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May 2007
Pre-K Squeeze
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s going to be an interesting summer to see if there are enough Pre-K spaces to go around.
A recent study of Pre-K in the South predicts that there won’t be enough to meet the demand. Cobb is getting out of the Pre-K business this year, following Douglas and Paulding counties, shifting 3- and 4-year-olds to private providers. The question is will there be enough spaces. Will there be enough childcare centers and other private providers willing to take part in the state program or have space to do so. And if there are enough openings, will they be geographically convenient to the students they serve, especially low-income with transportation challenges.
One interesting finding of the study was that Pre-K students academically outperformed students enrolled in Head Start or private programs upon entering school. The reason, they say, is that public Pre-K programs require fully certified teachers, not always the case in other early learning programs.
Pre-k is one thing the South has gotten right in education and its benefits are lasting and measurable, the study’s author says. However, some studies suggest the early learning gains in preparation to begin school begin to level off by second or third grade. The is claim not disputed. While the rate of gains level off, Pre-K students still maintain a lasting advantage, according to the author of the recent study.
Have you heard of parents having difficulty in finding a Pre-K program ? What are your thoughts on the study’s findings ? Is the state’s lottery-funded Pre-K program worth it?
Block vs. Traditional
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s one that’s giving Cobb schools administrators indigestion (read a study committee has been formed).
When the principal of Kell High announced this spring that the school would be switching from traditional to block scheduling in the coming school year, a hue and cry went up from several parents who argued against it pointing out that two of Cobb’s highest performing high schools—Walton and Lassiter—were on traditional, seven-period-a-day schedules. They noted that recent research says block isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. (The bulk of Cobb high schools are on some kind of block scheduling).
The uproar reached the ears of the superintendent who put things on hold at Kell, (they’ll be going to some kind of traditional/block hybrid in August), called for a survey to see what kinds of schedules the district’s high schools are on (a varied mixture it turns out); and announced the formation of a study committee this summer to see which is more effective.
The argument for block scheduling in vogue in the past decade is that it gives students more seat time (hour and a half-long classes v. 55 minute-long traditional classes), allows students to complete a full unit in one semester and complete eight credits in a school year rather than the traditional six. Thus, students would be able to work in two more courses in a school year.
But is it paying off academically ? Recent research suggests it may not. One concern is that students aren’t retaining as much, that students’ attention span tends to fade with the longer seat time.
What’s your experience been with block v. traditional scheduling ? Are students’ butts getting numb and their minds switching off ? Are students better off getting smaller doses of math, science , social studies etc. every day, or more content every other day ? How does it work at your school ? Which do you think creates a more effective learning environment ?
Graduation Inspiration
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ve heard ‘em, I’ve heard ‘em, graduation speeches that are pretty predictable. There will be more tonight and tomorrow at dozens of cap and gown ceremonies around the metro area.
One of the graduation talks I remember most didn’t come at graduation at all, but when our high school school counselor spoke with our senior class in the library shortly before the big day. He had a Ph.d. and we all thought he must be brilliant. (Few high school educators at the time had such advanced degrees).
It was an eye opener when he told us he’d been a lousy high school student with less than stellar grades. Let’s face it, 80 percent of seniors aren’t in the top 20 percent of their classes ! I don’t remember the rest of the talk, but he was telling us by his own example that great things could be accomplished even if we hadn’t applied ourselves fully in high school.
Graduation speakers I’ve heard over the years have included a rocket scientist, famous author, judges, legislators, political luminaries and other dignitaries. Strange where the most inspiring words and examples can come from.
Who do you think make the best gradution speakers? What’s the best words of advice you’ve heard? What words of wisdom should kids going on to college, technical school, military and out into the world have today ?
Small Schools = Success?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta has declared a victory in its effort to turn around struggling Carver High, as reported by Bridget Gutierrez in today’s paper.
The school two years ago divided students into “small learning communities,” where students are divided by interest into smaller groups and go to class within these groups for all four years of school.
The concept, around in various forms for ages, has regained favor as school systems try to increase graduation rates and student performance.
