Federal Update - January 4, 2008
Brought
to you by your voice at the national level,
the Association of American
Educators.
Education in the Race for President
The "Rhodes Scholarship" for Teaching
Merit Pay in the Race for the White House
$52 Million Allocated for School Improvement Grants
Bruce Randolph’s Autonomy Plan Gets Approval from the DPS Board
Budget Approved for the U.S. Department of Education
Efforts to End Minnesota’s Participation in NCLB Imminent
Education in the Race for President
The caucuses in Iowa on January 3 kicked off the frenzied presidential primary schedule that is now upon us. A host of issues, including the war in Iraq, health care, immigration, and taxes have consumed the candidates time as they reach out and try to connect with a diverse set of voters. "It is very difficult for any special issue to break through, given how cluttered the terrain is," said Democratic consultant Chris Lehane. A December 11 poll done by ABC News/Washington Post indicated that only one percent of voters signified that education was their number one priority. Bill and Melinda Gates along with Eli and Edythe Broad are working to increase that percentage by funding Strong American Schools commonly referred to as Ed in '08.
Currently the 125 Ed in '08 staffers are focusing their attention in early-voting states by having field offices in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Recent polls have shown that the importance voters place on education is increasing in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states in the nation to hold caucuses or primaries. According to the ABC News/Washington Post poll, education tied with the economy for second place in domestic issues among potential voters in New Hampshire. Health care was the number one issue in that poll with 23 percent.
Beginning in March, Ed in '08 is likely to execute a multimillion-dollar ad campaign in contested states such as Ohio and Florida. The ads will target married women and Hispanics. "The goal is to prod the next president into rallying support from governors, mayors and local school superintendents using the bully pulpit to drive American consciousness around this issue," stated Marc Lampkin, executive director of Strong American Schools.
To learn more about Ed in '08 please visit their website at http://www.edin08.com/.
Also, please read the following article titled, “Gates Donates $30 Million to Make Education a Campaign Issue, at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=axlS9ALgtlUg&refer=us#.
For information on the latest polls and information about the presidential candidates please go to http://www.realclearpolitics.com/.
The "Rhodes Scholarship" for Teaching
In an effort to overhaul teacher education in the United States, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has announced the start of a national and state fellowship program. This program is aspiring to be the "Rhodes Scholarship" of teaching.
Participants in the national program will receive a $30,000 stipend to complete a yearlong master's program at four of the nation's top programs, Stanford University, the University of Washington, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia. As a condition of the scholarship the participants will have to agree to teach in a low-income school for three years. "We want to get excellent teachers to high-needs schools in cities and rural areas, we want to attract the best and brightest to teaching and to dignify the profession, we want to retain the top teachers, and we want to transform teacher education," stated Arthur E. Levine, president of the foundation. The program will be funded by the Lilly Endowment, the Annenberg Foundation, and the Carnegies Corporation of New York.
The state-level program will begin in Indiana with Ohio expected to be launched next. Indiana was a favorable target for the fellowship because it is believed that the program will have a large effect on education in the state. The fellowship participants would encompass one-fourth of the new math and science teachers that the state produces each year. Pat Swails, the president of the Indiana chapter of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is supportive of the fellowship program. "Our problem is that a lot of the students of math and science go to industry because they have respect there and a competitive salary, none of which is available to teachers of math and science consistently across the state," she said.
The national and state versions of the fellowship program will focus on the following four goals:
For more information about the fellowship program, please read the following press release from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation at http://www.woodrow.org/newsroom/newsitems/WW_TeachingFellowship_NATL_Dec07.php.
Merit Pay in the Race for the White House
One of the more contentious issues in the debates on education amongst the Democratic presidential candidates is merit pay for teachers. The two Democratic front runners, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, have contrasting views on the issue. Obama has been supportive of the issue while Clinton has opposed merit pay stating that it would "open a whole lot of problems." Clinton supports "school-based incentive pay," meaning the entire school would benefit from improvements instead of the teachers who demonstrated success in their classrooms.
One merit pay plan that Obama is touting is Denver's Professional Compensation System for Teacher (ProComp). Under Pro-Comp teachers can earn up to a $1,026 bonus if they have documented student growth, improve their teaching skills, and agree to work in hard-to-serve schools. "Cities like Denver have already proven that by working with teachers, this can work," stated Obama.
"It's a perfect issue for Democrats to fight over," stated Paul Teske, director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver. "Republicans will favor it without thinking about it, whereas the Democrats - because of the teachers' union issue and its support - must find a more nuanced way," Teske said.
