Blog the Future - Recent posts
One in Three Black Boys back to top
The Children's Defense Fund's leader Marian Wright Edelman wrote the following, describing the basis for CDF's recent pathbreaking report The Cradle to Prison Pipeline. Prepare The Future has added the education system in parentheses to the ones Marian mentions as having failed tens of thousands children. Is one of these children your child? If by the grace of God, it is not true of your child, what are we/you going to do about our neighbor's child. It's a good example of why Prepare The Future exists.
"Imagine coming into this world with a prison cell already reserved in your name.
That is the tragedy that awaits at least one in three Black boys. Millions of poor American children are condemned to prison by the time they reach their teens because they are failed at every turn in their lives — failed by their family, the child welfare system (the education system) and the juvenile justice system.
Consider this:
- Today, 580,000 Black males are serving sentences in state or federal prison, while fewer than 40,000 Black males earn a bachelor's degree each year.
- A child is born into poverty every 36 seconds and born to a teen mother every 60 seconds.
- Between 2000 and 2006, the number of children living in poverty increased by 1.2 million to reach 12.8 million children. One in six children is poor.
Frankie, who first appeared in juvenile court on a misdemeanor assault charge when he was barely ten years old, embodies this tragedy all too well.
Taken from his mother at birth, he was passed from one foster home to another for the first eight years of his life. At the age of ten, this troubled, depressed young boy hit an adult, the police were called and he took another step towards the adult criminal system.
Frankie was failed from birth by all those adults who should have protected and nurtured him — his family, the child welfare system (the education system) and the juvenile justice system.
For a nation that claims to be the world's greatest democracy and a beacon for justice and freedom, the "Cradle to Prison Pipeline" is a national disgrace that costs billions of dollars, ruins tens of thousands of our children and deprives us of the young talent that could build a brighter future...."
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No Silver Bullet back to top
Many of us can recite chapter and verse the numerous problems that confront public education, including the fact that k-12 education in Ohio performs poorly, especially for low income children, children of color, language minority children and children with disabilities. The reading gap in Ohio between poor and non- poor children is the 15th worst in the nation. The gap at the 8th grade math level is the 17th worst. Only 51% of Ohio's African American students graduate on time. The numbers are not much better for all Ohio children, regardless of race or income (citing Education Trust figures) only 34% of all Ohio 4th graders were proficient or above in reading with only 9% of African Americans and 24% of Latinos achieving that level. Only 33% of all Ohio's 8th grade students achieve proficiency levels in mathematics. The challenges facing Ohio public education are many, is there a silver bullet solution to the problem?
The changes that are required must be comprehensive, systemic and simultaneous. A silver bullet approach will not work. Some argue that "all we need to do" is to create more charter schools or put more money in the system or have afterschool programs or more vocational education or different teacher certification requirements or smaller classes and schools. The list of single bullet recommendations is very long. No one of them will get the job done.
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Prepare The Future update back to top
Dear Friends,
It has been some time since I last communicated with you. That's because we have entered a new phase of our effort to build a new advocacy voice for America's children.
Phase one was the design work. What should the effort look like? How can we create an effective web-based tool technically? What sort of staffing patterns are necessary to provide support to small group organizing, college and high school chapters as well as on-line organizing. How do we create an organization that avoids some of the challenges of coalitions such as the fear participanting organizations often have of losing their own identity and agenda in the larger cross-cutting agenda of the coalition itself?
We have successfully finished the design work. With your help we learned what we needed to learn through the pilot Action Trees.
Phase two has been to secure pledges from a large number of organizations to make a good faith effort to build an Action Tree once I raise the money to provide the staff support necessary to help them. It was in this context that it was imperative to deal with the challenge of coalition building referred to above. We have done that successfully.
