Teen bullying at school out of control - Half of all high school students say they have bullied someone in the past year, with nearly as many saying they have been the victims of bullying, according to a new study released this week.  Ten percent of all students say they took a weapon to school at least once in the past 12 months, and 16 percent admitting that they have been intoxicated at school.  Josephson Institute

October 26, 2010

Texas schools show the way in reform - A new report from Jobs for the Future details how the Hidalgo Independent School District -- in one of the most economically depressed metropolitan areas in Texas and with low numbers of college-educated adults -- is preparing all of its students to earn college credits while in high school. Hidalgo ISD is 99.5 percent Hispanic, 90 percent economically disadvantaged, and 53 percent limited-English-proficient. In 2005, the district promised that all of its students, not just a select group, would earn college credits before graduating from high school. Since then, it has transformed its elementary schools, middle schools, and high school by driving college expectations, implementing rigorous course sequencing, and integrating student support systems into all of its schools. This past June, more than 95 percent of the Class of 2010 graduated with college credits. Two-thirds of the graduating seniors had earned at least a full semester of credit for a college degree.  Jobs For the Future

October 2010

Coming Trend?  Students being fed three meals per pay at school - Washington D.C. public schools have started serving an early dinner to an estimated 10,000 students, many of whom are now receiving three meals a day from the system as it expands efforts to curb childhood hunger and poor nutrition.  Free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch long have been staples in most urban school systems. But the District is going a step further in 99 of its 123 schools and reaching nearly a quarter of its total enrollment. Area Montgomery and Prince George's counties also offer a third meal of the day in some schools but not on the scale undertaken in the city. The program will cost the school system about $5.7 million this year.  The Washington Post  

October 19, 2010

Waiting for Super-man - The release last month of “Waiting for Super- man,” a documentary by Davis Guggenheim about the sorry state of education in some urban areas, sparked a national discussion on how best to set students free from the devastating cycle of chronically poor-performing schools. Some proposals involved expensive or unproven far-off solutions, while others centered on low-cost, tried and true, here and now  approaches such as opportunity scholarships, which could provide thousands of low-income students in  failing schools the opportunity right away to attend religious and independent schools with a proven  record of academic success.   In an exchange on NBC’s “The Today Show,” audience member Kelly  Burnett asked President Obama whether his daughters would get the same “high-quality, rigorous education” in a DC public school that they get at Sidwell Friends School. The president candidly responded that they would not. And although his assessment ruffled a few feathers in the DC region, it was largely seen as a straightforward statement of the obvious.  Sidwell was among the scores of schools that participated in the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, which, since its start in 2004, has allowed thousands of low-income children to escape failing public schools and receive a private education. The president went on to note in his response to Ms. Burnett that while there are some great public schools in DC and other cities, getting into them could require some maneuvering or a lucky pick in a lottery. And in an exchange with host Matt Lauer about “Waiting for Superman,” Obama described as heartbreaking” scenes in which the opportunity for students to attend a quality school was determined by the luck of the draw. “It’s obviously difficult to watch, to see these kids who know that this school’s going to give them a better chance— that that should depend on the bounce of a ball,” he said.

School choice supporters used the president’s interview to draw a distinction between the administration’s words and actions in connection with the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). In a piece published soon after the interview, Washington Post editorialist Jo-Ann Armao wrote that the president’s words called to mind the 216 parents in DC who were awarded scholarships in 2009 that their children would have used to attend private schools “had the Obama administration not cut the legs out from under the…program.” Those scholarships—and the chance they carried for a brighter future— were rescinded after Congress decided, with the administration’s blessing, to stop funds for any new students.

On her September 24 show about the “Superman” documentary, Oprah Winfrey hosted Newark’s Mayor Cory A. Booker and New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie, both huge supporters of New Jersey’s version of opportunity scholarships. Less than a week after the Oprah appearance, Christie included a scholarship proposal in a broad plan for education reform in his state. When fully implemented, the Opportunity Scholarship Act would allow as many as 19,000 children to leave poor-performing public schools to attend either better public schools or private schools. “We cannot continue to ask children and families stuck in chronically failing public schools to wait any longer,” Christie said.  CAPEoutlook #358                                                                   

October 5, 2010

Poway School Staff Disaffiliates from State Union - This sort of thing is pretty rare in California, so it's worth noting the formation of the Poway School Employees Association, a local-only union recently recognized by the state as the exclusive representative of about 1,300 education support workers in the district.  The local had been affiliated with the California School Employees Association, but went public last March with its desire to become independent. 

"Our chapter has gotten virtually no support from CSEA in the last 9 years," said Dianne Kodadek, who led the disaffiliation campaign. "In that time, we have had to negotiate our own contracts and represent our own members, while sending $330,000 each year to CSEA in San Jose and getting nothing in return."

PSEA won a representation election in June, which was challenged by CSEA. The split, it's fair to say, was not amicable. The local will draft a new constitution and hold officer elections later in the school year.

Education Intelligence Agency [educationintel@aol.com                                                                                                            October 4, 2010

     "When hires are determined by the money available instead of the staff needed, school districts be come bloated in the good times. Yet when tax revenue falls in a recession, union pressure makes it next to impossible to cut teacher rolls. States raise taxes instead of re-examining enrollment and student needs, which creates a hiring ratchet that leaves states with an ever higher number of teachers, regardless of enrollment."  How is this possible? more information  Education Intelligence Agency

April 12, 2010

Statewide Library Initiative to Strengthen Rural Communities, Help Unemployed

Thanks to a joint effort between the Office of the Secretary of State, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, computer technology resources and training will soon be coming to as many as 76 libraries in 61 rural Tennessee counties. The initiative is the culmination of more than a year's effort by ECD and the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) division of the Office of the Secretary of State. ECD and TSLA recently attracted the attention and support of USDA Rural Development, resulting in the formation of a critical state-federal initiative that will have a significant impact on citizens in rural Tennessee. more information

April 8, 2010