The NEGP WEEKLY for October 12, 2001

[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

Friday - October 12, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 121
*************************************************

CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY 
1.) California Bonuses:  Teachers Earn Rewards (Goals 3 & 4)
2.) Closing The Gap:  News From A Georgia Commission (Goal 3)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) High School Education:  On A New Track In Baltimore (Goal 3)
4.) Philadelphia's Teaching Plan:  By The Books (Goal 3)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) Nationwide Pledge Of Allegiance:  A Call From Secretary Paige (Goal 3)
6.) Special Education Centers:  New Grants From The Department Of Education
(Goal 2)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) Math Summit:  Less Is Best (Goal 5) 
8.) Opening The Gates:  To Smaller Schools (Goals 2 & 3)
 
**FEATURE STORY
9.) The American Teacher:  Key Elements Of Quality Schools (Goals 3 & 4) 


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

1.) ******** California Bonuses:  Teachers Earn Rewards
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement And Citizenship & Goal Four:  Teacher
Education & Professional Development)

Teachers and other school staff working in struggling schools that showed
the best test-score increases two years in a row on the state's Stanford 9
test earned onetime bonuses of $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 (May, San
Francisco CHRONICLE, 8/70.  According to the paper, about 7,500 teachers and
administrators will receive $5,000 each, 3,750 will receive $10,000 and
1,056 will receive the top bonus of $25,000.

"The program is designed to attract and retain our best teachers and staff
where the need is greatest," said state Education Secretary Kerry Mazzoni.

However, some educators complained that too much emphasis was being placed
on test scores.  "Why don't they just pay teachers more all around?"
questioned Principal Virginia Green, who is one of the recipients of
$10,000.


2.) ******** Closing The Gap:  News From A Georgia Commission
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement)

Georgia Governor Roy Barnes recently announced the formation of the Georgia
Closing the Achievement Gap Commission (Jacobson, EDUCATION WEEK, 10/10).
"We're going to have some real challenges," said Tom Upchurch, chairman of
the commission and the president of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence
in Education, an organization at work to raise achievement statewide.

Commission members plan to begin their task by visiting schools in and out
of Georgia to identify strategies that work best.  The commission also will
examine whether more "needs to be done to close the tap before children even
enter kindergarten," writes the paper.

The Southern Regional Education Board's vice president Jim Watts (SREB)
pointed out that several other southern states also have organized
commissions to study the achievement gap challenge and make recommendations.
These states are:  Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina.

For more information, visit the Governor's office at
http://www.state.ga.us/governor.


*************************
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
*************************

3.) ******** High School Education:  On A New Track In Baltimore
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement)

Baltimore high schools are being turned into smaller schools that give
students more choice (Bowie, Baltimore SUN, 10/9).  Under her plan
"Blueprint for Neighborhood High Schools," schools chief Carmen Russo said
she expects to open one new high school for 200 to 300 students next year.  

School officials expect the high school reform to cost $55 million over five
years and they are seeking more state aid and financial support from
foundations and businesses.

Russo plans to focus on the nine failing neighborhood schools attended by
more than half of all high school students.  

For more information on Baltimore public schools visit
http://www.bcps.k12.md.us.


4.) ******** Philadelphia's Teaching Plan:  By The Books
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement & Goal Four:  Teacher Education &
Professional Development)

Philadelphia soon will implement a well-received instructional plan that
calls for teachers to deliver a specific curriculum in a designated order
that is tied to state standards and tests (Snyder, Philadelphia INQUIRER,
10/8).  The plan also meets a mandate established by Commonwealth Court
Judge Doris Smith in the state's desegregation lawsuit against the district,
reports the paper.  Smith's directed the district to offer a more equitable
education program across all its schools. 

The city's teacher union and "some members of the rank and file" welcome the
new plan.  "We are somewhat limiting the autonomy of teachers, but there is
still flexibility," said Deidre Farmbry, the district's chief academic
officer and a former English teacher.  "What I've come to realize is there
is a need for more coordination across the city."

For more information on the Philadelphia public schools, visit
http://www.philsch.k12.pa.us.


