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Santa Fe/ Truancy: Report on NM Schools Shows Troubling Trends
By Milan Simonich
Texas-New Mexico Newspapers
Carlsbad Curent-Argus
December 19, 2012
UNM researchers released a report Tuesday showing that 15 percent of the state's students were habitually truant in 2011-12.
The survey found that more than 15 percent of students in Eddy County reported using cocaine in the prior 30 days.
The numbers may be another reason that New Mexico typically finishes near the bottom in education rankings. Perhaps the surest way to nullify a great teacher is by kids skipping school.
- In the last academic year, 51,034 students were habitually truant, meaning they accumulated 10 or more days of unexcused absences. The state had about 334,000 kids in public schools during that stretch.
- Put another way, the number of habitual truants was about double the enrollment of the Las Cruces public schools, second-largest district in the state.
The findings by the University of New Mexico's Center for Education Policy Research were outlined for a legislative education committee.
Peter Winograd, one of the authors of the report, told lawmakers that he had plenty of statistics, but no clear idea of what becomes of those kids chronically absent from school.
But habitual truancy, Winograd said, is a signal of numerous social ills.
The UNM researchers, in looking at the Albuquerque Public Schools, found that habitual truants were more likely to have tried cocaine and considered or tried suicide. They also were more likely to have had sex.
Part of the truancy research was tied to the state Department of Health's Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey of 2009.
- Along with Eddy County, the survey found that found that more than 15 percent of the students in Dona Ana Rio Arriba and Valencia counties reported using cocaine in the prior 30 days.
- Other counties, such as Santa Fe and Bernalillo, had cocaine usage numbers by teens that were nearly that high.
The researchers said the causes of habitual truancy are many. Drugs, pregnancy, poor performance in school, bullying and a lack of caring adults were among the ones they cited. Winograd said his group did not want to see truancy categorized as a delinquent act or a crime. Rather, the researchers said, "truancy should be viewed as a symptom" of larger problems and addressed by schools, cities, police, juvenile courts and parents.
"The schools can't do it alone. Communities can't do it alone," Winograd said.
Given the scope of the problem, he said, more data was needed to determine how best to get more students in their seats.
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Moriarty/ New Honors Diploma Program for Moriarty High School
By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph |
December 19, 2012
It appears the Moriarty-Edgewood School District will be offering a new honors program starting next year.
At its regular meeting Tuesday, the district school board approved an honors diploma program at Moriarty High School.
The two honors teachers, Lindsay Hearrean and Christine Armijo, have been developing the proposed program for several months.
According to Hearrean, the program would offer three levels for students to graduate with honors, similar to the offerings at universities.
- Students would be required to take advanced courses and also would have to meet criteria for community involvement and meet character-related goals, such as trustworthiness and becoming a lifelong learner.
- According to the discussion, the students who strive for and achieve the honor will be called out at graduation and have the honor noted on their diploma.
"I think that it would really mean something to have that on the diploma itself," District Superintendent Karen Couch said.
One item that was not on the school board's agenda was student enrollment.
- The first numbers that will determine school funding - the snapshot of students enrolled on the 80th day of school - is in, and
- the district had 2,887, or about 315 fewer students than the same time last year.
According to Couch, there are two factors causing the decline.
- First, the number reflects a downward trend in enrollment at the school that has been going on for over a decade, which has yet to be fully explained.
- The second part of the equation is a new charter school in the area, the Estancia Valley Classical Academy, which likely pulled students from the district.
Couch said the district is looking at what the drop in enrollment will mean for the district, but officials are still waiting on additional information.
Legislators may increase funding for schools by about 3 to 5 percent in the upcoming session, which will be a significant change when it comes to the school's bottom line.
The school has also lost three teachers during the school year, which plays into what may happen in the coming year. For example, Couch said one educator who taught third and fourth grade went on an educational leave of absence, then decided not to come back and work for the remainder of the school year, Couch said.
Partially due to the decline in enrollment, the workload could be absorbed by two other teachers, Couch said.
