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May 9, 2008

BoardBuzz was excited to see our friends at the Center for Public Education making the case for pre-K this week. In the story, out of Orlando's Channel 13, the CPE's Patte Barth makes the case that pre-K education is essential to student success later on.

Pre-Kindergarten is where kids start learning vocabulary, shapes and colors, and the big sell for voluntary pre-K is that it's free.

Florida leads the country in voluntary pre-K with nearly two-thirds of 4-year-olds in the program last year. Experts say they need more students to get the money they need.

"The benefits are really an investment. It's good for kids, but it's also good for communities because that investment pays off," said Patte Barth, the director of the Center for Public Education.

According to the Center for Public Education, every dollar spent for pre-K can save up to $16 in public education because fewer students need to be placed in special education classes, and that means fewer students are held back.

Also, studies show pre-kindergarten education increases test scores and graduation rates.

"We're not putting little children in desks, giving them worksheets, giving them a strong academic program. No, play is important," Barth said.

Indeed, play is important. And so is a quality pre-K education. For more on pre-K, visit the Center's pre-K topic area, and be sure to sign up for the e-newsletter.

Posted at 12:55 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

May 8, 2008

This morning BoardBuzz read about the scoop from TechCrunch:

The Attorney General of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, is about to make an announcement at noon ET that he and the attorneys general from 48 other states have negotiated a deal with Facebook to implement new safety and privacy rules, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. Facebook will be making its own announcement later on today.

And lo’ and behold, the world's 2nd largest social networking site did announce their commitment to working with the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia to improve the safety of underage users. This development mirrors an agreement those same 49 states made with MySpace last January. Texas alone has not endorsed these agreements. Texas officials want to set even higher standards and see faster response times to identity verification.

Facebook officials also announced that many safety improvements have already been enacted and others are in the works. In the deal, the social network agreed to develop age verification technology, protect minors from inappropriate contact and content, restrict the ability for people to change their ages on the site, monitor the site for harassment, and remove inappropriate content as stated in its Terms of Service.

"Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset," said Facebook chief privacy officer Chris Kelly in a statement. "We are proud to join 49 states and the District of Columbia in affirming our commitment to these principles and to continue improving our technology and policy solutions to keep kids safer on Facebook. The Attorneys General have shown great leadership in helping to address the critical issue of Internet safety and we commend them for continuing to set high standards for all players in the online arena."

Facebook even reaffirmed its participation in the Internet Safety Task Force, which came about through MySpace's earlier agreement and focuses on identifying effective online safety tools and technologies. Moreover, Facebook has agreed to make third-party developers and advertisers adhere to its safety and privacy rules.

"Social networks that encourage kids to come to their sites have a responsibility to keep those kids safe," said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper in a statement. "We've now gotten the two largest social networking sites to agree to take significant steps to protect children from predators and pornography."

BoardBuzz applauds Facebook for recognizing their responsibility to keep kids safe online. We expect the platform will become more secure as a whole, and all users will benefit from these new standards. For more about online social networking, be sure to check out NSBA's Creating and Connecting report.

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BoardBuzz was intrigued by this story from Sherwood, Arkansas. When his school had an opening for computer network administrator, Jon Penn applied, interviewed and was offered the job.

The catch? He's eleven years old.

Once the school board heard his presentation on modernizing the computer system, the position was his!

"He calls it geek speak and he talks like that. I have to remind him to say it in English," explains Jon’s mom Paula Penn.

She’s the school librarian and says Jon's been a computer guru since age 3.

He does the job for free because he enjoys working on computers. And Penn said that so far his work has not affected his social life. He still enjoys recess with his friends. BoardBuzz is glad to see he has an appropriate work-life balance.

In addition to his plan for modernizing the system, Penn has installed a program to protect students from unsafe websites and helped to teach a class. Well-spoken and articulate, Penn has certainly demonstrated that he was the right person for the job!

As his mom points out, "Parenting is not always about giving information to your children. Sometimes it is about learning from them." BoardBuzz certainly agrees! What can you learn from the students in your district?

For more technology innovations, why not check out NSBA's T+L Conference -- registration opened this week for what promises to be one hot conference!

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May 7, 2008

BoardBuzz was excited to see this story of some high school students who really know their stuff. This team of four high school students placed first in the National Science Bowl by correctly answering six graduate-level questions.

The event, sponsored by the Department of Energy, is a "competition among teams of high school students who attend science seminars and compete in a verbal forum to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math." Like the spelling bee, but with science questions instead.

The winning team, from Santa Monica High School in California, beat out 66 other schools.

"They did not crack under pressure," said Coach Ingo Gaida, a science teacher at the school. "I'd been telling them all year long they had the potential to do this. This was the strongest team we've ever had."

The team began preparing for the bowl in September, and since January had been practicing daily in the fields of math, earth science, astronomy, biology, chemistry and geology. The level of difficulty of some questions in the final round was equivalent to graduate school, Gaida said.

The question that clinched the win: "For the Maclaurin series of the function e2x, what is the coefficient for the x4, in the simplest form?" Answer: 2/3.

"There were some close games, but I always felt like we had a good chance to win," said Dimitry Petrenko, 18, a senior who has been on the team for three years. "I feel satisfied, almost relieved like I've done my job and can graduate."

The other team members are Alexandre Boulgakov, 16, Marino Di Franco, 16, and Ian Scheffler, 17. The team won a trip to the International Youth Science Forum in London this summer, $1,000 for the school's science department and a 6-foot-high trophy.

To say that BoardBuzz is impressed would be a gross understatement! Congrats to the team. We can't wait to see what you're up to next!

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May 6, 2008

A new study out of Massachusetts shows that smoking bans in restaurants effectively discourage young teenagers from becoming smokers, and suggests that restaurant smoking bans are even more powerful than the effect of whether a parent or close friend smokes. According to the study, kids in towns with strict restaurant smoking bans were a full 40 percent less likely to smoke than kids in towns with weak or non-existent restrictions.

This is big news for several reasons: Smoking is still the leading preventable cause of death in the US, and fully ninety percent of all smokers start before the age of 18 – tobacco use is a pediatric disease.

