NEGP Weekly for June 29, 2000

[Negpweek <NEGPWEEK@WESTAT.com>]

*******************THE NEGP WEEKLY****************
A weekly news update on America's Education Goals 
and school improvement efforts across America from the 
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL

Thursday - June 29, 2000 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 63
***************************************************

CONTENTS
**STATE POLICY 
1.)	WEAPONS AND YOUTH: A STUDY IN OREGON  (Goal 7)
2.)	KEEPING KIDS IN SCHOOL: A REPORT FROM SREB (Goal 2)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) COMMUNITY ACTION: RILEY RIDES THE SCHOOL BUS (All Goals)
4.) SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: SETTINGS IN WHICH STUDENTS EXCEL  (Goal 3)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) FRESH START: RILEY TARGETS PRESCHOOL EDUCATION (Goal 1)
6.) EAGER TO LEARN: THE REPORT (Goal 1)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) TEACHING TEACHERS: WEBSITE BY AFT AND TEACHSCAPE (Goal 4)
8.) AMERICAN WORKERS WEIGH IN ON EDUCATION: A NEW SURVEY (Goal 6)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) UPPING MATH SCORES IN WASHINGTON STATE: A PILOT PROGRAM (Goals 4 and 5)


***FACT OF THE WEEK***

Between 1993 and 1997, 1 state (out of 24) significantly reduced the
percentage of public high school students reporting that they were in a
physical fight on school property at least once during the past 12 months.
This state was Nevada.

--The National Education Goals Report: Building a nation of learners, 1999


********************
STATE POLICY NEWS
********************


1.) ********* WEAPONS AND YOUTH: A STUDY IN OREGON
(Goal Seven: Safe Schools)

One in ten students brought some kind of weapon to school last year,
according to a new report by the state's Department of Human Services (AP/
THE OREGONIAN, 6/22). That means about 8 percent, or 13,000 teenagers in the
state, carried a knife, club or gun to school, though only about one in 100
students had a gun.

This statistic is on par with other states, said David Hopkins, the health
division's research analyst. Eight percent is about average in the country
for students bringing weapons to school. The study does not address why
students carry weapons, but shows that students and teachers are at risk,
noted Mel Kohn, deputy state epidemiologist.

"Carrying a gun, knife or club is a part of life for a surprising number of
youth," Kohn said. "It is crucial for families, community members and school
officials to understand what these factors are, in the interest of
preventing injuries and death."

For more information, visit THE OREGONIAN at http://www.oregonlive.com.


2.) ******** KEEPING KIDS IN SCHOOL: A REPORT FROM SREB
(Goal Two: School Completion)


Although fewer teenagers in the south drop out of school than they did a
decade ago, a new report issued by the Southern Regional Education Board
(SREB) encourages states to do more. The rate at which students dropped out
in the 1970's was 19 percent, then 18 percent in the 1980s. The rate has
hovered around 13 since the mid-1990s.

SREB's report illustrates a three-pronged approach to decrease the dropout
rate: standardizing how rates are calculated, identifying students who may
drop out and outlining programs to reduce dropout rates.

Several strategies that states have used to decrease dropout rates include:
>  Standardizing the definition of dropout 
>  Tracking the movement of student's from one school to another, even
assigning one teacher to advise a group of students as they enter new
schools
>  Identifying which students are most likely to drop out and providing help
>  Creating challenging academic and vocational programs with teachers
versed in many learning styles
>  Tailoring alternative programs
>  Combining school services and community services
>  Evaluating the effectiveness of dropout prevention programs.   

For more information, visit SREB at http://www.sreb.org.       


*************************
Community and Local News
*************************


3.) ******** COMMUNITY ACTION: RILEY RIDES THE SCHOOL BUS
(All Goals)

Late this August U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley will ride a
school bus to towns along the Mississippi River to show how communities need
to come together to improve schools. "Better education is everyone's
business," said Riley.  "I hope everyone will go back to school this fall --
as a student or parent, mentor, volunteer or just concerned citizen."

Starting August 27th, Riley will stop in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. He will highlight programs that
partner parents, teachers, business leaders and educators.

Riley calls these bus trips "Success Express." The tour is part of a larger
program called America Goes Back to School, which tries to foster better
parent and community involvement in education.

For more information visit the Department of Education at visit
http://www.ed.gov/family/agbts/


4.) ******** SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: SETTINGS IN WHICH STUDENTS EXCEL 
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Students in Chicago miss fewer days if they attend small high schools.
Others don't dropout. So found a new study by Bank Street College of
Education in New York and reported in the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES (Rossi, 6/21).

