Subject: May 14, 2010: Obama Administration Backs $23 Million Fund For Teacher Jobs
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Obama Administration Backing $23 Billion Bill Aimed At Preventing Mass Teacher Layoffs.The Washington Post (5/14, Anderson) reports, "The Obama administration on Thursday threw its support behind a $23 billion measure intended to avert large-scale teacher layoffs, urging Congress to include the effort in a spending bill lawmakers are drafting to fund wartime costs and other urgent needs." In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Education Secretary Arne Duncan explained, "We are gravely concerned that ongoing state and local budget challenges are threatening hundreds of thousands of teacher jobs for the upcoming school year" According to the Post, "Duncan's letter, released Thursday evening with backing from the White House, aimed to push the issue of education jobs to the fore as the Senate prepares to consider a supplemental spending bill in coming weeks to fund military operations in Afghanistan and other expenses." WPost Criticizes Teacher Jobs Bill. The Washington Post (5/14) editorializes, "Many school systems are having to lay off teachers, curtail instruction or shut programs. But should the federal government spend money it doesn't have to let school systems operate beyond their means?" The $23 billion Keep Our Educators Working Act "fails to use dollars in a way that would have the most impact" as the "money would be spread around according to blanket formulas, not sent to poorer jurisdictions" nor "linked to the Obama administration's Race to the Top competition, which rewards states that show seriousness about improving public schools."
In the ClassroomHigh School Students In Georgia Stage Mock Protest, Cause Disturbance On Campus.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5/14, Simon) reports that on Thursday, "about 75 students" left Pebblebrook High School in Mableton, Georgia, "under the guise that they were conducting a protest." But, according to Cobb County Schools spokesman Jay Dillon, the students instead "left the campus entirely." When they returned later that day, the students "rushed the school, pulled the fire alarm and caused a general disturbance." School officials contacted County police to help with "crowd control," and "the school was placed on lockdown until order was restored." The Journal-Constitution notes that "the protest was supposed to be in response to budget cuts that are affecting every school in the district." Students Develop, Star In "Food Court" Skit For Odyssey Of The Mind.The St. Petersburg Times (5/14, Miller) reports that a team of "brainy and very creative kids" from Weightman Middle School and Wesley Chapel Elementary School won first place "at the Gulf Coast Regional Odyssey of the Mind (OM) competition in February and second in state in April." Now, the team "is gearing up for the 31st Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, May 26-29 at Michigan State University." Team members have proven "their literary and theatrical prowess by penning and acting out a 'Food Court' script that was big on wordplay and followed the parameters set out for their chosen problem." OM guidelines specified that "the cast must be made up of various food items, including one who is accused of being unhealthy and must defend itself before a jury of its peers." Survey Shows Interest In Arts Education In Utah Increasing As Resources Diminish.The Salt Lake Tribune (5/14, Schencker) reports that a survey of schools in Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho from "earlier this school year" shows that "student participation in theater, music, visual arts, and dance classes is climbing at the same time resources are diminishing." It also shows that "higher percentages of Utah schools offer high quality instruction in dance and theater and" teachers "said they get support from their districts for the arts than in the other states." The Tribune notes that "state lawmakers have been working to keep the arts alive in Utah schools." Nearly 300 schools in Utah participated in the survey, which was "the result of a partnership between each state's education department, arts council or commission, and the Western States Arts Federation." Study Says Florida Class Size Reduction Has Had Little Impact On Student Achievement.The St. Petersburg Times (5/14, Matus, Solochek) reports, "A Harvard think tank concludes in a study being released today that despite a multibillion-dollar price tag," Florida's "2002 state constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes has had little impact on student test scores." The report comes "as Florida voters gear up for another amendment on class size," heating the debate over whether or not the class size amendment is working and whether it is worth the cost to keep the amendment. The new proposal "would freeze the [2002] amendment at the school level. It would also prohibit classrooms from being more than three students over current limits in pre-kindergarten through third grade, or more than five students over in other grades." The St. Petersburg Times notes that the Harvard study used "data from the Florida Department of Education" to make its conclusion. Observers Say Teacher Hiring Boom Over Past Decade Led To Current Wave Of Layoffs.Education Week (5/13, Sawchuck) reported, "An increase in teacher hiring in recent years is leading some observers to posit a link to the waves of pink slips that districts are sending across the country." Although few studies have investigated school hiring patterns, "national data from the US Department of Education and from the National Education Association's annual 'Ranking & Estimates' report show that between the 1999-2000 and the 2007-08 school years, the teacher force...increased at more than double the rate of K-12 student enrollments." NEA President Dennis Van Roekel "acknowledged that districts have added teachers to the rolls to reduce class sizes and to staff initiatives tailored to specific populations." However, he discounted the notion "that the policies might be linked to the slew of layoffs," saying, "I just can't imagine any district bringing on more educators than they need." California School Rankings Released.The San Francisco Chronicle (5/14, Allday) reports, "Bay Area schools hit the highs and lows in California's annual rankings released" on Thursday, "with some schools far out-performing the rest of the state and others ranking among the very worst - as they have year after year. Every school in California is ranked according to the state's Academic Performance Index and compared to every other school, as well as schools with similar demographics." According to the Chronicle, "San Francisco schools overall represented a mixed bag of the best and worst rankings in the state," as the "city has eight schools that earned the highest ranking in the state - but 20, including five high schools, were at the bottom."