Perhaps most encouraging, this study shows that while tobacco use may be an individual decision, there is much that we can do to influence the environment in which that decision takes place. If we work to make tobacco use socially unacceptable, kids are much less likely to try it and get addicted.

World No-Tobacco Day is coming up May 31. Why not take this chance to review and update your school district’s tobacco use policy? For information or technical assistance on comprehensive tobacco free school policies, email info@schoolhealth.org.

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May 1, 2008

Have you ever wondered what people are really thinking? As a principal, counselor, administrator, school board member, or teacher, a lot of faith is put into the idea that we are doing a good job and the people we work with feel the same way. But sometimes those perceptions are wrong, sometimes our perceptions aren't those of our key stakeholders, and sometimes the educators need to be educated.

NSBA's Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) recently conducted a study led by Dr. Brian Perkins (along with recommendations from the PTA) regarding school climate. What We Think, surveyed more than 10,000 urban parents in 17 different states to find out their opinions about bullying; teacher/student respect; safety; and expectations, to name a few of the topics.

NSBA and CUBE have previously examined student perspectives on school climate (Where We Learn) and teacher and administrator perspectives (Where We Teach). The third study came to some interesting conclusions, including:

~ Slightly more female parents (76.7%) indicated visiting the school to support its activities than did their male counterparts (72%). ~ Parents overwhelmingly believed that their child was capable of high performance on standardized tests (84%).

~ Most parents felt respected by the teachers at their child's school (87%).

~ Parents with children in the middle grades (6-8) indicated that their children were bullied at least once per month more than parents at other grades (13%).

~ Generally, parents who used self-experience as their primary source of information about their school held more positive views about safety (76.1%), while parents who used the newspaper as their primary source of information about their school held more negative views about safety (12.5%).

Take a look for yourself. The study (as well as the first two) is available on CUBE's website and the results are sometimes surprising. Our friends at Education Daily and Public School Insights already have, and there's no disputing the fact that parents have an important insight into our schools and are crucial to their success.

Posted at 4:33 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

April 30, 2008

BoardBuzz came across an interesting article in USA Today last week on every high school senior's favorite test, the SAT. The article highlighted two recent studies looking at how effectively the SAT's new writing section (introduced in 2005) predicted college freshman grades. Both reports, one by the College Board (who administers the SAT) and the other by the University of California, found that the new writing section was indeed a good predictor of college freshman grades. Actually it’s even a better predictor than the traditional math and critical reading (formally verbal) sections.

These results show once again that while math, reading, and science are important, well developed writing skills are critical to the future success of our students and should not be overlooked. Students need to leave high school with content knowledge AND the ability to communicate that knowledge clearly and succinctly whether or not they plan to attend college.

In this digital age of instant messaging, email, social networking, and of course blogging, the written word is taking on a growing importance. However, writing is a 21st Century skill that often takes a back seat to math and science. That is why you should check out our friends at the Center for Public Education in the coming months as they look into the knowledge and skills that will be needed in this new century. The Center will look beyond just math and science skills to determine what skills students need to not only get a good job but to be quality citizens as well.

In the mean time you can check out how students fared on the SAT and the ACT, and explore many other educational issues at www.centerforpubliceducation.org.

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April 29, 2008

BoardBuzz was inspired by some pint-sized poets while perusing the paper earlier today. The Kid's Post (a section of the Washington Post) published the winning poems in its annual poetry contest in today's edition of the paper.

It's hard to pick our favorite -- they range from sweet to funny to sobering -- but they're all quite good. Here's one that made BoardBuzz smile:

A Bird's Springtime

Upon this tree I build my nest
Where leaves nor branches stir
May the smooth bark protect me.
The rounded leaves hide me.
And may I never hear a cat's purr.
--Luci Finucan, 11

Check it out!

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It was bound to happen. Someone found a way to make NASCAR educational. BoardBuzz kids you not. So for all you speed freaks out there, pay close attention to this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It seems that Alpharetta High math teacher Jane McAlister has found a way to make math "fun as well as educational" all by using NASCAR as a guide.

The course description in the 2008 Spring catalog reads: "If you think this is a simple-minded sport for rednecks, you are in for the ride of your life."

The class embraces all things speed, and looks at the big picture in a mathematical context.

Classroom discussions include the dimensions of a track, the measurements of a race car and how the two can work for or against the driver.

Keeping up with the NASCAR Chase for the Cup, and who is up or down in the complex points system, is all part of the curriculum. Homework assignments include watching Speed TV and weekend NASCAR and Indy car races.

The class is part of Alpharetta High's Talented and Gifted (TAG) program. Students take the class in addition to their regular course work, but don't get a letter grade for the extra seminar. Students who complete the class get a "gifted participation" designation on their high school transcripts, McAlister said.

The early inspiration for the class came when McAlister was still teaching math at nearby Milton High School. Michelle Theriault was a student.

"She'd come to me every now and then and ask for three weeks worth of assignments because she was going racing," said McAlister. "And I thought, 'If she's interested in this there have to be other teenagers interested.' "

Theriault, who started racing long before she had a driver's license, competes in various NASCAR and ARCA events and dreams of becoming a NASCAR champion.

McAlister said Theriault's passion for her sport made her wonder if a class that studied racing would work.

And the rest, as they say, is history. It's innovative programming like this that keeps kids engaged and makes them want to learn. What kinds of creative curricula do you have in your district? Tell us about it by leaving a comment.

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April 28, 2008

Kansas and Kentucky are the first two states to approve the Interstate Compact for Educational Opportunity for Military Children aimed at addressing perceived inequalities facing these children when they are required to relocate across statelines. This is how the compact works: the laws of the "sending" state would apply to transferring students from military families in the schools of the 'receiving" state in such areas as graduation requirements and age of student enrollment, etc. The interstate compact would take effect when 10 states approve such legislation.

Although the intent of the compact is appealing, local school districts might want to consider how the compact would affect such local issues as privacy laws, immunization laws, enrollment ages and eligibility for extra-curricular activities. While Kansas and Kentucky do not require students to pass a high school exit exam to graduate, this issue could present a problem in states that do. Because the compact could eventually supersede state department of education requirements, there could be some operational challenges and perceptions of inequalities.

