Federal Update - August 1, 2008
Brought
to you by your voice at the national level,
the Association of American
Educators.
How are High Gas Prices Impacting Your School?
Hearing: Innovation in Education through Business and Education STEM Partnerships
A Surplus of Teachers in New Orleans
Improving NCLB for All Students Act
$9.5 Million Grant Given to Oregon to Help Grow Charter Schools
Funds for Special Education Training Granted
How are High Gas Prices Impacting Your School?
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives want to know how high gas prices are affecting schools across the country. A survey has been released by the House Education and Labor Committee that asks teachers, parents, and concerned citizens to tell their stories about how high gas prices have impacted them.
“Schools across the country are bracing for staffing and program cuts because of rising energy costs. The school week is being shortened, and student activities are being eliminated. Our students, teachers, and schools are at the mercy of America’s energy policy, and they’re suffering because of it,” said Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the ranking Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee.
To cut some transportation costs, schools in Idaho and Oklahoma are considering consolidating bus routes to cut down on the number of stops that need to be made. “In previous years, we had virtual door-to-door service,” said Keith Isbell, a spokesperson for the school district in Broken Arrow, OK. “Now it will be at a regionalized location in a neighborhood, which means some children will have to walk three or four blocks.”
Some schools in Idaho are also looking at shortening the school week to four days and canceling field trips.
The results of the survey will be shared with members of both parties in an effort to help get a clearer picture of what is needed for energy reform.
To take the survey, please go to http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/energysurvey.shtml.
For more information, please also go to http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=678.
Hearing: Innovation in Education through Business and Education STEM Partnerships
On July 22 the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to discuss the importance of improving math and science education in the United States. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel released a report in March that concluded that math education in the U.S. is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. is to remain competitive in the world.
“America won’t be able to maintain our great legacy of innovation and discovery, let alone compete in today’s global economy, unless we make investing in math and science education a top priority,” stated Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. He later went on to highlight the need to work with businesses and key stakeholders to help ensure that children are receiving quality math and science education.
Witnesses at the hearing emphasized the fact that there should be greater coordination between education and business communities, especially for science, technology, engineering, and technology (STEM) education, as well as more training for teachers.
Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) agreed with Rep. Miller on the importance of math and science education, but also emphasized the importance of not just relying on federal money but the support of organizations and local communities.
“Here in Washington, we clearly recognize the need to enhance student achievement in the STEM fields,” said McKeon. “In fact, there seems to be no shortage of federal programs and funding streams focused on STEM advancement. But, federal investment alone is not enough to spur innovation and advancement. We need buy-in from stakeholders at all levels, from states and local school boards to non-profits and business leaders,” stated Rep. McKeon.
For more information about the hearing, please go to the Education and Labor majority website at http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/fc-2008-07-22.shtml or the minority website at http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=663.
A Surplus of Teachers in New Orleans
At this time last year Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Recovery School District in New Orleans, had to hire 500 teachers and he wasn’t getting many resumes. This year he has the opposite problem with over 1,000 resumes on file. “We have far more applicants than we have positions for,” Vallas stated.
The increase in interest is being attributed in part to Teach for America and teachNOLA, groups that have been actively recruiting teachers to come to New Orleans through methods such as listservs and Facebook. TeachNOLA received 2,450 applications for 100 spots in their training program that doesn’t even guarantee the participants a teaching job in New Orleans. The city’s focus on education reform has been appealing to many teachers who feel they can have an impact on the children in the schools.
For more information about the Recovery School District, please go to http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/no_has_abundance_of_teacher_ap.html.
Improving NCLB for All Students Act
Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) has released legislation to renew No Child Left Behind. The Improving NCLB for All Students Act contains provisions to increase flexibility in NCLB.
“Although the legislative year is drawing to a close, the school year is just about to get started,” said Castle. “We must continue the education reform dialogue and press ahead in our efforts to make the No Child Left Behind Act stronger and more reflective of what students and schools need to succeed.”
Some of the components of the bill include growth models, uniform graduation rates, alternative assessments for English Language Learners, and the use of Reading First.
For more information, please go to http://republicans.edlabor.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=675.
$9.5 Million Grant Given to Oregon to Help Grow Charter Schools
Oregon has become the latest recipient of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help implement and grow charter schools. The state received a competitive grant in the amount of $9.5 million from the Department’s Charter School Program to help increase the number of quality charter schools in Oregon to help meet the diverse needs of the children in the state.
“Supporting the growth of new, high quality charter schools is critical to our efforts to improve the educational opportunities for all children,” the Department’s Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement, Doug Mesecar, said. “Oregon has continued to demonstrate strong annual growth in the number of charter schools that school districts are authorizing.”
Four other states, New York, Idaho, Florida and Utah, will also receive grants from the Department’s Charter School Program. Priority is given to states that give charter schools greater levels of autonomy over budgets and expenditures and have demonstrated that a high number of schools are being held accountable and are reaching their objectives.
For more information about the grants, please go to http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/07/07242008.html.
Funds for Special Education Training Granted
$2.4 million in grants were recently given out by the U.S. Department of Education to help institutions train special education teachers who work with children with high incidence disabilities, such as learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, and mental retardation. The grants will be used by teacher preparation programs to meet the highly qualified teacher requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
“We consistently hear from state, local and higher education officials that personnel preparation programs for special education teachers should be restructured or redesigned for graduates of these programs to meet the highly qualified teacher requirements in IDEA,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
The grants will help teacher preparation programs implement research-proven strategies to help raise the student achievement of students with high incidence disabilities and expand mentoring and clinical learning opportunities in schools.
To view the list of recipients and read more about the grants, please go to http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/07/07292008.html.