| Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. |
|
|
Snap Schott:
Education Dept. shutting out parents, Controller William Thompson says States rated in bioscience achievement Aspiring Mass. teachers struggle in math |
Report Ranks States on Opportunities to Learn
Debbie Viadero
Nationwide, the opportunities for poor and minority students to attend a high-performing school are only about half what they are for white students, says a national study out today. The report by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Schott Foundation for Public Education ranks all 50 states on the basis of student achievement and the percentages of students from historically disadvantaged groups attending the state's top-performing public schools. Only eight states fared well on both counts: Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Virginia. It may be worth noting that these are all states with comparatively low populations of African-American, Latino, and Native American populations. The 10 states at the other end of the scale—in other words, the ones that got low scores for both proficiency and educational access—were somewhat more mixed in that regard. They are: Missouri, Texas, Rhode Island, Illinois, Michigan, Arkansas, Arizona, Nevada, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Here's one surprise in the study: Some wealthy, typically high-achieving states, such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, scored near the bottom on the foundation's overall opportunity-to-learn scale. And here's another: Judged solely on the basis of disadvantaged students' access to the best schools, Louisiana ranks first. But the report also says that finding may be a bit skewed because the state's public schools have disproportionately high proportions of black, Latino, Native American, and low-income students, and large percentages of white, middle-class students enroll in private schools there. The full report, titled "Lost Opportunity in America," also contains statistics on disparities, within and among states, access to early-childhood education, high-quality teachers, instructional materials, and a college-preparatory curriculum.
Education Dept. shutting out parents, Contoller William Thompson says
BY Kenneth Lovett and Rachel Monahan The City Department of Education has wrongfully stripped parents of power, said Controller William Thompson, blasting the agency in a report released Wednesday. As Albany weighs changes to mayoral control to allow for more parental input, Thompson charged that the agency violated 10 provisions of the current law. "What we found was deeply troubling," said Thompson, who is running for mayor. Community Education Councils, which are supposed to have at least minimal power, have not been allowed to do their jobs, Thompson's staff found in interviews with 24 of the 32 councils. The agency has been sued twice this spring over ignoring the powers designated to the councils. "We are trying very, very hard to get the DOE to comply with the law," said Lisa Donlan, president of CEC District 1. DOE spokesman David Cantor said officials have "worked closely with CECs" on rezonings and school openings and closings. Meanwhile, state Senate Democrats are considering two proposals they hope will be a springboard to the negotiations. The first, by Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, leaves the key factors of mayoral control in place. Smith's plan would not change the makeup of the Panel for Educational Policy, meaning the mayor would still control a majority of the appointments. Members also would continue to serve at the will of those who appoint them. The second, a bill first reported by the Daily News last week and formally introduced yesterday, would seriously weaken they mayor's iron grip on the school system. The bill, which has eight Senate and 16 Assembly sponsors, would expand the 12-member panel to 17, with the mayor appointing eight. Members would serve two-year terms. In both plans, the chancellor will no longer be chairman of the panel. Instead, the rest of the panel would vote on a chairman. A New York 1 poll found 61% of New Yorkers think Mayor Bloomberg should "share control of the school," double those who supported him having "sole control."
