Education
ROCKY EDUCATION
Funding Skeptic + Surplus = Frustrating Equation For Montana School Officials
Montana school officials’ wish lists to lawmakers are generally just that – hopeful thinking in times of limited funding. But going into this legislative session, Montana lawmakers have a projected $1 billion in surplus funds to divvy up.
The Missoulian reports today that at a meeting in Ravalli County, 60 people representing 40 schools and social services agencies showed up to meet with Sen. Rick Laible, R-Darby, Rep. Ron Stoker, R-Darby, and Rep. Bob Lake, R-Hamilton, to request lawmakers take advantage of the surplus to pump up funding for schools and other programs that benefit children.
School officials pressed their need for funding Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s proposal for all-day kindergarten, a program many officials said their schools simply did not have the space to provide.
But the three lawmakers cautioned that the $1 billion surplus was one-time money and would not be able to support long-term programs.
And a story in today’s Billings Gazette indicated that school officials may face another difficulty during the upcoming legislative season.
[more]
Wyoming Media Grok
Teachers Complain About No Child Left Behind ActWyoming teachers have finally stated the obvious: the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act doesn't and cannot work.
To raise ALL students to proficiency simply disregards the facts -- all children (and their parents) are not created equal, and some students are so far behind the eight ball (poverty, illness, genetic deficiencies, inept parenting) that no amount of effort by schools and teachers can make them proficient. And the greatest absurdity is that the schools that struggle most are punished, not helped.
NCLB sounds idealistic, but in reality there's not nearly enough resources allocated to make a substantial difference. Some critics have even stated that NCLB was designed to fail, a hard-right effort to discredit public education in general and public education teachers (and their unions) in particular.
Left unaddressed by NCLB is the 16 hours of a day when students are out of school -- an environment where they may be exposed to physical, drug, alcohol, emotional and sexual abuse; hunger (even though the USDA has defined that out of existence); a chaotic home life where meals aren't regular, clothes aren't laundered and sleeping arrangements are catch-as-catch can; and homes that contain no books, but have 200-channel televisions blaring 24/7 or the latest and most violent video games.
With NCLB's endless, relentless emphasis on testing, actual learning is cheated daily. With the focus on college-prep math and language skills, the arts, history, vocational and home economic classes are withering away, even though lots of students never go on to careers where math and language skills are paramount, but the arts and work and life skills are desperately needed.
Elsewhere in the news,
[more]
Ah, the Smell of Eau d'Eucalyptus
Snow and Ice, University Scandals, and I Married a Vicks-enAll around Moscow, the short days and dark nights have been morphing into short tempers and dark grudges. Thanksgiving wasn't all turkey and gravy. In fact, it felt more like a scene from The Shining. When the news broke that University Place villain and former University of Idaho Financical Vice President Jerry Wallace had received three years probation for his part in bringing the school to its knees, mashed potatoes turned to ashes in quite a few mouths. The University of Idaho has been hamstrung by the University Place disaster. Wallace was accused of misusing public funds, and he was investigated by state and federal prosecutors. On November 23rd, Wallace entered an "Alford plea" in Latah County's Second District Court, meaning he denied any criminal intent but admitted that he had created a university account and authorized spending from it without securing the necessary approval of the Idaho Board of Education. That unapproved university account, which never had more that $600,000 in it, recorded total expenditures of more than $8 million. The money tossed down a rathole by a couple of rats, and the University of Idaho has been struggling to regain its footing ever since. [more]
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Utah Proposes Funding Fix for Federal Education LawThe goal of the federal No Child Left Behind Act is to have every public school student in the nation performing at grade level by 2014. That Act is up for reauthorization for funding this year, and Utah officials are hoping the state’s federal lawmakers can tweak the law to make it more amenable to Utah and other western states.
Meeting the goals of the federal education law is particularly onerous for rural schools, where teachers often have to teach multiple subjects, and where budgets are often smaller because federal lands, which cannot be taxed, account for huge swaths of land in Western counties. Last week, Montana educators laid out the changes they’d like to see made in the federal law, including amendments on how special needs students’ progress is charted and also some flexibility for the state’s rural schools.
Now Utah educators are calling for some changes to the federal law as well, and one change is particular could have a profound effect on some Western school districts.
The Deseret News reports that Utah legislators have come up with a list of changes they’d like to see made to the federal legislation, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington has submitted the list to U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop and the rest of Utah’s congressional delegation.
[more]
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Montana Educators Optimistic About Congressional ChangesSince Tuesday’s election, news sites and blogs have been astir with speculation about just what the results of the election means, and what a Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate and U.S. House will do — or not do.
