School Information System – Page 570 – Curated Education Information

Confessions of an Engineering Washout

Not long ago, I showed up for my first year at Smartypants U., fresh from a high school career full of awards and honors and gold stars. My accomplishments all pointed towards a more verbal course of study, but I was determined to spend my college days learning something useful. With my strong science grades and excellent standardized test scores, I felt certain that I could handle whatever engineering challenges Smartypants U. had to offer. Remember: Kern = real good at math and science. You will have cause to forget that fact very soon.

via edspresso.

Writing the Case for Public School Reform

Julia Hanna:

“One observation that we made early in PELP is that school systems have essentially not changed their personnel practices around hiring and retention since the end of World War II,” says Thomas. It was assumed then that applicants for a teaching position didn’t want to do anything else, or that they didn’t have many other options, conditions that clearly don’t hold in today’s world, where vacancy rates in urban districts can reach as high as 50 percent at the start of the school year.
Thomas was struck by the Philadelphia district’s approach to recruitment and retention. First, Tomás Hanna, special assistant to the district CEO, assembled a task force in 2002 of district employees and private-sector talent to create a blueprint for what came to be called the Campaign for Human Capital. He then oversaw the implementation of a variety of efforts, including a marketing blitz touting the benefits of teaching in Philadelphia; a recruitment event, “Rolling Out the Red Carpet”; leadership training programs for principals; and a mentoring program for new teachers.

America’s Apartheid School System

Minnesota Public Radio:

Jonathan Kozol, the former teacher who has written about race, poverty and education for nearly four decades, spoke about what he calls the “restoration of apartheid schooling in America” Friday at Carleton College in Northfield.

audio

Why Are Public Discussions of the Budget Last on the Agenda?

Why is presentation and discussion of next year’s school budget last on the agenda, following a substantial meeting agenda and, tonight, a public hearing. I don’t understand why there aren’t more public discussions planned for the budget. Perhaps the budget discussion timeline will be discussed further tonight. I hope so, because I think public discussion of the budget and the Board’s decisions are important. What process is followed and decisions made are likely to affect the outcome of future referendums.

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Speak Up For Strings – Monday At Midnight? Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

In my previous post on Speak Up for Strings, I wrote about two ways to contact the School Board – one way is by speaking to the School Board at public appearances; which,is normally after the minutes of a meeting – at the beginning, before the board begins it’s business. A special Board meeting is scheduled for today, but public appearances will not be until agenda item 10, which follows many substantive agenda items, so chances to speak will not be until later in the evening – perhaps quite late.

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Why Does Elementary Stringed Instrument Instruction Matter? One Reason – Student Demand is Strong

I sent the following letter to the School Board last week after reviewing data and text on elementary strings sent to the School Board by the Fine Arts Coordinator. In late March, I spoke before the School Board about working together on strengthening strings and fine arts education and hoped that we would not see another spring of “surprise reports.” Shwaw Vang and others thought this was a good idea, but I guess the administration did not agree. Following my talk, the Superintendent sent a memo to the School Board with a proposal to eliminate elementary strings the end of next school year and offer General Music.
For the past five springs, in one form or another, reports on strings have been presented to the School Board, which present data and give reasons why not to teach strings. These reports are all prepared by top administrators with basically no input from or curriculum review by teachers, parents, students, the community. No other data are presented in the same manner and with as much detail as this course – none, which I find troubling. Courses are dropped for lack of enrollment, which is not the case with elementary strings. Also, no other academic course has come before the School Board year after year for cuts – not even open classroom, ropes, wrestling.
I have MMSD historical data on strings from when the course was first introduced. In spite of the administration’s best efforts to cut the course,

demand from students remains strong and
the community still values the course.

In a comment, Lucy Mathiak wrote: “As a board member, I do not see the issue as strings vs. math vs. athletics, which is how the annual budget pageant usually works. I see the issue as strings and math and athletics vs. cost overruns in building projects, growth in business services, and expenditures for contracted services that may or may not benefit our schools.
Attacking strings, or extracurriculars, or sports, will not put teachers, librarians, and other key staff into schools. Nor will it repair curricula that are of questionable efficacy. If we want good schools, the conversation starts with what is in the budget — ALL of the budget — and whether the budget supports the kind of programs that we value in our schools.” I strongly agree with her statement, because focusing on ALL of the budget keeps the focus on what’s important – student learning and achievement. An increasing body of research and experience shows studying an instrument positively affects student achievement. If so, why isn’t the School Board working with the community to strengthen fine arts education.
Dear School Board Members,
You recently received some statistical information from the District Fine Arts Coordinator on string instrumental enrollment for Grades 4-12 that was in response to a question from Ms. Carstensen on enrollment.
I feel the information presented could have been titled, “Reasons [the Administration Wants] to Cut Elementary Strings,” which, of course I found strange and inconsistent with data on this course and how other data are presented to the School Board [for issues/practices the administration supports].
I would like to provide you with some additional information that I believe provides a bigger picture and shows how this course has grown as the District has changed:

Historical Enrollment:

[Please excuse me, I don’t know how to change the x axis to years. Year 1 is 1969 and the last year is 2005.] This data was kept in the Fine Arts Department by those overseeing the elementary strings enrollment. I have a copy of the original chart, which I would be happy to provide MMSD if they cannot find a copy of this information..
The dip around year 23 (1991) was due to a proposal to cut elementary strings and the later dip around year 29 was due to the inability to replace an FTE. You can see the strong growth in the course following a proposal to cut the course. During the 1990s enrollment grew, peaking in the early 2000s at 2,049. Even with the Superintendent’s proposals to cut the course, demand for instruction remains strong. During the same time period in the 1990s, low-income and minority enrollment in the elementary grades increased (while total enrollment in elementary school declined). Even with the proposed cuts to elementary strings since 2002, enrollment has stayed strong, consistently about 50% of 4th and 5th grade students participate. This course is a high demand, highly valued course as growth in enrollment continues to show.
Elementary Strings – Demographics and Over Time:
When you look at the statistics you received on elementary strings – I would recommend that you look at the entire course over time as well as student groups over time (cohorts). If you look at the course over time, you see increases in demographics at all grade levels as you see increases in low-income and minority in the total student population – that’s moving in the right direction and teachers deserve praise for this. In fact, if you look at the low-income (%) enrollment in Grade 4 strings this year – that percentage is 2.8% lower than the percentage of low-income students in the entire Grade 4 this year.
Also, when students go from Grades 5 to Grade 6, they have another choice of instrument to study – a band instrument. When you look at the historical enrollment in instrumental music from grades 5 to 6, you will see an increase in students opting to play an instrument in Grade 6. Elementary strings plays a role in preparing students to read music and to perform with other students in an ensemble. The curriculum is an instrumental curriculum from Grades 4-12. [Low income children have no other viable option to learn how to play an instrument – $2,000 per year for lessons and instrument rental.]

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Geology by Light Plane

UW Geologist Louis J. Maher, Jr:

Light plane photography of many United States locations, including a number in Wisconsin.

Fabulous, via Doc Searls.

School Reform in Danger

NY Times Editorial:

This was supposed to be a landmark year for the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires the states to close the achievement gap between white and minority students in exchange for federal education dollars. By this year, states were to have put a highly qualified teacher in every classroom and created rigorous annual math and reading tests in grades three through eight.
The state tests and standards are still wildly uneven, and mediocre in many places. The teacher quality measures are also in jeopardy, with many states defining the problem away by simply labeling their teacher corps “highly qualified.”

NEA Opposed to NAACP on No Child Left Behind

Andrew Rotherham:

It’s official, the National Education Association is on record opposed to the NAACP in the CT anti-NCLB lawsuit (pdf). The NAACP response here(pdf). I think this is what they call a harbinger…but remember, no political problem here for Democrats to worry about…as you were!

All Boys Class in the Works At Grafton

Katharine Goodloe:

he Grafton School board will consider a proposal Monday to create a largely self-contained all-boys class, with 28 students led by a single teacher.
If the board approves the one-year proposal, the district would become one of just a handful of public middle schools across the nation to offer a single-sex classroom.
“Some kids get lost in the shuffle of every 45 minutes, heading to a new teacher,” Engel said. “There are a number of boys who could benefit from a structure that’s a bit different from the norm.”
Across the country, single-sex classrooms have become more popular in recent years.

Strings Program – Why is it So Important?

Reader Andrea Cox emails:

I don’t understand why it’s so important to keep the elementary strings program. Some things have to go because of the budget constraints imposed upon the schools. Strings strikes me as much less important than, say, class size, mathematics, or reading. We can’t have everything without major changes in how the school funding is set at the state level.
(I would have posted a “comment” to this topic, but I couldn’t figure out how to do this on the site.)

Marshmallows and Public Policy

A longtime reader emailed David Brooks most recent column:

Around 1970, Walter Mischel launched a classic experiment. He left a succession of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a marshmallow. If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the marshmallow. If, however, they didn’t ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two marshmallows.
In videos of the experiment, you can see the children squirming, kicking, hiding their eyes — desperately trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two marshmallows. Their performance varied widely. Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute. Others lasted 15 minutes.
The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores. They got into better colleges and had, on average, better adult outcomes. The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to become bullies. They received worse teacher and parental evaluations 10 years on and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32.

Lots of Mischel test links here. Sara has more on this at the Quick and the Ed.

