E.C.E.T.A.

The AP (2/17, Hoag) reported, "Less than half of California school districts and only about a quarter of teacher unions have promised to make key education reforms required for the state to win $700 million in competitive federal grants, officials said Wednesday. Only 41 percent of school districts and 60 percent of eligible charter schools signed on for changes needed to participate in the Obama administration's Race to the Top contest in which states can win extra federal funding to ease the impact of steep budget cuts."

        The Los Angeles Times (2/17, Song) reported, "A large number of California school districts and teachers unions have refused to accept education reforms being pushed by the Obama administration, and that could hamper the state's chances of winning hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants, some officials fear." Meanwhile, other "California officials say they are comfortable with the level of participation in the state, pointing out that the districts that have signed agreements serve nearly 60 percent of the state's students."

The Sacramento Bee (1/10) reports that some California state lawmakers say that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "vow to protect public education...would require deep cuts affecting students." Schwarzenegger's "spending plan would fund schools at about the same level this year and next - $7,444 then $7,486 per student," but it would "require more than $2 billion in belt-tightening necessitated by rising costs." Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D) said, "Despite scores of 'maneuvers' and the shells moving back and forth over the little ball, in fact, when you read the governor's budget, he calls for cutting education $2.4 billion." Those cuts include "$1.2 billion from school district central administration;" another "$550 million from the state's class-size reduction program;" and taking "$45 million from county office of education administrative costs." Moreover, Schwarzenegger proposes granting districts more "flexibility" to get rid of teachers through lay-off, transfer, rehire, or assign teachers "without regard to seniority."

California Governor Signs Education Reform Bills.

The Los Angeles Times (1/8, Blume) reports that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) visited Bethune Middle School in Los Angeles Thursday for a signing ceremony "to celebrate legislation that sets the course for future school reforms and improves the state's chances at qualifying for federal money to carry them out." The "bills are intended to increase California's eligibility for as much as $700 million in federal Race to the Top grants, which the Obama administration is using to advance favored reforms. The measures call for districts to take aggressive steps to turn failing schools around, including firing staff, closing schools and converting campuses to independently operated charter schools."

        California BOE To Oversee Low-Performing Schools. The AP (1/7) reported that California's Board of Education "has decided to oversee four of the state's poorest-performing school districts. Officials say the Alisal and Greenfield districts in Monterey County and McFarland and Arvin districts in Kern County-failed to meet federal standards set" by NCLB. The board "opted for the oversight rather than harsher sanctions, such as recommending a district takeover by the state."

The AP (1/7) reports, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Wednesday acknowledged that more pain lies ahead for California as it confronts yet another massive" $20 billion "budget deficit, but pledged deep reforms he said are vital to the state's economic future."

        Education Week (1/7, Maxwell) reports that in his last State of the State address, Gov. Schwarzenegger promised that no cuts to education would be included in his 2011 state budget proposal. "Because our future economic well-being is so dependent upon education, I will protect education funding in this budget," said Schwarzenegger. He also "proposed a constitutional amendment to guarantee that the state will never spend more on prisons than it does on higher education." California is currently "spending nearly 11 percent of the general-fund budget on prisons and 7.5 percent on colleges and universities," according to the governor. "In his address, Mr. Schwarzenegger cited the passage of controversial education reform legislation on Tuesday... which aims to help make California a strong contender for" the federal Race to the Top grant competition. The California Teachers Association, an NEA affiliate "has opposed the legislation and continues to urge its defeat."

        Jason Song wrote in the Los Angeles Times (1/6, Song) LA Now blog that prior to Gov. Schwarzenegger's announcement Wednesday, "state labor leaders held a conference call...to urge" him "not to propose education funding cuts when he releases his budget later this week." California "has cut education funding by nearly $17.8 billion" over the past two years, according to the California Department of Education.

The Sacramento Bee (6/21, Sanders) reported that a month after Proposition 1B failed to gain approval by California voters, state "Democrats are proposing to pay schools the same $7.9 billion that was the heart of the measure and to begin payments the same year, 2011-2012." The proposal "is part of a massive budget-balancing plan crafted by a joint legislative conference committee and scheduled to be voted upon this week by the Senate and Assembly." The lawmakers are arguing that Proposition 1B "was rejected for reasons other than school funding -- voters were angry that the Legislature hadn't solved the state's budget crisis, and they didn't like that 1B would take effect only if Proposition 1A were passed to extend some newly imposed taxes for up to two years." So far, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "has taken no position" on the proposal.

The Los Angeles Times (5/23, Mehta) reported that "as California schools brace for billions of dollars in budget cuts," Education Secretary Arne Duncan "warned Friday that the state's students were in peril, and he challenged politicians and educators to embrace difficult reforms." California was one stop on Duncan's "15-state listening tour intended to help shape the Obama administration's proposal to rework the federal No Child Left Behind reform law." Duncan told lawmakers that while "stopping teacher layoffs and reducing class sizes are important," federal stimulus dollars "must also be used to drive reform, such as using student achievement data to evaluate teacher effectiveness and turning around the most troubled schools." Furthermore, he "challenged state and local leaders to tackle the most difficult reforms, such as reconstituting failing high schools, evaluating teachers based on their students' performance, and paying more to teachers who work in challenging communities."

 The following appeared in NEA's "Opening Bell" on April 30, 2009

The New York Times (4/7, A16, Dillon) reports, "Over the next four years, more than a third of the nation's 3.2 million teachers could retire, depriving classrooms of experienced instructors and straining taxpayer-financed retirement systems, according to a new report" by the nonprofit National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. And, "with one of every three new teachers leaving the profession within five years," school districts incur "millions in recruiting and training expenses." The report suggests that "policy makers...restructure schools and modify state retirement policies so that thousands of the best veteran teachers can stay on in the classroom to mentor inexperienced teachers."

        "The report combines statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics with an Internet survey of 400 teachers and 95 principals in November," according to USA Today (4/7, Der Bedrosian). Elizabeth Foster, director of strategic initiatives for the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future who co-authored the report with commission president Tom Carroll, said that "over the next year, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future will host retreats for school administrators looking to combat the problem."

The AP (4/2) reports, "Secretary Arne Duncan released the first $44 billion in economic stimulus money directed to schools Wednesday but said strings will be attached to the next round of aid." He also "outlined a series of steps that states must take to get the next round of dollars." Duncan announced the stimulus news at Maryland's Doswell Brooks Elementary School. He "chose the school because it has significantly boosted achievement despite high numbers of poor and special education children, a challenge that often overwhelms urban schools."

        "Nationwide, the first batch of stimulus funding includes $11.4 billion targeted largely to help students who live in poverty and those with disabilities," The Washington Post (4/2, Glod) reports. "That money, doled out based on formulas that consider factors such as the percentages of children from low-income families, is available immediately, federal education officials said." But "states must apply for a piece of the larger share of the first batch, $32.6 billion." Of that amount schools, "$26.6 billion must be used to prevent layoffs and improve public schools and colleges." The Post notes that "federal education officials today sent applications and guidelines to states."

        According to the Detroit Free Press (4/2, Higgins), "The nation's top education leader said today he wants 'absolute transparency' in the way states and schools spend stimulus money." In addition, he gave more details "about $5 billion in Race to the Top grants states will be able to apply to receive." The grants "will go to states that have shown improvement, or shown a willingness to make improvement, in areas such as teacher quality and developing high standards."

        Reporting on the impact of federal education stimulus funds on schools in California, the Los Angeles Times (4/2, Mehta) reports that California education officials are "worried that the state's share won't be enough or come in time to stave off widespread teacher firings and program cuts." The state expects to receive "more than $4 billion...in the first round of education funding from the stimulus package." Charles Weis, superintendent of Santa Clara County schools, said "Given the cuts we've experienced in education this year, this won't even get us back to where we were last year."

        The AP (4/2, Gruver) reports in a story appearing on USA Today's website on Wyoming's $26.5 million share of the first phase of stimulus funding, that will go toward "special-education students and students from low-income families and neighborhoods. Once that money is allocated, the department will be allowed to apply for another $26.5 million for those same purposes." The Wyoming Department of Education expects to receive $144 million.

        "In all, Utah schools are set to grab more than half a billion dollars in education stimulus money over two years," the Salt Lake Tribune (4/2, Schencker) reports. State "lawmakers decided this past legislative session to use about $298 million in stabilization money to plug education budget holes." Education Week's (4/1, Aarons) Politics K-12 blog also covered the story. 

The AP (4/2) reports, "Secretary Arne Duncan released the first $44 billion in economic stimulus money directed to schools Wednesday but said strings will be attached to the next round of aid." He also "outlined a series of steps that states must take to get the next round of dollars." Duncan announced the stimulus news at Maryland's Doswell Brooks Elementary School. He "chose the school because it has significantly boosted achievement despite high numbers of poor and special education children, a challenge that often overwhelms urban schools."

        "Nationwide, the first batch of stimulus funding includes $11.4 billion targeted largely to help students who live in poverty and those with disabilities," The Washington Post (4/2, Glod) reports. "That money, doled out based on formulas that consider factors such as the percentages of children from low-income families, is available immediately, federal education officials said." But "states must apply for a piece of the larger share of the first batch, $32.6 billion." Of that amount schools, "$26.6 billion must be used to prevent layoffs and improve public schools and colleges." The Post notes that "federal education officials today sent applications and guidelines to states."

        According to the Detroit Free Press (4/2, Higgins), "The nation's top education leader said today he wants 'absolute transparency' in the way states and schools spend stimulus money." In addition, he gave more details "about $5 billion in Race to the Top grants states will be able to apply to receive." The grants "will go to states that have shown improvement, or shown a willingness to make improvement, in areas such as teacher quality and developing high standards."

        Reporting on the impact of federal education stimulus funds on schools in California, the Los Angeles Times (4/2, Mehta) reports that California education officials are "worried that the state's share won't be enough or come in time to stave off widespread teacher firings and program cuts." The state expects to receive "more than $4 billion...in the first round of education funding from the stimulus package." Charles Weis, superintendent of Santa Clara County schools, said "Given the cuts we've experienced in education this year, this won't even get us back to where we were last year."

        The AP (4/2, Gruver) reports in a story appearing on USA Today's website on Wyoming's $26.5 million share of the first phase of stimulus funding, that will go toward "special-education students and students from low-income families and neighborhoods. Once that money is allocated, the department will be allowed to apply for another $26.5 million for those same purposes." The Wyoming Department of Education expects to receive $144 million.

        "In all, Utah schools are set to grab more than half a billion dollars in education stimulus money over two years," the Salt Lake Tribune (4/2, Schencker) reports. State "lawmakers decided this past legislative session to use about $298 million in stabilization money to plug education budget holes." Education Week's (4/1, Aarons) Politics K-12 blog also covered the story.

Palo Alto Online (3/31, Kenrick) reports that some teachers in California say that "today's kindergarten academics are simply too much, too soon for many of the 100,000 California children who each year enter school before their fifth birthdays." A group of teachers from Palo Alto, CA, "have petitioned State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to help make sure kids are five years old before they start kindergarten." According to Palo Alto Online, "most children begin to read anywhere from the ages of 4 to 7." As a result, some students will enter kindergarten able to read chapter books, while others will have no knowledge of "letters and sounds." Natalie Bivas, a reading specialist at Palo Verde Elementary School, says that "in most cases, those who struggle are the younger ones, the ones who are still four years old when they start school." State standards require that kindergartners "be able to count to at least 30; arrange numbers in order from 1 to 20; know shapes...and read simple books."

