From: NEGPweek (NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com)
Date: Mon Jan 07 2002 - 12:52:53 PST
*****************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 - January 4, 2002 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 130 ************************************************* CONTENTS **STATE POLICY 1.) Learning English: More Money From Arizona (Goals 2 & 3) 2.) Superintendent Shortage: Looking For A Few Good Candidates (Goal 4) **COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 3.) Getting To Know You: New Theme In Houston High Schools (Goal 2) 4.) Manhattan Comprehensive: Linking High School And College (Goal 6) **FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 5.) Congress: Passes Education Bill(All Goals) 6.) Preschool Research: New Grant From Department Of Education (Goal 1) **RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 7.) Teacher Spending: Dipping Into Their Own Pockets For Classroom Expenses (Goal 4) 8.) "Rhetoric Vs. Reality:" New Rpeort On Vouchers And Charter Schools (All Goals) **FEATURE STORY 9.) Beefing Up On Writing: California's Experience (Goals 3 & 4) ******************** STATE POLICY NEWS ******************** 1.) ******** Learning English: More Money From Arizona (Goal Two: High School Completion & Goal Three: Student Achievement And Citizenship) Arizona Governor Jane Hull late last year signed into law a bill that provides millions of dollars for programs that help students learn English (Scutari, The ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/28). Under the new bill, $45 million will be provided in 2003 for student tutoring, teacher training and instructional materials. It also provides $340 for every English-learner student, an increase of $170 per child, writes the paper. The new law also includes $5.5 million a year in additional money for tutoring and $.5 million a year of teacher training. The bill was proposed to address the 1992 court case, Flores vs. Arizona, in which U.S. District Judge Alfredo Marquez ruled that the state has insufficient teaching materials to help non-English-speaking students, too many students in a class and not enough qualified teachers to help them. For more information, visit The Arizona Republic at http://www.arizonarepublic.com/arizona/articles/1228ENGLISH28/html. 2.) ******** Superintendent Shortage: Looking For A Few Good Candidates (Goal Four: Teacher Education And Professional Development) California, like many states, is experiencing a shortage of superintendent candidates. State leaders have resorted to employing "high-priced headhunters to scour the country," writes the MERCURY NEWS (Portner, 12/30). Some districts in the state also have increased superintendent salaries by 15 percent, "to more than $250,000 in some of the state's largest districts," notes the paper. The paper reports that some educators point to the "glut" of mandatory tests in California as one of the reasons superintendents leave their posts. California's new standards-based achievement tests "hold the top administrators directly responsible for students' success and failure," according to the paper. For more information, visit the MERCURY NEWS at http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium.local/educatioin/docs/search30.html. ************************* COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS ************************* 3.) ******** Getting To Know You: New Theme In Houston High Schools (Goal Two: High School Completion) In an attempt to improve the graduation rate, many high schools in the Houston school district are establishing smaller communities of students (Markley, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/2). At Lee High School, for example, teachers are assigned to small communities of students who take courses "geared to their interests," writes the paper. Many teachers stay with the same group of students from one year to the next. The smaller communities typically have a career theme that is designed to attract and motivate students. Mike Klnosky, director of the Small School Workshop at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said one reason the small-schools movement is sweeping the nation is the funding provided by groups such as Carnegie Corporation, Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. However, he added: "Just changing the size of the learning communities is not adequate. This requires a real change in the way that teachers work together and the way that teaching and learning takes place." For more information, visit the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at http://www.gatesfoundation.org. 4.) ******** Manhattan Comprehensive: Linking High School And College (Goal Six: Adult Literacy And Lifelong Learning) Manhattan Comprehensive was established in 1989 to help immigrants and other students too old for traditional high school, yet needing a high school diploma to pursue further academics. Currently the school of about 800 students offers classes in every required high school subject and Advanced Placement courses in math and English. Students who speak Spanish or Chinese can take subjects like math and biology in their native language. Ninety-two percent of the school's students graduate, with sixty percent immediately enrolled in college. About sixty-five percent are immigrants representing 42 countries. For more information, visit the Manhattan Comprehensive Day and Night School at http://www.panix.com/userdirs/mancomp1. ********************* FEDERAL POLICY NEWS ********************* 5.) ******** Congress: Passes Education Bill (All Goals) Senate and House members late last year passed their revisions to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA (Robelen, EDUCATION WEEK, 12/18). "I commend members of Congress for acting boldly and in an overwhelmingly