NCTAF News Digest:

A Weekly Digest of News Articles & Reports

Thursday, July 3, 2008

In this Issue:

--NCLB Watch

--Ed. Dept. Releases Guide for Evaluating Online Learning

--Rhee Seeks Tenure-Pay Swap for Teachers

--Commentary: When Is Student Failure the Teacher's Fault?

--Bringing Potential Dropouts Back From the Brink

--Phila. School District Lays of 200

--New Leaders for City Schools

Greetings,

This is the NCTAF News Digest, a timely news service provided to our partner states, commissioners, and the education policy community. This Digest is for the personal educational use of the recipient. At publication time, all links were active. Some publications may require free registration. You may wish to bookmark links for future reference.

Ed. Dept. Releases Guide for Evaluating Online Learning

-Education Week; July 2, 2008

The U.S. Department of Education today released its first guide to the evaluation of online-learning programs in K-12 education. The report is designed to help school leaders gauge the effectiveness of online education, as its use grows rapidly across the United States.“While online-learning programs that deliver courses have been around for about a decade, this report is the first to fully address the issues in evaluating online programs in K-12 education,” said Susan D. Patrick, the president and chief executive officer of the North American Council for Online Learning, or NACOL, which released its own standards for online programs earlier this year. ("Voluntary Online-Teaching Standards Come Amid Concerns Over Quality," March 5, 2008) School districts are turning to online courses, complete grade-level and degree-granting programs, and instructional resources to address missions ranging from Advanced Placement or specialized instruction, to “credit recovery” and alternative education, to providing supplementary resources to teachers and students in regular classrooms. Individual students and private and charter schools are also procuring online learning, often with public funding. But evaluation methods have lagged far behind the swift growth, varied application, and complex nature of online learning. “Online [education] adds a number of unique elements—in some cases, we need to build new instruments,” said Timothy J. Magner, the director of the Education Department’s office of technology. Mr. Magner was here attending the National Educational Computing Conference, where he was to speak about evaluation issues today as part of a panel discussing the report.

He noted, for example, that an online course that has students at many different locations raises the question of what are the best types of data collection for measuring a program’s performance. Using online surveys for a widely dispersed population might be most convenient, but it may not be accurate, because technology and supervision and other conditions might vary widely as well; site visits might even be necessary sometimes. The diverse goals of online instruction also call for different kinds of evaluations, Mr. Magner said. The contractor that prepared the report, WestEd Inc., based in San Francisco, analyzed seven recent evaluations that were seen to be models of the types of studies needed for online programs and instructional resources. The evaluations were of Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, & Students Statewide Distance Learning; Algebra 1 Online; the Appleton eSchool; the Arizona Virtual Academy; the Chicago Public Schools Virtual Academy; Digital Learning Commons; and Thinkport. Descriptions and lessons from those evaluations form the heart of the 68-page report. “The standards for evaluating online resources are different than the more comprehensive criteria that is needed to evaluate an online program, such as a virtual school within a state or district that offers a full course and provides a highly qualified teacher through online teaching,” said Ms. Patrick, who was Mr. Magner’s predecessor as the adviser on educational technology to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

To view the full article, click here.

Rhee Seeks Tenure-Pay Swap for Teachers
-The Washington Post; July 3, 2008

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is proposing a contract that would give mid-level teachers who are paid $62,000 yearly the opportunity to earn more than $100,000 -- but they would have to give up seniority and tenure rights, two union members familiar with the negotiations said yesterday. Under the proposal, the school system would establish two pay tiers, red and green, said the union members, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential. Teachers in the red tier would receive traditional raises and would maintain tenure. Those who voluntarily go into the green tier would receive thousands of dollars in bonuses and raises, funded with foundation grants, for relinquishing tenure. Teachers in the green tier would be reviewed yearly and would be allowed to continue in their jobs only if they passed an evaluation and boosted students' test scores, the union members said. Under Rhee's proposal, raises to the green tier would be more than the 19 percent increase over five years she is proposing for all teachers, the union members said.  They said teachers are opposed to giving up seniority and tenure, no matter the size of their raise, and probably would reject such a proposal.

