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--- Wednesday --- November 12, 1997 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 23 ---
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THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
www.negp.gov
"AN ART DELIVERY SYSTEM" __________ __________
The newly opened New Jersey | SPOTLIGHT |
Performing Arts Center, located | |
in Newark, has been an "arts | LEARNING TO TEACH |
delivery system ... even before | |
there was a building," said | Standards and national |
Philip Thomas, the center's | testing are education |
V.P. for arts education. | strategies booming from |
Two years ago, the center | every corner of the nation. |
began an arts education program | But a small and growing |
that included a summer program, | chorus of educators are |
several artists-in-residence | softly singing in urgent |
programs in schools and a | tones the need to upgrade |
specially designed preschool | the teaching profession to |
arts program. Thomas said the | implement standards and |
arts education program | produce students capable of |
introduces students "to an | scoring well on exams. |
array of professional | |
performances, helps train art | The professional |
teachers and provides | development school is one |
professional training for | model many hope will help |
talented schoochildren from | teachers learn to teach. |
around the state," writes the | Federal legislation has |
N.Y. TIMES (Smothers, 11/9). | been proposed to fund such |
The new $180M arts center now | programs. |
offers a permanent home not | |
only for various cultural | Several models already |
performances, but for the | have been created, includ- |
children's arts program. | ing collaborations between |
Already 1,300 students are | Brown U and Classical H.S. |
studying theater; 1,500, dance; | and Johns Hopkins U and a |
and 780 preschoolers are | Md. elementary school -- |
learning music and movement. | both educate teachers in a |
The center also is involved | school setting, similar to |
with over 40 schools and 11 | teaching hospital. (#4) |
preschools in five counties. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"In school you sit and listen to lectures. But here, you get to
go to meetings and on field trips. It's still educational, but
much more hands-on -- and a lot more fun."
Stacey Shogan, a Pittsburgh high school student,
on the Carnegie Science Academy. (#5)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0124 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL ONE: READY TO LEARN
A HUGE UNDERTAKING: Pre-school for all in California. (#1)
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
FUN WITH PHONICS?: The pendulum swings. (#2)
TRUCE: White House & House GOP reach accord. (#3)
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
TEACHER TRAINING: A federal role. (#4)
GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
SCIENCE CLUB: A hit in Steel City. (#5)
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===== GOAL ONE: READY TO LEARN =====
*1 A HUGE UNDERTAKING: PRE-SCHOOL FOR ALL IN CALIFORNIA
Calif.'s Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin
has embarked on a campaign to provide all of the state's 3- and
4-year-olds with preschool (Colvin, L.A. TIMES, 11/4). Eastin
has appointed a 55-member task force to examine ways to implement
such a plan.
Even Karen Hill-Scott, founder of a private nonprofit child
development group in South-Central Los Angeles and co-chair of
Eastin's child care task force, conceded that the plan is a "huge
undertaking." Hill-Scott: "Buildings need to be built labor
needs to be trained, a bureaucracy needs to be organized,
computer programs need to be written."
Funding is perhaps the largest obstacle that looms before
the pre-school plan, notes the paper. An estimate prepared by
Gov Pete Wilson's Office of Child Development and Education found
that providing half day preschool instruction for all of Calif.'s
3- and 4-year olds would cost between $2.5B and $3B annually.
Eastin argued that federal funds and revenues derived from the
state's growing economy could provide much of the money, reports
the paper. However, the TIMES points out that dollars currently
targeted to K-12 programs would have to be diverted to cover the
costs of universal preschool.
Another possible political obstacle: universal preschool
would benefit the middle-class and wealthy as much as the
disadvantaged, notes the paper.
Several arguments favoring universal preschool are described
in the paper, including:
Emerging brain research that shows "phenomenal growth and
development occurs far earlier than had been recognized,"
meaning young children can greatly benefit from quality
preschool programs;
Welfare reform that would increase the need for preschool
slots;
The apparent gap between those who get preschool --
advantaged families -- and those who have fewer preschool
opportunities available in their community -- the poor. A
new report soon will be issued by the U of California at
Berkeley that found that the availability of child care and
preschool "depends heavily on income," writes the paper.
"There's an enormous need to equalize these gaps in access,
but if we do that rapidly, it's pretty easy to predict that
overall quality will decline," said Bruce Fuller, director
of Policy Analysis for California Education, which produced
the report.
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*2 FUN WITH PHONICS?: THE PENDULUM SWINGS
A Baltimore SUN article brings to life the swing of the
pendulum in reading instruction from whole-language to the re-
emergence of phonics (Bowler and Libit, 11/4). However, an
underlying problem evident in many classrooms throughout the
state is the lack of any coherent reading program.
Patricia Richardson, St. Mary's County school
superintendent, remarked that even in classrooms in the same
school, "there is not always the same philosophy or same approach
or even compatible approaches" to teaching reading. Richardson
heads a statewide panel charged with bringing "order to the
instructional chaos" of reading, writes the paper.
