NEA Today Ed Notes

Stay Longer, Learn More?

2008-07-23T13:59:00.004-04:00

Just do it... or else!

That about sums up the strategy of No Child Left Behind for closing achievement gaps. And it's becoming increasingly apparent that it hasn't worked. State test scores are up, proving that test prep does prepare kids for tests, but the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which asks questions about the same skills but in somewhat different formats, shows no real impact.

That's prompted many people in education and politics to look for a new approach, and one that's gaining traction simply recognizes that it matters what happens outside the 12 years, 180 days per year, 6 hours per day that kids are in school.

It's been recognized (although not much talked about) for years that low-income students learn as much or nearly as much when they're in school as wealthier kids. It's when they're out of school that they learn less.

Pre-school for all may be the Next Big Thing. There's now plenty of evidence that quality pre-school, with well-trained teachers, can change kids' lives, not only in tiny, hot-house experiments but in big, state-wide programs like Oklahoma's.

Some districts and states are also looking at extending the number of hours in the school day. Massachusetts is one, and the experiments there have the support and involvement of the teachers' unions.

If any readers are working in one of the schools that are trying an extended day, please use the comment feature of this blog to tell us: Are you and the kids exhausted, or excited? Are they learning more? How are you dealing with schedule conflicts like sports and jobs?

In short, is this a good idea on the ground, and not just in a book?

School Supplies - Get 'em while they're hot!

2008-07-21T17:31:00.001-04:00

Just as Christmas decorations go up before Halloween, Back-to-School displays appear while you’re out buying beach towels and suntan lotion for your summer getaway. Eager retail
outlets have even sweetened the pot for teachers – they know who stocks your classrooms! Sure, they’re more concerned about wooing you into loyal customer-hood than they are about school funding, but a deal’s a deal. Here’s a round up of what you can find:

Office Depot will host a Teacher Appreciation Week for registered “Star Teachers” (you can sign up at any Office Depot store). Starting on Sunday, August 12th through Saturday August 18th, Star Teachers will receive 10% off purchases when they present their Star Teacher member card. Also, on Saturday August 18th from 9 am – 11 am, all Office Depot retail locations will host a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast where Star Teachers can pick up a free tote bag full of product samples, information, and other offers.

Not to be outdone, OfficeMax is hosting Educator Appreciation Days, either August 2-4 or August 23-25, depending on when school starts in your area. Educators will receive discounts, free samples, and a chance to win prizes. Call 1-877-OFFICEMAX or visit www.officemax.com to find local dates and locations.

Staples will honor educators on Teacher Appreciation Day. The first 200 teachers at each local event will receive free gifts and a chance to check out the latest back to school products. Find the date and location of the event near you at www.staples.com/teacherday.

Michaels, the arts and crafts chain, is thanking teachers Sunday, August 12th through Saturday, August 18th with a teachers-only 15% discount off of everything in the store, including sale items. (School ID required.) Also, visit www.Michaels.com between August 11th through 18th and register to win a $1,000 Michaels gift card, a classroom full of Crayola products, and other prizes.

Go forth and stock up!

NEA Supports New Health Care Coalition

2008-07-16T17:02:00.003-04:00

More than 100 organizations, including the National Education Association, have pledged their support for “Health Care for America Now,” a new $40 million grassroots campaign aimed at providing affordable health care for all.

The coalition launched last week in more than 50 cities around the nation. NEA President Reg Weaver was on hand to speak at the press conference in Washington, D.C., saying it was “shameful” that there are 9 million children currently living without health insurance.

The group hopes to mobilize millions of Americans to work together in pressuring Congress and the next president into passing major health care reform in 2009. There are also plans for a $40 million effort to make health insurance a priority in this year’s presidential campaign. In the next five months, Health Care for America Now will spend more than $25 million on a mass advertising campaign with millions more focused on a grassroots effort to build support in 45 states. The group will also try to gather signatures from every member of Congress pledging to provide health insurance to all Americans.

Although many of the ads will run in battleground states, the group has not offered its position on the health care proposals of Senator Barack Obama and John McCain. Richard Kirsch, one of the leaders of the group, said the coalition will back a plan that is faithful to its principles. The group wants to create a system of high quality health care where all individuals are given the choice between affordable private and public plans.

In this election year, “the health insurance industry won’t have the battlefield to them selves,” said Kirsch at the launch event. “They will have to answer to the American people.”

More than 47 million Americans do not have health insurance.

--By Svetlana Shkolnikova

New NEA Leaders to Take Office in September

2008-07-10T16:07:00.002-04:00

A new National Education Association leadership team will take office on September 1, 2008. President-elect Dennis Van Roekel and Vice President-elect Lily Eskelsen will be joined by Becky Pringle, who won the Secretary-Treasurer position, while Princess Moss of Virginia and Len Paolillo of Massachusetts earned the two open Executive Committee seats.

Van Roekel is looking ahead to a presidency focused on fostering "the dreams and possibilities of public education" for the nation's children and inspiring members to understand the power of collective action—goals enumerated in the Association's Mission, Vision, and Core Values.

"We've laid out so well in our mission and vision that we must advocate for our members, that we must unify our members in the nation," said Van Roekel, a 25-year teaching veteran. "It's beyond excitement. I am inspired by that."

Van Roekel said that during his presidency, he will continue to stress the importance of political activism by members. "We need to be part of the political process because all of education is defined by it," Van Roekel said.

A high school math teacher from Phoenix, Arizona, Van Roekel has served as NEA Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer, as well as President of the Arizona Education Association and Paradise Valley Education Association. He chairs the NEA Advisory Committee on Membership.

Eskelsen, an elementary teacher from Salt Lake City, Utah, served most recently as NEA Secretary-Treasurer. She also chairs the NEA Strategic Planning and Budget Committee. Past roles include presidencies of the Utah Education Association, the Utah State Retirement System, and the Children at Risk Foundation. In addition to teaching, her 28 years of school service include working in a cafeteria and as a kindergarten aide. She served as a member of the Utah La Raza Education Committee, the White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education, and in 1998 she was the first Hispanic chosen as her party's nominee for U.S. Congress in Utah.

