State of NCLB

In last night's State of the Union, NCLB was near the top of the speech, but President Bush didn't say much that is new. There was a brief nod to choice--though he didn't specifically mention vouchers as they did in the press release--and a repetition of the whole "The gap is closing" mantra. Then he specifically called for reauthorization this session, which some people think is still not sealed up.

The No Child Left Behind Act has worked for America's children, and I ask Congress to reauthorize this good law.

(APPLAUSE)

It seemed to me, though, that the transcriber was slacking on his or her duties... as they panned the Congress, it looked like only about half of the members were clapping. Perhaps it should have said "Tepid Applause"?

AND on NBC, at least, the camera misidentified Secretary Spellings. While I understand it's easy to confuse a lavender suit with a powder pink one, don't they have a seating chart to help with these kinds of things?

NYC Public School's New Years Resolution

Joel Klein recently appointed Chris Cerf, former president of Edison Schools, will become deputy chancellor for operational strategy, human capital and external affairs. This is a crucial move by the chancellor to create infrastructure for private partnerships and influence in our public education system. Keep watch on this one....

Deal or No Deal?

DCPS has a possible partnership with a non-profit education agency, EdBuild in order to improve achievement at some poor performing schools in the district. While EdBuild is said to have "little-experience," the organization does include some experienced staffers including a TFA alum and the former deputy mayor. If EdBuild is granted the deal, it will be interesting to see if other education non-profits take note and apply for contracts as well.

Tough Choices? You Bet!

With the national standards and accountability movement in goosestep by the end of the 90’s, a major education reform like NCLB was bound to happen. Unfortunately, the result didn’t quite capture the creativity and innovation the new Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce outlined in their new report Tough Choices OR Tough Times. NCLB just created more frustrating problems across the nation within the same old system offering no real changes to the problems facing our public school system. However, this new report offers a delightful and refreshing glimpse of a democratic education system built as a catchall; almost ensuring no child left behind. Most importantly, the recommendations support the projections of what America’s job market is slowly turning into. The last time I checked the local job listings, I didn’t see a post for someone who can cunningly take a standardized test or recite a complex mathematical equation without any contextual knowledge. Instead, I see jobs demanding proficiency in writing, multi-tasking, creativity, and special attention paid to those of who can speak something more than English.

So let’s say our education system stays relatively the same…and when I am an old man and Ivory soap is still 99.9% pure, Margaret Spellings is still saying, after many extensions of course, that we will get every child proficient in math and reading in just 8 more years. Either America would have to revert to an agriculture nation or careers in reading will skyrocket. The reality is that our public schools are not really preparing students for the workforce. NCLB goals are ambitious and admirable, but the old adage “what is taught is what is tested” is verified by NCLB. This means the arts, foreign language, social studies, PE and other subjects that foster innovative, creative, smart, and well-rounded student are in the periphery of a Federal government hell-bent on making every child proficient in math and reading (maybe science?) by 2013-14. The subjects lost are those that help create a competitive workforce able to effectively communicate and interact with other nations in the global economy.

America’s public schools need a complete overhaul…it goes beyond offering more classes. It is about reorganizing our resources to better suite those in need. It is about recruiting teachers and making them feel like valued players within the school. These recommendations and many more, outlined in Choices, are not piecemeal fixes but big and ambitious changes that are long overdue. Of course there are many “controversial” recommendations like private management of schools and increased testing, but these likely concerns are needed to foster dialogue and debate among education leaders who must find the middle ground in pursing a system overhaul.

It is hard not to dream of a better education system and a educated populous when you read Tough Choices OR Tough Times…but the more you read, the more frustrating and depressing it is to hear out nation’s education leaders come up with such a needed plan that will be probably never be implemented.

Brown v. Board for the 21st Century...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this week about the issue of voluntary integration plans for the school districts of Louisville, Kentucky, and Seattle, Washington.

Advocates, including civil rights groups, argue that racial integration fosters tolerance and better relations across all racial lines, and segregation "reduces academic achievement". Opponents, including the current administration, argue that integration policies violate the equal protection laws of the Constitution and thereby children should not be labeled by race.