Mayoral control of schools hinges on state Senate GOP
BY Kenneth Lovett and Glenn Blain ALBANY - The fate of mayoral control over the schools could fall to the Senate Republican minority. A number of Democrats are pessimistic they will be able to muster the needed 32 votes to pass a bill to extend - or change - the mayoral control law without Republican help. A handful of Senate Dems want to weaken the mayor's grip on schools. Some are still angry Mayor Bloomberg has backed their Republican opponents. Unlike MTA bailout negotiations, the votes from dissident Dems shouldn't be needed. The Republicans withheld all 30 of their votes for the MTA bailout, but expect to vote to keep mayoral control. "They can't hijack us this time," said one Senate Dem of his dissident colleagues. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) expects he'll have 32 votes to pass a mayoral control bill, but refused to say if those votes would all be from Democrats. "Party affiliation is not as important as getting the right policy in place," Smith spokesman Austin Shafran said. "The senator has said the current policy ... needs necessary improvements." Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) said he expects the Republicans will ultimately back the bill if the mayor supports it. "There's no reason to gut [mayoral control]," Skelos said. The city's three GOP senators, Frank Padavan of Queens, Martin Golden of Brooklyn and Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, say they want some changes in the law, including one to give parents a larger oversight role. "If we get these things, we will support mayoralty control being renewed," Padavan said. Smith's plan wouldn't change the makeup of the Panel for Educational Policy, meaning the mayor would still control a majority of the appointments. It also would require: - A 45-day notification period before the chancellor or the Panel for Educational Policy can act on specific plans. - An independent annual report on student performance and district spending.
Mayor Bloomberg in nasty struggle with Albany Democrats for school control
BY Kenneth Lovett and Glenn Blain ALBANY - The fight over mayoral control of the city's schools is getting personal. Some Senate Democrats want to stick it to Mayor Bloomberg by weakening his hold on the schools for his past support of their GOP opponents. Following a closed-door confab Monday night with his members, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) acknowledged that some Dems are unhappy with Bloomberg. He urged them to focus on the issue, not the politics. "We're making a decision for the next generation of students that's going to be educated by that public school system," Smith said. "While everybody seems to center their thoughts around the mayor, i.e., Mayor Bloomberg, we are discussing this in respect to school governance for the next 12 to 15, maybe 16, years." But when it comes to the law that gives Bloomberg control - it expires June 30 - sparring Democrats did agree on one thing Monday night: It should be weakened. Among the ideas many backed was no longer allowing the schools chancellor to serve as chairman of the Panel for Educational Policy, a board critics say rubber-stamps the decisions by the mayor and chancellor. Instead, the chairman would be elected by the panel, Smith said. There is also a call for more parental involvement and transparency with procurement contracts. Smith said his members were split on whether the mayor should continue to appoint the majority of the educational policy panel. There seems to be more consensus that the appointees should serve set terms. Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) declared mayoral control "DOA" and said he wants the educational policy panel reshaped. The mayor now picks eight of the 13 members, and the five borough presidents each choose one. Under Kruger's plan, the mayor would choose just five. Kruger said his bill would also abolish the position of chancellor in favor of a commissioner of education that would be chosen by the mayor from a list of three candidates chosen by the Panel for Educational Policy board. Smith wouldn't rule out needing Republican votes to pass whatever deal is reached with Gov. Paterson and the Assembly. Unlike with the recent Metropolitan Transportation Authority bailout, GOP senators are not expected to withhold their votes because Bloomberg has been their biggest financial benefactor. Meanwhile, parents from District 2 in Greenwich Village filed suit against the Education Department complaining they've not gotten a say in education policymaking that the soon-to-expire mayor control law promised. Teachers union President Randi Weingarten joined in the suit.