Carver’s graduation rate two years ago was 36 percent. Last year? 61 percent. It’s enough that Superintendent Beverly Hall is planning that, by the 2009-10 school year, all of Atlanta’s high schools will look similar.
DeKalb, too, is turning to the concept, with its new environmentally themed high school in Lithonia — currently under construction — built in part to accommodate smaller learning groups.
Of course, this news comes a day after Newsweek Magazine announced its annual list of the nation’s Top 1,200 high schools. The list includes a number of metro schools. The magazine uses a ranking formula that compares the size of a school’s graduating class to the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests its students took last year.
Both those curricula are considered among the hardest at the high-school level, and the magazine argues it’s a truer way of measuring a good school.
I applaud the efforts of staff and students at Carver. I know change can sometimes be measured in baby steps. Dare I hope the school is on its way to a national ranking?
Do You Get What You Pay For?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey, for those of you worried about working after retirement, salary incentives, etc., I thought I’d throw into the discussion the pay raises lawmakers gave some metro school boards this session.
Fulton, DeKalb and Marietta city school board members all are in line to get a boost, with eight other boards across the state also cashing in (so to speak).
Mind you, tiny Marietta’s boost is all of $16 extra bucks a month (the chairperson gets an extra $100 a month). Fulton, however, is jumping from $10,200 annually to $18,500.
DeKalb is going from $12,000 annually to $18,000. On top of that, members’ individual monthly expense accounts — which pay for things like mileage and meals — are scheduled to go from $300 to $450.
Fulton and DeKalb are respectively Georgia’s fourth and third largest school systems. For comparison, Cobb (the second largest) pays board members $19,000 a year (the chairperson makes $20,800). Gwinnett, as far as I can tell, pays members $9,000 (in fact, they seem to take pride in that pay even though the system, with more than 150,000 students, is Georgia’s largest).
Mind you, I’m not saying I have a problem in general with paying school board members a salary. It can be an incentive — especially in these huge county systems — to get good folks interested in what these days amounts to a job. Of course, for the money, that means I expect more of a member than just showing up at a couple meetings a month.
Yet, I can’t say for sure we have top-of-the-line boards here. Some meetings I’ve been to recently in DeKalb have been downright circus-y.
So I’m just asking, is it the pay? Should it be higher in order to attract quality folk? Or are board members just being greedy? And if you lower pay or just shell out for minimal expenses, are you really going to convince people it’s worth the effort to run?
Rules, Rules, Rules…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sigh. So while Bridget basks under a French sky, the rest of us face the end of another school year.
No more pencils, no more books…well, you get the point. What I don’t get are all the rules that the end of school year brings, as if we haven’t had to toe the line all year?
No using your locker; no paper; no eating lunch in the cafeteria (cuts down, I’m told, on the possibilities of a good (warning: audio) food fight?).
I know one mom who’s ready to rebel against the no-backpacks-on-the-bus mandate — yet another rule to follow on the last day (which for most schools is Friday). School administrators “fear [kids will be] throwing paper and things out the window,” she tells me. “But what’s to stop them from throwing paper out the window Thursday instead?” She also packs her kids’ lunch in the bags and cools the food with an ice pack. Of course, lunch bags aren’t allowed on the last day at her Cobb school, either.
I know, I know, teachers deal with enough grief than having to worry about picking up the mess that kids may leave. But when did that sweet release of school’s last day become so regimented?
Filling In for Vacationing Bridgett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So, while Bridgett is vacationing, Kristina Torres and I (Diane Stepp) will be filling in for a couple of weeks with some timely topics. Like us, many of you are gearing up for the end of the school year. In Cobb, which I cover, that day will be Friday. Did any of you catch Saturday’s story about the Marietta mom who was charged with a felony and faced prison time for sending her kids to out-of-district schools ? The jury found her not guilty on 16 counts even though the district claimed she had given three false addresses over the past two years and declined to pay the out-of-district tuition. Thus Marietta City schools had no luck in recouping more than $6,000 in tuition from her. Her three kids will finish out the school year in Marietta City schools but won’t be allowed to re-enroll. Turns out this is becoming a big deal across metro area school systems with crackdowns by the school systems on parents who lie about their residency . How widespread do you think this is? What should be the penalties for parents sending kids to schools where they don’t pay taxes ? How about slipping across the line within the same county, say from one school to a neighboring one because of better football program, or band program etc. ?