Our solution is threefold. First, governance of Prepare The Future is vested in a board made up of representatives of those building Action Trees so the participants, in effect, are in control. Second, each participating organization, through the board, can recommend that all of the Action Trees be activated on behalf of an issue on its agenda. This will give each organization access to far more support on a given issue than they could generate on their own. Third, if the board should decide for whatever reason that activating all of the Action Trees on a given issue should not occur (it's untimely, for example), the recommending organization may still activate its own Action Tree using Prepare The Future technology and staff support to do so. These provisions have led large numbers of organizations to understand how participating organizations build their own capacity while, simultaneously, contributing to the larger agenda.
Thus, we now have 128 pledges across the country to make a good faith effort to build Action Trees when we have raised the funds for staff support. There are 16 in California, 12 in Colorado, 18 in Ohio and 82 nationally. About 1/2 are from the faith community; 1/4 are youth-based; and the balance include community foundations, grassroots organizations and other civic groups. They include, for example, fourteen Methodist conferences; fourteen seminaries; ten Action Tree pledges from Common Cause; ten from the Islamic Society of North America; ten from Mobilize.org and ten from the Youth Policy Action Center.
My favorite five pledges are in southern California because together they reflect the strong belief that there are millions of Americans who may differ on some things but share a commitment to the values of fairness, trust, responsibility and strong caring communities. They are prepared to join hands on behalf of children and families. Those five are: Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles; Board of Rabbis of southern California; the Shura Council; Fuller Seminary and the Jesse Miranda Center for Hispanic Leadership.
The third phase is to raise the funds. That has begun in earnest over the past three months. We believe full funding for ten years will be about $274 million. If we meet our aspirational goals of individual participation including the financial contribution of $20 per year, we would be self- supporting by the end of the 7th year.
We will, of course, not be asking for the full ten years nor all of what we need in the short term from a single foundation. During this design phase we have developed several alternative funding strategies that we are pursuing.
We are approaching a number of the larger foundations and have had several positive initial meetings. Foundations recognize that the reason the successful practices their grantees demonstrate almost never go to scale and often wither when the foundation funding runs out is because the political will does not exist to insist that our policy makers and elected officials embrace practices that work. This is the central premise of Prepare The Future.
The fourth phase is, of course, implementation. It largely must wait until we secure the funds. But even here those who have pledged in Colorado and in Ohio are beginning to meet and discuss what they might do together even before the funds arrive.
This gives you a quick update. Thanks again very much for your commitment to the values of Prepare The Future and to a quality public education for all children.
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Top Reads - Education in the 08 Campaigns back to top
Despite its undeniable importance to the future of our country, education has been addressed very little so far this campaign season. Only three candidates from either party have taken any meaningful stand on our schools, and only 33 minutes of the 12 hours of Republican and Democratic debates - that's 5.5% - have focused on education.
The Palm Beach Post reports that one of the reasons for this is a lack of public will. "The reason why candidates aren't talking about education is because there is no push from the public," according to a Palm Beach politician. Without demand from voters, candidates will continue to avoid dealing with such a potentially devise, controversial, complex - and absolutely important - issue.
Graduation Matters - New Education Trust Report -- NCLB's graduation requirements have gotten less attention than its requirements related to testing and yearly progress, but the law does mandate that states show improvement in graduation rates. A new study from the Education Trust suggests that, by allowing states to set their own, low bar for improvement, the law has done little to encourage high schools to work towards higer rates of graduation. The study reports that large district's like New York City's have shown that graduation rates can improve - if appropriate attention is paid to the issue. The upcoming reauthorization of NCLB presents an opportunity to focus more on this important issue, to help create real change for students.
Local nonprofit to pay Rincon, Amphi students for attendance -- A Tuscon area nonprofit, anxious to increase attendance in some of its poorer high schools, will pay a randomly selected group of 175 juniors $25 a week just to go to class. Youth Education Security, Inc. believes this three-year effort will help decrease drop-out rates by encouraging some students in poverty to continue going to school. The proposal is generating some criticism by teachers and citizens who think that the program will provide the wrong sort of incentive for students on the bubble.
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Education Should be a Primary Issue back to top
Already, this presidential primary season has been one of the most intense I can remember. Candidates are getting into heated battles over everything from foreign policy to health care, and in every forum from the town hall to the Internet. Why, in the midst of all this debate, has there been so little talk about education? There have been dedicated debates scheduled for issues ranging from minority rights to cancer research. Those are important and worthy topics. But why haven't we had a debate dedicated to the most important investment we make in our future - our schools?
