Education News in Alabama
January 23, 2004 (archive)
It Was A Good Week For:
Auburn University, as Governor Bob Riley and the AU Board of Trustees
selected State Superintendent of Education Ed Richardson to be the
interim president of the university. Dr. Richardson officially resigned
as State Superintendent at a special session of the State Board
of Education on January 22. During the meeting, board members offered
thanks and parting wishes to Richardson:
Dr. Mary Jane Caylor, District VIII, gave Richardson highest
praise, saying, "When history is recorded, your legacy is
going to be one of the memorable ones, if not the best."
Sandra Ray, District VII, voiced her appreciation for Dr. Richardson's
leadership of a strong board with strong personalities and praised
his abilities to pull the board together to work as a team.
David Byers, District VI, acknowledged that while he wasn't an
initial supporter of Richardson's (referring jokingly to the "landslide"
vote of 5-4 that won Richardson the State Superintendent's seat
nine years ago), he quickly came to value and respect his leadership
and commitment to academic excellence.
Ella Bell, District V, noted her pleasure at Richardson's resolve
to "set the academic bar high" for students and emphasized
his role in ensuring that students had the programs needed to
meet the high expectations of them, citing specifically the Alabama
Reading Initiative and Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative.
Dr. Ethel Hall, District IV, who serves as Vice President of
the Board, praised Richardson, saying, "Dr. Richardson has
been a stalwart champion for our children. We will miss his leadership
and his vision. The board wishes him well as he fills the vacancy
at Auburn University.”
Stephanie Bell, District III, shared anecdotes about Richardson's
days as her junior high principal at Cloverdale Junior High and
noted that her family is thrilled he'll be at Auburn, as her youngest
daughter aspires to be an Auburn University cheerleader.
Betty Peters, District II, Peters thanked Richardson for his
efforts to lead a unified board and wished him well in Auburn.
Randy McKinney, District I, the newest board member, thanked
Richardson and his staff for the extra time they spent answering
his questions about issues and wished him well.
A+ believes that Dr. Richardson will be remembered for his longstanding
commitment to providing every child with an adequate education,
and we wish him much success at Auburn.
It Was A Bad Week For:
Alabama's Medicaid program, as analysts predict that spending for
Medicaid in Alabama is expected to "more than double in a decade,
from the $1.83 billion spent in 1994 to the $3.7 billion budgeted
this year"(Birmingham News). Aides to Governor Riley predict
that the state will have to spend an extra $250 million in 2004
to maintain current Medicaid services. Failure to do so could cause
the loss of more than $500 million in matching federal money, which
would result in the loss of healthcare for a significant amount
of Medicaid patients in Alabama.
(More) State Board Of Education News
After accepting the resignation of State Superintendent Ed Richardson,
the board unanimously voted to appoint Deputy State Superintendent
Joe Morton as Interim State Superintendent. In praise of Dr. Morton,
Dr. Richardson told the board, "This is man who does all the
work for which I take credit."
After being sworn in by Chief Justice Gorman Houston, Dr. Morton
pledged to the board, the students, the teachers and the public
"that I will devote every ounce of energy in my body to seeing
that Alabama becomes a national leader in education." His first
challenge will be lobbying for the restoration of state funds for
textbooks, professional development, technology, and other classroom
support during the regular session of the Alabama State Legislature,
which opens on February 3.
Work Session
Immediately after their official meeting, board members began
their regularly scheduled work session. Up for discussion were recommendations
from the statewide Taskforce on Educator Preparation to improve
teacher preparation programs in the 29 institutions that offer them.
Recommendations include: lengthening clinical experiences for teacher
candidates from 12 weeks to a full semester, requiring the teacher
educators spend meaningful time working with K-12 schools; raising
standards for admission into teacher preparation programs, accompanied
by periodic assessments to gauge teacher candidate performance;
and requiring teacher candidates to complete methods courses that
address classroom management skills and tools for identifying and
adjusting curriculum for the different types of learning styles
of students.
The board will hear recommendations related to the strengthening
of administrator preparation at its February work session and will
then vote on all Taskforce recommendations in March. Should the
recommendations be approved, teacher preparation programs would
start implementing the changes in the '04-'05 school year.
NEW ALABAMA MATH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (AMSTI)
MASTER SITE ANNOUNCED
The University of South Alabama (USA) in Mobile has been
selected by the State Department of Education as a new Alabama Math
Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) Master Site. The AMSTI
is designed to improve math and science teaching statewide by providing
teachers with high-quality, standardized professional development
in the specific curriculum that improves instructional methods and
techniques used in the classroom.