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Announcement of 2006/2007 Madison School Board Committee Assignments

Via a Johnny Winston, Jr. email:

Dear Members of the Madison Media:
I am pleased to announce the following Madison School Board standing committee assignments:

Finance and Operations: Lawrie Kobza, Chair – Carol Carstensen & Lucy Mathiak
Long Range Planning: Carol Carstensen, Chair – Lawrie Kobza & Arlene Silveira
Human Resources: Ruth Robarts, Chair – Shwaw Vang & Lawrie Kobza
Performance and Achievement: Shwaw Vang, Chair – Carol Carstensen & Ruth Robarts
Community Partnerships: Lucy Mathiak, Chair – Shwaw Vang & Arlene Silveira
Communications/Legislative: Arlene Silveira, Chair – Lucy Mathiak & Ruth Robarts

Members of the Board of Education were placed based on their knowledge, skills and interests. Attached is a copy of a PowerPoint presentation [128K PDF], that I will make at Monday night’s school board meeting entitled “School Board President’s Presentation.” Please contact me if you have any questions or comments regarding the Madison Board of Education standing committee assignments. Thank you.
Johnny Winston, Jr.
President, Madison School Board
jwinstonjr@madison.k12.wi.us
347-9715 cell

A Letter to Parents Regarding Reading

Brett:

Research has clearly shown that parental involvement – parents seen reading in the home, parents reading to their children, parents ensuring that children have an array of reading materials available to them – is one of the most critical indicators of success in helping a child learn how to read.
And the education community treats this as an unmentionable secret.

Jim Doyle’s Wisconsin Covenant

Channel 3000:

Gov. Jim Doyle asked the University of Wisconsin-Madison Board of Regents Friday to support his “Wisconsin Covenant” plan.
First proposed at his State of the State address, the plan calls for eighth-graders to make a pact with the state. The students would have to sign a pledge to stay out of trouble, take college prep classes and earn a B average — and in return the state provides a financial aid package for a college in the UW system.
“This is our opportunity as a state to declare that among our very, very highest priorities is to increase the number of college graduates. And one of the ways to do it is to make sure that kids who have met their promise to us, no matter what their economic background, have college ahead of them,” said Doyle.

Doyle’s press release.

Business Services: Growing and growing and growing

While the school board refused last year to get outside advice on the operations of Business Services, the department just keeps growing and growing and growing.
Compared to 2004-2005 budget, the number of Food Service Workers would increase by 11.32 FTE if the board approves the administration’s proposed budget. District enrollment will decline by approximately 336 students between 2004-2005 and next year. Why does it take 11 more people to feed 336 fewer students?
The job category “trades” would grow by 7 FTE from last year to next year, while cutting 1 painter and 1 carpenter, according to the proposed budget.
But what’s really odd, the budget approved by the board in the summer of 2005 shows 27 FTE in trades. Now the administration asserts that the revised budget approved in October 2005 increased the number to 35 FTE. Not! At least not that I can find. No place does the revised budget show an increase in FTEs in trades.
Is someone “cooking” the numbers or padding the payroll to increase the Business Services domain?

“I have private preference but a public purse”

Nefertiti Denise Jones:

My 5-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Virginia, now attends a private school that teaches foreign language and arts and offers after-school music and dance classes. But tuition is forcing me to look at Atlanta Public Schools next year for kindergarten.
When I first started researching where to send Elizabeth next year, I was looking for private schools that offered tuition assistance. I also sent an e-mail, however, to my Atlanta Board of Education representative asking him to sell me on taking my child out of private school and placing her into public school. His energetic reply made me look at Atlanta schools.

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NPR’s OnPoint Discusses the Top High School List

Anthony Brooks [Listen: 20MB mp3]:

Mention public education in the United States and the word “reform” is soon to follow. The need to reform the nation’s schools is almost as old as public education itself. Invariably the debate about how to improve public schools focuses on what’s wrong with them.
But across the country there are examples of schools that work; classrooms abuzz with creativity and the excitement of learning. They’re run by committed teachers, overseen by innovative principals and supported involved parents.

Participants include:

Jay Mathews, Contributing Editor for Newsweek Magazine and Education Reporter for the Washington Post
Robert Schwartz, Professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education
Michael Satarino, Principal of Talented and Gifted Magnet School in Dallas, TX – Newsweek’s #1 public high school in the United States
Spencer Kern, senior at Martin Luther King school in Nashville, TN, Newsweek’s #39 public high school in the United States

Background links: Newsweek’s top 1138 high school list, and Jay Matthews on Why AP Matters.
Andrew Rotherham has more.

The Economics of Plagiarism

Tyler Cowen:

The economics of plagiarism are changing:
1. Plagiarism is now easier to catch and publicize, mostly because of the Web, Google, and computer search programs.
2. We are exposed to more influences, whether consciously or not, than before.
3. “Cut and paste,” and other technologies, make cheating and plagiarism easier.

High School Wins National Award

Tara Bahrampour:

Over the last five years, Wakefield, which has the highest percentage of immigrant and minority students of any high school in the county, has significantly increased participation in Advanced Placement tests.
More than half of Wakefield students qualify for federally subsidized lunches, and nearly 83 percent are members of a minority group. The school’s students come from more than 60 countries and speak more than 40 languages. Almost 17 percent speak a first language other than English.
“I think that this school is a particularly effective school, and it gets better every year,” said School Superintendent Robert G. Smith. Wakefield High plans to use the money from the award to expand college-preparatory programs.
In spring 2004, the school instituted a program called the Wakefield High School AP Network, designed to increase the diversity of the students taking honors and AP courses.

James Collier has more.

Civics Education in Schools

Liam Julian:

Last month, the Washington Post’s David Broder wrote a column trumpeting the value of teaching civics to American students. He interviewed Sandra Day O’Connor and former Colorado Governor Roy Romer (now serving as Superintendent of Los Angeles’s schools), both of whom are spokespersons for the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools (CMS).
A trip to CMS’s website reveals many applause-worthy sentiments—indeed, simply acknowledging the importance of civics education is commendable.
Yet both CMS and Broder’s fawning column make the same mistake that plagues many civic education initiatives. Instead of proposing that students learn civics through rigorous study of historical events, meaty biographies of important Americans, or lessons that integrate American history and politics with philosophy and character education, CMS offers a different model. One that puts the cart before the horse.
CMS offers “six promising approaches to civic learning” of which “Guided discussion of current local, national, and international issues and events” is one. What does this look like? The organization envisions teachers discussing “issues students find personally relevant … in a way that encourages multiple points of view.”
The problems with this proposal are legion. It says that issues discussed be limited to those that “students find personally relevant.” One wonders how relevant most 14-year-olds would find many international events, such as the recent country-wide protests in Nepal or Chinese President Hu Jintao’s U.S. visit. A major objective of civics instruction should be to educate students and make international events and issues relevant in their lives. It doesn’t work the other way around.

Joanne comments as well: “All opinion, no facts”. Jeff Jarvis on a new French-German history text.

Report Card on American Education

American Legislative Exchange Council:

LEC has released its newest edition of The Report Card on American Education: A State by State Analysis 1983-1984 to 2003-2004. The Report Card contains over 50 tables and figures that display in various ways more than 100 measures of educational resources and achievement. It strengthens the growing consensus that simply spending more taxpayer dollars on education is not enough to improve student achievement. In addition, the report includes analysis on numerous factors that affect the public education system, including demographics, school choice and charter school initiatives.

full report[pdf]

Taking the SAT, Graduating Middle School

All Things Considered:

These days, more than 100,000 students are taking the SAT while they’re still in middle school. Some are under increasing pressure to get ready for college, no matter how early. And some want to qualify for prestigious academic summer programs such as the one at Johns Hopkins University.

Announcement from Madison School Board President Johnny Winston, Jr. (and the 04 / 07 elections)

Via a Johnny Winston, Jr. MMSD email:

It is with great humility that I announce that I have been elected to serve as President of the Madison School Board. I am honored to have the opportunity to provide leadership to our school district and community. Serving as President is the culmination of part of a life long dream to be a public servant.
I was elected to the board in 2004. During my tenure, I have served as Chair of the Finance and Operations and Partnership Committees and most recently as role of Vice President. I welcome working with the entire elected school board. Some of the critical matters for us to address include but are not limited to: the building of new schools to accommodate our growing district, student achievement, parent involvement and strengthening communication and partnership efforts in our community. Together, we can identify and implement creative solutions to these issues.

Johnny, along with Shwaw and Ruth’s seat are up for election in April, 2007. Today’s public announcement by former Madison School Board member Ray Allen that he’s running for Mayor [more on Ray Allen] (same 04/07 election) and MTI’s John Matthews recent lunch with Mayor Dave mean that positioning for the spring election is well under way.
Another interesting element in all this is the proposed fall referendum for a new far west side elementary school [west task force] and the Leopold expansion (I still wonder about the wisdom of linking the two questions together…., somewhat of a do-over for Leopold linked to another question). Have the local prospects for passing a referendum improved since the May, 2005 vote where two out of three failed (including a much larger Leopold expansion)?
I think it’s hard to say:

I agree with Ed that Monday’s civilized board meeting absent any bullying is a good sign.
There’s been some board turnover since that vote that may be helpful.
On the other hand, there’s the ongoing effort to kill 4th and 5th grade strings (5th year of the Administration’s “onslaught” – not even a rounding error in the District’s 332.9M budget),
this year’s distribution of 06/07 school allocations before any public budget discussion,
the equity task force (the District’s enrollment is basically flat or slightly declining and many current facilities have needs: some elementary schools don’t have cafeterias for example)
recent concerns over report card content (curriculum and school climate concerns and positive changes, which I hope to be able to post soon, not to mention the movement toward more mandatory grouping whether it’s the playground or West High’s English 10),
health care costs ($37M – 11% of the budget)
and food policy will certainly be on voter’s minds.

Televising all board meetings and a more active district website may or may not help, depending of course, on what’s being written or mentioned.
Jason Shephard’s seminal piece on the future of Madison’s public schools will resonate for some time.
It will be an interesting year. I wish the entire Board well as they address these matters. It’s never too early to run for school board 🙂 Check out the election pages for links and interviews.

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Some Milwaukee Schools Face Additional Scrutiny

Alan Borsuk:

Andrekopoulos described in general terms to the principals – and to School Board members on Tuesday night – that the way schools are treated by his administration will differ, based on the academic success of students.
Schools where test scores are comparatively high and where the amount of progress students make from year to year is above average for MPS will be given more operating freedom. Andrekopoulos praised the number of schools showing improvements.

