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May 23, 2008
Buzz offBoardBuzz will be celebrating the holiday by kicking off the pool season on Monday, so check back in on Tuesday. We'll be well-rested and raring to go.
Posted at 5:12 PM | Miscellany | Link to this story | Comments (0)
Sixth-grader wins National Geographic BeeThe urban area of Cochabamba has been in the news in recent years due to protests over the privatization of the municipal water supply and regional autonomy issues. Cochabamba is the third largest conurbation in what country? Where BoardBuzz replied with "what?" 11-year-old Akshay Rajagopal answered "Bolivia" and won the 20th annual National Geographic Bee on Wednesday.
Nearly five million students took part in National Geographic Bee state and territory competitions this year before the 55 finalists came to National Geographic Society headquarters this week. Akshay Rajagopal, a sixth grader and the youngest of the top ten finalists, not only won the bee, but he did so by getting no answers wrong. "I think I was just lucky," he said. Smart and humble? BoardBuzz is proud to point out that he attends Lux Middle School in Lincoln, Nebraska.
"He's been interested in geography since he was 5," said his mother, Suchitra Srinivas. Akshay said he was unsure of only one question: what country lies east of Iran and holds the city of Balkh—the supposed birthplace of the ancient 13th-century Persian poet Rumi? His guess of Afghanistan was the correct answer.
The Lux Middle School student is now eligible to compete for a spot on the geography team that will represent the United States in the biennial National Geographic World Championship in 2009. Akshay will receive a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.
Posted at 2:59 PM | Students | Link to this story | Comments (0)
The passing of a history makerThis week saw the end of an era, with the passing of Zelma Henderson, the last surviving plaintiff in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education lawsuit.
"Her passing is a rather large milestone in the history of the case and that period of our history," said Dennis Vasquez, superintendent of the (Brown v. Board National) historic site. "It puts it in more of a historical perspective because there are no longer any living plaintiffs in the Topeka case."
Some of the best coverage of the historic ruling you'll find anywhere was American School Board Journal's stellar special issue 50 years after the decision. Additional BoardBuzz coverage can be found here and here.
Posted at 12:35 PM | School Law | Link to this story | Comments (0)
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Posted at 9:59 AM | Podcasts | Link to this story | Comments (0)
May 22, 2008
Best of the best U.S. high schools?This week Newsweek magazine came out with their annual Top 100 High Schools rankings. Of course it is an honor for those schools that made the list and should be given a big BoardBuzz hurraaayyy!!! But BoardBuzz does ask the question: How does Newsweek know these are the best high schools?
BoardBuzz put on its investigation cap and did some digging. What BoardBuzz found was that schools were ranked primarily on the number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and/or Cambridge exams were taken per student. So the more students that took these college preparation exams, the higher the school ranking. The theory behind ranking schools as such is that these schools are exposing a more rigorous college preparatory curriculum to a greater percentage of their students.
BoardBuzz wonders if some schools are being left of the list. There are so many factors that go into determining how successful schools are and college prep exams seems like just one piece of the puzzle. Actually, according to the Center for Public Education's Good Measures for Good Schools it is just one of 28 pieces you can use to judge your own schools. These measures include student achievement, graduation rates, teacher quality, school funding, and school safety just to name a few. BoardBuzz highly recommends you check it out to learn more on what measure you should look at to determine the quality of your schools. Because there is certainly more than one way to determine the quality of your local school.
Posted at 5:18 PM | Miscellany | Link to this story | Comments (0)
Putting some energy into getting fitThis week, the Washington Post highlighted students from the Spark M. Matsunaga Elementary School in Maryland who worked with teacher Cindy Lins on a fun way to stay fit.
Students were given a pedometer and the spent the hour in constant motion working out and jumping around to tunes like "Cotton Eyed Joe" for an aerobic workout. The school uses this innovative class, so that the focus can be on fitness, not competitive sports.
BoardBuzz supports the school's health and fitness initiative, but the National Association for Sport and Physical Education reminds us that elementary schools should provide at least 150 minutes of exercise in a five-day week.
This fun fitness class only takes place once a week , but teacher Cindy Lins notes its importance in the health of children saying, "To truly have an impact in skill development, you need a minimum of three times a week."
