The HML Post
 
 
Greetings!
 
Welcome to the November18th, edition of the HML POST
More about the Horace Mann League of the USA at  HML website.
Recent research and editorials about America's public schools.  Click on the title to access the full article.

Check out the HML Post on "FLIPBOARD."  Comments? Click here.

  

 

  

Recent reports on Southern and urban schools are disturbing harbingers about the growing weight being shouldered by U.S. public education: the rise in segregation and a new majority in public school-students living in poverty.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 A New National Education Imperative,      in the Atlantic Magazine 

 The trends that prove American students can ensure future economic prosperity.  Over the next decade, STEM-related job opportunities in the U.S. are expected to increase by nearly 17 percent, according to the non-profit coalition STEM Advantage.
 
 
 

In addition to the many reasons listed as to why teachers quit their profession in this article, the author also identifies why they stay:

"Those schools that do a far better job of managing and coping with and responding to student behavioral issues have far better teacher retention," 

  

  

  

  

What is the "Good" Class Size    by Malcom Gladwell, from his book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants 

 

Inverted-U curves have three parts, and each part follows a different logic.  There's the left side, where doing more or having more makes things better. There's the flat middle, where doing more doesn't make much of a difference. And there's the right side, where doing more or having more makes things worse. 
 
 
 
A few quick thoughts and graphs on Mis-NAEP-ery,  by bruce Baker,  in School Finance 101.  
Here are a bunch of additional graphs relating Students First Report Card grades with unadjusted and adjusted NAEP Gains (hint - it's the adjusted gains that matter since low performing states are able to post bigger gains, and also generally received higher grades from Students First).  

  



 
 
 Common Core Standards: Ten Colossal Errors   by Anthony Cody in ED Week

With this essay, I want to draw together the central concerns I have about the project. I am not reflexively against any and all standards. Appropriate standards, tied to subject matter, allow flexibility to educators. Teachers ought to be able to tailor their instruction the needs of their students. Loose standards allow educators to work together, to share strategies and curriculum, and to build common assessments for authentic learning.

  

 

Be Wary of Ranking NAEP Gains  by by Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education, Lesley University - AFT blog.  
 It's right and overdue to make early childhood education a priority in this country. The United States ranked 24th among 45 nations surveyed for availability and quality of early childhood education. But as we move toward the goal of universal access to pre-K, we have to do it right. 

 

 

 

 

 


Reprinted with permission.
 
 
About Us
The Horace Mann League of the USA is an honorary society that promotes the ideals of Horace Mann by advocating for public education as the cornerstone of our democracy.

 

Officers:
President: Joe Hairston, President, Vision Unlimited, Reisterstown, MD
President-elect: Gary Marx, President, Center for Public Outreach, VA
Vice President: Charles Fowler, Executive Director, Suburban School Superintendents
1st Past President: Mark Edwards, Supt., Mooresville Graded Schools, NC
2nd Past President: Julie Underwood, Dean, Sch. of Ed. U. of WI, Madison, WI
3rd Past President: George Garcia, (ret.) Supt., Boulder Valley Schools, CO
4th Past President: Steve Rasmussen, Supt., Issaquah School District, WA

 

Directors:
Martha Bruckner, Supt., Council Bluffs Community Schools, IA
Evelyn Blose-Holman, (ret.) Superintendent, Bay Shore Schools, NY
Carol Choye, Instructor, Bank Street College, NY
Brent Clark, Exec. Dir., Illinois Assoc. of School Admin. IL
Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford U. CA
Charles Fowler, Exec. Dir., Suburban School Superintendents, NH
James Harvey, Exec. Dir., Superintendents Roundtable, WA
William Hite, Supt., Philadelphia City Public Schools, PA
Christine Johns, Superintendent, Sterling Heights, Michigan 
Eric King, Superintendent, (Ret.) Muncie Public Schools, IN
Steven Ladd, Superintendent, Elk Grove Unified School District, Elk Grove, CA 
Barry Lynn, Exec. Dir., Americans United, Washington, DC
Stan Olson, Superintendent, (Ret.) Boise Public Schools, ID

 

Executive Director:
Jack McKay, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 
560 Rainier Lane, Port Ludlow, WA 98365 (360) 821 9877
 
To become a member of the HML, click here to download an application.