Given the wide variations among state education policy and the potential for modifications to the compact by state legislatures that take up the issue, NSBA recommends that school board members, state legislatures, and other involved parties fully understand the impact of the interstate compact adoption on their own state education laws. In addition, the implications of costs associated with implementing these changes remain unclear.

Currently, Georgia and Arizona have both passed such legislation which is headed for the governor's signature.

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April 21, 2008

This month marks the 25th Anniversary of A Nation at Risk, the government study that examined education and what needs to be changed to improve American education. The study was put together by a team of educators including school board members from urban districts, rural districts, state associations, presidents of universities, principals, a Nobel Laureate, and a teacher of the year (to name a few). It's widely regarded as "the" report on education, but for many of us in the daily grind of working in the world of education, we were merely school kids ourselves when the report came out.

USA Today took one side of the issue in Friday's edition, essentially saying that while we have a long way to go, there are improvements in education that should be emulated. In the other corner, Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, pits the problems in schools against other American problems such as poverty, the credit debacle, and a loss of industrial jobs.

Nothing in America operates in a vacuum, and education's problems often trickle down to other aspects of society, but can the schools solve a credit crisis? How about health care? Poverty? Shall we go on? Yes, education is the answer to many of our ills, but educational innovations are the key to the future. So much has changed, yet so much has stayed the same as the America we knew in 1983. Look at the facts--economic uncertainly in the U.S.--check. Uncertainty in the international community and it's view of the U.S.--check. Wages being stagnant--check. "Crisis" in education--check.

So what's a teacher, administrator, school board member, superintendent, or most importantly, a student to do? The ideas are out there, but just like those days in school in 80s, you're gonna have to do some homework (and the internet wasn't even being used by regular people yet). NSBA has some innovative ideas through the National Affiliate program, CUBE, TLN, and your state school boards association is always willing to help. Dig in. You'll find that the best answers are often in the depths of the web pages, but what's most important is that as we read about all the flaws and comparisons to the last 25 years, we realize that we still have work to do, and it is possible to have positive results.

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April 17, 2008

BoardBuzz was shocked to learn that bullying has reached (yet another) new height. It seems that, according to this article via ABCNews.com, some students are exploiting students food allergies to make their lives miserable. Now bullies aren't just picking on the smallest or weakest kids in class--they're ganging up on children who have severe food allergies.What will they think of next?

"There was a group of five girls ... and they decided they didn't want me sitting at their lunch table anymore," said [Sarah] VanEssendelft. To get her to leave, they all brought in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

For VanEssendelft, it might as well have been arsenic.

Two weeks later, a boy in the back of her class opened up a peanut butter cup. The smell was enough to trigger VanEssendelft's peanut allergy and send her to the emergency room with breathing problems.

"My throat felt tight and my lips were getting really swollen, really fast," said VanEssendelft. "I looked like Angelina Jolie."

On the one hand, mean tricks or sneaking candy looks like mild behavioral problems to school administrators. On the other hand, given VanEssendelft's serious peanut allergy, those sandwiches might very well have been weapons.

And how can schools protect kids from this kind of attack? Who would consider a PB&J sandwich a weapon?

While it appears that school violence has decreased, unfortunately bullying increasing. "Between 1999 and 2003, the NSSC reported an increase of the student population who were bullied across grades 6-12." Troubling news for school districts.

And it seems that even though the students are hatching these ever-more-creative plots to torment other kids, they aren't thinking of the consequences.

"I think a lot of times kids get wrapped up in the experience and they don't think," said Susan Swearer, associate professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Actually, it's true they don't think — they've done studies, the whole myelination in the brain is not complete."

The best way to tackle the thinking problem in adolescents, Swearer explained, is to repeat conversations. "Say it 500 times: someone can die of a peanut allergy."

School districts often have their hands tied -- some may say they aren't doing enough to help these students, and others who might say schools are overreacting. Either way, someone is going to second-guess what schools are doing to deal with this kind of issue.

It might be tempting for schools to do away with peanuts altogether, but [Dr. Kathy Sheerin, of the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic], who is also a mother of a child with a tree nut allergy, has different ideas.

"I think it's great that day cares and up to kindergarten are peanut-free," said Sheerin. "But the mall isn't peanut-free, the movies aren't peanut-free, your next door neighbor's house isn't peanut-free. The kids are going to have to learn to deal with it."

Most kids, in fact, want other kids to learn to deal with it, as well.

Posted at 9:55 AM | Link to this story | Comments (2)

April 16, 2008

It’s National Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians, and library workers in schools, campuses, and communities nationwide—and the perfect time to rediscover your local library. Today’s libraries are modern community centers where everyone is invited to explore, dream, and learn. All that’s missing is you! Bring your curiosity, imagination, and creativity, and join the circle of knowledge @ your library.

BoardBuzz wants to remind the public about the contribution libraries make to their communities everyday. Library use is up nationwide among all types of library users, continuing a decade-long trend, and it’s easy to see why. Libraries are places where everyone can go to discover the world. People of all ages visit the library for entertainment, self-help, or to engage in their community. With free resources like books, magazines, DVDs, and computer and wifi access, libraries help people find new jobs, do better in school, tackle projects, or just relax and have fun.

What makes the library unique is access to trained professionals—librarians—to help people find and interpret the information they need. Our libraries also help keep us connected, providing a space for people of all ages, classes, and races to come together, while keeping us connected to events and people around the world. It’s where people can keep up with world events or research where to volunteer locally.

Academy-award-winning actress, Julie Andrews was named Honorary Chair of National Library Week 2008 at a press conference at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Listen as she discusses what libraries mean to her.

BoardBuzz encourages you to visit your local library this week. See what's going on, and take advantage of one our nation's most important resources! We bet your trip won't be your last! This message was brought to you by the American Library Association’s Campaign for America's Libraries and the National School Boards Association.

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April 15, 2008

Do as I say not as I do? Not for the teachers at one Michigan high school. BoardBuzz is excited and inspired by a group of teachers at Orchard View High School who have implemented a wellness plan. This according to a posting on the Muskegon Chronicle's blog.

