firsthand how important support staff are, not just to the operations of schools but because of the relationships many of them forge with students looking for adult role models.[2] There are more than 2,000 support staff in Rhode Island schools represented by the National Education Association of Rhode Island. They told Duncan they are an often overlooked part of the education system.[2]
High school scores are still flat. If national education policy had made a big jump forward, I would say we should continue to fill this job, but that hasn't happened either. I think the No Child Left Behind law, supported by both parties, was an improvement over previous federal policies, but it was only copying what several states had already done to make schools accountable and identify schools that needed extra help. Duncan will never admit this, but I am betting that soon he will realize, if he hasn't already, that he had the potential to do much more for students when he was running the Chicago schools. He was able to make vital decisions like appointing principals, rather than push papers and give speeches in his new Washington gig. [6] Let's abolish the office and get that talent back where it belongs, where school change really happens, in our states and cities. Secretary Duncan is going to reject this idea immediately, and I know why. He took the job because his friend the president needed him. Both are from Chicago, and know how much that city has struggled to improve its schools. The president, I suspect, thought that Duncan, the former chief of the Chicago public schools, could use all he had learned there to raise achievement for students across the country. It sounds great, but it was the same thought that led previous presidents to appoint those previous fine education secretaries to their posts.[6]
U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that $1.4 billion is now available for Pennsylvania under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. Pennsylvania will be eligible to apply for another $514,403,320 later this fall.[7] '''The $1.4 billion Pennsylvania will receive today is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history,''' Secretary Duncan added. '''The President'''s leadership and support from Congress have made this historic investment possible. Pennsylvania can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation of education reform.'''[7]
The state can apply for another $514.4 million later. As part of its budget, Pennsylvania counted on that money for basic education subsidy to elementary and secondary schools as well as to help higher education. State reports on stimulus spending were due last week, and Pennsylvania's report shows both the number of jobs as well as the vendors who received money for computers, software and other items.[8]
About a month ago, the U.S. Department of Education's inspector general's office issued a memorandum that used Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts as examples of how states may be violating the spirit--if not the letter--of the law on using State Fiscal Stabilization Fund money. Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville wrote to the Ed Department, expressing concern that the memo seemed to suggest that his state had violated the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's maintenance-of-effort provision. He also said he was concerned that it could harm the state's chances of getting money from the stimulus program's Race to the Top Fund. Deputy Secretary Anthony W. Miller wrote back to Reville this week, saying that the department knows of no evidence, and "does not claim" that Massachusetts violated the ARRA. He also said that while federal officials "might consider" a state's reduction in education funding when considering its Race to the Top application, its chances of getting that money wouldn't necessarily be affected. Besides, he said, it doesn't seem that Massachusetts reduced the proportion of total state revenue it spends on education from one year to the next.[9] MADISON (WKOW) -- Some state lawmakers are concerned with the federal government's Race to the Top education stimulus program. Budget committee co-chairman Sen. Mark Miller of Monona sent a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan outlining his concerns with the $4.5 billion program.[10] MADISON, Wis. (AP) A powerful Democratic Wisconsin state lawmaker sent U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan a letter outlining concerns he has with the Race to the Top education stimulus program.[11]
The department's inspector general had singled out Massachusetts and two other states, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, for using stimulus dollars to plug budget holes instead of boosting aid for schools. "We've looked at this pretty carefully," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said.[12] Associated Press U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan talked to reporters around the nation Monday about stimulus dollars for schools. Arne Duncan got ushered to the head of the class by President Barack Obama, who considers him smart enough to run the U.S. Department of Education.[5] At a time community discussions on education are becoming more pervasive in Norwalk, the city received a visit from the nation's highest official in the field. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stopped by Norwalk Community College Monday for a forum discussion as part of his national "Listening and Learning Tour," the goal of which is to solicit feedback on President Barack Obama's education agenda regarding early childhood education, higher education, higher standards, teacher quality and workforce development.[13]
