March 16, 2009: Nonprofits Distribute Business Castoffs To Teachers

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March 16, 2009: Nonprofits Distribute Business Castoffs To Teachers

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Customized Briefing for THERESA CAVANAUGHMarch 16, 2009

Leading the News

In the Classroom

On the Job

Law & Policy

Safety & Security

School Finance

Also in the News

Leading the News

Sheltered Classrooms Said To Help Immigrants Achieve Academic Standards.

On its front page, the New York Times (3/16, A1, ) reports that

within the last decade an influx of legal and illegal immigrants to the US

" has strained many districts' budgets and resources and put classrooms on

the front lines of America's battles over whether and how to assimilate the

newcomers and their children. " The schools " are required to enroll students

regardless of their immigration status. " Educators, meanwhile, focus on " how

best to educate " those students. For instance, Hylton High School in Prince

County, VA, " has responded to the surge of immigrants by channeling

them into a school within a school. It is, in effect, a contemporary form of

segregation that provides students learning English intensive support to

meet rising academic standards -- and it also helps keep the peace. "

According to some studies, " English learners in separate, so-called

sheltered classrooms perform better in school than do the majority of their

peers who are immersed in the mainstream with little or no language

support. "

In the Classroom

Some Utah Districts Propose Increasing Participation Fees.

The Salt Lake Tribune (3/16, ) reports, " Public school is supposed to

be free. But high school students in Salt Lake can expect to pay $90 for art

class, $20 for a Spanish workbook and up to $50 for science lab. "

Furthermore, " Four of Utah's larger school districts have proposed increases

for the next year: Granite, Salt Lake, Jordan and Canyons. The fee hikes are

largely limited to 'electives,' such as summer school, football and band. "

According to school officials, without the fees, " cash-strapped schools

might have to cut back on extracurricular offerings. " The Salt Lake Tribune

notes, " Schools have routinely hit up students for ancillary goods and

services, from art supplies and football helmets to lockers and parking

spaces. " But some question " the legality of this practice...with parents and

advocates for the poor arguing it's unconstitutional. " Meanwhile, " district

officials defend the fees, saying they don't reflect the true cost of doing

business. "

In-House Bank At High School In Tennessee Offers Students, Teachers Loans.

The Tennessean (3/16, Giordano) reports, " On Wednesday, a slew of school

officials and students shook hands, posed for pictures and officially

opened " lin High School's " very own in-house bank, " the lin

Financial Center. The bank " will provide students and staff with basic

savings account services and small loans " for up to $2.75. The Tennessean

adds, " Much like the real world, if students don't pay the bank back, they

will have to pay transaction fees, or worse, receive demerits or have

letters sent to their parents. " Students in Shepherd's banking and

finance classes " will work at the financial center, rotating in and out of

banking positions, which will be a part of their grade. "

Video By California High School Students Highlights Families' Economic

Struggles.

The Los Angeles Times (3/14, Mehta) reported on " a nine-minute video made by

students at Village Academy High School in Pomona " that featured " tales of

families dealing with the economic crisis. " In the video, " students speak

directly to the camera in front of a blue background, laced with footage of

foreclosed homes, abandoned storefronts and others advertising

going-out-of-business sales. " In President Obama's " first major speech on

education since taking office " last week, he " described the video and spoke

directly to the Pomona students. " Obama told the students " America is

listening. ... And we are not going to rest until your parents can keep

their jobs, your families can keep their homes, and you can focus on what

you should be focusing on: your own education. " The Los Angeles Times

explains " how the documentary...made at a low-income yet high-achieving

public school " wound up " in a speech by the president. "

On the Job

Nonprofits Redistribute Business Castoffs As School Supplies.

The New York Times (3/15, A18, Mayer) reported that Boston's Extras for

Creative Learning " is a nonprofit organization that funnels castoff items

from businesses into the hands of teachers, day care providers and parents.

And the economic downturn is fueling a boom in some donations. " The " center,

which has an annual budget of $175,000, picks up donated items at no charge.

To raise money, it sells new and used donated furniture, like filing

cabinets, tables, desks and chairs. " Also, Recycling for Rhode Island

Education, in Providence, " also redistributes corporate castoffs with an

environmental angle -- ensuring that materials are reused rather than

trashed. The Kids in Need Network gives free school supplies to low-income

students in 23 cities. "

Officials In Colorado District Propose Performance Pay For All School

Employees.

The Denver Post (3/15, Sherry) reported that the Jefferson County school

district " plans to create a sweeping performance-pay system for everyone who

has contact with students, giving bonuses for improvement in math, reading,

writing -- even art. " In order to fund the program, " school administrators

and teachers-union leaders will apply for a grant from the federal education

stimulus fund. ... If both sides decide to move forward after the pilot,

they will need voter approval for extra money to support the raises and

bonuses for the district's 5,100 teachers, counselors, librarians and

therapists. " Even though " there are no concrete details " about the

performance-pay plan, yet, Jefferson County officials pointed out that " they

don't want Denver's system, ProComp, which is a complex cafeteria-style

approach to teacher pay raises and bonuses. " Superintendent son

said that under Jefferson County's program, " raises...may not always come

down to an individual teacher's performance but to an entire school boosting

grades and test scores of an identified group -- Latino boys, for example. "

DC Schools Chief Says Drive To Fix Schools May Have Overwhelmed Teachers.