About a dozen teachers have banded together this school year to promote the importance of exercise and diet. Their efforts so far have included forming an after-school teachers' running club and successfully lobbying for healthier cafeteria food. They also hope to start a similar running club for students this spring.

As motivation for themselves, the teachers decided to compete in the Fifth Third River Bank Run, a popular race scheduled for May 10 in Grand Rapids.

"The first thing we did was form a health committee," said history teacher Nicholas Cole, one of four teachers who formed the committee last fall. "We realized that we had no programs directed at health and fitness for staff."

Nothing like leading by example! What's more, "With the support of the high school's food service director and a registered dietitian, new, healthier food was added to the school's menu. For example, whole wheat, whole-grain breads took the place of less nutritious 'sub buns.' Cookies and cheeses were replaced with reduced-fat versions. And lower-sodium recipes were created."

What's especially exciting about this is that the teachers have taken this initiative on their own. And that's what good leadership is all about. Run on, Orchard View, run on!

Posted at 4:45 PM | Link to this story | Comments (2)

April 11, 2008

BoardBuzz was interested and concerned by this story from CNN. As the anniversary of the violence at Virginia Tech approaches and other incidents of school violence come to light, school officials, parents, teachers, and community members are as concerned as ever about school safety and violence prevention.

What makes this story stand out, though, is that the parents of the student involved recognized some pretty scary behaviors in their son and acted to prevent the violence.

Elaine Sonnen found out about her son's plan during a conversation with him. She ordered him to write down the names of the eight students he wanted dead and then gave the list to his caseworker the very next day. Later, he added a teacher and his own mother and sister to the hit list.

She took immediate action and had her son committed to an Idaho mental institution. Over the next 16 months, he received treatment at several mental health facilities throughout Idaho.

"There, I opened up. I felt better. I moved on with myself," Richard said.

"They felt at that point ... they had done everything they could do for him," added Elaine Sonnen. "He was doing great. He could make it on his own. They had no question."

During NSBA's Conference last month, experts addressed the issue of violence prevention in schools in a session and at a press conference. NSBA's Senior Staff Attorney, Lisa Soronen was also interviewed on the subject. You can watch her interview by clicking here. For more information about disaster preparedness, check out this article in ASBJ.

Posted at 1:46 PM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

April 9, 2008

It does BoardBuzz's heart good when we see things like this recent opinion piece in the Post-Bulletin (Minn.). School board member Diane Hermann Blakley discusses the importance of community engagement and 21st century skills in her editorial.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the National School Board Association Conference in Orlando. This conference helped to assure me that our schools need to teach the core subjects, but must also address the 21st Century Skills.

These skills include problem solving, critical thinking, media literacy, global awareness, collaboration skills and civic leadership. The skills students need today are fundamentally different from what was needed 20 years ago.

Teaching our students 21st Century Skills is essential to our nation's economic success. Our nation cannot afford to have ANY of our students not reach their full potential. The demand on our workforce in upcoming years will require all our students to be well taught. This Rochester School Board, along with Superintendent Romain Dallemand, is committed to closing the opportunity gap.

And it sounds like not only are they committed to their students, but to their community too.

We need to engage all of our youth in their communities and engage adults in the lives of our youth. We as a school board are working to engage students into becoming productive citizens within our community and our country.

Parental and community involvement is the key to this process. Parents need to find the time to spend quality time with their children. Positive adult-child interaction increases student achievement, reduces substance abuse, creates responsibility, and respect.

Engaging the community in the public schools is not a new idea, but it certainly a critical one. And BoardBuzz thinks that Blakley sums it up best when she says, "Every child is a gift to our community. ALL children can learn, and with the leadership of our schools, parents, and community, we can make this happen." We couldn't agree more!

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April 8, 2008

BoardBuzz got wind of something really interesting across our desk yesterday . . . the National Elementary Honor Society. Our friends at both the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Elementary School Principals have set up the program to "recognize elementary students in both public and non-pubic elementary schools for their outstanding academic achievement and demonstrated personal responsibility, to provide meaningful service to the school and community, and to develop essential leadership skills in the students of elementary schools. "

Sounds good to us! What could be better than acknowledging the academic achievements of elementary school students? The NEHS Web site also tells us

Through the development of a chapter that functions with these purposes, elementary schools create a method for acknowledging achievement and focusing on the needs of the total child. In addition, NEHS provides information and resources to enhance the culture of achievement in the whole school, not merely the culture of a select few. This Web site and the resources being sent to every member school are designed to support these purposes and strengthen the lives of our nation’s elementary students and the schools in which they are enrolled.

For more information be sure to visit the site and start a chapter in your school district.

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March 25, 2008

USA Today asserts what has long been discussed around the chalkboard: class size does affect student learning. BoardBuzz has suspected this all along (perhaps because we've been reading the research), and our friends at the Center for Public Education have done their homework on the subject too.

The article states,

Breaking up large classes into several smaller ones helps students, but the improvements in many cases come in spite of what teachers do, new research suggests.

New findings from four nations, including the USA, tell a curious story. Small classes work for children, but that's less because of how teachers teach than because of what students feel they can do: Get more face time with their teacher, for instance, or work in small groups with classmates.

"Small classes are more engaging places for students because they're able to have a more personal connection with teachers, simply by virtue of the fact that there are fewer kids in the classroom competing for that teacher's attention," says Adam Gamoran of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who analyzed the findings.

Fair enough. But BoardBuzz would argue that while the new research again shows that small classes help students feel more engaged, if schools really want the most bang for their buck, they should also provide professional development to help teachers modify instruction to the small setting. What are your thoughts on class size? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

For more information on class size and how it affects student learning, check out the research at Center for Public Education.

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March 24, 2008

It started out as a lesson on oceans, and 21 years later, a message in a bottle has made waves (groan). BoardBuzz saw this story on ABCNews.com, and was fascinated.