Susan Engel suggests otherwise. In an article in the New York Times entitled " Teach Your Teachers Well " (11/01/09), she agrees with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's reform that in order to have good schools "we need great teachers." Engel goes onto say that "once we have a better pool of graduate students, we need to train them differently than we did in the past."[14]
The U.S. Department of Education is dangling tantalizing pots of gold to spur states to make dramatic improvements. States can compete for a portion of the $4.35-billion Race to the Top Fund, grants that reward states for embracing reforms such as welcoming charter schools, removing ineffective teachers, adopting tougher academic standards and improving data collection on student performance.[1] The steps taken by the government so far include the Common Core State Standards Initiative and a federal fund called Race to the Top, which rewards states for education innovation and reform. Through these initiatives, Duncan hopes that states will take the "opportunity to be bold and creative" in pushing for fundamental change. Pennsylvania already has made strides toward improving education in the commonwealth and is actively reviewing these proposals. As a student, it's easy to dismiss education policy as boring paper work on Capitol Hill.[15]
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, the closet thing the U.S. has to a standard test, tells a different tale with only 15 percent of fourth-graders at proficient. These gaps between state results and national testing have confirmed fears that some states have been lowering their standards to make it appear as if they have been improving. "For too long, we've been lying to kids," Duncan said in a speech this summer. "We tell them they're doing fine, give them good grades, and then they get to college and they're put into remedial classes. Or they go into the work force and find out that they don't have the skills they need to succeed." Opponents of common standards argue that standardized testing will only encourage federal over-reaching, but it's important to realize that the force spearheading this movement is the states. Duncan made it clear during his speech at the 2009 Governors Education Symposium that "education is a state and local issue" and that "this effort is being led by governors and chief state schools' officers."[15] MU produces more than 500 new teachers every academic year in all areas of education, Bray said. "We have to go through rigorous scrutiny by professionals in the field who examine the curricula, the training sites, materials and faculty," she said. Marching to the tune of national standards is critical to Millersville's program, Bray said, and their School of Education needs to provide solid evidence as to how they meet those standards.[16]
My husband is a school teacher. He's fortunate to work in a suburban school district which supports its teachers. He tells me that "No Child Left Behind" as administered under Bush was a Joke. It was an onorous unfunded mandate that the state defaulted on funding. He tells me the kids are bright and smart. They need lots of support to plunge into decisions about higher education, including paying for it. He says parents need some information to participate in motivation, which he tries to provide through phone calls, e-mails and parent/teacher conferences. Together, they all communicate to help each child. He's grateful for the Cabinet-level Dept. of Education because it keeps the emphasis on every level of government helping to train our children for the future. He would oppose deconstructing this vital Cabinet seat.[6] Our best schools have arisen from the ideas of creative and energetic teachers, not education secretaries. They need support, but mostly they need more talent to help their ideas grow.[6]
"But ours is a good example of a high-quality program. "We follow up and can prove that (prospective teachers have) had the experience they will need for their work in the classroom," she said. • The education that millions of Americans got in the past will not do. (Even workers with high school diplomas will have limited opportunities if they lack college degrees.)[16]
The contract descriptions include interactive whiteboards, laptops, computers, projectors and other hardware. Apple -- or a variation such as Apple Computer -- is listed seven times for contracts totaling more than $989,000.The descriptions include smartboards, student laptops, software, carts and site licenses. Of the $427.2 million expected for special education, the report states that nearly $57.5 million has been received or invoiced from the federal government and about $11.8 million has been awarded to 33 vendors, all of them school districts or charter schools.[8] The Department of Education should use national tests to evaluate education in the United States and where possible formulate plans where the resources of the federal government can lessen the cost of education in the United States.[6] As far as No Child Left Behind the federal government should provide yearly report cards on national test and let the states and local government deal with the results.[6]
Under No Child Left Behind, states must meet federal goals for adequate yearly progress to receive funding, which Duncan attributes to the "dumbing down of academic standards" by states. For the 2008-09 school year, Mississippi found that 46.6 percent of fourth-graders scored proficient in mathematics on its state standardized test.[15] In recent years, the state's Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education has ended a moratorium on new charters and opened three new ones; created an alternative teacher-certification process; and established a novel testing system with New Hampshire and Vermont. Duncan said he is aware of those changes, and encouraged the state to aggressively compete for federal funds.[1] Rhode Island education officials have jumped at the chance to compete for the federal funds, and have already endorsed several changes that strengthen the state's chances. Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist, who took over July 1, is advancing several revisions initiated by her predecessor, Peter McWalters, and adding plenty of her own, including raising the bar on who becomes a teacher, ending teacher assignments based on seniority and requiring all educators to be evaluated yearly.[1] Rhode Island is a relatively small state and has a chance to do some exciting things." He encouraged Rhode Island to compete for Race to the Top money and other federal programs, such as school improvement grants.[2]