School Budgets to Be Cut by 5 Percent Next Year
By JENNIFER MEDINA New York City schools face budget reductions of roughly 5 percent for the 2009-10 school year, Chancellor Joel I. Klein said on Tuesday, predicting they would lead to deep cuts in after-school and weekend programs. Principals will formally receive their budgets on Wednesday. In announcing the cuts — totaling $405 million — Mr. Klein emphasized that they were not as deep as he had feared, largely because of federal stimulus money. Many schools have made efforts to save money in anticipation of further cuts. They will be able to roll over their savings so that the cuts will have less of an impact on next year’s budget, Mr. Klein said. Those savings will mean that, on average, schools will have 3.8 percent less to spend for the 2009-10 school year. Budgets for the several dozen schools that receive the largest amount of federal money for poor students, known as Title 1 funds, will increase slightly, Mr. Klein said. The city also changed its regulations to allow more schools to qualify for the federal funds, spreading the money among nearly 200 schools that were not eligible last year. The city expects to receive nearly $1 billion from the stimulus package, but Mr. Klein said that much of that will be used to pay for annual increases in areas like pension contributions and federally mandated special education services. Mr. Klein cautioned that while there would be no systemwide teacher layoffs, some schools might feel forced to lay off teaching assistants and school aides. Principals should “think hard about any personnel cuts,” Mr. Klein said, adding that “the projections were much worse, but this is still a very difficult situation.” Schools are also likely to curtail their teacher-training programs, Mr. Klein said. He said he expected to trim $20 million from the central administration budget, though he could not identify where the cuts would be made. Schools have faced cuts totaling about 3 percent over the last two years, and principals have worked to trim programs while trying to avoid losing teachers. “Until we see the impact building by building, it’s hard to know what will happen,” said Peter McNally, the executive vice president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the principals’ union. “The questions will be, ‘Well, will I have 9 first-grade classes instead of 10 first-grade classes?’ ‘Should I have 18 or 22 kids in a class?’ ” Perhaps in a sign of how willing Education Department officials are to compromise with the city’s teachers’ union, Mr. Klein backed off a pledge to create a financing system that he has said would make school spending more equitable. That system, known as Fair Student Funding, was unveiled two years ago. It would force schools to pay for teachers with higher salaries out of their budgets in an attempt to distribute experienced teachers more evenly across the system. When the teachers’ union balked, the department created a provision to ensure that no schools received less money under the new system. That provision was to expire this year, but Mr. Klein said it would be extended and re-examined next year. Randi Weingarten, the president of the union, the United Federation of Teachers, said in a statement that while it would continue to fight to have the City Council increase the education budget, the figures released on Tuesday showed that the administration had “gone a long way to protect the classroom and maintain services for students in these difficult times.” Also on Tuesday, the state comptroller released an audit examining the Education Department’s use of no-bid contracts. After examining nearly 300 contracts totaling more than $340 million, the audit recommended that the department create concrete standards for such contracts and provide written explanations of why the contracts are necessary. The audit was in response to a request from Betsy Gotbaum, the city’s public advocate, who has criticized the use of no-bid contracts in the Education Department.
Senate approves sales tax hike
By Michael Levenson The state Senate voted last night to increase the sales tax, lift the sales tax exemption on alcohol, and allow cities and towns to raise meals and hotel taxes, brushing aside criticism that higher taxes would hurt Massachusetts businesses by driving consumers over the border, particularly to tax-free New Hampshire. The Senate plan, which cleared the House in April, would push the sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent, while generating an estimated $633 million to offset deep cuts in services for the poor, elderly, and disabled. Lifting the sales tax exemption on alcohol sold at package stores would raise another $80 million for those services, senators said. Allowing cities and towns to impose a 2 percentage point increase in taxes on hotels and restaurant meals will help offset cuts in state aid to municipalities, senators said. At 6.25 percent, Massachusetts would have the second highest sales tax rate of the six New England states plus New York. Only eight states nationwide have a higher rate. Governor Deval Patrick has threatened to veto any broad-based tax increases, unless the Legislature also overhauls the state transportation agencies, pension system, and ethics laws. His aides were not available for comment last night, but his threat carries little weight because of the vote tallies. The Senate voted 29-10 in favor of the sales tax increase, joining the House in mustering a veto-proof majority. Senate President Therese Murray described the sales tax increase as the least punitive of tax options needed to restore services for the most vulnerable. "I think this is probably the more fair way to go if we have to raise revenue and, unfortunately, we have to raise revenue," she told reporters after the vote. She said that although the budget's proposed cuts will not be completely reversed, there will at least be "some money put back into those programs." Money from the sales tax increase, senators said, would be spent on a multitude of services. Among them: $4 million for summer jobs for at-risk youth, $5 million for workforce training, $6 million for regional tourist councils, $36 million for special education, and $10 million for rental housing assistance to enable 1,700 families to stay in their homes. Senator Gale D. Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat, seemed to speak for the Democratic majority when she declared on the floor that there was "absolutely no good card in the hand," when it came to raising taxes. Still, she said, "this sales tax will fund a lot of very important programs, at least in part for some of the most vulnerable citizens." Opponents warned that a higher sales tax would hurt the state's ability to recover from the recession. "Maybe we should call this the New Hampshire economic stimulus bill," Senator Robert L. Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican, said with sarcasm. Of the five sates bordering Massachusetts, only Rhode Island, at 7 percent, has a sales tax rate above 6.25 percent. Massachusetts, however, does not impose sales taxes on groceries, clothing under $175, and prescription drugs. The Retailers Association of Massachusetts cited a study by the Beacon Hill Institute in warning that a 6.25 percent rate would cost the state 12,600 jobs. "What you get right now are actually a lot of consumers from Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York coming into Massachusetts and purchasing here," said Jon B. Hurst, president of the Retailers Association. "Not only is that incentive going to be gone, but we're going to create an incentive for our own consumers to head to New Hampshire and, just with a couple clicks of the mouse, go on the Internet, all tax-free." Mayor Thomas M. Menino applauded the Senate for voting to allow cities and towns to raise taxes on hotel rooms and restaurant meals. He said the measure, which has not cleared the House, could raise $47 million to help Boston reduce its reliance on property taxes and state aid. "We need different, more innovative tools to manage costs and diversify revenues at the local level," Menino said in a statement after the Senate vote. "I hope that members of the House will also support this crucial reform." Earlier in the day, a proposal to raise the state income tax from 5.3 percent to 5.95 percent was defeated. Supporters argued it was fairer than the sales tax and would raise $1.3 billion annually. Opponents said the measure would drain household budgets and hurt small businesses. The Senate also voted 33 to 6 against the governor's proposal to raise the gas tax by 19 cents and later defeated an 11-cent increase in the same tax. The alcohol tax was approved with support from lawmakers who said it would raise $15 million to ameliorate what they described as a heroin epidemic in Massachusetts. "When we have an addict, we'll have a bed for them," said Senator Steven A. Tolman, a Boston Democrat. "This money will help us put these beds on line." The Senate approved the tax increases on a day of furious lobbying and wrangling behind closed doors. Hundreds of demonstrators, including many in motorized wheelchairs, with developmental delays, and using guide dogs and canes, jammed Beacon Street early in the day, calling on legislators to raise taxes and "save our services." "Families will be devastated if this budget passes!" declared Gary Blumenthal, executive director of the Association of Developmental Disability Providers, eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd.
Report: US students lagging in biosciences
By Stephen Majors COLUMBUS, Ohio—Middle and high school students across the country are generally falling behind in life sciences, and the nation is at risk of producing a dearth of qualified workers for the fast-growing bioscience industry, according to a report released Monday. Students are showing less interest in taking life sciences and science courses, and high schools are doing a poor job of preparing students for college-level science, says the report, funded and researched by Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle, the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Biotechnology Institute. The deficiencies will hurt the country's competitiveness with the rest of the world in the knowledge-based economy, the report concludes. "Economic growth in the future, more than ever, will depend on a talented, educated, tech-savvy work force," Tom Wiggans, chairman of the Biotechnology Institute, said Monday at the 2009 Biotechnology Industry Organization International Convention in Atlanta. The report also found a wide disparity among the states in student performance in biosciences and science in general. Many states are turning to biosciences and biotechnology industries that require a more educated work force because they no longer can rely on the manufacturing sector. Biosciences cut across the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, and research and medical laboratories. Nearly all states have a specialization in an industry connected to biosciences, the report noted. "There's a chance now to really help mobilize industry to say that we've got to help better develop