Which time option below produces better achievement?
Final results

49% Shorter days, longer calendar
22% Longer days, Shorter calendar
28% Makes no difference

Total votes: 99

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An interesting debate in Michigan: According to the South Bend Tribune, the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) is working with state legislators to reinstate a mandatory minimum number of school days. The action comes as districts are trying to cut back on the number of days spent in the classroom, while adding hours to each day to save money. MASB argues that cutting down on the number of required days students must spend in school will continue to put the nation's students at a competitive disadvantage when compared to students internationally.

Let's help Michigan out. If you have not yet taken this week's Principal's Poll, please visit www.principals.org and indicate which time option--if either--produces better results in student achievement. And be sure to leave your comments on the debate below.

Posted by Bob Farrace at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

On March 27, the House and Senate budget committees cleared their annual budget resolutions. The House resolution (H. Con. Res. 85) would provide $88.7 billion for education and workforce training, as well as social services. The Senate resolution (S. Con. Res. 13) would provide $89.4 billion for those same services. Both resolutions represent an increase of more than $4 billion over the adopted FY 2009 congressional budget resolution.

Although nonbinding, the congressional budget resolution serves as a blueprint for the later appropriations process, as well as a policy statement of congressional majority priorities.

Included in both the House and Senate resolutions is a deficit-neutral reserve fund to improve the access and affordability of college for low-income students. A deficit-neutral reserve fund is also included in both resolutions to improve child nutrition.

In addition, the Senate resolution includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund that would help make investments in America’s schools through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-393).

This week the House and Senate will debate, and possibly adopt their respective resolutions. Following adoption, chamber and committee leaders will be appointed to a conference committee to work out differences between the two resolutions. The House and Senate will then vote to adopt a finalized version.

After the resolution is adopted, the House and Senate appropriations committees will begin work on their federal spending bills for FY 2010.

Stay tuned for updates, as NASSP will be following the budget and appropriations processes very closely!

Posted by Mark Ames, NASSP Gov't Relations Mgr at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What has been your experience of teachers who have alternative certification?
Final results

29% Generally quite favorable
14% Somewhat favorable
39% Pretty mixed
15% Somewhat unfavorable
  3% Will not make that mistake again

Total Votes: 114

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While career changers usually make up about one-third of new teachers, that number has risen over the last decade and is expected to continue rising with the current economy, the AP reports. More pathways to teaching are also opening up, giving career changers the opportunity to enter classrooms more quickly. And the benefits of hiring career changers are more evident considering that once placed in the classroom, they tend to stick with teaching longer than other new teachers, according to the National Center for Alternative Certification.

Principals are, of course, in a perfect position to see trends in the quality of teachers certified through alternative routes. Tell us what your experience has been of such teachers. If you have not already done so, take this week's Principal's Poll at www.principals.org and leave your comments below. (Poll is now closed.)

Posted by Bob Farrace at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Would ELL students be better served in a separate school-within-a-school?
(Final results)

70% No
30% Yes

Total votes: 117

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Sparking intense debate, some U.S. high schools have responded to the influx of immigrant students by separating them into a "school within a school." According to a report in the New York Times, education experts estimate that it takes the average learner of English at least two years of study to hold conversations, and five to seven years to write essays, understand a novel, or explain scientific processes at the level of their English-speaking peers. In an effort to best assimilate ELL students, high schools are offering them special services with their own classes, clubs, and activities to prepare them before entering mainstream classes.

So is this a case where separating students by knowledge or ability level is the best answer? Principals, if you have not already done so, please take this week's Principal's Poll at www.principals.org and leave your comments below.

Posted by Bob Farrace at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified at the year’s first House Budget Committee hearing on the outline of the administration’s proposed budget for FY 2010, which calls for a $46.7 billion investment in education—an increase of about $500 million over the FY 2009 level.

Although he revealed  few new details on the president’s specific funding requests,  Secretary Duncan did have a clear message for Congress and the American public—the detailed budget request submitted in April should be viewed as an investment that builds on the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1), which  allocated over $101 billion for  education over two years.

At the hearing,  the secretary also reinforced several themes previously expressed by President Obama, including increasing accountability for principal and teacher preparation programs, improving “systems and strategies for recruiting, evaluating, and supporting teachers, and [providing] incentives that will both reward effective teachers and encourage them to teach where they are most needed.”

Turning toward the pending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, presently known as No Child Left Behind, Secretary Duncan said that the current system of 50 different state standards has resulted in states lowering their standards in a “race to the bottom.” To remedy  the situation, the federal government will provide incentives to states to help them “develop and implement rigorous, college-ready academic achievement standards along with improved assessments, including assessments for students with disabilities and English language learners, to accurately measure students’ knowledge and skills.”

When asked whether the administration is seeking to create a federal curriculum through these efforts,  Secretary Duncan said that he believes the federal government’s role in education is to spur innovation, reward success, and drive best practices. He also said that the $5 billion innovation (or “race to the top”) fund in the recovery bill would be used as an incentive for states to voluntarily raise their standards.

—Mark Ames (amesm@principals.org), NASSP government relations manager.

Posted by Bob Farrace at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In a speech before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on March 10, President Barack Obama outlined an education strategy to help lay the foundation for long-term economic success. The White House released a fact sheet entitled Expanding the Promise of Education in America the same day (www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Fact-Sheet-Expanding-the-Promise-of-Education-in-America).

“The source of America’s prosperity…has never been merely how ably we accumulate wealth, but how well we education our people. This has never been more true than it is today,” said President Obama. “In a 21^st century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there’s an Internet connection; where a child born in Dallas is competing with children in Delhi; where your best job qualification is not what you do, but what you know—education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success, it is a prerequisite.”