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Socorro/ Superintendent Earwood Checks School District Safety Concerns
By Karen Bailey-Bowman
El Defensor Chieftain
December 19, 2012
Superintendent Randall Earwood fired off his first email to Socorro school leaders Friday as the tragedy in Connecticut was still unfolding.
On Monday morning, he drove to all the district schools to meet with school principals and lead teachers.
- "I was concerned about our students coming to school today after having watched the news," he said.
Earwood had a meeting with administrators and Socorro Police Department deputy police chief Mike Winders on Tuesday. The discussion points cover district safety, especially police and school district joint safety plan.
Being new to the district, Earwood said he wants to hear about the safety protocols the police department has in effect, and be sure critical information, such as school floor plans, is current.
Earwood is confident Socorro schools pass the safety muster.
- "As far as the safety of our students, we're doing everything we can," he said. "That said, I'm sure the leaders of Newtown schools thought their schools were safe, too. In fact, they had just implemented new safety procedures. There's always unknowns you have to be leery of, but I think we're very safe."
At Zimmerly School, in order for anyone to get through the second tier of doors at the entrance, the school secretary has to buzz the person in, he said. That's the only door open to the public; the other doors are locked on the outside.
"All our schools have electronic access so only those with an electronic key can get in," he said. "All the perimeter doors are locked."
Earwood can only recall one incident in New Mexico that involved a school shooting.
"Back in the early 1990s, two people impersonated a police officer and took a student from a Roswell school into the desert and killed him," he said.
Earwood said that kind of tragedy cannot happen again.
"We have certain protocols in place for releasing students that ensure their safety," he said. "If they're minors, we don't release children to anyone, even police officers, without parent consent."
The only people even allowed to talk to students at a school without parental consent are New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department personnel, he said.
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Clovis/ COLUMN: Education Foundation Continues to Grow
By Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy [Instructional Technology Coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools]
Clovis News Journal
December 19, 2012
Not long ago, the "Education Foundation Prize Patrol" bus set out from Clovis Municipal Schools Central Office to travel through the district surprising Education Foundation Grant recipients with appropriate pomp and circumstance. Truth be told, there is actually no such bus, but we were able to use a CHS Wildcat bus for a few hours to hand out oversized grant checks with great fanfare.
The CMS Education Foundation, established in 2006 through the foresight of educators and community members, awarded its first round of cash prizes in 2007 (http://www.clovis-schools.org/foundation/index.html).
The idea of the Education Foundation was initially to provide an opportunity for those teachers who would like to pursue creative and innovative educational solutions that are outside the scope of regular available funding. It has since grown and continues to expand, offering, for example, student college scholarships and other special projects.
Thanks to the vision and doggedness of Executive Director Jan Cox, the Education Foundation continues as a dynamic, enterprising organization.
Educator grant applicants exert considerable effort to pull together the research, data, and justification for their grant applications, and all should be congratulated on their labors to exceed expectations on behalf of their students.
Not everyone can receive a grant, however, and the review committee spends a great deal of time carefully considering each incoming application.
The culminating event is the Prize Patrol bus, filled with not only CMS staff members and community members, but also current and former school board members; Superintendent Terry Myers; a handful of CHS Cheerleaders; and a CHS Drum Line. Along with the additional percussion instruments good-naturedly wielded by participants, well...you can imagine the stir created at the arrival at each awarded school site.
The grant winners include:
- Gifted and Talented teacher, Mary Finifrock, at Cameo Elementary for her "Utilizing Sun & Wind Power in the Classroom;
- Jennifer Longley and Kristi Sparks, both Instructional coaches at Marshall and Yucca Middle Schools, respectively, for 2 programs to be shared across middle schools: "Put Your Best Foot Forward" and "Jr. Wildcat Math Camp." These two programs have continued from the past and have been very successful in helping middle school students transition more effectively.
- Judy Uerling, CHS Prostart Culinary Program, and Christina Drake, CHS Special Education teacher were awarded a grant for their "Project Cat Courtyard;" to turn a courtyard into a sustainable garden that includes herbs, vegetables, and flowers, involving a wide spectrum of students.
