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May 16, 2008

UPDATE: AZ Court strikes down voucher programs

Follow-up to yesterday's breaking news (below) on the Arizona court decision striking down the state's two voucher programs. NSBA issued this statement. And additional coverage from the Arizona Daily Star.

The Arizona Court of Appeals this afternoon ruled that two school voucher programs violate the state constitution, overturning a lower court opinion. The court said the vouchers provide aid to private and religious schools in violation of the state's no aid clause, and to rule otherwise would require ignoring the plain language of the constitution.

"Today's decision strikes another blow against the ineffective and misguided policy of school vouchers," said NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. NSBA filed a friend of the court brief in support of the groups challenging the programs and specifically regarding the so-called Blaine Amendment.

The court cited NSBA's position: "[T]he Aid Clause does not discriminate between secular and religious private schools. And, in any event, none of the parties has produced any authority suggesting we may disregard constitutional provisions merely because we suspect they may have been tainted by questionable motives. We thus agree with the position of the National School Boards Association, expressed in its amicus brief, that this question “is irrelevant to the resolution of this case.”

A coalition of parent, education and civic organizations in Arizona, including the Arizona School Boards Association, challenged the programs, and applauded the ruling. "Vouchers are not sound education policy," said Panfilo H. Contreras, Executive Director of the Arizona School Boards Association. "They divert funds from an already strapped system and channel them to private organizations that, unlike public schools, are not required to be accountable for how the money is spent or the level of achievement that results."

Posted at 4:45 PM | Link to this story | Comments (0)

Fight's on in Florida

Floridians must be reading BoardBuzz because we suggested this a few weeks back.

Meantime, public school and business groups are beginning to gear up to defeat the amendments the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission placed on November's ballot, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Remember the millions spent last year in Utah as voters rejected vouchers? Florida may make that look like a kid's piggy bank.

Posted at 11:38 AM | Privatization & Choice | Link to this story | Comments (0)

May 15, 2008

Gifted students need support too

BoardBuzz was browsing through the Center for Public Education's website (it's one of our favorites) and came across the headline Are Gifted Students Getting Left Out. The headline came from an L.A. Times article on the Center's News Across the Nation page, which pools important educational articles from news organizations from around the country. BoardBuzz highly recommends you check it out regularly.

The article put the spotlight on 15 year-old Latino high school junior Dalton Sargent from Altadena, California. Dalton is so bright that he is considered Gifted and Talented -- but like many Gifted and Talented students, he struggles through school while scoring high on most standardized tests. His struggles are not due to a lack of intelligence, far from it, but from a lack of motivation. He finds most of his classes unchallenging.

Many school districts provide programs to better support gifted students by tailoring instruction to their unique needs. However, there are no federal programs to help students like Dalton and many cash-strapped states do not provide the financial support necessary for districts to meet the needs of all their gifted students.

In this era of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that focuses on students with low test scores, many students like Dalton fall through the gaps by scoring high on their state tests while struggling with their everyday course work. BoardBuzz was shocked to see that some studies have shown that up to 20 percent of gifted students eventually drop out of high school. If we are really to leave no child behind, districts need the support to meet the needs of all their students, including the gifted ones.

For more articles on important educational issues of the day check out the Center for Public Education's News Across the Nation.

May 14, 2008

First things first: Get NCLB's accountability right

An article in The Wall Street Journal remarked that NCLB hasn’t shown much bite. Board Buzz thinks the article has missed the point. It noted that most schools that are restructuring after missing AYP for several consecutive years have not used the more radical measures described in the law (including state takeover or replacing the entire staff, etc.) and how few of these schools did emerge from restructuring.

One reason why so few schools get out of the restructuring label is because state AYP bars increase over time, which means it gets more difficult for a school to make AYP (a school has to make AYP for two consecutive years to get out of the improvement status). The larger question that must be asked here is: how can you remedy a problem if you don’t have the correct diagnosis? If the system that judges school performance is innately flawed, should we be rushing to sanction these “failing” schools or should we be rushing to fix the system?
Until NCLB gets its diagnosis right, schools should not be forced to make radical changes that are disruptive to students and their learning environment, see NSBA’s recommendations here.

Posted at 2:31 PM | No Child Left Behind | Link to this story | Comments (0)

Update: Google vs. Sports

BoardBuzz came across this update to our previous post about Google's White Spaces plan. Popular Science reports:

Google has an unexpected opponent in the battle for protected white spaces—athletic leagues. The NFL, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NHL, NCAA, PGA Tour and even ESPN are all ganging up in a fight to get their hands on the airwaves in between your television channels that are currently being used for wireless microphones (including sporting events) but not much else. Google, a member of the Wireless Innovation Alliance which includes Microsoft, HP, Dell, Intel and others, wants to use this space for the “future of communication, wireless Internet and even the portable television.”