The SUN chronicles recent history that began as a parent
revolt over whole-language in suburban Baltimore County. The
"Pot Spring Rebellion" was the culmination of parental ire over
the inability of their young children to read well. In March
1994, parents petitioned the Pot Spring Elementary School and
Baltimore County school leaders to make changes in the school's
reading program.
At an April meeting, district leaders defended he reading
program, pointing out that phonics had not been abandoned since
teachers focus on "syntactic cues," "semantic cues" 'and
"graphophonemic/phonics." Parent Catherine Froggatt challenged
the district's explanation in a letter sent to supervisor of
reading Cynthia Bowen: "What you described last night was
'contextual reading instruction.' It is clear to us that it is
not working for our children."
The Pot Spring PTA appointed a reading committee to examine
instruction in the district. The committee produced an
"exhaustive report" -- the first to note a decline in reading
scores countywide, writes the paper. After the PTA report became
public, school Superintendent Stuart Berger ordered a review of
the reading program. He eventually rejected the parents'
concerns by refusing to revise the county's reading/language arts
program.
In 1995, Berger is fired and replaced by deputy Anthony
Marchione, who in 1996 installs the phonics-based "Word
Identification" reading program. By 1997, county reading scores
increased, reports the paper.
Paul Murrell, who was assigned to Pot Spring as principal
and peacemaker, commented on the merits of the "Word
Identification" program: "A teacher in the second grade will
know that any student from any of the four first-grade classrooms
will have had the same instruction."
According to the paper, other districts are dusting off
phonics programs:
Anne Arundel -- rewrote reading program to include more
phonics;
Harford County -- adopted a phonics-based program;
Baltimore -- CEO Robert Schiller ordered all elementary
schools to move to a phonics-based curriculum;
Howard County -- new "Primary Reading Instruction and
Assessment Guidelines" also is phonics-based;
At the state level, Superintendent Nancy Grasmick, complains
of the fragmented approach to reading instruction. "My heart
just breaks whenever I see the hodgepodge approach to reading
because we have forever disadvantaged these children," she said.
"They cannot survive academically without learning these basic
skills."
The SUN notes that although districts may order phonics
instruction, many teachers are steeped in whole-language
instruction. Towson State U, a "hotbed of whole-language
instruction," produces a plethora of teachers for the state of
Md.
Besides teacher training, school-based management trends
also work "against consistent reading instruction," writes the
paper. From the paper: "In a drive to strip power from central-
office citadels, many instructional decisions have been turned
over to committees of principals, teachers and parents -- leaving
classrooms susceptible to unproven educational fads."
The SUN's article is part of a series on reading instruction
called "Reading by 9." Reprints are available for $7.95 plus tax
from Sun-Source. A full-year subscription to "Reading by 9"
reprints, including this series, future stories and a binder, is
available for $24.95. To order, call 410/332-6800.
*3 TRUCE: WHITE HOUSE & HOUSE GOP REACH ACCORD
A compromise on national reading and math tests emerged last
week, forged by the White House and House Republicans (Greene,
AP/Philadelphia INQUIRER, 11/4). The accord will delay by one
year the "tests' anticipated introduction into the nation's
schools," reports the paper.
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) offered further details on
the compromise, writes the INQUIRER. Under the agreement, the
National Academy of Sciences would examine state and commercial
tests to see "if they have the rigorous standards contained in
existing federal exams given to a national sample of students to
measure trends," writes the paper. The academy also would
determine whether any existing test "could be compared to yield
results based on uniform, national standards," according to the
paper.
Bingaman, a Clinton ally on national testing, agreed to the
deal, noting several cautions. "He supports it as long as the
study is not used to further delay or obstruct the voluntary
national tests," said Kristen Ludecke, his spokeswoman.
Rep. Bill Goodling (R-Pa.), an opponent of national testing,
signed off on the agreement, hoping that existing tests could be
"adjusted to give the same kind of individual, standards-based
results that Clinton wants," reports the paper. "We hope to go
in that direction," said Goodling.
==== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER ED/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT =====
*4 TEACHER TRAINING: A FEDERAL ROLE
U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)
and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) have collaborated to call for greater
efforts to coordinate and improve teacher training at the federal
level. From a joint press release: "While the debate over
education standards and vouchers continues, the long-term need
for more and better training of new and veteran teachers looms as
a solution to many of the problems plaguing the nation's
education system."
The Senators support several pieces of legislation that
address the need for more teacher training. For example, Reed
unveiled his new teacher-training bill at a Providence, R.I.,
high school. Titled "Teacher Excellence in America Challenge
Act," the bill would direct $100M to fund partnerships between
elementary and secondary schools and institutes of higher
education to improve teacher training, explains a Reed press
release (9/15). The partnerships would operate like teaching
hospitals, with university faculty and veteran teachers working
with current and prospective teachers on how to improve and
enhance their skills by offering supervised classroom experience
and mentoring.
"The way we train teachers for today's classrooms is
outdated," said Reed. "We have a support system for doctors and
lawyers to continue learning and developing their skills
throughout their careers and we provide the support system for
those professions to receive that training. If this country is
really committed to improving its schools, then we need to
recognize that teachers deserve the same kind of opportunity to
continue learning and enhancing their skills."