"Race to the Top" is Secretary Duncan's challenge to all states to show the imagination, the commitment and the political will to truly improve schools.The incentive is a pool of more than $4 billion for the schools that win. Delaware has its work cut out for it, the secretary said. It has a 30 percent dropout rate. For black and Latino students, it's 40 percent. Secretary Duncan said he wants to see an end to the bureaucratic and vested interests that put adult wants over the needs of children. That, he said, will take real political will.[17] Duncan/Obama have already proven their value with the development of their Race To The Top initiative. Lift the cap on charter schools and do not block student tests results from being incorporated into teacher evaluations are both good examples of why the feds need to have the bulk of control in our schools. States alone could never make these kinds of reforms happen.[6]
Duncan, in a speech last month at Columbia University in New York City, said that most of the nation's colleges and state departments of education are "doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom." "Teachers are asked to achieve significant academic growth for all students at the same time that they instruct students with ever-more diverse needs," Duncan explained. [16] Pennsylvania is also required by the U.S. Department of Education to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted and how funds are used.[7] Tuesday, November 3, 2009 1:20 a.m. Vote 0 Votes Stimulus funds have created or retained 6,320 jobs in Wisconsin since February this year and 398,200 jobs nationwide, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Education.[18] U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a conference call Monday the report shows the impact of the stimulus package on American education so far, not an indication of what is to come in the future. He did not say if the report is an estimate of how many jobs could be in jeopardy once stimulus funds are no longer available.[18] U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan highlighted the nationwide job figures during a telephone news conference yesterday.[8] U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said it is time for schools to get out of the catch-up business.[17]
In a speech at Columbia University'''s Teachers College, Education Secretary Arne Duncan called for an overhaul of college programs that prepare teachers, citing current teacher programs as inadequate.[19]
At the panel and on a national level Duncan has stressed stronger training programs and quality teaching, and it is an initiative Mellion favors. "We need the salary and benefits to attract the best and the brightest," he said. "I have a little quote: 'Let a teacher go and they'll take you to the moon.'" Starr said he was very impressed with the Secretary of Education, whom he called "down to earth" and "very straightforward about what's facing us in education these days."[13] Duncan called many preparatory programs mediocre, and said that because of low overhead and large enrollment, many teaching programs are treated as cash cows. Duncan implored teaching programs to vastly improve their education, saying that many teachers are inadequately prepared with practical classroom behavior training.[19]
A closed discussion with panelists Superintendent of Stamford Public Schools Josh Starr; Executive Director of the Connecticut Education Association John Yrchik; Executive Director of Childcare Learning Centers of Stamford Barbara Garvin-Kester; and Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now Executive Director Alex Johnston, touched primarily on early childhood education, closing the gap, the Obama administration's goals for education and parent involvement. Norwalk Federation of Teachers President Bruce Mellion said he urged the secretary to come to Norwalk when they met at a convention in the summer and noted one important issue the panel discussed was collaboration between Norwalk ACTS (Achievement, Community, Teams, Success), the schools and early education programs.[13] Thursdaytalk to astronauts in space, military supporters of pre-school and tribal leaders in Washington. This guy ran his own school in Chicago, every day looking for better ways to raise impoverished kids to a new level. Then he took those skills to the school district level. Former secretaries Riley and Paige did much more for schools, in my view, when they were governor of South Carolina and superintendent of schools in Houston, respectively. I think Spellings did more as a player in Texas school policy, and then as President Bush's domestic policy advisor in the White House, than she did as education secretary.[6] The time each kid spends in school is generally 1/3 of half a year -- about 15 percent of a child's yearly life is spent in an instructional environment. We have charged the education secretary, and education in general with reforming or bettering these children's lives.[6]