In previous Kindling Flames posts, Nicole and I (on this blog and offline) have discussed color-blind policies in higher education and whether racial preferences actually benefit poor minority students (which if you read the posts, do not necessarily). This court case, while different than a higher education discussion, touches on the same issue of equity in education, and what it means to have diversity in our schools. Which begs the question, does voluntary racial integration policies provide equal opportunities in education, especially for those children (from low ses) who need it the most? Or do we need to take a different approach to ensure that all children receive quality education?

The Century Foundation issued a brief arguing that based on socioeconomic status would help close the achievement gap as well as foster diversity in schools. Basically, it will have the same intended results as the voluntary racial integration policies but under a more solid constitutional grounding.

I wanted to hear people's thoughts on this case and the issue of integration. Anyone game?

The New Prez

GW just found their replacement for outgoing University President Stephen J. Trachtenberg. Steven Knapp, former Provost at Johns Hopkins University will take office at the end of the summer. This choice highlights GW's attempt to focus on research and diversity in faculty and students as a priority for the University in the upcoming years.

Catch Margaret Spellings on Jeopardy!

Jeopardy is having their celeb Jeopardy tournament, and rumor has it that Spellings will be on tonight! :-)

An Bachelor's Degree In Service

When Thomas Jefferson read a draft of our U.S Constitution, he wrote to the rest of the Founding Fathers: "This constitution of yours worries me because it asks so little of its citizens." Jefferson was alarmed because he believed that a democracy required active citizen participation in order to survive.

Currently, national service programs like Americorps and the Peace Corps have been seen as the "Jeffersonian Patch" to helping foster civic engagement and democratic principles. And even though these programs provide an invaluable educational experience (I myself am an Americorps alum), there is a missing link between one's year in service and one's experience in higher education. The majority of colleges and universities do not have a mainstream curriculum built around teaching the concepts of citizenship and public serivce.

Until now....

Recently, Senator Hillary Clinton (NY) with her co-sponsors Sen. Arlen Specter (PA), Sen. Mukulski (MD), and Sen. Kennedy (MA) introduced the "Public Service Academy Act of 2006", which will create an undergraduate institution that will "promote public service and citizenship". The four year undergraduate institution will also require summer internships in various service industries so that college students will graduate with a well rounded "service" education.

Check out the U.S Public Service Academy website for info and how to help support this initiative

The Politics of Education

In this week’s Class Struggle, Jay Matthew’s tells the story of a KIPP school run by Principle McDaniel in Oklahoma, who was blocked from expansion and almost forced to shut down because of political conflicts between KIPP and the school district. Matthew’s exasperation is evident as he unfolds the series of events where politics is at the helm of the move to strike down this high achieving school. Mathew’s writes, “The political problems McDaniel had to deal with irritate me and seem irrelevant to how children learn, my first interest.”

Most people probably agree with Matthews. I have heard many educators, parents, and even politicians complain that our education system would run more smoothly if politics were left out of it. Sure, I am not a fan of politics playing such a large role in the lives of our students, but, this is where Matthews and I disagree.

Politics is not irrelevant to how children are educated, because education, by its very nature, is political.

Mark Hanson, a professor who has researched education systems worldwide, talks about how education creates political conflict because it is the “principle instrument” in how we allocate social roles and status to the next generation. Schools are the vehicle through which societies transmit their values and norms. And a shift in the education status quo especially creates conflict because it symbolizes a societal shift as well. According to Hanson, education and politics will always be interconnected, whether we like it or not.

Therefore, instead of trying to separate politics from our education system, we should be figuring out what actions will push politics towards improving education.

Many innovative education reformers are already doing just that. Examples of actions that have "pushed" the politics of education can be found in L.A, where Steve Barr and others mobilized parents from across the city and demanded mayor control over the school district. It can also be found in charter schools that are opening in increasing number nationwide because of actions taken by a mobilized community. And even in the case of the KIPP school, it was the actions of key stakeholders that prevented the school from closing its doors for good.

Like most of us, Matthews might not like the politics of education, but we have to be able to understand it in order to take action to change the status quo of education on a local and national level.

