Education news for July 31
Posted on 31. Jul, 2009 by Heather.
These are the voyages… Space is the beginning frontier for these students
Oh interwebs: SKSD creating its own online high school program
Survey says: WASL had some good points, researchers say
Tackling the tough stuff: State superintendent looks to identify top education priorities
Race to the job? Murray, Tierney to introduce job training bill
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July 28 conference call
Posted on 30. Jul, 2009 by Kelly.
We hosted a conference call about the current education landscape Tuesday night. Many thanks to those of you who joined us. For those that missed it, we now have a recording of the call. Since it’s a 4MB file, we recommend you email the link rather than the actual file.
Also, to help you follow along, this is the agenda we followed:
- Education Reform Bill HB2661 (George Scarola)
- What is in the bill
- What are the next steps to implement the bill
- Possible reconvening of legislature on 1776
- Overview of School Districts (George Scarola)
- Budget cuts
- Stimulus Funds run out 2010/2011
- National (Lisa Macfarlane)
- Stabilization/Race to the Top Funds
- State wide ballot issues (George Scarola)
- Initiative 1033
- Income Tax - Nov 2010
- Court Cases (Lisa Macfarlane)
- Federal Way equity lawsuit
- NEWS trial Sept
- Early Learning/Higher Education (Frank Ordway)
- Q&A
Listen to the entire conversation here.
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Guest Blogger: A Jeffersonian Education – Is it Time for an 18th Century Solution for 21st Century Problems?- Again
Posted on 30. Jul, 2009 by jstokes.
A Jeffersonian Education – Is it Time for an 18th Century Solution for 21st Century Problems?
John Stokes
As much as I love communicating by the web and through avenues such as this blog, there is nothing like a conversation face to face. Often the best are pure happenstance. Yesterday I went to the event at State Rep. Reuven Carlyle’s house in Seattle for State Rep. Laura Grant, D. Walla Walla. As I wandered into the house from the porch another man introduced himself, noting that we both had great names. His was John Wong. As it turned out, John is Rep. Grant’s husband.
We talked about education, children and related topics. John is a college professor and as passionate about education as I am. In the course of the discussion he said that he believed in the Jeffersonian view of education - the idea of learning as teaching students how to think, thus preparing them to be leaders, entrepreneurs and statesmen. That education is meant to prepare every individual to understand their surroundings and make intelligent decisions about their life and the necessities of a civilized world to live in. Education as the great equalizer and the great lifter.
In contrast, he noted the assembly line approach to education which prepares the student for a job by teaching them what to think, and prizes the ability to regurgitate facts and figures over problem solving (something my daughter calls the Henry Ford method). Unfortunately, we both commiserated, the latter theory is the prevalent one today in many education circles.
Which got me to thinking about the direction of education in this State and how education reform today stacks up against these two views of the purpose of education. While I think there is an segment of the education community that values the idea of teaching our kids in the thinking, innovating and self-sufficient way, the mainstream is more about preparing kids for a job and most of all just getting them out the door with an acceptable test score that makes the school and the district look good for levy time. Thus the drive to shorten tests to multiple choice instead of the more costly and subjective essay form, and to water down the WASL to a more straightforward right ahd wrong answer format. And it is reflected in the “math wars” with the “computational” crowd wanting memorization and focus on doing problems and learning times tables as opposed to learning how to solve a math problem. Fortunately we seem to have come to an uneasy truce on this one that allows both approaches to work in tandem, but the push for getting rid of the investigative aspects, the “fuzzy math,” is fighting for control.
The competing views are also on display in the drive for what we euphemistically call “accountability.” We want hard facts, hard numbers; tell us what Johnnie and Susie need to know by the 4th grade and make sure they can show that in answers on a test. So by the 10th grade, we are satisfied if they can dredge up answers for questions at maybe an 8th grade level, and they can graduate from high school after sitting through two more years, and we consider that education reform. We try to raise the standards to Core 24 (and this is not saying that is actually Jeffersonian), and the howls come forth that kids can’t do that. The problem is that we really don’t know what we want and what is best for the kids, we think and decide from an adult point of view. What does Microsoft need, what does the corner Jamba Juice need in the way of employees, not what does the society need, what is best for our kids so they can have a good life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Think about it.
John Stokes
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Step-Up and Make Your Voices Heard: Urge your legislator to vote yes on SAFRA
Posted on 29. Jul, 2009 by Lindsey.