"You may be trading off your future, your tenure, your job security," a union member said. "When you trade that, it seems to me you're not getting much." Rhee, who declined to comment yesterday because of the ongoing negotiations, has said she wants a contract that would "revolutionize education as we know it." She also has said she wants to improve instruction by ensuring that the District "has the most highly compensated and competent" teachers in the country. Education experts who follow teacher contract issues said that D.C. teachers would be among the highest-paid educators in the nation under Rhee's plan and that a proposal eliminating seniority and tenure would be groundbreaking. "Fixing teachers' contracts is a high priority everywhere," said Bryan Hassel, co-director of Public Impact, an education research and consulting organization in Chapel Hill, N.C. "If Rhee accomplishes this, it would be earthshaking reform that would have implications everywhere."

To view the full article, click here.

Commentary: When Is Student Failure the Teacher's Fault?

-Teachers.net; July 1, 2008

Increased student achievement requires a corresponding improvement in classroom instruction. While there are several ways to achieve instructional excellence, a practical step individual classroom teachers can take immediately is to critique their own teaching procedures. One question that has helped me critique myself meaningfully is this: “When is student failure my fault?”  And my answer is, “When I have failed to do everything a professional teacher could reasonably be expected to do.” We could quibble over what is “reasonable” and what is “expected,” but the onus rests squarely on me as the teacher. When the teacher has exhausted all possible resources for producing learning, and the student still fails, only then might s/he focus on the student’s responsibility, problems, attitude, and knowledge.  However negative this question about failure may appear, the answer is, for me, a way of concentrating on the changes I can effect personally to improve my instruction. I can’t really change the kids; they must do that for themselves. The onus for change is on me. I can change me. I am a professional. I chose to teach. I get paid to teach kids assigned to me. The kids did not choose my school or me. They are not volunteers; they are compelled to attend school. Once they show up, they have done their part.

Examining my own teaching methods, critiquing my own priorities and understanding my own professional expectations, I have come up with the following list of strategies I chose, and that any teacher might use to examine whether a change in their teaching might result in greater student achievement, and that might reduce or eliminate student failure. It is axiomatic that students retain little of what they hear, but much of what they say. The lecture mode of instruction, of course, has its place: It inspires, it motivates, and it stimulates. But it is probably the least effective way to transmit information. Real, lasting learning requires that students do the thinking, planning, writing, and discovering for themselves. This inquiry mode is a method of instruction that actively involves the learner. If the lecture mode begins to take precedence over the inquiry mode, one simple solution would be for the teacher to stop in the middle of the lecture, ask a question and then break the class into discussion groups of three or four as a means of shifting the thinking responsibility to the students. As the students discuss, the teacher can listen in, assist those needing direction and perhaps pulling out three or four students to form a group with him/herself, giving help to those who need it most.

To view the full article, click here.

Bringing Potential Dropouts Back From the Brink

-The New York Times; June 29, 2008

On the morning of her Regents Exam in English language arts earlier this month, Sheile Echie-Davis, an 11th grader at Roosevelt High School, pointed to a blemish just below the swirls of pink and purple polish that covered her long fingernails and explained its meaning. “I’ve been writing so much, I’m getting bruises from holding my pencils,” she said, her tone conveying pride rather than concern that the results of weeks of intense studying were so visible. Sheile, 16, expected to do well on the exam, judging by her past results: She scored 88 percent on her Regents Exam in United States history last year, even though the subject is her least favorite. Three years ago, Sheile was an unlikely candidate for academic success given her chronic truancy from school. Skipping class regularly led to her having to repeat eighth grade in her Brooklyn middle school. Parental pressure and visits from truancy officers did little to budge her belief that the classroom was not where she belonged. Dropping out, she said, was a foregone conclusion. “There was just no way for me to sit with 35 other kids and be able to learn anything,” she said. “I couldn’t do it.” Sheile’s prospects improved when her mother and nine siblings moved to Roosevelt. Here, in a school district that is one of the area’s poorest, she caught up and is now planning her next step come graduation next spring: enrollment in a local college with the hopes of working as a medical technician. Dropping out is no longer a consideration.