A Nation at Risk...of being Monolingual

I am not a regular Anderson Cooper blog reader, but randomly fell upon it today and found this post, about the best way to instruct non-native English speaking students. A CNN correspondent wrote about his visit to a school in Texas where children were learning in both Spanish and English. He posed this question:

Is there an issue with American taxpayers footing the bill for public school education taught primarily in Spanish?

While some respondents disputed the issue, the majority consensus was that "This is America and we should all speak English."

As we now become a nation that has hit the 300 million population mark with a rapidly increasing diverse population, ethnically and linguistically, it amazes me the amount of concern to make sure all our children learn English. In an age of globalization and transatlantic communication, shouldn't we really be posing this question:

Isn't there an issue with the fact that we are the only country who does not value bilingualism?

In the next decade or so, over 25% of our school age population will be speaking other languages than English. While I support the learning and acquistion of the English language, it will be a huge missed opportunity for the nation if we don't look at ways to systematically and structurally capitalize on the diversity of our childrens' languages. If we don't start to become a country that values other languages besides English, we will really be a nation at risk....of ceasing to compete in a global market.

It's Not Really about the "H" in the "H"-Debate

Since everyone who is anyone in the edupolicy blogosphere has been writing about this, I thought it's about time we jump in. The brief back story is that the Edpresso blog brought up the question of whether public officials, involved in some way with public education, are being "hypocrites" by sending their children to private schools. This has hit a edublog nerve and has led to a back and forth debate about the issue.

I agree with Joe William's point-that no parent, public leader or not, should be forced to send their child to a poor performing school. But they also shouldn't block other parents from making the same choice, rich or poor.

I however, think that this debate is about something deeper. It's not really about whether "John, the public official" puts his kid in private school or public school, but rather, about whether our country's political and education leadership are representing themselves in ways that are congruent with what they stand for, politically and socially.

Hubie Jones , legendary Boston change agent, used to lecture my young people about leadership. He would repeatedly tell them, "your private life and public life have to be the same!" Hubie would look them in the eye and say, "you can't fight for diversity and equity during the day and then go home at night and only hang out with people who are just like you." This concept of being congruent strikes a cord with many of us. It's why Mahatma Gandhi is so famous for saying that we have to; "be the change you seek in this world." He believed that in order to be an effective leader, you have to be truthful with yourself and with your community and only act how you want the world to be.

This is why I think NYC Educator and Edpresso are calling public officials hypocrits. I think they are tired of all the education rhetoric. They are tired of the "incongruent" public officials preaching one thing and practicing another. And to that, I totally feel you guys...I do.

Maybe if more of our public officials were "conguent" and became the "change that they seek" in our communities, we wouldn't care where they send their kids. I know I don't care where Hubie or Gandhi sent theirs.

It's a Different World...Community Forums part 2

So I went to my second forum last night on DCPS school reconstruction (for backstory, see here). Talk about a different world. The stark constrast between the two meetings represent the economic and racial segregation of this city (monday night's meeting in SE was 100% African American and mostly middle to low SES and last night's meeting in NW was 99.9% White and mostly middle to high SES). And while similar concerns were raised about the reconstruction, the reasons behind the concerns were very different:

*Why certain schools were first on the list: Parents and community members were concerned about how schools were prioritized. They had issues with DCPS using the educational adequacy score (how well the building meets the standards of the Master Education Plan) and test scores to make their list of the order in which schools were to receive construction. In other words, if a school has middle to low educational adequacy scores but higher test scores, they could be moved down on the list of priorities than other schools who had similar educational adequacy scores but low test scores. Parents were upset about this because they felt that their schools were being "punished for doing things right". In other words, if they are following NCLB and their children are successful, that shouldn't hinder the timeframe for reconstruction. On DCPS's side, they were saying, well, if your school is doing academically well, then obviously the building isn't explicitly causing an immediate problem, so it can maybe wait a couple of years.

*Demographics: this was an interesting issue because apparently, NW is considered a "stable" neighborhood according to the demographers because there is no new construction, housing, etc in the works. The parents however, had an issue with that because while the neighborhood is "stable" (no new construction going on), the neighborhoods are turning from old retired couples to young families, which is creating a population swell in these schools.

*Swing schools were also brought up in this meeting, but only as a logistical issue for parents. No mention of youth violence, gangs, or mixing rival neighborhoods.