Posted at 2:47 PM | Health & Wellness | Students | Teachers | Link to this story | Comments (0)
Best-selling author motivates young writersOur friends at Learning First Alliance's Public School Insights Web site have released two of three installments of their interview with best-selling author Dave Eggers about his non-profit organization, 826 National, that helps students with tutoring and writing skills in seven cities across the country.
In the first interview, Eggers discusses 826 Valencia, and its integral role of creatively tutoring and teaching in the San Francisco community. BoardBuzz notes the collaboration of the program with San Francisco area public schools as a strength for motivating students.
The second interview , offers great tips as Eggers shares the organization's strategies for motivating reluctant writers, which include giving individual attention to students' assignments and the freedom for students to write about personal interests before tackling other school assignments.
BoardBuzz eagerly awaits the third installment of the interview from the Learning First Alliance, where Eggers talks about plans for a new documentary that will serve as an advocate for public school teachers.
And be sure to check Public School Insights regularly -- they've got a ton of great content and interviews with all kinds of fascinating people. Just what we like to see!
Posted at 2:27 PM | Miscellany | Students | Link to this story | Comments (0)
Update: Doodle 4 GoogleBoardBuzz previously announced that voting had opened in the Doodle 4 Google competition where K-12 students were invited to reinvent Google's logo. This year's theme of "What if...?" had quite the gamut of creative ideas from a fish swallowing Google to world peace. And where there were many finalists, there is now one Grand Prize winner!
The winning doodle—from over 16,000 entries—was created by Grace Moon, a 6th grader at Canyon Middle School from Castro Valley, California. Grace's doodle, titled "Up in the Clouds," will grace the Google homepage today, May 22, 2008. Grace had this to say about her creation:
My doodle, "Up in the Clouds," expresses a world in the sky. This new world is clean and fresh, and people are social and enlightened. Every person here is treated as family no matter who they are. The bright sun heats this ideal place with warmth, love, and brightens everyone's day.
BoardBuzz finds the optimism of this young student refreshing. We are happy to share that Grace will receive a $10,000 scholarship as well as a $25,000 technology grant for her school. Congratulations Grace!
Posted at 10:35 AM | Announcements | Students | Link to this story | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
Early Father's DayMother's Day, Bosses' Day, Bring Your Daughter/Son to Work Day, Grandparent's Day, Earth Day, and now, Take a Father to School Day. While we at BoardBuzz often ponder the value of some of these designated days that sometimes seem force-fed, Pittsburgh's Take a Father to School Day seems like a novel idea. School Board member Mark Brentley Sr. is hosting the 10th annual event and all men who are involved in a child's life (dads, grandparents, uncles, et al) are invited to participate this Friday, May 23.
It seems like a great idea since many men are often overlooked or underappreciated in schools. As more and more men plug themselves into the lives of their children and family members, the whole community will benefit. CUBE's recent study, What We Think, examined parent perceptions of school climate, including the 30% of respondents who were male. That was a surprising revelation for the author and gives us more reason to celebrate the men who helped shape us. Does your district do something similar to Pittsburgh? Leave a comment to let us know.
Posted at 3:28 PM | Announcements | School Boards | Students | Link to this story | Comments (0)
Not so smokin' anymoreUSA Today recently reported on cigarette sales in retail chains, including pharmacies. Officials in San Francisco, New York, New Hampshire, Illinois and Tennessee are proposing bans selling tobacco products in drug stores, including cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco. The sale of tobacco, which is both addictive and deadly when used as the manufacturer intends, has long been seen as incongruous with the health-promoting mission of pharmacies and drug stores. The New York Times reported on the controversy back in 1994, when some pharmacy students suggested replacing cigarette sales with cessation clinics in pharmacies!
Hard to believe that this hasn’t been resolved more than 14 years later? Perhaps – but it’s also hard to believe that tobacco is still the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, and that more than 20 percent of the adult population still smokes. Nearly 90 percent of smokers started smoking before the age of 18, so we’re talking about sparing kids a lifetime of addiction and disease. Chains like Wegmans grocery stores are setting a great example, voluntarily taking cigs off their shelves – if all the chains did that, perhaps state and local government wouldn’t need to step in!