When Emily Hwaung was in fourth grade she placed a message in a bottle, as a part of a school project, and cast it off to sea. The note read:

This letter is part of our science project to study oceans and learn about people in distant lands. Please send the date and location of the bottle with your address. I will send you my picture and tell you when and where the bottle was placed in the ocean. Your friend, Emily Hwaung

And here we are some 21 years later. The letter, which was launched from a suburb of Seattle, was discovered more than 1,700 miles away in Alaska. Emily, no longer a fourth grader, but a 30 year-old accountant, has really gotten "a kick out of" the story and the bottle resurfacing all these years later.

BoardBuzz wonders if that model of the solar system we did in fourth grade will find us again somehow.

Posted at 3:10 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

BoardBuzz was pointed in the direction of this website from our friends at the Public Education Network (PEN)'s weekly Newsblast (which if you don't get, you should definitely sign up for).

It seems that Tom Chapin, the product of public schools, is disappointed (as is BoardBuzz) in the cuts that are taking place to art, music, and other stuff that's "Not on the Test." And in this digital age, Tom has put his thoughts to music, made a video and posted it to the internet. He laments,

Your School Board is faced with no child left behind
With rules but no funding, they’re caught in a bind.
So music and art and the things you love best
Are not in your school ‘cause they’re not on the test.

Sleep, sleep, and as you progress
You’ll learn there’s a lot that is not on the test.

Debate is a skill that is useful to know,
Unless you’re in Congress or talk radio,
Where shouting and spouting and spewing are blessed
'Cause rational discourse was not on the test.

And while the lyrics do elicit a chuckle, it actually makes BoardBuzz feel like crying. Chapin is right, school boards' hands are often tied when dealing with the requirements of NCLB. The good news is that some school districts are doing whatever they can to incorporate the things that aren't on the test. We loved this story from the Washington Post about one school in Maryland that threw testing to the wind in favor of a day of arts instruction.

For more information on No Child Left Behind, NSBA's recommendations for changes to the law, and the law's reauthorization, click here.

What's your school district doing to ensure that students receive a well-rounded education, incorporating subjects beyond what's required on the test? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Posted at 10:29 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

No, not the Vice President. A class vice president in New Haven, Conn. And you're not going to believe why. The story has all the makings of a real political scandal, that's for sure. BoardBuzz had to chuckle when we read the story on CNN.com. It seems one student's Skittles craving has landed him in hot water.

Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate.

School spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo said the New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy.

Michael's suspension was reduced from three days to one, but he has not been reinstated as class vice president.

Ouch. And all for a sugar jones. To be sure, schools and states are targets of constant sniping from the other direction that they aren't waging zealous enough campaigns against junk food. And the media often sensationalize stories like this that turn out to be more complicated when you know more of the facts. In this case, our friends at the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education note, the state has a strong wellness law that provides schools with an opportunity to get some additional funding if the school or district has a policy of only allowing sales of food items—by anyone—that are on a state-approved list for nutritional standards.

But here's the problem: It's the degree of punishment that often makes for the embarrassing headlines. NSBA Council of School Attorneys board member Dean Pickett of Mangum, Wall, Stoops, and Warden in Flagstaff, Arizona said it best years ago: "Zero tolerance for the conduct doesn't mean zero thinking about the consequences."

Perhaps the most interesting part of the article includes this tidbit, "Michael says he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice the student selling the Skittles February 26 was being secretive." Spoken like a true politician.

Posted at 10:42 AM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

The Internet has done it again! According to this article in today's edition of USA Today, "Youth volunteerism is surging as high school and college students use the Internet to mobilize quickly and nationally." BoardBuzz loves to see young people getting involved for the greater good.

And they're doing it through social networking sites like MySpace. (And you thought social networking was just a way for students to keep in touch. Not so says NSBA's Creating and Connecting report.)

More than 22,000 non-profit groups have signed up to rally supporters on the teen-and-young-adult site MySpace since it began in 2004, says Jeff Berman, the site's executive vice president for marketing. He says more young people are engaged in activism online and their creativity in using the Internet to do good works is "off the charts."

Groups also have sprung up on Facebook, another social- networking site used by millions of students, to urge youth to fight global warming, help Hurricane Katrina victims, seek world peace or protest events such as charges brought against six black teens for beating a white classmate in Jena, La.

"Activism is at a very high level among college students, probably more than in the last 10 to 20 years," says Robert Rhoads, who teaches a class on the history of student activism at the University of California, Los Angeles. "There's a greater political consciousness among students," he says. "The Internet has played a role in that."

BoardBuzz is impressed! How are the students in your district using the Internet to get involved? Are they "creating and connecting" through social networking? Leave us a comment and tell us about it.

Posted at 9:43 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

March 12, 2008

It turns out that last week was Teen Tech Week—a national initiative sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association. The initiative aims to ensure that teens are not only competent, but also ethical users of library technologies, such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks, and videogames. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use their libraries' nonprint resources for education and recreation and to recognize their librarians as the skilled, trusted IT professionals that they are. BoardBuzz loves our own resident librarians.

Libraries across the country hosted special events, sessions, and contests which included:

• Amazing Race: Library Edition


• Teen Music Night


• Online Chess


• Rule RuneScape


• Teen Computer Tutors!


• Pimp Your iPod


• Online Audiobook Discussion


• Yo-yo-ology


• This is Jeopardy

Even though Tech Week is over, it never really ends. How can you keep the momentum going? YALSA has these suggestions:

• Have your teens tell us about how they use technology in YALSA's Teen Technology Survey. Survey closes March 31.
• Bookmark our Tech Guides to use in programming at your library! Our guides cover making music with teens, online surveys, virtual worlds, RSS, blogs & wikis, gaming, podcasts and a sponsored guide on using Dungeons & Dragons Interactive @ your library! All Tech Guides are PDF files for easy download. 
• Tell us how your celebration went at the Teen Tech Week Wiki!

BoardBuzz would also like to give a shout out to the Young Adult Library Services Association blog.

Posted at 2:57 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

March 3, 2008

Our good friends at the Center for Public Education have done it again. In their ongoing mission to bring the unbiased truth in public education to the world, the Center has created a new tool called Good Measures for Good Schools.

The tool, which is a practical guide to the various measures of school quality, helps you determine the right questions you should be asking about our schools.