*Interim facilities support: same concerns were raised. Parents were mostly concerned about air conditioning and plumming in schools.

**What was interesting in this meeting was the difference in empowerment, trust, and emotion of the participants. On Monday, emotions ran high. There was a lot frustration from parents for a system that keeps failing their kids; anger because they keep hearing the same things over and over and don't see any change in the status quo; and a sense of helplessness for being a change agent in this process.

Last night's meeting was much more calm. While some parents were tenacious in bringing up their points and concerns, there wasn't the level of anger or sense of powerlessness. While the lack of trust was still there, people were much more optimistic and hopeful that change will come.

The differences between these community forums demonstrate the institutionalized system of privileges and societal structures that have created this economic and racial segregation in our country. This was just another example of why we need to make sure, above everything, that poor children are in good schools. Or else,we are never going to get out of this state of inequity and disempowerment.

....stay tuned for next week b/c there are a few more forums!

Come See the Edu-Action...DC style

Forget scheduling happy hours with your fellow edupeeps for the next two weeks and instead, attend the DCPS community forums on school reconstruction....because it's edu-action drama...and it's awesome!

Backstory: The forums are for community members to provide feedback to the draft master facilities plan for reconstructing DC schools. Since DC City Council allocated approx $3 billion for reconstruction, DCPS will be able to begin reconstruction shortly. In a nutshell, the plan will modernize buildings that do not need to be completely reconstructed and also create several organizational school models including; a Hilltop Campus (combining Phelps and Springarn, Young and Browne), Comprehensive Theme High Schools (specializing in law and public safety, business admin, engineering, and arts & media), and creating several prek-8 demonstration schools.

The Meeting: The kick-off meeting occurred last night at Kramer MS. Members from DCPS and the architecture firm who designed the plan were present to answer questions. You could definitely say that there were a lot of tension in the room. Some of the main issues addressed:

*Why certain schools were first on the list as opposed to other schools. Anacostia High School was a big contention point. Apparently, construction for Anacostia was put on hold about a year or two ago due to funding issues and now it is back, but not slated as one of the first schools to be reconstructed. There was actually two seniors from Anacostia High School there who argued that since Superintedent Janey has high school's as a priority, Anacostia should be one of the first to be reconstructed...not middle or elementary schools.

*"Swing Schools" (schools that will house kids while their original school will be under construction). In addition to logistical questions about this process, there was a lot of concern about safety. Parents and community youth workers brought up that combining two groups of kids from rival neighborhoods together in one school, or bringing kids to a school near a rival housing project, could lead to an increase in youth violence.

*Interim facilities support for schools. Principals were concerned that there are currently items that need to be fixed now and can't wait for their scheduled slot. To the credit of the DCPS, the deputy director of facilities was there and personally gave his email and phone number out to people so that they can contact him if work is not getting done.

*Lack of trust from community for the DCPS staff. This was the most interesting part of the meeting to me. It was fascinating hearing the dialogue between the DCPS and community members because of the history of DCPS. You are talking about a school system who has had 5 superintendents in 10 years. That's a lot of turnover. So when community members vent their frustrations about things that have happened, the response from DCPS is, "I wasn't here a year ago, I just got here." Which then spurred the reply, "We hear this from everyone...the 'I just got here yesterday' excuse. How long are you going to be here? Everyone for the past 20 years has said that they just got here. "

Superintendent Janey and his crew have to fight an uphill battle in order to regain back the trust and support of a majority of the District. And even though the issues run deep...at least the dialogue is beginning. But seriously, it's edupolicy in action, and I highly recommend your attendence.
full disc: I am a volunteer recorder for a couple of the forums

Here's this week's schedule:
Tuesday: Savoy ES
Thursday: W. Wilson HS
Friday: Clark ES
meetings run from 6pm-8pm

***Just as an afterthought, I realized that I didn't see or hear about anyone from the charter community. Since DCPS is discussing consolidating schools, there will be space available for charters....so it would maybe be a good idea for them to be in on this, no?

A Shift in Accountability

Really good NY Times article came out today about the ridiculously low college graduation rates of 2 and 4-year public universities (i.e. under 20% of students graduate in 6 years). One question asked was, "If you're accepting a child into your institution, don't you have the responsibility to make sure they graduate?"