The role of Education secretary is crucial to a sensible national debate on schools policy. The claims in this article make no sense. The head of the Department of Education educational initiative of "test them until they drop" and "teach them to the test" is really just part of the "slash and burn teachers" theory of education.[6] A Department of Education where the only valid tests of education are the national tests held every two years for 4th and 8th grade student and a Department of Education that will not release the 2009 results for Reading until 2010. No intention of the Department of Education to make these tests yearly and put in computer systems to be able to release results in two weeks to school systems and make the results public.[6]
Alyson Klein, who reports on federal education policy, joined the staff in February 2006 after nearly two years at Congress Daily. The U.S. Department of Education released its own report today further breaking down the jobs data from the economic-stimulus package.[4] The U.S. Department of Education today announced it has approved $1.4 billion in economic stimulus money for education in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is the last state to have its application for State Fiscal Stabilization Grant money approved.[20] The comparatively small number is the result of only a small portion of the stimulus money earmarked for education in Pennsylvania being spent so far. That's at least in part because the state budget was approved more than three months late, holding up some federal dollars.[8]
In addition to the jobs saved, Mr. Duncan said 21 states reported that stimulus money helped to mitigate tuition increases. "What we really tried to do was stave off an education catastrophe," said Mr. Duncan.[8] What's more, what's good news now may be bad news later. If roughly 325,000 education jobs have been saved by stimulus money, what happens when that funding goes away? Will roughly 300,000 education jobs be in danger of being cut? I asked Duncan that during a media call today, and he refused to be Dr. Doom. "I don't think this is a prediction of where we are going to be," he said.[4]
WASHINGTON — The Education Department is reassuring the state of Massachusetts it does not agree with an internal watchdog who suggested the state was using economic stimulus money improperly.[12] "Massachusetts has done nothing wrong or illegal." Massachusetts officials had sent a written complaint to the department, saying their plan for spending the stabilization dollars was approved by the department and was in compliance with the stimulus rules. In a letter, Deputy Education Secretary Tony Miller assured Massachusetts Education Secretary Paul Reville that the department does not believe his state broke any rules or laws. That letter was sent Monday and made public Tuesday.[12]
The watchdog acknowledged Congress made that tough to enforce and said that some states — Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania were named — are doing it. Unlike Massachusetts officials, those in the other two states didn't send similar written complaints. Congress included $100 billion for education in the stimulus law earlier this year.[12] The delay was the result of the state budget being passed three months late. The approval is for $1.4 billion, with the chance to apply for $514.4 million more later this fall. Pennsylvania is counting on this money to help pay for basic education subsidies for elementary and secondary education as well as higher education.[20] Nearly three-quarters of the $40 billion stabilization fund has already been awarded. As the bill made its way through Congress, lawmakers decided not to prohibit states from using the stabilization money to replace precious state aid for schools. They required states to maintain spending on K-12 schools and colleges but only at 2006 levels, which allowed most states to make significant cuts to education.[12]
The state reported that 91 jobs have been created so far from the education portion of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. They describe those jobs as "teaching and support staff."[4] California, for example, reported that education stimulus funds saved about 62,000 education jobs in the state. The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund paid for 53,390.5 of those education-related jobs. Of those SFSF jobs, only about 18,000 are for K-12 education, the state reported, with the rest for higher education.[4]
Joe Quick, spokesperson for the Madison Metropolitan School District, said no federal stimulus funds have been used to hire new teachers in MMSD since the Board of Education directed the administration not to spend the extra resources on staffing.[18] Duncan also said state and district leaders must carefully plan for the future, when the stimulus funds are no longer available. He called for the use of a clear set of strategies among school systems to ensure growth in achievements after the economy has recovered.[18] Public colleges in Pennsylvania are on the road to receiving $62.8 million in additional stimulus funds to help bandage gaps in university budgets created by cuts in state appropriation.[19] The report also said Wisconsin has received more than $561 million out of the approximately $1.034 billion in stimulus funds available to states since February.[18]
Part of that was a $40 billion fund to stabilized state and local budgets.[12]
In order to receive today'''s funds, Pennsylvania provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps, and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.[7] In the end, the legislation created by our government will determine what I'm taught in school and whether I will spend a semester learning about Shakespeare or doing vocabulary drills from a workbook. This is our chance to bring change and vision to the classroom and it's imperative that not only state representatives get involved but also teachers, parents, students and other members of the community.[15]
