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Wait on Florida's NCLB waiver, LULAC urges Duncan
Leaders of LULAC Florida, noting the federal government's "significant concerns" with the state's NCLB waiver request, have urged US Education Secretary Arne Duncan to heed those concerns when considering the proposal.
State director Jose Fernandez wrote in a letter to Duncan (attached below) that the Hispanic group, which pays a lot of attention to English-language learner issues, was not consulted as state officials prepared the waiver application on ELL issues.
Further, Fernandez stated, the state plan does little to move toward English language proficiency standards, and does not indicate how ESOL training will be incorporated into teacher professional education — among other issues LULAC has with the request.
What does the group want?
"LULAC Florida requests that the USDOE defer its decision on the FDOE waiver application until the areas of concern presented above have been adequately addressed by the FDOE," Fernandez wrote. ... Read more
Report: No Child Left Behind created "lost decade for U.S. schools"
No Child Left Behind, 10 years old this week, didn't do much for student achievement, but it did plenty to narrow curriculum, spur cheating and boost the standardized testing industry, says this new report from FairTest: Beyond its basic testing mandates, NCLB begot a seemingly endless proliferation of tests and ways to use them: standardized tests in more subjects, interim and benchmark tests. It spawned so-called “formative” tests, which are supposed to help improve instruction but mostly take more time away from it. NCLB also fed the growth of a hugely profitable testing industry, increasing its bottom line while student achievement on NAEP leveled off and achievement gaps stagnated.
Florida's NCLB waiver request raises questions, group says
Eleven states have asked the Obama administration for waivers to No Child Left Behind. Florida leaders have said they want to eliminate the confusion that arises when residents see that schools get good marks in the state's rating system but don't meet annual federal progress standards.
The Center for American Progress has reviewed the waiver proposals to see if they meet the administration's "ambitious but achievable" reform goal. It found Florida's application middling, along with Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota and New Mexico.
"Florida would award school grades based on achievement and growth, but would also include the performance of a “botom 25 percent” of students. This has pros and cons as discussed above, and the state would give schools credit for making as litle as 5 percent gains with this group. It is also unclear whether Florida would simply report this data or use it to hold schools accountable for subgroup progress. ... Read more
Early childhood education needs a spotlight
Maybe it's a coincidence and the issue will just fade away again. But in the past week or so there's been a mini-wave of attention and publicity about something that should be a news beat unto itself: early childhood education, and how it needs to be better.
Last week, David Lawrence Jr., the former Miami Herald publisher who co-chairs the Children's Movement of Florida, spoke about the issue to the Florida School Boards Association and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. Over the weekend, there was this piece in The New Republic about President Obama's failure to talk about the issue as passionately as he once did. And then this week, there was Pinellas Superintendent John Stewart's call for an early learning project of some kind to honor school board member Lew Williams. ... Read more
- early childhood education
- Florida Education Policy
- John Stewart
- Lew Williams
- Obama education plans
- Parents and Education
- Pinellas
- pre-K
- VPK
VP Biden headed to Florida to talk education (again)
Vice President Joe Biden is coming to Florida again to talk education. This time, according to a White House press release, he and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will be in Neptune Beach (near Jacksonville) on Thursday to talk about college affordability. Biden was in South Florida in September to talk about the jobs bill, in Pasco in early October (again to talk about the jobs bill), and in Orlando in late October to address the Florida Education Association's delegate assembly.
The most powerful U.S. education secretary ever?
From POLITICO: Arne Duncan grabbed headlines from the moment he arrived in Washington as President Barack Obama’s basketball-playing friend in the Cabinet. Nearly three years later, Washington insiders are paying attention for a different reason: During Duncan’s time as secretary of education, they say, he has amassed more power than any of his predecessors and tightened the federal government’s grasp on schools nationwide. (Image from blogs.seattleweekly.com)
Obama administration rolls out teacher prep reform
The U.S. Department of Education announced a series of proposals today that it says will strengthen teacher preparation, including linking student test scores back to teachers and the programs that produced them, offering more money for teaching scholarships and expanding efforts to create more minority teachers. Details in the department's plan here. ... Read more
White House: Florida schools would get $1.28 billion from Obama jobs bill
Tampa Bay would get at least $209 million to upgrade schools from President Obama's proposed jobs bill, part of $1.28 billion funnelled to Florida schools overall and $25 billion nationwide, according to the White House. Hillsborough would get $122.8 million; Pinellas, $54 million; Pasco, $32.4 million.
Vice President Joe Biden was in South Florida today to pitch the plan. ... Read more
Obama: Jobs bill will save up to 280,000 teachers
President Obama's proposal for an American Jobs Act, which he outlined tonight in an address to Congress, includes a couple of proposals that he says would benefit schools. According to a White House summary:
Preventing Layoffs of Teachers, Cops and Firefighters: The President is proposing to invest $35 billion to prevent layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers, while supporting the hiring of tens of thousands more and keeping cops and firefighters on the job. These funds would help states and localities avoid and reverse layoffs now, requiring that funds be drawn down quickly. Under the President’s proposal, $30 billion be directed towards educators and $5 billion would support the hiring and retention of public safety and first responder personnel. ... Read more
Dear Arne: About those teacher evaluations ...
It's a given: most teacher evaluation systems are lame. Change is overdue. But shouldn't we see what works and what doesn't with pilot projects (i.e., Hillsborough) before going whole hog (i.e., Florida)? So goes the argument in this combination letter/policy memo that a New York principal and University of Colorado professor Kevin Welner (who directs the National Education Policy Center) recently sent U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan (at Duncan's invitation). They wrote:
There is no question that educator evaluation systems based in large part on student test scores are unchartered waters. Yet the statewide systems are not pilots; they are full-blown mandates imposed on all public schools. What we are engaging in is a national experiment that is costly in public dollars attached to high-stakes consequences for educators and students alike ... ... Read more
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