Pringle, a physical science teacher from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, previously served two three-year terms as a member of NEA's Executive Committee, where she advocated on behalf of the nation's educators on issues such as diversity and human and civil rights. She has also chaired the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Advisory Committee since its inception in 2005.

Moss, an elementary school music teacher in Louisa County, Virginia, where she has taught for 21 years, is currently in her second term as the President of the Virginia Education Association. She also sits on the NEA Board of Directors and previously served as Vice President of VEA and President of the Louisa Education Association.

Paolillo is a sociology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts, who has served as chair of NEA's Committee on Legislation for the past three years. He previously served on the NEA Board of Directors and as Vice President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. He's been President, Vice President, and negotiator for the Massachusetts State College Association.

For "Read Across," A Twist on Tale of the Three Little Pigs

2008-07-03T16:04:00.002-04:00

Veteran teacher Kathy Jewell-Quigley collects all types of pig arts and crafts, from delicate porcelain figures and paintings of dancing pigs, to dozens of books about “The Three Little Pigs” fairytale, including copies in nine languages.
“I’m a pig collector,” says Jewell-Quigley, a special ed teacher with the Bedford Public School District and a delegate from the Michigan Education Association attending the NEA Representative Assembly in Washington, D.C. “The story about the three little pigs is my favorite.”
Her interest in pig collectables is not surprising. Jewell-Quigley was born and raised on a pig farm in Tecumseh, Michigan. She loves porkers.
“It’s in my blood,” she says.
This might explain why Jewell-Quigley volunteered to dress up in a costume and perform the classic pig tale as part of the National Education Association’s first “Read Across Washington” held June 30. The program was launched at 18 public libraries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The day-long celebration of summer reading featured Cat in the Hat characters, children’s book authors and volunteer readers. The message of the event is, “children who read, and are read to, do better in school and in life.”
What is a total surprise to those who know Jewell-Quigley’s love for pigs is that she dresses up as the wolf. Jewell-Quigley read to more than 30 youngsters at the Palisades Public Library in Washington, D.C. dressed as Alexandar T. Wolf, a sympathetic character who accidently huffs and puffs and blows down the pig houses, though not out of malice, but because he has a bad cold.
In this alternative version by writer Jon Scieszka, Jewell-Quigley says the pigs are “mean, stupid and rude” and the wolf is a “distinguished English gentleman who is just asking for a cup of sugar to bake his granny a cake.”
After the wolf knocks on their doors, his cold gets the better of him and he accidently sneezes and blows down the straw houses of the first two pigs.
“It‘s not his fault,” she says. “When the houses fell, after the dust settled, the pigs were just laying there. You wouldn’t leave a ham dinner behind would you?”
As with the classic version of the story, the third pig’s house is made of brick.
“He’s the rudest pig ever,” she says. “He calls the cops on the wolf and he (wolf) gets carted off to jail.”
During her performance, Jewell-Quigley wears a top hat with hairy wolf ears glued to the brim and a four-foot long tail she made at home.
“I sewed in a wire so it sticks out and doesn’t drag on the floor,” she says.
She confiscated one of her husband’s neck ties to match the wolf’s gray pinstriped suit, spats and cane. Her oversized pocket watch was created by commercial art students out of cardboard, and the drama teacher at her school gave her the top hat.
“I usually hand out a box of tissues so the kids can hand me the tissues after I sneeze,” she says.
But more than the costume and props, it is her exaggerated cough and hurricane sneeze that gets the students’ attention.
“At first, I thought she really had a cough,” says Mike, 11, who was at Palisades. “Then I realized it was part of the story.”
Mike is entering the sixth grade and says his parents encourage him to read an hour a day. Whenever possible, he also tries to read the book that a movie is based on before going to the theater. That’s how he read all of the Harry Potter books.
“I own all the (Potter) movies and the books,” he says. Mike is currently reading Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” which opens as a movie later this month.
Haja, 11, has been going to the Palisades library since she was age 7. She says her parents encourage her to read, especially on school nights when she is not allowed to watch television.
“Monday through Thursday, I have to read,” she says. “No TV.”
During the storyteller’s performance, Hada says she particularly enjoyed the wolf’s long nose and hairy tail.
“I liked her claws too,” she says. “She used a lot of expressions.”
The Palisades children’s books librarian, Paulette Diallo, is a former high school teacher from Baltimore. She said having a storyteller act out a book allows her the opportunity to follow-up with other book recommendations.
“I can now look for other books by the same author, or in the same genre,” she says. “She (Jewell-Quigley) did a great job imitating the voices.”

NEA’s reform call draws Obama praise; NEA Annual Meeting delegates tackle dropouts and training

2008-07-03T14:32:00.003-04:00

There should be a new balance in the federal role in education, National Education Association President Reg Weaver said yesterday at the NEA's Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, unveiling a comprehensive NEA proposal that spells out how to get there. Under the so-called “No Child Left Behind” law, there’s far too much testing and punishing, and not enough funding, Weaver said. “Federal education policy needs more than a legislative tweak here and there.”

NEA President Reg Weaver lays out NEA’s program for a new balance in the federal role in education, at a press conference yesterday. The proposal, or “white paper,” was immediately applauded by Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. Calling teachers the “single most important factor” in students’ achievement, he praised the proposal as “a roadmap for educators, elected officials, policymakers, and all who care deeply about the future of our children to consider and debate in the days ahead.”

NEA’s proposal calls on the federal government to better enforce civil rights laws to promote access and opportunity, fund past congressional actions and current federal mandates, and help create the capacity at local and state levels for school transformation.

Also on Tuesday, delegates packed a forum on the dropout crisis among ethnic minorities. ABC Primetime anchor John Quiñones and actor/activist Hill Harper joined education experts on a panel that emphasized students and educators must be supported by parents, communities, administrators, and legislators. Too often they aren’t, said Norma Cantú, a civil rights attorney and professor. “For many of our students, let’s call it what it is: not dropouts, but pushouts.”