White spaces are a public resource. Google's plan for them is somewhat hazy, but the promise of mobile devices using WiFi 2.0 or "Wi-Fi on steroids,” as described by one Google executive, seems appealing to us. White spaces are not licensed to sports leagues despite their protests that they should retain "ownership."

Popular Science goes on to say:

The FCC is evaluating the technology but not before a bit of old fashion mud-slinging that would make Barack and Hillary blush. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), also against deregulating white spaces, has released an ad on Capitol Hill with a picture of a distorted television channel suggesting we’ll all miss the 9th inning if Google wins. Not to be outdone, Google’s ad features a 1950’s TV as what we’d all be living with if we followed the past guidance of the NAB.

Early tests lend credence to the NAB's fears which prompted Google to suggest that channels be reserved for existing technologies. This did little to quiet the lobbying though. BoardBuzz is left wondering if that wonderful wireless world we had envisioned is further off than we had thought.

Posted at 11:03 AM | Education Technology | Link to this story | Comments (0)

May 13, 2008

Spinning Wheels

Remember the feeling of the adult in your life letting go of the bike seat and sailing off into the empty space with speed, grace, and perhaps an abrupt stop into some bushes? Can you hear the flicking of the baseball card in the spokes, or the dinging of that shiny metal bell on the handlebars? Bicycling launches childhood into a new realm and expands the possibilities to beyond one's yard or street, and into the whole neighborhood. Even as we type this, BoardBuzz yearns for those days . . . but we digress.

As we hear more about childhood obesity and staggering statistics about American's sedentary lives, we remind you that May is National Bike Month and this week is Bike Week. Now before you fire up your Harley, the bike we're referring to has pedals and sweat-power instead of horse-power. Friday is Bike to Work Day, and with gas prices on a cease-less climb, why not look at your options? The League of American Bicyclists has some great tips for many cities around the county. Plus, you'll be leading by example to the millions of school kids that ride their bikes to school and other places everyday. They even have safety tips for students and adults. Just remember to wear a helmet!

Kids doodle 4 Google

Dennis Hwang is undeniably one of the most famous, yet unknown artists in the world. No, his work doesn't hang in any galleries or museums, but it has been viewed millions—possibly even billions—of times. We're talking about his Google doodles, the drawings that are designed on, around, and through the Google homepage logo. The 29-year-old Google Webmaster began celebrating events and holidays with his doodles in 2000. According to Wikipedia, the first logo for Google was in honor of Bastille Day on July 14, 2000. Since then he has created logos to commemorate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Earth Day, and unusual events such as Piet Mondrian's birthday. One of BoardBuzz's favorites honored Einstein's birthday.

Now Google, under Dennis' leadership, has brought their Doodle 4 Google competition to the U.S. It had previously been held in the United Kingdom and Australia. Doodle 4 Google is a competition where they invite K-12 students to reinvent Google's homepage logo. This year Google asked students to doodle around the theme "What if...?"

Google elaborates on the theme as follows:

At Google, we like to dream big, and we can't think of anything more important than asking students to do the same. We ask ourselves that same question – what if? – everyday, as we build our products, so it seemed like an intriguing and appropriate launching point to encourage students to explore their creativity. Questions are provided to help students start dreaming and doodling. Questions such as: "What if... I could see into the future? What if...I could live underwater? What if...I could build any invention I wanted?" We're really excited to see the range of creative interpretations that are submitted.

BoardBuzz is delighted to see such encouragement and support of our students' creativity. Arts are an essential part of public education. Preparing today's youth to succeed requires 21st century skills such as creativity and innovation. Kudos to Google for supporting the Arts!

Thousands of entries were submitted, and Google narrowed them down to 40 finalists. Four students in different age levels were selected as winners in each of 10 regions by a judging panel that included media professionals, Google users, and education officials. Now it's up to you to narrow down the field of 40 winners to the top four finalists. Yes, that's right, the winning artwork is on display and voting has begun.

Votes will be collected this week from May 12-18. The top four entrants (one from each age group) will win laptop computers. Then Google (Dennis Hwang) chooses an overall winner, who will earn a $10,000 college scholarship. The winner’s school also will receive a $25,000 grant for a computer lab, and the winner’s design will be posted on the top of the Google homepage for the entire day May 22. BoardBuzz can't wait.

The kids have done their part, and we've done ours by getting the word out. Now it's your turn, dear readers, to help out by picking your favorite doodles. Your votes will help select a national winner!

Posted at 2:11 PM | Students | Link to this story | Comments (0)

Paris Hilton to star as mathmetician in new movie

Perhaps such a headline would send more young students running to sign up for math classes (although it might also have teachers fleeing)? Despite our oft professed condescension towards Paris Hilton, BoardBuzz was intrigued by this story on MSNBC about a recent study that ties the lack of students entering the math profession to the "geeky" social stigma associated with being a mathmetician.