The Los Angeles Times (3/27) prints the full text of President Obama's online town hall meeting on its website. The first question The President responded to was, "How do you plan to restore education as a right and core cultural value in America?" Obama responded by pointing out that "schools are under-resourced" and "teachers aren't getting enough of the training they need for the classroom." He added that teachers should be paid more and receive more training. "Let's make sure that schools of education that are training our teachers are up to date with the best methods to teach our kids. And let's work with teachers so that we are providing them measures of whether they're effective or not, and let's hold them accountable for being effective," He said.

        The AP (3/27) reports, "If the nation's schools are going to see improvement, President Barack Obama says there has to be a way to ease bad teachers out of the classroom." In addition, he said at Thursday's online town hall meeting that "there needs to be other ways to evaluate teachers besides standardized tests," and that "if teachers are forced to teach based solely on a test, fewer students will be inspired to learn."

        Merit Pay, Teacher Incentives Among Obama's Top Five Education Goals. New York's Post Standard (3/27) reports, "President Barack Obama this week unveiled a set of ambitious goals for reforming the nation's education system." The Post-Standard lists "five of the president's top reform proposals." He seeks to "expand a program that provides federal support for merit pay and incentives for teachers. Under the proposal, 150 additional school districts across the nation would be eligible for $5 billion to reward excellence and give teachers incentives to take on tough assignments." Obama also "wants to increase the number of charter schools across the nation as a way to promote innovation in education," and has proposed expanding access to early childhood education programs. In addition, he "wants to expand after-school programs, and he asked educators to consider adding more classroom time." And, Obama "wants to target at-risk students as early as middle school grades."

President Obama yesterday outlined his education reform plans in a speech to the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The address is receiving largely positive media coverage, with a number of print stories and analyses crediting the President with taking on the teachers' unions, which are considered to be a key Democratic constituency. ABC World News (3/10, story 7, 2:55, Tapper) briefly noted Obama's education plans as part of a story on his domestic agenda, saying that he "called for higher standards for schools and students; pay for performance for teachers; more charter schools, and longer school years."

        According to NBC Nightly News (3/10, story 4, 3:00, Guthrie) Obama also "opened the possibility that the school day should be longer for students. He said he knew it wouldn't go over big with the nation's students, including his own two girls, Sasha and Malia." Furthermore, Obama embraces "the idea of merit pay for teachers, tying their pay to student performance, something teachers unions have resisted in the past," the CBS Evening News (3/10, story 3, 0:20, Couric) reported.

        On its front page, the Washington Post (3/11, A1, Wilson) reports, "President Obama sharply criticized the nation's public schools...calling for changes that would reward good teachers and replace bad ones, increase spending, and establish uniform academic achievement standards in American education." He also "encouraged experimentation in the public school system, including proposals to extend the school day -- to bring the United States in line with some Asian countries whose students are scoring higher on tests -- and to eliminate limits on the number of charter schools."

        The New York Times (3/11, A14 Stout) adds that the Obama administration sees charter schools as "laboratories of innovation." In his speech, Obama said that "putting limits on charter schools, even in places where they are performing well, "isn't good for our children, our economy or our country." The Times points out that "teachers' unions have opposed charter schools in some places, saying they take away financing for public schools, while supporting them in others."

        Regarding the President's stand on the No Child Left Behind Act, Bloomberg News (3/11) reports that "without spelling out details, Obama has said he would retool the" law in order "to set more uniform and rigorous standards for tests on reading and mathematics in elementary schools." The AP (3/11, Quaid) and the Los Angeles Times (3/11, Parsons) also cover the story. 

The Los Angeles Times (3/11, Oliphant) reports, "Congress is poised to do away with one of former President George W. Bush's signature initiatives in education: the taxpayer-funded vouchers that enable students from low-income families in the District of Columbia to attend private schools." On Tuesday, the US Senate passed a "$410-billion spending bill" that included a provision which "says that no funds will be appropriated for the" voucher "program after the 2009-10 school year unless Congress reauthorizes it and the District of Columbia Council approves it." The DC program is "the only voucher system in the country that uses federal funds." According to the Los Angeles Times, "if the voucher program is allowed to expire, the students would probably be back in the public system within two years." The AP (3/11) adds that according to Republicans, the provision "is likely to kill" the voucher program. 

The Washington Times (3/11, Billups) reports that school districts across the nation are taking steps to trim spending amid a recession, including silencing marching bands and doing away with "sports programs, summer school and driver's education." Also, schools "are facing closure and consolidation" and teachers "have been told to do away with space heaters and office refrigerators because they consume expensive electricity. Even the school year is being shortened as districts across the nation are making hard choices amid a worsening recession as they deal with budget woes." 

Education Week (3/10, Gewertz) reported that "the nation's largest teachers' union and two leading business groups said today they have become partners in the work of a blue-ribbon commission trying to revolutionize American education." The National Education Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers "issued a joint statement encouraging states to seek grants from the U.S. Department of Education's $5 billion 'Race to the Top' fund of economic-stimulus money to help finance their own versions of the" New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce's recommendations." The recommendations call for "sweeping, systemic changes in education funding, assessment, school management, and teacher pay and training." According to John Wilson, the NEA's executive director, "details of the concrete steps the union and business groups would take have yet to be worked out."

 

Stimulus Does Not Solve Problems With NCLB Accountability Measures, Some Educators Say.

Education Week (3/9, Klein) reported, "Even as states and school districts prepare to absorb billions of dollars in economic-stimulus aid for education, policymakers and analysts are quietly discussing whether the infusion of federal cash may reshape the landscape around reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act." Some say that the claim that NCLB is under-funded "has less validity after passage last month of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, whose aims include stemming a potential wave of layoffs and programmatic cuts in education." But "some practitioners and education organizations argue...that problems with the accountability system at the heart of the No Child Left Behind law remain unchanged." NEA president Dennis Van Roekel, for instance, "said that while increases for the Title I program for disadvantaged students and for special education 'definitely have an impact...we also have to do things inside that system to change.'"

The Los Angeles Times (3/10, Song, Mehta) reports, "Cutting enthusiastic, effective teachers just because they're new is not good for students, say some district officials and education reform advocates. Unions leaders say it's an issue of fairness." In the Los Angeles Unified School District, "instructors with less than two years of experience are expected to be" laid off before teachers with more experience. Still, "some top L.A. Unified officials believe layoffs could rob the district of their most enthusiastic employees, and are trying to find ways to keep them." Several "districts across the state, including L.A. Unified, are offering early retirement packages to employees, which would help retain younger teachers." Meanwhile, school "board members have questioned whether the district can circumvent firing by seniority." One board member "said she would push the district to revise the law to allow districts to retain teachers based on merit." 

The AP (3/10, Dunn) reports, "Two science teachers who have spent the past five years under NASA's tutelage are about to graduate with high-flying honors." Former teachers Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold II will board the space shuttle Discovery on Wednesday night for a "two-week construction mission to the international space station." They "both will attempt multiple spacewalks -- the most dangerous job in orbit." And, along with "their five crewmates -- the usual assortment of military pilots and rocket scientists" -- Acaba and Arnold "will deliver and install a final set of solar wings for the space station. With just over a year remaining until the orbiting complex is completed, the framework holding the solar wings is the last major American-made building block left to fly." The AP notes that "More teachers with math or science backgrounds are expected in the next class of astronauts this spring and will receive the same training as everyone else."

The AP (2/18, Quaid) reports that President Barack Obama "wants to do more than save teachers' jobs or renovate classrooms with his economic recovery bill. He wants to transform the federal government's role in education." The AP notes that public schools "will get an unprecedented amount of money -- double the education budget under George W. Bush -- from the stimulus bill in the next two years. With those dollars, Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan want schools to do better." Secretary Duncan is quoted saying that the bill is "an opportunity to redefine the federal role in education, something we're thinking a whole lot about. ... How can we move from being (about) compliance with bureaucracy to really the engine of innovation and change?" The bill "includes a $5 billion fund solely for these innovations, an amount that might not seem like much, considering the bill's $787 billion price tag. But it is massive compared with the $16 million in discretionary money Duncan's predecessors got each year for their own priorities."

        T.H.E. Journal (Feb 2009, Nagel) reports that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed into law on Tuesday by President Barack Obama "assigns significant funding to a variety of education and education-related programs." T.H.E. Journal points how the stimulus package will benefit education. Among the provisions included in the bill for education are "$13 billion for Title 1 help for disadvantaged students...$7.2 billion for "broadband and wireless services in underserved areas" for business, healthcare, and education sectors; $2.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start;" and "$250 million for competitive grants targeted toward the design and development of student achievement data analytics." Another $70 million will go toward "grants for the education (among other things) of homeless kids," and $100 million will go toward "teacher workforce 'modernization.'" The AP (2/18) also covers the story.
 

In the Seattle Post Intelligencer's (2/18) School Zone blog, Jessica Blanchard writes, "I had the chance to sit down Friday afternoon with the president of the National Education Association," Dennis Van Roekel. Blanchard provides a list of highlights from that interview. Regarding the Obama Administration, Van Roekel said that "he has 'high hopes' for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and the two have scheduled monthly meetings -- a change from the previous regime." Van Roekel also expressed concern that No Child Left Behind has "narrowed the curriculum" and "'taken the joy out of teaching,' he said." Sill, "he doesn't think Congress will tackle changes to the law until at least next year." Blanchard also highlighted Van Roekel's thoughts on merit pay and high school graduation rates.

On its front page, the New York Times (2/17, A1, Dillon) reports that "the $100 billion in emergency aid for public schools and colleges in the economic stimulus bill" could transform Arne Duncan into an exceptional figure in the history of federal education policy: a secretary of education loaded with money and the power to spend large chunks of it as he sees fit." But "the money also poses challenges and risks for Mr. Duncan," who must "develop procedures on the fly for disbursing [the] budget," and "communicate the rules quickly to all 50 states and the nation's 14,000 school districts."

        According to the Washington Post (2/14, Glod, A11), "over two years, the stimulus will funnel $53.6 billion to states to prevent cutbacks and layoffs and modernize schools." And, "An additional $25 billion will be dedicated for public school students who are disabled or in poverty."

        The Los Angeles Times (2/13, Mehta) added that "more than $12 billion is included for special education, and $13 billion for the schools that serve the nation's neediest children. Money is also set aside for state student-data systems, teacher-quality grants, education technology, Head Start preschools and other programs."

        Education Week (2/13, Klein, McNeil) noted that "The final level of education aid in the bill is a middle ground between the roughly $80 billion for education in the Senate version of the measure and the $140 billion approved by the House last month." As such, it "includes lower levels of funding in the state fiscal-stabilization fund and smaller amounts for special education and education technology than in earlier versions." The Baltimore Sun (2/17, Bowie), the Providence Journal (2/17, Mulligan), the Virginian-Pilot (2/17, Fiske), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2/15, Sheinin), Alabama's Dothan Eagle (2/17), and the Missourian (2/17) covered the impact that the federal stimulus legislation is expected to have on education in their respective states. 

The Yuma (AZ) Sun (2/14, Roller) reported on Yuma County's fourth annual Professional Staff Development Day, during which educators exchanged "best teaching practices proven to increase academic performance." Throughout the day "there were 60 breakout sessions, after which teachers chose their own areas of interest ranging from engaging learners to curriculum and activities designed for math classrooms." Yuma County School Superintendent Tom Tyree said that the theme of last Friday's development day was "connecting resources/connecting learning." He also noted that the "half-day teacher training at Gila Ridge High School was a chance to network with each other about cutting-edge concepts - and it was very uplifting."