Obama’s education advisor, Linda Darling-Hammond, encouraged a standing room-only crowd of attendees at the annual Teacher Quality policy briefing to “take charge” in her keynote speech.

“All children have the right to learn, but we must also guarantee that teachers have the same right,” she said. She urged teachers to campaign for candidates and education reform that values them, including greater professional development and mentoring opportunities.

--Reported by Alain Jehlen, Cynthia Kopkowski, and Tim Walker

Cross-posted on nea.org in RA Action

As Temps Soar, So do Spirits at Outreach to Teach

2008-07-01T15:22:00.002-04:00

By 9 a.m., it was 89 degrees. But the only number that mattered at Friday’s Outreach to Teach event in Arlington, Virginia, was 350—the number of volunteers who braved the heat to help out.

Outreach to Teach, an annual event organized by NEA’s Student and Retired programs, offers student members the opportunity to roll up their sleeves with retirees and active educators, and also to help transform a high-needs school campus with gallons of paint, buckets of seedlings, and heaps of enthusiasm. This year, the energetic group descended on Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, the oldest high school in its district.

Inside, under the direction of the Rachael Ray Show designer Evette Rios, teams of volunteers were transforming the faculty dining room. Make way for the Country Squire Dining Room table, please! While, retirees Sarah Borgman of Indiana and Mae Smith of Illinois “sewed” together full-length curtains with sticky tape, Kimberly Gray, a recent graduate of Illinois State University, wore the signs of her labor across her black shorts: White paint!

“Today is all about giving back to the community and making the school environment a better place to teach,” Gray said.

Down the halls, busy volunteers created cloud-covered bulletin boards. “No intimate kissing, warned the behavior board. “Wakefield in the News!” crowed another. Many were putting to use donations from The Home Depot. Inside the media center, Wyoming student president Aaron Merkin had one of the most… interesting jobs, scraping gum off the bottom of chairs. (Every little bit helps!) “I can’t imagine how the kids are going to react. They’ll be, hopefully, so surprised and excited.”

“I say it’s like Extreme Makeover: The School Edition,” said Virginia student president Sarah Danielson.

Outside, Oklahoma Retired program president Joy Dennis took a much-needed break from painting yellow curbs. “Here I am, I’m hot and I’m sweaty and I probably smell, but I’m really enjoying it,” Dennis proclaimed. “What we’re doing really makes a difference – not only to the students, but the faculty. It’s a great morale booster.”

Missouri student president Geron Tatum agreed. “It’s not just about being in a classroom, it’s about creating an environment where learning is possible, where kids don’t have to worry about ceiling tiles falling on their heads.” But, even before the students return, and the faculty get a load of their new faculty lounge – fresh terracotta paint, faux-suede chairs, and a flat-screen TV, all donated by JCPenney – there is an immediate reward for everybody involved in the event, Tatum said.

With work gloves in hands, surveying the bags and bags of mulch that he and his team were spreading, Tatum said, “It’s like the old saying, ‘Alone, you’ve got one finger. But together, you’ve got a fist that can strike a mighty blow.’ … I just love Outreach to Teach.”

--Mary Ellen Flannery

Cross-posted on nea.org in RA Action

The Child-Moms of Gloucester

2008-06-25T11:27:00.015-04:00

The picturesque but declining fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts, has become the dramatic focus of a national debate over teen pregnancy, with the claim and denial that a group of high school girls, all under 16, made a pact to get pregnant and raise their children together.

There are conflicting stories: Maybe the pact only involved just two of the girls. Or maybe the girls got pregnant unintentionally, and agreed to help each other stay in school and raise their children after they found out--that's what one of the girls told Good Morning America.

But there's no dispute that at least 17 girls got pregnant this year at the 1200-student school, compared with four (well, one report says five) last year.

Just about everyone agrees this is a bad thing, except possibly some of the girls, who reportedly celebrated the news of positive pregnancy tests with high fives.

Who or what is to blame? There's no agreement on that. Was it Juno? Jamie Lynn Spears? Catholic opposition to contraceptives? The day care center that is part of the high school's efforts to keep pregnant girls from dropping out? The sinking fishing industry?

But if the goal is to have fewer teen mothers, there are some hard facts that can help point the way:

First, the teen birth rate in the United States fell from 1991 when it was 62.1 per 1,000 girls, to 2005 when it was 40.5. That's a very big drop. In 2006, the most recent year for which the statistics have been compiled, the rate jumped three percent to 41.9. But it's still a lot lower than it used to be.

It's unclear whether 2006 was a short interruption in the decline, or a reversal. But these numbers suggest we're not looking at a new crisis. The Gloucester High School rate this year comes to roughly 30 per 1,000 girls, so they're still better than average. It's just that they used to be way below.

But what do these numbers really mean? Birth rates are reported per year, but a girl has more than one year as a teenager in which she can have a baby--she has seven, to be exact. Roughly a third of girls get pregnant before they're 20, and about a sixth give birth.

The teen birth rate is dramatically higher in the US than in Western Europe--roughly twice as high as in England, and eight times as high as in the Netherlands, for example. The abortion rate also higher here than in Europe--European girls just don't get pregnant as often. That may be because Europeans promote contraception among teens much more. Another factor may be Western Europe's philosophy sometimes called "solidarity," which results in less poverty. They have higher taxes and they use some of that money to lift people off the bottom. As a result, the child poverty rate is much higher in the United States than in most of Western Europe.

The fact that teen births are so rare in Europe suggests that we could do better here.

The current federal strategy focuses on abstinence-only sex education. In 2002, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that a third of secondary schools were using this approach. But a carefully controlled study found that abstinence-only programs don't keep teens from having sex. (On the other hand, the study also disproved the theory that the moralizing tone of abstinence-only education could promote pregnancy by discouraging contraception. It turns out that abstinence-only education just doesn't have much effect on teen sexual behavior.)

