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February 2010 | Office of innovation and improvement Jim Shelton III, Assistant Deputy Secretary |
Charter Schools Program Staff Dean Kern Director Nancy Paulu Editor, CharterED Leslie Hankerson Management and Program Analyst Erin Pfeltz Management and Program Analyst Ann Magaret Galiatsos Management and Program Analyst Soumya Sathya Management and Program Analyst Richard Payton Presidential Management Fellow Kristin Lundholm Student Career Experience Program | Welcome to CharterED, a resource provided by the Charter Schools Program in the In This Issue: · · Research and Evaluation Resources · State and · Grants and Funding Calendar Changes Proposed for No Child Left Behind The Administration is proposing a 2011 education budget which signals a new direction for federal K-12 education policy with more competitive funding, more flexibility, and a focus on the reforms likely to have the greatest impact on student success. The proposal calls for changing how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, as well as for eliminating the law’s 2014 deadline for bringing every American child to academic proficiency. All told the President’s budget includes $49.7 billion for the Department’s discretionary programs, an increase of $3.5 billion for fiscal year 2010. The budget also includes $173 billion in loans, grants, tax credits, and work-study programs to help students go to college. The budget would provide a $3 billion increase in competitive funding for the elementary and Secondary Education Act, the largest increase ever requested for programs under the 1965 law. This includes $1.35 billion to continue Race to the Top, $500 million for the Investing in Innovation Fund, and more money for school turnarounds, charters, school safety and programs around preparing, retaining and rewarding effective teachers and leaders. The budget also would provide $9.3 billion for competitive grants to states over the next 10 years to improve the quality of early learning programs and prepare students for success in kindergarten. For more information, visit: www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010.html. Using Data to Change Classroom Practices State and districts are making significant progress in building educational data systems and are starting to use that data to change classroom practices and improve student achievement, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Education. But, the report concludes, school leaders continue to search for the best models to connect student data to instructional practices. Department researchers surveyed officials from 529 districts, conducted in-depth site visits to 36 schools in 12 districts on the forefront in data use, and analyzed secondary data from a survey of over 6,000 teachers to obtain a national picture of current data use practices at the local level. The report, “Use of Education Data at the Local level: from Accountability to Instructional Improvement” was conducted by the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. Major finding from the report include: · Data-driven decisions should be made as an ongoing process rather than one time when the data system is acquired. Districts will get more out of their investments in electronic data systems if they think about them as a system-wide innovation and develop a long-term strategy to be used continually throughout their efforts to improve education and their schools. · To influence teachers’ day-to-date instruction, data systems must provide teachers with information that is both timely and relevant to their instructional decisions. To be useful to teachers, systems need to provide data from recent assessments that provide diagnostic information on students’ learning needs. · Human and organization supports for data use are just as important as the technical quality of the data system. Professional development around data use is widespread, but only a small minority of districts and schools now make data use a regular part of teachers’ practice. · Districts can encourage data-driven decisions by providing time for teachers to meet with colleagues to discuss and use data, funding positions for coaches who help teachers connect data to alternative instructional approaches, and by modeling data-drive decision making in their own work. Building and expanding state data systems is one of four areas of reform called for under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It provided $250 million in money to help states improve their data systems, which supplements $65 million available in fiscal 2009 and $58.2 million in fiscal 2010. States that win grants from the competitive $4 billion Race to the Top grant program will have additional dollars available to improve their capability to use data to drive student achievement. For additional information on the report, visit: http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/use-of-education-data/use-of-education-data.pdf Race to the Top: 41 Applications Forty states and the Race to the Top was the Department’s signature initiative in 2009—comprehensively addressing the core K-12 agenda with the promise of significant funding to the states with the best education ideas and track records of academic progress. President Obama announced the initiative last July and backed it with an initial investment of $4.35 billion. It is designed to provide incentives for states to pursue educational excellence, spur reform, and promote the adoption of effective policies and practices. Specifically, it encourages states to: · Design and implement rigorous standards and high-quality assessments; · Attract and keep great teachers and leaders in · Use data to inform decisions and improve instruction · Using innovation and effective approaches to turn around struggling schools; and · Demonstrate and sustain education reform. The first Race to the Top awards will be announced in April 2010. A second round of applications from states will be due in June 2010, with winners most likely to be named in September. The 41 applicants for the awards include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indianan, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. For additional