This fall, I’ll be entering my senior year of college at a private school in North Carolina. Fortunately, my parents started saving for my college tuition before I was born and I have not had to worry about paying for school (thanks Mom and Dad!). However, for most college-age students this is not the case-they will graduate with thousands of dollars in student loans. Perhaps the best example of this is my best friend Jessica.
Jessica is four years older than me and a graduate of Western Washington University. She double majored in special education and general education and is currently teaching special education in the Seattle area. However, for most of her senior year of high-school she did not think she was going to go to college.
Jessica came from very modest means, neither one of her parents attended college, and they did not have any money to pay for her college education. She excelled in high school, earning top academic honors and competing on the varsity gymnastics team. However, Jessica never really knew if college was an option for her. She knew that her parents did not have the money to pay for an education and she’d looked at the FASFA website but it was confusing and time-consuming. Despite the challenges, Jessica persevered and filled out the FASFA form. She was awarded half of her total education cost through financial aid however she had to pay for the other half through federal student loans.
Congress is about to take a vote to pass The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA). This act will make it easier for students to obtain financial aid. SAFRA will raise Pell Grant scholarships from $5,350 to $6,900 by 2019. A Pell Grant differs from other types of financial aid because it does not have to be repaid. Further SAFRA will lower interest rates on need-based student loans. The Perkins loan program will expand to every university in the nation. This program gives out loans to many college students and depending upon their career paths will deduct the amount that is to be paid back. SAFRA also will revamp FASFA and make it more user-friendly so that everyone takes advantage of the opportunities that exist for funding a college education.
Everyone has a responsibility to let their legislatures know how important this bill is and to urge them to vote for it. An investment in our nation’s students is an investment in our nation’s future and individual futures, like my friend Jessica’s. I know that I have already written my congressmen and I hope that others will follow.
Sources:
www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/ scholarships-and-aid/ 36318.html
http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/07/safra-whats-in-it-for-you.shtml
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Guest Blogger: Getting rid of the WASL may not be such a good idea after all.
Posted on 29. Jul, 2009 by jstokes.
Surprise, surprise!!! Getting rid of the WASL may not be such a good idea after all. John Stokes
In today’s news conference the Center on Education Policy (CEP) announced that its recent study of fifteen classrooms in six high schools in Washington State supports the notion that Washington State educators prefer improving the high school Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) rather than jettisoning it as some critics and politicians have demanded, or at least suggested. The main conclusion from the study is that teachers believe that the WASL actually helps boost student reasoning and writing skills, but also want to have more relevant testing that can be used for quick response to student needs.
They want to be able to track a student’s progress over the school year and have data that is more useable to teachers in the classroom as they deliver the curriculum, along with more professional development on how to use the data to guide their instructional work.
What the teachers especially liked about the use of the WASL as part of their overall teaching strategy is that it helps guide them to cover lessons that emphasize the types of writing and reasoning skills students need to be successful in college and other post secondary work. What was counter to some claims made against the WASL was the general feeling that teachers did not see the WASL as a constricting force. Despite the trend to more scripted daily lessons and the requirement of a directed focus because of the WASL, teachers were observed in the classroom using a Socratic style of discussion to draw out students and used technology in a positive way to motivate student learning. The clearly were cognizant of the demands of the WASL to have students prepared with the skills tested, they did not teach to the test as is commonly charged.This is good news.
While the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn, is widely quoted and credited with saying that he wants to scrap the WASL, I think that this report will actually reinforce the main changes he talks about when he address what he sees as WASL shortcomings. The WASL should not be a one shot high stakes test, but a part of a series of diagnostic tools that can be used to measure the overall achievement in student learning for a class, a school and a district, while also giving useful data and guidance for individual students.
End of course tests, as well as more frequent periodic testing as the class progresses can be in sync with a test like the WASL and give educators much more useful information than the one test alone will ever give. And that is what I hear Randy Dorn saying. Maybe changing the name of the test would signal a change in focus, but changing the essence of the test would apparently be a real step back.
Another part of this report addresses recommended changes in the No Child Left Behind law, and I’ll address those in another blog. But they are very interesting and compatible with the above.
You can access the press release and the full report at this link: www.cep-dc.org.
Go to “What’s New” for the Washington State story and to “News Releases” for that.