Good Teaching for Poor Kids

Former Teacher and Principal Ruby Payne:

To survive in poor communities, Ms. Payne contends, people need to be nonverbal and reactive. They place priority on the personal relationships that are often their only significant resources and rely on entertainment to escape harsh realities. Members of the middle class, in contrast, succeed or fail through the use of paper representations and plans for the future. They value work and achievement.
. . . teachers must recognize that children from poor families often benefit from explicit instruction and support in areas that could be taken for granted among middle-class students. Those include the so-called unspoken rules, mental models that help learners store symbolic information, and the procedures that it takes to complete an abstract task.
A teacher attentive to the needs of her low-income students fills the day with pointers and checklists. She puts tools for organizing information into her students’ hands, and helps them translate it from its “street” version to its school one. She spells out reasons for learning.

via Joanne Jacobs.

Notes from Middleton High School on the Sugar Water Ban

Doug Erickson:

By lunch period Wednesday, most students at Middleton High School had heard the big news – the nation’s largest beverage distributors had voluntarily agreed to halt nearly all soda sales to schools.
There was disagreement over whether this was:
A.) A great day in public education.
B.) A sinister plot to rob youth of their sugar birthright
C.) No big deal.

Cheapening the Cap & Gown

Michael Winerip:

RAMSES SANTELISES was supposed to graduate from John F. Kennedy High in the Bronx in June 2005, but, he said, he goofed off his senior year. He failed senior English in the second semester and two gym classes. “I got senioritis,” he said.
He was planning to make up the courses at summer school, but said that he got sick and was hospitalized, and that by the time he reported to summer school, he had missed too many days. They told him to sign up for night school in the fall. “I was upset,” he said. “I was hoping to start college.”
In late August he went to Kennedy to register for the night program, discussed the three courses he needed and, he said, got a big surprise. “They said, ‘No questions asked, we’re going to let you graduate,’ ” he recalled. “I never had to take the two gym classes and English class I should have taken.”

Virtual Schools Must Still be Great Schools

WEAC President Stan Johnson:

The Wisconsin Education Association Council has always believed that virtual education can benefit students in Wisconsin. Advocates of an Assembly bill that WEAC opposed have criticized us, in newspapers and elsewhere, as opponents of virtual education.
However, as they criticize WEAC for opposing Assembly Bill 1060 they never inform readers that other providers of virtual education also opposed this bill and they avoid details about the actual content of the bill.

Interview with Oregon’s New Superintendent

Ellen Williams-Masson:

Fiscal challenges are testing the mettle of school superintendents across the country, but Oregon’s new hire for the top job has a lot of experience in tightening the belt on school spending.
“When you are in a district that faces financial challenges, it teaches you what the true priorities in public education are,” incoming Oregon School Superintendent Brian Busler said. “It teaches you how to be creative and utilize every dollar available to get the best return for a student’s education.”

Keep fighting for school success

Wisconsin State Journal editorial
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Madison should take a bow and be proud of its decade-long effort to improve early reading skills and boost school achievement for all racial groups.
Yet the hard work isn’t over and may be getting harder.
UW-Madison education researchers hailed Madison this week for shrinking its racial achievement gap more than probably any urban area in the country. And at the same time, test scores for white students in Madison kept improving.
More young students of all backgrounds can read.
More older students of all backgrounds are graduating.
Madison’s formula for success, according to the researchers, is largely the result of three things:
One-to-one tutoring by trained volunteers.
The Wisconsin State Journal and WISC-TV (Ch. 3) helped launch a decade ago the Schools of Hope civil journalism project that stressed the recruitment and training of volunteer reading tutors. The United Way now oversees the effort and counts about 1,000 tutors working with 2,000 struggling students on reading and math in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Organizers say the effort will continue and possibly expand until at least 2011.
Small class sizes in the earliest grades.
The state is contributing millions to Madison schools for poor children to benefit from the extra attention smaller class sizes allow during kindergarten through third grade.
Better teacher training.
This might be the hardest element of Madison’s success to maintain, much less improve. With relatively flat school enrollment and high property values in Madison, the state steers a lower percentage of aid our way. And voters have shown they’re skeptical of approving higher operational spending than a state cap otherwise allows.
That means other areas of school spending should be cut before teacher training is reduced. Or perhaps the district can develop creative, lower-cost ways to train those teachers who most need it.
Madison just might become a national model for closing the racial achievement gap if existing trends continue. But that won’t be easy given financial constraints and a growing influx of students who lack English skills.
But hope is high. Volunteers are energetic. Educators passionately want students to succeed.
Let’s stay at it, Madison, and show the nation the way.

McFarland Creates a Suicide Support Network

Angela Bettis:

A community is in shock after losing two high school students to suicide in recent weeks.
Students and parents in McFarland are trying to make sense of the suicides and they will soon get some help.
A huge community-wide effort is underway to help teens grieve and begin to heal.

Most Soda Sales in Schools to End

Samantha Gross:

The nation’s largest beverage distributors have agreed to halt nearly all soda sales to public schools, according to a deal announced Wednesday by the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Under the agreement, the companies have agreed to sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat milks to elementary and middle schools, said Jay Carson, a spokesman for former President Bill Clinton. Diet sodas would be sold only to high schools.

American Beverage Association

Citizens ask District to Spare School Programs

The Madison School Board held a public hearing last night on the Distirct’s proposed 332.9M+ 06/07 budget last night. Maggie Rossiter Peterman:

Sean Storch pleaded with members of the Madison School Board on Tuesday night not to cut teachers in the district’s four high school alternative education programs.
Storch, 28, and another teacher work with about 20 “at- risk” ninth-graders in the Connect program at La Follette High School.

Channel3000 has more.

“Underassessed Lakefront Houses”

Nan Brien recently wrote about local property taxes. Tom Bozzo spends some time looking at local tax assessments. Interesting. Via the Daily Page.

Going the Behavior Route

Sandra Boodman:

What non-drug treatments work to combat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
It’s a question more parents are asking doctors, prompted by new concerns about the safety of medicines used to treat a problem that affects an estimated 4.4 million American children.

Persistent Challenge: Desegregating Urban Schools

Jay Field:

Another court-monitored effort to integrate a big city school system is coming to an end. The Chicago Public Schools spent billions of dollars trying to integrate. But many of the city’s minority students still attend racially isolated schools. District officials say they’ll continue efforts to integrate, but maintain it’s impossible to truly desegregate when just 9 percent of the student body, citywide, is now white. Jay Field of Chicago Public Radio reports.

audio

New members, new board

I’ve watched a few minutes of the last two board meetings with new board members Arlene Silveira and Lucy Mathiak. What a refreshing improvement! The meetings seem more focused on the issues at hand with members better prepared to ask questions and give direction to the administration. Bravo!

Better MMSD budget process? Maybe next year.

The National School Board Association argues that local school boards exist to translate the community’s educational goals for its children into programs and to hold staff accountable for the quality and effectiveness of the programs:

Your school board sets the standard for achievement in your district, incorporating the community’s view of what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Your school board also is responsible for working with the superintendent to establish a valid process for measuring student success and, when necessary, shifting resources to ensure that the district’s goals are achieved.

Don’t expect to see that kind of process as the Madison School Board adopts a $383.7M budget for 2006-07.
On April 24, 2006, Superintendent Art Rainwater presented his proposed budget for 2006-07 to the school board. MMSD Proposed Balanced Budget for 2006-07 To the credit of the administration, the documents are better organized and provide more detail than in recent years.
Nonetheless, the board’s adoption of next year’s budget will likely be an unsatisfying process for parents and the community. I say this because the Madison board has again skipped the decision-making steps that are necessary for budget decisions to occur within a framework that we can all understand and support.
Long before the school board tries to evaluate a budget, the board should have translated the community’s vision for the education of its children into specific, measurable goals for student achievement. Key Work of School Boards
We don’t have such goals except for third grade reading, completion of algebra and geometry and attendance. What kind of budget commitment should we make to offering a comprehensive high school program? We don’t know, because we have set no standards for the “challenging, contemporary curriculum” that we claim is a strategic priority for the district. What funds should we commit to fine arts education? We don’t know, because we have no achievement goals in the arts or any other curriculum area. Should we cease funding a “Race and Equity” position at the $100,000 a year level? We don’t know because we don’t have objectives for the position to accomplish.
The board should also have developed a shared understanding of how data will be used to evaluate the district’s progress toward meeting its goals.
We don’t determine which data will be used in decisions about educational programs or any other aspect of the budget. Should we cease the “same service” approach to the teaching of reading? Should we continue to invest in “instructional coaches” who teach teachers how to present the Connected Math program? Again, we don’t know. The administration claims that its curriculum decisions are data-driven. However, the administration does not share the student achievement data behind our “same service” approach or proposed new programs nor has the board agreed to rely on whatever data that the administration may use in its internal analysis.
As the result of the April elections, the board has two new members: Lucy Mathiak and Arlene Silveira. Both promised to focus on standards and accountability during their campaigns. Maybe next year will be better. That’s important because the fuss that occurs each spring as the board struggles to “restore” programs or staff that the superintendent has cut should not occur. We should not be on the defensive–always having to create our own individual rationales for replacing cut items or changing programs. We should be on the offensive—judging the superintendent’s budget against the goals that we have set for our programs and the measurements of effectiveness that we have agreed on.
Please stay tuned.
Ruth Robarts
Member, Madison School Board

Midwest Summit on Boys at Risk

Reader Kathy Andrusz emails:

1st Annual Midwest Summit on Boys at Risk will be held in Madison at the Pyle Center on Monday, June 12, 2006. The keynote speakers are Leonard Sax and Kevin Davern (see brochure for details).