Interesting question... Traditionally, college students have been taught that they are "on their own" and have to take responsibility for their actions, i.e going to class, passing, and even graduating. While colleges provide advising and freshman orientation, they certainly treat persistence as something that is up to the individual. In addition, the fiscal responsibilites of higher education make discussing rates of persistence complex and murky.

What I find most interesting about this article, is how it sounds eerily familiar. This same conversation about "shifting" responsibility from the student to the institution is what drove the accountability movement and ultimately, No Child Left Behind in the K-12 arena. Before NCLB, the responsibilty for success was up to the student, not the school. Now, it is the institutions job to make sure all their children all successful, regardless of the socio-economic and external conditions of the student.

Could this be a sign of NCLB accountability shifting the status quo in higher ed?

Quote of the Day

Off Topic: CMail work-around

Everyone I know complains about GW's student email, CMail. The web interface is clunky. The quota is much too small. And on.

I thought I'd share what I did to get around this problem. I forward my mail to a gmail account, and it's been a lifesaver. CMail doesn't save a copy, so my quota is never used up, and you can set up gmail to allow you to send mail as if it were coming from your colonial mail. You can also set it up to automatically filter your GW messages into a separate folder, skipping your inbox, so that you can read them only when you want. Plus emails are stored in threaded conversations, rather than in the order they arrive, so it's easy to follow all the back and forth. Can't recommend it highly enough!

If you don't yet have a gmail account and want to be "invited," let me know.

The downside: If there's stuff in your CMail that you want to have access to through gmail, you'll have to forward it. But it's a small price to pay for never having to open the cmail web interface!

It's Ok to Fail

Arizona is blaming the U.S Department of Education for increasing the number of failing schools, by making educators count ELLs only after two years of learning a language. Sure, language acquisition is complex and can take students several years depending on various factors, but to blame ELLs and to request longer terms of exemption is not the solution. Superintendent Tom Horne states:

No person with common sense can believe a person can come here from Mexico and pass the AIMS test in three years," Horne said. "They're saying that if you have a significant number of ELL students, we condemn you to failure, no matter how good you are.

But really Tom, how good are you if your ELLs aren't prepared with skills (including language proficiency) for life after high school?

Back to Square One

Anyone who has been following the telenovela that is "Arizona v. its ELLs," should not be surprised at the lastest drama (for backstory see here). Last week, federal court of appeals recanted the most recent court decision demanding an increase in ELL funding for education, and kicked the case back to its original starting point, the district court. Also in this ruling, the court exempted ELLs from the state exit exams as a graduation requirement.

What makes this angering, is that many of Arizona's legislators and educators are blocking a quality education to a group of children who need it the most (I have to wonder that if Arizona didn't have such an anti-bilingual, anti-immigration culture, this would even be an issue up for the courts to decide).

In addition is the issue of exit exams. To prohibit ELLs from taking an exit exam is in my opinion, a terrible decision. While I don't always advocate for exit exams, Arizona's exclusion of ELLs from taking this exam is a vehicle for schools to not really spend the time preparing them for post-education opportunities.

Every child needs to be prepared to graduate from high school. Being a non-native English speaker provides unique challenges which Arizona needs to step up and take on, not brush under the rug.

A Shout-Out to Principal Russo

Today's editorial in the L.A. Times highlights the Murphy School in Dorchester, MA as a model for how a previously failing school is now a success story. Although I am not convinced that this is due to mayorial takeover, as the editorial claims, but rather to the extraordinary efforts of the school's principal, Mary Russo.

Mary Russo is the kind of principal who, when you are around her, makes you want to be a better educator, a better professional, and in general a better human being. Her committment to the children and community of Dorchester is one of the reasons why I have hope in the future of education. I am glad she is receiving a much deserved shout out for her efforts....

Ed Policy Update- August 7, 2006

Steamy Young Kozol!

Before he was the education muckraker we all know and love (or, in some cases, love to shake our heads at), Jonathan Kozol was a 22-year old whippersnapper who wrote.... romance novels?!

After reading about The Fume of Poppies in an Atlantic Monthly Fiction Issue article about novels set on college campuses, my curiosity got the best of me. I paid $1.25 for a used copy of Young Kozol's lone (and long out-of-print) foray into fiction writing.