- Kathryn Gonzales, second grade teacher at Mesa Elementary won a grant for her "Successful Learning with NEO2s," a unique and innovative tool for technology integration in Mesa classrooms.
What a delight it was to surprise schools and teachers, some of whom had brought their entire classroom of students with them to receive their grants. How often does one get to go into a school and be encouraged to raise a ruckus in celebration? Not an opportunity to be missed.
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ABQ/ OPINION: Forget Political Rhetoric and Improve Schools
By Marty Esquivel [Member, APS Board of Education
ABQ Journal
December 19, 2012
In my six years on the Albuquerque School Board, I have encountered many issues that have touched upon the good and bad of public education. We are a community not shy with our opinions on how to improve our schools.
However, it wasn't until last week's tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., that I found myself in state of disbelief over the biggest school tragedy of a lifetime.
I had heard the news account in the morning, but it wasn't until the afternoon when I began reading through an online newspaper story that described the horror of that day. Within a few paragraphs, my eyes were filled with tears. Immediate concerns for my own children, and all of our children, caused great heartache.
There may not be immediate or rational answers to why this happened. Every school district in our country needs to take steps to reinforce the safety of our children, although I'm not sure even the safest school in the world could have prevented this particular shooting.
In the midst of this sadness, I believe there is another important takeaway.
We have to tackle the reality of mental illness and social issues that can allow harm to come in the way of our kids. In this time of reduced school budgets, we need to take a harder look at the importance of adequately funding school counselors, nurses, social workers as well as other important service providers.
We need to do so rationally and without the hyperbole of a political debate.
Teachers are obviously the corner stone of our schools. But often, there are issues at home and outside of the classroom adversely affecting the ability to learn. Teachers can only do so much.
Nurses, counselors and social workers are better equipped to address these issues. We tend to take their work for granted when it comes to helping kids. Maybe now is the time we decide how badly we want to prioritize resources to support these professionals.
They may not be in the classroom per se, but they are a critical part of the educational process.
Growing up in Santa Fe in the 1970s, I had opportunities to succeed in public school. But, from elementary to high school, I also faced some very serious problems at home relating to domestic violence. In those days, resources for women and children were slim. You just had to get through it.
In my case, I found my way into my school counselor's office in the ninth grade. I was able to talk to her about what was going on in my home. She gave me hope and she gave me direction. When I am asked about the teacher who had the biggest influence in my life, I've always responded it was my high school counselor who made the most lasting difference for me.
Decades after my experience, I have friends working in our schools who buy shoes for children whose parents can't afford to do so. I know school nurses spread way too thin but who still figure out a way to help families in distress. I know counselors who fight to keep a teenager's head above water amidst unspeakable family and personal problems.
We simply don't do enough to support them.
Debates on education reform are important to this state. There needs to be an emphasis on instruction and accountability. We need to continue a dialogue seeking solutions. Pure political rhetoric or a rejection of constructive criticism isn't productive.
But, when we talk about the need to make sure "money gets into the classroom," we need to thoughtfully assess what makes up a classroom besides a teacher and a chalkboard. We should assess the value we place on nurses, counselors and social workers in the process.
As we begin the process of school board elections and the upcoming Legislature, special attention needs to be given to these issues. Doing so may be the best thing we can do as a community to honor the children and educators in Newtown.
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Washington DC/ Advice, Caution from Early Adopters of New Teacher Evaluations
By Sarah Garland
The Hechinger Report [Hechingerreport.org]
[A version of this story appeared on Gotham Schools on December 19, 2012]
December 19, 2012
- In Washington, D.C., officials shortened a new teacher evaluation checklist after complaints from teachers and principals that it was too long and time-consuming.
- In Memphis, Tenn., after a year of piloting new evaluations and a summer of training, some principals and teachers remained confused and overwhelmed.
- In Louisiana, one expert warned of lawsuits as the state began to roll out a truncated observation system without first testing it.
