A major argument often heard by BoardBuzz from proponents of private school vouchers is that it’s less costly to educate a student in private school than in public school.  The bad news is they can no longer cite that as a reason for supporting vouchers.  This article in the Washington Post talks about a new study that found non-religious private schools actually spent almost twice as much per pupil as their public school counterparts.  In addition, Catholic schools (nonparochial) tended to spend about the same as public schools.

Bruce Baker,  author of the [independent] study by  [using data from] the National Center for Education Statistics, said in the article:

“There are a lot of urban legends that drive the policy discussions,” he added that ”private schools tend to be costlier than the commonly accepted figures in policy debates, especially conversations about school vouchers.”

The study dispelled just one of the many myths surrounding the perceived effectiveness of private school vouchers.  For more information on why vouchers are bad public policy, see NSBA’s Voucher Strategy Center .

BoardBuzz could not agree more with the goals of the much talked about “Race to the Top” grant program being rolled out by the U.S. Department of Education as part of the economic stimulus plan.  This initiative will provide a significant opportunity for school districts and schools to build a results driven infrastructure that can help raise student achievement. What NSBA wants to make sure of is that the right process and incentives are in place to ensure the success of the program.

In the comments we submitted on Wednesday to the Department, NSBA offered mixed opinions of the proposal, which will provides states with $4.3 billion in competitive grants for education reforms.  Some of the specific concerns included: the overall impact of the many new requirements (both fiscally and operationally) on states and districts, sustainability of reform initiatives, and a focus on specific strategies/interventions. 

It is extremely important that the Administration listen to educators who are doing the work every day, including local governance. Policymaking without practical perspectives will only hurt a good program and prevent it from achieving its goals.

For more information about economic stimulus and school reform, visit NSBA’s Stimulus Resource Center here.

It’s completely invisible, but ignore it and you may put the health of everyone in a school at risk: Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can affect the comfort and health of students and staff and impact concentration, attendance, and student performance. Students and staff in schools that have poor IAQ–which is often caused by mold, dander, certain cleaning agents, and tobacco smoke–are at an increased risk of short-term health problems, such as fatigue and nausea, as well as long-term problems like asthma. In fact, poor IAQ is a common trigger for asthma, one of the leading causes of school absences. Improving IAQ and creating a healthy environment is of utmost importance for students to learn and thrive.

It has come to BoardBuzz’s attention that the deadline for applying for the prestigious, competitive Environmental Protection Agency’s Indoor Air Quality, Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) awards is Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009, just a month away. The program was initiated to recognize schools’ commitment to promoting good IAQ to improve students’ health – not to mention the “side” benefit of enhancing student and staff performance!

There are several awards associated with this program: two that are non-competitive and are awarded throughout the year and three that are competitive and awarded at the EPA IAQ symposium in January 2010. Here are the categories:

Non-competitive awards:

• The IAQ TfS National Great Start Award recognizes schools and districts in the U.S. that are just beginning to implement the IAQ TfS program.
• The IAQ TfS National Leadership Award recognizes schools and districts in the U.S. that have shown significant progress in implementing an IAQ management program.

Competitive awards:

• The IAQ TfS National Excellence Award is presented to U.S. school districts that have exemplary IAQ programs and have demonstrated exceptional commitment to IAQ management in schools. This is one of EPA’s highest IAQ awards.
• The IAQ TfS National Model of Sustained Excellence Award is presented to U.S. school districts that have demonstrated and maintained ongoing exceptional commitment and achievement to IAQ management in schools and have institutionalized comprehensive IAQ management practices.
• The National IAQ Connector Award is presented to individuals and organizations whose outstanding, innovative actions and initiatives have supported improved school indoor environments.

Nearly 80 schools and school districts have been awarded the National Excellence awards. Will yours be next?

For more information on the program as well as applications and innovative ideas on improving IAQ in your districts, BoardBuzz encourages you to visit EPA’s IAQ TfS website.

