The NEGP WEEKLY for October 5, 2001
From: Negpweek (NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com)
Date: Tue Oct 09 2001 - 06:50:41 PDT
> *****************THE NEGP WEEKLY*****************
> A weekly news update on America's Education Goals
> and school improvement efforts across America from the
> NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
>
> Friday - October 5, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 120
> *************************************************
>
> CONTENTS
>
> **STATE POLICY
> 1.) "Crackerjack" Teachers: Illinois Plans To Get Them For Neediest
> Children (Goals 3 & 4)
> 2.) More Math: Oklahoma's Plan (Goal 4)
>
> **COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
> 3.) Afterschool Ambassadors: A Grassroots Campaign (All Goals)
> 4.) Cops 'N Kids: A Reading Center (Goal 3)
>
> **FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
> 5.) PARENT EDUCATION: Doed FUNDS CENTERS (Goal 8)
> 6.) Adult Literacy: A Look At America (Goal 6)
>
> **RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE
> 7.) Reading Research Grants: Applications Accepted (Goal 4)
> 8.) Pathways To Learning: Helping To Improve Children's Health (Goal 7)
>
> **FEATURE STORY
> 9.) Young Children: Need More Math (Goal 1)
>
>
> ********************
> STATE POLICY NEWS
> ********************
>
> 1.) ******** "Crackerjack" Teachers: Illinois Plans To Get Them For
> Neediest Children (Goal Three: Student Achievement & Goal Four: Teacher
> Education & Professional Development)
>
> The Illinois Senate Education Committee is planning a series of hearings
> to spotlight the "glaring problem" that finds thousands of teachers
> statewide struggling to pass certification tests, with many of those who
> failed to pass the test still teaching, explained state Senator Daniel
> Cronin, chair of the education committee (Rossi, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/28).
>
>
> According to the paper, the hearings were "spawned" by the paper's
> "Failing Teachers" series.
>
> A central focus of the hearings will be to decide how to get
> "'crackerjack' teachers in front of the state's neediest children,"
> according to Cronin, writes the paper.
>
> For more information, visit the Illinois General Assembly at
> http://www.legis.state.il.us.
>
>
> 2.) ******** More Math: Oklahoma's Plan
> (Goal Four: Teacher Education & Professional Development & Goal Five:
> Math & Science)
>
> Oklahoma schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett proposed to the state board
> of education that students be required to take four years of math in high
> school (Galley, EDUCATION WEEK, 9/26). Currently, Oklahoma students are
> required to study math for three years in high school and English is the
> only course required each year to graduate.
>
> Garrett also proposed that the state offer a $2,000 stipend to teachers of
> other subjects to return to school and become certified to teach math.
> According to Garrett, this plan should "address the demand for math
> teachers."
>
> The math plan needs to "go through a year of public hearings" before it
> can become state policy, notes Garrett.
>
> For more information on Oklahoma education, visit the Oklahoma Department
> of Education at http://www.sde.state.ok.us.
>
>
> *************************
> COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
> *************************
>
> 3.) ******** Afterschool Ambassadors: A Grassroots Campaign
> (All Goals)
>
> The Afterschool Alliance announced the selection of 25 local leaders from
> around the nation as Afterschool Ambassadors for the 2001-2002 school
> year. All of the Ambassadors lead local afterschool programs and each
> will serve a one-year term working to build grassroots support for
> afterschool programs.
>
> Ambassadors were selected from 20 states and the District of Columbia.
> They run programs ranging in size from several hundred to more than 10,000
> students. The Ambassadors serve one-year terms organizing public events,
> communicating with policy makers and building community support for
> afterschool. Each will plan a major event for Lights on Afterschool!, the
> Afterschool Alliance's October 11 celebration when programs across the
> country turn their lights on and rally neighborhood support for
> afterschool.
>
> For more information, visit the Aferschool Alliance at
> http://www.afterschoolalliance.org.
>
>
> 4.) ******** Cops 'N Kids: A Reading Center
> (Goal Three: Student Achievement & Citizenship)
>
> Racine, Wisconsin, boasts a unique program that began with local police
> officers giving books to children "when they made traffic stops or visited
> homes," reports READING TODAY (August/September 2001). The program,
> spearheaded by retired police officer Julia Burney, now operates out of a
> reading center.
>
> The Cops 'N Kids program has received major media attention, from the
> Today Show to Oprah, which helped Burney gain the support and resources of
> her community and businesses. Burney's success also has spurred other
> reading programs, including Project BOOKS, headed by Ann Smith, a teacher
> at Clayton Middle School/High School in southern New Jersey. Other
> programs are operating in Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey and Texas.
>
> For more information, visit http://www.cops-n-kids.org.