"It's exciting to see Democrats taking the plunge," said Phil Gonring, senior program officer at Rose Community Foundation in Denver, who was involved with ProComp's development and was a co-author of the study of the Denver plan. "We certainly hoped what happened in Denver would set a precedent for other states and school districts," Gonring said.
For more information about the merit pay program please go to http://www.denverpost.com/education/ci_7845650.
$52 Million Allocated for School Improvement Grants
The U.S. Department of Education announced recently that $52 million will be given to 21 states for school improvement grants. The grants will be used to help states develop and deliver comprehensive leadership and technical assistance to be used in schools and districts that aren’t making adequate yearly progress (AYP).
"No Child Left Behind shines a spotlight on schools and holds them accountable for results. School Improvement Grants support the steps states and school districts are taking to improve standards and outcomes in low-performing schools so that our nation’s students can succeed in classroom and beyond," stated Secretary Margaret Spellings.
For a list of the states that will be receiving the grants please go to http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/12/12202007.html.
Bruce Randolph's Autonomy Plan Gets Approval from the DPS Board
The Bruce Randolph School in Denver, CO received a victory on December 20 when the Denver Public Schools board voted unanimously to approve their autonomy plan. The school had asked the district to allow them to opt out of certain aspects of the contract in order for the school to control their own budget, staff, time, and incentives.
A few years ago the school had been the lowest performing school in the state but has seen steady improvements under the direction of principal Kristin Waters and her dedicated staff. Ms. Waters and a majority of the teachers at the school believe that to continue to see improvements in student achievement they must have the ability to implement reforms as they see fit. The next step in the process is for the 22-member governing board of the local union, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) to vote whether or not they approve the plan. A vote is set for January 8.
“My hope is we will have 20 proposals like this on our desks,” Board President Theresa Pena stated before voting in favor of the autonomy agreement. One of the questions that will likely be before the board soon is how the Bruce Randolph plan can be replicated by other schools in the district. “There isn’t a school in our district that probably wouldn’t benefit,” stated board member Jeanne Kaplan. “So how do we get from this point to that?”
For more information about the Bruce Randolph plan, please read the following article, titled "DPS Board OKs Autonomy Plan," at http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/dec/21/dps-board-oks-autonomy-plan/.
To read about support of the teachers at Bruce Randolph from AAE's Colorado affiliate, the Professional Association of Colorado Educators, please read the following letter to the editor at http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/dec/25/teachers-staff-at-randolph-applauded/.
Budget Approved for the U.S. Department of Education
On December 26, President Bush signed a $550 billion omnibus spending bill which includes $59.2 billion for the U.S. Department of Education. Education spending was increased by 2.9 percent from last year. Included in the bill were 9,800 earmarks, totaling more than $10 billion. “These projects are not funded through a merit-based process and provide a vehicle for wasteful government spending,” President Bush stated.
Under the new spending bill, $13.9 billion will be allocated for Title I, which is an 8.6 percent increase from 2007. Reading First, however, was cut significantly from $1 billion last year to $393 million in fiscal year 2008. Reading First received criticism last year when it was discovered by the Education Department’s inspector general that certain textbook publishers were favored under the program which coincided with other management problems.
Other funding allocations include $10.9 billion for K-12 state grants under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, $2.93 billion to help improve teacher quality and $1.2 billion for career and vocational education programs.
For more information on the budget please go to http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/19/16fellows.h27.html.
Efforts to End Minnesota’s Participation in NCLB Imminent
Republican senators in Minnesota will be ready to introduce a bill to end Minnesota’s participation in No Child Left Behind next month when the state legislature goes back in session. “What we want is to make a real firm stand for local control,” said Sen. Geoff Michel, (R-Edina). “We’ve had five years of the No Child Left Behind regime, and I think it’s safe to call it a failure now. We’re giving it an F and trying to take back our schools.”
Educators in Minnesota who oppose NCLB believe it forces them to spend too much time and money on testing. They also oppose tough penalties such as the restructuring of schools if schools fail to meet AYP.
If the state opts not to participate in NCLB they could lose $250 million a year in federal funding. According to Michel, the state will be able to make up the loss of federal funds by not complying with the law. A legislative auditor’s report in 2004 indicated that the state would have to spend tens of millions of dollars to meet the terms of NCLB.
Rep. Mindy Greiling, (D-Roseville) said she won’t support the effort to end Minnesota’s participation in NCLB. She had previously supported efforts to get out of NCLB but has changed her position to “amend-it-don’t-end-it,” indicating she wants to wait to see what Congress does with the law before Minnesota takes action. “It’s not really a state action anymore,” she stated.
For more information on Minnesota and NCLB, please read the following article titled, “No Child Left Behind: GOP Senators Want it to be History,” at http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/12963721.html.