The study determined that students in small high schools are missing three
to five days fewer of classes in their core subjects than students in larger
schools. In 11 schools studied dropout rates were cut in half. 

Not only are students staying in small schools, some are reading better.
Bank Street found that at 11 schools reading improved. "The small schools
have been able to keep more kids and been able to teach them slightly more
in reading than other kids in the system," said Bank Street researcher Matt
Gladden.

Bank Street studied 150 small schools started primarily after 1990. The
schools are either freestanding or housed within a larger school.   Scores
in math did not improve.  Scores in math and reading at new small elementary
schools rarely improved, and if they did, only slightly.

For more information, visit the Chicago Public Schools at
http://www.cps.k12.il.us/


*********************
Federal Policy News
*********************


5.) ******** FRESH START: RILEY TARGETS PRESCHOOL EDUCATION
(Goal One: Ready To Learn)

Addressing a national conference on educating preschoolers, U.S. Secretary
of Education Richard Riley recently called for more family leave for parents
to care for infants, for bachelor degrees for preschool teachers and day
care workers and for $30 million for early childhood educator professional
development. 

"Put simply, and this should be our collective motto -- the stronger the
start, the better the finish," Riley said before a crowd of 500 experts from
Head Start, social and health service agencies and educators.  "Our children
are eager to learn, they are creative in how they learn, and they have
extraordinary capacity to learn if we know how to encourage them the right
way."

Riley advocated for an expansion of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act
to allow parents to stay home longer with babies. He would like to see
universal voluntary pre-kindergarten and $30 million from Congress to pay
for a new program to improve the professional development of 15,000 early
childhood educators. 

He said he wanted the best teachers, ones with bachelor degrees in teaching
small children. Parents should be supported and Riley called attention to a
new booklet put out the Department of Education called "Building Your Baby's
Brain."

For more information, visit the Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/o6-2000/000623a.html.


6.) ******** EAGER TO LEARN: THE REPORT
(Goal One: Ready to Learn)

A new report issued by the National Research Council examines the education
of children age 2 to 5.  Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers focuses
on programs outside the home including, Head Start, child care centers and
preschool.  One philosophical tenet that underlies the report is that "care
and education cannot be thought of as separate entities in dealing with
young children."  According to the report, research concludes that a warm,
secure environment nurtures social and intellectual growth.

For more information, visit the National Research Council at
http://www.books.nap.edu.


*********************************
Research and Education Practices
*********************************


7.) ******** TEACHING TEACHERS: WEBSITE BY AFT AND TEACHSCAPE
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development)

As the nation focuses on raising school standards, the American Federation
of Teachers (AFT) and Teachscape, an education technology company, are
teaching teachers on the Internet. The two organizations are creating a web
site that showcases how other teachers may solve a teaching problem or
approach a certain subject. The web site will use actual classroom videos
and other multimedia.

Teachers will be able to access, anytime, a library of case studies that
document standard-based teaching practices across the country. On the web
site, there will be video-based interactive courses, peer-to-peer
discussions, on-line mentoring and on-site professional development.

"We hope the AFT's collaboration with Teachscape will provide many more
teachers with access to exemplary teaching practice and support from
experienced colleagues," said AFT president Sandra Feldman. 

The union will donate any revenue from the venture to a new not-for-profit
foundation to support professional development of AFT members. AFT will hire
a panel of educators to monitor the new web site.

For more information, visit the AFT at http://www.aft.org.


8.) ******** AMERICAN WORKERS WEIGH IN ON EDUCATION: A NEW SURVEY	
(Goal Six: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)

Here's what American workers think schools aren't doing, according to a new
study conducted by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at
Rutgers University and the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the
University of Connecticut: They aren't preparing young people for jobs. 

In order to prepare students for the world of work, researchers recommend
schools:
>Teach individual responsibility and a strong work ethic
>Teach basic literacy and critical thinking
>Administer high school exit exams
>Require students in third through eighth grade to take yearly math and
reading tests

Only half of those surveyed believed computer skills were very important to
learn before a job; 41 percent stated that occupational skills were
important to learn at school. Sixty-six percent of the workers surveyed
believe on-the-job training was the best way to prepare for their current
job.

The survey also found that American workers want more teachers hired to
reduce class size, refurbished facilities and expanded Internet access. They
want schools to stop promoting failing students and for consistently
under-performing schools to be closed.

For more information about the report "Making the Grade? What American
Workers Think Should Be Done to Improve Education," visit
http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu.