>
>
> *********************
> FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
> *********************
>
> 5.) ******** PARENT EDUCATION: Doed FUNDS CENTERS
> (GOAL EIGHT: PARENT INVOLVEMENT)
>
> Nonprofit organizations working with school districts in 19 states will
> receive a total of $11.7 million to set up local parent information and
> resource centers in communities across the nation. Each center will have
> a unique focus, but all will share a common objective: to provide and
> expand opportunities for parents to be involved in their children's
> learning while reflecting the priorities and conditions of local
> communities.
>
> The grants will offer sundry services to help parents help their children
> learn, including: parent-to-parent training activities; hotlines that
> offer telephone assistance in response to parents' concerns about child
> development and behavior; and workshops to help parents enhance their
> parenting skills, foster their child's readiness skills, understand their
> child's academic development and use resources to improve their child's
> learning.
>
> For more information, visit the Department of Education at
> http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-2001/09282001a.html.
>
>
> 6.) ******** Adult Literacy: A Look At America
> (Goal Six: Adult Literacy & Lifelong Learning)
>
> A report issued by the National Center for Education Statistics provides
> an in-depth look at adult residents of the United States who were either
> born in other countries or were born in the United States but spoke a
> language other than English as young children.
>
> The report, English Literacy and Language Minorities in the United States,
> reports that immigrants who arrive in the country when they were teens and
> who did not receive a formal education in their home countries struggle
> the most to achieve literacy. It also found that those who learned
> English as young children, whether born here or abroad, are better off
> than those who learned the language when they were 12 or older.
>
> For more information and a copy of the report, visit NCES at
> http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch. The NCES number for the report is
> 2001464.
>
>
> *********************************
> RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
> *********************************
>
> 7.) ******** Reading Research Grants: Applications Accepted
> (Goal Four: Teacher Education & Professional Development)
>
> The International Reading Association (IRA) awards a variety of research
> grants and awards each year to "encourage, support and honor individuals
> in the field of reading research," according to the IRA.
>
> Reading educators, researchers, graduate students and others involved in
> reading research are invited to apply for grants and awards, including:
> * The Elva Knight Research Grant provides up to $10,000 for research in
> reading and literacy;
> * The Helen M. Robinson Grant is a $1,000 annual award to support
> International Reading Association members who are doctoral students at the
> early stages of their dissertation research in the area of reading and
> literacy;
> * The Jeanne S. Chall Research Fellowship is a $6,000 grant established to
> encourage and support reading research by promising scholars;
> * The Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award is $1,000 award;
> * The Reading/Literacy Research Fellowship is an award of $1,000 to a
> researcher outside the U.S. or Canada;
> * The Teacher as Researcher Grant program is intended to support teachers
> in their inquiries about literacy and instruction. Grants will be awarded
> up to $5,000.
>
> For more information, including guidelines and applications visit the IRA
> at http://www.reading.org.
>
>
> 8.) ******** Pathways To Learning: Helping To Improve Children's Health
> (Goal Seven: Safe Schools)
>
> The Bureau For At-Risk Youth announces its new Pathways to Learning
> activity book series, now available to educators and other professionals
> working with school and community organizations. The series is designed
> to help children deal with important issues concerning their health and
> well being.
>
> The books designed for children in grades K-3, deal with issues such as
> bullying, stranger safety, drug prevention and self-esteem.
>
> For more information, visit the Bureau For At-Risk youth at
> http://www.at-risk.com.
>
>
> *****************
> FEATURE STORY
> *****************
>
> 9.) ******** Young Children: Need More Math
> (Goal One: Ready To Learn & Goal Five: Math & Science)
>
> National Council of Teachers of Mathematics joined forces with the
> National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to
> produce a joint position statement regarding appropriate math instruction
> for 3- to 6-year-old children. EDUCATION WEEK notes that the statement is
> in response to a growing concern among educators that early-childhood
> education's "heavy focus [on reading] could be overshadowing the
> development of skills" in math.
>
> "This originated from concerns that we needed to send a message to the
> field about the importance of high-quality mathematical experiences," said
> Marilou Hyson, associate executive director for professional development
> at NAEYC.
>
> In a January 2001 issue of the Teaching Children Mathematics journal,
> published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Doug
> Clements, a professor of early-childhood math at the State University of
> New York at Buffalo, discusses why math skills are important to introduce
> during the early-childhood years, how to teach math, the teachers' role
> and other factors that are needed to create high-quality early-childhood
> math programs.
>
> "High-quality teaching in mathematics is about challenge and joy, not
> imposition and pressure. Good early childhood mathematics is broader and
> deeper than mere practice in counting and adding. It includes debating
> which child is bigger and drawing maps to the "treasure" buried outside.