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That’s All Folks!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ahhhhh, summer. The thought of it makes my mouth water. I’m sure all you teachers out there know what I’m talking about. Luckily, my summer vacation starts tonight, after I’ve put the finishing touches on my final story of the school year.
Yes, folks, I’m taking a break — from blogging, from journalism, from the daily pressures of life.
For the next few weeks, some of the other reporters and editors on the team will be filling in as blogmaster. They’ll be getting a baptism by fire, I’m sure — just as I did six months ago. But they’ll also learn that so many of you share the same passion that we journalists do for education.
That has been truly gratifying for me to see. And, for that, I thank you.
Retiring Educators: 30 Years And Out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know it sounds silly, but whenever I see the annual lists of educators who are retiring, it makes me a little sad. I’m actually astonished at how many names I recognize year after year.
Sometimes, I’m shocked at how young they are. With many still in their 50s, the term “retiree” hardly seems fitting. But I just learned last night that there’s no age requirement for educators to start pulling their state pensions, as long as they’ve worked 30 years.
Thirty years is a long time in any profession, and certainly many work longer than that. But can public schools afford to lose so many veterans every year, especially when some of them still have so much to contribute?
When Will Teachers Stop Feeling Helpless?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve often asked teachers why they don’t do more to change how education is being delivered today. In response, they often mention that they’re too close to retirement or fearful of administrative reprisal. Several have explained that education is “fad driven” and they don’t feel they need to risk anything because eventually it will change — much like Georgia’s weather.
My question for teachers is: Why do you just go with the flow? You have proven you are strong enough to affect the outcome of a gubernatorial election. You are truly a force to be reckoned with when you pull together. So why the feelings of helplessness when it comes to providing what you know works in the classroom?
Don’t misunderstand, I’m not slamming teachers. Most of the teachers I know are caring individuals. It’s just that as the single-largest voting block in the state, teachers wield the power to stop a lot of unnecessary standardized testing that takes away from classroom instruction; to put an end to grade inflation; to ban disruptive students from the classroom; to demand smaller class sizes; to use teaching methods that truly reach students; and to clearly improve education overall.
So why do teachers have to individually fight these battles?
Please don’t insult my intelligence by saying there’s no teachers’ unions in Georgia. As a businessman, I know full well if my entire work force calls in sick I have two options: Fire them all or listen to them.
Well, actually, I do have a third option at this point in life — I could lock the doors and go fishing. But then, I haven’t been charged with assuring the success of future generations.
Today’s guest blogger, a regular contributor to Get Schooled, is a Gwinnett County father who’s been actively involved in the public school system. A self-described opponent of high-stakes testing, his youngest child is a rising high school senior.
Social Studies: Can’t Get No Respect?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The latest national report cards in U.S. history and civics are being released this morning. The previous report cards (in 2001 and 1998, respectively) showed American students were not exactly social studies standouts.
Back then, less than a fifth of the kids tested in fourth, eighth and 12th grades proved to be “proficient” (the level experts say they should reach) or better in U.S. history and just a fourth hit the mark in civics.
If I were to guess what this year’s report might show, I’d say there’s a slim chance students fared any better on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and they might have even done worse.
With all the emphasis the federal No Child Left Behind Act has placed on students’ reading and math skills in recent years, teachers — particularly in elementary schools — have been forced to give other subjects short shrift.
Social studies may even take the proverbial back seat in Georgia’s new high school diploma requirements. Under the proposal currently being considered, students will have to earn four credits in all the other major academic disciplines (math, English and science). But they’ll still only need three credits in social studies.
Given all this, I can’t help wondering if social studies teachers these days feel a bit like Rodney Dangerfield: “No respect. I don’t get no respect!”