What was shocking in Gloucester was not just the number but the report that girls got pregnant on purpose. That’s not as unusual as you might think—surveys suggest roughly one fifth of teenage girls may get pregnant on purpose. (But let’s hope that’s not true for girls under 16!)

Bottom line: Does the Gloucester incident, pact or no pact, reveal a sudden unraveling of the social fabric? No. Could we do a whole lot better in keeping teenage children from having children? Almost certainly, yes.

Hard Times

2008-06-24T13:49:00.001-04:00

At the start of each school day, the students of Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, MD, walk past a statue of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, a former student of the historic school that opened its doors in 1883.

The scene is captured in the HBO Documentary, “Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card,” and award-winning filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond are careful to point out the irony: Before Marshall won “Brown v. Board of Education" in 1954, Frederick Douglass was one of only two high schools African Americans were allowed to attend in Baltimore. But 50 years later, the student body at this inner city school is once again segregated, separate from but no where near equal to surrounding schools in whiter, richer neighborhoods.

Hard Times is a cinema verite documentary, a film technique that uses very little voice over, commentary, or editing, letting the camera capture the story without much molding from the filmmakers. Unfortunately, the style doesn’t allow the film to clearly explain how NCLB mandates are impossible for urban schools in poor neighborhoods like Douglass to meet, but it clearly conveys the school’s struggles.

There aren’t enough textbooks to go around, students regularly miss school, and of those who do show up, many refuse to go to class, preferring to make trouble in the hallways instead. Only a handful of parents attend Back to School Night, even fewer go to the school’s holiday performance, and nearly 70 percent of the teachers – of which there is a shortage – are uncertified. Some of the best teachers leave in frustration, like a gifted young English teacher who quit halfway through the year, leaving three classes of confused students to be taught by a “permanent substitute.”

It’s a powerful portrait that shines a glaring spotlight on the problems underfunded urban schools face, but the title would have been more accurate if the filmmakers left off the last half. It captures the hard times in vivid detail, but doesn’t report the failures of No Child Left Behind.

Science won't vouch for vouchers

2008-06-23T11:43:00.003-04:00

Science can be annoying!

Sometimes it gives you an answer that contradicts your beliefs.

When the Department of Education commissioned a study of the Washington, DC, voucher program, a high priority for the Bush Administration, the feds probably weren't hoping for proof that vouchers don't improve student achievement. But that's what they got.

The results, released last week, show students attending private schools (mostly religious) didn't do better than students who stayed in the public schools.

(Despite those results, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings called vouchers a “lifeline” and said "no one in a position of responsibility can sever this lifeline right now and leave these kids adrift in schools that are not measuring up." But if D.C. public schools are "not measuring up," neither are the private schools when it comes to educating these students. That's what it means to say there's no significant difference between the two groups.)

Voucher advocates have pointed out that some subgroups of the D.C. voucher students showed small, not statistically reliable improvements, which they say is better than nothing. But this comparison test should have been easy for vouchers to pass.

Here’s why: All of the students in the study had applied for vouchers. They either got or didn't get vouchers (up to $7,500 a year) according to a lottery. So the two groups were very comparable, except for one big difference: One group got an educational experience they believed would boost their achievement, while the other group did not. There is extensive research on what happens when people expect scores to rise—they generally do, even if the expectations are based on bogus information.

So when the voucher students got up to $7,500 to take part in a program they expected would work, that should have helped them do better, even if in fact the private schools were no better than the public schools they left.

But that didn't happen.

And the same results have come out of earlier studies in D.C., in Milwaukee, and other places. Of course, test scores are not the only measure of academic achievement, but so far there's no research showing any other benefit.

So if we’re looking for "scientifically-based" strategies for improving learning, vouchers don't make the grade.

Congress is considering extending the D.C. voucher program beyond its scheduled September expiration. You can send your Representative and Senators a message through the NEA web site's Legislative Action Center, asking him or her not to extend vouchers in D.C., and instead use the money to improve public schools for all children.

--Alain Jehlen

School’s Out for Friday?

2008-06-18T16:18:00.002-04:00

An influential Vermont state senator wants to turn the lights out on Friday schooling, in an effort to save energy costs. Sen. Vince Illuzzi proposed that all public employees, including educators, work four days a week to save on energy costs. Making up the fifth day would most likely mean longer days Monday through Friday.

The executive director of Vermont-NEA believes the proposal is “quite interesting” and said that Vermont educators certainly want to help with energy costs. But there are several obstacles, says Joel Cook. For starters, state law currently prohibits the school year being more than 175 days and the four-day schedule would require that law being changed first.

“Every so often, a legislator has suggested moving to a four-day student week, and just about every legislator wants to help the state address our energy costs,” says Cook. “We're pleased to see Sen. Illuzzi step forward with a concrete idea, and of course would be willing to work with others to take a closer look at it.”

Vermont wouldn’t be the first state to make such a switch. Idaho has several school districts operate on four-day weeks. When they made the switch a number of years ago, the goal was to save money on energy costs and on transportation. The transition came at a time when state revenues had fallen behind projected budgets and the governor ordered many state agencies to cut back on spending.

What do you think? Would you rather work longer days four days a week, or stick to a traditional schedule?

Young Latino Scholar Stays Grounded

2008-06-17T18:28:00.002-04:00

Roberto Zamora says he felt pretty good about his math and physics background once he arrived in Boston to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“I expected MIT students to be much more advanced than I was because many of them went to private high schools and had taken courses I had never even heard of,” Zamora says. “I soon learned that the strong foundation I had developed in high school enabled me to hold my own against any problems the professors would throw at me.”

But then there were those other science courses.

“I do have to admit that I felt unprepared for some classes such as biology and chemistry,” he says.

After catching up, Zamora graduated from MIT in 2007. At age 23, he is now a graduate student in the physics department at the University of Chicago.