this life sciences education," said Paul Hanle, president of the Biotechnology Institute. Researchers evaluated student performance using four already available measuring tools: the average life sciences score by eighth graders on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test, the percentage of advanced placement biology students scoring a 3 or higher on the AP exam, the percentage of ACT-tested students ready for college-level biology and average math scores on the SAT and ACT. The report made the following findings: --52 percent of 12th graders are at or above a basic level of achievement in the sciences as measured by the NAEP science test. --Average scores on the NAEP for 12th graders in the sciences and life sciences declined from 1996 to 2005. --Only 28 percent of high school students taking the ACT reached a score indicating college readiness for biology. The report grouped states into four categories based on performance in the four areas measured: leaders of the pack, second tier, middling performance and lagging performance. Leaders included eight Northeast and Midwest states, including Ohio, while those lagging in performance consisted mainly of Southern states. The report also found a deficiency in the number of well-qualified biology teachers available in high school, with one-in-eight biology teachers not certified to teach biology. To improve U.S. competitiveness in the biosciences industry, the report recommends that states incorporate biotechnology into their science standards, make sure students are ready to take college biosciences courses and focus more on professional development for teachers. "We think the most important recommended action from today's report on bioscience education is that states should incorporate biotechnology as they revise their science standards," said Lynn Elfner, CEO of the Ohio Academy of Science. Teresa Harris, a teacher at Upper Sandusky High School in Ohio, said teachers should specialize in a particular science instead of learning a little about several different branches of science. Teachers currently have an incentive to learn a little about different types of science because it makes them more marketable to administrators, she said. "I think part of the problem with the whole system is the way we license high school teachers," said Harris, who teaches biology and anatomy.
States rated in bioscience achievement
By The Associated Press A breakdown of states on middle school and high school bioscience performance, as measured by a report released Monday by Battelle, the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Biotechnology Institute: --Leaders of the Pack: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Wisconsin. --Second Tier: Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington. --Middling Performance: Alabama, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, South Carolina, Wyoming. --Lagging Performance: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia. -- States that did not participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress science test in 2005 were not rated.
Aspiring Mass. teachers struggle in math
May 19, 2009 MALDEN, Mass.—State education officials say nearly three-quarters of the people who took the state elementary school teacher's licensing exam this year failed the new math section. According to results from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education being released Tuesday, only about 27 percent of the more than 600 candidates who took the test in March passed. The test included questions on geometry, statistics, and probability. Commissioner Mitchell Chester tells The Boston Globe that the test results show that many students are not receiving an adequate math education. Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, says the high failure rate shows that teacher preparation programs are deficient.
Aspiring teachers get math exam reprieve
Aspiring elementary school teachers who fell a few points short of passing a new math section on a state licensing exam will receive a reprieve, under a temporary measure unanimously approved by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education yesterday. The measure will enable those teaching candidates to receive initial licenses so long as they meet all other certification requirements. The board also gave them up to five years to retake and pass the math subtest. The rule change, which is effective for the next three years, will bump up the pass rate from 27 percent to 42 percent.
By Chuck Grigsby and Joe Kriesberg BANK FAILURES and foreclosures, holes in neighborhoods where developments failed to go forward, and pervasive unemployment - sound familiar?The mess we're in now mirrors much of what Boston and other cities in Massachusetts struggled through in the 1970s. We emerged from that period stronger, more united, and with some of the most vibrant and livable neighborhoods in the United States. Part of the answer for that period's problems applies today: hard grassroots community work that turns a neighborhood around - one vacant lot, one abandoned house, one family, and one worker at a time, so that everyone can participate in the economic recovery to come. Community Development Corporations began forming in the 1970s as a neighborhood answer to neighborhood problems. They recognized a truth that we may have lost sight of today: Real change isn't top-down, it comes from the bottom up. A few trailblazing CDCs grew into a statewide movement thanks in large part to community activist turned state legislator Mel King. It was King who led