Last month, we posted about the fact that education has been barely discussed in the campaign so far. Most of the candidates in both parties have either listed education as an issue on their website or described potential reforms in the context of other issues such as poverty (although as of this writing John McCain has not even done that!) The problem is that a few paragraphs on a website is just not enough.
The online magazine Slate.com recently published a compliation of everything the Democratic candidates have said about education in the debates so far. (It's a great idea, and one I hope they replicate for Republican candidates, too.) Seeing all the comments in one place was revealing. There are a few things everyone agrees on. The achievement gap is bad. NCLB doesn't work well (although there is disagreement about whether it should be revised or scrapped). Pre-K works. We need more good teachers and smaller class sizes.
What I didn't see, however, was a lot of discussion about how to fix those problems and reach those goals. Some of the candidates have more detailed plans than others (particularly on their websites), but it's still not enough. We need sustained, intense debate about education in this country - not soundbites. The only way this is going to happen is if we, the voters and citizens, demand it.
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Organizing Luncheon Held in Los Angeles back to top
Last Thursday in Los Angeles, E-Action stepped up its organizing efforts in a luncheon meeting for two dozen parish priests and lay leaders with an interest in education. Hosted by Bishop Jon Bruno, the meeting was attended by advocates from cities and towns as much as sixty miles away.
Prepare the Future founder David Hornbeck was the featured guest, sharing his knowledge about education in America and his vision for how change can happen in California schools. He emphasized the need for Action Trees to grow large quickly in California, so that we can develop the infrastructure to demonstrate that there is the public will to provide a high quality education for every student in California.
In our conversation, a few shocking statistics came out. For example, 25% of all high school teachers in California neither majored nor minored in the subjects they teach. 30% of California students don’t graduate from high school on time, and only 22% of our middle school srudents are proficient in math.
The solutions we discussed center on Prepare the Future’s education agenda:
- Have high expectations for all students.
- Use instructional strategies that have been proven to work.
- Develop a results-based accountability system for educators and citizens, as well as students.
- Provide adequate resources that are equitably distributed. Already, the enthusiasm generated by our meeting has helped to grow the E-Action network.
We welcome this growth and look forward to working with these leaders and their parishes as they join Prepare the Future in order to give all our children a quality education, the necessary prerequisite to strong communities, strong participatory democracy, and a strong economy.
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Top Reads -- Do diplomas prepare you for college? back to top
Schools aren't preparing kids for college: Better alignment is needed between high school and college standards, panelists say - A serious disconnect exists between the skills taught in high school and the skills needed to succeed in college and the workforce, according to the panelists at a forum held by the Alliance for Excellent Education. Students need to develop core academic skills and habits of mind - including the kinds of critical thinking skills that are difficult to measure on standardized tests - that will allow them to complete college level work without remedial classes. The panel's recommendations included making honors courses available to all students, and emphasizing reading comprehension and writing skills. To view the AEE's issue brief on high school teaching and college readiness, click here.
Children's Health and Academic Success - This opinion column makes the case that health care is an important component of any attempt to help disadvantaged children succeed academicially. Any teacher will report that when children miss days of school for illness, it has a detrimental effect on their learning. Studies have found that a child's general health when they begin school is an important predictor of the level of achievement they have reached by third grade. The author argues that if we want America's students to succeed academically, we need to give them good health care as well as good schools.
Teachers, principals have huge influence - A study from Carnegie Mellon University shows that a high quality teacher or principal can have a bigger impact on a child's academic performance than whether that student is from a poor home or a single-parent family. Next steps are to identify the characteristics that make these educators effective, so that they can be taught to other teachers and principals, too.
