Friday, July 24, 2009

NEA Education Insider: July 23, 2009



NEA Education Insider: July 23, 2009

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NEA Education Insider: July 23, 2009

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URGE CONGRESS TO SUPPORT SMALLER CLASS SIZES

Educators know that reducing class sizes helps improve student learning.  It is simply common sense -- when qualified teachers teach smaller classes in modern schools, students learn more.  Teachers with small classes can spend time and energy helping each child to succeed.  Smaller classes also enhance safety, discipline, and order in the classroom. 
 
Representative Wu (D-OR) has introduced legislation (H.R. 3010) that would provide grants to reduce class size by hiring additional fully-qualified teachers.  The goals of the bill are to:

  • Reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and
  • Improve teaching in those grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade.

Ask your Representative to support this important bill. 

SPOTLIGHT: WHAT IS CONGRESS DOING FOR EDUCATORS?
(A new periodic feature highlighting Members of Congress who are supporting public education and educators)

Representative Scott Murphy (D-NY) is sounding off on the healthcare debate.  Murphy, who just took his congressional seat in late April after defeating Republican Jim Tedisco, discussed with Politico magazine whether it’s worth voting for a tax increase to get health care reform.

“There are a number of things in the plan that are going to save money, but we can do a lot more to figure out how to pay for this before we turn to cash-strapped New Yorkers, who are hard hit already, and ask for more of their tax dollars,” said Murphy.  “We need to have real reform before we turn to taxes.”

More than 48 million Americans—including 9 million children—have no health coverage.  And with the economy in its current downturn—the situation is expected to get worse with more people losing their coverage.

Meanwhile, Representative Eric Massa (D-NY) wants to see health care reform include a robust public plan.  Massa has reportedly joined a group of about 50 progressive lawmakers who have all agreed to vote against any bill that did not meet certain criteria for a public option.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) was quoted this week on National Public Radio in support of a public plan saying, “I believe that the reforms we are creating will result in more competitive, affordable, and innovative options for Mainers, yet we can all agree that we must not leave universal access to chance.  That is why I also support a public plan which must be available from day one."

As we have reported over the last few months, NEA supports and is working aggressively for reform that ensures that every person in America has quality, affordable health care coverage.  The Association opposes health care proposals that would tax employer-provided health benefits.  NEA also supports a choice of plans and providers—both public and private.  

Learn more about NEA’s position on health care.


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Friday, July 10, 2009

school safety

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, July 8, the House Subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education and Healthy Families and Communities will hold a joint hearing to examine strategies for improving school safety, including ways to prevent violence, bullying and harassment. Recent studies show students are more likely to succeed academically and graduate when learning environments are free from harassment and violence.

http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/2009/07/strengthening-school-safety-th.shtml

Saturday, July 04, 2009

More federal stimulus funding on the way to Florida schools

Source: The Gradebook | Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times and tbt* by Jeff Solochek

 

Acknowledging growing budget pressures that states face, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has announced the release of an added $2.7 billion in stimulus funds for states to spend on schools around the country. Florida's share: $162,179,566. (Want to know what each state will get? See the DOE's distribution spreadsheet.) "This money, which represents the final third of the government services fund, provides maximum flexibility for states to save jobs and drive reform," Duncan said in a news release. Back in May, Florida received $1.8 billion in federal funds for education after a lengthy debate over whether the state qualified for a waiver to get the money. School districts already have begun spending the money, in many cases protecting jobs that otherwise would have been eliminated.

 

Friday, July 03, 2009

Gaetz Takes Senate Office to Shalimar Neighborhood

 

For Immediate Release: July 2, 2009

 

Gaetz takes Senate office

to Shalimar neighborhood

           

 

Over 150 new or revised state laws went into effect July 1.  The changes affect everything from how your child is disciplined in school to who can receive payment for your visits to the doctor to protecting jobs on the state's 21 military bases.  Not to mention property insurance, fee increases and limits on property taxes.

 

Residents of Poquito Bayou and Shalimar can have a cup of coffee with their senator and share their views about these and other state issues next Wednesday, July 8.

 

            From early morning until well into the evening, Senator Don Gaetz will meet with citizens one-on-one, listen to the concerns of business and civic groups, and walk door-to-door during his "Shalimar-Poquito Neighborhood Day."

 

Since his election to the Senate in 2006, Gaetz regularly takes his Senate office to neighborhoods throughout Northwest Florida to hear citizens' ideas and suggestions and discuss their problems face-to-face. 