He is an unassuming young man who attributes his academic success to simply doing his studies and staying out of trouble. But to appreciate his plight, you must consider that Zamora graduated from Porter High School (’03) of the Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) in Texas. About 98 percent of the district’s 48,400 students are Hispanic, mostly of Mexican descent.

The dropout rate for Latinos is currently just under 50 percent. And only about 11 percent of Latinos have a bachelor’s degree or more. Beyond that, according to a 2006 Census Bureau report, Brownsville is the poorest city of its size in the U.S.

For teachers in this town along the U.S.-Mexico border, this means that 95 percent of their students are categorized as “economically disadvantaged.”

I imagine that it is students like Zamora who inspire teachers to do their best work. And it is teachers like those at Porter who inspire students like Zamora to excel.

“I think Porter did an excellent job of preparing me with real-world skill sets that cannot always be found buried in textbooks,” he says.

For example, Zamora was a part of the Technology Student Association (TSA) where he and two friends competed in an event known as Systems Control Technology. In this competition, teams were given an industrial type problem and asked to come up with robotic solutions in a three-hour time span.

“In this event I learned how to work under pressure, communicate on a team, give a presentation, and use my creative skills to come up with solutions. I can honestly say that I used each and every one of these skills quite often in college, especially in my aerospace engineering courses,” Zamora says. “These abilities are usually what determined the difference between an A and B, or whether my team's engine prototype was picked as the winning design.”

Socially, it was challenging for Zamora to adjust to being so far from home.

“The northeast has such different weather and culture there is no way you can move there from Brownsville and not feel some sort of initial shock,” he says.

Going from high school to college will bring all sorts of shocks. Fortunately, students like Roberto Zamora will persevere and make their teachers proud.

A Come-Back for Common Sense?

2008-06-13T12:43:00.004-04:00

When she was Assistant Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2003, Susan Neuman helped implement No Child Left Behind, which embodies the belief that well-run schools can wipe out the problems caused by poverty.

Now a professor at the University of Michigan School of Education, she's endorsed a very different approach to shrinking achievement gaps. Neuman was the most surprising signer of a statement from 63 education leaders affirming that no, schools can't work miracles.

"There is no evidence that school improvement strategies by themselves can close [achievement] gaps in a substantial, consistent, and sustainable manner," the statement says.

Or, as Neuman put it more succinctly in an interview yesterday, "A school can not trump poverty."

But the point of the new statement is not just to say what can't be done. It's to propose a different angle of attack.

"There is solid evidence that policies aimed directly at education-related social and economic disadvantages can improve... student achievement," the statement affirms.

It sets out four "pillars" for a "Broader, Bolder Approach to Education." The first is to keep working to make schools better through research-proven strategies like smaller classes for disadvantaged students.

The other three pillars all involve efforts outside k-12 education:

Invest in high-quality pre-school.
Invest in healthcare for kids.
Pay attention to the time students spend out of school.

"By and large, low-income students learn as rapidly as more-privileged peers during the hours spent in school," says the group, citing an amazing research finding which is almost universally ignored.

Helen Ladd, one of three co-chairs of the group, told Education Week, “Our notion is that schools can’t do it alone... That has been missed in the education debate.”

The original signers come from all over the political spectrum. Neuman is not the only former Bush Administration leader in the group.

Neuman says that even when she was at the Department of Education, her speeches focused on poverty and bringing community resources to bear on reducing its effects.

"There's been a failure of us as a society to recognize how important the effects of poverty on a child are," she said. "This is something that stays with a child every moment. We need a national conversation on how to create a 360-degree surround for these children."

Does the broad support for this statement signal a return to common sense? The bloggers are buzzing. Here's one example. Here's another. (I picked two that I agree with. Google "Broader, bolder" to find more.)

In the spirit of the Web, Neuman and her co-signers are inviting other people to join them in signing the statement.

You'll be in good company!

--Alain Jehlen

June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor

2008-06-11T15:32:00.006-04:00

According to the International Labor Organization, there are approximately 218 million child laborers - between the ages 5 and 14 - worldwide. The exhausting and grueling work these children are involved in expose them to lasting psychological and physical danger. Morocco has one of the highest child labor rates in the Middle East and North Africa and is concentrated in the country’s agricultural sector, as well as the carpet, garment, and leather tanning industries.

Key to the prevention of child labor in Morocco and around the world is the alleviation of poverty and illiteracy. The absence of educational opportunities for poorer families, however, makes it difficult, if not impossible, to break the cycle.

To theme of World Day Against Child Labor 2008 is improving access to education - not only a basic human right but a critical building block in the fight against child labor.

A remarkable dropout prevention program initiated by the Syndicat Nationale de l’Enseignement (SNE), the leading teachers union in Morocco, is helping to address the child labor problem and is the focus of a new short documentary video produced by Education International (EI).

Initiated in 2005, the program takes a multifaceted approach to tackling the dropout problem. As seen in EI's video, the results in the five targeted schools in Fez have been startling. Each school has seen significant reductions in the number of dropouts. Schools are cleaner, students are enthusiastic about learning, parents are more committed to their children's education, and teachers are benefiting from new professional development opportunities.

Abdelaziz Mountassir, SNE vice-president, says combating child labor is an important and natural role for teachers unions.

"As educators we fight child labor because it’s our duty to defend the rights of children to learn.”

You can watch the video here.

Math Teachers Pair up in Teams

2008-06-11T09:58:00.001-04:00

Schools are boosting math scores by pairing math teachers into teams so they can teach more effectively and learn instructional techniques from each other.

At Granby High School in Norfolk, VA, for example, the pairing of teachers has been shown to be effective in ensuring that students understand the material. According to a report from the WestEd Group, math teachers at Granby are more successful when they work in groups. “Granby High School offers a prime example of a school with a powerful approach to professional development that provides teachers with opportunities for ongoing learning where they can develop and maintain skills and content knowledge,” the report says.

When teaches work together in teams, they discuss the specific needs of each student and develop extra support for students. These teams also provide teachers, specifically new mathematics teachers, with a support system that makes them feel comfortable and valued.

