Education Notebook

Article: Southeastern Minnesota schools districts toe the line for Race to the Top

The Minnesota Department of Education is finalizing the state’s Race to the Top grant, but southeastern Minnesota schools aren’t exactly jostling for spots at the starting line.

Below is the rest of the article from Friday's paper about Race to the Top. Here is a link of all the districts in Southeastern Minnesota who are participating. I'll link to the print edition when it appears in Friday's paper. I have some pretty lengthy comments from area superintendents, I'll try to post them in full here at a later date if people are interested.

More than 250 districts statewide have joined the state’s competitive bid to receive federal funding from the Race to the Top program, including 20 of the 35 school districts in southeastern Minnesota.

Critics say they can’t support Race to the Top because of requirements for teacher performance pay and possible teacher evaluation tied to test scores. Others, who are supporting it, say they still have unanswered questions about how the grant will materialize.

State officials need to deliver the application by Tuesday in order to be eligible for Race to the Top, which will give a total of $4.35 billion in federal funds to roughly 10 to 15 states for innovation and improvement of K-12 education.

Minnesota’s share
Experts have said Minnesota could receive between $175 million and $250 million if selected by the federal government. About 80 percent to 90 percent of the funds would go to the districts that have signed up, while the remaining funds would go to the state Department of Education.

Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said Minnesota’s history of reform, standards and assessment and the merit-pay program Q Comp should put the state in a good position.

“I think we should impress the feds,” Seagren said.

To participate within Minnesota’s bid, school districts needed to complete a memorandum of agreement with the superintendent’s signature. The signatures of school boards and local teachers unions were suggested but not required.

Based on sheer numbers of districts signing up, the grant could be viewed so far as a success. Many in southeastern Minnesota are moving ahead cautiously and approval from teachers unions has proved difficult to secure.  Education Minnesota, the state teacher’s union, does not support the grant in its present state.

Cautious districts
Critics say the program provides little incentive for what they called arduous work, while others, like Blooming Prairie Superintendent Barry Olson, have said Race to the Top is too political. Even with his concerns, Olson still submitted his approval, since the superintendent’s signature allows districts to opt out at a later date. Many have said they might do so.

“We are here really to work for the students, to work for their education. To play all of these policies games they are creating doesn’t really help the students in the classroom,” Olson said. “It takes more time away from that.”

Byron Public Schools will not pursue the grant after their teachers union ruled against signing up for the program. The state three times denied Byron’s proposals for Q Comp, the state’s merit pay program for teachers.

Even though many still have questions about Race to the Top, everyone isn’t negative.

Lake City schools Superintendent Craig Junker said there are many questions surrounding the program, but there isn’t much to lose at this point by endorsing it. “My signature keeps a foot in the door for Lake City,” Junker said.

Rushford-Peterson Superintendent Chuck Ehler said schools should first try to get the grant and then resolve the concerns and issues about requirements. “It’s a competitive world and the State of Minnesota and all the school districts need to do all they can to secure additional federal funds for our schools,” Ehler said.

LINK: Southeastern Minnesota schools that will participate in Race to the Top (.pdf)

'The proficiency illusion': Report says profiency targets keep getting easier

 Today comes a study from the Fordham Institute on the differences in "No Child Left Behind proficiency" compared by state. For example, Minnesota's MCA-II tests are much different than the tests across the border in Wisconsin.

Here's an example. Check out these two questions, both come from fourth grade state tests (albeit different states):

Which sentence tells a fact, not an opinion?
•Cats are better than dogs.
•Cats climb trees better than dogs.
•Cats are prettier than dogs.
•Cats have nicer fur than dogs.

----
Now, from a different state:

Read the excerpt from “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”by Leo Tolstoy.
So Pahomwas well contented, and everything would have been right if the neighboring peasants would only not have trespassed on his wheatfields and meadows. He appealed to them most civilly, but they still went on: now the herdsmen would let the village cows stray into his meadows, thenhorses from the night pasture would get among his corn. Pahomturned them out again and again, and forgave their owners, and for a long time he forbore to prosecute anyone. But at last he lost patience and complained to the District Court.

What is a fact from this passage?
•Pahomowns a vast amount of land.
•The peasant’s intentions are evil.
•Pahomis a wealthy man.
•Pahom complained to the District Court.

----

Wow... That's fascinating. The first entry was from Wisconsin (*insert Wisconsin joke here*), while the second question came from Massachusetts. This might be story fodder coming up here. At any rate, thought we should open up the discussion about this.

For those interested in the study, here it is:

LINK: The Proficiency Illusion study

Will Race to the Top become 'No Child Left Behind on Steroids'?

Here's my article from Monday about Minnesota's efforts in applying for federal Race to the Top funds, which are part of the stimulus package. It's still unclear if the amount of money will make the program worth it. For example, school districts/states will need to agree to common standards.

And if you're an educator/administrator/etc. out there, you've probably had enough with standards changing every 12 minutes.