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Top Reads - Back to School Earlier and Earlier back to top
Summer Vacation is Ending Sooner -- Labor Day used to mark the traditional end of summer vacation, but students in more and more districts are returning to the classroom in August. Although some districts still begin school after Labor Day - Michigan, for example, requires by law that schools must start after Labor Day to help promote tourism in the state - now over 75% of school districts open in August. Education officials say that high-stakes testing has pushed them to fit in as much instruction as possible before the spring. Also, shorter vacations help to limit the loss of knowledge and skills that students inevitably suffer during the summer.
How Should Teachers be Graded? -- It is universally agreed that teacher quality is one of the most important factors in student achievement. However, as this article explores, there is heated debate about what makes a good teacher, and how to measure those traits. Policy makers, teacher unions, and others do not agree on issues such as whether teachers should be paid for performance, whether growth models that track student achievement over time should be used to evaluate teachers, and whether or not certain credentials and degrees can be used to predict teacher quality.
Alternate Route to Diploma Proposed in Md. -- Maryland State School Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick revealed a plan proposing to provide project-based alternatives for students who fail exams required for graduation. A response to arguments that high-stakes testing places too much emphasis on one test, the plan would allow the relatively small segment of students who would otherwise graduate except for the test to demonstrate subject-matter mastery in other ways. Critics, however, argue that the tests measure important skills, and that this plan amounts to a watering-down of standards. Maryland officials, including Governor Martin O'Malley, say that the plan is "interesting" but that more careful study will be required to make sure that high standards are maintained.
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September Newsletter - Action Tree Updates, Etc. back to top
As the weather cools, students and teachers return to the classroom, and presidential candidates continue their campaigns, grassroots organizations like Prepare the Future are more important than ever. It’s up to us to put the pressure on policy makers at the local, state, and national levels to ensure that all children have a high quality public education. And we’re making progress!
This newsletter will get you up-to-date on the strides we’re making and the movement we’re building. As always, you can read our newsletter and stay up to date with Prepare the Future and the world of education by visiting our blog: http://www.preparethefuture.org/Main/blog.php.
Exciting Work from Our Action Trees
We are excited to highlight the work of the individual organizations hosting our pilot Action Trees. The Action Trees are the backbone of Prepare the Future; we work together on the issues that concern us all, while each Action Tree also focuses on the particular causes it cares about. This structure will allow us to build an organization more diverse and powerful than ever before. Check out the campaigns the organizations hosting our pilot Action Trees have been working on this summer, and find out how you can get involved!
Our Education
• Petition to Make a High-Quality Education a Right – Believe it or not, the right to education is not enshrined in our Constitution. So far, over 17,500 young people have signed a petition supporting a constitutional amendment to guarantee all American children the right to a high quality public education. If you’re between the ages of 13 and 24, click here (http://www.oured.org/forms/petition.php) to add your signature!
• Students Meet with DC Law-Makers – This summer, a group of fifty high school students traveled to Washington, DC with Our Education to ask lawmakers and influentials tough questions about education in America. They pushed for the student voice to be heard during NCLB reauthorization and in the Department of Education, and advocated for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing high quality public education to American children and youth.
Mobilize.org
• Democracy 2.0 - The Mobilize team has launched Democracy 2.0, a campaign to create a more citizen-centered approach to democracy. Through Democracy 2.0, young people will build the democracy they hope to inherit. You can learn more about the campaign here: http://www.mobilize.org/index.php?tray=topic_subtopic&tid=top508&cid=279. Take the Democracy 2.0 survey here: http://www.mobilize.org/index.php?tray=survey_topic_inline&tid=top501&cid=cs1
• Student Debt Campaign - The campaign for college affordability continues! National student debt increases by almost $2,000 every second, and Mobilize.org is working to make a college education affordable for everyone. Their efforts helped pass legislation in both the House and Senate this summer, and if we can keep the pressure on, this will be the largest investment in higher education since the GI Bill. We need your help to make sure the final bill that will be passed in September will prioritize affordable college. To join the effort, click here: http://www.mobilize.org/index.php?tray=topic_recent&tid=top503&cid=235
NSLP/SEANet
• National Learn & Serve Challenge – The National Service Learning Partnership is busy organizing the National Learn & Serve Challenge, a weeklong series of local, state, and national events designed to raise awareness and public support for service-learning. It’s all happening from September 17 to 23, 2007. Click here for more details on how to get involved: http://www.service-learningpartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=OC_ls
E-Action
• Speaking Up for California’s Kids – E-Action has launched a campaign to demand that California’s elected officials fix the serious problems in finance and governance facing the state’s public schools. If you live in California, tell Governor Schwarzenegger and your state Senators and Assemblymen that all the children of your state deserve a high quality public education! Click here to take action now: http://capwiz.com/mobilize/issues/alert/?alertid=10181926&type=ML
• Organizing Southern California – In September, E-Action and Bishop Jon Bruno will host a luncheon of representatives of nearly 50 Episcopal churches across the Los Angeles diocese to build support for Prepare the Future.