Nearly all participants, both math-friendly students and those who steer clear of equations, think of a mathematician as a white male with white hair, who is obsessed with the number-laden subject to the exclusion of any social life. For instance, participants labeled Albert Einstein and John Nash (portrayed in the movie "A Beautiful Mind") as lacking social skills and as weird or not normal.

Because of the "geek" status associated with mathematics, many who excel at math in their early years decide to pursue other fields in higher education and as a profession. And females are considerably less likely to describe themselves as excelling in math.

For the few brave souls that pursue careers in mathematics, the study found that they view the characteristics others describe as "geeky" as assets. An obsession with numbers is not crazy--it's a skill. And being unconcerned with a social life shows devotion. Some also choose to embrace their "geekiness," though also pointing out that underneath the geek stereotype, they are normal individuals.

So, how can we as educators help to change the stereotype associated with math and science? Maybe one day we will see more young boys and girls dreaming of becoming--not a rock star--but a math star (whether Paris makes that movie or not)!

Posted at 1:17 PM | Curriculum | Students | Link to this story | Comments (0)

Seeing the "sites" (again)

BoardBuzz told you before about the TLN Site Visits. Well, they've wrapped up for the spring, with the final one in Batavia City School District in New York last week, which was, by all accounts, a rousing success.

Ann Flynn, NSBA's director of Education Technology Programs, who attended the visit, had this to say

I couldn't agree more with Tom Lambeth of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation who said "the path to economic development begins at the schoolhouse door." He could have been talking our most recent Technology Leadership Network site visit host, the Batavia City School District in western New York.

In driving around the community, I noticed that new commercial development was underway and after meeting the students, teachers, district staff, and board members, it was clear how the quality of the district's schools must surely contribute to that growth. Sixty-seven educators from 10 states joined me last week to gain a deeper understanding about how Batavia developed its vision and found the funding to create student-centered classrooms. A great example was seen during the visit to a middle school social studies class that had students working in three areas of the room: one group completing work sheets by listening to pre-assigned segments of campaign speeches on iPods; another group using an interactive white board with the instructor; and the remaining students working in pairs on a WebQuest with computers located in the rear of the room.

Throughout the visit, we saw excited, engaged students focused on their assigned tasks that encouraged them to think rather than simply recite facts. Although many factors impact an area's economic well being, the visit to Batavia, reminded me how critical it is for school board members to understand the role public schools play in a community's long-term economic health. It is evident that the city of Batavia is now reaping the benefits from years of thoughtful planning by school leaders.

To get an inside look at what it takes to put all the pieces together, consider participating in an upcoming visit. A one-day site visit is planned to the Lake Washington School District in conjunction with NSBA's T+L Conference in Seattle on Monday, October 27, and longer visits are planned in Missouri, Alabama, and Louisiana next spring. Check the TLN website at www.nsba.org/tln for the most up-to-date information.

We can't even begin to imagine...

If you haven't yet heard Melissa Block's deeply moving accounton NPR of the school tragedy in Chengdu, find a quiet few minutes to listen to some powerful reporting. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families.

Posted at 6:48 AM | School Safety | Students | Link to this story | Comments (0)

May 12, 2008

As NCLB sanctions pile up, what next?

Will more of this beget more of this?

As BoardBuzz has been saying for months, failure by Congress to dramatically change the No Child Left Behind / ESEA law simply means more and more schools and districts facing severe sanctions because of an inaccurate but uncorrected federal accountability framework.

But as the Associated Press article notes, the number of districts facing severe sanctions under NCLB has topped 400 and covers more than half the states. And like the rain swollen creeks in BoardBuzz's neck of the woods, it will keep rising. So what now? Without any substantive fixes on the legislative horizon, how many more schools and districts will face interventions like state takeovers in the next year(s)? Do state departments of education even have the capacity to take over districts and lead improvements? Don't all jump up at once to answer that question.

So...where is Congress? Letting the Administration, which has refused to adequately fund NCLB, call the shots on changes is not the kind of help school districts need.

Posted at 4:08 PM | Advocacy & Legislation | No Child Left Behind | Link to this story | Comments (0)

Pre-K Act a downpayment on kids' futures

Board Buzz hasn’t seen this kind of excitement around new early education initiatives in Congress since we don't know when. Aside from the federal Head Start program, Congress has done little to help states expand and improve their own preschool programs. But pre-K advocates could be in for a treat this month. The House Education and Labor Committee is expected to take up a pre-K bill introduced by Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-HI.

NSBA sent this letter to Hirono and members of the education committee to express support for the “Pre-K Act (HR 3289).” The bill would provide federal grants to states to expand and improve their voluntary, publicly funded pre-K programs. More importantly, it would expand the focus of NCLB to include preschool education. Stay tune for more information on a possible markup on the bill. Meanwhile, check out NSBA’s pre-K committee Web site at www.nsba.org/prekcommittee and the Center for Public Education's information on pre-K.