*********************
FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************

5.) ******** Nationwide Pledge Of Allegiance:  A Call From Secretary Paige
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement & Citizenship)

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has called on elementary and secondary
school principals nationwide to encourage them to participate in Pledge
Across America, a synchronized Pledge of Allegiance on 12 October 2001. 

The Pledge of Allegiance will begin at 2pm EDT, 1pm CDT, noon MDT, 11am PDT,
12am in Alaska and 8am in Hawaii.

Pledge Across America is being organized by Celebration USA, a nonprofit
organization whose "purpose is to teach children the basic principles of
American democracy and to invigorate patriotism."

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


6.) ******** Special Education Centers:  New Grants From The Department Of
Education
(Goal Two:  School Completion & Goal Three:  Student Achievement &
Citizenship)

Department of Education grants recently were awarded for the purpose of
creating nine centers to study issues related to reading, behavior and
learning disabilities.  Centers will be located at the universities of
Kansas in Lawrence; Nebraska in Lincoln; North Carolina in Charlotte; Oregon
in Eugene (two); South Florida in Tampa; Texas in Austin; Wisconsin in
Madison; and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Six of the projects will focus on improving reading skills and behavior
among students in grade K-3, while another will coordinate the evaluation of
the effectiveness of the centers.  Of the other centers, one will focus on
learning disabilities, while the final one will work to identify effective
practices to meet the needs of very young children with or at risk for
behavioral problems.

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


*********************************
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
*********************************

7.) ******** Math Summit:  Less Is Best
(Goal Five:  Math & Science)

Math Summit organized by the American Association of Publishers (AAP) ended
with the recommendation that the new math texts should cover fewer topics in
more depth, give teacher the resources to customize lesson plans and present
material for students at all levels (Hoff, EDUCATION WEEK, 10/10).  

Stephen Driesler, executive director of the AAP's school division noted that
the meeting was held because math education is one of the most controversial
curriculum areas.  

The recommendations that emanated from the meeting include:  publishers
could produce a series of books detailing key math concepts and principles
to be used by all students.  Supplemental materials could "go beyond the
standards" for use by students interested and able to do higher level math.


For more information on math instruction, visit the National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics at http://www.nctm.org.


8.) ******** Opening The Gates:  To Smaller Schools
(Goal Two:  School Completion & Goal Three:  Student Achievement &
Citizenship)

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has targeted the small-school reform
model for funding.   Tom Vander Ark as head of the foundation's education
division has awarded more than $200 million in grants to schools intent on
creating smaller schools (Hill, EDUCATION WEEK, 10/10).  From the paper,
"That puts the foundation at the forefront of the movement to demolish the
'big is better' mentality that has long dominated high school design."

Rick Lear, director of the Gates-funded Small Schools Project at the
University of Washington, briefs grant recipients on the possibilities and
the problems associated with moving to smaller schools.

For more information, visit the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at
http://www.gatesfoundation.org.


*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************

9.) ********  The American Teacher:  Key Elements Of Quality Schools
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement And Citizenship & Goal Four:  Teacher
Education & Professional Development)

Last year's findings from the Metropolitan Life Survey of the American
Teacher 2000 revealed "feelings of alienation" prevalent among students,
parents and teachers at the secondary school level.  It also found that
while students held high expectations for their futures, teachers' and
parents were more pessimistic for what the future holds for their students
and children.

The 2001 survey followed up on these findings by examining how teachers,
principals and students evaluate their own schools on key measures of an
effective school environment, including:

* Are students experiencing high-quality teaching? 
* Are academic standards and expectations for students high?
* What are students' attitudes toward learning?
* Do students have high expectations of themselves?
* Do teachers feel satisfied with their career and plan to remain in
teaching?

The nationally representative survey of 2,049 public school students in
grades 7 through 12, 1,273 public school teachers in grades K-12 and 1,004
public school principals asked participants to evaluate teachers in their
school on factors including:  knowing their subject; caring about students;
believing all students can learn; maintaining discipline; and teaching
individual students according to their different needs and abilities.