The Founder’s Tree
• Membership Milestones – The Founder’s Tree has hit triple-digits! There are now over 100 active, engaged Action Tree advocates, and as members reach out to their family and friends, more are joining every day.
• Generosity and Commitment – Already, Founder’s Tree members have donated over $3,000 to help Prepare the Future continue building a network with the power to speak up and demand a brighter future for children.
New Developments at Prepare the Future
This summer, Prepare the Future continued laying the foundations for our future work. We’ve ramped up our operations in Colorado, and are continuing to build support from partner organizations. The highlights of this work are described below; to read more, visit the blog here: http://www.preparethefuture.org/Main/blog.php?mode=id&id=53
• Prepare the Future Colorado to Launch Soon – Education reform is a big issue in Colorado these days, and many of our partners in that state want to move quickly to build the public will to demand change. Once we complete the planning process, the groups will launch a joint Action Tree that will give ordinary Coloradoans a voice in the important education reforms that will soon be occurring in their state. This is exciting news, and we’ll keep you updated on developments!
• New Action Tree Pledges – In the past weeks, several more organizations pledged to join Prepare the Future and build Action Trees after we successfully complete our pilot period. This brings our total to 69 Action Trees pledged! The new pledges are from:
• Christ Church Episcopal Church (Dayton, OH)
• Pacific School of Religion
• 10 more Action Trees pledged by Methodist Church Bishops
Do you have ideas, opinions, or questions about Prepare the Future and the work that we’re doing for America’s children? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Talk to us here: http://www.preparethefuture.org/Main/talk.php.
We rely on our members to spread the word about Prepare the Future. Click here to login and invite your friends to join our movement: http://www.preparethefuture.org/Main/login.php.
Sincerely,
The Prepare the Future Team
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Who Shall Lead? back to top
I have heard the observation more than once...but most recently from my friend and Prepare The Future supporter Bob Edgar. Bob is stepping down after an outstanding tenure as General Secretary of the National Council of Churches to become President of Common Cause. He invites us to remember that "we are the leaders we have been waiting for!"
WE ARE THE LEADERS WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!
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Top Reads - Falling SAT Score, Teacher Recruitment back to top
Average SAT scores dip for both math, reading -- Average SAT scores dropped seven points compared to last year's scores, making them the lowest in the past eight years. The College Board, which administers the test, says that this drop isn't all bad. As more and more students take the test (35% of this year's test takers would be the first in their familiy to attend college, for example), some drop in average score is likely to occur.
In the trenches with U.S. educators -- Movies like Dangerous Minds or Freedom Writers might be enjoyable, but they don't necessarily present the most accurate picture of what it's like to teach in a public school today. Columnist Ann Hulbert suggests that more recent depictions of the challenges facing urban teachers, from the tv show The Wire to the new book, Testing: One American School Struggles to Make the Grade, not only do a better job reflecting reality, they also might help attract more much-needed teachers to the profession. In some countries, like Finland, schools are able to attract top teachers because of the status society gives them. By being honest about how challenging, and rewarding, teaching can be, Hulbert suggests that perhaps talented individuals will be motivated to enter the classroom.