 

"Very few people have the time or opportunity to travel to Tallahassee to express themselves about state issues," Gaetz (R-Niceville) said.  "Neighborhood Day is a chance for me to spend a whole day in a neighborhood and listen to small business owners, moms and dads, veterans, teachers, and taxpayers who live and work there.  There's no government office, no need to make an appointment, it's all very informal."

 

Gaetz said he will offer coffee, iced tea and an invitation to meet individually with anyone who lives or works in the neighborhood.

 

            "Neighborhood Day" kicks-off at 7:00 a.m. with Senator Gaetz live on News Talk 1260 AM WFTW with host Ken Walsh.  Citizens can call 664-1260 and speak with the senator on the air.

 

            At 8:00 a.m., Senator Gaetz will discuss the results of the 2009 legislative session with members of the Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, located at 34 Miracle Strip Parkway. 

 

Beginning at 9:00 a.m., at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Gaetz will meet one-on-one with anyone who would like to talk with him about problems with state agencies or offer opinions about energy, education, insurance, taxes or other concerns. If individuals want to meet with the senator at a specific time that day, call toll free  1-866-450-4DON.  No appointment is necessary, however.  People can simply stop by the church, located at 1 Meigs Drive in Shalimar, until 11:00 a.m. and, in the afternoon, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Everyone who comes by will have an opportunity to visit with Gaetz. 

 

At lunch, Gaetz will speak to the Republican Women of Okaloosa Federated, at Two Trees Restaurant located at 1955 Lewis Turner Blvd., Fort Walton Beach. 

 

Following his afternoon office hours, Senator Gaetz will visit with residents of the Air Force Enlisted Village located at 92 Sunset Lane in Shalimar. 

 

Late in the afternoon and evening, Gaetz will walk door-to-door in the neighborhood to meet with residents on their turf.  "I enjoy talking with folks on their own doorsteps," Gaetz said.   The senator has knocked on over 25,000 doors in Northwest Florida.

 

          Elected in 2006, Gaetz is in his first four year term representing Bay, Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Escambia counties.  He is chairman of three Senate committees:  the Select Committee on Florida's Economy, Health Care Committee, and the Policy and Steering Committee on Business and Industry with jurisdiction over commerce, transportation, regulated industries and banking and insurance.  Aside from his chairmanships, Gaetz is also a member of the rules, health appropriations, and education committees.

 

            Prior to his service in the Senate, Gaetz was the elected Superintendent of Schools in Okaloosa County, served on the Okaloosa School Board and was the first town chairman of Seaside, Florida. 

 

            Don and his wife, Vicky, live in Niceville.  They have two adult children – Matthew, an attorney in Fort Walton Beach, and Erin, a sports and entertainment editor in New York City.

  

For more information on "Neighborhood Day" or to make an appointment to meet with Senator Gaetz at a particular time, contact Meghan Rice, Legislative Aide to Senator Gaetz toll-free at 1-866-450-4DON or rice.meghan.s04@flsenate.gov .  To read about legislation Senator Gaetz has sponsored and supported, please go to www.flsenate.gov and click on his member page.

 

For more information about this or any other issue, please contact Senator Don Gaetz, by e-mail at gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov, by letter, 217 Miracle Strip Parkway, SE, Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548 or call 1-866-450-4DON toll free from anywhere in Florida.

 

To subscribe/ unsubscribe, please visit www.senatordongaetzreports.com

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

MAJOR EDUCATION DECISIONS ISSUED BY U.S. SUPREME COURT

 

MAJOR EDUCATION DECISIONS ISSUED BY U.S. SUPREME COURT

 

The Supremes had a big week, handing down three very important education-related decisions. Policy workers and district decision-makers will want to understand these rulings, but that's going to take some work since clear standards for enforcement were not included in the rulings. More lawsuits will inevitably follow as schools try to work out exactly what they're supposed to do.

 

Forest Grove School Dist. v. T. A.

 

In this historic 6-3 ruling, the Court held that school districts could be sued and held liable for the costs of private school tuition even when not informed of a parents' decision to transfer their child to a private school, and even when the parents had previously agreed with the district's determination that the child was ineligible for special education services under IDEA.

 

Court decision: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/08-305.pdf)

 

An amicus brief was submitted by the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDE). Although its arguments were not upheld by the Court, the brief describes critical issues and consequences that may assist in complying with the ruling.

 

Brief: http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/SchoolLaw/AmicusBriefs/Forest-Grove-v-TA.aspx

 

Safford Unified Sch. Dist. #1 v. Redding

 

The Court ruled 8-1 that a strip search of a 13-year-old girl that yielded two ibuprofen tablets violated her Fourth Amendment rights, but also found that the school administrators who authorized the search could not be held personally liable in this particular case.