Law & PolicyColorado Legislature Passes Teacher Tenure Bill.The AP (5/13, Paulson, Slevin) reported, "Colorado lawmakers wrapped up their legislative session Wednesday by passing a controversial teacher tenure bill and killing a proposal to replace the state's standardized tests with new student assessments." The bill would make it harder for public school teachers gain tenure and easier for tenure to be revoked. The AP noted, "Teachers said the tests were a poor measure of student progress, and they fought attempts to use the tests to measure their teaching ability." California Senate Passes Bill Holding Parents Accountable For Children's Truancy.The AP (5/14) reports, "The California Senate passed a bill on Thursday under which the State would hold parents responsible if their children regularly skipped school." Under the legislation, prosecutors can "charge parents with misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine if their children were chronically truant." Miami-Dade Teachers Union Signs Off On Florida Race To The Top Proposal.The Miami Herald (5/14, McGrory) reports, "The Miami-Dade school district and its teachers union signed off on Florida's Race to the Top application on Wednesday, putting the Sunshine State in a strong position to win federal education funding." United Teachers of Dade leaders "opposed Florida's application in the first round, saying it took too much control away from local school districts and unions." The new proposal includes "some performance-pay provisions" that, in addition to student test scores, "would also take into account student poverty levels, language and other factors that influence achievement." Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said that the district and union support of the state's application "proves that [they are not] afraid of accountability." He added, "Nobody here is shying away from issues of teacher quality. We just want a seat at the table when that issue is discussed." Grant Will Keep Elementary School Space Center Open.The Honolulu Advertiser (5/14, Moreno) reports, "The 17-year-old Challenger Space Center at Barbers Point Elementary School, which was under the threat of closure after lawmakers eliminated the program's budget, will be funded next year through a grant secured by the governor's office." Most of the $245,000 grant will go "toward salaries for three teachers and a director and other operational costs." The Advertiser explains that "for many elementary and middle school science classes, the space program is at the center of lessons that occur in the classroom." After "two months of classroom preparation," classes visit the Challenger Space Center for "a two-hour simulated space mission." After Delay, Illinois Paying Districts For School Construction Projects.The Chicago Tribune (5/14, Manchir) reports, "Relief came for 26 school districts across Illinois as the state is finally paying out more than $166 million for school construction projects dating back to at least 2002. About half of the districts added classrooms or opened new schools, only to be left juggling money while waiting for the state to pay its promised share." The Tribune notes that Chicago Public Schools will get "$29.7 million for school construction." Too Many Students May Be Going To College, Experts Say.The AP (5/14) reports, "The notion that a four-year degree is essential for real success is being challenged by a growing number of economists, policy analysts and academics" who "say more Americans should consider other options such as technical training or two-year schools." They note that such alternatives have been common in Europe "for decades." To support the recommendation, "experts cite rising student debt, stagnant graduation rates and a struggling job market flooded with overqualified degree-holders." Martin Scaglione, president and chief operating officer of work force development for ACT, argues that our culture places too much importance on degrees, and calls for redefining "certification as the new education currency -- documentation of skills as opposed to mastering curriculum."
Report: Hispanic Dropouts Less Likely To Earn GEDs Than Blacks Or Whites.The Washington Post (5/14, Bahrampour) reports, "Hispanic high school dropouts are much less likely to earn General Educational Development credentials than their white or black counterparts, especially if they are immigrants, according to a report released Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center. The report, 'Hispanics, High School Dropouts and the GED,' found that only one in 10 Hispanic high school dropouts has a GED, compared with two in 10 African American dropouts and three in 10 white dropouts." Also, the report finds that Hispanics "have a much higher high school dropout rate: 41 percent of Hispanics 20 or older do not have high school diplomas, compared with 23 percent of blacks and 14 percent of whites." The AP (5/14) reports, "A report released Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center found that one in 10 Hispanic students who drop out of high school go on to earn a General Equivalency Development degree. Educators and students say limited outreach, immigration and pressure to work may be to blame." Elementary Education Ranks At Bottom Of Best-Paying College Majors List.The New York Daily News (5/14, Hill) reports that Payscale.com "has released a ranking of the best-paying college degrees," with elementary education majors ranking at the very bottom. According to Payscale.com, "the major with the best salary upon graduation was chemical engineering." Other majors near the bottom of the list included social work and theology. E. Coli Outbreak Spreads To Tennessee, Linked To Tainted Lettuce.The AP (5/14) reports, "An outbreak of E. coli poisoning has expanded to Tennessee, where one more person has been sickened after eating romaine lettuce grown on an Arizona farm. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are 23 confirmed cases of E. coli and seven probable cases connected to the tainted lettuce." According to the AP, "The rest of those sickened live in Michigan, Ohio and New York" and many "of them were middle school, high school and college students who ate in school cafeterias." | ||||||
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