With Turnover High, Schools Fight For Teachers -- With American schools in the midst of a serious shortage of teachers, some districts are offering new teachers in math, science, and other hard-to-fill subjects thousands of dollars in bonuses. The teacher shortage has been caused by several factors - baby boomers are beginning to retire in large numbers, and there is a poor retention rate for new hires. In some places, like Guilford County, N.C., algebra teachers were offered $10,000 bonuses to come to the district.
K-12 Schooling Adds Up -- The loss in earning power from high school dropouts in the Milwaukee area costs $1.5 billion every year, according to a new study. 1 out of every 3 public school students in Wisconsin goes to school in the 7-county Milwaukee area, and economists suggest that the fact that there are 144,000 residents without high school diplomas could contribute to Wisconsin lagging behind neighbor Minnesota in economic power.
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Exciting Progress at Prepare the Future back to top
It may be the end of summer, but Prepare the Future hasn't take a vacation. We've been busy working to build our network of advocates and recruiting organizations to pledge to launch Action Trees of their own once our pilot period is over and we secure full funding from our sponsors and members. In just the past week, there have been two big developments that we wanted to let you know about.
Prepare the Future - Colorado to Launch Soon!
We’re thrilled to announce that a new Action Tree based in Colorado will launch earlier than originally planned! Even though Prepare the Future is still in its pilot period, several organizations in Colorado that had pledged to launch Action Trees once the pilot period was complete have decided to get started early. Education reform is a big issue in Colorado these days, and they want to move quickly to build the public will to demand change. Monday, August 27th, we had our first, very successful meeting with these groups to begin to flesh out the Prepare the Future – Colorado Education Agenda. Once we complete this process, the groups will launch a joint Action Tree that will give ordinary Coloradoans a voice in the important education reforms that will soon be occurring in their state. This is exciting news, and we’ll keep you updated on developments!
New Action Tree Pledges
As you know, one of the most important projects our staff is working on is encouraging organizations across the country to pledge to partner with Prepare the Future and launch an Action Tree of its own. Already, we have pledges from groups to start 13 Action Trees in California, 9 in Colorado, 7 in Ohio, and 40 in other places across the country. Just this week, we secured 12 new pledges.
- Christ Church Episcopal Church of Dayton, OH – Pledged by the Rev. John Paddock, who leads a church with a long history of involvement in social justice.
- Pacific School of Religion – Pledged by PSR President Bill McKinney. The school is notable for its commitment to social justice. This is the third pledge we have from a seminary.
- 10 Action Trees Pledged by the Methodist Church – Bishop Weaver of New England Conference, Bishop Ough of Ohio West Conference, and Bishop Hopkins of Ohio East Conference, are teaming up to find 10 Methodist conferences across the nation, outside our test states of California, Colorado, and Ohio, to pledge Action Trees. Bishop Weaver’s New England Conference has already agreed to be the first of these, and so this trio of faith leaders, all extraordinarily committed to public education, have just 9 more to go. Better yet, this is in addition to the Action Trees Bishops Hopkins and Ough have already pledged in their conferences in Ohio!
We're well on our way to building a voice strong enough to demand change in America's public schools. With advances like these, the future keeps looking brighter. Check the blog often - we'll keep you posted as progress continues!
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Top Reads - Giuliani's Pro-Voucher Stance, More back to top
Giuliani backs private school vouchers to improve education - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani spoke about his pro-voucher education stance in New Hampshire. The former mayor argued that America's system of higher education is the best in the world because students have choice between colleges and universities, and we have "a weaker K-12" because of a lack of competition. He believes that making schools compete for students will drive up quality and achievement.
More Students Finish School, Given the Time - For a 17- or 18-year-old student who only has enough credits to be a high school sophomore, high school can be a demoralizing experience, and dropping out can seem like an attractive option. New York City is at the forefront of an effort to encourage students at risk of dropping out the chance to graduate by creating programs targeted to students who may be far behind in the number of credits they need. These programs, many of which occur in the evenings, give older students the chance to make up courses, get personal attention, and get their diploma. The district is having some success with this program, and other urban districts are beginning to adopt the model.