And all of this has worked: math test scores have significantly increased at Granby since the school began pairing up their teachers. More students are taking advanced math courses like Calculus and Algebra II than ever before and the pass rates for Algebra I and II increased dramatically to 84 percent and 90 percent, respectively,” the WestEd Group says.

Would you be willing to teach a subject in a team with other instructors? For teachers that have done so in the past, please share your experiences.

--Jazzy Wright

Diversity Rising

2008-06-10T14:04:00.002-04:00

Enrollment in America’s public schools is breaking records with an all-time high of nearly 50 million students, but the real headline is that our nation’s student body is more diverse than ever before.

The Condition of Education 2008, a Congressionally-mandated report released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), found that, overall, about 43 percent of students are minorities, and about 20 percent of students are Hispanic, up from 11 percent in the late 1980s.

The authors of the report claim that most minority students tend to be clustered in high-poverty schools, but they obviously haven’t looked at schools in middle-class, suburban neighborhoods lately or they’d have discovered a growing tapestry of cultures, where students from all sorts of backgrounds are helping each other learn.

For example, in Fairfax County, a Virginia suburb of Washington, DC, the number of Hispanic students jumped to 17 percent from just 4 percent 20 years ago. One of those schools that saw that jump is Annandale High School, where Eileen Kruger’s kids graduated.

Kruger is the author of Debunking the Middle-Class Myth: Why Diverse Schools are Good for All Kids. When her kids were exposed to classmates from different cultures and backgrounds -- Annandale’s students come from 85 countries and speak 40 languages -- Kruger took note of how it enriched their education and increased their understanding and tolerance of different people.

Now a national advocate of diverse schools in all communities, Kruger says that “learning comes alive when wisdom is shared not only by competent teachers and textbooks, but also by fellow students with life experiences and cultures that illuminate whole new worlds."

It looks like Kruger is onto something. The Condition of Education report also found that more students of all races are enrolling in college, and more bachelor’s degrees have been awarded than ever before.

She Said, She Said

2008-06-06T15:30:00.007-04:00

It's been largely absent from every public debate in the 2008 presidential primary, much to the chagrin of educators, parents, and advocates, but last week education got front-page treatment by the presumptive presidential nominees. Not the candidates themselves exactly. Rather, the senior education advisers for Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama focused on the issue to the Association of Educational Publishers' Great American Education Forum in Washington, D.C.

Under questioning from a panel of journalists, policy wonks, and advocates (including NEA's own Joel Packer) the McCain camp's Lisa Graham Keegan and Obama proxy Jeanne Century outlined their candidates' positions on everything from No Child Left Behind to merit pay.

And what of NCLB? Keegan, the former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, said it is "immoral" if teachers are waiting for the threat of sanctions to compel them to focus on reading and math. She added that teachers should be worried about teaching a rich curriculum, not worrying about teaching to the test. "Let's not talk about No Child Left Behind," Keegan told the audience. "Let's talk about our work. Take it off the table." Century, director of the University of Chicago's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education, countered that she doesn't "know any teacher who teaches reading and math because they'll be penalized. They teach reading and math because it's part of their full rich curriculum."

Here's what else they said:

* In response to Packer's lightning-round question about whether their candidates support or oppose federal vouchers for private schools, Keegan said McCain is "supportive of choice at the state level." Century replied simply, "opposed."

* Asked about merit pay, Century said Obama is "against traditional merit pay that ties individual teacher pay to student outcome." He wants to collaborate with teacher organizations and school districts to come up with alternatives, such as paying teachers for being leaders or mentors, or attaining additional education that displays deeper knowledge of their subject area. Keegan said that McCain favors an "innovative compensation system" that rewards teachers "for classroom excellence." But she would not specify if that meant student test scores. Stakeholders would have to define what classroom excellence meant, she said.

Asked to give a final soundbite about their candidates, Keegan and Century offered starkly different blurbs. Said Keegan of McCain: "He does not care if you don't agree with him," pointing to McCain's stance on immigration reform, which brought considerable criticism from those in his own party. Century focused on Obama's desire to "absolutely confront the barriers in education."

To read more for yourself about Obama and McCain's education policies and voting records, head to Education Votes.

Angry, Tired Teachers Hit the Road

2008-06-06T09:58:00.003-04:00

I would love to see the California band, “Angry, Tired Teachers,” on the cover of Rolling Stone. They certainly look the part. And they can sing. Their theme song, “Cuts Hurt,” hasn’t been picked up by a major record label, but some members of the California Teachers Association (CTA) who I’ve spoken with know it by heart.

The group is comprised of working teachers who are also members of the Hayward Teachers Association. The band showed up at several stops of a six-week tour sponsored by CTA.

Though the band didn’t play concert halls and nightclubs, they did develop a following of teachers, parents and students who attended rallies along the way. These audience members are angry and tired too.

The gatherings were organized to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts of $4.8 billion from public education. In addition to the bus tour, CTA also sponsored an advertising campaign and regular news conferences focusing on the 14,000 pink slips or layoff notices sent to teachers. The number of layoffs is not known.

Whatever that number turns out to be, cuts hurt.

A New Drug Controversy

2008-06-04T09:43:00.005-04:00

I'm working on a feature for NEA Today about a drug problem in schools. Not pot, but drugs prescribed for students diagnosed with bipolar disease.

The problem is that diagnosing bipolar disease may be much harder in children than in adults, and some of these drugs can have serious side-effects.

Frontline aired a strong documentary on this topic, and the New Yorker ran an article with a similar warning message.

The New York Times reported last year that these drugs, called "atypical antipsychotics," are being prescribed to half a million children in the United States. The Times analyzed records in Minnesota, which the Times says is the only state to require that drug companies publicly report payments to doctors. They found that psychiatrists who took the most money from drug companies also tended to prescribe the drugs more.