information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/01/race-to-the-top-41-applications-submitted-for-phase-1/ Race to the Public high schools are invited to participate in a Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge to compete to have President Obama speak at their graduation. Applications are due on Monday, March 15. At the start of the school year, the President encouraged students across the country to take responsibility for their education, study hard, and graduate from high school. The challenge encourages schools to show how they are making great strides on personal responsibility, academic excellence and college readiness. Each school may submit one application, which will be judged based on the school’s performance and dedication to providing students an excellent education. Applications must be completed by students and submitted by a high school’s Principal. Six finalists will be selected by the White House and Department of Education; these schools will then be featured on the White House website and the public can vote for the three schools they think best meet the President’s goals. The President will select a national winner and visit the winner to deliver the commencement address. For details, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/commencement 2009 Education Year in Review The Department recently issued a report of major 2009 accomplishments and initiatives in a broad range of education areas, including: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as it concerns education; Race to the Top; State Education Reforms. Title I School Improvement Grants; H1N1 Efforts; Early Learning; the Department’s research and data-gathering agenda; and international developments. The Department of Education and the Obama Administration began 2009 with a goal to get American on track and to return to being number one in the world in high school and college graduation rates, school readiness, and overall academic achievement. For additional information, visit: http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/2009review.html Cleaning Up College Basketball and Football Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, an ardent basketball player and observer both in college and today, has issued a statement, available on the Department’s website, on ways to go about cleaning up college basketball and football. · Slow down. Right now, coaches can make scholarship offers to elite athletes in the eighth grade. At minimum, coaches should be obliged to wait until after the sophomore year of high school. · Change the NCA’s “one-and-done” rule, which requires NBA recruits to “attend” college for a year or be 19 before they are drafted. This, says · Re-empower coaches, but at the same time hold them to a higher standard of accountability. When a program has a clean record and good outcomes, coaches should have more leeway to increase their contact with players during the offseason. But when programs show the wrong values and have terrible educational outcomes, coaches should be held personally responsible for their lack of leadership. They should be suspended, sanctioned, or barred. If the coach jumps ship to a new team, the penalties should follow the coach, rather than punishing innocent players left in their wake. For more information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/01/lets-clean-up-college-basketball-and-football/ Turnaround Schools The Obama administration recently announced that $3.5 billion in stimulus money had been earmarked to support school turnaround plans. The administration has set a target of turning around 1,000 low-performing schools a year through what Zollie Stevenson, the department’s Director of Student Achievement and School Accountability termed “robust efforts” that get “dramatic results.” For information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/01/kansas-city-community-stakeholders-meeting-on-turnaround-schools/ Research and Evaluation A report that for the first time gauges the strength of a state’s public charter school law against a new model that incorporates 20 key indicators of charter school quality is available from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. The report is the first to gauge a state’s public charter school law with respect to its commitment to a range of values in the public charter school movement, including: quality and accountability, funding equity, facilities support, autonomy, and growth and choice. The report looks at each state with a charter school law and ranks them from 1 to 40. The items ranked are closely aligned with the original intent of public charter school law, which is to establish independent public schools that are allowed to be more innovative and are held accountable for improved student achievement. As states prepare applications for the federal Race to the Top program, the rankings provide an indication of which states need to strengthen laws, and how, in order to be considered for grant awards. The top 10 state laws shown to support the growth of high-quality charter schools are: The report, is entitled A New Model Law for Supporting the Growth of high-Quality Public Charter Schools. Visit: http://www.publicchartersorg/node/987 Also see detailed state-by-state summaries and color-coded maps of how state laws measure against each component at http://www.publiccharters.org/charterlaws. Upcoming NAEP Assessments From late January 2010 through March 5, 2010, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is administering national assessments in civics, geography, and Concurrently, a national pilot test in writing will also be administered at grades 4, 8, and 12. The grade 8 and 12 writing pilot will be computer-based. NAEP, also called “the Nation’s Report Card,” will also conduct a special study in mathematics at grades 4 and 8. Because these assessments and studies will be conducted at the national level only, no state results will be reported. National results for the civics, geography, and For more information about these assessments and about NAEP, visit: http://nces.edgov/nationsreportcard/naep2010.asp Science and Engineering Indicators 2010 This information was central in the most recent report from the National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2010. An