bipartisan way to help make sure no child in America is left behind," said Present Bush. Bush is expected to sign the bill later this year. The legislation, which passed by overwhelming majorities, "imposes new requirements on states and school districts to improve student achievement," writes the newspaper. It also mandates statewide testing in reading and math each year in grades 3-8 and provides "new educational options for students in failing schools." For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education at http://www.ed.gov. 6.) ******** Preschool Research: New Grant From Department Of Education (Goal One: Ready To Learn) The U.S. Department of Education is requesting applications form public and private organizations, institutions of higher education and state and local education agencies to conduct research on the effectiveness of preschool curricula. "One thing we know for sure is that many of our preschool programs need to enhance their instructional content," said Grover "Russ" Whitehurst, U.S. assistant secretary for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. "This grant program will help us create a wealth of scientifically based research on effective preschool programs that will enable educators to make better selections of classroom curricula." For more information on the 2002 Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Grant Program, visit http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/index.html. ********************************* RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES ********************************* 7.) ******** Teacher Spending: Dipping Into Their Own Pockets For Classroom Expenses (Goal Four: Teacher Education And Professional Development) A new survey from the National School Supply and Equipment Association finds that teachers spend an average of $589 of their own money on school supplies and instructional materials each year. The SACRAMENTO BEE describes the spending habits of several teachers in the area. For example, one teacher from Foothill Oaks Elementary School already spent almost $800 of her own money to equip and decorate her room. "The budget for school supplies is often limited," said Melinda Anderson, a spokeswoman for the National Education Association, at teachers union. "Teachers recognize students have certain needs. When needed they dip into their own pockets to fill the void." However, Anderson added that "it should not be the norm for teachers to use personal funds," writes the paper. For more information visit the SACRAMENTO BEE at http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1389921p-1464009c/html. 8.) ********"Rhetoric Vs. Reality:" New Rpeort On Vouchers And Charter Schools (All Goals) Rand Corporation recently released a review of scholarly research on private school vouchers and charter schools. The report, "Rhetoric vs. Reality: What We Know and What We Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools," analyzes dozens of recent studies and data. EDUCATION WEEK writes: "It examines not only academic achievement, but also such topics as racial and socio-economic integration in voucher programs and charter schools." >From the report: "Our review of the evidence leaves us without a crisp, bottom-line judgement of the wisdom of voucher and charter programs," notes the report. For more information, visit RAND at http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1118. ***************** FEATURE STORY ***************** 9.) ******** Beefing Up On Writing: California's Experience (Goal Three: Student Achievement And Citizenship & Goal Four: Teacher Education And Professional Development) EDUCATION WEEK highlights California's experience in improving writing classes for students who must meet high state standards in writing (Manzo, 12/12). "We know that the state test will be either a persuasive essay, a response to literature, or a personal narrative," said Cynthia Marten, a reading specialist at Los Penasquitos. "Now, teachers are scrambling for how to prepare kids for that [type of test]. We'll probably end up teaching the three genres pretty well. But it ends up changing the focus of writing from communication to writing for a test." Lucy McCormack Calkins, director of the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University, notes that in the past some teachers taught writing well while others did not teach it at all. "In a lot of states, state testing has put a spotlight on the teaching of writing," she added. "The problem is that . . . instead of really good instruction in writing, [too often] it's test prep in writing." George Hillocks, an English professor at the University of Chicago, commented that writing assessments drive instruction in writing. "In certain states, because of the assessment, teachers teach formulaically; they teach the infamous five-paragraph essay," which means methodical writing. According to EDUCATION WEEK, an independent evaluation of the National Writing Project, a federally financed project based at the University of California at Berkeley, finds that student writing improves significantly and teacher instruction changes dramatically as a result of their participation in the intensive writing program. The project has local centers in most states and provides workshops for about 130,000 teachers a year. "The programs rarely focus on meeting test requirements," writes EDUCATION WEEK. For more information, visit the National Writing Project at http://www.writingproject.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. To subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) the NEGP Weekly, respond to this email or address an email message to: NEGPWEEK@westat.com and put subscribe or unsubscribe in the message portion of the e-mail. 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. -- 30 --