Story here:

LINK: Feds continue with Race to the Top program

Swipe: Teaching 9/11 to those too young to remember, with Washington Post article link

Eight years ago, terrorist-hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon, killing thousands, leaving a trail of suffering still felt by many today.

In Minnesota, obviously, many were lucky. I remember going into the shower in my college dorm, hearing the news that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. The rest of the day was spent watching the TV, spanning the Internet for updates and hearing from loved ones. We were scared, but again, we were thousands of miles away.

(A friend was studying at NYU at the time. Can't even begin to think what that was like. Another person I used to work with a few years back was from Brooklyn. He told me a story about his aunt, who worked in one of the WTC buildings. For whatever reason, she slept in a bit and called in sick. Imagine what her life must be like knowing that a simple decision like that kept her alive.)

It was a defining moment for this generation, on par with the assassinations of JFK or MLK.

Now, schools face the inevitability of teaching young students about Sept. 11

This brilliant article from the Washington Post examines how one school is doing that.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/10/AR2009091004425.html?hpid%3Dartslot&sub=AR

Comparing Obama's student address to 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'? Really?

Let's all breathe...

President Barack Obama isn't going to brainwash the nation's children with his own political beliefs when he speaks to America's students next Tuesday.

I know, it's a controversial viewpoint. /sarcasm.

With that said, schools shouldn't necessarily shut everything down to make sure kids are near televisions or computers. It's the first day for 99 percent of school districts here in Minnesota, and most need to be focused first with getting everything running smoothly.

Rochester school district teacher Bruce Rodgers plans on pre-screening the address and then deciding if any of it has benefit to his students. It's the same thing he does with any video -- except for inaugural addresses -- that he shows to his students.

That makes perfect sense and is completely reasonable. It makes sure that student/teacher time isn't wasted, and also allows teachers to show the address on their own class schedule, when it might make sense.

But this political outcry is getting ridiculous. I can understand why a parent would not want their young child subject to political grandstanding. I'm a grown adult who doesn't want to be subjected to political grandstanding.

Let's be reasonable. Obama's address is not going to be a message about healthcare. If it were, critics should skewer away. That would have no business interrupting America's classrooms. (Concerned parents will be able to view Obama's message at WhiteHouse.gov, in order to pre-screen the speech.)

Not every single thing should be looked at through the blinders of blue or red. Since the highly controversial/criticized George W. Bush years, have we removed the respect held for that office, regardless of party affiliation?

This is one of those instances -- like when George W. Bush threw out the first pitch in the World Series after 9/11 -- when maybe, just maybe, we aren't looking at our president as a Republican or a Democrat, but as the leader of our country.

Maybe it's just me.

[PB]

Link: Presidential student address (whitehouse.gov) Information for parents who want to know more about this.

Link: President Bush throws out a first pitch after 9/11 (HBO)

Article: Schools choose to pre-screen Obama address

MCA-II, AYP numbers for local charter schools (Studio, ROC, Math & Science Academy)

An interested reader asked me for the figures of local charter schools. Proving that the squeakiest wheel gets the oil, here are the figures. (The image is too small, but it shows at regular size if you click and view it in a new window.)

Here are the adequate yearly progress totals for each charter school:

Studio Academy made AYP.

Rochester Off-Campus Charter High School did not make AYP.
Cited for:
• Math proficiency (All students)
• Attendance

Rochester Math and Science Academy (formerly Adam Abdulle Academy) did not make AYP.
Cited for:
• Reading participation and proficiency (All students, black students, English-learning students, low-income students),
• Math participation (All students, black students, English-learning students, low-income students).

One interesting point about RMSA. It has to be one of the only schools in the state that isn't rated on white students, mainly because the school enrolls fewer than 20 white students.

Another person might ask, how did Studio Academy reach AYP when 24 percent of students passed math? Other schools had a much higher rate, but didn't pass. The answer is that the Studio started much lower -- last year only 9 percent of students rated proficient on math.

No school left behind on list of 'No Child Left Behind' adequate yearly progress

Alright gang, (c) Larry King

Tomorrow we'll have the list of every school and sub-population that the state has cited as not making sufficient yearly progress. This is all part of the federal No Child Left Behind law, which states that all children must be proficient by 2014.

While the numbers haven't been released, more schools are estimated to be on the list than ever before, as close to half of the state's schools are expected to be listed in one form or another.

Basically, this list takes the MCA-II scores from earlier this summer and rates the progress from last year. If populations aren't making growth, they are cited as needed additional help. If the schools cited receive federal funding, the feds can eventually pull that funding. However, other penalties range from giving parents the choice to switch schools (low end of penalties), versus widespread restructuring (severe penalty).

More to come. E-mail any questions.

Articles: Back to school shoppers not in the diamond market, two local school districts unmoved by dates of 'great Minnesota get together'

Today brought two stories:

1 - 'Thrifty is the hottest school brand'

Here's the part of the blog in which I tear apart my own articles. Anyway, maybe it's just me, but I felt like parents were always fairy thrifty when buying school supplies. Again, maybe it was just my upbringing, but I can recall having a budget for school clothes, getting one pair of new shoes at the start of each school year (and ending up duct taping them together by summer) and generally not splurging insane amounts. (Even still, I should say we never went without and had decent stuff (name brand shoes, notebooks with paper, pens with ink, etc. Regardless, school supply shopping wasn't cheap.)

Anyways, there's a quote in the story that felt like a punch to the kidneys. One of the sources talks about students no longer looking for $300 jeans. I have suits that were less than $300. (Again, maybe that says more about me. Sigh.)

2 - Two local districts skirt post-Labor Day school start

In a story that seems to rile up resort owners and school administrators every year, we have two school districts in southeastern Minnesota who will start school before Labor Day. If a school district has a construction project more than $400,000, they are able to do so.

The bigger districts would be able to do this pretty much every year, if desired. I haven't totalled up all of Rochester's maintenance projects this summer (or next summer), but I'm guessing it would be well over that mark.

Regardless, I want to thank all of the new readers we have checking in to the blog. Next week we'll have some more original content (other than just reposting articles). Feel free to e-mail comments, questions or concerns here. Don't be afraid to leave comments on here, either.

Enjoy a safe weekend.

Article: As Gates, Crowley and Obama trade beers, racial profiling still an issue in Rochester

We ran a localized angle today on the arrest of Henry Louis Gates and the ensuing debate about racial profiling -- our story looked at the existence of racial profiling within Rochester.

Now, I had hesitation to write this story, not because I don't think it's an issue -- it is -- but localized stories run the risk of being exploitative of the local people involved, rather than taking a genuine look at the problem. Also, these story need to designate enough time and space to the local issue.

Too often, some media type will take a serious story like racial profiling and reduce it to, "Hey! You're a person of color! Surely you have an opinion on this situation across the country!"

That kind of stuff isn't journalism and it doesn't serve readers or the community. That simply re-opens scabs and scars without getting to the heart of any issue. Now, I'm not claiming that our take is the end-all, be-all article -- it isn't -- but I think we were able to highlight this issue without dumping cans of kerosene all over it.

We were able to find instances in the past of racial profiling and take a brief look at how things have changed since then. I still don't like the idea of trivializing something like racial bias on Rochester's streets to something that has become almost a tabloid national story. And I don't think we did.

But I'm interested to hear your impressions about that and racial bias as a whole. Story below:

(This article has a tenuous connection to education in that "Skip" Gates is a Harvard professor, but I figured it was worth re-posting. And I don't know why I called him "Skip," I've never met the man, but it's a cool nickname.)

Post-Bulletin article

By Elliot Mann
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

As Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge, Mass., police and President Obama sit down tonight to share a few beers and discuss racial profiling by police, similar talks have been happening for years in Rochester.

One local leader said the problem hasn't been eliminated here, but we're moving in the right direction. 

"It's not as bad as it once was, but it still exists," said W.C. Jordan, head of the Rochester chapter of the NAACP. "Progress has been made, but just like we see in the Gates case, some places have an overwhelming distrust with the police. It's hard to put a group of black people in a room and have them not tell them stories like that."

Rochester police have made changes to address concerns about bias, Police Chief Roger Peterson said.

Racial profiling hit the national spotlight when Crowley arrested Gates at the professor's home after the officer responded to a call of a possible break-in July 16. An argument ensued when the officer reached the home and began questioning Gates. The professor was arrested for disorderly conduct, although those charges have since been dropped.

In 2003, racial profiling came to light in Rochester when a state-funded traffic study showed black motorists were more likely to be searched than their white peers.

Jordan himself recalled at least 10 times when he was stopped by police on what he felt were unfair grounds. But he hasn't endured such an incident since 2002, he said.

Still, those events weigh heavily on a person's mind. Although Jordan thinks Gates could have handled the confrontation differently, he understands where the professor was coming from.

In responding to concerns from the community, Rochester Police Chief Roger Peterson said the department has voluntarily instituted changes in hopes of mitigating similar bias complaints.

For instance, the police department stopped "consent searches," which are performed at a traffic stop with the consent of a motorist. Police also stopped randomly running license plates as they passed by cars around town.

In September, Peterson said, the police department will hire a professional standards manager, a sort of police department ombudsman to proactively review how authorities are doing their jobs.

"Is the problem solved? Of course not," Peterson said. "I'm not at all saying that. But are we better educated and better informed? Yes we are. We're not just paying lip service to those concerns."

Other community organizations are also looking to join the discussion.

Rochester's Diversity Council has created an eight-person group to review the Olmsted County Bias/Hate Crime and Incident Response and Prevention Plan.

They are still in the early phases, but the group came together in light of bias crimes reported earlier this year, Diversity Council Executive Director Kay Hocker said.

"There are many people in our community who care deeply about each other," she said, "and we want to make sure we are exhibiting that care we have for all people."