And to learn more about the importance of indoor air quality for student health and learning as well as the work NSBA has been doing to prevent tobacco use and improve asthma management among students, visit NSBA’s school health programs website.

It’s like the dinner guest who shows up before you’ve had a chance to set the table. The H1N1 virus, otherwise known as Swine flu, has already appeared in the opening days of school in some parts of the country. USA Today reported this week on Vista del Lago High School in California, where officials had their first confirmed case within two hours of the first day of school, and 14 by the end of last week. A report by a White House panel said half the U.S. population may be infected this year, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that a massive school closing won’t stop the spread of the virus, students need to be vaccinated.

And in other headlines this week:

• A story in the Boston Globe asks whether we’re over-testing kindergarteners, and the answer from early childhood experts is an unequivocal yes. Replacing the playtimes and experiences that foster learning in 5-year-old brains with rote testing can cause stress, aggression, and other behavioral problems, they say.
• This weekend marks the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and USA Today takes a look at the charter school system that may become the most enduring education legacy of the tragedy. The success of those schools may become a model for urban schools across the country, some officials say.
• School districts are focusing on survival more than innovation when it comes to spending their share of the federal stimulus funds, a new survey by our friends at the American Association of School Administrators has found.
• And finally, for the states playing catch-up file: New Hampshire is poised to become the last state to require its districts to offer kindergarten, and a state panel is urging Arizona to ban corporal punishment.

Read the best headlines from around the country each day in School Board News Today. Miss a day? Check out the weekly roundup.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles School Board approved a plan that could change 250 schools to charter schools.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the meeting where this was approved by a 6-1 margin lasted four hours.  While some people refer to televised school board meetings as the “original reality TV,” we don’t think anyone would tune in for a marathon meeting like this one.  L.A. also streams these meetings on their web site, and while many districts use this practice to streamline coverage for their constituents and inform the community from anywhere in the world (literally), the debate over this plan must have been interesting to watch.

The argument is similar to one that has been hashed out in urban districts around the country:  Charter schools allow more freedom for the principal and school leaders and take away a lot of the red tape when it comes to hiring, firing, and working with the teachers and staff at a school.  They eliminate the status quo (count how many times you’ve heard that term since January), they give parents more choices, and the students work longer and harder in classes.

But our question remains, can you prove that these charter schools actually increase student achievement?  If L.A. is going to transform 250 schools (a quarter of their schools), then shouldn’t there be data to back up the claim that this will improve student achievement?  To date, the verdict is still out on the impact.

Something has to be done.  Too many students in L.A. and other urban districts are facing increasingly difficult odds and they are not succeeding anywhere near the level they should be.  But turning over this many schools to private entities may be a slippery slope.  As the second largest district in the nation, L.A. should be a leader and an innovator.  But in too many cases, decisions are made and instant results are expected.  The students lose in those situations every time, as the adults and decision makers claim that they tried to change the status quo and the results didn’t lead to change as planned.

As loyal readers of BoardBuzz, you know education changes sometimes move at glacial speeds.  We just hope that the experiment recently approved in Los Angeles works so that their students succeed academically.  We will all be watching.

A provocative article in the latest issue of the journal Education Next explores a long-term legal trend in public schools. Richard Arum and Doreet Preiss of New York University write in ”Law and Disorder in the Classroom” that the number of favorable court rulings for students in school discipline cases has dropped dramatically since 1968. But the number of lawsuits has continued to grow, and they look a little different than they did when they started during the Civil Rights Era:

We also document that although public-interest lawyers were initially motivated to expand student legal rights as part of a larger strategy to reduce social inequality, legal challenges to school disciplinary actions are disproportionately the province of white and higher-income students and their families.

This trend has led to some consequences that might surprise you, they find:

Ironically, the expansion of student legal rights, rather than enhancing youth outcomes, has increased the extent to which schools have relied on authoritarian measures, decreased the moral authority of educators, and diminished the capacity of schools to socialize young people effectively.