Roosevelt has a 34.6 percent dropout rate, according to figures from the New York State Department of Education from the 2004-5 academic year (the latest year for which statistics are available). By comparison, nearby Hempstead has a 7.1 percent dropout rate and Malverne a 3.7 percent dropout rate. To improve their dropout numbers, officials in districts throughout Long Island said they were taking aggressive steps to keep students in the classroom. Next year, Malverne will start a mentoring program to help students most at risk of dropping out. “Once they slip away, it’s hard to reconstruct a successful path,” said James H. Hunderfund, the superintendent. Brentwood also has programs in place to stem dropouts, including one that identifies children as young as elementary age who are not attending school and may be at risk of dropping out in later years. Sheile’s prospects improved when she enrolled in the New Horizons Alternative Education Program at Roosevelt High School. The five-year-old program caters to about 85 students from the regular high school who have been identified as academically at risk, whether because of truancy, disciplinary issues or even incarceration, said Charlene Stroughn, the program director.

To view the full article, click here.

Phila. School District Lays Off 200

-The Philadelphia Inquirer; July 2, 2008

Call it Arlene Ackerman's opening salvo. More than 200 Philadelphia School District staffers received layoff notices this week, a move the new schools chief hopes will begin to de-centralize the district and move resources into classrooms. The employees were all academic coaches, mostly veteran educators who supported teachers in a variety of roles, from technology to mentoring new teachers. The 218 coaches will be eligible to apply for other jobs within the district, and Ackerman said she did not expect anyone to be laid off completely. The notices come one month into Ackerman's tenure, as she begins to address "incoherency" in the district. Similar shake-ups will happen in other departments throughout the summer, said Ackerman, who previously ran the Washington and San Francisco school systems. "This is not the only resource that I'm going to take a look at," Ackerman said. "It's just the beginning." The academic-coach position was too nebulous, a catch-all, and not all coaches were based in schools, said Ackerman, whose background is in instruction. Some coaches worked 10 months a year, some worked 12, and there was no common training. "When I asked what these coaches do, people would sort of shrug their shoulders and say, 'Well, I don't know.' We need to be more intentional in terms of how we use those coaches," Ackerman said.

She called the district "top-heavy and with no real rhyme or reason for why it's organized the way it is" and said that she wants "new job descriptions that clearly define what the coaches are doing, how they're going to be trained, and what kind of measurable outcomes we expect." And though all coaches will be invited to re-apply for a yet-to-be determined replacement position, which could be advertised in a week, there will be fewer coaching spots in the future. "We're reducing the number significantly, as we will be reducing the size of central office again in terms of other positions," Ackerman said. She has not yet figured out how many coaches she will need, she said. When the certified letter came to her home Monday, Tara Ardary, who has 14 years in the district, was stunned. She thought her job as a school-growth coordinator - a type of coach - at Edison High might change, but never dreamed it would be eliminated. "School is out of session, and now everyone's eliminated? The letter said we were demoted, and now we have nobody to talk to," said Ardary, whose job includes helping teachers focus instruction and teaching them how to interpret data. Now she's not sure if she should wait or apply for a classroom job. Cyvi Levin has worked in the district for 20 years and been a coach for five years. She's a school-growth coordinator based at Frankford High and worries that a reduced number of coaches will hurt schools. "I don't know if the students of Philadelphia are going to be best served by providing their teachers with fewer supports," Levin said.

To view the full article, click here.

New Leaders for City Schools

-The Baltimore Sun; June 28, 2008

The Baltimore school board has appointed 33 new principals so far and plans to name about a dozen more before the new school year begins in August.The principal is at the heart of city schools chief Andres Alonso's plans to reform a troubled system. Next school year, principals will have significantly more autonomy in exchange for accountability. Every principal appointee was recommended by a school community and interviewed by Alonso. Alonso has said he expects about 45 new principals in place by the start of the new school year Aug. 25. A review of school board minutes shows that about 30 schools had new principals last year. Four of the new principals were named yesterday at a meeting where the board approved dozens of new appointments in anticipation of the new fiscal year beginning Tuesday. While many of the appointments were routine - assistant principals, for example - several central office administrators were also transferred into new jobs.  The system's budget for 2008-2009 cuts 310 positions at the central office and hands many responsibilities to schools. Displaced central office employees were offered jobs elsewhere in the system, often in schools. Some of the new principals were previously central office administrators. Also yesterday, the board signed off on putting principals in place temporarily, through Sept. 26, at eight schools while officials either look for a new leader or assess whether to keep the current principal in place.

To view the full article, click here.