Jump over the town line five miles or so, and I'll show you teachers equally intelligent, trained in the same manner, but here the students perform in the upper 90th percentile, and the kids enter kindergarten ready to go, already reading and writing. The teachers in this particular school, judged solely on students' performance, would be, according to Engel and Duncan, perceived as smarter and better. Engel's proposal touting Duncan's reform is neither new nor innovative, but hinges on an ancient theory called the scapegoat theory: if it's not the students or their parents or society, then it must be the teachers.[14] The entire state has been utilizing ineffective teaching methods for some time (now that's state bureaucracy). Interestingly enough she brought it to the attention of administrator'''s and all they could do was blink their eyes and say that'''s not how we do things here. Another case in point, instead of building a new school to decrease the population of a vastly over crowded local high school, the city built a prison. Another government funded prison. The city knows they need a school, but said the prison takes precedence so the children will be okay, they can endure. The kids are suffering today, but society will suffer tomorrow from this type of neglect.[6] My opinion is based on my spouse having taught high school kids in two states and her response in that standards do vary across state lines. She doesn't believe the approach to No Kids Left Behind has been legitimate. School system administrators push '''numbers''' for test results as they manipulate statistics (omitting some students) to improve scores as she has noted that state systems don't teach or instruct in the same manner as others.[6]
For Connecticut, in order to get a teacher certificate, a candidate must pass the State's PRAXIS, which tests extensive knowledge in one's subject area. As in any profession, this is a weeding out mechanism. Those that are able to pass the PRAXIS exams, complete graduate school, and pass the BEST Portfolio (which is in the first or second year of teaching) can procure the highly qualified status.[14] The ones that do remain in school are well below the state average, and have progressed in small measures over the past 50 years, despite the teachers.[14]
We need the department to intelligently distribute federal money to the most promising schools in our cities and states. Cut back the number of people rumbling around that big building on Maryland Avenuemany of them are going crazy from boredom anywayand put it under the control of a savvy civil service administrator who knows how to keep the checks and the useful data rolling out.[6] Some journalism courses at the school are devoted to having students investigate past crimes, and a three-year student investigation of the case of Anthony McKinnely, convicted of murdering a security guard in 1978, has led a judge to review the conviction. Prosecutors have issued the subpoena to investigate whether it'''s possible that students are motivated by the belief that if their evidence is used to free McKinnely, their grades would be higher. The university has called the subpoenas insulting and charges that they are a breach of federal privacy statutes and state protections for journalists. This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 10:13 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.[19] Today, nearly 30 percent of students drop out or fail to complete high school on time. These students can't afford to lag behind in the competitive and ever-changing workplace. It is predicted that by 2016, four out of every 10 new jobs will require advanced education or training.[15] On the more specific end is Delaware, which reported 205 jobs saved or created, broken down as follows: 7 administrative, 4 guidance, 4 secretaries, 29 paraprofessionals, 3 substitutes, 2 technical support, 1 nurse and 155 teachers. One additional flaw of the data is we don't know if these are new hires, jobs that were saved, or a combination of both (and if so, then what the mixture is). Some of this information can only be gleaned by wading through highly technical Excel spreadsheets from the Recovery.gov "download center." Much of the reporting consisted of filling in blanks with various codes and ID numbers. It's important to note that when you hear about "education" jobs, they aren't necessarily K-12 teachers.[4]
According to the Duncan, few states and districts keep track of which colleges do the best job preparing teachers. He said some local mentoring programs are poorly funded and poorly organized at the district level.[16] In an interview with The Hour, Duncan called Monday's forum "phenomenal" and said Connecticut has a real opportunity to succeed. "I'm challenging Connecticut and every state to challenge the status quo and break through," he said. Duncan added he hopes Norwalk applies for funding through the government's Race to the Top grant program, and he talked about the need to close Connecticut's "stubbornly high" achievement gap, which is the largest in the nation.[13] According to the DOE, IDEA provides grants designed to help K-12 programs, preschools and households with special education needs awarded to states after an application process. Quick said both IDEA and Title I funds are mostly formula-driven, and both the board and administration are taking steps to make sure they do not encounter problems with the "funding cliff."[18] "Although we have taken steps to discourage States from reducing education funding, we fully recognize that SFSF funds are intended to help stabilize State and local budgets in order to minimize and avoid reductions in education and other essential services and that, under the current economic climate, States are forced to make difficult budgetary decisions and choices on the extent of State support for education and other vital public services," Miller wrote.[9]
