ADMS707

This article takes a macro look at what education might look like in a post NCLB world. The fact that we are even talking about a post NCLB world seems like a fundamental shift to me.

Post-NCLB sounds great, but I do wonder what will come next! The "Close-but-no-Cigar Race to the Top" may become mandatory! Yikes!

An important read for the week on the role of school boards.

We shall see if their actions speak to their words

It is interesting that school board members are only "lukewarm" about certain "structural" changes such as school choice, charter schools, and year-round schooling.

Filmmaker Spike Lee joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan in issuing a call Monday for more black men to become teachers, making their plea at the country's only all-male historically black college

Virginia's public education system's fourth place ranking in Education Week's annual Quality Counts report. The rankings are based on four critical areas: the chance for success, K-12 achievement, school finance, and policies related to transitions and alignment.

Sadly... none of the states got an A or A-. Alas, MS is no longer dead last. Granted they have the lowest C- possible. I know we say that grades are not everything but it is sad that there are no "A" states and our national average is mediocre at best. And, this is not a comparison to other developed countries....

This will be VERY relevant when we discuss the role of special interest groups...

There is no silver bullet...and everyone is looking for just one....money helps, that can't be denied, but until, as the author put it ...there is "hubris", it is all just a power play to be the one who "fixes it" - another addition to a CV or resume. Perhaps folks are looking for a legacy, that I can understand, but the politics of dissent will lead us nowhere.

Goodness gracious- what a mess! Training non-educators in six weekends- throwing money randomly at unresearched projects- coming up with a quick fix to cover up the quick fix that didn't work?!?!? What are they THINKING!?!?

Wonder if VCU is hosting this new documentary?

As a parent of two children who participated in highly competitive programs, I am eager to see this movie. While I am impressed with the support and passion that some of their teachers provided, I (actually both my husband and I) at times wondered if the children were being pushed too much with an unintended consequence that there was less time to focus on the other parts of "growing up." We convinced our daughter to cut down to "only" 5 IB/AP classes in her senior year. She initially resisted but eventually found that the extra time was valuable. And, she was no worse off when getting to college. While she came into college with 36 IB/AP hours, only 12 were applied to her degree. I'm interested in feedback from educators too. It would seem that if they are tasked with moving the children through such aggressive programs they may find they lose sight of each child as an individual.

Yes...I get it...I am an IB teacher myself. But, I have learned that no everyone wants to be an overachiever in that academic sort of way...and we should all be okay with that...thanks for your comment!

One of the arguments made in the Murphy article is that Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of public education. Yet, one of the most consistent findings in the PDK Gallup Polls over time is that the parents of public school parents might be lukewarm about education in general, but tend to be very satisfied with the school their child attends. This brief also contains some interesting information on the public's perceptions of current school reforms.

Keep up with education topics and issues during Assembly sessions.

The Hampton School Board's lawsuit against former superintendent Patrick Russo is back on the court docket. A two-day jury trial has been scheduled for March 21-22 in Hampton Circuit Court. The board is suing Russo for the $102,220 it paid into a retirement account before he resigned in February 2009 to leave for nearby Henrico County Public Schools, where he is still at the helm.

Dr. Becker, if you had to guess, what do you think will be the result?

Hmmm...Philip. I wish I had some insight here. This is a contract issue and the worst grade I got in law school was in Contracts class :-)

Looks like corporate creep to me...

Can you believe this?!

As a follow up to Steph et al's blog about school board communication with parents....here is a webinar next wee (3/2 at 2 pm) .

$5000 for no cursing initiative...really? We can't even get new textbooks!

DOE keeping local divisions abreast of General Assembly activity pertinent to education.

Thanks for sharing. This is true and in my case and majority of my peers. My success in going to college goes to my mentors!

Reduction in direct government activities-->more opportunities for students. Really?

READ THIS - to help in understanding the question posed to us this week!

I really appreciated how the authors delineated at what level each of the functions should reside--e.g. they explained that books should be bought at the intermediate level because States are close enough to the schools to understand the unique needs of the local area but far enough away to avoid collusion. It helped to put things in perspective.

Indeed, Republican pollsters have advised GOP candidates repeatedly in recent years to avoid calling for the end of the federal Department of Education, largely because it gives the appearance of hostility towards public education, which is thought to be an electoral loser for Republicans. And yet, here we are. Republicans aren't just criticizing public schools, they're overtly calling for the institution's complete elimination. This isn't something they're embarrassed about; these GOP voices are stating the goal plainly, as if there's a genuine appetite among voters to scrap the entirety of the American public education system. All of this, by the way, comes against the backdrop of Republican governors slashing funds for public schools, and even the reinvigoration of the school voucher movement, which has been largely dormant for years.

I am speechless...and that doesn't happen very often. Though I agree that schools have become a means for a lot of propaganda, I don't believe it is the same light as they do. Wow, so what would the American children do with themselves? Are they going to pay stay-at-home moms teacher salaries? Ha...

The punishment does not fit the crime, but if there is such a strong correlation between zip code and achievement, who can blame a Mom for trying?

I disagree with two of the comments in the article... The first was made by the City Council President: ""The young lady was wrong, she should not have tried to take her kids to another school system,..." I do not think she should have falsified the records; however, I do not think that it was wrong to try to find a way to get equal access to a quality education for her children. I also disagree with Don Domenech's interpretation of SES data. While research has found a correlation/relationship between SES and student achievement, I think his statement that "the correlation between student achievement and zip code is 100 percent," is misleading. The average student achievement may be higher in more affluent zip codes but that does not mean 100% of the students perform better. There are still students who struggle or drop out. I think the data speaks more to the family SES. It is true that better facilities and access to more materials and technology provide a higher likelihood of academic success, but I think that some of the student's personal/home factors have a bigger influence. If you send a child who is hungry, has to take care of siblings and/or work to help support the family to an affluent suburban school, that student will not automatically perform better. There are no absolutes and I feel his statement that "The quality of education you receive is entirely predictable based on where you live," is misleading. The "quality" of some of the "inputs and processes" may be better but because success in education is complex and dependent on more than simply the school, the outcomes are not guaranteed based on zip code.