Good measures for good schools provides the national average performance for each measure, and links you to comparable state data where you can see how your state performs. On some measures, we also link you to web pages that offer data for your district and school. By clicking on each question you should be asking, you can learn more about the usefulness and limitations of every measure and get easy-to-understand tips for how to interpret the data. When possible, the measures are linked to relevant research, analyses, and success stories on the Center site so you can find the best thinking on what to do to improve school performance.

The guide also gives you:

The right questions to ask for a full picture of the quality of your schools.
National data and easy links to state data to help you gauge the performance of your schools on 28 key measures. We also link you to district and school-level data as much as possible.
An explanation of each measure including how the data is useful and how it is limited.
Other questions to ask when the available data doesn't say enough.

The tool, which is denoted by the yellow ruler graphic, offers a great at-a-glance resource, as well as in depth information on each of the measures. But don't take BoardBuzz's word for it -- visit the Center and check it out for yourself.

Posted at 2:01 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

February 27, 2008

“A kindergarten student with a freshly spiked Mohawk has been suspended from school,” reports ABCNEWS.COM. “Surely,” query you Dear Readers, “You must mean a kindergarten student with a gun… or drugs… or who cracked open someone’s head with a blunt instrument?” No, no, gentle BoardBuzzers, you read correctly: The school suspended little Bryan Ruda for the offense of sporting a funky hair cut. (And, for the record, BoardBuzz saw the photograph of the 6-year-old offender, and, well, it was NOT spiked.) Even so, ““[t]he school said the hair was a distraction for other students [and] violate[d] the school's policy on being properly groomed,” school Principal Linda Geyer said.”

Bryan’s mom, whose love for the avant garde apparently extends to decorative children’s hairstyles, was outraged by the schools decision, saying that while she understands the school has a dress code, "They can't tell me how I can cut his hair." Well, apparently, they can, and they did. “The school district's dress code allows school officials to forbid anything that interferes with the conduct of education.”

But, if, Dear Readers, you surmise there’s more hair (ahem) than meets the eyes, you would be correct: This latest skirmish appears to be only one of several incidents in the quest for individuality between little Bryan’s mother and school officials in the Kindergarten Hair War at Parma Community School. “An administrator at the suburban Cleveland charter school first warned [the mom] last fall that the haircut wasn't acceptable. The school later sent another warning letter to her reiterating the ban.” Wait, they sent a letter, too? And, she still didn’t get it? Talk about sacrificing for your art . . . er, hair.

That school finally lost its religion last week, when little Bryan’s “freshly shorn” hair caused a sensation of sorts and disturbed the general mirth.

Now the mom is changing little Bryan’s school rather that changing his hairstyle. What?!!! BoardBuzz is all about individuality, but we must admit that the choices some parents make are hard for us to sort out.

Posted at 11:17 AM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

February 26, 2008

This just in, American students have lost touch with history. This according to an article in today's USA Today. The latest in a series of digs at American students (and, by association, American education), this study focuses on students' knowledge of "books and the history associated with them."

BoardBuzz doesn't know about you, but we're getting awfully weary of the assertions about the inferiority of American education. That said, there are some valid points made here.

"If you think it matters whether or not kids have common historical touchstones and whether, at some level, we feel like members of a common culture, then familiarity with this knowledge matters a lot," says American Enterprise Institute researcher Rick Hess, who wrote the study.

Among 1,200 students surveyed:

•43% knew the Civil War was fought between 1850 and 1900.

•52% could identify the theme of 1984.

•51% knew that the controversy surrounding Sen. Joseph McCarthy focused on communism.

In all, students earned a C in history and an F in literature, though the survey suggests students do well on topics schools cover. For instance, 88% knew the bombing of Pearl Harbor led the USA into World War II, and 97% could identify Martin Luther King Jr. as author of the "I Have a Dream" speech.

What would Big Brother say? The point of the study, we suppose, is to point out that NCLB has placed emphasis on reading and math instruction at the expense of other subjects, including history and literature. And that's a movement we can get behind, for certain!

Posted at 4:42 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

February 6, 2008

. . . that it's time to save the date for Read for the Record already? BoardBuzz has just received a save the date notice (October 2, 2008 is the magic number) from the good folks at Jumpstart.

You may recall that BoardBuzz has discussed this exciting program before. This is the third year the innovative program will take place, encouraging readers at schools all over the world to participate in a giant read-along to break the world record. This year's book selection is Corduroy, a fan favorite, which readers are sure to enjoy. You can get more information here and register for the event here.

Posted at 4:34 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

January 28, 2008

Do you get paid a bonus for completing the tasks in your job description? How about a big screen TV for showing up for work on time every day? Does your boss slip a 20 into your in-box for saying 'please' and 'thank you?' It seems that some schools are taking this approach as more and more stories break into the news with "academic incentives" that pay students for good grades. BoardBuzz finds it confusing, to say the least. We've covered this before here, here, and here) and our friends at USA Today bring it up yet again.

In an article and an opinion piece, they talk about students getting paid for grades. Clearly, the idea is catching on, especially in large districts. The article points out that students in Baltimore, New York City, and outside of Atlanta are getting paid between $100 to $500 if they earn good grades. Other districts pay $8 an hour to stay after-school for extra help (not to teach, just to stay). This trend started in another large city, Dallas, more than 10 years ago. What was a pilot program has grown into a trend and the areas that need to make up the most ground on test scores are willing to try anything to bridge the achievement gap.

Most of the money being used comes from philanthropic efforts or corporations that know they have a stake in education down the road -- but at what cost? Some call this a short term solution, some compare it to steroid use, others think it solves the motivation problem that exists in many large districts. Is this the miracle pill many districts are willing to swallow, regardless of risk? It's clear that motivation is a factor in American schools today. As you've heard before, there are no stupid questions, but if we motivate our society with tangible benefits and scores rise due to these rewards, is it helping our education system as a whole? Does it help our future? What's next? One day it's M&Ms to aid in potty training and a few years later it's crisp $20 bills. What's the difference?

And as we've pondered previously, BoardBuzz still wonders just how many of these programs come with any sort of financial responsibility training for those receiving the incentives. Wouldn't it be nice if the issues of responsible spending, investing, and perhaps even credit were addressed as a condition of the rewards? Weigh in and tell us what you think.