A school is not just a facility. It's a community of people dedicated to the children in the school." North Kingstown's staff told Duncan they were worried about the lack of funds dedicated to professional development and training that would help them become more highly qualified. Cafeteria workers said they were worried about the nutritional value and quality of food they served students. [2] Attending were U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse plus U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin. Reed said he knows firsthand how important support staff are, not just to school operations, but because of the relationships many of them forge with students looking for adult role models.[1] Monday's visit to Hamilton Elementary School was part of a national listening tour. He met with school support staff members, who expressed concern about funding for professional development.[3]
Pittsburgh's uses include retaining special education teaching positions, hiring curriculum specialists to adapt the core curriculum for students with disabilities and hiring classroom staff to teach emotional support students returning to the district.[8]
An education is a long term fix to address future short term problems in society. If anything perhaps the Secretary should be allowed to address states on an individual basis to get to the root of that states needs and concerns when it comes to an education for all of its students.[6] The invitation-only event hosted by U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, included community and religious leaders, state representatives, local Board of Education members and superintendents from towns across the state, and Duncan said bringing everyone together is key. "No one group works alone," he said, "and if folks can collaborate, and we need to collaborate, you have a chance to see dramatically better results."[13] Secretary of Education Arne Duncan brings sense of urgency to the task of reform in U.S. education.[14] As Secretary of Education Arne Duncan explained to an audience of aspiring educators at the University of Virginia, as a nation, "we still have not fully achieved the dream of equal educational opportunity."[15]
Arne Duncan is the latest in a splendid crop of U.S. education secretaries over the last few decades.[6]
Arne Duncan talked with staff about ways to keep the schools running properly.[21] We will be happier.The schools will be better. Duncan can give the president his cell phone number and email address, if the White House needs any advice. Otherwise, let's get Arne out of there, soon, and make sure we don't send any more of our best people to that dead-end job.[6]
The reason Duncan (and Spellings, Riley, Bennett et al.) can do so little to improve schools is that we load up entirely too many issues for one secretary of an education system to deal with.[6] The ones I have known best include, in alphabetical order: Bill Bennett, Rod Paige, Dick Riley and Margaret Spellings--all fine people who care about kids and understand the issues. I wish all of them had not spent valuable time trying to deal with the painfully slow pace and often politically-addled reasoning of national education policy. Their best work for kids, in my view, happened when they were NOT education secretary.[6] "I've been using the term 'education debt' for a little while, what do we owe our kids who have not been successful in our schools? We need to look at standardized tests as a floor and not a ceiling. "The secretary is about innovation and confronting some of the dysfunctional aspects of the past that have plagued us and moving forward with some bold agendas," added Starr, "and I think he's doing that work."[13] I agree all kids should have thre same opportunity, but like all educational notions, it is overly idealistic. All students are different, in every way, and always will be, they cannot be educated the same way. This needs to be realized and our entire education system needs to be rebuilt with this in mind. If not, we will continue to pass laws "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic."[15]
Federal standards, assessments and thresholds for proficient all need to be adopted. The states proved their worth, or lack thereof, by all the shenanigans they pulled in attempting to game NCLB; from test scores to thresholds for proficiency, for cohorts of students they never included when calculating AYP, etc., etc.[6] A big part of our educational system's problems is an absence of a reliable data system to monitor the progress of students. When we speak of our "failing schools" and "plummeting test scores," it's a dilemma we have labeled as a national epidemic, but by approaching the problem state by state, we have denied ourselves the tools to locate and solve our problems.[15]
The Department of Justice even has a Race To The Top program where billions will be given to police departments for tests and computer systems to indicate which police officer should be fired. This is all part of the new No Criminal Left Behind program. Government by the mediocre at it's best.[6] Wisconsin and a number of other states are passing and considering law changes to compete for Race to the Top grants. Miller says he is concerned about the state making changes that will commit Wisconsin to spending more money with no guarantees from the federal government about how much the state will receive in grants.[10] While it is true that most states provide about 90 cents for every dollar spent on education and the federal government makes up the other 10 cents, it does not follow that there should not be a strong leader guiding the manner in which the remaining 10% is handled.[6] In filings with the federal government last week, Pennsylvania reported stimulus spending for education so far has taken place largely in two areas: Title 1, which is aimed at improving math and reading skills of low-income children, and special education.[8]