- But in New Haven, Conn., union officials and reformers alike have praised a collaborative effort to help teachers improve under the city's new rating system.
- As New York City officials and union leaders wrangle over the design of new teacher evaluations due to roll out citywide next year, the experiences of other states and districts offer both inspiration and lessons about what not to do.
"We have learned a lot over the last four years about how to do this effectively and well, and the changes we've made are reflective of that," said Scott Thompson, deputy chief of teacher effectiveness in the D.C. Public Schools, which launched a new evaluation system in 2009.
More frequent and rigorous evaluations are part of a new national push to improve the quality of the teaching force.
- Two-thirds of states are in the process of adopting new evaluations, and many will include student achievement - usually as measured by standardized tests - along with intensive classroom observations.
- It's unclear whether the new evaluations will have the desired effect.
- Even in places with a few years of experience using new systems, there is not enough data to tell for certain if student achievement is improving as a result of the evaluations.
But early adopters say they have at least begun to pinpoint what hasn't worked, and what teachers and principals find most useful.
Washington, D.C.'s experience may be particularly instructive to districts still in the process of designing systems. The city's evaluation system has been overhauled twice in response to feedback - and problems.
- The number of standards on which teachers are measured during a classroom observation was reduced to 18 because teachers found a checklist of 22 indicators too long and confusing. (New York has piloted a checklist that has 22 indicators but has asked schools to focus on just six at first.)
- The number of categories for teachers - ranging from "ineffective" to "highly effective" - was increased from four to five in an effort to prevent inflation in the ratings.
- And teachers who have consistently scored well will no longer be observed as frequently as lower performers to save time and lessen anxiety among teachers.
Tennessee also reduced the observation workload because principals felt overwhelmed. "It may seem pretty obvious, but I think anybody started down this road will tell you this is a huge shift in the role of the principal," said Sara Heyburn, an assistant commissioner in the Tennessee Department of Education. "We had to move quickly to train more people, and we allowed people to combine observations."
One of the biggest shifts in D.C. was the decision this year to reduce the reliance on test scores in favor of other measures of student achievement that teachers will determine with their principals.
- Before, value-added measures, which calculate expected student growth on standardized tests, counted for 50 percent of a D.C. teacher's rating.
- But value-added measures have been widely criticized as unreliable.
- Going forward, they will only count for 35 percent of a teacher's overall evaluation.
"Student performance will continue to be the largest piece of the pie," said Kaya Henderson, the D.C. Schools Chancellor, in a statement when the change was announced in August. But, she said, "We are evolving that approach to now include multiple measures."
Most systems combine two main factors in measuring a teacher's performance:
- a rating based on at least one formal classroom observation, and
- a rating meant to capture how much students learn during the year.
Previously, most states called for evaluations that relied on a single observation, and tenured teachers were not observed every year.
In New York, value-added measures - for those teachers whose students take standardized tests - will only make up 25 percent of their rating.
- Another 15 percent will be based on locally selected measures of student achievement, while the
- remaining 60 percent will depend on more qualitative measures such as classroom observations.
One of the most vexing problems that many education systems have faced is how to measure student growth, or learning, for the vast majority of teachers who don't teach in tested subjects or grades.
- In Florida, the state is simply developing more standardized tests.
- Last year in Tennessee, teachers without individual value-added scores were rated on their school's overall performance on standardized tests. Many teachers said this was unfair, however, according to a report by the state education department. So this summer state officials recommended adding more tests, as long they "benefit student performance."
- Other states have left it to districts or schools to create their own "student learning objectives" or SLOs, such as portfolios of artwork or improvement in skills like playing scales on a trumpet. New York will join them when its system takes effect next year.
- But a pilot in Rhode Island demonstrated that it's difficult to ensure that the learning objectives are rigorous. "The quality of our student learning objectives was not where we ultimately want them to be," said Rhode Island education commissioner Deborah Gist in an interview with The Hechinger Report last year. "There's no way to make it be entirely objective ever."