Posted at 3:26 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

January 23, 2008

BoardBuzz was feeling the pain this morning for Fairfax County (Va.) when we saw this item on Good Morning America. It seems last week's inclement weather in Virginia has touched off more than a flurry (pun completely intended) of discussion. The Washington Post carried the story today as well.

Here's what happened: It seems that a disgruntled student, unable to reach a school administrator at work, called him at home to complain about the lack of a snow day. But wait, the plot thickens.

On his lunch break, Lake Braddock senior Devraj "Dave" S. Kori, 17, used a listed home phone number to call Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for the county system, to ask why he had not closed the schools. Kori left his name and phone number and got a message later in the day from Tistadt's wife.

"How dare you call us at home! If you have a problem with going to school, you do not call somebody's house and complain about it," Candy Tistadt's minute-long message began. At one point, she uttered the phrase "snotty-nosed little brats," and near the end, she said, "Get over it, kid, and go to school!"

Not so long ago, that might have been the end of it -- a few choice words by an agitated administrator (or spouse). But with the frenetic pace of students' online networking, it's harder for grown-ups to have the last word. Kori's call and Tistadt's response sparked online debate among area students about whether the student's actions constituted harassment and whether the response was warranted.

Kori took Tistadt's message, left on his cellphone, and posted an audio link on a Facebook page he had created after he got home from school called "Let them know what you think about schools not being cancelled." The Web page listed Dean Tistadt's work and home numbers.

Now, the Tistadts have made national news and have received dozens of calls, presumably from students. What's an administrator to do? BoardBuzz, having once been students, can understand that there's nothing better than a snow day. But we also get that every time a flake falls, schools can't be closed. And with today's students more connected than ever, through cell phones, the internet, social networking, and other technologies, word can spread faster than a blizzard (another pun intended).

BoardBuzz does note that Dean Tistadt recognizes the ingenuity of the student, "Candy Tistadt did not return phone messages, but Dean Tistadt credited Kori for having the 'courage of his convictions to stand up and be identified.' He also credited him for causing the high volume of crank calls, not to mention considerable grief and embarrassment for his wife. 'This has been horrible for her,' he said, adding that he and his wife both learned a hard lesson about the long reach of the Internet."

What's the solution to helping encourage connected kids to use their powers for the greater good, rather than the greater annoyance? Does your school district have any sort of policy for dealing with situations like this? Leave us a comment and tell us about it.

Posted at 10:51 AM | Link to this story | Comments (3)

January 14, 2008

BoardBuzz came across an interesting report on high school graduation rates that for some reason seems to have slipped under the radar screen of many in the education blogospheres. However, BoardBuzz is here to tell you all about it. It’s a report written by Nobel Prize winning economist James Heckman that aims to provide a more accurate estimate of how many students graduate high school with a diploma.

You may remember the Center for Public Education's report Calculating high school graduation rates that helps readers understand how graduation rates are calculated and why they differ. Heckman's report delves deeper into how different graduation rates are calculated to provide some clarity in the debate over how many students are actually graduating high school. By adjusting various graduation rate calculations such as those reported by EdWeek, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Department of Education so that they are making similar calculations on similar students, a more accurate graduation rate would be estimated. As the Center's report stated, most recent graduation rate estimates range from 66 to 88 percent. However, Dr. Heckman found that it is actually closer to 77 percent. Similarly, he also found that black and Hispanic students graduate around 65 percent of the time compared to some estimates of only 50 percent.

So, Dr. Heckman found that graduation rates were not as high as some had thought, but not as low as others. What was most interesting was that his report found that graduation rates have actually been declining over the past 40 years instead of increasing as BoardBuzz and many others had thought. BoardBuzz was particularly surprised to find out that the decline is largely due to the decline in the number of males graduating high school. Since the 1960's, the number of males graduating high school has declined about 7 percentage points, while the female rate remained relatively flat over that same time. This is a major factor into the growing disparity between males and females in college attendance.

Although a more accurate measure of how many students are receiving a high school diploma will not do anything to prepare more students for life after high school in and of itself, it does provide school board members and other policymakers with a more accurate assessment of the problem so they can develop policies to reverse this trend of declining graduation rates, especially for males and minority students.

For more information on Graduation Rates and other important educational issues of the day check out www.centerforpubliceducation.org.

Posted at 5:23 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

January 11, 2008

A recent piece on ABCNews.com caught our attention because it strikes a nerve with students, teachers, parents, and administrators. In recent months, BoardBuzz has spent a lot of time and attention on social networking sites and the value they provide to education in the 21st century. Therefore, you can understand how a story titled "Have Boozy Photos on Facebook?" would cause some consternation.

A group of 42 students in a Minnesota high school were questioned and 13 had a disciplinary action taken against them when they left school to protest the questioning by administrators. Photos of students with alcohol were posted on Facebook and since students are required to sign a pledge to be involved in extracurricular activities, and they broke this pledge, they were punished.

What seems like a routine disciplinary action has touched different people in different ways. Parents and students say that this is just average high school behavior. Some students claim everyone drinks in high school, so the school should stay out of their business. It's no secret that Hollywood glorifies high school drinking in movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused, and Clueless, but does that make it okay? Is it the job of the administration to look at Facebook regularly and be the Internet police for the students in their school? It's still unclear how the administration found out about the photos in the first place. Or is it a matter of free speech since the photos were taken off school property and parents should be aware of what their children are posting on Facebook and they should handle discipling their children for underage drinking? Perhaps the parents should follow the example of the "meanest mom in the world."

Need help getting through the muddled mess of social networking? Check out our discussion on the educational benefits of social networking. Believe it or not (after reading a story like this), there are some!

Posted at 10:10 AM | Link to this story | Comments (2)

January 10, 2008

Yesterday EdWeek released their annual Quality Counts special edition. Each year EdWeek grades states in six categories and gave U.S. schools as a whole a middle of the road C. New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland earned the highest grades with a B while five states received a D+. Although West Virginia received an F in the K–12 Achievement category it still received a B-, ranking 6th among all the states. This is likely due to the A's they achieved in the standards, assessments and accountability, and school finance categories. How can this be? How can a state's overall grade by so high when they received an F in K–12 Achievement?