To date, Pennsylvania has received nearly $1.2 billion in education stimulus funds'''representing a combination of funding for Title I, IDEA and Vocational Rehabilitation and Independent Living grants.[7] The federal department approved $1.4 billion in economic stimulus money.[8] There is more motivation than ever to bring change to the classroom, with the Department of Education recently receiving $100 billion through the Recovery Act.[15] Instead billions will be spent for local meaningless tests and local computer systems. There is no intention of valid national tests since these tests would only show too quickly the invalidity of the head of the Department of Education educational initiative of "test them until they drop" and "teach them to the test".[6]
• The exodus of baby boomers from the teaching force will create shortages. (The U.S. Department of Education projects that by 2014 up to 1 million teaching positions will be filled by new teachers.)[16] The federal department is also encouraging school districts to compete for $650 million in school-improvement grants.[1] According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Title I grants give a minimum of $50,000 and maximum of $500,000 to underachieving schools based on the results of standardized testing.[18]
All of them. Too many high schools, he said, spend too much time trying to teach students what they should have learned in the lower grades. Too many colleges have to send too many students through remedial courses to learn what they should have picked up in high school. Because of this, the United States is now trying to play catch-up with the countries winning tomorrow's economic race. [17] Part of the problem is a one-size-fits-all approach to reporting, and a need to make sure the reporting isn't overly burdensome. States and recipients fill in the same blanks on a form whether they're reporting on road projects, or school spending. The level of specificity varies widely in these first reports.[4] We need to return to the three legged stool that supports the lives and education of our children - the family, the community and the school.[6] "We appreciate you including us in the conversation about education reform," said Sandie Blankenship, president of the union that represents North Kingstown's education support professionals. "This is an historic event for us."[2] Duncan is scheduled to be in Madison on Wednesday with President Barack Obama for a speech on education reform.[11]
Education reform has proved itself to be a daunting task. It was only seven years ago No Child Left Behind was passed with overwhelming praise, only to be denounced later for its shortcomings.[15]
It takes a visit from a Cabinet member to get Reed, Whitehouse, and Langevin to visit a RI school. Maybe he can figure out why RI is one of the top ten in cost per student and we are at the bottom of the list in education of students. [3] The implication is that our failing schools are due to dumb teachers teaching the students. As she states: "weaker students are in the less intellectually rigorous programs and the ones training to become teachers."[14] Even if every single one of our schools were immaculate, filled with up-to-date programs, applications and books, and filled with qualified, excited teachers, our students may still be lacking.[6]
The noble idea of "raising standards", while simple to suggest, is essentially a meaningless goal if parents and students do not take it seriously. That is where most of the problem comes in. The approach so far has been to hold school administrators and teachers accountable for these higher standards, but students and their parents seem to have no responsibility placed upon them for results. As long as this is the case, school reform will fail.[15] Public School teachers are teaching a larger pool, a more diverse group of students.[14] Teachers all love to teach, or did, or hoped to. Not every student loves to learn, from every teacher, but if we gather our data into a big enough stack, don't such imperfections simply vanish? Some of us, and I am being kind here, just know that they absolutely must. It was not so very long ago one could tell by the architecture and plumbing fixtures which schools were as perfect as possible.[6]
If we just had smarter teachers, we'd be all set. Engel is in agreement as she states: "Show me a school where teachers are smart, well educated, skilled, happy to be there, and I'll show you a group of children who are getting a great education."[14] Certainly, the secretary of education (or a non-cabinet level equivalent) should administrate schools, learning strategies, in-school activities and the like.[6]
The inspector general, in a memorandum last month, had noted the intent of the stimulus was not for state lawmakers to simply cut state education spending and replace it with stimulus dollars.[12] Michele McNeil covered education and state government in Indiana for a decade before joining Education Week as a state policy reporter in June 2006.[4] All except $346.8 million for government services will go for education.[8] Overall, about a quarter of the Title 1 money spent so far has gone to two vendors, CDW and Apple. CDW -- or a variation such as CDW Government -- was listed 17 times for contracts totaling more than $1.2 million.[8] The report accounted for the spending of nearly $8.2 million of the Title 1 money.[8]
The reports show that so far 482 jobs were been created via Title 1 and 49 in special education statewide.[8] While 325,000 education jobs nationwide have been reported created or saved because of the economic stimulus so far, Pennsylvania is reporting just 531 such jobs.[8]
