SCHOOLS SHUN CIVIC-MINDED NAMES
Across America, fewer new schools are bearing names like Jefferson High or Lincoln Elementary -- names that have long honored historical figures and connected students to the ideals and institutions we celebrate each Fourth of July, a think tank has concluded. Instead, modern school boards have taken to geographic- or nature-themed names such as Windy Pointe or Timber Hill, and the republic is worse off for it, says a report by the Manhattan Institute. It argues that boards prefer such benign references because even towering historical figures can provoke negative reactions. Abraham Lincoln, for instance, can be seen either as a man who preserved the union or trampled states’ rights, reports Mike Sherry in The Kansas City Star. Fewer than five percent of the nation’s schools are named after a president. Lincoln is the most popular (674 schools), followed by Washington (558) and Jefferson (480). Of almost 3,000 schools in Florida, five honor George Washington, while 11 are named after manatees, 54 after palm trees and 91 after wooded areas. "What we name our schools reflects and shapes our values -- and part of the civic mission of public education is to provide future citizens with models of civic behavior they can imitate and learn from," said lead study author Jay Greene.
THE NEUROSCIENCE OF JOYFUL EDUCATION
Most children can't wait to start kindergarten and they approach the beginning of school with awe and anticipation. Kindergartners and first graders often talk passionately about what they learn and do in school. Unfortunately, the current emphasis on standardized testing and rote learning encroaches upon many students' joy. In their zeal to raise test scores, too many policymakers wrongly assume that students who are laughing, interacting in groups, or being creative with art, music, or dance are not doing real academic work. The result is that some teachers feel pressure to preside over more sedate classrooms with students on the same page in the same book, sitting in straight rows, facing straight ahead. The truth is that when we scrub joy and comfort from the classroom, we distance our students from effective information processing and long-term memory storage. Instead of taking pleasure from learning, students become bored, anxious, and anything but engaged. They ultimately learn to feel bad about school and lose the joy they once felt. Current brain-based research suggests that superior learning takes place when classroom experiences are enjoyable and relevant to students' lives, interests, and experiences. Many education theorists, writes Judy Willis in Educational Leadership magazine, have proposed that students retain what they learn when the learning is associated with strong positive emotion. Classrooms can be the safe haven where academic practices and classroom strategies provide students with emotional comfort and pleasure as well as knowledge. When teachers use strategies to reduce stress and build a positive emotional environment, students gain emotional resilience and learn more efficiently.
DOES RELIGIOUS PARTICIPATION INFLUENCE PRIVATE SCHOOL OUTCOMES?
The vast majority of private schools in the United States are sectarian. Thus, when examining education policies that increase private school attendance, such as education vouchers and tuition tax credits, it is important to consider how religion may influence student enrollments and school outcomes. A new paper by Danny Cohen-Zada and William Sander analyzes the impact of both religious affiliation and religiosity on attendance at public, Catholic, Protestant, and non-sectarian private schools. Religiosity is defined as the degree of participation in church-related activities. As expected, the authors conclude that religious families prefer private schools that belong to their own denomination and non-religious families prefer non-sectarian private schools. However, more importantly, the authors show that religiosity has a strong and significant effect on the demand for private schooling. Parents who regularly attend church services are more likely to send their children to private sectarian schools. Studies that fail to account for religiosity and measure only the religious affiliation of families may overstate the positive influence of Catholic schooling, especially since children who grow up in more religious homes tend to have better educational outcomes.
WEALTHIER DISTRICTS WORRY ABOUT LOWER TEST SCORES AND HOME PRICES
The tight connection between test scores and home prices that was reported by a recent Trinity College study raises fresh doubts about the ability of an open educational marketplace to improve schooling for all children. Although the study focused only on West Hartford, Conn., its conclusions apply to other blue ribbon communities across the country. When parents spend a king's ransom to buy a house, they understandably want to protect what is undoubtedly for most the biggest investment of their lives. Unfettered school choice poses a direct threat by allowing children from urban schools to enroll in suburban schools at the expense of local taxpayers. Too many of these outsiders bring huge deficits in socialization, motivation, and intellectual development through no fault of their own, which lower test scores and, in turn, house prices. Faced with that possibility, suburbanites have fought back, with remarkable success, writes Walt Gardner in the Christian Science Monitor. It's more than mere coincidence that efforts in the past to desegregate public schools abruptly ended at precisely the same time that suburban schools were imminently threatened. Emboldened by their ability to prevail in the courts, suburbanites aren't likely to relinquish their hold on maintaining local schools for themselves. They've worked too hard and too long to establish residency in communities where existing schools have garnered well-deserved reputations for educational quality. After all, they have as much of a right for their children to benefit from top-flight schools as parents from the inner cities do for their children. Yet suburban parents' fears are exaggerated. Inner-city parents who take advantage of the opportunity to enroll their children in schools outside their neighborhood send an important signal about their involvement in their children's education. And it's that kind of strong, parental commitment, studies show, that is a powerful predictor of future academic performance. So, in the end, students who take advantage of vouchers are highly likely to be a proud asset, rather than a menacing liability in their adopted districts.