Posted at 1:57 PM | Advocacy & Legislation | Health & Wellness | Link to this story | Comments (1)
May 20, 2008
The road to 100% gets steeper for some statesLike a balloon payment mortgage, many states chose to pay more later than sooner when it comes to meeting NCLB’s 100 percent proficiency goal. The Center on Education Policy reports that 23 states have set their AYP bars for reading and math relatively low early on and are having to make significant annual gains in later years. This practice is known as “backloading.”
These states will have to meet much higher AYP bars starting right about . . . now. For example, starting in 2007-08, California will have to make steep gains in goals of at least 10 percentage points each year until 2013-2014 – NCLB’s deadline for proficiency, according to the CEP report.
It also means that more schools are expected to be identified for missing AYP and improvement in these states from now on.
“We are going to tap out the resources states have to serve schools, especially if we’re identifying so many, “said Ellen Forte, an education consultants with states, in this Associated Press story.
While these states have put themselves in this situation by not setting the bars higher early on, it also begs the questions of whether the law’s 100 percent proficiency goal is workable; and whether this goal has become a disincentive for states to raise student achievement.
Jack Jennings, president of CEP, sums up the situation best in the AP article: “This problem cannot be solved by states alone. Congressional leaders must provide some assistance in the reauthorization of the law to help create a more reasonable and workable solution.”
Posted at 11:28 AM | No Child Left Behind | Link to this story | Comments (0)
School board pushes for fiscal transparencyOur friends at the Associated School Boards of South Dakota passed along this newsworthy story from Open Forum. It's a splendid idea to help lawmakers, policymakers and the public better understand the costs and consequences of mandates that are not fully funded. The letter from Rapid City school board members to the South Dakota Board of Education comes on the heels of budget cuts.
Rapid City Area Schools recently cut $2.3 million from their operating budget - a move that forced board members to choose compliance with mandates over music and library programs.
The school district, which is an NSBA National Affiliate, outlined the cuts and the reasons behind them for its community.
Their suggestion reminds us of action taken a few years back by a New Hampshire school board.
Posted at 9:48 AM | Advocacy & Legislation | School Finance | Link to this story | Comments (0)
May 19, 2008
Parental (over)involvement?The term "helicopter parents" isn't new, but are teachers reaching a breaking point in dealing with, dare we say it, too much involvement on the part of some parents? (Hat tip: Eduwonk). Virginia schoolteacher Steven Rothman's commentary is well worth your read.
Let me be clear: The vast majority of parents with whom we deal are wonderful and supportive. However, a rapidly growing minority is having a real, negative impact on schools, and the teaching profession, by being too involved in their children's lives.
Posted at 4:44 PM | Teachers | Link to this story | Comments (1)
Time's a tickingThere's nothing like an upcoming one-week recess (pardon us, "district work period") to prod Congress to complete work on important legislation. Such a week is upon us, as lawmakers eye the Memorial Day break (ahem, "WORK PERIOD") that's fast approaching.
Before they leave town though, chances are at least reasonably good that they finish a few tasks. NSBA's weekly legislative highlights provides the details, but action may occur on a budget resolution (better late than never) and a supplemental appropriations bill that includes a moratorium until April 2009 on an administration rule that would end reimbursements to school districts for services provided to Medicaid-eligible children with disabilities. NSBA strongly supports the moratorium.
Posted at 3:52 PM | Advocacy & Legislation | Link to this story | Comments (0)
Is Preschool the Next Hot Topic in Election?If education ever surfaces as a serious topic in this election, the stars appear lined up for pre-K to be the issue of choice, according to some panelists who spoke at the ED 08 Blog Summit last week. It’s no surprise since pre-K is less controversial than K-12 and the two democratic candidates have each outlined some details of their early childhood education plans. Not to mention that pre-K legislation is likely to move forward in Congress this year independent of NCLB, see here.
But it won’t be long before the new administration and new Congress have to deal with the elephant in the room – NCLB. More school labeling and sanctions next year will likely stir dissatisfaction at the state and local levels.
Posted at 2:16 PM | Advocacy & Legislation | Early Childhood Education | Miscellany | No Child Left Behind | Link to this story | Comments (0)
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