Duncan stressed the stimulus package is designed to avoid future problems with education.[18] "What we're trying to do is stave off an education catastrophe here," Duncan said. "I think it would've been an absolute national disaster had these funds not been available."[18] In June, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education announced the first major revision of teacher education requirements, which will require institutions to strengthen the focus and foster increases in student learning.[16] Engel suggests we need to understand our students better from a developmental standpoint. She doesn't mention the rigor of teacher preparation programs that exist today: classroom observations and data collection; copious notes and reflections; extensive graduate work in educational theory; and lengthy portfolios and writing assignments.[14]
Please no billions for local worthless "standardized" tests and computer systems to analyze the tests in order to beat teachers over the tests. In a country with so many failed schools not one person has come forth with the idea that this might be the fault of the politicians, the heads of school system, or principals, but everyone appears to agree that it is the fault of teachers. There is such brilliant logic embedded in this article.[6] How much good did that do? Test scores for elementary and middle school students have come up a bit in the last couple of decades, but not enough to get excited about.[6] Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, have subpoenaed the grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports, and e-mail messages of students at Northwest University'''s journalism school.[19] '''The Recovery Act investments in our students and our schools will have a huge payoff in the years ahead.[7] This is a well-written article, especially considering that it was written by a high school student.[15]
Currently we have a system where individual school systems simply spend a great deal of money reinventing the wheel, instead of the federal government offering assistance.[6] Locally, the school boards can't seem to get a bond issue passed. In the past, while they promised to get rid of temporary buildings with investment in well-built classrooms, once voted, the bond issue money went instead to fancy scoreboards, new uniforms for cheerleaders, bigger stadiums, etc., instead. Now the school board just can't understand why the voters don't trust them.[6] Had we just dumped bales of money on schools which I don't support - we would have done more good for less money than the bush league social engineering of NCLB-type accountability.[6]
Mondayvisiting an elementary school in Rhode Island and a community college in Connecticut.[6] Rhode Island is a relatively small state and has a chance to do some exciting things."[1]
Vision 2015 is the state's homegrown reform effort to make Delaware's schools among the best in the world by 2015. [17] Can Delaware do it? The state is positioned to. Certainly, enough of the right people say they are willing. Perhaps they should heed two of the secretary's closing lines: "Please don't do it for the money. Do it because it's the right thing to do."[17] I'll show you the state of Connecticut where teacher standards are the highest in the country.[14] As America stumbles around in the darkness of endless enlightenment, perhaps Mom and/or Dad teaching the kids at home is no longer the worst of all possible ideas. At least they would get their recreational pharmaceuticals from someone who might care. Instead of a stranger who was disallowed, by State or Federal law, from such wanton ego tripping.[6] Today'''s funding is being made available per Pennsylvania'''s successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available on April 1.[7] "We want to invest in states that are making significant changes to improve student performance.[1]
Duncan provides it. He never refers to teachers as "terrorists" as another secretary did. [6] The premise for Duncan's reform is counterintuitive as it debases our teachers, the most essential part of the equation.[14] Duncan's aggressive reform to boost graduation rates and scores feeds off the misguided notion that the teachers are the problem.[14]
Budget committee co-chairman Sen. Mark Miller of Monona asked Duncan in the letter dated Tuesday to provide additional information about the $4.5 billion program. [11]
SOURCES
1. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan visits R.I. on tour to encourage school reform | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal
2. Education Secretary Duncan visits N. Kingstown school - Projo 7 to 7 News Blog | Rhode Island news | The Providence Journal
3. US Education Secretary visits RI school | turnto10.com
4. Politics K-12: Transparency Watch: Evaluating Stimulus Reporting
5. U.S. Secretary of Education, like many, mispronounces our state | Oregon Education - OregonLive.com
6. Bye-bye Arne: Why we don't need an education secretary - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education
7. $1.4 Billion in Recovery Funds Now Available for Pennsylvania to Save Jobs and Drive Education Reform
8. Pa. to see more stimulus money for education
9. Politics K-12: Ed Department to Mass.: No Violation on Stabilization Spending
10. Lawmakers concerned with Race to the Top education stimulus plan - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports
11. Wisconsin lawmaker sends Education Secretary a letter detailing concerns over stimulus - WITI
12. The Associated Press: Education Dep't: Massachusetts did not break rules
13. U.S. education chief visits NCC - Norwalk News - The Hour - Norwalk's Newspaper
14. Duncan's reform hinges on an ancient theory
15. All students should be judged on same criteria | Our Views & Yours - PennLive.com -
16. LancasterOnline.com:News:Dean to education secretary: Millersville University students are ready to teach
17. Education challenges a test of political will | delmarvanow.com | The Daily Times
18. The Badger Herald: News: Stimulus funds up jobs in state
19. Higher Education in the News | The Keystone Online
20. Pa. getting $1.4 billion federal stimulus for education
21. Education Secretary Visits Elementary School In North Kingstown To Talk To Staff l wpri.com
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