updated version is released every two years. The report is considered a major authoritative source of U.S.s and international data on science, engineering, and technology and contains a wealth of indicators on research and developing, spending, trends in higher education, and workforce development in science and engineering fields, public attitudes toward science and technology, and new patterns of international collaboration in research. For more information, visit: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind10/ Children and Youth with Disabilities—Identification and Outcomes A new study reports that an increase took place in the percentage of children who were newly identified or continued to receive early intervention and special education services from 1997 to 2005. The study, Patterns in the Identification and Outcomes for Children and Youth with Disabilities, was completed by the Department’s Visit: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20104005/index.asp Math Curricula Effectiveness A study that examines the relative effectiveness of four widely used early elementary school math curricula is available from the Department’s What Works Clearinghouse, which also determined that the study is a consistent with its standards for research and is “a well-implemented randomized controlled trial.” The four curricula are: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. Study authors reported that first graders attending schools assigned to the Math Expressions and Saxon Math curricula scored significantly higher on math assessments than students attending schools assigned to the Investigations in Number, Data and Space or the Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. To view the full report, visit: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/quickreviews/QRReportaspx?QRID=117. Pre-Algebra and Algebra Effectiveness A study examining whether the “I Can Learn” computer-based curriculum is more effective than traditional classroom instruction at teaching pre-algebra and algebra concepts found that it was. Middle- and high-school students used the I Can Learn program scored higher on the assessment of pre-algebra and algebra skills than students in traditional classrooms. The growth was equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 57th percentile. The What Works Clearinghouse assessment determined that the research described in this report is consistent with WWC evidence standards. To view the full report, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=WWCIRMSIC09 Resources Hopes, Fears, & Reality The fifth annual edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2009, with updated research about public charter schools, is available from the National Charter School Research Project at the Researchers found that public charter school growth has been robust and consistent, and the popularity has been particularly pronounced among low-income and minority parents. The report also found that high-performing public charter schools offer important lessons for other public schools. Namely, school culture must exude “a palpable urgency that communicates that the work is important,” a tight alignment of lesson content with the state curriculum, and frequent “formative assessments that mirror high-stakes test conditions and items.” Specifically, the report found that: · School turnarounds require much more than good intentions. The turnarounds succeed only about 30 percent of the time. If charter schools are to effectively replace chronically low-performing schools, the charter sector needs to quickly develop a stronger cadre of excellent principals and capable governing boards. · States and localities must be prepared to close charter schools when they fail to succeed. Some states rarely close a charter school; others consider it a regular and necessary function. · · Teachers unions are increasing their efforts to unionize charter schools; how charters respond to this challenge may be pivotal for the sector. Observers remain split over the impact of unionization on charters. Though there are some exceptions, most districts that have lost and continue to lose students do not respond competitively. States could change that by increasing the incentives for school districts to develop plans to compete with charters. The publication can be downloaded at www.crpe.org. Video Tips for Completing the FAFSA Each year, about 15 million students apply for grants, work-study, and loans for college using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid—the FAFSA. By completing it, students apply to the U.S. Department of Education, the largest source of student aid in Recent changes make it quicker and easier to fill out the FAFSA. It is shorter, simpler, and more user-friendly. Questions are now asked only if relevant to the applicant; low-income students, for example, are no longer asked for asset information, and only returning students are asked about prior drug convictions because the question does not apply to first-year students. Also, immediately after submitted the FAFSA, applicants will now receive a confirmation email message which indicate Pell Grant eligibility and links to information about the schools they are applying to, such as graduation and transfer rates and a detailed breakdown of costs and expected expenses associated with the schools Go to: http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/01/tips-for-completing-the-fafsa/ Mind Trust Rolling Applications The Mind Trust has begun a new rolling application process for its Education Entrepreneur Fellowships, which allows candidates to submit applications aimed at supporting innovative education ventures designed to solve K-12 public education’s most vexing problems. The Mind Trust invests about $250,000 in each Fellow, provides them with freedom, and comprehensive support. The Fellowships are for two years, during which they receive $90,000 a year, full benefits, and a $20,000 start-up stipend as well as professional support and mentoring. The Fellowships target underserved or disadvantaged populations. To learn more, visit: http://www.themindtrust.org or email fellowship@themindtrust.org. State and California’s Administrative Needs The highest-need counties in |