The San Jose Mercury News (2/12, Hull) reports that "For more than a decade, the rule through third grade in most California classrooms has been one teacher -- and no more than 20 students." But now that districts are struggling "with gaping budget deficits, 'Class Size Reduction' has become a target." The Mercury News points out that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently proposed a plan that would "allow school districts to decide if they want to use state money on small classes or something else." Meanwhile, "the state's teachers union recently launched a television ad campaign to decry any increase in class size." Still, "while most districts are loath to abandon the class-size limits, in Santa Clara County, Mount Pleasant, Cupertino Union, and Evergreen Elementary School Districts are among those talking seriously about it."

        Opinion: Increasing Class Sizes May Weaken Teacher Morale. In an opinion piece for the Las Vegas Sun (2/12), elementary school teacher Cathy Estes writes that "few people would disagree with the academic benefits our primary children gain from smaller student-to-teacher ratios in the classroom." But, "as class sizes continue to grow in Clark County, NV, many people in all areas of education are becoming more concerned about teacher morale." With increasing class sizes, some "well above 30" students, "teachers are having a hard time devoting enough time to each student" and "instructional strategies are being adapted to accommodate the larger numbers." Estes also points out that "conferencing with individual students to set academic goals can take several days" with large classes, and it is much more difficult for teachers to keep track of how each student is progressing. Such "constraints are making teachers feel like they are not as effective as we could be in helping individual students make progress," according to Estes.

The Los Angeles Times (2/2, Mehta) reports, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal to allow school districts to use state class-size reduction funding any way they choose is alarming teachers unions and community activists, who say it will inevitably lead to ballooning classrooms in the state's neediest communities." California Teachers Association president David Sanchez criticized the proposal, saying that it "won't save the state one dime ... Districts will continue to receive that funding from the state but won't have to spend that money on class-size reduction, or, frankly, even in the classroom." ACORN's Alicia Gaddis said that "districts in poorer neighborhoods will be the first to increase classroom sizes, [which] means the achievement gap will widen." State Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer "said the suggestion for greater flexibility in how districts can spend nearly $15.7 billion next year in so-called categorical funds, including $1.3 billion for kindergarten through third-grade class-size reduction, came last fall from district superintendents as a way to address the impending state-funding cuts." Several superintendents are quoted defending the proposal, but the article closes with a quote from state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell saying, "It's a sad day for all of California."

USA Today (1/30, Toppo) reports, "The one-time, multibillion-dollar congressional stimulus offers public schools 'an extraordinary opportunity,' not just to plug gaping state and local budget holes, but to improve education in ways that have eluded the USA for decades, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday." In addition to providing "more funding for school construction, college loans and other programs," the $141 billion designated in the stimulus for schools promises "$19.4 billion for Title I this year and the same next year, up from $13.9 billion in 2008" and "$16.9 billion for IDEA this year, $17.9 billion in 2010, up from $10.9 billion in 2008." USA Today adds that "both programs date back decades and have never had what advocates consider adequate funding." Also on Thursday, "Duncan said he is talking to school officials nationwide for ideas on how to reauthorize No Child Left Behind."

        According to the AP (1/30, Quaid), the stimulus "would pump an extra $26 billion into two long-term programs -- No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, an increase that critics say will be impossible to roll back when the economy improves." But Duncan contends that "the money would be 'righting a huge, historic wrong' because Congress has never spent what it promised for the programs." He said, "There is going to be this huge outpouring of joy because this has been a desperately unfunded mandate for far too long."

The AP (1/29, Quaid) reported that a review released by the National Council on Teacher Quality finds that states "are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones. ... Only Iowa and New Mexico require any evidence that public school teachers are effective before granting them tenure." But the NEA said that "job protections shouldn't be blamed for keeping bad teachers on the job." Segun Eubanks, NEA's director of teacher quality, said, "No district-union contract in America states that bad teachers can never be fired from their jobs. ... Yet too often, district-teacher union contracts are blamed for inadequate, ineffective and misused teacher evaluation systems."

        Education Week (1/30, Sawchuk) reports that according to the Washington-based National Council on Teacher Quality, states are mainly responsible for the findings. The council contends that "by putting into place vague guidelines around teacher-evaluation and tenure-granting processes, states are complicit in allowing poor teachers to remain in classrooms." Meanwhile, the report shows that "states did a better job creating incentives for teachers who work in shortage subjects or high-need schools; more than half the states had those policies in place."

        KFOX-TV El Paso (1/30, Dombrowski) reports that the National Council on Teacher Quality rates New Mexico "unsatisfactory overall based on six categories including: meeting No Child Left Behind objectives, teacher licensure, teacher evaluation and compensation, state approval of teacher preparation programs, alternate routes to certification, and preparation of special education teachers." The state is one of only two that requires "evidence that public school teachers are effective, before granting tenure." Iowa is the other.

        According to WAMU-Radio DC (1/30, Jacobs), DC area "school districts haven't fared too well when it comes to identifying and retaining effective teachers in 2008. Neither have they done a very good job firing ineffective ones." The 2008 National Council on Teacher Quality report shows that DC schools failed overall in "identifying and retaining effective teachers" and firing ineffective teachers in 2008, while Maryland and Virginia schools earned a D- and a D+, respectively. NBC Washington points out that "Virginia requires all new teachers receive mentoring," but Maryland only "requires it for some teachers, and D.C." does not require mentoring.

        The Baltimore Sun (1/30, Bowie) adds that "Maryland is one of seven states that give tenure to teachers after only two years of teaching, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality." But "the council believes that status should be given only to teachers who have proved themselves effective after five years in a classroom." They also say that "tenure should be accompanied by a large pay increase that recognizes a teacher has reached a level that deserves a long-term investment by the state and local school system."

        The Seattle Times /AP (1/30, Blankinship) reports that the analysis by the "National Council on Teacher Quality gives Washington state a C minus average, better than the national average of a D plus." Washington did, however get "a D minus for identifying effective teachers because [the council] wants teachers judged by objective means like student test scores." While the council "commended Washington for doing multiple formal evaluations of new teachers and for the consequences it sets for teachers with unsatisfactory evaluations," it wants the state to "change its policy concerning teacher tenure." Under current policy, "new teachers in Washington are on probation for two years. But after that period is over, the council believes granting of tenure is virtually automatic."

        The Salt Lake Tribune (1/30, Stewart), the Pittsburgh Tribune - Review (1/30, Kurutz), the Minneapolis Star Tribune (1/30, Releford), and Florida's The Ledger /AP (1/30, Quaid) also cover the National Council on Teacher Quality analysis of teacher policies for their respective states.

The Modesto Bee (1/29, Hatfield) reports that Jamie Garner's sixth-grade class at Walnut Elementary School "is one of several 'minisocieties' in Turlock schools. Every one of Garner's 30 students has a job, earns a salary, gets bonuses (for such things as keeping a clean desk), earns fines (for things like talking during lessons) and pays taxes." Garner's "students fill out ledgers, practicing their addition, subtraction and decimals. They also learn why they should keep track and save their mock money." According to the Modesto Bee, "The U.S. recession is providing a surplus of current events that help teachers relate economic, math or government lessons to students. The topic has come up in most high school classes, from English to science," according to teachers 

The Los Angeles Times (1/28, Blume) reported that on Tuesday the Los Angeles teachers union "directed teachers to refuse to give" students periodic assessments "administered by the Los Angeles Unified School District." The tests are intended to "give teachers insight into what students need to learn while there remains time in the current school year to adjust instruction." But the union says that "the tests are costly and counterproductive." Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines contends that "the assessments are part of teachers' assigned duties -- they are not optional. He also said he has and will amend aspects of the tests that need fixing." However, he will not "toss them out because, he said, they have contributed strongly to rising performance on the state's own annual tests." The Times noted that "the district tests...have become central to a debate over the proliferation of testing, whether it interrupts instruction and can narrow the depth and breadth of what's taught."

 California Teachers Association To Move Forward On Penny Sales Tax Initiative.

In a blog posting on the San Francisco Chronicle's (1/27) website, John Wildermuth writes, "The California Teachers Association (CTA) will move forward with an initiative to boost the state sales tax by a penny to raise money for schools. Unless, of course, they don't." Last weekend, CTA officials voted "to move ahead with plans to circulate the initiative, which would raise $5 billion to $6 billion each year for schools." The money "would have to be directed to the classroom for reducing class size, upgrading textbooks, restoring arts programs, hiring more counselors, librarians and support staff and, not surprisingly, boosting teacher pay." But, Wildermouth points out that "the initiative hasn't made it through the attorney general's office for an official title and summary yet and isn't likely to be approved to circulate until the end of February." Furthermore, "the measure is being aimed for a November 2009 special election, a vote that as of today doesn't exist and isn't scheduled."

Stimulus Bill Would Include $150 Billion For Education.

The New York Times (1/28, A1, Dillon) reports on its front page, "The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nation's school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Education's current budget." ED Secretary Arne Duncan said, "This is going to avert literally hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs." The NEA's Joel Packer said, "We've been arguing that the federal government hasn't been living up to its commitments, but these increases go a substantial way toward meeting them." The Times also cites a number of critics arguing against the increases.

The San Diego Union-Tribune (1/27) reports that "years ago, it was presumed learned people didn't gesture. ... Intelligent folk, the thinking went, communicated with speech." It was also thought that "the more you gestured, the more obvious it was you couldn't find (or use) the right words." But, "a small but growing band of scientists...have produced a mound of studies and evidence arguing that gesturing improves not just how we speak, but how we think and learn." For instance, "studies published in 2007 by" Susan Goldin-Meadow, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, "and others reported that students learned and remembered math concepts better if gesturing was involved in the original lessons." Furthermore, a "new, yet-to-be-published" study shows that "math students learned more when they were taught to use correct, relevant gestures to describe their lessons than students who used only 'partially correct' gestures, who in turn learned more than children who gestured not at all."

The Washington Post (1/9, A2, Eggen, Glod) reports that on Thursday, President Bush "devoted his final public policy address to" education, "traveling to [General Philip Kearny Elementary School] in Philadelphia...to claim success in education reform and to warn President-elect Barack Obama against major changes to the landmark federal testing program." Bush said that Obama "should tread carefully before following through on promises of reform. 'There is a growing consensus across the country that now is not the time to water down standards or to roll back accountability,' Bush said." According to the Post, "The Bush administration says" that improvements in education since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) went into effect in 2002 "have been widespread, including narrowed achievement gaps between black and white students; record high math scores among African American and Hispanic students; and significant increases in reading and math proficiency among many students."

        NCLB "remains one of Bush's top domestic achievements, and he considers it vital to his legacy," the AP (1/9, Quaid) reports. But "Critics say the law's annual reading and math tests have forced other subjects like music and art from the classroom and that schools were promised billions of dollars that never showed up."

        According to Education Week (1/9, Klein), Bush on Thursday "acknowledged that critics have charged that the NCLB law focuses too heavily on standardized tests and sets unrealistic goals, but he called on lawmakers to reject those claims and continue to hold schools accountable for students' progress." Also During his visit to Kearny Elementary, "Mr. Bush, first lady Laura Bush," and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings "toured the school, which is in a socioeconomically and racially diverse neighborhood near Philadelphia's center city," and "has met the goals of the No Child Left Behind law every year since 2003." Mr. Bush "and Ms. Spellings also participated in a roundtable discussion on education."