*****************
Feature Story
*****************


9.) ******** UPPING MATH SCORES IN WASHINGTON STATE: A PILOT PROGRAM 
(Goal Four: Teacher Education and Professional Development and Goal Five:
Math and Science) 

When the state of Washington gave a new state math test last year only 37
percent of the fourth graders passed and only 24 percent of the seventh
graders (SEATTLE TIMES, Shaw, 6/22). So the state followed up with a new
"Mathematics Helping Corps," a corp of teachers who make house calls to
schools to help teachers figure out what went wrong.

Some possibilities: the test stress thinking skills --explaining how the
answer was derived -- and cover subjects not all teachers know well such as
geometry and statistics. "One of the things we've learned is that teacher
preparation in mathematics may not be adequate in Washington state," said
Teresa Baldwin, director of the Helping Corp.  Or it could be that some
teachers don't like math or are afraid of it.  Whatever the reason, the
Helping Corp teacher offers hands-on math support for teachers and whenever
possible that help is delivered right in the classroom. Studies indicate
that on average a teacher only applies 10 percent of what he learns at a
workshop, but it rises to 90 percent when followed by on-site coaching, said
Stephanie Hirsh, associate director of the National Staff Development
Council.

Other states have shown that when there is daily, on-site coaching of
teachers test scores among children rise. Kentucky is a case in point.
Sliding test scores were reversed in two years in schools that requested
mentors, notes the paper.

Washington state is making an effort to improve test scores. Governor Gary
Locke appointed an eight-member commission to investigate ways to reward
successful schools and help failing ones. Though the commission has yet to
make its recommendations, its approach is one of tough-love, not get-tough,
reported the SEATTLE TIMES. And the Helping Corps fits right in.

Sixteen schools in the state signed up this first year. Teachers with the
Mathematics Helping Corp may spend their first few weeks walking the halls
getting to know classroom teachers. Or they may be asked into the classroom
to observe or teach a lesson. Their first line of business, though, is to
build trust among the school staff, to stress they are coaches not critics.

One principal in the program said: "I'd take (a mentor) over money any time.
It offers the staff something tangible...Here's all the good stuff, now
here's what to do with it."

For more information, visit the SEATTLE TIMES at
http://www.seattletimes.com.


************************************
The NEGP WEEKLY is a publication of:
The National Education Goals Panel 
1255 22nd Street NW, Suite 502 
Washington, DC 20037; 
202-724-0015 

NEGP Executive Director: Ken Nelson 
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape 
www.negp.gov 
************************************

The NEGP/ Daily Report Card (DRC) hereby authorizes further reproduction and
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WHAT IS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL? 
The National Education Goals Panel is a unique bipartisan body of state and
federal officials created in 1990 by President Bush and the nation's
Governors to report state and national progress and urge education
improvement efforts to reach the National Education Goals. 

WHAT DOES THE GOALS PANEL DO?
The Goals Panel has been charged to: 
* Report state and national progress toward the National Education Goals. 
* Work to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments. 
* Identify promising and effective reform strategies. 
* Recommend actions for state, federal, and local governments to take. 
* Build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals. 

WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS? 
There are eight National Education Goals set for the year 2000. They are: 
1) All children will start school ready to learn. 
2) The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%. 
3) All students will become competent in challenging subject matter. 
4) Teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need. 
5) U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement.
6) Every adult American will be literate. 
7) Schools will be safe, disciplined, and free of drugs, guns and alcohol. 
8) Schools will promote parental involvement and participation. 

WHO SERVES ON THE GOALS PANEL AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN?
Eight governors, four state legislators, four members of the U.S. Congress,
and two members appointed by the President serve on the Goals Panel. Members
are appointed by the leadership of the National Governors' Association, the
National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Senate and House, and
the President. The number of Republicans and Democrats are made even by
appointing five governors from the party that does not control the White
House.
 
The current Panel Members are Governors Tommy G. Thompson, WI (Chair, 2000);
John Engler, MI; Jim Geringer, WY; James B. Hunt, Jr., NC; Frank Keating,
OK; Frank O'Bannon, IN; Paul E. Patton, KY; Cecil H. Underwood, WV;
Secretary of Education Richard Riley; Michael Cohen, U.S. Assistant
Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education; U.S. Senator Jeff
Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S. Representative William F.
Goodling, PA; U.S. Representative Matthew G. Martinez, CA; Representative G.
Spencer Coggs, WI; Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, IL; Representative
Douglas R. Jones, ID;
Senator Stephen Stoll, MO. 

The annual Goals Report and other publications of the Panel are available
without charge upon request from the Goals Panel or at its web site
www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or Internet.