"Highly qualified" label for teacher trainees hit - A loophole in NCLB's provision that teachers must be highly qualified has allowed districts to apply the label to brand new teachers with no certification or training, provided that the teachers are enrolled in an alternative certification program. About 3.5% of teachers in California fall into this category. Now, a lawsuit in that state challenges that applying the "highly qualified" label to these teacher interns is a misrepresentation, counter to the spirit, and arguably the letter, of the law. Defenders of the intern programs counter that these programs are critical to getting new teachers into schools where they're most needed.
Fast Facts from the National Center for Education Statistics - This fascinating compilation of education statistics is interesting brain food as students across the country go back to school.
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Top Reads - High School Majors, School Safety Tips back to top
Forced to Pick a Major in High School - Choosing a major is a decision typically associated with college. Freshmen at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, NJ will soon be making a similar choice. Students will select from six programs, ranging from sports management to performing arts, and will take electives in those subjects for the next four years.
Districts and state school systems from across the country are enacting similar programs, in the hopes that specialization will keep students more interested and engaged in school, and will give them an edge in college admission. Critics of such programs, however, argue that high school students should focus on general skills, to provide a solid foundation for whatever they decide they eventually want to do.
Back to School Tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics - Summer days are shortening and store shelves are filling up with notebooks and backpacks. Back to school season has begun. This time of year can be one of high anxiety for many students, but the American Academy of Pediatrics has published this list of health and safety tips to help ensure that the transition back to the classroom will be a safe one.
Public Schools Prepare to Educate Kids with Autism - More and more students with autism are being educated in traditional public school settings, as opposed to in special schools, according to this NPR report. Over half a million students in America have been diagnosed with autism, many of whom have been educated in private schools, with public schools footing the bill. But as the number of affected students grows, districts are providing more services for these students themselves. (The link above will take you to NPR's website, where you can read the story, or listen to an audio version.)
Imported from Britain: Ideas to Improve Schools - In the past several years, Britain has invested heavily to reform its school system. Some in the United States, including New York schools chancellor Joel Klein, and the Ohio State Board of Education, have been capitalzing on this by consulting the expertise of Sir Michael Barber. Sir Michael, who gained his title because of his contributions to the English education system under the Blair government, brings an interesting outside perspective to school reform efforts in the United States.
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E-Action Launch! back to top
We’re thrilled to launch Prepare the Future’s newest Action Tree – E-Action. Education in California was among the very best in the nation just a few decades ago. It’s now among the worst.
There is good news, though. Last March, Stanford’s Institute for Research on Education Policy & Practice released “Getting Down to Facts: School Finance and Governance in California”, a report based on twenty-two studies of California’s K-12 education. (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/march21/facts-032107.html) This report was requested by a bipartisan group of major California policy makers, including legislators and Governor Schwarzenegger’s Committee on Educational Excellence. Funding for the report came from major foundations.
“Getting Down to Facts” has captured the attention of the California legislature. Members of the Senate Education Committee have vowed to deal with the report and not let it gather dust on a shelf. Citizens must take this opportunity to build the public will to ensure sure that our legislators continue to pay attention to the report and move forward in making the necessary changes to the governance structure and funding of our schools.
We encourage you to join us in building the public will to provide a quality education to all our children. Please do become a part of the E-Action Tree. Give us your suggestions, comments and information. Help us communicate with policy makers so they will make the necessary changes!
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Recent Posts
- One in Three Black Boys
- No Silver Bullet
- Prepare The Future update
- Top Reads - Education in the 08 Campaigns
- Education Should be a Primary Issue
- Organizing Luncheon Held in Los Angeles
- Top Reads -- Do diplomas prepare you for college?
- Top Reads - Back to School Earlier and Earlier
- September Newsletter - Action Tree Updates, Etc.
- Who Shall Lead?
- Top Reads - Falling SAT Score, Teacher Recruitment
- Exciting Progress at Prepare the Future
- Top Reads - Giuliani's Pro-Voucher Stance, More
- Top Reads - High School Majors, School Safety Tips
- E-Action Launch!
