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Greetings!
Welcome to the HML POST
(Editorials and research articles are selected by Jack McKay, Executive director of the HML. Topics are selected to provoke a discussion about the importance of strong public schools. McKay is Professor Emeritus from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the Department of Educational Administration and a former superintendent in Washington state.) Feedback is always appreciated.
The HML website, Click here. The HML Flipboard magazine, Click here to read and follow more articles. The HML Leadership Pinterest Board. Click here. The HML Horace Mann Quotes on Pinterest, Click here.
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A little humor to start off the new school year.
Comments by David Berliner, Mercedes Schneider, Jason France, Karran Harper-Royal, Diane Ravitch, Anthony Cody, Julian Vasquez Heleig, and more.
(View video)
 This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,800 people. The tragic events exposed many Americans to the class and racial inequities in New Orleans--failed levees, an inadequate evacuation plan, and a paralyzed federal response. The pre-Katrina injustices also included a massive opportunity gap that resulted in large achievement gaps for New Orleans' children. Following this tragedy, an extraordinary experiment in market-driven governance of public schools was imposed on the city. On this anniversary, advocacy groups and think tanks have issued numerous reports touting the claimed success of the New Orleans model, pointing to test scores that are higher than those before Katrina, and championing its export to other disadvantaged communities. ( Read more.)
 Student engagement at school and whether students feel hopeful about their future are far better factors to consider when evaluating schools than using standardized test scores, according to the results of the 47th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Overall, most Americans believe there's too much emphasis on standardized testing in public schools, and they rank standardized testing lower than other approaches to measuring student progress such as examples of student work, grades awarded by the teacher, or written observations by the teacher. Americans across the board once again named lack of financial support as the biggest problem facing their local schools - the 10th consecutive year in which that issue has landed at the top of the list. (Read more.)
 One hot morning in May, Kiana Hernandez came to class early. She stood still outside the door, intensely scanning each face in the morning rush of shoulders, hats, and backpacks. She felt anxious. For more than eight months she had been thinking about what she was about to do, but she didn't want it to be a big scene.
As her English teacher approached the door, she blocked him with her petite, slender frame. Then, in a soft voice, she said, "I'm sorry. I'm not going to take the test today." The multiple-choice test that morning was one of 15 that year alone, and she'd found out it would be used primarily as part of her teacher's job evaluation. She'd come into class, she said, but would spend the hour quietly studying.
The teacher stared at her dark-brown eyes in silence while students shuffled past. "That's a mistake," he said with a deep sigh. ( Read more.)
 The articles in this special issue of Teachers College Record address the use of emerging high-stakes teacher evaluation regulations and draw implications for policy and practice. All papers address limitations in the reliability and validity of these systems and the impacts that such shortcoming might have on teachers and students. In addition, there could be major impacts on the teacher labor market with implications for the sustained effectiveness of America's schools. It was not so long ago, a mere couple of decades, when Cuban (1990) showed how America cycles and recycles educational reform. The title of his article, "Reforming Again, Again and Again," sounded a monotonous refrain as our nation struggled to recapture our presumed lost vision of educational vigor and excellence. The article followed a time of economic anxiety, perhaps not quite as stressful as the past five years have witnessed, but nevertheless, a time of uncertainty. This quote (Cuban, 1990, p. 9) could have been written now:
 I'm a parent with two kids in a Seattle elementary public school, facing the upcoming Smarter Balanced state tests. A week or so ago, our principal gave an informational session on them. Here's a little of what I learned, and some first impressions.
Full disclosure: I had already made up my mind to opt my kids out, so I'm not what you would call an unbiased observer. On the other hand, I'm not categorically opposed to the Common Core, or standardized testing either. They have potential, if done well and not misused for high-stakes purposes. This test fails on both counts. (Read more.)
by Kathy Irwin on the Education Bloggers Network
 "It's a sad, alarming state of affairs, and it proves that for all our lip service about improving the education of America's children, we've failed to make teaching the draw that it should be, the honor that it must be," mused Times columnist Frank Bruni. That NYT's Frank Bruni would bemoan qualified teacher shortages is ironic, as he has used his column over the years to repeatedly argue that teaching is too easy a profession to enter and too easy to keep, and amplified the voice of reformers who want to want to make the profession more precarious. "It's a shortage of people who are willing to teach for the salary and in the working conditions in certain school districts," says Lois Weiner, an education professor at New Jersey City University and author of The Future of Our Schools. (Read more.)