Calling for a renewed focus on education, the president addressed concerns about U.S. students’ international competitiveness, high dropout and low college attendance rates, and a partisan atmosphere in Washington that has “paralyzed progress and perpetuated our educational decline.” His plan outlined a five-point education strategy for reforming the nation’s schools:

• Investing in early childhood programs, including proposals to strengthen Early Head Start and Head Start, expand access to child care for an additional 150,000 children from working families, and additional programs for children with special needs;
• Encouraging states to develop a common set of world-class standards and assessments that measure 21^st century skills, and invest in data systems that will provide teachers and principals with the information they need to ensure students are prepared to meet those standards;
• Recruiting, preparing, and rewarding teachers, including the creation of new pathways into the teaching profession, incentives for teachers to work in hard-to-staff schools, and performance-based compensation for successful teachers;
• Promoting innovation and excellence in education reform such as an expansion of successful charter schools and effective after-school and expanded-school programs, and the development of new strategies to turn around low-performing schools and keep students on the path to graduation; and
• Ensuring students have access to higher education or career training.

“We commend President Obama for making education a high national priority so early in his administration,” said NASSP Executive Director Gerald N. Tirozzi. “His plan to invest in early intervention programs for struggling students and successful strategies for turning around low-performing schools reflect our own recommendations for middle level and high reform. We are also pleased that the president has called upon states to develop a common set of academic standards and assessments, but we urge him provide leadership in this area to ensure that states move quickly and we truly have one set of national standards. Finally, we hope that the administration’s FY 2010 budget reflects the reality that schools cannot achieve success all on their own, but investments must be made to improve the quality of health care, housing and other standards of living for our nation’s students.”

Posted by Amanda Karhuse at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Which of the following comes closest to your opinion of merit pay for teachers?
(Final results)

21% It is essential for any teacher quality plan
25% It can work with strict conditions
30% It is a nice idea that will not work in practice
25% The idea is fundamentally flawed

Total Votes: 362

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In his first major education address as president, President Barack Obama called for higher pay for better teachers, the Associated Press reports. "Too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching with extra pay," the president said, "Even though we know it can make a difference in the classroom."

Of course, this isn't a new idea. While better pay for better performance sounds like a no-brainer to many, critics point to inevitable flaws in implementation and the myriad ways that extra pay could be doled out unjustly--rewarding all the wrong behaviors.

Likely, principals would have a large role in determining the "merit" that results in higher teacher pay. If you have not already done so, please take this week's Principal's Poll at www.principals.org and contine the conversation with your comment below. (Poll is now closed.)

Posted by Bob Farrace at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced on March 7 that $44 billion for education will be provided to states by the end of April. The guidance authorizes the release of funding for Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) that were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) approved by Congress in January.

The ARRA allocates $10 billion for Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). ED plans to release 50% of each state’s Title I allocation by the end of March 2009, and states are encouraged to award funds to their local school districts as quickly as possible. Districts must obligate 85% of their total FY 2009 Title I funding by September 30, 2010, and any remaining funds will be available for obligation until September 30, 2011.

States must reserve 4% of their Title I funding for school improvement activities authorized under ESEA, and of this amount, 95% must be allocated directly to districts for school improvement activities. Districts may use their Title I funding for any activities authorized under ESEA, including:

• Establishing a system for identifying and training highly effective teachers to serve as instructional leaders in Title I schools and modifying the school schedule to allow for collaboration among the instructional staff;
• Providing new opportunities for secondary school students to use high-quality, online courseware as supplemental learning materials for meeting math and science requirements;
• Using longitudinal data systems to drive continuous improvement efforts focused on improving achievement in Title I schools;
• Providing professional development to teachers in Title I schools on the use of data to inform and improve instruction;
• Using literacy or mathematics coaches to provide professional development in Title I schools; and
• Establishing or expanding fiscally sustainable extended learning opportunities for Title I-eligible students.

ED will release additional guidance in the coming weeks that explains how the Title I funds should be used, and the reporting requirements for states, districts, and schools.

The ARRA allocates $11.3 billion for IDEA, Part B Grants to States. ED plans to award 50% of the IDEA funding to states by the end of March 2009, and the other 50% will be awarded by October 1, 2009. Districts must receive funding from states by the end of April 2009 and should obligate the majority of these funds during school years 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Districts must use funds only for the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. Generally, the funds should be used for short-term investments that have the potential for long-term benefits rather than expenditures the district cannot maintain once the ARRA funds have been expended. Examples include:

• Obtaining state-of-the-art assistive technology devises to enhance access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities;
  
• Providing intensive district-wide professional development for special education and regular education teachers that focuses on innovative evidence-based schoolwide strategies in reading, math, writing and science, and positive behavioral supports to improve outcomes for students with disabilities;
  
• Developing and expanding the capacity to collect and use data to improve teaching and learning; and
  
• Hiring transition coordinators to work with employers in the community to develop job placements for youths with disabilities.

The ARRA allocates $53.6 billion for a new one-time appropriation for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program. Sixty-one percent of a state’s allocation will be on the basis of their relative population of individuals aged 5-24, and 39% will be based on their relative share of the general population.

In order to receive the initial allocation, a state must submit an application to ED demonstrating that it is committed to advancing education reform in the following areas:

• Developing rigorous college- and career-readiness standards and high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities;
• Establishing pre-K to college and career data systems that track progress and foster continuous improvement;
• Improving teacher effectiveness and the equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students, particularly students who are most in need; and
• Providing intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools.

States will receive 67% of their SFSF allocation within two weeks after their application has been approved, and ED anticipates that the second phase of funding will be awarded beginning July 1, 2009, on a rolling basis. States must use their allocations to help restore FY 2009, 2010, and 2011 support for public education. Districts may use their share of the funds for any activity authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, ESEA, or IDEA.

Posted by Amanda Karhuse at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)