 

Court decision: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/08-479.pdf

 

Horne v. Flores

 

In a complicated 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that factual and legal changes (such as No Child Left Behind interventions and district-level programming changes) that have occurred after a Court order concerning a state's funding plan for English Language Learners (ELL) entitle the state to argue for relief from order. The case involves nuanced arguments concerning federalism, states' rights, diversity, and individual civil rights. The Court was sharply split in this case, and Justice Breyer took the uncommon step of reading his detailed and vigorous dissent aloud.

 

Court decision: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/08-289.pdf

 

* * * * *

 

STAFF CHANGES AT FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

Some of the top folks at the Florida Department of Education have left recently, including:

 

·Cornelia Orr, the FDOE Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Assessment, to accept a position as the new executive director for the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which is responsible for setting NAEP policies and standards.

·Pam Stewart, the FDOE Deputy Chancellor for Educator Quality, to accept a position as assistant superintendent of curriculum and learning in the School District of St. Johns County.

·Iris Wilson, the FDOE Deputy Chancellor for Student Achievement

·Yeteva Hightower, the FDOE Chief of the Bureau of Personnel Management

 

St. Petersburg Times http://blogs.tampabay.com/schools/2009/05/florida-department-of-education-to-lose-another-top-official.html

 

* * * *

 

NERDS REJOICE

 

Two new online resources bring the awesomeness right to your desktop. You've really got to give these a try. They are potentially game-changing tools for those of you with a real interest in truly competitive grantseeking, program evaluation, needs assessment, bargaining, and demographic analysis and forecasting. Many of you are already familiar with the extraordinary data tools that have long been available from NCES, and so I'm making sure you are aware of two more very special tools for those very special toolboxes.

 

WOLFRAM ALPHA is a brand-new search engine/calculator/aggregator service that allows you to make natural language requests and get beautiful, documented results. I can't stop playing with it. To see what it can do, look at the galleries and examples online. For a quick check, try entering something like "unemployment rate lee county" and you'll get a glimpse of what's possible. (Also: The possibilities for improving the educational usefulness of homework may be considerably increased by this service.)

 

http://www.wolframalpha.com/ (Corrected link)

 

DATA.GOV is a new federal clearinghouse site for all kinds of crunchable data. There is so much here that it's dizzying, but you'll soon get the hang of it. The nice thing about this new site is that you can download raw data files for your own analysis in Excel or SPSS or you can use their online widgets and data extraction tools to get to exactly what you want.

 

http://www.data.gov

 

* * * * *

 

EDUCATION JARGON GENERATOR

 

Andy Allan, a science teacher at El Diamante High School in Visalia, California, maintains a personal Web site at http://www.sciencegeek.net as a private endeavor. He has created what he calls an online "educational jargon generator" that randomly strings together some of the awful educationese we sometimes speak to each other. (Example: "enhance mission-critical synergies.") It's a tongue-in-cheek jab, of course, at how educators sometimes mangle the English language, especially in committee-written documents such as grant proposals and reports. You'll be dismayed at how many of the random phrases actually sound like something you might see in your inbox. It's all in fun, but the lesson is a good one: plain language is best.

 

http://www.sciencegeek.net/lingo.html

 

* * * * *


RUNNING THE NUMBERS

 

1. Total cost of required Florida teacher certification exams if taken today: $150

 

2. Total cost of required exams beginning September 1: $480

 

3. Percentage of schools failing to make AYP in Florida this year, based on Florida's FCAT test: 77%

 

4. Percentage of schools failing to make AYP in Wisconsin this year, based on Wisconsin's WKCE test: 5%

 

5. Percentage difference in average 2007 4th grade mathematics scores between these states, based on the national NAEP test: 0.8%

 

6. Percentage difference in average 2007 4th grade reading scores between these states, based on the national NAEP test: 0.4%

 

7. Percentage difference in average 2007 8th grade mathematics scores between these states, based on the national NAEP test: 3.1%

 

8. Percentage difference in average 2007 8th grade reading scores between these states, based on the national NAEP test: 1.5%

 

 

SOURCES

 

1, 2: St. Petersburg Times http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/article1002519.ece

 

3. Florida DOE http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0809/SchoolGrades2009_15.pdf

 

4. Wisconsin DOE http://dpi.wi.gov/eis/pdf/dpi2009_60.pdf

 

5, 6, 7, 8. NCES http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/statecomp/index.asp