 How do we prevent bullying? Despite decades of study and numerous programs claiming to be the solution to bullying, few programs have actually been shown to be effective. One of the main issues is that "bullying prevention" is often a misnomer; instead of trying to stop the behavior before it begins, the focus of many programs is on reducing already high rates of bullying. By the time students enter sixth grade, the earliest grade for which nationally representative data is collected, nearly 28 percent report having been targeted in the past year. For younger children, data are far more limited, but suggestive. The National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence found that 20.4 percent of children ages 2-5 had experienced physical bullying in their lifetime and 14.6 percent had been teased (verbally bullied). (Read more.)
 Today's students will be tomorrow's workers. As such, high student achievement is the benchmark, not only for an individual's prosperity, but also for the prosperity of the nation as a whole. While success in school is dependent upon many factors, being present each and every day is critical, particularly for low-income students and students of color, who face a variety of educational barriers. Unfortunately, high rates of truancy-or unexcused absences from school-have become an increasingly challenging issue for educators across the nation. ( Read more.)
 This week we have seen a renewed attempt to rehabilitate the beleaguered Common Core standards, just as the scores arrive in many states, largely meeting projections that they would yield increased failure rates and a wider "achievement gap." These results are the most basic problem that the Common Core has. These standards were designed to deliver massive failure, and the tests are delivering as promised. But rather than question these results, some advocates are trying to shift the focus onto a brighter view. The headline from Think Progress is beyond belief. "People Like Common Core Better Once They Know What It Is." But when you read the article, you discover that support for Common Core is actually continuing to drop. One would think that teachers are in a position to know far more than the general public about the Common Core, but Quinlan notes that: Teacher support of Common Core has slipped from 76 percent in 2013 to 40 percent this year, according to the Education Next and Harvard Kennedy School poll. (Read more.)
 Just a week after the New York State Education Department confirmed that the proportion of students refusing to take annual state tests had quadrupled from five percent last year to 20 percent this year, the results of a new poll - released on Tuesday - raise questions about how pervasive opposition to testing and the Common Core is around the country. The poll, sponsored by EducationNext, a journal that covers education reform policies, found that while Common Core - a set of math and reading standards in place in 44 states and the District of Columbia - has declined in popularity, more people voiced support for annual testing. ( Read more.)
 With the U.S. Congress in summer recess and the politics of presidential primaries gaining visibility, momentum toward a bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization may be diminished-despite being several years overdue. In the absence of a new policy framework, the federal role in K-12 education will likely continue to be shaped by ESEA waivers that have been granted to over 80 percent of the states by the Obama administration. States generally support waivers because they relax certain requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), such as the 100 percent academic proficiency by 2014 benchmark. (Read more.)
 John Thompson's teaching methods wouldn't work for everyone. One day in a hallway at Marshall High School in Oklahoma City, he grabbed a student with a criminal record whom he had taught at a summer camp, pushed him against a wall and told him to go pee in a cup. This got the laugh from the boy and his friends that Thompson had anticipated, since they knew of the unusual teacher-student bond and saw the joke.
Such were the advantages of getting to know students well, accepting their problems and backgrounds and finding ways they could succeed and perhaps even enjoy school. ( Read more.)
 Comparing state results across the country will be more difficult as testing becomes more fragmented
Public outcry over new standards-aligned tests led some states to cut funding, changing the exam landscape for 2015-16.
In 2012, nearly every state was part of either PARCC or the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. As of this July, just 18 states remained in Smarter Balanced, and 10 (plus Washington, D.C.) had stuck with PARCC. Twenty-two states opted to use their own assessments. "It's important that whether a state is in a consortium or not, they administer high-quality assessments to students," says Scott Norton, strategic initiative director for standards, assessment, and accountability at the Council of Chief State School Officers. ( Read more.)
 This initiative, often called "Course Choice" or "Course Access," is, as one proponent described it, like " school choice on steroids." Proponents count at least 10 states that have adopted a collection of policies they began promoting as Course Access - policies that allow students to take classes part-time online (and sometimes in other off-campus classrooms) by choosing from a variety of providers, including charter schools and other districts, instead of being limited to their local course offerings or to one state virtual school. And the Course Access movement is gaining momentum as it expands across the country, with eight states adopting or considering such laws in just the last four years, according to a comprehensive report on Course Access sponsored by the conservative group the Foundation for Excellence in Education and the lobbying firm EducationCounsel. ( Read more.)