UPDATE: Well, turns out my prediction wasn’t too far off the mark. The percentage of students scoring in the “proficient” range in U.S. history at each grade level was basically the same as the previous exam. That stagnant pattern also held true in civics. Although, on each test, some improvement was made in the percentages of students scoring at the “basic” level.
A Budget Riddle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Investigative reporters are always admonished to: “Follow the money.” I don’t know where the saying came from, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Deep Throat had said it to Bob Woodward in a darkened alley.
I’ve been thinking about that phrase ever since I read Diane Stepp’s article last week about Cobb County School System’s new $908 million operating budget, which is expected to grow by more than $58 million next year.
If that sounds like a lot, consider the growth in Gwinnett County Public Schools’ new $1.2 billion general fund budget, which will be up by more than $69 million in fiscal 2008, and Atlanta Public Schools’ proposed $620 million budget, which is projected to jump by more than $37 million.
In all cases, the annual increase of the operating budget amounts to about 6 percent or so — pretty typical for what I’ve seen in metro Atlanta school systems previously.
But the situation in each of these systems is very different. Gwinnett, the state’s largest school system, expects to gain more than 7,000 new students next school year, while Cobb, the second-largest, is expecting a considerable slowdown in enrollment growth — from about 1,500 new pupils per year to fewer than 750.
The size of Atlanta’s student body, as most of you know, has been shrinking for years.
So now the riddle, which I really am stumped about: How is it that each system, regardless of enrollment pattern, has a budget that is growing — and not only growing, but growing at virtually the same rate?
School’s (Almost) Out For Summer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hard to believe the school year is almost over. But, by the end of next week, most students in the metro Atlanta area will be starting summer break. Kinda gives you that gosh-there’s-still-so-much-I-need-to-do feeling, doesn’t it?
Well, here’s another assignment to add to your organizer before the academic year ends: Write a guest blog for Get Schooled.
Seriously, folks, if there’s an education issue you’ve been dying to vent about or a particularly potent point you’ve just gotta make “jim d” and “SET” listen to, now’s the time to do it. Send your sparkling commentary to me (bgutierrez@ajc.com) by the end of the week and you could be blogmaster for a day.
Now what are you waiting for?
Our Cheating Culture: What To Do?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ever had one of those now-I’ve-heard-it-all moments? I just had one after reading AJC religion reporter John Blake’s story about pastors who plagiarize.
Seems the pilfering of preachers’ prose has proliferated with the rise of the Internet. Some Web sites even let tech-savvy priests purchase inspirational words.
As I read the article, I couldn’t help thinking about how easy new technology — say, the Internet, Blackberries and iPods — has made cheating in school. Nowadays, any student can copy and paste a term paper with a few clicks of a computer mouse or access e-mail and text messages with a cell phone during a test.
The Associated Press recently reported that some high schools are even banning digital music devices now because kids were using them to store electronic cheat sheets.
But instead of constantly adding to the list of educational contraband, shouldn’t parents, teachers and administrators just do more to ensure a campus culture where honesty is the only norm?
‘That Was A Drunk Prom’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A few weeks ago, when I was working on a prom-related story, I discovered that kids these days aren’t too shy about admitting that — at least for some — prom night is for drinking.
One freshman I spoke with described her big night out as “a drunk prom.” When I asked her if her mama and daddy knew she and her date may have been partaking in some illegal partying, she looked indignantly at me, as if to say: Of course!
Tonight, Gov. Sonny Perdue will host another after-prom party — this time for students from South Cobb High School. The annual event at the governor’s mansion began last year as a way to promote responsible behavior on a night where temptation for recklessness sometimes is just too great for some teens to overcome.
I’m sure there still are students out there that don’t imbibe, get high or drag race. But are they among a dying breed or what?
UPDATE: Arrests have been made in the death of a Barrow County honors student, who passed away at an after-prom party a couple weeks ago. But authorities still are waiting for more tests to determine whether alcohol or drugs contributed to Leland “Lee” Martin’s death.