The Gender Studies Project is delighted to announce their 1st Annual Midwest Summit on Boys at Risk. This pioneering conference will be held on June 12 at the Pyle Center in Madison, WI. The Summit boasts two prestigious keynote speakers: Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D., creator of the National Association on Single Sex Education; and Kevin Davern, founding headmaster of The Avalon School, Bethesda, MD, and classroom instructor for 17 years in the independent school education of young men. See the brochure for details. Download the brochure for details. (416kb pdf)

Work on education gap lauded

From the Wisconsin State Journal, May 2, 2006
ANDY HALL ahall@madison.com
Madison made more progress than any urban area in the country in shrinking the racial achievement gap and managed to raise the performance levels of all racial groups over the past decade, two UW- Madison education experts said Monday in urging local leaders to continue current strategies despite tight budgets.
“I’ve seen districts around the United States, and it really is remarkable that the Madison School District is raising the achievement levels for all students, and at the same time they’re closing the gaps,” Julie Underwood, dean of the UW- Madison School of Education, said in an interview.
Underwood said she’s heard of no other urban district that reduced the gap so significantly without letting the test scores of white students stagnate or slide closer to the levels of lower-achieving black, Hispanic or Southeast Asian students.
“The way that it’s happened in Madison,” she said, “is truly the best scenario. . . . We haven’t done it at the expense of white students.”
Among the most striking trends:
Disparities between the portions of white and minority students attaining the lowest ranking on the state Third Grade Reading Test have essentially been eliminated.
Increasing shares of students of all racial groups are scoring at the top levels – proficient and advanced – on the Third Grade Reading Test.
Graduation rates have improved significantly for students in every racial group.
Underwood commented after one of her colleagues, Adam Gamoran, director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, presented a review of efforts to attack the racial achievement gap to the Schools of Hope Leadership Team meeting at United Way of Dane County.
Gamoran told the 25- member team, comprised of community leaders from the school system, higher education, nonprofit agencies, business and government, that Madison’s strategy parallels national research documenting the most effective approaches – one-to-one tutoring, particularly from certified teachers; smaller class sizes; and improved training of teachers.
“My conclusion is that the strategies the Madison school system has put in place to reduce the racial achievement gap have paid off very well and my hope is that the strategies will continue,” said Gamoran, who as director of the education-research center oversees 60 research projects, most of which are federally funded. A sociologist who’s worked at UW-Madison since 1984, Gamoran’s research focuses on inequality in education and school reform.
In an interview, Gamoran said that Madison “bucked the national trend” by beginning to shrink the racial achievement during the late 1990s, while it was growing in most of America’s urban school districts.
But he warned that those gains are in jeopardy as Wisconsin school districts, including Madison, increasingly resort to cuts and referendums to balance their budgets.
Art Rainwater, Madison schools superintendent, said Gamoran’s analysis affirmed that the district and Schools of Hope, a civic journalism project of the Wisconsin State Journal and WISC-TV (Ch. 3) that grew into a community campaign to combat the racial achievement gap, are using the best known tactics – approaches that need to be preserved as the district makes future cuts.
“The things that we’ve done, which were the right things to do, positively affect not just our educationally neediest students,” Rainwater said. “They help everybody.”
John Matthews, executive director of Madison Teachers Inc., the teachers union, and Rainwater agree that the progress is fragile.
“The future of it is threatened if we don’t have it adequately funded,” Matthews said.
Leslie Ann Howard, United Way president, whose agency coordinates Schools of Hope, said Gamoran’s analysis will help focus the community’s efforts, which include about 1,000 trained volunteer tutors a year working with 2,000 struggling students on reading and math in grades kindergarten through eight.
The project’s leaders have vowed to continue working until at least 2011 to fight gaps that persist at other grade levels despite the gains among third- graders.
“I think it’s critical for the community to know that all kids benefited from the strategies that have been put in place the last 10 years – the highest achievers, the lowest achievers and everybody in between,” Howard said.
“To be able to say it’s helping everyone, I think is really astonishing.”

How healthy are Madison schools?

By mid-June the Madison School Board plans to adopt a new food policy that addresses food safety and nutrition. Proposed Comprehensive Food Policy Developed by Student Work Group The proposed policy does not address physical activity opportunities for our students, although activity is an important factor in evaluating food policy implications.
This would be a good time for the Madison community and the school board to engage in an in-depth discussion of the connection between physical activity, school nutrition and health. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers outstanding do-it-yourself materials to review school health at elementary, middle and high schools. CDC School Health Index.
The CDC also grants funds to help elementary schools improve the health of school children by increasing physical activity and nutrition programs. Mini-Grants for Physical Activity and Nutrition Improvements

Speak Up For Strings – Starting May 9th

Please Help Save Elementary Strings!!!
How: Ask the New School Board –
Work with the Community to Build Fine Arts Education!
When: Starting May 9th
Other districts facing fiscal and academic achievement challenges have had successes maintaining and growing their fine arts education – through strategic planning, active engagement and real partnerships with their communities. School districts in Arizona, Chicago, New York, Texas and Minneapolis are looking for innovative ways to preserve and to grow fine arts education when facing tight budgets.
What does MMSD do?

For the 5th spring, elementary strings are at risk. Superintendent Rainwater is proposing to eliminate elementary strings – to cut Grade 4 strings next year and Grade 5 strings the following year. NO other high demand, highly valued academic course is targeted in next year’s budget – NONE.

Hundreds of students, parents, teachers and community members understand the value of this course for young children and have shown their public support for this course before the School Board each spring. We need to remind the new School Board, once again, of the value of this course – to our students’ growth and achievement, to our community.
Facts:

Enrollment Doubled – In the 1990s, course enrollment doubled to slightly more than 2,000 students – at the same time the low income and minority elementary student population increased. Approximately 50% of 4th and 5th graders elect to participate in elementary strings.
Low Income Enrollment Grew – Over time, low-income enrollment in elementary strings has grown. This year, the percentage of low-income children enrolled in Grade 4 strings is higher than the percentage of low-income children in that grade enrolled in the district. No other private/public organization in Madison teaches 550+ low-income children how to play an instrument at a higher level and to perform in ensembles.

You Can Help:
Speak to the School Board – bring signs, play your instrument
When: Tuesday, May 9, 2006 – 6:30 p.m., Memorial High School Auditorium [map]
Write to the School Board – comments@madison.k12.wi.us – and ask them

to reject the Superintendent’s proposal as inadequate, and
to work with Madison by forming a community fine arts committee to address fine arts educations issues, such as strings, so kids can get the personal and academic benefits of fine arts education.

Five years of targeting strings is unacceptable, short-sighted and goes against a) what the research shows strings does for children’s growth, development and academic achievement, b) what’s being done in other areas in MMSD, and b) what the community values for our children’s education.
For more information, email: savestrings@charter.net

Why AP Matters

Jay Matthews:

Only 30 percent of high-school students take any Advanced Placement courses at all; by the time Frausto graduates later this month, she will have taken 16 of them — in many cases earning the highest grade, a 5, on the three-hour final exam.
That is because Frausto’s school, the Talented and Gifted Magnet School near downtown Dallas, is one of a growing number of high schools trying to make AP as much a part of students’ lives as french fries and iPods. Located in a run-down neighborhood not usually associated with high-level learning, Talented and Gifted — “TAG” to its students — tops NEWSWEEK’s list of America’s Best High Schools. Members of its racially mixed student body say they feel united by the challenge. “What I really love about TAG is the atmosphere,” said Frausto, who will be attending MIT on a scholarship in the fall. “There is so much closeness.”
Large studies in Texas and California done over the past two years indicate that good grades on AP tests significantly increase chances of earning college degrees. That has led many public schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods to look for ways to get their students into AP and a similar but smaller college-level course program called International Baccalaureate (IB), in hopes that their students will have the same college-graduation rates enjoyed by AP and IB students from the country’s wealthiest private schools and most selective public schools.

Newsweek’s Challenge Index: Top 1138 US High Schools

Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert:

A one-size-fits-all approach no longer works for everyone, the new thinking goes; a more individualized experience is better.
“We are changing the goal of high school and what it’s possible to achieve there,” says Tom Vander Ark, executive director of the Gates Foundation’s education initiative, which has spent $1 billion in 1,600 high schools in 40 states plus the District of Columbia over the last six years.
For parents and students, these schools mean an often bewildering array of choices — small schools within larger schools, specialized charter and magnet schools for things ranging from fashion design to computer programming, even public boarding schools for budding physicists or artists.

Newsweek’s Top 1138 US High Schools (16 Wisconsin high schools including one from Madison – Memorial ranked #924).

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Reclaiming The Lost Year

Valerie Strauss:

One in an occasional series looking at learning in the middle and high school years
High school senior Risa Masuda has no time to let “senioritis” get in her way.
She takes Advanced Placement courses, participates in a senior project on low-cost housing, works in student government and helps teachers during class — an experience, she said, that made her rethink her childhood dream of being an educator.
The 18-year-old credits her school, New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Ill., with keeping her engaged during a year commonly perceived as the time when students snooze during lectures on Hamlet’s angst, take requirements they should have completed in ninth grade, do less homework than in the killer junior year and bide time before the rest of their lives begin.

Doyle Flunks Test on Virtual Schools

Bob Reber:

Governor Doyle recently vetoed Assembly Bill 1060 which would have reaffirmed and clarified the state’s commitment to virtual public schools in Wisconsin. Prior to his decision to veto the bill, WEAC (the teacher’s union) was making noise about the “outsourcing of education” to people who would not be qualified teachers, instructors or presenters to our children. In other words, parents! Governor Doyle reiterated the concerns of WEAC after vetoing the bill by stating, “Actual pupil instruction could be delivered by persons without a state-issued license or permit.”
Both WEAC and Governor Doyle misstate the intent of the bill to suit their own political agenda.
Interestingly enough, their take also ignores the reality of what goes on in public schools today. Currently in our public school system there are teacher aides, substitute teachers and guest presenters that instruct pupils on a daily basis. These individuals are not required to hold state-issued licenses or permits. In fact, state statutes and DPI administrative rules allow for the local school boards to determine the requirements for these persons.

West Bend Parent Owen Robinson calls the recent court decison on virtual schools “A Victory for Children“. Kristof’s recent article addresses this isue as well.

MMSD Budget Mystery #7: Aides, aides, where are the aides?