The following appeared in the NEA "Insider" on January 9, 2009

Tell Congress To Provide Education Funding In Economic Stimulus Package

The 111th Congress opened this week, with the economic crisis on the top of the agenda. Congressional leaders hope to send a comprehensive stimulus plan to President Obama by mid-February.

NEA is proposing a plan to stimulate the economy and protect/create jobs by providing additional funding to states through existing education funding formulas. Doing this will allow funding to get out quickly to every community across the nation in order to prevent cuts to education, protect jobs, and stimulate economic growth. In fact, for each dollar invested, education typically creates more jobs in communities than any other industry.

Contact your Members of Congress Today!

Tell Members of Congress to provide flexible funding for education through state funding formulas as part of any economic recovery plan.

Bill To Repeal Social Security Offsets Reintroduced

Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Buck McKeon (R-CA) have reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision. The new bill number is H.R. 235. The previous bill, which had over 300 cosponsors, expired at the end of the last Congress. When the new Congress convened this week, our sponsors immediately reintroduced the bill - demonstrating their strong support for the issue and desire to send a message about its importance to their congressional colleagues.

The bill was introduced with over 80 cosponsors. See if your Representative is a cosponsor. We expect the Senate version to be re-introduced shortly.

Contact your Members of Congress Today!

Tell Members of Congress to cosponsor the Social Security Fairness Act.

The Los Angeles Times (1/8, Mehta) reports that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) proposal "to shorten the school year by five days is" estimated to the state about $1.1 billion. State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said the proposal would be especially "devastating" for "'low-income students and students of color'...because affluent districts are more likely to be able to pay for the five days themselves while poorer districts will be forced to eliminate those teaching days." Many educators and parents also do not support the idea of eliminating instruction time. Teachers "say they barely have enough time to fit the state's academic standards into the existing 180-day calendar." Some parents, meanwhile, "said that it was an economic issue for them" because they would have to place their children in childcare for the eliminated five days. 

The New York Times (1/8, A15, Greenhouse) reports that "the presidents of 12 of the nation's largest labor unions called Wednesday for reuniting the American labor movement, which split apart three and a half years ago when seven unions left the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and formed a rival federation." The announcement comes "after the transition team for President-elect Barack Obama signaled that it would prefer dealing with a united movement, rather than a fractured one that often had two competing voices." Those who attended the meeting on Wednesday "included Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees union, who led the walkout in 2005." The Times also pointed out, "One somewhat surprising attendee was Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association (NEA), which, with 3.2 million members, is the nation's largest labor union, but has traditionally remained outside any larger labor federations."

The Los Angeles Times (1/7, Song, Blume) reports, "As many as 2,300 teachers could face midyear layoffs because of the state budget crisis, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) officials said Tuesday." The district faces a deficit "of at least $250 million in [its] nearly $6-billion budget, prompting officials to propose sending the layoff notices to 1,690 elementary school teachers and 600 math and English teachers in middle and high schools." The layoffs would "save the district up to $65 million this year." The Times notes that "the last time Los Angeles teachers faced massive layoffs...in the early 1990s," the "crisis was resolved when teachers voted to accept a 10 percent pay cut in exchange for greater control over health benefits and classroom assignments."

        On Tuesday, LAUSD "Superintendent Ramon Cortines blamed the state Legislature for the potential cutbacks, saying that lawmakers need to solve the state's budget crisis if the Los Angeles Unified School District is to keep its work force intact," the Riverside (CA) Press Enterprise (1/7, Dillon) adds. Cortines predicted that "the school budget deficit will increase to $800 million over the next three years."

The USA Today (12/18) editorializes that Don Shalvey, who runs Aspire, "one of the nation's most successful charter school networks," says he "needs inexpensive financing to launch high-quality schools." US Secretary of Education-designate Arne Duncan "needs low-cost ideas to improve education in tough economic times. By guaranteeing Shalvey's construction loans, the Education Department could lower his cost of borrowing a few percentage points and improve educational options" in South Central Los Angeles. USA Today also calls for the renewal of NCLB, as the law "has worked. States such as Massachusetts, which drew up the most rigorous standards and accountability, have gotten the biggest payoffs." Though NCLB "does have flaws. ... Fix what needs to be fixed, and move on." Among other recommendations, USA Today also calls for extending "accountability to higher education. Bush's Education secretary, Margaret Spellings, has been working to provide more information about graduation rates and how much students learn at various institutions. That's not popular in academia, but with soaring tuition and fees, it makes sense."

        NCLB Viewed As Transforming Schools Into "Test-Prep Factories." In an opposing view in USA Today (12/18), author Alfie Cohn writes, "Our children can't take much more education 'reform.' Oddly, that word has come to signify a continuation, or intensification, of the current disastrous approach exemplified by [NCLB]." According to Cohn, "Our schools -- and particularly those in the inner city -- are being turned into test-prep factories. The last thing we need is more of the same." Also, NCLB "has provided no new information about which schools need help, nor has it provided that help. Instead -- in the name of 'accountability' -- it has created pressure to ratchet up the least valuable forms of instruction

President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Arne Duncan to head the US Education Department is receiving widespread media praise. Most analysts describe Duncan as a centrist and a successful reformer – and some reports are casting his selection as an act of defiance toward the teachers' unions, a powerful Democratic constituency. USA Today (12/17, Stanglin, Memmott, 2.28M) reports that Duncan has "backed No Child Left Behind, President Bush's 2002 education law, but testified in 2006 that Congress should amend it to give schools, districts and states 'the maximum amount of flexibility possible' to implement it." Obama yesterday "described Duncan as a reformer who was willing to innovate."

        Under the headline "Obama Defies Unions To Pick School Reform," the Financial Times (12/17, Ward) reports that "during his seven years in charge of the country's third largest school system, Mr. Duncan has overseen a sharp increase in test scores and a consistent fall in the high school drop-out rate."

        The Washington Post (12/17, Glod) adds, "Duncan's résumé appeals to those identify themselves as reformers and tend to support tough accountability, charter schools, performance-pay plans and other steps that shake up the status quo." But "his calls for increased funding and willingness to partner with teachers also wins the approval of unions and school officials who think the federal government imposes too many sanctions without offering enough support."

        ABC World News (12/16, story 8, 1:25, Gibson) reported "Duncan's efforts to close failing schools in Chicago, sometimes put him at odds with parents and teachers," while CNN's The Situation Room (12/16, Yellin) noted Duncan has "run the Chicago school district for years, earning a reputation as a reformer and a centrist who has produced results. Scores are up, dropout rates are down."

        The Los Angeles Times (12/17, Muskal) notes that Duncan "has a reputation as a pragmatist." The AP (12/17), the Chicago Tribune (12/17, Malone, Sadovi), and the Washington Times (12/17, Bellantoni) also cover the announcement.

 Paper Calls For "More Realistic Expectations" From NCLB.

The Yakima (WA) Herald-Republic (12/16) editorializes, "Change is on the way for state and federal education agencies, and clearly one challenge facing their new leaders is the need for a complete re-evaluation of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning and federal No Child Left Behind Act. We're appalled that several Valley schools don't get proper credit for efforts that have produced measurable 'adequate yearly progress' mandated by the federal law." The Herald-Republic adds, that Yakima Valley students "are showing solid progress in academics, whether [NCLB] acknowledges it or not. With the new presidential administration and a new state superintendent in Olympia, we're at an important crossroads to revisit both programs and come up with more realistic expectations of students, and certainly a better way of measuring progress in learning."

Paper Calls For "More Realistic Expectations" From NCLB.

The Yakima (WA) Herald-Republic (12/16) editorializes, "Change is on the way for state and federal education agencies, and clearly one challenge facing their new leaders is the need for a complete re-evaluation of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning and federal No Child Left Behind Act. We're appalled that several Valley schools don't get proper credit for efforts that have produced measurable 'adequate yearly progress' mandated by the federal law." The Herald-Republic adds, that Yakima Valley students "are showing solid progress in academics, whether [NCLB] acknowledges it or not. With the new presidential administration and a new state superintendent in Olympia, we're at an important crossroads to revisit both programs and come up with more realistic expectations of students, and certainly a better way of measuring progress in learning."

 

California Budget Cuts Threaten Planned Vocational School.

The Signal (CA) (12/13, Lovato) reported, "State budget cuts mean a hard-earned $1.6 million grant for new vocational education facilities could be snatched from the coffers of the William S. Hart Union High School District (CA). The change came a day after a state official lauded the influx of money into schools." California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell is quoted saying, "Even as the state is embroiled in a fiscal crisis, the people saw fit to help create more safe and modern school environments where their children can learn so they can compete in a more global, technologically challenging world after they graduate. But on Friday, Tina Jung, spokeswoman for the California Department of Education, said threatened budget cuts to state public-education funding could mean no such money is available."

PTAs Provide Critical Funding To School Hard-Hit By California Budget Woes.

KGO-TV San Francisco (12/13, Amin) reported, statewide budget cuts are forcing California school districts "to do more with less. ... The Los Altos School District is feeling the short fall first hand. At Blach Junior High School (Los Altos, CA), the district cut the school's operating budget in half." However, schools "are now relying heavily on a different funding source, school parent-teacher associations. ... The PTA usually pays for computers, laptops and teachers aides, but at Blach, it will spend $40,000 on necessities like paper, pencils, copying expenses and ink jet cartridges, instead."

Obama's Education Secretary Pick Seen As Key To Knowing Stance On Reforms.

The New York Times (12/14, A35, Dillon, 1.12M) reports that as President-elect Obama "prepares to announce his choice for education secretary, there is mystery not only about the person he will choose, but also about the approach to overhauling the nation's schools that his selection will reflect. ... Will he side with those who want to abolish teacher tenure and otherwise curb the power of teachers' unions? Or with those who want to rewrite the main federal law on elementary and secondary education, the No Child Left Behind Act, and who say the best strategy is to help teachers become more qualified?" According to the Times, "The debate has sometimes been nasty. ... Some of the toughest criticism has been aimed at the person Mr. Obama appointed to lead his education policy working group, the most important education post of the transition: Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor of education at Stanford University." Darling-Hammond "is liked by the teachers' unions, and partly for that reason has been portrayed as an enemy of school reform by detractors. These have included people who have urged Mr. Obama to appoint Joel I. Klein, the New York City schools chancellor, or Michelle Rhee, the schools chancellor in Washington, as education secretary."

Educators Offer Recommendations On How To Overhaul NCLB.

The Washington Post (12/15, B2, Glod) reports that the No Child Left Behind law, "one of President Bush's major domestic achievements, was enacted with broad bipartisan support. But that consensus faded, and efforts to reauthorize the law stalled in the past year as lawmakers awaited a new president." Thus, with Congress "poised to begin the debate anew, a student, a PTA president, a charter school advocate, a teachers union leader and a superintendent offer ideas about how to improve the law." According to the Post, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said, "My hope is the new law will return to its roots and will focus on children in poverty." Center for Education Reform President Jeanne Allen is quoted saying, "We need a federal law that is really aligned with how to get continuous sustainable improvement in our education system. ... What's happened in the past few years is it has been so out of whack that it has become more of a testing and a blame game than about how we help kids."