Well if  the courts are upholding student discipline more and more, what’s going on here? In part, Arum and Preiss write, state laws and school board policies have become much more detailed about due process requirements. But it’s also a matter of perception. Many students now expect formal due process protections even for minor day-to-day disciplinary actions, not just expulsions and suspensions. And even teachers and administrators sometimes think students have more legal rights than they do.

All of this highlights the importance of legal literacy among school personnel, a topic that was the focus of a whole recent issue of the NSBA school law and policy newsletter Leadership Insider. In it, you can read survey results about what legal issues matter most to different education stakeholders and what some national experts think about the challenge of making sure schools have the legal know-how they need.

First, professors  David Schimmel of the University of Massachusetts and Matthew Militello of North Carolina State University make the case for why school districts should be concerned about how much their employees know or don’t know—or how much they think they know—about the law. Kevin Brady, also a professor at North Carolina State University , and Justin Bathon, a professor at the University of Kentucky and keeper of The Edjurist education law blog, then list a whole range of free online resources that today’s educators are using.

Finally, professor Sarah Redfield of the Franklin Pierce Law Center argues that education leadership programs in higher ed could do a much better job of breaking down the silos between disciplines like education, law, and business management. School districts and children, she says, would be the beneficiaries.

Lots more information and resources on this subject here.

Districts throughout the country are debating the use of social networking platforms. What’s interesting about the social media ban for teachers is that the school system just announced that they are using Twitter as a way of welcoming back back students.   Read more…

…is the title of the 41^st Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll released today about public attitudes toward public education.  What a difference a year (and a recession, a new President, a stimulus bill etc.) can make!  It’s a great read, and here are a few tidbits that BoardBuzz finds interesting:

• Lack of funding remains the biggest problem facing schools according to those surveyed, and the percentage ranking funding #1 jumped from 17% to 32% compared to last year.  Even with economic stimulus funding, Boardbuzz agrees that schools are struggling.  See NSBA’s Stimulus Resource Center for more info.
• Support for charter schools is on the rise.  Sixty-four percent favor charter schools, although the poll also shows that respondents often don’t know what they are supporting. While choice is good, recent research has suggested that students in charters perform no better or worse than other students. BoardBuzz believes that it is essential that charter schools have the proper oversight from a local school board and the accountability to ensure all students are getting a quality education.      
• Online education is increasing in popularity. While the majority (53%) still disapproves of offering high school credits online, the percentage who approve increased to 47% compared to 30% in 2001.
• Teaching is generating renewed respect.  Seventy percent of respondents said they would like a child of theirs to become a public school teacher.  At the same time, most also favor merit pay based on student achievement, evaluations and advanced degrees.
• Early education also has more support, with half saying that preschool programs should be offered in public schools.  The collaborative potential of early education and K-12 is described here.

 How would you answer the questions on the PDK/Gallup poll? See the questions and results here.  And be sure to check out NSBA’s statement on the poll and the School Board News online article.

BoardBuzz was saddened to learn of the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy last night.  Kennedy has been a tireless champion for education.  NSBA issued this statement:

Alexandria, Va. – August 26, 2009 - National School Boards Association Executive Director Anne L. Bryant released the following statement today on the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy.

“The world of public education has lost a tireless friend today. Senator Kennedy has been a lifelong proponent of education and the issues that affect the wellbeing of children. Senator Kennedy’s legacy will be carried on by the 95,000 school board members NSBA represents on behalf of the 48 million children in America’s public schools. All of us in the education community will miss him and his steady leadership in the pursuit of equity and excellence in education legislation. Our thoughts go out to the Kennedy family in this difficult time.”  

A link to the statement is here.

BoardBuzz has had a lot to say lately about the H1N1 virus (see here, here, and here).  And last week we shared NSBA’s H1N1 vaccination survey with you. 

An article in today’s issue of USA Today notes that schools across the country are preparing for the onslaught of the flu virus.  Referenced in the charts, NSBA’s survey data.  Be sure to check out the full article for more information.