John
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Call to Action on HR 3221!
Posted on 29. Jul, 2009 by Maggie.
I will forever remember the day when I sat on the floor of my apartment, giant T-89 calculator and old tuition statements in hand, and calculated how much I had acquired in student loans over the past four years. Actually, that day happened not too long ago—around April of 2009!
Federal loans paid for a majority of my college tuition, and fortunately these loans typically have a lower interest rate than private companies. However—let me tell you from personal experience—it was overwhelmingly depressing to discover how much I had accumulated … more thousands of dollars than I was years old. I got no sympathy from my friends either; they were all in the same boat.
At a time when the job market is growing increasingly competitive for recent college grads, we MUST support legislation that lowers federal student aid interest rates and increases the amount of money given to qualifying students each year. I am urging activists everywhere to contact your representatives—call, email, tweet them, myspace them, facebook em’—to vote yes on HR3221 (the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act)!
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Attention all data hounds!
Posted on 29. Jul, 2009 by Bonnie.
If you are reading this blog, chances are you know quite a bit about education data. But, did you know that the high school dropout rate varies widely by counties? Or that close to half of the graduating high school class of 2006 immediately enrolled in public postsecondary education? Now you can pull these data charts for early education, K-12 and higher education very easily. The formats are easy to read as well - and even include an option to put the data in a map with color-coded counties.
Washington KIDS COUNT is pleased to announce that these and other indicators are available on the new KIDS COUNT Data Center. The KIDS COUNT Data Center is an on-line resource that contains hundreds of measures of child well-being covering national, state, and county information. The Data Center is updated throughout the year and is a powerful resource for policy makers, practitioners, and the media. With a few keystrokes or clicks of your mouse, you can do the following:
- Rank states, cities, and other geographic areas on key indicators of child well-being;
- Generate customized maps and trend lines that show how children are faring and use them in presentations and publications; and
- Feature automatically updated maps and graphs on your own website or blog.
The KIDS COUNT Data Center includes data in the areas of demographics, education, economic well-being, health, and safety and risk behaviors that are available at the county and state levels for Washington. When possible, we disaggregate data by race, ethnicity, or gender.
Available education data is summarized below:
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Education News of the Day for July 28, 2009
Posted on 28. Jul, 2009 by Lindsey.
Washington looks likely to get zero funding from “Race to the Top”: Educational pioneer? Not this state
Wenatchee class sizes remain stable: Few effects on local classes
Finding compromises between Kent School District and teachers union in midst of budget crisis: Budget talks heat up between Kent School District, teachers union
Budget balanced and fund balance remains: Coupeville schools cut to balance budget
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A bold proposal from the other Washington
Posted on 27. Jul, 2009 by Bonnie.
Can you think of a win-win for both young and older kids?
We can. It’s the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which would make a landmark investment in our nation’s future by preparing young children for success in school and young adults for the workforce.
Washington State’s delegation in the House of Representatives will play a key role in moving this legislation forward. They will vote on this legislation this week. That’s why we need you to take action today!
This legislation is critical to our state and nation’s future. It would:
- Ensure young children enter kindergarten ready to succeed by creating an Early Learning Challenge Fund to provide states with $8 billion in competitive grants over 8 years. Economists, business leaders and scientific researchers agree that quality early childhood services stand among the smartest public investments available. This investment would improve outcomes for all children and especially at-risk children-resulting in higher graduation rates, higher rates of college attendance, and higher earnings at work.
- Prepare more students for the workforce by improving access and affordability to higher education through expansion of loan and grant programs, strengthening our nation’s community college system, and keeping interest rates low for students receiving need-based federal loans.
This is potentially a historical step forward in the education of America’s children-including thousands in Washington State.
Check out our Executive Director Chris Korsmo in the Seattle Times yesterday on this legislation. “We know that what happens in the first five years of a child’s life has a lot to do with how the rest turns out.”
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Capitol Hill Conquered!
Posted on 27. Jul, 2009 by John.
LEV’s Intrepid Intern Army rocked the Capitol Hill Block Party over the weekend. We collected hundreds of signatures for the Student Bill of Rights, and had a blast while doing so!
Check out our Flickr account to see more!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/educationvoters/
As we work up to our official release of the Student Bill of Rights, we will be going to many more of these events. We hope you will come and join us and be a part of the fun!
Maggie and Xuan manning the booth.