In a letter to the editor of the New York Times (12/12, A40), Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor of education at Stanford University and head of the working group on education policy for President-elect Obama's transition team, writes, "I strongly disagree with David Brooks's characterization of my views on a range of education issues as anti-reform (column, Dec. 5). Since I entered teaching, I have fought to change the status quo that routinely delivers dysfunctional schools and low-quality teaching to students of color in low-income communities." Darling Hammond writes that she has also "worked to create...assessments that measure critical thinking and performance," and has "sought to amend and reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act to incorporate these kinds of assessments, while preserving its commitment to closing the achievement gap." According to Darling Hammond, "Real reform will require...moving beyond the polarizing debates that prevent us from working together to improve education."

        Darling-Hammond Is Best Qualified For Education Secretary Position, Stanford Education Dean Writes. Deborah Stipek, dean of the Stanford University School of Education, wrote, in a letter to the editor of The San Francisco Chronicle (12/12, B13), "There is more than one way to skin a cat, and there is more than one way to reform education in this country. Commentary in the press, including...David Brooks' column in the New York Times, have entreated President-elect Barack Obama to select a reformer as the secretary of education." Stipek agrees, "We need an education leader in this country who understands the complexity of the education system, and can work productively with the many constituencies that are needed for meaningful reform." She concludes that with "three decades of experience working to improve the quality of teaching" and education, Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond "is the best qualified for such a leadership position." Stipek concludes, "The recent commentary have not been about education policy, but "about politics," and "are harmful, because they lead the conversation away from learning and onto divisive ideology."

The Chicago Sun-Times (12/12, Spielman) reports, "Chicago Schools CEO Arne Duncan is a 'visionary' school leader who would make a 'great choice' as the new U.S. Education Secretary, incumbent Secretary Margaret Spellings said Thursday." Though the Sun-Times adds that Spellings joked she didn't want to "hurt his chances," Spellings "nevertheless put in a plug for Duncan during a trip to Chicago to help Mayor Daley dole out $350,000 in merit pay to outstanding teachers and school employees. 'He's a terrific school leader. I consider him a fellow reformer and someone who cares deeply about students." Duncan "took the glowing endorsement in stride, telling reporters, 'She's got to say it. She's in Chicago. When she leaves here, she'll tell you how she really feels." However, Duncan "refused to say whether he has had any discussions with President-elect Barack Obama or his emissaries about the nation's No. 1 education job or about a deputy's position."

ABC News (12/10, News) reports, "Across the nation, teachers seek ways to cope with tight school budgets." For instance Montgomery County, Maryland's 22,000 educators decided to give up a five percent pay increase next year, which "is expected to save $89 million...and avoid crowding classrooms in a district ranked among the nation's best." According to ABC News, "the teacher's union made the sacrifice in these tight economic times to minimize the economy's impact on the students' education and save jobs." ABC News also mentions Rancho Bernardo High School calculus teacher Tom Farber, whose "calculus quizzes [feature] an inspirational message paid for by parents or local businesses. He's not happy about taking such desperate measures, but the average public school teacher already spends around $430 of their own money on supplies, according to the National Education Association (NEA)." 

The Los Angeles Times (12/10, Gordon) reports that according to a report released Tuesday by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, more high school graduates are "becoming academically eligible to enter California's two public university systems" -- California State University (Cal State) and the University of California. The study showed "that 22.5 percent of Latino high school graduates were eligible for" admission into California State University (Cal State) in 2007, up from 16 percent in 2003, when the last such study was done. For black students, Cal State eligibility went up to 24 percent, from 18.6 percent." Meanwhile, "37.1 percent of white high school graduates" met Cal State requirements last year, as did 50.9 percent of Asians, "both somewhat higher than in 2003." The report "also showed that female high school seniors still do significantly better than males in taking required classes and earning grades and test scores that could gain them admission" into both university systems.

Education Week (12/8, Hoff) reported, "George W. Bush entered the White House determined to change federal education policy," and seeking to establish "bipartisan education reform." And, by 2002, he "had forged a bipartisan consensus around the No Child Left Behind Act, which he signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002." As a result of the law, "states receiving federal K-12 education funding," for the first time, "would be required to hold districts and schools accountable for the achievement of students, regardless of their income levels, special education status, or ethnic, racial, or native-language backgrounds." Charles Barone, "who helped draft the law as an aide to House Democrats," said that President Bush "was the first one to set specific targets for the achievement of poor and minority kids in the basic subjects." Barone added that subsequently, "People pay more attention to the education that poor and minority children are getting." Education Week points out that "the Bush legacy on education won't be complete until Congress decides on the NCLB law's future." 

The AP (12/9) reports, "President-elect Barack Obama has not signaled what he will do to fix the country's failing schools, but his choice of education secretary will say a lot about the policies he may pursue." Many "teachers' unions...want an advocate for their members, someone like Obama adviser Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University professor, or Inez Tenenbaum, the former state schools chief in South Carolina," to fill the position of education secretary. But "reform advocates [prefer] someone like New York schools chancellor Joel Klein, who wants teachers and schools held accountable for the performance of students." Joel Packer, a lobbyist for the NEA, said "Joel Klein is not someone we would be happy with as secretary of education." But, according to the AP, the NEA has expressed interest in "the idea of Obama choosing a governor or former governor."

The Baltimore Sun (12/7, Bowie) reported, "Many educators are looking to President-elect Barack Obama to revise a much-maligned federal initiative requiring annual tests to chart the progress of every school in the country." They have criticized various aspects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Law, with some saying "that its goal - to have all children reading on grade level by 2014 - is absurd. Others say that the federal government is micro-managing school curriculum, an issue usually left to state and local school officials." And, "Some argue that states should be able to take into account the improvement a school's students make on the tests." Despite educators' eagerness for NCLB reform, "representatives of mainstream education groups said that revisions would be unlikely before late next year or early 2010." 

The Pacific Daily News (12/7, Kelman) reported, "The National Education Association (NEA) last year asked more than 2,500 teachers what gift they enjoyed receiving from students the most," according to the AP. "Forty-eight percent said they wanted an earnest 'thank you,' the article said." Teachers said that "a heartfelt note with just a few thoughtful sentences tucked into a card made by your child is invaluable." The NEA "also recommended picture frames, which can be easily personalized with a photo of students."

The Los Angeles Times (12/3, Macvean) reports, "California may run out of money again this year to supplement school meals, in part because more struggling families are taking part in the free or reduced-price school lunch programs, the state's superintendent of public instruction said Tuesday." To avoid that, Superintendent Jack O'Connell "is asking for $31 million so local districts won't have to bear additional burden."

        The AP (12/3, Williams) adds that O'Connell's request "seems unlikely" to be granted "as lawmakers struggle to fill an $11.2 billion budget deficit in the current fiscal year that is expected to grow to $28 billion in the next year and a half if they don't take serious action." And, "any solutions to the budget shortfall are also likely to hit schools, since education accounts for more than half the state budget. Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting another $2.5 billion from schools in 2008-09."

The following article was sent out to local officers from President, David Sanchez on December 2, 2008

Yesterday marked a big day for the State of California --eleven new senators and 28 new Assembly members took their oath of office. A few hours later Governor Schwarzenegger declared a “fiscal emergency” and called a special session to deal with the growing state budget deficit. Now, you may be thinking, “Didn’t we just have a special session to deal with this crisis?” We did, but legislators failed to agree on a solution, and of course, the problem didn’t go away. The governor has now called a special session under Prop. 58  to fill a state budget hole that is predicted to reach $28 billion over the next 18 months.

This means the Legislature will be taking another look at the governor’s proposal of midyear cuts and some revenues.  CTA and the Education Coalition are projecting that without any additional revenue increases, our schools and community colleges could be looking at cuts of up to $8 billion this year, $7.2 billion of which are cuts to K-12 schools.   To find our more about how these cuts are affecting higher education visit www.calfac.org .

It’s important to remember that the $3 billion California schools already suffered in cuts this year are crippling local school systems and threatening the future success of our students . We need your help letting the public know how. How many teaching and education support professional positions have been cut; how much have class sizes risen; how many elective classes have been eliminated. These are the realities of current funding cuts that we must communicate to the public and Legislators. More cuts will only make matters worse for our schools, which already rank 46^th in per-student spending.

We’ve compiled resources online to help your local chapter and local Education Coalition get your important message out to your members and local media. They include:

·         What this means for K-14 .

·         What this means for K-12 .

·         What $7.2 Billion in cuts look like for California schools.

·         Sample Press Advisory

·         Sample Letter to the Editor

·         E-mail Your Lawmaker

We will continue to update this section as new resources are created and new information becomes available. Also be sure and listen to the latest CTA radio ad that is now running on more than 60 stations across the state.

David A. Sanchez

CTA President

California's Contra Costa Times (12/1, Wetzel) reports that "educators and academics are eager to see how lawmakers will handle" No Child Left Behind (NCLB) "and change what many call a broken system that puts too much pressure on schools without funding to implement changes." Many educators say that "the law should be reshaped to give schools credit for improvement and be adequately funded. Others say the mandate, which also calls for all students in the United States to be proficient in math and reading by 2014, is unrealistic and sets schools up to fail." Meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama "has remained somewhat vague about his plans to reform the law, other than to say that fixes need to be made. He often refers to the need for a 'growth model' that will give schools credit for progress, and he has stressed increased funding for things such as teacher training."

        School Administrators In Richmond, Virginia Weigh In On NCLB Reform. The News Virginian (11/30, Lizama) reported, "President-elect Barack Obama's promise to reform No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is being cheered by some Richmond-area educators, who call the federal act unrealistic, bureaucratic, and underfunded." The News Virginian asked "school administrators in each of the 20 localities in the Richmond region...for comments on NCLB." Hanover County Superintendent Stewart D. Roberson expressed his concern about "the benchmark of Adequate Yearly Progress, where schools have to meet 29 categories or fail. The law should recognize the progress schools make every year, he said." Meanwhile, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright, "who has been named to a national task force that will advise the Obama administration on education issues, said the state also wants less reporting of data and a clarification on what is a "highly qualified" teacher, which the law requires for core subjects." 

Time (11/26, Shell) reported that "like most other Democrats," President-elect Barack Obama "is allied with the teachers' unions, which generally oppose efforts to weaken tenure rules that protect teachers from being fired or to pay them on the basis of merit." In fact, "the biggest teachers' union, the National Education Association (NEA)...committed $50 million to Obama's campaign." Yet, "in his book The Audacity of Hope," Obama wrote, "There's no reason why an experienced, highly qualified and effective teacher shouldn't earn $100,000. ... There's just one catch. In exchange for more money, teachers need to become more accountable for their performance--and school districts need to have greater ability to get rid of ineffective teachers." However, "Obama's decision to elevate campaign adviser Linda Darling-Hammond...whose positions are often aligned with those of the unions, to lead his education transition team worries the reform community." According to Time, "The question is which side Obama is on."

In a blog posting for Newsweek (11/25), Pat Wingert wrote, "Though presidential candidates often say that education will be one of their top priorities, the job of education secretary is often among the last cabinet seats filled. While Barack Obama's transition team hasn't floated any names yet, the education establishment--reformers, teachers' unions, colleges and universities--has no shortage of candidates." According to Wingert, "What no one knows is whether Obama is leaning toward someone from the more innovative end of the reform movement...or a candidate with close ties to the teachers' unions." The innovators "want one of their own in the top spot. Their favorites include New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein" and Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the Washington, D.C. schools and founder of the New Teacher Project. However, the teachers' unions "prefer someone like Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor of education at Stanford who acted as a surrogate for Obama during the campaign or former Gov. Jim Hunt of North Carolina, both reformers who have a long history of working respectfully with the unions on issues like increased teacher professionalism."