A WORLD WITHOUT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Should America have public schools, or would we do better without them at all? Nothing is more important to this country than the transformation of children into educated American citizens. That's what public schools are for, and no institutions are better suited to the role--in principle. They used to fill it with distinction, writes David Gelernter in the Weekly Standard. According to Gelernter, there's no reason we must have public schools. Granted, the public has a strong interest in educating America's children, at a cost that's divided equitably among all taxpayers and not borne by the parents of school-age children alone. But these requirements don't imply any need for public schools. We need an Air Force, and the Air Force needs planes. Taxpayers pay for the force and the planes. But the pilots are supplied directly by the government, the airplanes by private companies (with government oversight and assistance). Schooling might be furnished on either model: mainly by public or mainly by private organizations. We know that private schools are perfectly capable of supplying first class educations. So the question stands: Why have public schools? How should we decide whether to have them or not? The basic law of public schools is this: Public schools are first and foremost agents of the public. They exist to transform children into "educated citizens" as the public understands this term -- in other words, as a public consensus defines it. Of course, the United States is a large country and standards have always differed from state to state. So each state has its own public schools, charged with satisfying the consensus definition of "educated citizen" in that state. Maybe the schism in public thinking means that we need our public schools now more than ever. But the schools are not acting as if they want to bridge the great divide.
USING SOCIOECONOMICS TO DIVERSIFY SCHOOLS
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's new limits on using race to attain diversity in classrooms, a less controversial option is gaining attention: a student's socioeconomic background. Baltimore, Cambridge, Mass., and districts in a dozen other states already consider students' income and other non-racial factors in seeking to mix school enrollments -- a system that advocates say can result in some degree of racial integration, as well. While the idea is not universally supported, reports John Mooney in the Star Ledger, officials and experts said it could prove the winning constitutional ingredient for other districts that have openly sought to integrate their schools by race but may now be challenged by the court's latest ruling. "There's no doubt it is perfectly legal, and I think you'll see a lot more districts looking at going in this direction," said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow of the Century Fund in Washington, and one of the strategy's biggest supporters. "I use as comparison our income tax system, where we treat the rich differently than those of low-income," he said. "There is no constitutional controversy about that; it is perfectly accepted. But if we did that by race, there would be outcry." Angelo Genova, an attorney who represents several school districts, said the ruling will bring lots of discussions about what is now acceptable and what is not. He said the court's decision and especially the concurring opinion from Justice Anthony Kennedy allowed for some wiggle room. Kennedy wrote that while he agrees with the majority in striking down the Louisville and Seattle plans, he did not rule out race as a factor in school assignments as long as it wasn't the deciding factor. In that context, Genova said he understands the allure of the race-neutral plans like those that depend on socioeconomic factors, but called them a "cop-out" in the battle to integrate schools. "While appealing, I don't know if they get you over the hump," he said. "If you are going to deal with race, I think you need to deal with race head-on.
TEACHER UNION PRESIDENTS SEE NEW ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
The term "teacher union leader" typically evokes a hard-charging labor activist who shares an adversarial relationship with the school district, is focused solely on protecting members’ bread-and-butter interests, and flees from phrases like "school reform." But a new report based largely on interviews with 30 local union presidents who each have spent less than eight years in office paints an evolved picture of leaders who are often involved in collaborative relationships with their school superintendents; who have to work constantly to balance the needs of a new generation of teachers with the needs of older members; and, who see the importance of framing arguments for improved salaries and working conditions within the context of improved schools and building a better teaching force. The report released by Education Sector, writes Vaishali Honawar for Education Week, attributes the changes to "new realities" in public education that threaten the future of both teachers’ unions and public schools, including unprecedented demands for evidence of student success under state and federal accountability laws. In this new atmosphere, "industrial-style bargaining, which pits one side against the other, is of little use in solving different problems or developing new programs," it says. There are also challenges from within, the report points out. Today’s union leaders deal with two very different groups of members: veterans who want to preserve traditional approaches to pay and protections, and new teachers who demand strong support from unions in the first years of teaching, and ongoing training, as well as innovations in pay. Susan Moore Johnson, a professor of education at Harvard University, who co-wrote the report, said it is often difficult for presidents to satisfy both groups and to present a clear and unified vision of the organization. "We don't have an answer about where this will end up, but it is a period of great change and opportunity for the unions," she said.
ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL LUNCHES LEAVE A BITTER TASTE
When too many parents fell behind on paying for school lunches, the Chula Vista Elementary School District decided to get tough ... on the children. They told students with deadbeat parents that they had one lunch choice: a cheese sandwich. The sandwich, on whole-wheat bread, came with a clear message: Tell your parents to pay up or no more pizza and burgers for you. Cheese sandwiches and other "alternate meals" have been added to menus in school districts across the country as districts try to take a bite out of parents' lunch debts. The strategy worked in Chula Vista, Calif.: Lunch debts in the district fell from about $300,000 in 2004 to $67,000 in 2006. However, some angry parents say success came at too high a price. The cheese sandwich, they say, has become a badge of shame for the children, who get teased about it by classmates. One student cried when her macaroni and cheese was replaced with a sandwich. Another girl hid in a restroom to avoid getting one. Many sandwiches end up untouched or in the garbage. Sometimes, children pound them to pieces. The sandwiches' low appeal is one thing, reports Richard Marosi in the Los Angeles Times. The stigma attached to them is worse, parents say.
SUSTAINING & ACCELERATING HIGH SCHOOL REFORM
Carnegie Corporation of New York, announced it will provide $10 million to better prepare more than 30,000 students at 70 small high schools and three redesigned larger high schools for college and for meaningful employment in a knowledge-based economy. Carnegie Corporation's grant will be awarded to New Visions for Public Schools, a local education fund, that works in partnership with the New York City Department of Education to support increasing academic achievement in public secondary schools. With the new funding, New Visions and the schools will focus on deepening and expanding their data-driven model of instructional and operational improvement and school leadership development. Called "Scaffolded Apprenticeship Model" (SAM), the program creates teams comprised of a principal, teachers and school counselors who are trained to analyze data and develop tailored strategies to improve instruction, especially for low-achieving students. With the new funding the SAM components will be expanded to increase the academic rigor of the high school curriculum in order to prepare students for the content and skill demands of college courses. Curricular and instructional changes will strengthen students' academic skills and increase enrollment in and successful completion of advanced classes by many more students. Participating schools also will develop extensive college counseling and connections programs.
HOW CAN HIGH-POVERTY SCHOOLS MAKE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS?
For decades, one of the top concerns among educators, policymakers, and business leaders has been improving students’ ability to think critically. Daniel T. Willingham, a cognitive scientist, explains why critical thinking is not just a set of skills that can be easily taught. Rather, it’s a type of thought that three-year-olds can engage in, and scientists can fail in -- and it depends very much on both knowing relevant content and thinking about it in critical ways. Also, in the summer issue of American Educator, Leo Casey, a former teacher whose school experiences prompted him to work with the United Federation of Teachers, describes the aims and accomplishments of teacher unionism. Critics may claim that wages and working conditions are all that matter, but teacher unions strive for much more: to provide a professional voice for teachers. In particular, they have been, and continue to be, central actors in the quest to improve the quality of teaching. How can high-poverty schools make dramatic improvements? That’s the question Karin Chenoweth answers in her new book "It’s Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools." This issue includes two articles adapted from the book. Lastly, Anne Marie Whittaker, an educational tour designer who mixes history and monuments with poetry, discusses how to make field trips memorable. By matching poems to places, she brings history alive and shows students that poems can brighten their lives, too.
RETOOLING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Career technical education has undergone a sea change from the vocational classes that used to shunt underperforming students into shop and home economics classes. California’s state Board of Education adopted standards for 15 career technical education disciplines in 2005, so educators have now had two years to align their practices with those requirements and prepare their students for the 21st century economy. In the latest issue of California Schools magazine, staff writer Marsha Boutelle reports on how the high standards are affecting CTE programs, how the programs are encouraging students to prepare for their futures and the challenges that remain, such as recruiting and training qualified teachers.
NEW GRANT AND FUNDING INFORMATION
Hope for Education Grants Provide Technology & Software to SchoolsSamsung's Hope for Education will be partnering with teen music sensations Aly & AJ for its 2007 program designed to minimize the technology gap in the educational system. Through a partnership with Microsoft Corporation, Hope for Education will provide more than $2 million in technology and software to schools in the U.S. that enter an essay competition describing how technology can help improve students' education. Maximum Award: $200,000. Eligibility: legal residents of the United States; minors must obtain parental consent. Participants should nominate a public or state-accredited private school in their community. Deadline: July 22, 2007.
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