It came today, and I have to say it looks pretty juicy! From the back cover:

In that year at Cambridge I began to realize what it means to make love. When you make love you are molding it by what you are doing, forming it in your fingers and pressing it between your limbs. There love is born at least--and only there. That is why I do not understand when I hear people talk of love that knows no flesh. I do not think that there is any such thing as that.

We all know that Kozol is an evocative writer in books about children, such as Savage Inequalities. Who knew that he had cut his writing teeth on something a little more... adult?!

Striking a Balance

Interesting article this past weekend about New York's new policy to give English exams to English Language Learners (ELLs) who have been here for one-year (a change from the previous three-year exemption policy). Critics are advocating for the state to oppose the federal mandates or develop an entirely new test designed specifically to test ELLs English proficiency.

The issue of testing ELLs is a delicate one because it's really a balancing act between accountability and language learning. On one hand, this sub-group must be tested because educators and policymakers need to know if we are failing these kids (and exempting ELLs would really piss off these guys ). However, one year is often an inadequate time frame to acquire English language proficiency and it really depends on other factors such as the amount of prior schooling, what age the student arrived to the U.S., etc. You also run the risk that this population will continue to become the "whipping boy" for why schools are not making AYP.

To make the balancing act even more challenging, accommodations have been seen as the "great compromise" to testing this group. However, accommodations may hurt a student more than help him. Research has found accommodations such as giving extra time and providing a glossary of terms helps both ELLs and English-proficient students, thereby reducing the validity and purpose of these accommodations. So while test scores may improve for these students, it will not truly show an improvement in language acquisition.

Policymakers and interest groups have to walk a fine line between holding schools accountable for educating ELLs and providing assistance so that English language learning truly happens. It would be a missed opportunity if New York only focused on one or the other.

Grad Edujob

Great part-time job for graduate students in education (via Albert)

The Center for Social Justice at Georgetown University is looking for a half-time coordinator for its DC Reads program, an early literacy program that recruits and trains Georgetown students to serve as tutors for local schools. We are looking to fill this position by late August. See here for description and how to apply.

**apologies for the light posting. We have been on vacation, studying for comps, or playing my favorite DC summer sport; think-tank softball!

We promise that posting will resume shortly.

ELL Edujob

If anyone is interested or knows anyone who is interested, the National Clearinghouse of English Language Acquisition is looking for a Senior Research Associate/Information Analyst. Great benefits including tuition and cool staff:)

For job description and info see here

Cool Site

I just heard about Donors Choose, a website that allows classroom teachers to make project proposals and raise money through donations... pretty cool. As a blogger, you can set up a "challenge" and try to get your readers to donate to specific projects... I think that perhaps our hordes of readers could come through for something like this!

Immigration and School Finance...Lessons from the Hill

On Friday morning I attended a breakfast briefing on the Hill about immigrants access to quality education in this country. David Shreve, from the National Conference of State Legislatures did a great job explaining the issues from a school finance perspective. (In my personal opinion, anyone who can take a complicated process of school finance and break it down in a way that is easy to understand is an incredibly smart person...and if you want the powerpoint, just email me).

A couple of points Shreve talked about that I found interesting:
* Our education system in incredibly disporportionate (not like that's a big shock or anything, but the stats are ridiculous): The largest 1.6% school districts serve 22% of the student population while the smallest 22% serve 1% of the student population.
*While our school financing is moving from an equity model (where everyone gets the same funding regardless) to an adequacy one (where funding depends on the different needs of districts and their student populations), states are still struggling to figure out what students (ELL and others) need in regards to funding and how much is truly "adequate" to ensure student achievement. And since research has been mixed on how money truly affects student achievement, it's hard to advise legislators on what to do (which can lead to poor policy funding decisions....like class size reduction as an example).
*A big problem in the near future is the baby boomer population taking priority over our children b/c medicaid costs are slowly starting to demand larger chunks of money in states. In fact, over at NCSL, they call Medicaid the "Pac-man of state budgets'." For some reason, I feel like this is a real potential disaster waiting to happen in the next decade or so.
*Advice for education policy makers and advocates: In general Shreve talked about how state legislators, when making these funding decisions are trying to find the "soft spot" between a rock and a hard place. So, of course, I couldn't resist asking him what he thought the "soft spot" was for state legislators when making these decisions. He replied that the "soft spot" for legislators was the economic arguments for education and that those arguments were the most effective in convincing them to vote and pass legislation for more school funding and programming. While I am sure there are other factors that influence state legislators decisions, I thought it was good insight to the state level decision making process.