The Bakersfield Californian (11/25, Nachtigal) reports, "With mid-year cuts looming from the state legislature, schools and administrators are minding their budgets carefully." The Bakersfield City School District (BCSD) could "incur a financial penalty as high as $21,420 per classroom if head counts stray above 20.44 kids per room." Furthermore, "the district could be subjected to as much as $400,000 in class-size reduction penalties if they didn't make adjustments." BCSD "tries to time [moves] so they fall at a holiday break." Meanwhile, "in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District, where enrollment was down this year, administrators try to even out the classes within the first week or two weeks of school, "but after that we don't adjust class sizes," said Assistant Superintendent Gerrie Kincaid."

In a blog for Education Week (11/20), David J. Hoff wrote, "With financial markets melting down and the auto industry seeking a bailout, the assumption is that federal education funding might feel the squeeze in coming years." Yet, according to campaign advisor Linda Darling-Hammond, "President-elect Barack Obama may surprise people and find room in the federal budget for the $30 billion a year it will take to make his education agenda a reality." In a speech "to the Council of Chief State School Officers on Sunday," Hammond said that "the $30 billion price tag for the Obama agenda may sound big...but it's a small fraction of federal spending." She "also repeated the president-elect's promise to double the education research and development budget, 'with emphasis on the 'D' in R&D.'"

The Washington Post (11/24, A2, Glod) reports that as President-elect Obama's administration "prepares to take over the Education Department, school experts say one of Obama's first -- and toughest -- jobs must be restoring the broad bipartisan support it took to pass" No child Left Behind (NCLB). The Post adds that "Obama's vision of refining the federal role in America's classrooms...may be the biggest political and policy challenge. He inherits an agency -- and a law -- that is seen by some local schools and union leaders as focusing more on sanctions and policing than on helping build better schools."

The Washington Post (11/19, A6, Glod) reports, "Students in the $6 billion Reading First program have not made greater progress in understanding what they read than have peers outside the program, according to a congressionally mandated study." The study, "released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education, found that students in schools that use Reading First, a program at the core of the No Child Left Behind law, scored no better on comprehension tests than student in similar schools that do not get the funding." The Post notes that even though the program is "popular with educators, [it] has been tarnished by allegations of conflicts of interest and mismanagement in recent years. Federal investigators have found that some people who helped oversee the program had financial ties to publishers of Reading First materials."

        According to Education Week (11/19, Manzo), the study also found that "among both the Reading First and comparison groups, reading achievement was low, with fewer than half of first graders, and fewer than 40 percent of second and third graders showing grade-level proficiency in their understanding of what they read. On a basic decoding test, however, first graders in Reading First schools scored significantly better than their peers in the comparison schools."

The AP (11/14) reports, "People across Southern California on Thursday looked like they had stepped out of a disaster movie. Children ducked under their desks. Victims with fake blood lay on the ground." The "controlled chaos was all part of a mock 'Big One' - an earthquake drill billed as the largest in U.S. history and aimed at testing the preparedness of governments, emergency responders and residents." According to the AP, "At Bishop Alemany High School, a San Fernando Valley campus badly damaged by a 1971 quake and destroyed by the 1994 Northridge event, the football field was filled with mock mass casualties wore colored wristbands indicating the severity of their fake injuries. Many of the students posing as faux victims said they were too young to remember Northridge, the last damaging quake in Southern California, which toppled bridges and buildings."

 The following appeared in NEA's "Opening Bell" on November 3, 2008

Suicide Of California High School Student Prompts Parents To Launch Bully-Monitoring Initiative.

The Los Angeles Times (11/13, Saillant) reports, "It didn't take Jeff Lasater long to swing into action after his 14-year-old son, Jeremiah, took his own life at" Vasquez High in Acton, CA last month. According to the Times, "Within days of burying his youngest son, Lasater rounded up other Vasquez High parents and outraged citizens who had heard about the reported bullying that the teenager suffered before his Oct. 20 death. Together, they vowed to do something about it." The Times adds that the result of the parents initiative "is Project 51, a nonprofit group that will serve as a watchdog over the Acton education system's response to reports of bullying, Lasater said. Its name is a tribute to Jeremiah's number -- 51 -- on the school's junior varsity football team." According to the Times, a "key element is a planned toll-free 800 telephone number that will be sponsored by Project 51 to enable students or their parents to report on-campus harassment."

Florida's WMBB-TV (11/12, Hawley) reported that the Bay District School Board "is one step closer to making cyber bullying an expellable offense. The state requested that districts in Florida add the new form of bullying to their board policies, allowing them to punish students for making threats online." Also, the board is "advertising a revision to its student search and seizure policy. The change would require the school to contact a parent or guardian before asking any questions. ... The searches and questioning will have to take place in front of a school official of the same gender as the student."

Education Week (11/12, Klein) reports that President-elect Barack Obama "can look forward to working with a beefed-up Democratic majority in Congress when he seeks to enact his education agenda after taking office in January. After last week's elections, the Senate will have at least 55 Democrats plus two independents who currently caucus with the party. ... The current Senate has 49 Democrats and the two independents, giving the party a slim, 51-seat majority." According to Education Week, the "top education matter awaiting the new president and the incoming 111th Congress is the renewal of the almost seven-year-old No Child Left Behind law, which has created a fracture within the Democratic Party's traditional coalition. Some left-leaning researchers, social scientists, and educators contend that society needs to invest significantly in children's health care and other social services, as well as extend learning time, before student achievement will increase dramatically." However, "other Democrats...favor tough accountability measures, innovative systems of teacher pay, and an expansion of charter schools."

New Hampshire's Nashua Telegraph (11/6, Brindley) speculates on the "kinds of change can be expected for the future of public education" under a Barack Obama administration. "One of the most significant issues that will have to be addressed is the future of the controversial No Child Left Behind act, passed in 2002 and designed to hold schools accountable for proficiency in reading and math." The President-elect "has pledged to fix 'the broken promises' of the law, criticizing it for punishing failing schools too harshly and focusing too heavily on reading and math at the expense of other subjects." In addition, he has "said he would not scrap the law's testing accountability system but would seek to include other forms of assessment such as portfolios and new ways of measuring growth and performance." Debbra Uttero, adequate yearly progress (AYP) facilitator for Ledge Street School in Nashua, suggested that "more formative assessments and hands-on activities, in addition to standardized tests, should be used to measure student progress."

In Education Week's (11/5) Campaign K-12 blog, Alyson Klein wrote, "Some of President-elect Obama's education advisers have been appointed to his transition team, according to a press release." The advisors include Christopher Edley, "who worked on civil rights issues during the Clinton Administration and was a member of the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind." Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) of Arizona "is also listed as an adviser." During her tenure as governor, Napolitano has "made education, particularly P-16 transition issues, a priority." Meanwhile, "Melody Barnes, who worked at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank, will be serving as co-director for agency review at the transition team," and Cassandra Butts, "who served as a senior vice president on domestic policy at the Center for American Progress," will "be the general counsel for the transition team."

California's The Sun (11/6) reports, "With teachers getting more training and also spending more time working together, students in the San Bernardino Unified School District are faring better on state English language arts tests." According to "data from the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years...average English language arts scores are improving in grades two through 10. For second- and ninth-graders, scores rose by an average of 5.1 points each. Fifth-graders' scores rose by an average of 10.5 points." The Sun points out that the results have come after the school "district focused on giving teachers techniques and an understanding of how to use data to adjust their teaching methods. The concept of coaching has helped as well on all levels. Principals are getting coached on bettering reading programs, while teachers are getting instruction on how to blend strategies in the classroom."

 Teachers learn how to make math and science education interesting at California conference.

The Riverside Press Enterprise (10/31, Parsavad) reports that "fourth- through 12th- grade teachers were taught new ways to make math and science engaging during the...annual Science and Technology Education Partnership conference." The conference, "sponsored by the Science and Technology Education Partnership," was a "two-day event" that "also included demonstrations for students from schools around the region. The event lets students try out flight simulators and see technological developments, such as a hydrogen fuel cell from Riverside-based electronics company Bourns Inc." Meanwhile, "The teacher workshop, held for the second year, was open to educators from Riverside and San Bernardino counties who participated in other programs run by" the University of California – Riverside.

California schools increasingly scaling back on food-based classroom celebrations.

The San Jose Mercury News (10/31, Noguchi) reports, "Two years after California laid down the nutrition law, scaling back fat, sugar and calories in foods sold or served on campus, schools are increasingly substituting 'good food' for goodies." And, even though there are sometimes "lapses and end runs...many schools are tamping down, especially on sweet holiday treats." For instance, instead of "candy corn and curtailing the candy grams," Today's room moms may bring in "grapes, cheddar cheese, and baby carrots." Meanwhile, San Jose's Evergreen School District officials suggest that "instead of cupcakes on birthdays...parents may bring pencils for kids or donate a book to the school library." But, "not all schools have gone on a sugar fast. The state -- which now requires snack food with no more than 35 percent of calories from fats -- allows four exceptions each year to serve sugary or fatty treats during the school day. There are no rules for after-school activities." 

The Springfield (MA) Republican (10/31, Goonan) reports, "State Education Secretary S. Paul Reville joined leaders of three states on Thursday in pledging to be part of a dramatic overhaul of education, described as critical to meet the 21st century needs of students." Massachusetts "will be part of a consortium" of states including New Hampshire and Utah. "The program targets the needs of students ranging from pre-kindergarten through college, incorporating many features of the world's most successful education systems, officials said." Meanwhile, "the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest teachers' union, announced its support for state affiliates that choose to participate in the reform effort."

 New NCLB policies target graduation rate.

The AP (10/29, Quaid) reports, "High schools are coming under pressure from the federal government to improve the nation's dismal dropout rate -- one in four students. Schools and states" will soon be required to "track and lift the graduation rates for all students, including minorities and students with disabilities, under rules issued Tuesday by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings." Beginning "with the 2012 school year," schools must meet graduation targets "for minority groups and kids with disabilities, as well as for the overall student population, to satisfy the yearly progress requirements of No Child Left Behind. Schools that don't meet yearly goals for every group of students face consequences, such as having to pay for tutoring or replace principals." According to Bloomberg News (10/29, Ziegler, Staley), the new rules will "start in the 2010-2011 school year."

        "The final rules, set to be published soon in the Federal Register, include minor changes to [a] proposal the U.S. Department of Education unveiled in April," Education Week (10/28, Hoff) added. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), "one of the most important advocates of the" federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB), "supports the department's rules package, even though the enforcement of the rules will be carried out by the next presidential administration." In a statement released Monday, Kennedy said that "the rules are a 'significant step forward in helping schools, parents, and teachers bring new solutions to the challenges of helping every child get ahead in school.'"

        The Washington Post (10/29, A15, Glod) reports that "the new rules also require officials at low-performing schools to better inform parents about a key requirement of the law -- that certain children must be given an opportunity to participate in government-funded tutoring or the chance to transfer to a higher-performing school." In addition, "states must begin using a single graduation-rate formula, which counts the percentage of ninth-graders who earn a diploma within four years, by 2011."

