January 23, 2009: Obama-Effect Said To Erase Testing Gap

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January 23, 2009: " Obama-Effect " Said To Erase Testing Gap

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Customized Briefing for THERESA CAVANAUGHJanuary 23, 2009

Leading the News

In the Classroom

On the Job

Law & Policy

Safety & Security

Facilities

Also in the News

Leading the News

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Students Practice Using " Real World " Skills With Project-Based Curriculum.

The Coloradoan (1/22, Woods) reported, " Olander Elementary School will

change its name to Olander School for Project Based Learning pending the

Poudre School District Board of Education's approval. " The school has been

using " a project-based learning curriculum " for nearly three years. Project

Based Learning is rooted " in the educational philosophy that students learn

best through experiential, hands-on and student-directed learning

experiences. " Projects typically take several weeks to complete. The

curriculum " allows students to learn a combination of classroom subjects

with real-world skills. " For example, one project requires that students

" read a book, write and edit a review, and then create " a website to post

the information. Students " ran the project as a publishing company, Books

'R' Us where they followed schedules and met deadlines. "

In the Classroom

Student Objects To Asian Stereotype, Says Academic Pressure Is Mostly

Self-Induced.

Gao, a junior at Mission San High School in Fremont, wrote in

the San Mercury News (1/23) in response to an earlier front-page

article ('High expectations and high stress for Asian students,' Jan. 4)

which, she argues, " incorrectly attributed the relatively high stress levels

primarily to Asian parental pressure. " Gao writes, " We aim for our

definition of success not because our parents expect us to excel, but rather

because we know what we are capable of. We are driven by our own ambitions.

.... The pressure is mostly self-induced. " So " if our parents suddenly

stopped caring about grades at all, we would still be working at the same

level as before. " Gao also criticizes the focus on the students Asian

background, concluding, " It is our character which defines us, not our race.

Our high Asian demographic shouldn't cause us to be ostracized or make us a

target of racial stereotyping. "

Second Graders In Missouri School Make Instruments As Part Of Unit On Sound.

The Joplin (MO) Globe (1/23, Hadsall) reports, " Second-graders Levi Hendrix

and Epps and the rest of Annie O'Toole's class at Duquesne Elementary

School couldn't wait to make some sounds, " with their " homemade

instruments. " O'Toole said, " They have been studying pitch, volume and how

vocal cords work to make sound ... Then they put what they learned into

practice by making their own instruments from household items. " Instruments

made included a bass with a bucket and broomstick and a xylophone made of

string and bamboo.

Wittenberg University Offers Monthly Science Program For High School

Students.

The Springfield (OH) News Sun (1/23, Mori) reports, " Area high school

students can get some face time with Wittenberg University faculty and

students while getting hands-on experience with the math and sciences during

Wittenberg's Saturday Science Program. " The program " is free and open to

area high school and home school students. " Each monthly session " will

feature a faculty-led presentation followed by a continental breakfast and a

hands-on lab to illustrate concepts in astronomy, biology, chemistry,

computer science, environmental science, geography, geology, mathematics,

physics or psychology. "

Fairfax County, Virginia, Board Votes To Abandon Tougher Grading Scale.

The Washington Post (1/23, B1, Chandler) reports, " The Fairfax County School

Board voted unanimously late last night to abandon a strict grading policy

it has long upheld as a hallmark of high standards, after a year of intense

pressure from parents who have argued that the policy hurts students'

chances for college admission or scholarships. " Instead, " the School Board

decided to move toward a more commonly used grading scale that parents have

championed. " Moving from a requirement that " students must score 94 percent

to earn an A and 64 percent to pass, " to a policy under which " 90 percent is

an A and 60 percent is a passing grade. " The Post notes that " an online

petition garnered more than 10,000 signatures, and hundreds of supporters

have turned out for board meetings. " Supt. Jack Dale " recommended in early

January that the board maintain the current tougher scale and the rigor he

said it represents. "

On the Job

Seventy-One Educators In Danbury, Connecticut Apply For Retirement

Incentive.

Connecticut's The News-Times (1/23) reports that " a retirement incentive

offered to Danbury teachers will touch every corner of the 10,000 student

district. " Seventy-one educators, including teachers in all grades and

subject areas as well as " Danbury High School's new principal and several

other administrators, " have applied for the incentive. " The retirement

incentive payout gives [retirees] money they can choose to use for a health

savings account or pay for medical insurance until they are eligible for

Medicare. " Also " under the plan, participants would be paid incentive

compensation equal to a percentage of their salary rate for the current

school year. It would be paid in five annual installments, beginning Sept.

1, 2009. Those with 35 or more years of service would receive 75 percent of

this year's pay over five years, those with 30 to 34 years of service would

receive 50 percent, and those with 25 to 29 years of service would receive

25 percent. "

Baltimore Schools Chief Urges Some Students At Struggling School To Transfer

Midyear.

The Baltimore Sun (1/23, Neufeld) reports, " City schools chief Andrés Alonso

is urging underclassmen at a struggling West Baltimore high school to

transfer to other schools midyear -- a highly unusual step in keeping with

his pledge to hold all schools to high standards. " Although the district

cannot legally close Homeland Security Academy " in the middle of the

academic year...Alonso is strongly encouraging students to choose to leave

and asking the school board to close it this summer. " According to the Sun,

" problems at Homeland Security " range " from high staff turnover to low

student performance " mentioning " a slew of fights and bathroom fires. "

North Carolina District Will Permit Some Siblings To Transfer To Avoid

Reassignment.