Once again, these results show how difficult it is to assign one grade to schools, not only at the state level but even when evaluating individual schools. There is no one score or grade that can possibly identify all the areas where schools excel and the areas they need to work on. That's why it is important to look at the whole school, not just an overall grade or ranking. BoardBuzz knows that educating children is much more complicated than that.

That is why our friends at the Center for Public Education have been working on a great new resource to help school board members, educators, parents, policymakers, and the media look beyond simple test scores so they can get a more complete picture of their local schools. The Center isn't going to attempt to grade schools like EdWeek but it will inform readers of which measures they should look at to get a better picture of their own school's success. These measures go beyond student achievement to include student attainment, school climate, staffing, and funding among others. For all those interested in public schools, look for this important resource in the coming weeks at www.centerforpubliceducation.org.

For a complete a summary of the Quality Counts report check out the Center for Public Education. BoardBuzz also recommends you take a look at the Center's Round-up of National Report Cards to find out how other report cards graded your state and why the grade isn't likely to be consistent across all report cards.

Posted at 4:08 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

December 20, 2007

It turns out that e-mail, text messaging, and Facebook still can't hold a candle to the good ole telephone. This is according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, as noted in USA Today.

BoardBuzz wasn't completely surprised, even in light of NSBA's recent survey of teens and 'tweens, Creating and Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Educational - Networking, which discussed just how connected the generation is. "But the No. 1 method of communication for the most wired generation ever? It's still the telephone — as in landlines wired to a wall, says a new report on teens ages 12 to 17 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which tracks the USA's online behavior." Somebody call Ma Bell!

The report also points out,

Teens don't drop old technologies as they add new ones, "they just communicate more," says Pew's Amanda Lenhart. "And more frequently."

Teens choose the proper tool for each task, be it cellphone texting at a noisy party, Facebook for a quick hello, instant messages for multiple conversations, and seeing friends in person to, well, talk.

And believe it or not, what teens like the least? E-mail. The staple of office professionals everywhere isn't the hottest mode of communication for the High School Musical set.

The report finds that 28% of online teens have created their own online journal or blog, up from 19% in 2004; 33% create or work on Web pages or blogs for others, about the same as in 2004; and 39% share their own artistic creations online, up from 33% in 2004.

Blogging is still dominated by girls: 35% of all online teen girls blog, compared with 20% of boys. But boys rule when it comes to posting videos: 19% of online boys have posted videos, vs. 10% of online girls.

Be sure to check out NSBA's report on Creating and Connecting to get a full picture of what teens and 'tweens are up to online.

Posted at 2:50 PM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

December 19, 2007

BoardBuzz was touched by this story we first heard about on Good Morning America. It seems eighth grader Morgan Corliss needed a kidney and when family donors weren't able to help, a very special donor stepped up: her middle school principal. BoardBuzz is always overwhelmed by educators who go above and beyond, and this principal is truly going the extra mile.

Jim Friel, the principal at Morgan's middle school, barely knew the eighth-grader, but he did not hesitate.

"I just had this overwhelming feeling," Friel said. "It's the right thing to do."

"I've spent 24 years of my life trying make a difference in the lives of kids, and if this isn't making a difference in the life of a child, I don't know what is."

Doctors told Friel to expect several weeks of pain and missed work -- sacrifices that discourage many people from becoming donors.

"There's no way I can ever thank him so that it's enough," Morgan's mother said. "She'll be able to go to those school dances. She'll be able to play outside -- do all those things and live a teenage life."

Friel is undergoing more blood tests to ensure he's a good match for Morgan. So far, all signs look promising for a transplant next month.

In this holiday season, what could be a more selfless act of giving than this? We love the warm-fuzzies, and this is one of the fuzziest.

Posted at 2:00 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

December 18, 2007

BoardBuzz was intrigued by this article in today's edition of USA Today. The commentary discusses the increased pressure on middle school students and the often "unrealistic expectations" heaped on students as they enter middle school.

The author reflects on a recent meeting at his child's school where the teacher told him and other parents, "Seventh grade is a crucial time for the children," explaining in detail how our kids' academic performance this year could dramatically affect their educational path. "So we stress to the kids that this is when their grades really start to matter." And this concerned the author because his daughter had already become stressed about her increased workload.

These days, cracking the nut of education is a formidable task, and one that is made all the more complicated by America's ongoing struggle to raise national averages and close the achievement gap.

On one hand, our policymakers are keenly aware of this problem, as they continue to concoct a variety of jujitsu-like solutions — from the president's ambitious but deeply flawed No Child Left Behind program to the ongoing experiments with charter schools, voucher programs and standardized testing.

And yet as we earnestly try to fix what's broken, we are, in the process, turning an entire generation of children into a giant flock of canaries in the coal mine. Don't get me wrong — I'm all for the heavier workload in middle school, as it helps prepare students for the academic challenges to come. But when that homework includes asking our kids to focus less on the Louisiana Purchase and star clusters and more on living up to some arbitrary, government-crunched data, then we've truly begun to lose touch with what learning is all about.

BoardBuzz couldn't agree more. What is more important? Getting our students to learn arbitrary facts and figures or growing young people's minds into well-rounded fields of ingenuity ripe for the harvesting? Certainly, kids need to focus on school work, and increasingly so as they progress from elementary school to middle school and from middle to high school, but they also need to play and laugh and learn about art and music and the world around them. Instead of growing their resumes, we need to grow their minds and spirits.

Only recently, Bridgette mentioned to me that she wanted to join an after-school project involved with African relief. This is typical of my oldest child — she was born with her mom's heart. What was unusual, however, was Bridgette's next comment.

"And it'll look good on my résumé," she said.

Yowch! BoardBuzz hopes that as NCLB moves toward reauthorization (we hope!) our lawmakers will take note and not lose sight of the fact that students are more than a test score or a statistic. For more information about NCLB, visit NSBA's web site here.

Posted at 12:15 PM | Link to this story | Comments (1)

December 13, 2007

BoardBuzz was intrigued by this front page article in USA Today earlier this week. It seems a high