The Washington Post (3/14, B1, Turque) reported on the front page of its

Metro section that in a letter, D.C. Schools Chancellor A. Rhee

" told teachers...that in the drive 'to fix everything all at once,' she and

her staff might have overwhelmed them with new programs and initiatives to

turn around the under-performing school system. " Rhee was appointed as

chancellor in June 2007. Since then, she " has moved with urgency at all

levels of the school system. Her most visible changes include closing 23

schools, firing dozens of principals and attempting to introduce a

potentially groundbreaking pay-for-performance package in labor

negotiations. " She also implemented several " pilot programs and policy

changes that have placed increasing demands on many teachers " such as

" Saturday programs to prepare students for the DC-CAS standardized tests "

and " cash reward program for students in selected middle schools. " According

to the Post, " the letter is part of an effort by the chancellor to improve

her standing with D.C. teachers as she negotiates a labor contract. "

" Mrs. Rhee wants teachers to agree to performance-based pay, a major

point of contention between her and the Washington Teachers' Union, " the

Washington Times (3/16, ) adds.

land District's SchoolMax Computer System " Plagued With Errors. "

On The front of its Metro section, the Washington Post (3/16, B1, )

reports, " A $4.1 million computer program designed to put Prince 's

County [MD] students' grades, attendance and discipline data online has been

plagued with errors in its first year, leading to botched schedules, an

over-count of students and report cards that were delayed or, in some cases,

simply wrong. " In all, " errors led to the duplication of 3,600 student

identification numbers in the 128,000-student system; almost 300 were

double-enrolled, leading to an inaccurate count of the student population. "

SchoolMax " is owned by Computer Systems, based in Canada, and has 76

clients, among them the Los Angeles Unified School District, the

second-largest school system in the United States, where 300,000 middle and

high school students use it. " The Post notes that a 2003 Los Angles Times

article " reported similar complaints about grading and attendance glitches,

but they do not seem to have caused as much trouble as in Prince 's. "

Law & Policy

Florida District's Code To Ban Hazing, Phones During Testing, And Bullying.

The St. sburg Times (3/16, Solochek) reports that proposed changes to

Pasco County schools' student code of conduct include prohibiting " students

from using their [mobile] phone or other personal technology " during

standardized testing " that can access the Internet to visit Web sites that

would not make it through the district filters. " Another update would

explicitly ban " hazing -- defined as 'any action or situation which coerces

another including the victim to perform any act which causes or creates a

substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm'...for the first time.

Bullying is more tightly defined, " in accordance with " the state's new

antibullying law. " And, " distribution of illegal substances is specifically

stated as grounds for disciplinary action, as are use and possession. " The

Pasco County School Board " will have its first reading of the student code

of conduct during its meeting today. "

Safety & Security

Violence Free Zone Reduces Suspensions, Altercations At Virginia High

School.

The Richmond Times Dispatch (3/16, Reid) reports that at Wythe High

School in Richmond, VA, " Nearly every non-academic indicator of school

failure -- truancy, dropouts, suspensions, physical encounters, thefts on

and near campus -- is down this year, according to the school system and

city police. " The change, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch, has come

as a result of " a program called the Violence Free Zone, " a " national

school-based violence-prevention program " by the Center for Neighborhood

Enterprise. The program is run by the Richmond Outreach Center, a " religious

outreach group, " which " sends 10 staff members daily to Wythe. Each youth

adviser is responsible for 12 to 20 students, though they work with any

student who asks for help. " School administrators are aiming to get " the 150

students in the Violence Free Zone more in line with the 850 or so other

students. "

School Finance

Reliance On Property Tax Revenue Makes Many Schools Vulnerable To Recession.

USA Today (3/16, Toppo, Gillum) reports that " across the USA, hard times

have forced schools to trim budgets, freeze hiring and, in a few cases, make

substantial job cuts, raising doubts about the future of a range of

programs. " USA Today points to seven school districts " across the nation "

that it says are " particularly vulnerable to budget cuts in the coming year.

They're in areas hit by a wave of mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures and

upside-down mortgages, in which borrowers owe more than their homes are

worth, according to data analyzed by First American CoreLogic. " Because

" education budgets also are especially reliant on local property tax

revenue, which is likely to slide at a time when thousands of residents in

the districts are losing their homes, " many " school systems across the USA

are vulnerable. " According to USA Today, " more than half of school districts

nationwide...rely on local property taxes for more than 25 percent of their

budgets. "

Also in the News

Columnist Praises Education Secretary's Leadership Skills.

In an opinion piece for Newsweek (3/14) columnist F. Will wrote that

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is " impressively impatient with what

W. Bush called 'the soft bigotry of low expectations.' But under

Bush's NCLB, Duncan says, 'we have been lying to children and their parents

because states have dumbed down their standards' of proficiency.

'Sometimes...you have to call the baby ugly,' " he said. Will touts some

improvements made in the Chicago Public School district under Duncan's

leadership. For instance, " Duncan had many schools open 10 to 12 hours a

day, six or seven days a week, for voluntary activities, including

instruction. " And " under a policy whereby money follows the students, 59

percent of high-school students are attending schools they choose away from

their neighborhoods. By closing failing schools and opening replacements,

Chicago is ensuring that the portfolio of schools is churned and improved. "

Furthermore, " By making teaching more fun, [Duncan's] Chicago innovations

helped increase the number of applicants from two for each teaching position

to 10. "

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