The new USA AMSTI Master Site is funded by a one-year, $1.4 million
federal grant targeted toward changing the way math and science
are taught at the university level. The USA AMSTI Master Site will
work with teachers from schools in Mobile and Baldwin Counties this
summer. Additionally, prospective teachers will be trained on AMSTI
materials and will have opportunities to participate in AMSTI Schools.
Future plans also include expansion to other schools within the
South Alabama in-service region.
A blue ribbon committee composed of K-12 educators, higher education
representatives and business leaders designed AMSTI. The initiative
calls for the establishment of 11 regional master sites across the
state. There are two other Master Sites in the state: the University
of Alabama Huntsville and the University of North Alabama in Florence.
Each site selects schools to become AMSTI Schools through a competitive
process at the local school system level. AMSTI Schools agree to
send their entire math, science, and technology teaching staff and
their administrators to a two-week AMSTI Summer Institute for two
consecutive summers. Currently there are 41 Alabama schools participating
in AMSTI.
IN THE NEWS
NATIONAL READING FIRST ASSISTANCE CENTER ANNOUNCED
The U.S. Department of Education last week announced a $37 million
initiative to provide technical assistance for improving literacy
programs in school districts receiving federal Reading First grants.
The National Center for Reading First Technical Assistance will
offer free conferences and seminars, professional development programs,
teaching and assessment materials, and consultations with experts
to schools receiving Reading First funds. Regional centers will
be established at the University of Florida, the University of Oregon,
and the University of Texas at Austin.
Reading First was created under the No Child Left Behind Act and
provides approximately $1 billion a year in state grants to help
raise reading achievement in schools with large numbers of students
scoring below grade level on reading and high percentages of families
below the poverty level. Alabama was one of the first three states
to receive a Reading First grant in June 2002 and received $102
million over six years. Currently, 74 schools in Alabama receive
Alabama Reading First funds through a total of 36 school systems.
STATES DECIDE MANY PROVISIONS UNDER NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (Source:
PEN Weekly NewsBlast)
As evidenced by the diversity among the approved state accountability
plans and state-consolidated applications, states have great flexibility
in the design of their systems and implementation of particular
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) provisions, according to a new press
release from the US Department of Education. Presented as a checklist
of items, states considered many issues when designing accountability
systems, providing options for parents and defining highly qualified
teachers. The list at the link below outlines almost 40 separate
issues under the control and responsibility of state and local education
agencies. Helpful examples of how individual states have complied
with NCLB are outlined along with expanded definitions of key provisions
of the law.
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2004/01/01142004.html
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
BellSouth Foundation Opportunity Grants
Deadline: March 1, 2004 (Concept Papers)
The BellSouth Foundation, an endowed trust of the BellSouth Corporation
devoted to education in the southeastern United States and other
communities where BellSouth operates, offers a limited number of
Opportunity Grants for unsolicited proposals that compliment Special
Initiatives or issues where the BellSouth Foundation is currently
focusing its work. This year, the categories for funding have been
broadened to include proposals that address key issues of interest
to the education community. These new issues of interest for 2004
are:
Technology & Learning—Grants in this area will be awarded
to support further exploration of incorporating "student
voice" to build meaningful use of technology for learning
for students.
No Child Left Behind—Grants in this area will be awarded
to districts seeking support to fulfill requirements of the national
No Child Left Behind legislation.
Business/Education Partnerships—Grants to help strengthen
existing partnerships between school districts and local businesses,
and in helping to foster new partnerships for change that promise
lasting results.
Initial Concept Papers may be submitted online. See the BellSouth
Foundation Web site for complete guidelines, funding restrictions,
and information on the foundation's Special Initiatives:
Horace Mann Offers Scholarships for Educators to Take College
Courses
The Horace Mann Scholarship Program for Educators provides
funds to help public and private school teachers continue their
education. Scholarships may be used to cover tuition, fees, and
other educational expenses. To be eligible, an applicant must be
an educator employed by a U.S. public or private school district
or U.S. public or private college/university and currently enrolled
or planning to enter a two- or four-year accredited college or university.
The applicant must have a minimum of two years' teaching experience.
Complete program guidelines and an online application form are available
at the Horace Mann Web site: https://www.horacemann.com/edscholarship/
OVERHEARD
"I want to know what's unrealistic about expecting
poor kids over 12 years to be proficient against the standards that
any state might set. Let's go to the schools, and let's get specific
about which groups of kids [the candidates] are referring to. I
want to know whether [they are] talking about black kids …
Hispanic kids … or poor children."
—Sandy Kress, former Bush education advisor who helped craft
NCLB, on the democratic candidates' consistent references to the
"unrealistic" expectations of NCLB
Education News in Alabama is published bi-weekly by the
A+ Education Foundation and is distributed to A+ board members,
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