Roger Price’s corrected table of FTEs shows that the proposed MMSD budget would cut 29.5 FTE aide positions compared to the cost-to-continue budget. According to my comparison, the budget would cut 13.16 FTE aide positions in the coming year compared to the actual FTEs this year.
When I plow through the budget document titled Department & Division Detailed Budgets (undated), the document appears to show total FTE reductions of 18.95 (see pages 16, 38, and 63) in postions for educational assistants.
So, dedicated detectives, see whether you can make sense of the numbers. Does the proposed budget reduce educational assistant FTEs by 29.5, 13.16, or 18.95?

Sandburg parents also question quality of 3rd quarter report cards: “What a waste”

I continue to receive messages from elementary school parents about the lack of information on the 3rd quarter report cards regarding the academic achievement of their children.
Concern about quality of 3rd quarter report cards (cont)
Good afternoon,
A friend just passed on the article on the web about Crestwood and Elvejhem parents being upset about 3rd quarter report cards. Well, there are some at Sandburg as well.

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Budget proposes ESL/bilingual advisory council

An inconspicuous provision in the newly unveiled MMSD budget document would establish an ESL/bilingual advisory council (Department & Division Detailed Budgets, page 55).
I encourage the Board of Education to remove the provision and give any proposed council the careful and detailed attention the board gave to the attendance task forces and equity task force.
As the provision stands, the budget document provides absolutely no justification, no charge, no detail, no membership, no cost, and no staffing for the proposal.
The advisory council might be valuable, but it needs much more consideration before the board acts on it.
Last year a similarly obscure phrase led to the creation of two new classrooms and an expenditure of $350,000 at Marquette.
I see a pattern here. Cryptic language being use to launch new initiatives without board or public input.

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I am a Japanese School Teacher

Azreal:

In August 2003 I moved to Kyoto, Japan as a part of the JET program. I am an assistant language teacher in three Jr. High schools. The experience has been…interesting to say the least.
However, there isn’t just one editorial that could cover everything about my experiences here. So I decided to make it into an editorial series. This is the main page – check here for updates.

Parents say MPS lags in providing special education

Sarah Carr:

Each of these cases are at the core of a federal class-action lawsuit alleging that the Milwaukee Public Schools district systemically failed to identify kids needing special education services in a timely fashion.
The parents of all three children testified in a three-week-long trial that wrapped up last week and now will be decided by U.S. Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein, probably this summer. At issue in the decision are the fates of thousands of children eligible for special education in the city and millions of dollars spent on special education each year.

Cal Podcasts

The University of California-Berkeley has posted an extensive set of podcasts:

ACCESS & DOWNLOAD COURSES on your computer or MP3 player
LISTEN TO EVENTS about the Arts, Education, Politics, Science and Technology
BE CONNECTED with what’s happening at UC Berkeley

Fund 80 Is Worth Our Support

Carol Carstensen:

What is Fund 80, and why are people saying such awful things aboutit?
Fund 80 is the state accounting code for community services expenditures,the major portion of which is for Madison SchoolCarstensen Community Recreation (MSCR) and the district’s cable channel 10.The current budget for community services is $11 million. Of that $8 millionis from the tax levy; the remainder comes from fees and grants.
MSCR programs range from exercise programs for seniors to swim lessons forinfants and toddlers, from adult sport leagues to summer day camps forelementary students, plus art and dance classes for all ages.
The 2001-03 state budget allowed community services expenditures to bemoved out from under the revenue cap imposed on school districts. This wasdone so that adult softball leagues could be funded without reducing a schooldistrict’s core educational program for students.

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On Food Policy

Reader Rosanne Lindsay emails:

On Food Policy: I would encourage MMSD to investigate the recent studies that attribute a poor diet, high in sugars and trans fats to hyperactive behavior. The more we learn about food additives, the more we realize its negative affect on behavior and health in general. Please go to http://www.feingold.org/ or alternatively look at a clear example of what a healthy food program can accomplish in improved focus and behavior in schools, as seen in our own backyard, Appleton, WI.
Name Rosanne Lindsay E-mail: lindsayvalley@msn.com

Suggestion: Improve Election Day

Reader Paul Malischke emails:

Board of Education: Common Council Liaison Committee Date: April 18, 2006
Here is a suggestion to improve election day: schedule a staff development day (no school for students) for the November gubernatorial and presidential election days, when there is a very high voter turnout. This would make it easier to find an appropriate room for the polls. Previously, schools have placed equipment and voters in hallways where there is heavy student traffic; or used classrooms, which disrupt classes.
An additional advantage to this schedule proposal is that it will eliminate the extra election-day security concerns for students generated by the many people entering the school to vote. An additional safety concern is the increased vehicular traffic around the school on election day.
Paul Malischke E-mail: malischke@yahoo.com

What Makes A Good High School?

NPR’s Elaine Korry:

How can U.S. high schools do a better job? A new study identifies key characteristics of high schools that work. And at Granger High in Washington state, the principal demands high standards for students and staff.

audio

Opening Classroom Doors

A good teacher friend emailed this article: Nicholas Kristof:

Suppose Colin Powell tires of giving $100,000-a-pop speeches and wants to teach high school social studies. Suppose Meryl Streep has a hankering to teach drama.
Alas, they would be “unqualified” for a public school. Elite private schools would snap them up, of course, but public schools that are begging for teachers would have to turn them away because they don’t have teacher certification.
That’s an absurd snarl in our education bureaucracy. Let’s relax the barriers so people can enter teaching more easily, either right out of college or later as a midcareer switch.

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Weekly Email Message

Carol Carstensen:

Parent Group Presidents:
MEMORIAL AND WEST AREA SCHOOLS: NOTE FORUM DESCRIBED UNDER MAY 8.
BUDGET FACTOID:
The 2006-07 proposed budget is on the district’s web site (www.mmsd.org/budget). The Executive Summary provides an overview of the budget. The list of specific staff cuts is found on pages 3 & 4 of Chapter 3, Department & Division Reports.
None of the cuts are good for the district or for the education of our children but they are required to keep the budget in compliance with the state revenue caps. Since there is likely to be considerable discussion about the cut affecting the elementary strings program, I wanted to provide a little additional information. The administration is proposing to continue the current structure (strings once a week for 45 minutes) for 5th graders only. Additionally, there is a recommendation to have a committee of district staff and UW music education specialists develop a new approach for K-5 music that will include, for all students, experience playing an instrument.
There are forums on the budget scheduled for Tuesday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. at LaFollette and Tuesday, May 9 at 6:30 at Memorial.

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Connecting Math with Literature

MathandText:

To visit the Exhibit Hall at an NCTM conference is an infuriating activity for me, but I can’t avoid it. I am charged with checking out the competition.

Via Joanne.

For Physics Teacher, Experiments in Learning

Ian Shapira:

In his eternal quest to demystify the nuanced wonders of physics for his students at Gar-Field Senior High School, Bill Willis, 65, has conducted a number of experiments that educate as well as entertain.
Once, he built a hovercraft from a leaf blower and cushion so he could demonstrate Newton’s laws of motion. Another time, he lay on a bed of about 1,000 upright nails to show how weight distribution can affect pressure. And, on other occasions, he has swung a bowling ball hanging from the ceiling at his face to show how kinetic energy cannot surpass potential energy.

Milwaukee Public Schools 2006/2007 Budget Information

The Milwaukee Public Schools recently posted their 2006/2007 budget. Alan Borsuk has more:

Citing the intensifying impact of poverty on the lives of students, Milwaukee School Superintendent William Andrekopoulos unveiled a budget proposal Friday for the 2006-’07 school year that increases health and nutrition programs for students.

DeForest Student Arrrested with Loaded Guns

Channel3000:

A 17-year-old DeForest High School student was arrested on Thursday for allegedly keeping two loaded guns in his car in the school parking lot.
Authorities said that a loaded 9 mm and a loaded .25 caliber automatic pistol were in the student’s car.
The student was booked into the Dane County Jail on charges of possession of a concealed weapon on school grounds, WISC-TV reported.

and Dodgeville

West students win Science Olympiad

Bill Novak:

Science students from West High School will be competing against students from all 50 states in May after winning the 2006 Wisconsin Science Olympiad state tournament last weekend at the UW Engineering Department.
La Follette High’s A team finished second and its B team was sixth, while Memorial High was seventh out of 46 teams.
Students competed in 28 events at the state meet, ranging from food chemistry and nuclear science to astronomy and protein modeling.

Audio: Mitch Henck Interviews Carol Carstensen and Nan Brien

Mitch Henck interviewed Carol Carstensen and Nan Brien this morning. They discussed the District’s 06/07 planned budget, health care spending, local property taxes and Monday’s approval of an 856K electrical upgrade to Sennett Middle School that was $397,000 over the estimated cost, funded by the maintenance referendum (I’ve not seen any discussion of this in the local media [Cap Times | Channel3000]. Excerpt: 5.7MB MP3 file.
The property tax discussion is interesting as there are many factors that affect what a homeowner pays for schools including:

redistributed state taxes (“aid” – via income, sales and other taxes/fees), # of students (the district’s taxing/spending authority follows students numbers. Losing students is expensive.),
assessed value changes (some communities like Madison reassess annually, while others, such as Fitchburg are on a much less frequent schedule) and
Fund 80 – district spending that is not constrained by state revenue caps.

I’m glad Carol, Nan and others are discussing these issues. I hope we see more of this.

Fostering Young Artists: Start Spreading the News

Erika Kinetz:

The foundation awards high school seniors more than $500,000 in cash prizes each year for achievement in the performing, literary and visual arts. It also nominates presidential scholars in the arts, and some colleges refer to its rosters for recruitment.
Yet many people have never heard of the foundation.
“That’s what I was surprised about,” said Grace Weber, a winner in voice who attends Pius XI High School in Milwaukee. “People outside the art world don’t know about it.”
Billy Buss, a winner in jazz trumpet and a senior at Berkeley High School in California, added, “My friends only cared I was winning a lot of money.”