‘Most Bizarre’ School Board Meeting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
School board meetings can be a dull affair, unless you’re a policy wonk like me. I enjoy hearing the nitty-gritty on the inner workings of a school system — which, admittedly, would put most to sleep.
But I also grow tired sometimes of the lack of real, hardy debate among school board members. In some school systems I’ve covered, months will pass without a single divided vote.
Apparently, a recent DeKalb County Board of Education meeting about the system’s contentious redistricting plan was not your regular staid affair. According to AJC reporter Kristina Torres’ story today, the public sniping among the nine-member board lasted four full hours.
David Schutten, president of the local teachers’ group told Kristina that some observers considered it “the most bizarre meeting in school board history.”
Kind of makes me wish I had been there.
Graduation Standards: How High Is Too High?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State education officials are putting the finishing touches on their proposal for new graduation requirements, which could make it much tougher for some students, including career prep or vo-tech kids, to graduate in the future.
Many, including higher education officials and business leaders, are backing the revisions because they say students have been leaving ill prepared from Georgia high schools for far too long. (Although, the graduation requirements actually were last updated just five years ago.)
The changes in how many and which courses students must take to graduate will coincide with the phase-in of the state’s more rigorous public high school curriculum, and will be in effect starting with freshmen in August 2008.
As I’ve reported previously, State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox wants all public school students to leave high school having mastered at least the equivalent of algebra II. True to her word, the committee working on the new graduation requirements is expected to recommend that all basic skills math courses be eliminated.
This, of course, raises the question of whether all students, not just college prep kids, can succeed when forced to perform at a higher level. In other words: When raising graduation standards, are there consequences for overreaching?
UPDATE: In talking about the proposed diploma changes with State Board of Education members Wednesday, Cox repeatedly characterized the revisions — particularly in math — as “huge.” “This is so significant for the overwhelming majority of our kids,” she said. “In the past several years, only 20 percent of our students have graduated with algebra II or above.”
Illegal Immigrants: The Education Debate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just finished reading Brian Feagans’ fascinating article — “In an onion field, two lives intersect” — detailing the disparate lives of two South Georgia women with ties to the immigrant community.
One was a 20-year-old college co-ed whose own parents had toiled in Laotian rice patties before immigrating to the United States two decades ago; the other, an 18-year-old mother who had crossed the border with Mexico a few years ago in search of work.
The student was in the onion field to better understand the forces of illegal immigration as part of her college course work. The mother was there to better her life.
This week, University System of Georgia officials will hold public hearings on a proposal that would prohibit undocumented immigrants, such as that migrant worker, from receiving a break on out-of-state tuition.
Currently, university presidents may waive a portion of the tuition and fees for students, but only in limited circumstances. The tougher policy, which would outlaw that practice for some students, comes as part of an overall state crackdown on illegal immigration.
Sure, the new policy might cut down on the number of undocumented students on college campuses. But will it really keep immigrants from moving here illegally or will it just subject more of them to a life of hard labor?
UPDATE: Dozens have turned out at the public hearings this week to plead with university officials to continue the tuition waivers, which allow some illegal immigrants to pay in-state, rather than out-of-state prices. According to the latest story from the AJC, only about 100 undocumented college students statewide currently use the waivers.
Academic Achievement: The Facility Effect
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC education reporter Kristina Torres had an interesting story this weekend about how the DeKalb School of the Arts still is searching for a permanent home decades after the magnet school first formed.
The story about a high-achieving group of educators and students who’ve cobbled together performance spaces on a shared campus lends credence to the argument that it’s not what the school looks like, but what goes on inside that matters.
Sure, it’s nice to have the latest technology and pristine classrooms. But, at least in this case, students’ academic achievement evidently isn’t hampered by the lack of a proper theater.
As Kristina pointed out in her story, DeKalb School of the Arts boasts one of the state’s highest average SAT scores.
Schools these days seem to be getting more elaborate. Think: high-tech security systems, multiple computer labs, classrooms equipped with digital blackboards and million-dollar theaters. But are kids really learning more? I mean, how much does a facility affect a student’s education anyway?