        "The new method closely mirrors one adopted by the National Governors Association in 2005," the San Antonio (TX) Express News (10/29, Kastner) points out. Like Bloomberg, the Express News also notes that the rules will become effective "beginning with the 2010-2011 school year." The National Education Association (NEA) "immediately criticized the changes." In a statement, NEA president Dennis Van Roekel said that "with eight days remaining before millions of Americans head to the polls, the next president of the United States and the next Secretary of Education deserve the right to work with the next Congress and leave his or her mark on federal education policy, not have their hands tied by ill-timed and piecemeal changes." Texas's Austin-American Statesman (10/29, Heinauer), Utah's Salt Lake Tribune (10/29, Schencker), and the Minneapolis (MN) Tribune (10/29, Johns) also cover the story. The Los Angeles Times's (10/28, Macvean) Homeroom blog posted a response to the new rules issued by Bob Wise, "president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia."

California judge postpones eighth-grade testing plan.

The AP (10/29, Williams) reports, "A Sacramento County Superior Court judge on Tuesday ordered the state Board of Education to postpone its expensive and bold plan to force all California eighth-graders to be tested in algebra." In July, "the board approved the first-in-the-nation mandate...after a forceful last-minute recommendation from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)." At that time, "Superintendent Jack O'Connell and education groups questioned whether the state had the money, staff, and training to handle the requirement." And some Opponents argued the decision was made hastily and that the public did not have adequate time to comment." In September, two California school associations sued the state over the requirement. "In her ruling...Judge Shelleyanne Chang told "the state Board of Education not to make any further decisions on the algebra test until a Dec. 19 court hearing."

The Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram (10/28, Butler) reports, "The ABC Unified School District is moving to enhance the use of technology in its high school classes as part of a graduation requirement that students be technologically proficient." The district is currently training "teachers in the new approach, which would have students use computers to prepare presentations or classwork." For instance, "students in a science class, for example, could be required to make a presentation of their project using PowerPoint software by Microsoft," Mary Sieu, ABC deputy superintendent, said. She also said that students "are going to be expected to demonstrate their technological proficiency as part of their everyday classes." A recent survey conducted by the district indicates that "a majority of high school teachers" include "technology elements in their classes." 

Education Week (10/27, Honawar) reported that the California Teachers Association (CTA) "has ignited a fierce debate among its members by donating $1 million to oppose a ballot initiative that would end same-sex marriage in the state." The CTA, an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), "voted overwhelmingly in June to oppose the ballot initiative because, officials say, it goes against the union's stand on equal rights for all." Education week noted that "the proposal has become the focus of intense debate in California, including television advertisements by supporters of the ban that say schools will teach students about same-sex marriage if the initiative fails." But "last week, several...education officials in California spoke out against the TV ads." State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said, "Our public schools are not required to teach about marriage. And, in fact, curriculum involving health issues is chosen by local school governing boards."

The AP (10/23, Leff, Williams) reports on the debate surrounding California's Proposition 8, "which would overrule [a] state Supreme Court decision" that legalized same-sex marriages. "The measure's supporters warn that teachers will be forced to tell young children about gay marriage if the measure fails on Nov. 4." But "opponents of the measure say that's deceptive because schools already are required to teach tolerance of gays and lesbians, and the ballot measure won't change that." According to the AP, "to combat anti-gay discrimination, California schools have addressed topics such as gay households, homophobia and sexual orientation for years, well before the state Supreme Court" made its decision. "The state education code specifies that marriage should be discussed in sex education classes. But school districts are not required to hold the classes and parents can have their children excused if the course conflicts with their moral values."

Education Week (10/6, Ash) reports that in November, "dozens of legislative referendums, citizen initiatives, and proposed state constitutional amendments affecting education" will be "on the ballot in at least 15 states, according to an overview by the National Conference of State Legislatures." For instance, "six states -- Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, and Oregon" -- are proposing referendums "that would either create new revenue sources for public schools or alter the flow of gambling-related money earmarked for education." Meanwhile, Oregon voters will decide on "performance-based raises for teachers and limits on the amount of time non-English-speakers could be taught in their native languages." Both measures are seen as being widely opposed by educators. Education Week noted that, because "citizen initiatives typically require months of signature-gathering, and legislature-driven measures often are passed early in the year, items reflecting the current economic crisis" will be "notably absent from next month's ballot."

The Los Angeles Times's (10/2, Blume) The Homeroom blog reported that, according to a report from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), "the progress of many of California's struggling students has been overstated." The report also found, among other things, that "the state's governance system for managing schools impedes reform," and that "California faces a teacher shortage in the coming years." The blog noted that "chapters in the report cover a wide range," and "call for different ways to look at whether students, especially those on the lower end of the achievement gap, are making progress." The report also argued that "the state needs to measure, for example, access to programs for gifted students and access to college-prep classes," which it predicted would lead to an achievement increase.

Education Week (10/2, Walsh) reported, "The 2008-09 term of the U.S. Supreme Court, which formally begins Oct. 6, has a docket that includes education-related cases involving employment and sex discrimination [under Title IX], the rights of teachers' unions, and legal immunity for public officials, including educators." In regards to teachers' unions, "the court will review an Idaho law that bars school districts and other local government agencies from making deductions from employees' paychecks for political causes." The law was challenged by "the Idaho Education Association, its Pocatello affiliate, and several other public-employee unions in the state...as an infringement of their First Amendment rights of free speech and association." In its ruling on Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Association (No. 07-869), "a federal appeals court agreed with the unions and struck down the Idaho law as hampering their political speech. The Supreme Court accepted the state's request to review the ruling." The case is scheduled for November.

California's Press Enterprise (9/29, Dean) reports on "the album 'Math' by Rockin' the Standards," which addresses the California State Standards and "has held a top 10 position...in bestseller downloads in the Children's Music/Compilations/Education category of Amazon.com." The album was created by teacher Tim Bedley. It is based, he said, "on the standards and what I've experienced in the classrooms...the things kids tend to forget." The album was preceded by "Singin' the standards: Simple to Learn, Impossible to Forget," which Bedley released in 2006. "Bedley offers training for educators interested in using "Rockin' the Standards" albums in the classroom."

Education Week (9/25, Cavanagh, Hoff) reported, "A pair of new studies cast doubt on U.S. schools' ability to make the academic improvements required under the No Child Left Behind Act." The first study examined "a central tenet of" NCLB, the requirement "that all students will reach academic proficiency by the 2013-14 school year." Focusing on California, the researchers found "that nearly all the state's elementary schools will fail to meet that target, in large part because of the difficulty of bringing English-language learners and economically disadvantaged students up to speed academically." Despite the likelihood of failure, "states are required to hold schools accountable for meeting achievement targets based on that goal." The second study "estimates that during the 2007-08 school year, 3,599 schools nationwide were forced to choose one of several restructuring options to change their management or instructional strategies with the goal of improving student performance." This marks "a 56 percent increase" over the 2006-07 school year.

Education Week (9/25, Cavanagh, Hoff) reported, "A pair of new studies cast doubt on U.S. schools' ability to make the academic improvements required under the No Child Left Behind Act." The first study examined "a central tenet of" NCLB, the requirement "that all students will reach academic proficiency by the 2013-14 school year." Focusing on California, the researchers found "that nearly all the state's elementary schools will fail to meet that target, in large part because of the difficulty of bringing English-language learners and economically disadvantaged students up to speed academically." Despite the likelihood of failure, "states are required to hold schools accountable for meeting achievement targets based on that goal." The second study "estimates that during the 2007-08 school year, 3,599 schools nationwide were forced to choose one of several restructuring options to change their management or instructional strategies with the goal of improving student performance." This marks "a 56 percent increase" over the 2006-07 school year.

In continuing coverage from previous editions of The Opening Bell, the Los Angeles Times (9/22, Blume) reported, "The new [California] policy of requiring algebra in the eighth grade will set up unprepared students for failure while holding back others with solid math skills, a new report has concluded."  The study found that, "over five years, the percentage of eighth-graders in advanced math -- algebra or higher -- went up by more than one-third."  In 2005, "about 37 percent of all U.S. students took advanced math."  But, about eight percent of students who took advanced math scored "in the lowest 10 percent on the eighth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress."  According to the Times, "at least two students in every eighth-grade algebra class [have] second-grade math skills."  Further, "that number rises in urban school systems where these students are more likely to attend overcrowded schools with teachers who are less experienced and less likely to have math degrees or college-level advanced math."

USA Today (9/22, Toppo) reports that "a new study out [Monday] finds that many of the nation's lowest-performing middle-schoolers...take algebra and other advanced math courses before they've mastered basic skills such as multiplication, division and problem-solving with fractions." Based on "data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress," researchers found that, "between 2000 and 2005, the percentage of very low-performing students in advanced math classes more than tripled." More specifically, "among the lowest-scoring 10 percent of kids, nearly 29 percent were taking advanced math, despite having very low skills." That translates to "about 120,000 kids" that were "inappropriately enrolled in classes that are supposed to level the playing field," according to Brookings Institution researcher Tom Loveless.

        The AP (9/22, Quaid) adds that "the study is alarming to some advocates who worry its focus will add to an argument that minority and low-income kids should not take the class," when in fact such students need better preparation. Loveless concluded that, "in the end...it does more harm than good to put unprepared students in what he called 'fake' algebra classes taught by under-prepared teachers."

        Schools place increased focus on algebra. On the front page of its Metro section, the Washington Post (9/21, C1, Chandler) reported on the push, both in D.C.-area schools and nationwide, to increase students' aptitude for mathematics. "Research shows that those who complete Algebra II are more than twice as likely to graduate from college as those who do not," and "are also better positioned for admission to competitive colleges." Further, some data indicate "that jobs in science, technology and engineering are growing at three times the rate of jobs overall." However, "strengthening the math abilities of all students is a steep challenge" that requires schools to "reinforce basic concepts early on, attract teachers talented enough to go beyond dictating formulas, and...overcome an anti-math bias many students harbor." The Post article is the first in a series that "will examine how ready students and teachers are for the change, and what it takes to convince a roomful of teenagers" that "they might actually use algebra later in life."

Education Week (9/18, Jacobsen) reported, "School business officials kept a close watch on the financial markets this week -- and on district investment portfolios and teacher-retirement funds -- as stock prices tumbled and once-sound institutions got government bailouts or crumbled into bankruptcy." According to some observers, it is "too soon to predict how the upheaval on Wall Street might affect school districts." Yet others "said that state-backed employee-pension funds...should be secure." Robert Snell of the National Conference of State Legislatures "said that, while such funds might lose some money, school retirees would not be directly affected because" those accounts "guarantee a certain defined payout for retirees." Meanwhile, "a greater source of anxiety for many teachers may be the fate of AIG, a...major provider of 403(b) retirement accounts." Education Week noted that AIG released a memo this week which "indicated that the company's financial troubles won't affect district employees who have annuity products from AIG because those policies are underwritten by the Variable Annuity Life Insurance Co., which was described as a 'strong insurance company.'"

The San Diego Union Tribune (9/10, Soto) reports, "A federal judge has ruled that school officials" from the Poway Unified School District "can't tell a Rancho Peñasquitos math teacher to take down banners he has had on his classroom walls for years proclaiming 'In God We Trust,' 'God Bless America,' and other sayings." The school officials have argued that the banners "proclaim a point of view at odds with the educational mission of the school, and could invite a lawsuit from students or other teachers." In a decision denying the district's motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez "noted the school district allows other teachers to choose what they display on their walls, including Tibetan prayer flags and posters of Buddhist and Islamic messages." Benitez also "said the banners aren't religious," but rather "highlight historic and patriotic themes that in themselves have acknowledged God's existence."

