Friday
August 22, 2008
by desertjim
In 1991, Jonathan Kozol published Savage Inequalities decrying the horrible inequities in school funding between rich suburban school districts and poorer urban and rural districts. Lucy Klocksin addressed the issue in her post on TEN last month. Seventeen years after Kozol’s book, the issue has reached the boiling point in Illinois.
State Senator James Meeks (Chicago-Democrat) has been urging students in his district to skip the first day of school in protest to the unequal funding. Meeks even suggests the Chicago students use the time to apply for admission at New Trier High School in Winnetka. He points out that this year, Chicago schools will spend $10,409 on each child, while New Trier will have $16,856 available for each student. Despite some local support for the boycott, Mayor Daley and the Baptist Ministers Conference of Chicago and Vicinity want students to attend school starting the first day of class (September 2, this year) and not waste a day of their education.
A different approach to the problem has been put forward by the Chicago Urban League. The League is suing the State of Illinois to force the state to alter the education funding system.Currently, Illinois ranks 49th of the 50 states in the state-contributed portion of school funding. 62% of school funding in Illinois comes from local sources. (Nationally the rate is 50%). Affluent communities can fund their schools much more easily than poor ones. The per-pupil funding ranges from $23,000 down to districts that can only afford $6,000.
The Urban League suit argues that, “The disparities in funding discriminate against black and Hispanic children. Schools in poorer minority communities - such as Chicago - receive funding at a dramatically lower rate than affluent white scool districts”
Inequities in school funding are not limited to Illinois (although the ranking as 49th out of 50 should wake up some state legislators). It is long past time that we seriously consider what is best for our children, and whose responsibility it is to pay for public education.
Labels:
Monday
August 18, 2008
by desertjim
Last week’s TIME magazine (August 23, 2008, page 69) had an interesting article about schools adopting four-day weeks in order to save energy on bus routes, air-conditioning and other costs. I didn’t think too much about it because the laws in Illinois require a minimum number of school days, so such a four-day plan is impossible for most of the readers of this blog.
Today, the Associated Press published an article which expands on the effects that high energy prices are having on schools all over the country. It’s not just school bus fuel that is impacting school costs. Electricity for air conditioning, heating oil, even delivery costs for cafeteria food are going up along with diesel fuel for the buses.
Schools in 17 states have gone to the four-day week. In most cases, this means each school day is longer. We all know the attention span of our students and may well question the usefulness of longer school days. Some schools are adjusting to the shorter school week by cutting electives, thus increasing the percentage of the day spent on reading and writing and test preparation that had already gone up under No Child Left Behind. Needless to say, field trips are disappearing from the curriculum in most locales.
Parents are finding the costs of school supplies and back-to-school clothes has also increased. For some families, this means cutting back on purchases or accepting the idea of increasing credit card debt. Increased costs for school lunches may well lead to a lot more kids brown-bagging it for lunch. (I can actually see some benefits in that - while I was still teaching, I always liked the lunches I packed better than the cafeteria food).
As the school year begins, all of our schools will see long-lasting financial effects from the current energy crunch. How the schools deal with these fiscal problems will certainly affect what happens in the classroom. Will suburban and rural districts have to rethink their bus routes as fuel costs continue to increase? Are longer days really going to result in more learning each day? Will cutting electives to save time result in schools becoming deadly dull test preparation academies? What will your school and district do in response to higher energy costs?
Labels:
Monday
August 11, 2008
by desertjim
With the excitement of the Olympic’s opening cermony and the competing news of active warfare between Russia and Georgia both happening on Friday evening, you may not have seen this local story in the Chicago Tribune. The decision was announced on Friday to check the scores of almost one million elementary school math and reading tests from this year’s ISAT program.
The scores on this year’s math and reading tests varied widely from previous results (both higher and lower than in recent years). This was the first year that these particular versions of the reading and math tests were used. The science scores, using an older version did not show the wild fluctuations seen in math and reading. A number of school districts (including Chicago) questioned the preliminary results.
Although such wide variations in scores are new to Illinois, many states have had problems with the high stakes testing demanded under No Child Left Behind. The Baltimore Sun reports that changes in the Maryland State Assessment this year created an unusually large rise in student test scores.
A panel of testing experts concluded that changes in the Maryland test (it is shorter and more questions were written to fit the state standards) contributed to increases in scores. Howeverr, they couldn’t estimate how much of the increase was due to the test changes. If the companies hired to oversee state testing (Harcourt in Maryland, Pearson in Illinois) cannot guarantee consistency from year to year, the tests are not of any use.