Many editorial writers have suggested it’s put up or shut up time for Democratic leaders: Now that the campaigning is over, it’s time for the federal lawmakers to get something done.
Most of the articles talk about what the future holds with regard to earmarks, the war in Iraq, immigration reform, health care and even what might happen should Congress try to raise the federal minimum wage.
But another federal program that has created its share of controversy in the West is coming up for reauthorization in 2007, and Montana educators are hoping that the new leadership in Congress will give them some flexibility with the No Child Left Behind Act.
The Great Falls Tribune writes that Linda McCullough, the state superintendent for the Office of Public Instruction in Montana, hopes that when No Child comes up for reauthorization, federal lawmakers will take a hard look at the broad education mandate and make some changes.
[more]
UTAH VOTE NOTES 2006
GOP Candidates Remain Vague When it Comes to School VouchersWhy don't Utah's GOP candidates want to talk about private school vouchers? It could have something to do with the money many have received from a group, fascinatingly called Parents for Choice…in Education.
While some candidates have openly endorsed the voucher program, most are trying to keep their position strictly on the down low. But, any political wonk worth their salt knows that private school vouchers are unpopular with voters and there are plenty of polling results to back that notion…however, candidates must be careful not to bite the hand that feeds them.
[more]
Commentary - Idaho Proposition 1
What Are We Saying to Idaho’s Kids?
It’s awfully hard to be anti-park.
Who could be against setting aside land for people to play in the natural world alongside elk, deer, raccoon, fox, snakes, bald eagles and other assorted critters?
How could anyone object to a black-cottonwood wetland on the Snake River between Firth and Blackfoot as the site for a proposed new state park in eastern Idaho? Or second-guess the obvious hard work of the Idaho Parks and Recreation Board, who narrowed down locations until they settled on this one?
Surely there's nothing wrong with preserving the forest and the wildlife in it as the main objective of the park.
In former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's "Experience Idaho" parks initiative, proposed in his State of the State address this year, he asked for a total of $33 million to spend on the state park system. The legislature didn't allocate that much, to his disappointment. But they did budget $1 million to begin work on locating and designing a new state park within 60 miles of Idaho Falls.
[more]
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND?
Utah Schools Fall Below the Mark According to NCLB and U-PASS ReportsThe grades are in and things don’t look so good for Utah schools. According to Adequate Yearly Progress reports generated under the federal No Child Left Behind law, 18 percent of Utah’s schools failed to meet NCLB testing and attendance standards and 9 schools could face federal sanctions. In addition, Utah’s own U-PASS report offers only slightly better news.
NCLB laws, put in place by the Bush administration in 2001 are meant to keep schools in check and ensure that all students are excelling, with tests highlighting schools that aren’t quite up to par. The federally mandated tests which focus on Math and Reading are given to students each year, with the median score raised every two years, the intent of which is to improve the academic proficiency of all students by the year 2014. While NCLB was intended to safeguard education standards for all students, it’s not without its critics.
Educators and state legislators have long been critical of NCLB asserting that the law is too narrow in its focus on “Math and Reading.” Some suggest that while students in more affluent schools would still receive a well-rounded set of courses (art, science and social studies), others would be relegated to a second-class program and therefore miss out on a more complete education. With the pressure placed on schools to produce test results educators find themselves in the unenviable position of educating some children just enough to pass federal standardized tests.
[more]
ALL WE ARE SAYING, IS GIVE SCHOOL A CHANCE
School Impact Fees Could Create New Cash for Schools, But Pro-Development Groups Say, “No Way.”Utah public schools are in trouble, boasting the lowest per-pupil spending in the country and class sizes fit to burst. With that in mind and a $76 million missed opportunity looming large educators and some state officials are looking to a new solution: impact fees.
The hope is that impact fees, placed on new homes sold in the valley would provide an extra pool of money for Utah schools. Sounds great, but the plan has drawn furious criticism from some Utah developers and real estate agents who claim the fees place an unfair burden on new homebuyers.
[more]
BUENOS DIAS NINOS
Spanish-Only Preschools Create Bilingual Option in BoiseIdaho’s population is diversifying, as a growing percentage of residents are Hispanic. And out of that trend comes the opening of two new preschools that focus on helping young children become bilingual.
The Associated Press a few weeks ago reported that Idaho’s Hispanic population has climbed to 9.1 percent, or about 130,000 of the state’s 1.4 million residents. Census numbers also show that the Hispanic population increased 4.8 percent over last year, twice the rate of growth of the state’s overall population increase.
[more]