Ooh, spiffy new features!

We'll be slowly working to add the Ed Policy Weekly Updates to the blog. Notice the links to them in the sidebar! Now you'll be able to access them here or by email. Are we tech savvy, or what?!

I knew that Intro to Computer Science would come in handy someday!

Also, let us know what you think about KF's new look. Comments/suggestions? Leave 'em below.

How Do We Educate Everyone?

High school teacher Elias Vlanton writes a poignant editorial with some great points about the immigration issue, from an education perspective. In the article, Elias advocates for a bill that would require that all immigrants 25 or younger, before qualifying for permanent resident status, graduate from high school or earn a GED. Elias is really asking the question many of us ask which is: How do we as a society make sure that everyone has a basic education?

This is a tough question.

I am no way an expert on immigration issues. However, as a waitress, I have become close with and know many immigrants with work visas who work in the kitchen of my restaurant. These men and women work two restaurant jobs a day, everyday. They work from 9am to 4:30pm, then leave to go to their other restaurant job where they finish between 10:30pm-2am, depending on the place. They have no health insurance or benefits, and are just happy to get paid hourly. The money that does not pay for rent and living wages, is either saved up or sent to their families so that they can eat. They work like this for years and years with no vacations or breaks. And they are the lucky ones. I won't even go into migrant workers quality of life.

The people I work with do believe in education and want to learn English. They understand for the most part that it will provide a better life. However, they cannot afford to take the time off to go to school or ESL classes (which btw inspired me to start an ESL program at the restaurant...we are in week 4 and I have never worshipped anyone like I am worshipping ESL teachers right now...grad school is cake compared to teaching English as a second language).

I think that we absolutely need to get behind educating everyone in this country, especially in the case of immigrants, so that access to opportunities is available to all of us. What Elias discusses is a good start, but we have to be careful and deliberate about setting up a system that will not fail our new arrivals who are on the path to become citizens. In the case of immigrants, if we make education a requirement, it would have to be offered in flexible ways so that it is an attainable goal, rather than a screening process to weed out or deny immigrants a chance at citizenship. Maybe, instead of making it a requirement, we should offer incentives to the businessmen and employers of immigrants to bring the education to the workplace. Hiring tutors or holding class for two hours before or after a shift everyday can make a big difference, rather than having them going once a week on a day or night off to class. And for every employee that gains a high school diploma, the employers could get a business tax break or some type of extra bonus.

Anyone else have any other ideas?

Jenny D and NOST: Vouchers and Social Justice

Some interesting discussions going on in the edusphere this past week:

Over at Jenny D's blog, there is an interesting conversation going on about vouchers. Jenny D poses the question: Suppose the federal government ordered that every child in the nation receive a school voucher equal to the average per pupil spending in the state. Suppose the order was for complete school choice to begin in September. The taxpayers would give you money to send your kid to any school. You have to decide where you want to go and apply by July 1. Now...if a private school decides to accept vouchers, should it be allowed to admit students based on test scores or interviews or some other subjective criteria? Should admittance to a school be based on a lottery? Should the school be allowed charge more money, above and beyond the voucher amount, or else a student couldn't attend? Should it be mandated to accept special ed students?

Another interesting dialogue is at Newoldschoolteacher (NOST) about her social justice assignment in graduate school and what social justice actually means in education. NOST argues a big part of social justice is, in essence, having a choice, regardless of income, race, or creed, to be able to receive a quality education.

Check them both out and please comment either on their blogs, or on ours...because the more we can all contribute to the diaglogue about how to fix education, the closer we become to solving the problem together.