Reed choose Classical High School to unveil his proposal
because of its partnership with Brown U (McVicar, PROVIDENCE
JOURNAL-BULLETIN, 9/16). For some years, Brown U ran the Brown
Summer High School for teachers from around the country. Last
summer, however, Eileen Landay, an education professor and summer
school director, asked, "Why teachers [from] around the country
when we could be working with Providence teachers?"
Six Classical teachers and 100 students, "most of whom are
now freshmen at the high school," formed the Brown Summer High
School this summer. Teachers taught in the morning and met with
other teachers and Brown master's candidates in the afternoon to
"reflect on their experiences," reports the paper. Landay:
"Just being in a climate where you can talk about teaching is
important. It is desirable and expected that talk about teaching
will go on and that in itself changes people's perspectives."
A WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE article features a professional
development school that illustrates Reed's intent (Dirda, 11/9).
The Pointers Run Elementary School in Clarksville, Md., operates
similar to a teaching hospital, "where interns and residents put
theory into practice by treating real patients." The program, a
collaboration among school staff, Johns Hopkins U, Howard County
Public Schools and the Maryland DoEd, calls on professional
development school interns, all of whom have their BAs, to "spend
all their time at the school -- observing teachers, working with
children or participating in seminars ...," writes the magazine.
Courses are not taught at the school. Instead, theory is
delivered in "'strands' -- child development, multiculturalism,
special education -- which are woven through [the interns']
practical experience." The article remarks that "the unity of
theory and practice is the real key to the professional
development school movement."
President Clinton recently offered a proposal for the
reauthorization of Title V of the Higher Education Act that calls
for an improvement in teacher preparation programs. Clinton's
legislation also encourages the development of partnerships among
institutions of higher education with top-notch teacher
preparation programs, other institutions dedicated to improving
their programs and the school districts they serve. Lead
institutions would be named through the Lighthouse Partnership
Program and would become models for clinically based teacher
preparation and course content programs.
Senator Ted Kennedy: "We can't improve education without
dealing with the teacher deficit too. Recruitment, training and
support of teachers deserves higher priority in education reform,
and higher priority from Congress too."
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*5 SCIENCE CLUB: A HIT IN PITTSBURGH
High school students in Pittsburgh, Pa., can join a science
club at The Carnegie Science Center, even if science is not the
student's top school interest (McKay, Pittsburgh POST-GAZETTE,
10/24). "The club's not just for brains," said Joe Altzinger, a
high school senior and club member. "It's for anybody who wants
to learn more about science in general."
The Carnegie Science Academy, the club, emerged in 1991 with
a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York, writes
the paper. Initially, only 20 students participated -- all of
whom were recommended by their high school science teachers. Six
years later, the club is open to anyone in grades nine through
12. Over 140 students this year will attend the monthly club
meetings at the Carnegie Science Center.
According to the paper, the purpose of the club is to
"interest students in scientific careers, as well as to build on
what they're learning in school." Club activities are hands-on
and include many field trips. For example, last summer students
traveled to Wallop's Island in Va. to study marine biology and
oceanography. In September, they visited a Sony plan where they
were able to watch a T.V. assembly line "It was really cool,"
said Deen Kingsmith, a junior. "We got to see how they put TV
screens and tubes together, even what kind of epoxy they use."
"In school you sit and listen to lectures," explained
another student, Stacey Shogan. "But here, you get to go to
meetings and on field trips. It's still educational, but much
more hands-on -- and a lot more fun."
Club members also participate in maintaining a home page
(www.csc.clpgh.org/). The site describes the academy's current
projects, offers a monthly newsletter and homework help. There
also is a chat room for teens, writes the paper.
THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
* GOAL 1: READY TO LEARN
All children in America will start school ready to learn.
* GOAL 2: SCHOOL COMPLETION
The high school graduation rate will increase to at least
90 percent.
* GOAL 3: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having
demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including
English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and
government, economics, arts, history, and geography, and every
school in America will ensure that all students earn to use their
minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship,
further learning, and productive employment in our Nation' modern
economy.
* GOAL 4: TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Nation's teaching force will have access to programs for
the continued improvement of their professional skills and the
opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to
instruct and prepare all American students for the next century.
* GOAL 5: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
United States students will be first in the world in
mathematics and science achievement.
* GOAL 6: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
Every adult American will be literate and will possess the
knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and
exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
* GOAL 7: SAFE, DISCIPLINED, & ALCOHOL- AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS
Every school in the United States will be free of drugs,
violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol
and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.
* GOAL 8: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION
Every school will promote partnerships that will increase
parental involvement and participation in promoting the social,
emotional, and academic growth of children.
_______________________________________________________________
| National Education Goals Panel |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Suite 502; Washington, D.C. 20037 |
| 202/632-0957 (Fax); e-mail: negp@goalline.org |
| Web site: www.negp.gov |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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