> Quality mathematics instruction includes providing loads of unit blocks,
> along with loads of time to use them; asking children to get just enough
> pencils for everyone in the group; and challenging children to estimate
> and check how many steps are required to walk to the playground," writes
> Clements.
>
> Preschool math is needed for four reasons, according to Clements. "First,
> preschoolers already experience curricula that include only a small amount
> of mathematics, and usually that content is anemic. We should improve this
> situation.
>
> "Second, many of these children, especially those from minority and
> low-income groups, later experience considerable difficulty in school
> mathematics. Recent curriculum development projects have shown that the
> gap between these and other children can be narrowed. We should address
> these equity issues.
>
> "Third, preschoolers possess informal mathematical abilities and enjoy
> using them. Before they enter school, many children develop number and
> geometry abilities that range from counting objects accurately, to finding
> one's way through the environment, to making shapes. Children use
> mathematical ideas in everyday life and develop informal mathematical
> knowledge that is surprisingly complex and sophisticated. Neglecting to
> nurture such interests would be an educational shame. . . .
>
> "Finally, although recent research on the brain has less to tell us about
> education than some suppose, it offers three general messages: (1)
> Preschoolers' brains undergo significant development, (2) preschoolers'
> experience and learning affect the structure and organization of their
> brains, and (3) preschoolers' brains grow most as the result of complex
> activities, not from simple skill learning."
>
> EDUCATION WEEK reports that Clements plans to compile the discussions and
> recommendations from a recent conference on this issue into a report
> titled Engaging Young Children in Mathematics, which is expected to be
> released next year. This new report is expected to be organized into two
> sets of recommendations: descriptions of high-quality math experiences
> for young children and the types of materials and activities teachers can
> use to develop in children an awareness of such concepts as numbers and
> geometric shapes; an explanation of what it takes to prepare
> early-childhood teachers with the knowledge and skills to better teach
> math to young children.
>
> For more information, visit the National Council for Teachers of
> Mathematics at http://www.nctm.org. The article by Clements, "Mathematics
> in the Preschool" from the journal Teaching Children Mathematics, can be
> found at http://www.nctm.org/tcm/2001/01/p270.htm. NAEYC can be found at
> http://www.naeyc.org.
>
>
>
>
> ************************************
> The NEGP WEEKLY is a publication of:
> The National Education Goals Panel
> 1255 22nd Street NW, Suite 502
> Washington, DC 20037;
> 202-724-0015
>
> NEGP Acting Executive Director: John Barth
> Publisher: Barbara A. Pape
> http://www.negp.gov
> ************************************
>
> The NEGP/ Daily Report Card (DRC) hereby authorizes further reproduction
> and
> distribution with proper acknowledgment.
>
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>
>
>
> WHAT IS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL?
> The National Education Goals Panel is a unique bipartisan body of state
> and
> federal officials created in 1990 by President Bush and the nation's
> Governors to report state and national progress and urge education
> improvement efforts to reach the National Education Goals.
>
> WHAT DOES THE GOALS PANEL DO?
> The Goals Panel has been charged to:
> * Report state and national progress toward the National Education Goals.
> * Work to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments.
> * Identify promising and effective reform strategies.
> * Recommend actions for state, federal, and local governments to take.
> * Build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals.
>
> WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS?
> There are eight National Education Goals set for the year 2000. They are:
> 1) All children will start school ready to learn.
> 2) The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%.
> 3) All students will become competent in challenging subject matter.
> 4) Teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need.
> 5) U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science
> achievement.
> 6) Every adult American will be literate.
> 7) Schools will be safe, disciplined, and free of drugs, guns and alcohol.
>
> 8) Schools will promote parental involvement and participation.
>
> WHO SERVES ON THE GOALS PANEL AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN?
> Eight governors, four state legislators, four members of the U.S.
> Congress,
> and two members appointed by the President serve on the Goals Panel.
> Members
> are appointed by the leadership of the National Governors' Association,
> the
> National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Senate and House, and
> the President. The number of Republicans and Democrats are made even by
> appointing five governors from the party that does not control the White
> House.
>
> The current Panel Members are Governors Frank O'Bannon, IN (Chair,
> 2001); Jim Geringer, WY (Chair-elect); John Engler, MI; Jim Hodges, SC;
> Frank Keating, OK; Paul E. Patton, KY; Jeanne Shaheen, NH; Tom Vilsack,
> IA;
> U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S.
> Representative George Miller, CA; Representative G. Spencer Coggs,
> WI; Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, IL; Representative Douglas R.
> Jones, ID; Senator Stephen Stoll, MO.
>
> The annual Goals Report and other publications of the Panel are available
> without charge upon request from the Goals Panel or at its web site
> http://www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or
> Internet.
>
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