DOE promotes use of special education funding for early intervention services.

Education Week (9/8, Samuels) reported, "Bit by bit, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is trying to pull down the walls that have traditionally separated general and special education." To that end, the DOE has recently focused on early-intervening services, such as "response to intervention" (RTI), "an educational technique that bolsters the skills of academically struggling students before they fall so far behind that they need special education services." These "services are not intended for students in special education, but for those who need extra support for academic or behavioral success." Yet, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act allows states to use "up to 15 percent of the money they receive from the federal government for special education" for "coordinated, comprehensive early-intervening services," as long as they "make up the decrease in the special education budget through another source." According to Education Week, the DOE "promotes this option as a win-win proposition: General education can benefit by programs aimed at reducing academic and behavioral problems."

Some California educators employing electronic "student response devices."

California's Riverside Press Enterprise (9/8, Klampe) reported that some educators in Inland Empire, California "are passing out electronic devices in their classrooms this year to encourage student engagement and get instant feedback on lessons." The devices "can be used for just about any subject and at any grade level for true/false, multiple choice or even hand-keyed answers using a keypad," and "connect to the teacher's computer as well as to an interactive white board that can display questions for the entire class to see." Further, the devices "allow two-way communication, so teachers can create customized test questions for individual students or send a quick message to remind a student to stay on track." Some educators that employ such technology in their classrooms say the devices help to "ensure that all...students are engaged in a lesson and understand it." Others, however, say that "student-response devices" promote guessing over the application of knowledge, and recommend "Web-based resources and concept-mapping tools" instead.

The AP (9/5) reported that the California School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators "are challenging California's requirement that all eighth-graders be tested in algebra." The two groups filed a lawsuit last week seeking "an injunction to prevent the state Board of Education from imposing the requirement." According to the suit, "the action by the state board was taken in violation of the state's open-meeting laws." The AP explained, "Last month, the board moved quickly to adopt Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) last-minute recommendation to test all eighth-graders in algebra, despite fierce opposition from Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell."

Arizona's Yuma Sun (826, Roller) reports, "The most recent results of the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) reveals Yuma high school students have shown greater rates of progress than students across the state," district officials say. "Between 2004 and 2008, the number of" students at Yuma schools "meeting or exceeding mathematics standards increased by 34 percent, compared to Arizona's 28 percent," while in terms of reading scores "the increase was 28 percent compared to Arizona's 14 percent." District officials noted that although "increased enrollment" had led to "decreases [in] teacher-to-student time," the schools had made progress "over the last four years," due "in part to the Yuma Professional Learning and Networking consortium (PLAN) to maximize teacher training." The Sun notes that PLAN "is a staff development protocol to show teachers how to get and keep students engaged in the learning concepts they present in the classroom."

Education Week (8/25, McNeil) reported, "Just two months ago, states had already racked up $40 billion in budget shortfalls so far this fiscal year." That number continues to rise, and "as a result, some states, "including Alabama, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Nevada...have made targeted cuts to certain education programs, according to a June report by the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures." The report also "found that 31 states reported budget gaps, ranging from $10 million in Hawaii to $2 billion in Arizona --nearly 20 percent of that state's general-fund budget." Education Week noted that for schools, "the problem isn't just with revenue, but [also] with inflation...as the price of everything from fuel and clothing to food and textbooks is increasing." Meanwhile, "officials point out that...while" some states "have been hit particularly hard by the housing market slump, energy-rich states such as Alaska and Wyoming are profiting from high fuel prices and socking away billions of dollars in reserves."

The Christian Science Monitor (8/21, Khadaroo) reported, "Many groups have called for the" federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) "law's accountability system to be refined or overhauled." In fact, "dozens of proposals for changes...have already surfaced on Capitol Hill." One proposal that is "gaining popularity is the use of 'growth models.' These [models] offer a way to track the progress of individual students over the course of a school year, which advocates say is fairer to schools and more useful for teachers and students." The NEA "has called for states to be allowed to use such growth models for federal accountability. It also wants multiple measures of student achievement, not just standardized tests." Meanwhile, the Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington wants the federal government to "give incentives for states to work together to develop common standards," and to "place more weight on boosting graduation rates."

The Sacramento Bee (8/20, A1, Kollars) reported in a front-page story, "Now that the state has mandated Algebra 1 for all eighth-graders within three years, a deeply entrenched problem has become even more urgent: California does not have enough qualified teachers of mathematics." Both school districts and universities have been taking steps to address the issue and "cultivate more teachers." The Bee noted, "The number of new math teachers emerging from colleges has been going up." But even so, "the looming shortage of math teachers stands as one of the biggest challenges facing schools in coming years." According to the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, "nearly 100,000 teachers of all types are expected to retire in the next decade," at a time when California "may need more than 33,000 new math and science teachers...at the middle and high school levels." Additionally, school officials "are scrambling to train elementary teachers to make sure younger children are ready for Algebra 1 by eighth grade."

California's Fresno Bee (8/20, Boyles) reports that "after-school programs could get some financial help from the sale of city-owned land." A plan developed by the Fresno City Council would "transfer to the Park and Recreation Department $345,000 from the sale of 1.75 acres." According to the Bee, the "money would help fund capital improvements to citywide after-school programs." Park and Recreation Director Randall Cooper indicated that the "money could be used to expand the BEST (Business, Education and Service Training) program, which provides computer training, financial literacy, business skills and job shadowing to high school students."

Education Week (8/19, Klein) reported, "Congress has authorized" the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies, "a new federal research center that will be charged with helping to develop innovative ways to use digital technology at schools and in universities." The National Center "will be charged with supporting research and development of new education technologies, including internet-based technologies," and "will also help adapt techniques already widely used in other sectors, such as advertising and the military, to classroom instruction." Margaret D. Roblyer, of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, noted that "[t]he center could help educators and researchers keep track of changes in educational technology." Education Week added, "The program's initial funding will come from [the] Education Department, but it will be able to receive funds from any federal agency, as well as from private donors, such as corporations and foundations."

The following appeared in one of NEA's recent on-line publications, our own Dan Edwards from Wilson!

School on the Rez

On the vast, 17 million-acre stretch of the Navajo Nation, at a dusty outpost called Red Mesa, Daniel Edwards spent his first years teaching high school.  He lived in a trailer on the teacherage, the small housing community for educators on "the rez." He stocked up on groceries and clean socks—the nearest store was more than an hour away, as was the nearest laundromat. In clear weather he could pick up baseball games on the radio to break up the stillness of the evenings. Not that Edwards had many idle evenings—most nights he was preparing for his whopping five-class course load: World History and Geography, Economics, Biology, Journalism, and Native American Studies.

"With a small school and limited staff, a lot of us had to teach 'out of subject,' but we did what we could to provide our students with the same opportunities as larger schools," Edwards says.

He admits it was tough. This was the 1980s, long before the Internet, and there were no textbooks or AV resources for some of his classes. He often traveled to a grocery store up in Cortez, Colorado, where he convinced the guys in the meat department to give him beef hearts, whole squid, and fish for the students to dissect in biology labs.

He also faced cultural challenges. Several students refused to dissect fish because, according to a Navajo legend, they could be ancestors. Edwards had to find an alternative way to include those students. "It was OK to create illustrations of the internal anatomy without actually cutting the fish open," he says. "So those students still learned about the classes of bony fish."

His advice to new teachers: "Be prepared!"

The San Francisco Chronicle (8/17, McMahon) reported, "It is unclear whether bullying is on the rise, whether new technology has caused an increase, or whether, like sex abuse, it is simply being reported more often these days." Regardless, Berkeley psychotherapist Elayne Savage says, "The coloration of it is changing -- it's more extreme, more humiliating and more public." The Chronicle noted examples of different types of bullying, steps educators and lawmakers have taken to prevent it, and includes a list of anti-bullying resources. The article also quoted experts explaining why some schools are "slow to respond to cyber-bulling." According to Nancy Willard of the Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet, there are "[t]hree reasons. ... Lack of clarity on the legal parameters; the incidents can be very difficult to unravel and find out who is the real victim; and many school officials and safe-schools personnel understandably do not fully understand youth culture online."

The Los Angeles Times (8/15, Blume, Song) reports that "[s]cores on [California's] state standardized tests took a step upward in annual results" this year, "but that rise won't prevent more schools from failing federal targets that have become more difficult." Overall, "about 24.5 percent of elementary schools" and 37 percent of middle schools "would have reached last year's federal standards but are likely to fall short this year," according to an analysis by the paper. This is, in part, because in order "to meet federal targets, the required percentage of students who must be proficient rose from 24.4 percent to 35.2 percent in English and from 26.5 percent to 37 percent in math." A school official with the Los Angeles Unified School District "defended the rising expectations but criticized the scale's steepness and inflexibility."

        The AP (8/15) adds, "Statewide, 46 percent of students were proficient in English language arts on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) exam, up three percent from last year," and "[f]orty-three percent were proficient in math, a two-percent gain from 2007." Science and history scores also rose this year, by three percent and eight percent respectively. California Superintendent of Education Jack O'Connell called the gains "particularly encouraging," but added that "an achievement gap exists." O'Connell "noted that scores among black and Latino students were more than 10 points lower than their white and Asian counterparts." He said that "[h]e was particularly concerned about black students," only 33 percent of whom "scored proficient" on the English language arts section, "as compared to 32 percent of Latino students, who encompass a large group of English-language learners." O'Connell said, "These results tell us we must redouble our efforts."

        The San Diego Union-Tribune (8/15, Lieberman) quoted David Silver of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at UC Los Angeles, who "described the general gains statewide as 'extremely rapid improvement.'" Silver added, however, that "[t]he STAR results show a crisis persisting in the midst of this success story." Silver also agreed with O'Connell that California "still has quite a bit of work to do to bring school conditions for African-American and Latino students up to par with" other students. California's North County Times (8/15, Brandt) also reports the story.

The following appeared in the August 11, 2008 NEA's "Opening Bell" 
 

California's Union Tribune (8/9, Magee) reported, "The San Diego school district will open a hybrid high school in September in what would be the first in a string of nontraditional offerings designed to prevent students from dropping out while meeting growing demands for alternative education programs." The school, the San Diego Early/Middle College (SDEMC), will maintain small class sizes and allow students to "enroll in both high school and college courses. By the time they graduate in four or five years, those students could be well on their way toward earning an associate's degree or transferring to a four-year university." The school is targeted at "two populations: incoming 'early college' students who want a personalized experience and a fast track to college, and upperclassmen in the 'middle college' who may be at risk of dropping out." The Union Tribune noted that, unlike similar schools where students "spend two days a week working at professional internships," SDEMC students "will stay on campus and focus on class-work."

The following appeared August 6, 2008 in NEA's "Opening Bell." 

Pennsylvania's Morning Call (8/5, Esack) reported, "When teachers filed into the classroom at Bethlehem's Northeast Middle School on Monday, they did what their students usually do. The teachers took seats in the back and chatted nonstop with their friends or played with their cell phones."  The Morning Call added that the teachers "were at Northeast to learn from...top teachers in the Bethlehem Area School District about new strategies for teaching youngsters who make up the so-called Millennial or Gamer Generation."  The training was "part of the district's second annual Inclusion/Literacy Summer Academy for employees, parents, school directors and college professors."  Educators were taught, among other things, that "students of the Gamer Generation have grown up thinking they are special," and "are under intense pressure from parents, who in some cases intensely structure their lives so that, while they feel confident, they need lots of reinforcement."