Although hundreds of teachers have lost their jobs due to low ratings as new evaluations have gone into effect, the evaluations haven't been the shock to the system that many educators expected.
- In Florida, for example, the percentage of teachers rated poorly only rose by one percentage point in comparison to the old system, which had been criticized as too lenient.
- In Tennessee, only 2.5 percent of teachers received one of the lowest two ratings (out of five) based on new classroom observations. Three-quarters of teachers fell into the top two categories.
- And one of the reasons D.C. changed its rating system this year is because the vast majority of teachers continued to be rated as either "effective" or "highly effective."
"In the end, the anxiety about these systems is largely about the consequences they might carry," said Timothy Daly, president of TNTP, a nonprofit advocacy group, which in 2009 published a report on teacher effectiveness that helped spur many of the new reforms. "And the truth is that very few teachers are in the position of facing any consequences, which raises the larger question of, 'Are these ratings accurate?'"
At the same time, a nearly universal piece of advice from education officials in other districts and states is to work closely with teachers when designing the new evaluations. Dozens of teachers in New Haven, Conn., have left because they were rated poorly under the new evaluation system there. But the union was a partner in developing it, and criticism has been muted compared to elsewhere.
- "If you create a system that doesn't have maximum teacher input, it doesn't matter how technically sound it is," said Dan Cruce, a former official in the Delaware Department of Education who now works for the nonprofit policy organization Hope Street Group. "It has to be raised and informed by teacher voices, because that's who it's designed for."
The experiences so far with new evaluations suggest that districts should also expect to make changes as they go along.
"The idea is that this is going to continuously improve, just like we expect our educators" to do, said Heyburn, of Tennessee. "You can plan for the hypotheticals, but it's not until feet hit the ground that you learn the real lessons."
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Washington DC/ US State Department Unveils Online Game, Web Site to Teach English
By Sean Cavanagh
Education Week [Edweek.org]
December 17, 2012
An unexpected source within the federal government-the U.S. Department of State-has put its stamp on educational technology by releasing a new, 3D video game designed to help students abroad acquire English language skills.
The game, "Trace Effects," is also meant to boost understanding abroad of American society and culture. It was recently launched as one component of a new "American English," website that provides extensive resources to teachers, students, and English-language learners around the world.
Trace Effects tells the story of a college-age student from the year 2045 who has accidentally traveled back in time to present day. To get home, that student, named Trace, needs to change the future by helping various young people accomplish important things that will improve things in the years to come.
- The game, which was created for students ages 12-16, is meant to expose visitors to U.S. society and to issues that help define it, including entrepreneurship, community activism, environmental awareness, and resolving conflicts, state department officials say.
- In addition, the game allows participants to travel, virtually, to a number of locations throughout the United States, from New Orleans to Kansas to New York City.
"It's meant as a fun way to augment English instruction," said Susan Pittman, a spokesman for the department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which is overseeing the game and the American English site.
Much of the federal government's current work devoted to promoting and enhancing educational technology emerges from federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, which have a long history of funding projects in that area.
But the State Department's American English site offers a lot of educational resources of its own, including pedagogical materials designed to help teachers in foreign countries improve their craft.
- It also presents materials for those trying to learn English-some of the more colorful examples are audio readings and texts of books such as Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Jack London's To Build a Fire and Other Stories.
- Many of the publications on the site were either created or adapted by staff in the department's Office of English Language Programs, Pittman said. Other resources were drawn from other organizations, with their permission.
Trace Effects was in development for about five years, Pittman said. It was initially released through CDs on a more limited basis, in Peru, Colombia, and Indonesia, before its launch online last month. The online version had the added feature of allowing students to play against each other, Pittman said.
Information on who's using the American English is still rolling in, but the preliminary details are intriguing.
Web users in China have accounted for about 32 percent of the visits to the site so far, Pittman said. About 16 percent of the users have accessed the site through mobile devices, she added. The site recently drew about 25,000 visits on a single day in December, not long after it was launched.
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