North Carolina's News & Observer (1/23, Hui) reports, " The Wake County

school board preliminarily agreed today to expand the 'grandfathering'

policy that will " permit a student " to attend the same school as an older

brother or sister who receives a 'transfer' to avoid reassignment. " The

policy inclusion will mostly " benefit families assigned...two new schools

opening in 2010. Rising juniors and seniors won't go to " the schools

" because they won't open with upperclassmen. Now their siblings who are

rising sophomores are eligible for transfers to remain at their current

schools as well. "

Officials In North Carolina District Seek To Reduce Number Of

Low-Income Students At Elementary School. In a separate story, North

Carolina's News & Observer (1/23, Hui) reports that under Wake County's

" proposed reassignment plan, " children in Beteena Person's " neighborhood

would be transferred to a school 15 miles from...home. That's 2 1/2 times

the distance to its current school, and the new school operates on a

different schedule -- a year-round calendar. " The move would " reduce the

percentage of low-income students at Elementary School in Garner. " The

goal is to replace the lower-income students " with more-affluent students

who might apply for 's new magnet program. " School officials " point to

research showing that academic performance suffers at schools that have too

many low-income students. They try to ensure that no school is overwhelmed

by students from poor families or those with limited skill in English or

with other special needs. " But Person disagrees. " I don't believe whether a

child receives free and reduced lunch makes them less intelligent, " she

said.

Law & Policy

Texas BOE Votes To Accept Science Standards That Drop Criticism Of

Evolution.

The Dallas Morning News (1/23, Stutz) reports, " In a major defeat for social

conservatives, a sharply divided State Board of Education voted Thursday to

abandon a longtime state requirement that high school science teachers cover

what some critics consider to be 'weaknesses' in the theory of evolution.

Under the science curriculum standards recommended by a panel of science

educators and tentatively adopted by the board, biology teachers and biology

textbooks would no longer have to cover the 'strengths and weaknesses' of

Darwin's theory that man evolved from lower forms of life. " The

requirement that teachers cover " the so-called strengths and weaknesses " of

the theory was adopted " in the 1980s. " The board voted 7-7 to amend the

proposed standards to keep the existing requirement. The standards if

accepted in a final vote to be held today " will remain in place for the next

decade, although the process for approving new textbooks won't start until

2011. "

The AP (1/23, Castro) reports, " The crowd -- as well as the review

panel -- was sharply split on the proposal to drop language in the current

curriculum that requires teachers to address 'strengths and weaknesses' of

scientific theory. " And " much of Wednesday's testimony focused on the

scientific evidence of evolution. "

Safety & Security

California County Expected To Relocate Students From " Seismically

Challenged " Schools.

The San Mercury News (1/23, Wetzel) reports, " Citing concerns about

earthquake safety, the West Contra Costa school district board is moving

forward with a plan to relocate students at two seismically challenged

middle schools. The board unanimously agreed Wednesday to ask staff to

compile detailed cost estimates, a timeline and other information on moving

students who attend Portola Middle in El Cerrito and Middle in

Richmond to temporary campuses. " The action is in response to studies and a

statement by " the Division of the State Architect...that the 'safety of

students is at risk and must be corrected' at Portola, where the campus -

atop a steep hill at Navellier Street and Moeser Lane - rests on a

landslide. "

Facilities

Missouri District Considers Swapping Buildings With Local University.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1/23, Gillerman) reports, " Washington

University and the Clayton School District are considering a potential land

swap in which Washington U. would trade its old Christian Brothers College

(CBC) High School site for the school district's Wydown Middle School and

two other properties. " In addition to the CBC building, " the university also

would give an undisclosed amount of money to Clayton schools. " Clayton's

decision hinges on " whether to build a new middle school on the CBC property

or renovate and add to Wydown Middle School, which was built in 1965 and has

been renovated twice. " Many residents oppose the swap, as do members of the

Clayton National Education Association.

Also in the News

Study Credits " Obama Effect " With Erasing Testing Gap Between Blacks,

Whites.

The New York Times (1/23, A15, Dillon) reports, " Educators and policy

makers, including Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, have said in recent

days that they hope President Obama's example as a model student could

inspire millions of American students, especially blacks, to higher academic

performance. " A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University, San Diego

State University, and Northwestern University, say they " have documented

what they call an Obama effect, showing that a performance gap between " a

sampling of 84 " African-Americans and " 388 " whites on a 20-question test

administered before Mr. Obama's nomination all but disappeared when the exam

was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the

presidential election. " The Times notes that " the study has not yet

undergone peer review, and two academics who read it on Thursday said they

would be interested to see if other researchers would be able to replicate

its results. "

Middle School In New Mexico Sees Spike In Violent Incidents.

New Mexico's Rio Grande Sun (1/23) reports that " a steady stream of Española

Middle School students milled in and out of Assistant Principal Theresa

' office Tuesday morning, and a handful more waited outside, some with

dread written on their faces, others talking tough, apparently used to

routine visits with the school's head disciplinarian. " Española has

experienced a sharp spike in the number of violent incidents on campus and

in " all-around misbehavior " by students. " The number of disciplinary

infractions has increased by almost 50 percent at the middle school and more

than tripled at the high school since the first month of class, according to

statistics provided by ProSec, the District's private security contractor. "

Nearly one third of the incidents that occurred in November " were classified

as 'major' -- such as fights, vandalism and possession of drugs or weapons,

all incidents that usually require police action. " According to the Rio

Grande Sun, " The worsening conditions come even as the...middle school

increased its [security] force from four guards to six. "

Editor's Note

In yesterday's Opening Bell, a headline read, " Robotics Club At Nebraska

School Creates Environmentally Responsive Robots. " The club is located in

Iowa. We regret the error.

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