A gift for your New Teachers: On the Art of Teaching by Horace Mann.
 The book, On The Art of Teaching by Horace Mann has been presented to new teachers as a welcome gift by a number of schools district. For orders of 50 or more, the district's name is printed on the front cover.
Ordering Information
Cost per copy: $12.50
Orders of 50 to 99: $11.00
Orders of 100 or more: $10.00
Send orders to: (include name of district, P.O. #, and address)
The Horace Mann League of the USA
560 Rainier Lane
Port Ludlow, WA 98365
FAX (866) 389 0740
To download the full or summary report,
To view in an electronic magazine format,
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A Few Political Cartoons for the Week
 ------------------------------------- Horace Mann Prints The 11 * 18 inch print is available for individual or bulk purchase. Individual prints are $4.00. Discount with orders of 50 or more. For additional information about this or other prints, please check here.
 In 1840 Mann wrote On the Art of Teaching. Some of HML members present On the Art of Teaching to new teachers as part of their orientation program. On the inside cover, some write a personal welcome message to the recipient. Other HML members present the book to school board members and parental organizations as a token of appreciation for becoming involved in their schools. The book cover can be designed with the organization's name. For more information, contact the HML ( Jack McKay)
All the past issues of the HML Posts are available for review and search purposes.
Finally, 7 links that may be of interest to you.
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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: Dr. Charles Fowler, Exec. Director, Suburban School Administrators, Exeter, HN
President-elect: Dr. Christine Johns-Haines, Superintendent, Utica Community Schools, MI
Vice President: Dr. Martha Bruckner, Superintendent, Council Bluffs Community Schools, IA
1st Past President: Mr. Gary Marx, President for Public Outreach, Vienna, VA
2nd Past President: Dr. Joe Hairston, President, Vision Unlimited, Reisterstown, MD
Directors:
Dr. Laurie Barron, Supt. of Schools, Evergreen School District, Kalispell , MT
Dr. Evelyn Blose-Holman, (ret.) Superintendent, Bay Shore Schools, NY
Mr. Jeffery Charbonneau, Science Coordinator, ESD 105 and Zillah HS, WA
Dr. Carol Choye, Instructor, (ret.) Superintendent, Scotch Plains Schools, NJ
Dr. Brent Clark, Executive Director, Illinois Assoc. of School Admin. IL
Dr. Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford U. CA
Dr. James Harvey, Exec. Dir., Superintendents Roundtable, WA
Dr. Eric King, Superintendent, (ret.) Muncie Public Schools, IN
Dr. Steven Ladd, Superintendent, (ret.) Elk Grove Unified School District, Elk Grove, CA
Dr. Barry Lynn, Exec. Dir., Americans United, Washington, DC
Dr. Kevin Maxwell, CEO, Prince George's County Schools, Upper Marlboro, MD
Dr. Stan Olson, President, Silverback Learning, (former supt. of Boise Schools, ID)
Dr. Steven Webb, Supt. of Schools, Vancouver School District, WA
Executive Director:
Dr. 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.
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The review of professions found that all are struggling with better means for assessing program outcomes, with a great deal of similarity in the processes currently in place used across fields. Teacher education was found to include more of the different ways for assessing outcomes than any other profession. Significant concerns with currently promoted value-added models for assessing outcomes of teacher preparation were identified, with the use of multiple measures of evidence suggested as the best means for moving forward. We argue that teacher preparation programs are caught in a vise-with an appreciation and desire among those in the field for greater accountability while being squeezed by a sense that the approaches being suggested are prone to error and misuse. 
Once upon a time, enthusiasts designed a formal education system to meet the economic demands of the industrial revolution. Fast forward to today and, with the current global economic climate, it seems apparent that the now established education system is unable to meet the needs of our hyper-connected society - a society that is in a constant state of evolution. Let's examine 14 problems that prevent the US education system from regaining its former preeminence.
Whatever the fate of mandatory "fair share" payments that nonmembers are often required to make to fund public-sector unions' collective bargaining activities, 
Back-to-school has become a thing of the past in an increasing number of districts that keep class in session all year.
The big annual poll on how Americans view public schools and education policy is out, and anyone eager to don the mantle of "education reform" might want to rethink twice their wardrobe.
It is important to remember a few key facts about the Opt Out Movement.
The takeover of the public schools in 
The test question starts in a familiar way: Nicky has four packs of pencils.