efforts to pass a comprehensive legislative agenda designed to build and strengthen CDCs across the state. And it worked. Massachusetts now has more than 60 CDCs working in communities from Provincetown to Great Barrington. Since 2003, these locally-run, grassroots organizations have engaged thousands of community residents to build or preserve 7,811 homes, created 11,609 job opportunities, supported 6,211 local entrepreneurs, served 123,556 families, and attracted $1.362 billion worth of investment to struggling neighborhoods. As much as today's challenges remind us of the past, the world today is certainly much different from the world in which CDCs first emerged during the 1970s. Demographic, social, economic, technological, and political changes require new, innovative solutions that build on the lessons we have learned but break free from old orthodoxies and stale strategies. The successful CDCs of the future will be those that most effectively adapt and respond to these changes. Many CDCs and their community development partners are doing just that. In Lawrence, a CDC has used a new model of network organizing to engage 4,000 residents in an effort to energize civic life; in Franklin County, the CDC is helping to "green" local businesses with environmental consulting services and access to financing; Worcester CDCs are working with the city to use the state's receivership law to rehabilitate foreclosed homes that are blighting neighborhoods; Boston and Chelsea CDCs have created partnerships with for-profit developers to undertake larger-scale redevelopment efforts that include both housing and commercial properties. The activists who helped create the CDC movement are graying, and once again they are turning to Mel King for help. State and local officials will join with bankers, foundation executives, and community leaders this week to celebrate the launch of the Mel King Institute for Community Building. The Institute will help create a new generation of neighborhood advocates who will be reminded every day of the work that King did fighting urban renewal in the South End, battling for neighborhoods at the State House, and running the MIT Community Fellows program for more than 20 years. Funded by public, private, and individual supporters, the Institute will give hundreds of professionals and volunteer leaders the chance to gain the skills, knowledge, and leadership ability that they can take back to Worcester or New Bedford or Franklin County to produce magic: turning abandoned buildings into homes, vacant lots into locally owned businesses, residents into civic leaders, and distressed neighborhoods into thriving communities.
Amid school's struggle, a reach for redemption
By Tracy Jan It was "senior sign out" at The English High School in Jamaica Plain, the last day of the year for 12th-graders and a time of reckoning. Nearly a third of the school's seniors were at risk of not graduating, many of them because they were failing English. Which explains why so many students were crowded around Junia Yearwood as she sat resolutely at her desk at the head of the class. Students were frantically rummaging through notebooks, furiously typing at computers along the wall, and pleading for clemency. Yearwood was not in a merciful mood. An advanced placement English teacher, she had begun the year with plans for her students to dissect the language of Frederick Douglass and explore themes of isolation in novels by Albert Camus and Ernest Hemingway. In some ways, a year is a long time, in other ways not nearly enough, and now what Yearwood demanded for a passing grade was proof that they could execute basic functions of the language - grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs that communicate simple ideas. The bell rang. Fred Daniels, a tall, handsome student who had been sitting in the back of the room, hurried to Yearwood's side with a folder of overdue assignments. She knew him as a smart student who too often substituted charm for work. The few assignments he had completed over the course of the year showed a poor grasp of grammar and construction. She handed the folder back to him and told him to revise six essays before the end of the day. "When you get serious, come back and see me," she said. "I have no problem with giving a fair F." It was not the way things were supposed to be going for Daniels, or, for that matter, for English High. English was supposed to be the school that finally saved Daniels and hundreds of other lackluster students like him. And Daniels and all those students, transformed by stricter rules, reenergized teachers, and a renewed sense of mission, were supposed to be the salvation of English High. The headmaster, José Duarte, who at the beginning of the year had pledged to save English from closure by the state after years of decay and declining test scores, had also vowed to put Daniels on the path to graduation - even to get him into college. He had made a project of him, occasionally driving him to school, seeking him out for pep talks and, sometimes, a brand of parental wrath. It was part of Duarte's scorched-earth battle to restore the academic standards of America's oldest public high school. With unprecedented control given to him by the state, he had extended the school day, hired extra social workers, added tutoring centers, and reexamined virtually every aspect of English High's approach to teaching. To read the rest of the story, CLICK HERE
|
|
The Snap Schott is distributed by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. For more information, please visit www.schottfoundation.org. |
|