National Foundation for the Advancement of Arts website. 2007 registration is open.

STRANGER THAN EVER!!!!

In an e-mail to the Board of Education, Roger Price admitted a serious error in the budget documents given to the board only three days ago:

I incorrectly classified some professional positions as administrators and some supervisory positions as clerical.

Price attached a corrected Excel table to show the FTEs in the revised “balanced budget.”
I’ve taken Price’s revised “balanced budget” FTEs and compared them to the current year FTEs in a second Excel table.
Initially, Price’s table show and INCREASE of 5.38 FTE clerical positions. Now he shows a DECREASE of 16.32. His original table showed a DECREASE of 22.70 supervisor FTEs. Now he shows a decrease of 1. For administrators, the original table showed an INCREASE of 2.50. His table now shows a DECREASE of 3.00.
You have to wonder how many other figures are wrong. You have to wonder whether the rest of the budget figures need to be changed throughout the 99-page Financial Summaries document to reflect the errors.
And now the MOST AMAZING CHANGE! Price’s new chart includes the seven members of the board in the FTEs. This has NEVER been done previously, and Price gave no reason in his memo to explain the sudden need to add the board members to the FTEs.
This budget process has GOT TO CHANGE!
Remember, this is the same Roger Price who couldn’t produce a budget on time last year, and then needed hundreds of hours of staff overtime to produce the budget at the last minute! This is the same Roger Price who cost the district tens of thousands of dollars to reprint referendum ballots because of “miscommunication”.

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100 Black Men of Madison Presents its Annual African American History Challenge Bowl

Via a Johnny Winston, Jr. email:

On Saturday May 6th, 2006 the 100 Black Men of Madison presents its Annual African American History Challenge Bowl at 8:30 a.m. This event will be located at 545 W. Dayton St. in Madison at the MMSD Doyle Administration Building, McDaniels Auditorium.
The African American History Challenge Bowl is a competition where teams of middle and high school students from the Madison School District and Edgewood answer questions based on African American history. Winners of the local contest are awarded savings bonds and an all expense paid trip to the national competition where they will compete against other chapters of the 100 Black Men of America in Atlanta, Georgia.
This event is free to the public. We are encouraging our community to attend. This event will televised live on MMSD Cable Channel 10.

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LA’s Mayor Takes Charge

The Economist:

“WE CAN’T be a great global city,” says Antonio Villaraigosa, “if we lose half of our workforce before they graduate from high school.” The hyper-energetic mayor of sprawling Los Angeles is stating the obvious. A low graduation rate from the giant Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) feeds through into fewer skilled workers, more criminals and every social ill in America’s second-biggest city, from drug abuse to broken families.
And the rate is low indeed. According to a study last year by Harvard’s Civil Rights Project, only 45.3% of LAUSD students who started ninth grade (ie, senior high school, at the age of 14 or so) graduated four years later from 12th grade; for Latino students, who make up three-quarters of the student body, the rate was a mere 39%. School-district officials dispute the figures, saying they include as dropouts students who have simply moved away, but even their estimate—a dropout rate of around 33%—is unacceptable.

Cieslewicz State of the City speech

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spoke at yesterday’s Rotary club meeting. His 3416 word state of the city speech included 159 directly related to our local public schools:

8. We need to work more seamlessly to maintain our excellent public school system.

Our public schools have recently been ranked the third best in the nation. Yet, they face unprecedented challenges as they work to educate more children that come from impoverished families and more children with special needs. I am very aware that we elect a school board to make these decisions and it is not my intent to overstep my authority, but I do recognize that good schools are vital ingredients in healthy neighborhoods. We will renew our efforts to work with the school district, with parents and teachers to make sure that city government and the schools are pulling together, not working at cross purposes. For instance, the decisions the City regarding new housing development has a significant impact on school attendance and boundary issues. Our recently-adopted Comprehensive Plan notes the importance of city and school planning staff working together.

Kristian Knutsen attended the speech.

New Study Examines Industry’s Demand for Highly Educated Workers

The Campaign for College Opportunity:

Can California Keep it’s Competitive Edge?
California has long been regarded as a center of innovation and industry. The state ranks as the sixth largest economy in the world, and much of this economic success has been driven by a highly-educated workforce.
Yet, looking ahead, California’s competitive advantage – and therefore our economic vitality and quality of life – may be at risk. California’s population is growing in regions of the state and among ethnic groups with lower levels of educational attainment.
“Keeping California’s Edge: The Growing Demand for Highly Educated Workers,” is a new study commissioned by the Campaign for College Opportunity and researched by economists at the Applied Research Center at California State University, Sacramento. Looking forward to 2022, this study identifies growing sectors seeking highly educated workers, analyzes the economic value created by those workers and identifies the top six industries with the most at stake in our state’s highly educated high demand future.

Executive Summary [pdf] Fast facts, Full report [pdf]
There’s a webcast today @ 1:00p.m. CST where you can listen to a variety of perspectives from education and business leaders on the report. A number of my classmates immediately left Madison after graduating from the UW for a warmer climate and far better tech career opportunities in California. They’ve not returned.
Lisa Krieger has more.

Gap in teacher quality falls on income lines

Ledyard King:

Public school teachers in the nation’s wealthiest communities continue to be more qualified than those in the poorest despite a federal law designed to provide all children equal educational opportunity.
Preliminary data released by the Department of Education show that in 39 states, the chance of finding teachers who know their subjects are better in elementary schools where parents’ incomes are highest. The data show that’s also the case among middle and high schools in 43 states.
“Obviously, we have a long way to go,” says Rene Islas, who monitors teacher quality for the Department of Education. “Even if you have high numbers (of certified instructors) in the aggregate, there are pockets where students are being taught by teachers that are not highly qualified.”
Under the No Child Left Behind law President Bush signed in 2002, states are supposed to have “highly qualified teachers” for all core academic courses, such as math, English and science, by the end of this school year. States that don’t face a loss of federal funding.

Educating from the Bench

Jay Greene:

Spending on public schools nationwide has skyrocketed to $536 billion as of the 2004 school year, or more than $10,000 per pupil. That’s more than double per pupil what we spent three decades ago, adjusted for inflation–and more than we currently spend on national defense ($494 billion as of 2005). But the argument behind lawsuits in 45 states is that we don’t spend nearly enough on schools. Spending is so low, these litigants claim, that it is in violation of state constitutional provisions requiring an “adequate” education. And in almost half the states, the courts have agreed.
Arkansas is one such state, and its “adequacy” problem neatly illustrates the way courts have driven spending up and evidence out. In 2001 the state Supreme Court declared the amount of money spent at that time–more than $7,000 per pupil–in violation of the state constitutional requirement to provide a “general, suitable and efficient” system of public education. Like courts in other states, Arkansas’s court ordered that outside consultants be hired to determine how much extra funding would be required for an adequate education.
A firm led by two education professors, Lawrence Picus and Allan Odden, was paid $350,000 to put a price tag on what would be considered adequate. In September 2003 Messrs. Picus and Odden completed their report, concluding that Arkansas needed to add $847.3 million to existing school budgets. They also recommended policy changes, but the only thing that really mattered, at least as far as the court was concerned, was the bottom line–bringing the total to $4 billion, or $9,000 per pupil.

Californial Public Education Poll

Mitchell Landsberg:

Almost two-thirds in the state say education quality is a major problem, but most oppose tax hikes to fix it—except on the rich.

Uniforms Proposed at Janesville School Board Meeting

Channel3000:

School uniforms were proposed at the Janesville School Board meeting Tuesday night, even thought the topic wasn’t on the agenda.
Board member Todd Bailey suggested a pilot program, taking place as early as next January, with uniforms consisting of trousers and polo shirts.
Bailey said it would end arguments between parents and children over school attire, cut family clothing costs, and eliminate distractions inside the classroom.
Bailey declined WISC-TV’s request for an interview.
Many students at Janesville Craig High School said the idea of uniforms hinders their ability to express themselves.

Knitting and School Board Meetings

WTDY is running a poll on whether new board member Lucy Mathiak should knit during meetings. Watch Monday’s meeting, where the Board discussed the just released 2006/2007 budget. Monday’s agenda can be found here. I’m glad WTDY is having a look at the school board. Perhaps they might include some additional topics. The meeting included the award (8C) of a 856K electrical upgrade for Sennett Middle School (referendum – estimated at 459,300).

West High Student Does A Virtual Hip Replacement

James Edward Mills:

West High School sophomore Haya Khatib, 16, is already planning a career as a physician. And even though she hasn’t even picked a college yet, Khatib had an opportunity Monday to perform her first operation.
A nonprofit Web site called Edheads.org lets visitors wield a scalpel through a virtual knee surgery, and beginning Wednesday, a virtual hip replacement surgery. Developed with the help of UW Health doctors, this is the latest addition to an online education site that offers interactive experiential learning programs. Students at West are testing the program before its national launch.
The program was funded through a grant from Zimmer, an orthopedic products company in Warsaw, Ind.

The Madison Community – Students, Parents, Professionals, Citizens – Can Help Elementary Strings: Here’s How

The community CAN HELP elementary strings and fine arts education in MMSD. Please write the School Board – comments@madison.k12.wi.us – ask them a) to establish a community fine arts education advisory committee beginning with a small community working group to put together a plan for this, b) develop a multi-year strategic and education plan for fine arts education, c) work with the music professionals and community to address short-term issues facing elementary music education (other fine arts areas – dance, drama) that supports children’s learning and academic achievement. Until this is done, please write the School Board asking them not to accept (to reject) the Superintendent’s current K-5 music education proposal to eliminate elementary strings.
At this late date in the year, I feel a small community working group needs to be established that will develop a plan for moving forward with the community on fine arts education issues. I would be more than happy to volunteer my time to help coordinate this effort, which I see as a first step toward the establishment of a community fine arts education task force/advisory committee. However, what is key is the School Board’s support and the Superintendent’s leadership, and I would be honored to work with all members of the school board and with the Superintendent. I’m sure other people would be happy to help as well.
The issues with MMSD’s fine arts elementary music education is not solely a budget issue, but the administration’s lack of imagination and longer-term education planning in fine arts makes courses such as strings become budget issues because nothing is done from year to year to make it anything other than a budget issue.
Elementary strings is a high-demand course – this isn’t 50 kids across the district, it was 1,745 in September 2005. From 1969 to 2005, enrollment has tripled, increasing by 1,000 students from 1992 until 2002, at the same time that the number of low income and minority children increased in the elementary student population. Demand for the course is annually 50% of the total enrollment in 4th and 5th grade. Plus, minority and low income enrollment has increased over the years. This year there are about 550 low income children enrolled in the elementary class. More low income children enrolled to take the course, but did not because of the pull out nature, I’m assuming. There is nowhere else in the City that so many low-income children have the opportunity to study an instrument at a higher level and continuously as part of their daily education.