Of course, that's not proof that the money led them to prescribe more drugs. The payments are generally for speaking at doctors' seminars, and the companies could simply be choosing those who already prescribe their drugs to do the speaking -- that's the explanation given by a drug company representative in the article. (This explanation is not very comforting, though, since nobody's paying doctors who don't prescribe these drugs to speak about why they don't.)

The strangest thing about this Times story is some comments from psychiatrists -- experts in hidden and unconscious motives -- who deny that money could influence them.

But I'm not looking to make my article a polemic. I'm sure there are arguments on the other side and I'd like to hear them. (I swear, nobody's paying me on either side.)

If any readers have experience with kids taking these drugs, good or bad, I would appreciate hearing from you!

--Alain Jehlen (ajehlen@nea.org)

I want my MTV!

2008-06-03T15:39:00.005-04:00

The journalism kids at Cypress Bay High School in Broward County, Florida, had more than one set of watchful eyes on them this year. Of course, there was Rhonda Weiss, NEA member and adviser of the award-winning school newspaper, "The Circuit," since 2002. And then, there were the tens of thousands of MTV viewers who tuned into "The Paper," the documentary series of life inside the teenage newsroom.

For Weiss, the show featured an opportunity to show a wider audience "what goes on in a typical classroom" -- a view that parents, policy-makers and members of the public often don't see. And that includes the power struggles between students, the last-minute decision by administrators to tinker with the newspaper's stories, and all the other chaos of life inside America's largest high school, all of which is capably managed by Weiss.

“At first, having the camera crews in the classroom was very different and raised the energy level of the students, but after a while they relaxed," Weiss said. (Relaxed about the cameras, that is. There still were deadlines, college applications and columns to write!)

To read more about the show, and to catch up on missed episodes, go to the MTV site. While much of the show's publicity centers around characters like Editor-in-Chief Amanda or Sports Guy Alex -- you'll see who the real star is.

The teacher, of course!

Colleges Want More Than Test Scores

2008-06-02T11:24:00.004-04:00

Wake Forest University and Smith College recently announced that they'll stop using SAT and ACT scores to determine the academic qualifications of prospective applicants.

The schools are joining a number of institutions that have recognized their dependency on standardized tests in the selection process. According to the New York Times, colleges and universities across the country began making standardized tests optional for applicants after acknowledging the various demographic factors that can negatively influence test scores.

“More institutions have become concerned about the validity of standardized tests in predicting academic success, and the degree to which test performance correlates with household income, parental education and race,” reporter Tamar Lewin writes.

According to the story, colleges are replacing the test requirement with a more in-depth look at an applicant’s high school curriculum and academic performance in addition to positive characteristics the applicant may have, such as talent and involvement in activities.

By making standardized tests optional, schools are succeeding in two ways: first, they are accepting more applicants from different socioeconomic levels and racial backgrounds and secondly, colleges are helping to close the opportunity gap between rich and poor students.

Could the decision to stop standardized testing in the college selection process encourage more education reform in the country? Specifically, is it possible that this can lead to an end of the No Child Left Behind Act altogether? Post your comments below.

--Jazzy Wright

Bursting With Pride

2008-05-29T10:18:00.001-04:00

It is hard to hold back the tears when a teenager who you’ve come to know and care about dons a cap and gown and walks the stage during a high school commencement. It’s a memorable occasion.

Tears will flow Sunday at President William McKinley High School in Honolulu when Miriama Pele Fa’ala’ula’u fulfills one of her dreams and strides confidently into her future as a high school graduate.

This is a happy time for “Miri” and for several reporters from NEA Today who interviewed her, her family and teachers last year. We wrote and produced a series of articles and videos beginning with our November cover story titled, “Tale of Three Sisters.”

The story examines the high school dropout problem through the experiences of Miri, 17, and two of her sisters: Tu’uali’i Pele, nicknamed Stuki, age 18 and a recent dropout at the time; and Beatriz Pele, a 14-year-old freshman. After spending five days with the girls and their mother, Mareta Pele, we couldn’t help but admire and sympathize with the plight of this immigrant family from American Samoa. “I brought my kids here for the education,” says Pele.

The family is categorized by government agencies as Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs), a diverse population whose heritages represent more than 50 ethnic groups and over 100 languages.

Last year, Miri was enrolled in a “last chance” seniors program, while Stuki attended an alternative high school program to gain a GED. Each had their own set of academic, financial and emotional struggles. For Stuki, who is filled with potential and as smart and creative as any of her classmates, it meant swallowing her pride and returning to the classroom a year behind her peers.

To everyone’s delight, Stuki received her GED from the Honolulu Community Action Program earlier this week. Meanwhile, after a shaky transition from middle school, Beatriz passed her tests and was promoted to 10th grade.

The Three Sisters article is supplemented by online video of Stuki, several McKinley students, and dropout prevention programs. Another recent NEA Today article focuses on dropout prevention programs that includes McKinley’s Occupational Skills Program work-study curriculum.

A Web-only feature about the Teen Parents Program at McKinley describes this campus-based program for pregnant students and young parents still pursuing a high school diploma. Student-parents are able to take courses about child care while earning academic credit and spending time with their child.

Another online installment about the Pele family is titled, “From Fishing Village to Tourist Town: Immigrant Families Experience Culture Clash, Causing Impressionable Students to Drop School.” This article describes how Stuki joined about 15 percent of students who drop out in Hawaii.

Unlike Stuki, most who quit school will not return anytime soon if at all. For them, we shed a tear as well.

Creationism in the Classroom

2008-05-28T14:50:00.003-04:00

A little buzz was generated last week over a survey, published by the Public Library of Science Biology, that examined high school science teachers’ attitudes toward creationism. According to the report, roughly 13 percent of teachers present creationism and intelligent design as a viable alternative to evolution in the classroom. Other interesting tidbits:

25 percent devote at least one or two classroom hours to creationism and intelligent design

60 percent spend between one and five hours on evolution

2 percent do not teach evolution at all

As with most other surveys, a number of grey areas emerge within the data. For example, a number of teachers surveyed say they address creationism with the intent of essentially discrediting it, or at least discussing why it doesn’t belong in a science classroom. And some teachers who don’t believe in evolution still feel obligated to teach it. Nonetheless, the report concludes that, overall, between 12 and 16 percent of the nation’s biology teachers are “creationist in origin.”

