Education News in Alabama

January 9, 2004 (archive)

It Was A Good Week For:
"No Child Left Behind," as the comprehensive education reform act celebrated its second anniversary. Despite the political rhetoric of late, the act's intent remains clear: to boost the academic achievement of all students, regardless of race or economic status. In recent weeks, NCLB has received a great deal of bipartisan support from educators and business leaders across the nation. More than 100 minority principals and superintendents signed a letter to Congress in support of NCLB (see "Superintendents and Civic Leaders Support NCLB"). Twelve national business groups sent a letter to all members of Congress at their home district/state offices. The letter urges Congress to keep its eyes on the prize—a quality education for all—and to give the law the time it needs to work (see full news release from the Business Roundtable at http://tinyurl.com/2smlv).

It Was A Bad Week For:
Teacher Quality and High School Graduation Rates, according to The Education Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. The Ed Trust released two reports that examine the "contradictions and inconsistencies" in state-reported data on highly qualified teachers and high school graduation rates. All states were required to report this data under No Child Left Behind.

The reports, Telling the Whole Truth (or Not) About Highly Qualified Teachers and Telling the Whole Truth (or Not) About High School Graduation Rates can be found on the new A+ homepage.

Note: Alabama is cited favorably on page four of the teacher quality report for "thoughtful HOUSSE rules that appear to strike a balance between experience in the classroom and formal training." Alabama developed its Highly Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE) model as one method by which teachers can meet the state's highly qualified standard under No Child Left Behind. The State Department of Education conducted training on the HOUSSE model in December, with 126 school systems participating. The SDE estimates that approximately 20,000 teachers will submit portfolios for evaluation in order to meet the highly qualified standard.

State Board Of Education News
The State Board of Education held its monthly meeting on January 8. All board members were present, including Governor Bob Riley, who serves as president of the board. Board members recognized SDE Employee of the Quarter Ron Wright; educator Michael Fletcher, recipient of the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award; and four students from Alabama who made perfect scores on the ACT. They voted unanimously to approve the following measures:

1. Authorize Review of Teacher Education Programs at Alabama State University in Montgomery
2. Approval of Teacher Education Programs at Oakwood College in Huntsville
3. Substitution of Later Edition Textbooks (primarily math)
4. Resolution Establishing January as School Board Recognition Month

Budget Discussions
Assistant Superintendent Robert Morton presented a financial report, including the proposed 2005 budgets for the Foundation Program and the State Department of Education. This budget will apply to the school year beginning in August 2004.

Revenues in the Education Trust Fund were up $126 million in the first quarter, which is the largest gain in more than a year. Unfortunately, this growth does not come close to providing what is needed to adequately cover educational costs in the state, as more than $124 million alone will be needed to meet the rising costs of fringe benefits for teachers and support staff. Further, the General Fund, which funds many essential programs for children and families, has declining revenues.

The proposed budget restores money for instructional support, including $525 per teacher for materials and supplies, $181 per teacher for technology, $135 per teacher for library enhancement, and $60 per teacher for professional development. Textbooks are funded at $81 per student, which is what it actually costs today to buy a full set of textbooks for every student. Restoring these funds will alleviate the burden placed on the school systems that have not purchased textbooks in three years due to budget constraints.

The proposed budget restores funding for the High Hopes program, which provides targeted assistance for students in preparation for the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. If the budget is approved by the Legislature, the Alabama Reading Initiative will be funded at $32.5 million. This funding will provide a reading coach in every ARI school, which is a critical component of success for both teachers and students. The proposed budget also includes $2.7 million for a data management accumulator for the State Department of Education that will allow principals and teachers easy access to student achievement data in order to tailor instruction to the needs of students. An enhanced data management system is perhaps the best investment the Alabama State Board of Education can make to yield greater results from our education dollars and to facilitate compliance with No Child Left Behind.

This proposed education budget will be taken into consideration as the Governor's Office prepares the FY05 state budget. The Legislature must approve a budget in its regular session, which begins on February 3, 2004.

In The News
Education Week released "Quality Counts 2004: Count Me In: Special Education in an Era of Standards," this week. This is Ed Week's eighth annual state-by-state report card on public education, and it examines what the states are doing to test special education students, hold schools accountable for their performance, prepare teachers to educate such students, and pay for special education services. According to the news release, the report found that, "in general, the percentage of special education students performing at the proficient level or higher on state tests lagged 30 percentage points or more behind that of general education students--a important gap in light of the performance goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act."

Alabama ranks very low in special education expenditures per student, spending $3,918 in comparison to a national average of $7,194. However, the report shows that Alabama is a leader in including students with disabilities in its accountability reporting system, meaning that our state is well-prepared to use student achievement data to ensure that the needs of students with disabilities are being met. For an example of how two Alabama school systems are redefining special education services to better meet the needs of their students, see the fall edition of Working Toward Excellence at http://www.bestpracticescenter.org /publ/wteindex.html.

"Quality Counts 2004" also updates Ed Week's annual report cards on education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and presents extensive state-by-state data on a wide range of education policies. Alabama received higher marks across the board this year, however our scores are still only average:

	Standards and Accountability	B-
	Improving Teacher Quality	C
	School Climate	C-
	Resources-Adequacy	C-
	Resources-Equity	C-

The "State of the State" report recognized Alabama's clear and specific standards in math and history at the elementary, middle and high school levels and the state's financing of ongoing professional development activities and requirements for districts to set aside time for such activities (note: funds for professional development were eliminated from the FY04 budget).

The report praises our teacher prep report cards, saying "arguably the state's greatest strengths are its measures to hold teacher-preparation program accountable for the performance of their graduates. The state is one of only 12 that hold teacher-training programs accountable based on the performance of their graduates in the classroom."

"Quality Counts 2004: Count Me In: Special Education in an Era of Standards," can be downloaded at http://www.edweek.org.

Factoid
Approximately 960 more students entered Alabama public schools in 2004 than were reported in 2003, resulting in the need for 60 more teachers, 3 more principals, 68 more assistant principals (due to the split of several schools into separate elementary and middle schools), 5 more counselors, and 21 more librarians.

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Education News in Alabama is published bi-weekly by the A+ Education Foundation and is distributed to A+ board members, the media, and list serve subscribers. View archived newsletters.

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