From: neweekly@list.nea.org
Date: Mon Dec 09 2002 - 04:59:00 PST
National Education WEEKLY December 9, 2002 Vol. 1 No. 8 News from NEW: Science teachers, students and friends of Bill Nye. Have a burning question about science you’ve always wanted to ask? Then join the Ask-a-Scientist online chat session on Dec.12, 7 p.m. CDT. It will be hosted by the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, physicists Brenna Flaugher and Tom Diehl. They will respond to questions from people of all ages and science backgrounds. Go to the Fermilab homepage http://www.fnal.gov and follow directions to log in. CONTENTS COMMUNITIES 1. CANARIES IN A SCHOOLHOUSE: Former Teacher Leads Connecticut Push for Healthy Buildings STATES 2. LANGUAGE DUEL: California Plan Seeks Second Language for All 3. EDUCATOR EXODUS: Massachusetts’ Signing Bonuses Not Enough to Fill Slots THE NATION 4. GOING DIGITAL: Online Library Opens a World of Books RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 5. SALARY SURVEY: NEA Releases Updates to Annual Teacher Pay Report WEEKLY FEATURE 6. HISPANIC SCHOLARSHIPS: Web Site Links to Opportunity COMMUNITIES 1. CANARIES IN A SCHOOLHOUSE: Former teacher Joellen Lawson was tired of the mold, dirt, poor ventilation and chemical fumes overtaking the Newton, Conn., school she once taught in. So she organized the Canary Committee to sing loudly of the ills of unhealthy school buildings. Lawson wants state standards for school maintenance and building renovation. The Canary Committee also backs required training for school district personnel on indoor air quality procedures. Now, who can argue against cleaning up the dirt in schools? In Lawson’s view, the Fairfield school district did. The district was forced to spend more than $21 million to build a new school after closing the one where Lawson worked. (AP/Boston Globe, 12/2) http://www.boston.com/dailynews/336/region/Parents_teachers_push_for_heal:.shtml STATES 2. LANGUAGE DUEL: A new plan making the rounds in California’s education and political circles calls on ALL children to become bilingual. The proposal, part of the new California Master Plan for Education, would require every child to take extensive instruction in a foreign language. Supporters say teaching foreign languages to English-speaking children will promote cultural understanding and job readiness. Critics worry that this new proposal would nudge out art and music programs. (Sacramento Bee, 12/1) http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/5430811p-6416468c.html 3. EDUCATOR EXODUS: Seems as if Massachusetts has discovered that money can’t buy you teachers, let alone love. In 1999, the state offered mid-career professionals who were not trained to be teachers a $20,000 bonus to sign-up to teach in Massachusetts`s public schools. A recent count finds that nearly half of them have left, albeit $20,000 richer. And, a significant percentage of the new teachers hired never ended up in hard-to-staff inner-city classrooms -- a major goal of the program. Clarke Fowler, a Salem State College professor who produced this latest study, says such ``fast-track'' training programs are a poor solution for tending to teacher shortages. (Boston Globe, 12/1) http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/335/learning/_Bonus_teachers_opting_out+.shtml THE NATION 4. GOING DIGITAL: The International Children’s Digital Library has been launched into cyberspace. The library is a creation of a group of researchers in computer science, education, library studies, art and psychology. It already boasts 200 titles representing 27 cultures and 15 languages. Besides captivating children with wonderful stories, the library offers an international perspective on children’s literature. http://www.icdlbooks.org RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 5. SALARY SURVEY: Teacher salaries grew more slowly than the economy, with an expected increase of just 2.7 percent for the 2001-02 school year, according to a salary survey conducted by the National Education Association (NEA). While the national average stands at $44,299, the highest average salaries are found in Connecticut ($53,551) and California ($53,870). The lowest averages are in Mississippi ($32,800), North Dakota ($31,709) and South Dakota ($31,295). http://www.nea.org/edstats/reupdate02.html WEEKLY FEATURE 6. HISPANIC SCHOLARSHIPS: You are a high-achieving Hispanic student who wants to go to college. But, your family tells you there is no money. Scholarship funds are out there for you. But who knows how to find out about these opportunities? A joint venture of the Hispanic Press Foundation and the National Education Association (NEA) is the solution. The groups joined forces to launch a Web site designed to provide scholarship information for Hispanic students around the country and the world. The site includes application guidelines, an alumni section, and, most importantly, a database of scholarships fully searchable by categories such as state, college, and field of interest. Statistics from the Hispanic Link Weekly Report newsletter show that 11% of Hispanics age 25 and older have completed a university education, compared with 25% of non-Hispanic whites. Furthermore, Hispanics who graduate from high school do enroll in college at a higher rate than their non-Hispanic white and African American counterparts, but they lag every other population group in getting college degrees, mainly because they lack the funds to finish. "Partnerships like this will go a long way towards helping Hispanics student secure the educational resources they need and deserve,'' said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, a senior member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. http://www.scholarshipsforhispanics.org --Barbara Pape, Editor *** Fact of the Week *** Delaware: Giving Teachers a Good Start Delaware provides funding for mentoring of all new teachers hired in the state. The program is conducted by the State Dept. of Education, Performance Service Learning Systems, Inc. and the Delaware State Education Association. (Delaware DOE: A Report on Increasing Professional Standards for Delaware's Educators. 1999) http://www.nea.org/goodnews/de01.html In order to join a listserv mailing list, send an E-mail message to Lyris@list.nea.org. Leave the subject line blank, and in the body of the message put subscribe neweekly Send an email message to join- neweekly@list.nea.org To receive a copy of the Acceptable Use Policy for this list send a blank email to list-aup@list.nea.org Comments or Suggestions? Send e-mail message to NEWeekly-feedback@list.nea.org. 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