US courts have repeatedly ruled that creationism and intelligent design are religion, not science, and therefore have no place in science classrooms. So what’s going on? Ultimately, it’s up to the individual to implement the curriculum, and science teachers have different religious views and, as the report points out, different levels of education. For example, the survey’s data suggests that teachers with more college level credits in biology devote more time to evolution than their colleagues with fewer credits.

The report then naturally recommends that all teachers be required to complete a course in evolutionary biology.

"The extra background could make a large difference" says the study’s author, Michael Berkman of Penn State. "The legal ruling and legislative victories are clearly necessary for evolution to maintain its proper place in the biology curriculum, but they are not sufficient."

Of course, compared to the 40 percent of the overall population who believe in creationism over evolution, 13 percent of science teachers seems quite low.

Who's Number One?

2008-05-27T09:32:00.005-04:00

What is the number one 'Model Minority'?

Asians, you think?

No, it turns out to be Nigerians.

According to a Houston Chronicle analysis of census data, Nigerians are ahead of every other ethnic or racial group in the country in level of education. Four percent have doctorates, compared with three percent of Asians and one percent of Whites. Seventeen percent of Nigerians have a Master's, compared with 12 percent of Asians and eight percent of Whites.

Of course, it depends on how you define the groups. Nigerians are a nationality, not a race. The Chronicle didn't look at nationalities within the Asian community, or at subgroups within the White category.

Even so, I was surprised. Weren't you?

The Chronicle says the high level of education among Nigerians in the US is "largely due to Nigerian society's emphasis on mandatory and free education" but Wikipedia, citing United Nations data, lists Nigeria 138th out of 177 countries in adult literacy (69 percent), below many other African countries.

The Chronicle also says a 1965 immigration law made it easier for Africans to enter the United States as students or skilled professionals but not through family sponsorships, and once in the US, they could stay here so long as they went to school. But it doesn't explain why Nigerians in particular are so well educated.

Anyone out there have an explanation?

--Alain Jehlen

A Look Back at a Living Wage Campaign

2008-05-22T15:29:00.002-04:00

New York State ESP leader Debbie Minnick looks back to the time her local affiliate boosted starting paraprofessional pay by 50 percent.

We paraprofessionals were the lowest paid in the Ithaca, New York, district. And you know what we do: We work with the most difficult kids in the whole school district. Sometimes, we have more of a connection with the students than the classroom teachers. I’m talking about special ed students; we’re with them more, directly teaching them more.

Respect was such an issue throughout our whole living wage campaign. Not only did we want the pay, but we wanted the respect that went along with that.I had three different women in my local come to me and say they went to the Salvation Army for dinner. They didn’t have any more food at home and they didn’t have any more money to make it through to their pay day. Three of them happened to run into one another eating at the Salvation Army.

You just get pushed into a campaign like this. What’s right is right, and what’s just is just, and you have to take on this kind of commitment—all of you.

It’s a Ton of Work
We started negotiating with the district in January 2001. We took several months before that preparing for negotiations with staff from the NEA state affiliate. We were very lucky to have a local living wage coalition.We asked for $11.50 per hour, which I think was a 73 percent raise. When we told him, the assistant superintendent had his own calculator out. He put his glasses down, looked at us incredulously and said, “You do know that’s a 73 percent raise, don’t you?”Not to fool you—it’s a ton of work. And it was key to have all members on board before we started. We had meeting after meeting, before the campaign, during the campaign, all the time.Written communications were going out, telling members what we were asking for, telling them what we were getting ourselves into. We told them we could not do this without everybody’s support. If you don’t have your own members on board, it’s going to fail.

Reaching Out to the Community
Our next step was to get the community involved. Throughout the year and a half of this living wage campaign, we escalated our outreach activities—we held candlelight vigils, rallies, panels with well-known community members, and testimony of paraprofessionals. We told the community who we were, what we did, and what we earned for all of that.We made a video (Video Part I; Video Part II) and we screened it at the local library, and at the same time, invited a panel of seven religious leaders—including a priest, a rabbi, a minister, and a Tibetan monk--who all read scriptures about the indecency of paying people poverty wages, which is what we were earning.As the campaign escalated, we had a "Parade for Paras." We ended having 500 people in the parade itself, not counting the people who were watching the parade. We had stilt walkers and jugglers, kids from the schools, kids on bikes with signs that said, “Tykes on bikes for pay hikes.” It was a huge family and community event.

We also sent out petitions, that were very easy to create and get signatures for. We just asked: Would you pay more in your taxes to support paraprofessionals in the district so they can earn a living wage? People were signing left and right. At first, they didn’t know who paraprofessionals were. When we explained what we did and what we were payed, they were appalled.In just a couple of days, 3,000 people signed -- a tenth of the population. We turned the petitions over to the board members.

You Have to Go For It
Just before we settled, one of our last activities was taking over the school board meeting completely. . . We had about 50 people signed up to speak. The board said, “We’ll take the first couple of people and then we’ll adjourn for executive session,”which they knew would last a couple of hours. “The rest of you can wait until we get back,” they said. Well, the announcement sent everybody over the edge. We all stormed the microphone, chanting, “Let us speak! Les us speak!”They were so embarrassed, that the whole nine-member board, the superintendent, and all the school administrators huddled for about ten minutes, and finally said, “OK.” And then they listened to all 50 of us individually.

You'll Get What you Bargain For
Remember, if you’re asking for 50 percent or 20 percent, who cares what you end up with? It’s better than the 3 percent that you normally get. So you can’t think of any of it as a failure, because you’re going to get more than what you normally bargain for. And, in June 2002, we won a 50 percent raise in the starting salary at the end of the third year of the contract, and no givebacks!

—From an interview with Dave Winans, NEA Today