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Florida Links Teacher Pay to Student Test Scores

Peter Whoriskey:

A new pay-for-performance program for Florida’s teachers will tie raises and bonuses directly to pupils’ standardized-test scores beginning next year, marking the first time a state has so closely linked the wages of individual school personnel to their students’ exam results.
The effort, now being adopted by local districts, is viewed as a landmark in the movement to restructure American schools by having them face the same kind of competitive pressures placed on private enterprise, and advocates say it could serve as a national model to replace traditional teacher pay plans that award raises based largely on academic degrees and years of experience.
Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has characterized the new policy, which bases a teacher’s pay on improvements in test scores, as a matter of common sense, asking, “What’s wrong about paying good teachers more for doing a better job?”
But teachers unions and some education experts say any effort to evaluate teachers exclusively on test-score improvements will not work, because schools are not factories and their output is not so easily measured. An exam, they say, cannot measure how much teachers have inspired students, or whether they have instilled in them a lifelong curiosity. Moreover, some critics say, the explicit profit motive could overshadow teacher-student relationships.

Milwaukee Schools Budget: District wants to spread funds evenly

Sarah Carr:

Next year, the High School of the Arts might not have a spring musical at all.
Some parents and teachers say the soul of the school is at stake. Their concern is echoed at some of the other most renowned high schools in Milwaukee Public Schools, including Rufus King, considered the toughest school to get into.
Parents are crying out that MPS schools with strong academic or art specialties can’t survive much longer under current budget realities. They argue that their programs have been taken for granted as the district moves to put more families in neighborhood schools and create dozens of smaller high schools.
“I’m really afraid the School Board is positioning itself to cut its arts program,” said John Glaspey, whose daughters attend the arts high school. “I think they are hellbent on sacrificing that for the neighborhood and K-8 schools and this small high school initiative.”

A Lengthy Reading Recovery Discussion

The use and effectiveness of Reading Recovery is in the news elsewhere. More links. Joanne Jacobs has more.

Red Flag in the Brain Game

Business Week:

The members of Duke University’s computer programming team had solved only one problem in the world finals of the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest in San Antonio on Apr. 12. The winning team, from Saratov State University in Russia, solved six puzzles over the course of the grueling five-hour contest. Afterward, Duke coach Owen Astrachan tried to cheer up his team by pointing out that they were among “the best of the best” student programmers in the world. Edwards, 20, still distraught, couldn’t resist a self-deprecating dig: “We’re the worst of the best of the best.”

Similar Students, Different Results

From the latest Teacher’s College Record.
It looks like a solid study, but I have one caveat. One of the findings is that successful schools are aligned with the State Standards and success is then measured by these standards. This does raise questions about the content of these standards. The creation of these standards has been highly political and in some cases the resulting standards leave much to be desired. For an earlier California story, see Gary Nash, Charlotte Crabtree and Ross Dunn’s History on Trial.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679767509/002-1214435-6720800?v=glance&n=283155
TJM
http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12299

Similar Students, Different Results
by Trish Williams & Michael W. Kirst — January 25, 2006
Why do some California elementary schools serving largely low-income students score as much as 250 points higher on the state’s academic performance index (API) than other schools with very similar students?
That’s the research question asked by a new, large-scale EdSource-led study that surveyed principals and teachers in 257 such schools across the state. What we learned is that the higher performing schools tend to have four interrelated practices at the core of their operation—prioritizing student achievement; implementing a coherent, standards-based curriculum and instructional program; analyzing student-assessment data from multiple sources; and ensuring availability of instructional resources.
Many studies have examined successful schools as a group, in an effort to understand their methods or best practices. This study—conducted by EdSource and researchers from Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the American Institutes for Research—took a different tack. Rather than looking at a specific performance zone, we examined elementary schools within a specific, fairly narrow socioeconomic and demographic band but across the full range of school performance.

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Nine Madison School District students named All-State Scholars

Madison Metropolitan School District:

Nine Madison School District students named All-State Scholars

Nine students from the Madison School District have earned the All-State Scholars honor out of 120 so named in Wisconsin. In addition, the nine Madison students comprise 60% of the 15 students chosen from the six-county Second Congressional District.

The All-State Scholars from Madison are:

Lauren Brown, La Follette HS

Brian Lee, Memorial HS

Adeyinka Lesi, West HS

Neil Liu, Memorial HS

Edson Makuluni, Memorial HS

Alexander Pinigis, East HS

Yaoli Pu, West HS

Mitchell Shanklin, La Follette HS

Mary Thurber, West HS

Selection as an All-State Scholar is based primarily on a student’s
overall high school grade-point average and ACT or SAT scores. In the
event of a tie, judges consider student statements, extracurricular
activities, and leadership.

All-State Scholars receive a $1,500 one-year scholarship which can be renewed for an additional three years.

2006 / 2007 Madison School Board Budget Discussion

Superintendent Art Rainwater presented the proposed 2006 / 2007 budget Monday night (Barb earlier pointed out that 06/07 allocations were sent to the schools on 4/3/2006). Board questions followed. Video and audio [22MB mp3]:

36 minute video

1 hour Board Q & A/Discussion video

Additional commentary:

Charter Schools?

In light of the planning grant application approval for the proposed Studio School Charter yesterday, I’m curious about how others view public charters and what their roles should be.
Here are some different conceptions that I’ve heard or read (I’m sure there are many more and I’d be glad to hear about those):

Charters as laboratories for innovations that can be replicated in other district schools.
Charters as a means of of addressing the needs or desires of self-defined populations.
Charters as a first step toward replacing the current system with a system of semi-autonomous schools.

Related questions include: How should charters and charter proposals be evaluated?
TJM

Concern about quality of 3rd quarter report cards (cont.)

Expressions of parent concern over the quality of third-quarter report cards for students in Madison’s elementary schools continue. Parents at Thoreau School joined parents from other schools who have wondered why their children make so little progress in the third quarter of the year in many subject areas that no information on progress can be provided to their families. Another Parent Concerned About Third-Quarter Report Cards and Can We Talk 3: 3rd Quarter Report Cards
Here is a letter from Thoreau parents to the Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Schools.

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MMSD Budget Mystery #6: FTEs from the Black Box Budget

Once again the strange MMSD budget process presents uncountable mysteries for our intrepid investigators.
Somehow the administration puts this year’s budget and staff into a black box somewhere in the Doyle Building and miraculously out comes a prediction of the FTEs needed to continue the current level of services, as well as proposed FTEs for a balanced budget.
A look at this year’s FTEs compared to the balanced budget FTEs produces a much different picture for investigation, as you can see from the attached Excel file.
Train your spy glasses on the puzzling FTEs in a couple of job classifications.
In 2005-2006 the district employed 34.70 supervisors. However, the administration said only 11 are need under the cost to coninue budget (page 41) and 12 under the balanced budget. Page 41 then shows an increase of one position, when the comparison between current FTEs and the balanced budget shows a reduction of 22.7. (As an aside, does the cost to continue with 11 supervisors mean that last year the district employed 23.70 supervisors who really weren’t needed?) Very strange.
In another inexplicable change, the district employed 94.57 food service workers in 2004-2005. This year’s balanced budget proposes 105.89 FTEs for Food Service Workers. Why? Why does the district need 11.32 more FTEs to serve about 300 fewer students? Maybe we’re getting bigger eaters in the MMSD. Who knows?
Check this writer’s facts, the district’s facts, and come up with soluitons to the Mysteries of the Black Box Budget!

Charter Schools in Wisconsin

Madison School Board OK’s charter school of arts applying for DPI planning grant. See The Studio School Website

Converting to Healthy Living Charter School

Governor Proclaims May 1 – 6, 2006 as Charter Schools Week in Wisconsin

Charter Schools about Social Justice, says Fuller

What is Chartering and Where Did It Come From?

DPI’s NEW 2005-06 Charter Schools Directory (Under “Charter School Information” on right side of page, click “2005–06 Directory” (pdf)

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Fordham Foundation’s 2007 Education Excellence Nominations

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation:

The Foundation awards two prizes annually:

The Thomas B. Fordham Prize for Distinguished Scholarship is awarded to a scholar who has made major contributions to education reform via research, analysis, and successful engagement in the war of ideas.
The Thomas B. Fordham Prize for Valor is awarded to a leader who has made major contributions to education reform via noteworthy accomplishments at the national, state, local, and/or school levels.

Eligibility
Anyone can be nominated whose work has had a profound impact on education in the United States. Candidates may be nominated either for cumulative lifetime achievement or for extraordinary one-time accomplishments. Employees and trustees of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation are not eligible, nor are members of the prize committee.

More thoughts on math teacher training

Jo Anne Cobasko:

“A small cadre of math specialists is helping teachers with instruction and curriculum.”
While it sounds promising that “math specialists” will be helping teachers with instruction and curriculum, the converse may be likely to occur.
In the following excerpt from “Why Johnny Can’t Calculate” (Los Angeles Times, September 26, 2005–link here), CSU-Northridge mathematics professor David Klein and high school teacher Jennifer Marple have detailed how the “experts” responsible for professional development for LAUSD often fail to deliver.
The district requires math teachers to attend in-service meetings to learn more math and better ways to teach it. No one would quarrel with those goals, but the quality of professional development programs is often so poor that they are likely to cause more harm than good.