Bribery Bombshell In APS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than two years after the AJC first reported widespread abuses in Atlanta Public Schools’ multi-million-dollar technology program, reporters Paul Donsky and Ken Foskett learned this week that the problems weren’t just a result of gross mismanagement. Some of the activities were actually illegal.
Turns out the school system’s former technology director was on the take — raking in more than $300,000 in bribes from companies looking to do business with APS, which was flush with cash from a federal program that provided high-speed Internet service and computers to schools with large numbers of poverty-stricken students.
According to Donsky and Foskett’s story, Arthur Scott and his wife, Evelyn Myers Scott, who also worked in Atlanta’s technology department, used a shell company to funnel kickbacks — which conveniently paid for the couple’s wedding, new house and other personal expenses.
Both pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal corruption charges.
Scott left APS years ago, and he abruptly resigned from the technology director’s job in Decatur city schools in March. His wife also no longer works in APS. But, certainly, this can’t help the perennially embattled school system’s reputation, can it?
UPDATE: In other grand jury news, Clayton County Public Schools officials were recently chided for being poor stewards of taxpayer money. Last fall, system officials spent $18 million in a convoluted real estate deal in which the land purchased was valued at just $8.3 million.
State Tuition: Bargain Or Backbreaker?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuition at state colleges and universities is going up again next school year. At UGA, Georgia Tech and other so-called research institutions, incoming freshmen will pay about $4,500 for tuition — a 15.5 percent increase over this year’s annual charge.
Students at regional universities will pay close to $2,900 per year, a 12 percent hike over the current rate. Other campuses will raise prices, too.
The good news: For freshmen, the price will be “locked in” for four years as part of Georgia’s new “fixed for four” tuition program, which is supposed to give parents and students more predictability in planning for college expenses.
According to Andrea Jones’ story today, annual tuition increases for state schools averaged about 6 percent in the past. So, even with the increase, under the fixed plan the new tuition rates could actually end up being a bit of bargain.
Some have already started griping about the price hike, saying it’s becoming more difficult to put kids through college. But tuition at public colleges and universities still is only a fraction of the cost at private institutions.
Anyone want to guess what next year’s tuition at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta will be?
Oh, all right, I’ll tell you: $12,121.
EMOs Bullish On Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My colleague Diane Stepp recently reported that a few national education companies are eyeing Georgia as a potential market for new business.
Among the education management organizations (known as EMOs) looking to make inroads here: Imagine Schools, which is based in Virginia, and Edison Schools from New York. Both companies already operate some charter school campuses in the Atlanta area, but may expand their reach.
Imagine, for example, manages two public charter schools in Cobb County and is approved to open two more this summer. According to Diane’s story, company officials want to run campuses in Carroll, Cherokee, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett and Paulding counties, too.
Private firms that specialize in managing public schools have been around for a while now, but the verdict still is out on whether they can run elementary, middle or high schools more efficiently and effectively than school systems.
Ultimately, I think the question parents, educators and policymakers need to ask themselves is: Is there any danger in letting the public education of K-12 students become the responsibility of an outside contractor?
New Schools: What’s The Upside?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I don’t have many rules that I live by, but I do hold one that’s steadfast: I never eat at a restaurant that hasn’t been open for at least six months. I’ve found the kitchen staff needs that time to work out the kinks.
Given this, I’m often confounded by parents and students who choose to attend a brand-new school — particularly independent charter schools or private schools that are starting from scratch.
I began thinking about this while I was reading Laura Diamond’s story about the fledgling Georgia Gwinnett College — the state’s first new college since 1970 — which will welcome its first freshman class in August.
The downside of choosing GGC: Only four majors are available, the school isn’t accredited (a process that generally takes years), it has no academic reputation yet and few extracurricular activities. The upside: Students can expect small classes, receive more personal attention from professors, enjoy some new facilities and get the chance to form lasting traditions.
So tell me: Do the benefits of attending a brand-new school outweigh the risks of not knowing what you might get?
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