NCLB demands accountability in terms of Adequate Yearly Progress. If the tests cannot be trusted to measure students on the same yardstick from year to year, AYP becomes meaningless. Perhaps it is really long past time to demand some accountability for real education reform from the US Department of Education. We need to ask for something other than standardized testing, especially when it is becoming clear that the tests may not be accurately measuring student achievement.
Labels:
Friday
August 08, 2008
Google Teacher Academy - Chicago
Chicago, IL
September 24, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------
Applications Due: August 24, 2008
for applications, check out this site --------------------------------------------------------
It has just been announced that another round of Google’s FREE training program for K-12 educators is coming to Chicago. Outstanding educators from around the world are encouraged to apply for the Google Teacher Academy taking place on Wednesday, September 24, 2008.
The GTA is an intensive, one-day event (8:30am-7:30pm) where participants get hands-on experience with Google’s free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, collaborate with exceptional educators, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, GTA participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local region.
50 outstanding educators from around the world will be selected to attend the GTA based on their passion for teaching, their experience as leaders, and their use of technology in K-12 settings. Each applicant is REQUIRED to produce and submit an original one-minute video on either of the following topics: “Motivation and Learning” or “Classroom Innovation.” Applications for the event in Chicago are due on August 24, 2008. If possible, please use Google Video or YouTube to post these original videos. Participants must provide their own travel, and if necessary, their own lodging. Though we will give preference to K-12 educators within a 90-minute local commute of an Academy event, anyone may apply.
Learn more about the program and the application here
The event coordinators say that the GTAs have been a wonderful experience for everyone involved, with 97% of all attendees rating the GTA as “outstanding.”
They’ve attached a few quotes from GTA participants:
----------------------------------------
“The academy was everything I hoped for and more! I can’t wait to plan out ways to use the tools we learned about, to share my experiences with my colleagues and to re-connect with the other academy participants!”
----------------------------------------
“The focus on innovation in education, and not just about the tools, was right on target.”
----------------------------------------
“I appreciate the opportunity to be connected to a group of educators that are passionate about preparing students for the 21st century. I feel inspired and able to meet the challenges that lie ahead!”
----------------------------------------
“Until now, I had never attended a conference where I was so engaged and loving every minute of it.”
----------------------------------------
“This was easily the most important professional development experience I have ever had as an educator. World-class tools demonstrated by world-class people at a world-class facility. THANK YOU!”
----------------------------------------
“I love [the Google Certified Teacher community] for the ideas and inspiration that comes flowing to and from it...folks share professional development strategies (technology or otherwise) that have worked. It’s nice to have a variety of ways to assist others and having that variety also provides spice for those of us responsible for doing the providing.”
----------------------------------------
Any questions will be answered at this e-mail address
We’re looking forward to another great event! - The GTA Team
--------------------------------------------------------
Google Teacher Academy
September 24, 2008
Chicago, IL
Note: Another GTA is currently being planned for New York City in November 2008. Sign up for the Google Teacher Newsletter on the front page of Google for Educators site to receive more detailed information soon.
Labels:
Sunday
August 03, 2008
by desertjim
Here in the high desert of southern New Mexico, the kids go back to school on August 11. The local school administrators spent this weekend at their pre-school retreat up in the Sacramento Mountains, and the teachers report to their in-service workshops this week.
My wife and I just got back from buying a bunch of back-to-school clothes for our grand-daughter back in Illinois.We took advantage of New Mexico’s annual sales tax holiday on school supplies, backpacks and clothes.I suppose the UPS shipping fees will equal the tax savings, but our grand-daughter is well worth it. The tax holiday seems like a good idea for other states too. Parents can certainly use a break when getting their children ready for the new school year. Its estimated that New Mexico parents will save a total of four million dollars this year.
Even though I am retired from the classroom, I try to keep my hand in. Several times each year, I present middle-school inquiry science lessons. I also sit on the board of the group that supports 50 retired and active scientists, engineers, mathematicians and teachers that volunteer to do presentations in the schools. Volunteering, however, is not the same as having your own class of students.
About this time of year, I still get that feeling that its time to start getting my lab organized and my opening day lesson plan rewritten. I am getting better at just letting the feeling pass though. I am now able to watch the local kids lining up at the corner for the school bus and appreciate the fact that I can just grab another cup of coffee and the newspaper instead of my seating chart.
I hope that all of TEN’s members and readers have had a relaxing summer. Please take the time you have left before school starts in your area to reenergize yourselves. To help out, here’s a little piece of humor to provide perspective before the start of another year of over-emphasis on high stakes testing .
Labels:
