Education News: August 28, 2009

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending August 28, 2009.

L.A. School Board Adopts Resolution That Could Privatize a Third of Its Schools
(USA Today, August 26, 2009)  On Tuesday, the L.A. Board of Education voted to adopt a school choice plan that could turn a third of the district’s schools over to private operators.  The proposal was approved by a vote of six to one and gives Superintendent Ramon Cortines sixty days to develop a plan.  Under the resolution, schools must maintain neighborhood demographics in their student bodies and work with LAUSD unions.  Teachers who work in charters, however, are not members of the district’s union, United Teachers Los Angeles.  Proposals will be accepted from private charter school operators, local communities and the mayor's office for an opportunity to operate one of fifty new schools that will open over the next four years.  An additional 200 chronically underperforming schools will also be available for privatization.  The school district already has the highest number of charter schools in the nation, with 150 of its 800 schools run by nonprofit educational groups.  Until now, charter schools have mainly resulted from efforts by parents and teachers on an ad hoc basis.  By accepting proposals for schools, the district will have more input in the selection, more measures to monitor schools’ performance, and a greater ability to hold them accountable for student achievement.  The new system also opens it up for non-traditional groups to take charge of an underperforming school, such as museums, medical providers or social service agencies.  School district unions opposed the plan, claiming that the district was giving away its schools.
More information on the resolution from the Los Angeles Times

Shrinking Budgets Cause Schools to Limit Bus Service
(USA Today, August 26, 2009)  Across the country, school districts are being forced to cut bus routes in order to reduce spending.  According to a survey by the American Association of School Administrators, 23% of school districts are reducing or eliminating school transportation for the coming school year as part of cost-cutting measures.  In 2008, only 14% reported considering the same measures.  In Houston, for example, the district has cut bus service for any student who lives within two miles of his or her school.  Parents and transportation advocates fear the cuts will affect everything from parents' work schedules to student attendance in schools.  Many also fear that this will increase the number of student deaths, as getting to school by car, bike and on foot are all far more dangerous than taking the bus.  While most states do reimburse districts for a portion of transportation costs, it is rarely enough and often does not cover students who live within a certain distance from school.
More information on the effort to reduce bussing costs from The Boston Globe

Stimulus Funds Only a Stopgap, Rarely Being Used for Innovation
(Washington Post, August 26, 2009)  On Tuesday, a survey revealed that schools are often using stimulus funds just to survive.  Two thirds of schools that were surveyed reported that stimulus dollars were being used to fill budget gaps or only slightly increase funding levels.  Jack Jennings, president of the District-based Center on Education Policy, warns that “the administration may be building up too much expectation for reform when schools need money just to keep the doors open.”  Even in areas where the funding went towards saving positions, such as Fairfax and Prince William Counties in Maryland, class size still often increased.  The survey was released by the American Association of School Administrators and represented responses from 160 school administrators from thirty-seven states. A majority of respondents were from rural districts.

State Legislators Repeal Ohio Student Safety Law
(Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 27, 2009)  The current Ohio budget repealed a law intended to protect schoolchildren from safety hazards. According to one state legislator, the law was repealed because it was unworkable.  The law, which took effect in 2007, was known as “Jarrod’s Law” after a six-year-old boy who was killed when a folding cafeteria table fell on him.  It increased the number of items that required inspections in Ohio public schools.  The law was repealed after legislators and superintendents found it "more costly and more regulation" than they had intended.  Another possible cause is that the state did not provide funding for the increased inspections and complying with the law was deemed an unworthy expense.

D.C. Public Schools Open with Underwhelming Enrollment Figures
(Washington Post, August 24, 2009)  According to academic officials, D.C. public schools began classes on Monday with an enrollment of about 37,000.  This is 17% below the total at the end of the last academic year despite an advertising campaign and an early push to sign up students.  The campaign included radio and bus sign advertisements, visits to homes by principals, community barbecues and enrollment fairs.  All of these measures are part of an effort to curb a steady decline in enrollment since the 1980s, when twice as many students attended regular public schools.  One of the main reasons for the decline has been the rising popularity of charter schools, whose enrollment is 28,066 students this fall, up more than 10 percent from last school year's 25,363.  Enrollment often grows during the year, but a spokesperson for Michelle Rhee declined to comment whether the system would reach 44,681, the audited enrollment figure from last year and the figure that was used to figure out the 2009-10 budget.   Because the school system began its enrollment in April instead of July, the enrollment increase could be smaller than in years past.  No matter what, the number is impressive, as by this time last year only 15,000 students had completed enrollment.  As it stands, the D.C. Council is currently holding back $27 million of the 2010 budget as it found Rhee’s projected increase of 373 students, to a total of 45,054, implausible.

SAT Scores Drop as Broader Range of Students Take Exam
(San Francisco Chronicle, August 26, 2009)  After a steady increase in average SAT scores for over a decade, they have started to drift back down over the past five years.  While there is no certain answer as to why the decrease has occurred, many think it can mainly be attributed to a more diverse group of students taking the tests combined with a widening scoring gap between the best-performing and worst-performing groups.  A greater number of minority students, who belong to the latter group, would bring down the national average.  The class of 2009 earned a combined score of 1509 out of 2,400 on the three sections of the exam, two points lower than last year’s class.  This is due to a one-point drop in each of reading and writing.  According to The College Board, who administers the exam, 40% of students who took last years’ SAT were minorities, and over 25% did not speak English as their first language at home.  In other splits, men outscored women 1523 on average to 1496, and students who reported coming from families with incomes over $200,000 averages increased by twenty-six points to1702.  The SAT remains the most popular college entrance exam, but the ACTs have nearly caught up.  At this point, most colleges accept either, and an increasing number no longer require either one.
More information on SAT Scores from USA Today

Cleveland Schools Show Improvement
(Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 25, 2009)  Although the Cleveland School District remains on academic watch, individual schools received good grades on report cards released on Tuesday.  The strong performance was lead by the city’s innovation schools and those with citywide draws, with several of each receiving excellent ratings.  Innovation schools utilize a longer calendar and a longer school day, select teachers by interview and require teamwork amongst them.  Many schools that didn’t receive exemplary marks still showed improvement. Chief Academic Officer Eric Gordon, however, believes the city still has a long way to go, as the community will not be satisfied until all the schools are performing well.