Competition as an Effective Education Reform

Nancy Salvato:

Reminding the audience that public education is charged with educating our citizenry to participate in self government, he quoted Jefferson, “If you want a nation that is both ignorant and free, that is something that never was and never will be.” Because a good education should afford each person an opportunity to participate in the American Dream, education taxes are levied so that generations may acquire the skills necessary to earn a living, knowledge required to sustain a Democratic-Republic, and civility essential to a free society.
A plethora of studies implicate the public schools for failing to provide a good education. The American Institute for Research found U.S. math students at all grade levels were consistently behind their peers around the world. A survey, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, found only 31% of college students tested as proficient in reading and extracting information from complex material, such as legal documents. In an employer survey from The National Association of Manufacturers, 84% of respondents reported K-12 schools were not doing a good job of preparing students for the workplace; lacking basic employability skills, such as: attendance, timeliness, and work ethic, exhibiting deficiencies in math and science, and in reading and comprehension. Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force found the performance of the U.S. public education system virtually unchanged in the twenty years since the publication of A Nation at Risk. The Knight Foundation found most U.S. high school students don’t understand the First Amendment. Finally, none of the eight education goals (Goals 2000) established by President Bush (41) and 49 state governors were achieved.

MMSD Cross-High School Comparison — continued

I recently posted a comparative list of the English courses offered to 9th and 10th graders at Madison’s four high schools. The list showed clearly that West High School does not offer its high achieving and highly motivated 9th and 10th grade students the same appropriately challenging English classes that are offered at East, LaFollette and Memorial.
Here is the yield from a similar comparison for 9th and 10th grade Social Studies and Science.

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Insurance trumps teachers’ raises

Jake Rigdon:

The dilemma has hit smaller school districts the hardest.
According to unofficial estimates, health insurance premiums are expected to increase between 16 percent and 23 percent in the next school year in the Athens, Auburndale, Edgar, Marathon, Spencer, Stratford and Tomahawk school districts, affecting more than 460 teachers. Some districts pay 100 percent of the premiums. Others require teachers to pay a portion.
In response, Athens, Auburndale, Edgar, Marathon and Stratford are considering options such as finding a new insurance carrier that offers a cheaper plan, shifting to plans with fewer benefits or joining an insurance consortium.

Fifth Verse – Same, Sorrowful Tune: Superintendent Proposes to Elminate Elementary Strings

Other districts facing fiscal and academic achievement challenges have had successes maintaining and growing their fine arts education – through strategic planning, active engagement and real partnerships with their communities. In Tuscon, AZ, with a large low income and hispanic population, test scores of this population have climbed measurably (independent evaluations confirmed this). This state has received more than $1 million in federal funding for their fine arts education work. School districts in Chicago, New York, Texas and Minneapolis have also done some remarkable work in this area.
In my opinion, the administration’s music education work products and planning efforts this year are unsatisfactory, unimaginative and incomplete. In spite of research that continues to demonstrate the positive effects on student achievement (especially for low income students) and the high value the Madison community places on fine arts, the administration continues to put forth incomplete proposals that will short change all students, especially our low-income students, and the administration does its work “behind closed doors.”
Three or four weeks ago, I spoke at a board meeting and said I thought we needed to do things differently this year – Shwaw Vang and other board members supported my idea of working together to solve issues surrounding elementary strings. Apparently, the administration saw things differently. Since my public appearance the Superintendent has issued two reports – one eliminating elementary strings replacing K-5 music with a “new, improved” idea for K-5 music and a second report with enrollment data presented incompletely with an anti-elementary strings bias. Teachers had no idea this proposal or data were forthcoming, saw no drafts, and they did not receive copies of statistics relevant to their field that was sent last week to the School Board. Neither did the public or the entire School Board know these reports were planned and underway. During the past 12 months, there were no lists of fine arts education priorities developed and shared, no plans to address priorities, processes, timelines, staff/community involvement, etc. String teachers received no curriculum support to adjust to teaching a two-year curriculum in 1/2 the instructional time even though they asked for this help from the Doyle building, and they never received information about the plans for recreating elementary strings in the future. None.
I don’t feel the Superintendent proceeded in the manner expressed to me by Mr. Vang nor as demonstrated by the School Board’s establishment of community task forces over this past year on a number of important issues to the community. Madison’s love of fine arts lends itself well to a community advisory committee. I hope other Board members support Mr. Vang’s community team approach, rejecting the Superintendent’s recent music proposal as incomplete and unacceptable.
In his fifth year of proposals to eliminate elementary strings, the Superintendent is proposing a “new and improved” K-5 music that is not planned for another year, but requires elimination of Grade 4 strings next year. The recent proposal, once again, was developed by administrators without any meaningful involvement of teachers and no involvement of the community. Elementary strings and fine arts education are important to the community. The Superintendent did not use a process that was transparent, well planned with a timeline, open and involved the community.
Music education, including elementary string instruction, is beneficial to a child’s developing, learning and engagement in school. However, music education, also directly supports and reinforces learning in math and reading. Instrument instruction does this at a higher level and that’s one of the reasons why MMSD’s music education curriculum introduces strings in Grade 4, following a sequence of increasing challenges in music education. In fact, all the points made in the Superintendent’s “new” K-5 music program, including multicultural experiences, exist in MMSD’s current music curriculum. The only thing “new” in the Superintendent’s proposal is the elimination of elementary strings.
It is not acceptable to say that we have to do something, because we have to cut money. Also, this is not about some folks being able to “yell” louder than others. To me, this is about five years that have been wasted – no planning, no community involvement, no shared visions. Our kids deserve better. Let’s get started on a new path working together now.

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Landmark Legal Foundation: Files IRS Complaint Against Wisconsin NEA Affiliate (WEAC)

WisPolitics:

Landmark Legal Foundation today asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate numerous activities by the National Education Association’s Wisconsin affiliate, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) that may have violated federal tax law.
WEAC made a total of $430,000 in contributions to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) that weren’t reported on WEAC’s tax returns. The DLCC is a political organization formed by the Democratic National Committee to provide funding and logistical assistance to state legislative campaigns around the country. The WEAC contributions, which were reported by the DLCC on its tax filings, were made in 2000 and 2002, and were apparently used by the DLCC to underwrite state legislative campaigns in California and elsewhere.
WEAC is a 501(c)(5) tax-exempt union under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). As a 501(c)(5), WEAC is required to report and pay federal income tax on almost any general revenue funds used for political purposes, including contributions made by the union to political organizations like the DLCC (called 527s, for the section of the IRC under which they are formed.) WEAC’s own 527, the Wisconsin Education Association Council — Political Action Committee (WEAC-PAC), also did not report the DLCC contributions in question on their tax filings.

Teachers share fear of questioning school boards

Arrin Newton Brunson:

A grass-roots group, Parents for Positive Change, invited the two lawyers after controversies erupted in the Logan School District earlier this year, leading to the resignation of a popular principal and the early retirement of an embattled superintendent.
Many of the complaints centered on the rights of teachers to complain without fear of retribution.
McCoy assured teachers that challenging school officials on issues of public concern is protected speech. “You do have substantial rights,” he said.
State law prohibits retaliation against teachers who speak out about practices or policies they perceive as detrimental to students, McCoy said. Punishments such as the loss of salary, prestige and job opportunities are illegal, he said.

Milwaukee Graduation Rates – Poverty & Governance

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial:

t is simply nothing short of catastrophic that so many Milwaukee youngsters are being left behind in a world in which a bachelor’s degree is the new high school diploma. It’s a trend that bodes ill for the region’s capacity to grow and compete.
Yes, Milwaukee again makes a list it should wish it weren’t on with a ranking that should properly make every Milwaukee Public Schools official, School Board member, teacher, parent and taxpayer intensely introspective, not to mention angry.
That’s because, whether the graduation rate is 45% – ranking it 94th among the 100 largest school districts in the country, according to the generally conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute – or 61% or 67%, what, respectively, the state and district say it is, that’s too few high schoolers graduating.
And the gap between African-American and white achievement in Wisconsin (and between boys and girls) should be topics getting more focus than they have to date. The Manhattan Institute study, released Tuesday, says Wisconsin overall enjoys an 85% graduation rate, but for African-Americans statewide, it’s 55%, the second lowest in the country.
Yes, we know all the societal factors involved in low graduation rates, mostly revolving around poverty. However, these graduation figures also point to a degree of failure in the district in dealing with these realities

Learning on Their Own Terms

Nick Anderson:

“I just really hated school, and Roosevelt brought that out of me,” the 19-year-old said one spring afternoon next to an iron handrail that doubled as a launching slope. “Being told what to do and what to learn. Having to do homework. Grades. Grade levels. Everything that this school stands against.”
Justin will graduate in June from the highly unconventional Fairhaven School with a diploma that may require explanation to a college or future boss. He took no tests in his three years at the private school, received no grades and had no course requirements. But he played electric guitar, read and wrote poetry, made friends and got the last laugh on lunch. “No more tater tots!” he said.

Cory Doctorow discusses his own experiences with a “free school” and points to a trailer for a documentary called “Voices from the New American Schoolhouse“.

Milwaukee Voucher School Accreditation

Alan Borsuk:

About 50 of 122 schools in the voucher program have no form of accreditation – no organization outside the school that is giving it a stamp of approval. Although some of the unaccredited schools should be able to get accreditation, the list includes almost all the schools that raise the most doubts among knowledgeable observers.
Some of those observers will be in positions to do something because they will be involved in accreditation, and generally, they are talking a tough game: They will be insistent that voucher schools demonstrate they meet genuine standards of quality.
The new law makes that more than idle talk. While attention focused on allowing the program to grow from less than 15,000 students to 22,500, the law also makes this clear: No accreditation, no money from the state.

Sarah Carr has more.