Education Policy Update-May 22

The Truth in Class Size

The class size debate is heating up, especially in NYC, (see here and here). While I find the back and forth accusations of alterior political motives interesting and slightly amusing, I was more struck by Arthur Levine's comments about "few educators would argue the benefits of reduced class size,"...

hmmm, maybe, but many education researchers would argue that there's been a lack of evidence demonstrating the impact of class size reduction related to student achievement and outcomes. While research has found some benefits of class size, they are specific aspects of class size reduction such as; targeting low income and high poverty areas, reducing only in younger grades, and reducing numbers below 20 students for any of it to even work (without using pupil teacher ratios). And like any production function education relationship, even with these findings, it all depends on other factors such as teacher quality. For example, a lack of qualified teachers can completely negate the effects of smaller classes, as was found in the case of California.

I wish Arthur Levine, as an education researcher, would rely on what he knows- research. His editorial would have been much more powerful using the research to argue his case against class size, instead of taking political shots at the unions. It would also be beneficial, because class size reduction research is challenging to understand and someone needs to disseminate the issues and what has been learned, to the public, so that education groups, teachers, parents, and unions alike, can make the best decisions for our kids. While class size reduction supporters have the best intentions, according to research, these policies may end up causing more harm than good.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

Disc: Totally not education policy related, (except for the poetry lesson)

I could not stop wondering today if Sen. Sessions (R-AL) has actually read Robert Frost's The Mending Wall. Sessions quotes the passage, "good fences make good neighbors" when advocating for closing the border between us and Mexico. Now, I am no expert, but I personally had always thought that in the poem, Frost was being ironic. He was really writing about how we build barriers between us to distance ourselves from each other, which in the end does not really doesn't make us "good neighbors."

***It will be an interesting couple of weeks as the immigration bill goes through both houses. (For background on this issue see here, here, and here).
p.s. speaking of borders...why are Mexico and Central America getting all the attention? I mean, don't you think we should also be concerned about all those crazy Candians coming in as well...eh?

**And keep an eye out for the legislation about making English the official language that is being voted on in the Senate today.

Update: If Frost only knew his poem was becoming the anti-immigration battle cry

The End of an Era

As most of you know, Dr. Jackson, professor and advisor in the education policy and leadership department at GSEHD, is retiring this year.

Dr. Jackson originally came to DC for a three month summer job and ended up staying for over 35 years. Lucky for us, because if you ask most of his students, we would all agree that he pushed us to think and analyze on a higher level in the education policy field. He consistently held us all to high expectations while simulataneously taking time out of his busy schedule to advise his students and provide in depth explanations for those of use who needed a little extra help. For many of us, Dr. Jackson was the reason why we came to GW.

It has been said that a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. This has never been more true when talking about the impact of Dr. Jackson on his students.

*So, tonight, in honor of Dr. Jackson's retirement (in case you haven't been checking your email) the education policy students are hosting a party in his honor beginning at 5:30pm at this restaurant. All of his students, current and former, are welcome to attend.


p.s. if you come tonight, he will maybe tell the story about his all-out academic battle with the famous James Coleman (and just for the record, Dr. Jackson won:)

Sounds a Little Edufishy to Me

According to this article I read today, the newly minted Think Tank Review Panel sounds a little shady. I find it slightly suspect that they chose Cato, Hoover, and Manhatten Institute as their first picks to review. Even more shady was that they found all of the articles reviewed to have "weakness in the analysis" and "omit key information that would allow well-known threats to validity to be addressed in a straightforward way."

(Hmmm...interesting that the three conservative think tanks get a thumbs down....I wonder if certain other think tanks would get the same type of reviews....)

Education has had to defend its street cred compared with the other social sciences when it comes to research and evaluation. (Even the main research association gets slammed from time to time). Education is an incredibly hard subject to research because of all its complexities and unknowns. The last thing this field needs is biased reviews of education policies and research that will confuse our public even more about how to best educate our kids.

From Strip Club to School Board

Not sure what the line of thinking was for electing this guy to the Mehlville School Board in Missouri.

Apparently, former male dancer and current strip club owner, Micheal Ocello, will become the newest member of the school board. Maybe it was his"Buns for Guns" platform that got him elected. For other campaign highlights, see here.

*Let's just hope he's not in charge of aligning high school standards to "skills" needed in the workforce.

(via EIA intercepts)