Education News in Alabama

August 28, 2007 (archive)

By Sallie Owen

ALABAMA'S TRAILBLAZING SCHOOLS
Top teachers can deepen a student's learning experience with the latest technology, and you will find fabulous examples from 16 Alabama schools at www.abpc21.org.

The site is the first-ever online version of the Alabama Best Practices Center's Working Toward Excellence journal. The A+ Education Foundation is home of the Alabama Best Practices Center.

To promote the site, Cathy Gassenheimer, president of the ABPC, wrote two editorials explaining the urgent need for schools to change so all students are prepared to succeed.

"Schools adapt to changing world," The Birmingham News, http://snipurl.com/schoolsadapt.

"Beyond the 3 R's," Montgomery Advertiser, http://snipurl.com/beyond3rs.

MAKING SENSE OF ACCOUNTABILITY & AYP
When the state released accountability reports ("AYP" or adequate yearly progress) earlier this month, we found encouraging and challenging results.

The trend of many more schools making AYP each year stalled, with that indicator sliding to 82 percent this year. This echoes the national trend for states in their fourth year implementing No Child Left Behind, the federal law which created this accountability system to track student learning.

AYP requires schools to make 100 percent of their goals.

Good news came from the "school improvement" category (schools not making AYP two years in a row). The number of schools in this category dropped 67 percent, even though some benchmarks were higher than the year before.

WHAT'S BEING DONE — Many schools and school systems are working hard to improve instruction. There are a growing number of coordinated, strategic state initiatives to improve teaching and learning. The Alabama Reading Initiative heads a list which includes the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) and ACCESS distance learning, plus new measures to boost the graduation rate.

NEXT HURDLE — Many high schools made most of their goals but did not achieve AYP because of their graduation rates. (See "Graduation rates give some state schools failing grade," http://snipurl.com/gradrates)

ALABAMA LAUNCHES MENTORING PROGRAM FOR TEACHERS
For the first time ever, new teachers in Alabama are paired with teaching veterans in a two-year mentoring program. It is designed to improve student learning and, amid a national teacher shortage, help keep teachers from leaving the classroom for other careers.

The Governor's Commission on Quality Teaching recommended the mentoring program, and the Legislature put it in the budget. Schools will pay mentors a $1,000 annual stipend for their work. Learn more about Gov. Bob Riley's mentoring announcement at http://snipurl.com/mentoring.

WANTED: INNOVATIVE HIGH SCHOOL
AARP wants to give $10,000 to an Alabama high school where an innovative program or practice has enhanced student learning or made other improvements. Applications are due Oct. 1. www.aarp.org/innovationaward

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATE:
Graduation rates and reading textbooks

The Alabama State Board of Education met Aug. 23 for a work session. Such meetings are designed to prepare for upcoming meetings, and no votes are taken. Sandra Ray and the governor were absent.

Two State Department of Education leaders briefed board members on the state's graduation rate, factors that cause students to drop out of school and what is being done to help more students graduate. There are three new programs aimed at this problem:

• Graduation coaches will work at 25 high schools to help students and parents work through any problems that would keep a student from graduating.
• Preparing Alabama Students for Success (PASS) will help school systems work with community organizations to address factors (such as poor attendance) that lead to dropping out in grades six through 12.
• The Excellence in Extended-Day and Extended-Year Project will train school leaders and community partners in how to provide greater services to families during the out-of-school time.

Also, an Alabama Reading Initiative leader presented results of a new consumer guide for core reading textbooks. The guide is designed to help local school systems evaluate and purchase reading textbooks.

WORTH REPEATING
"I think we can win this war, I really do, as long as we all work together."

Dr. Ruth Ash, deputy state superintendent of education, on raising Alabama's high school graduation rate.

EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE

• NATIONAL LEADERSHIP: Dr. Katherine Mitchell, an assistant state superintendent who heads the Alabama Reading Initiative, was elected chairperson of the national Reading First Advisory Committee. See the difference Reading First has made in Alabama http://www.aplusala.org/pdfs/al_readingfirst.pdf. (883K)
• TOP TEACHERS: A team from Fayetteville High School in Talladega County earned a trip to the 2007 Microsoft U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum. Nationwide, 20 teams were chosen. Read more about Fayetteville in "Schools Must Bridge the Digital Divide: Every Student Needs 21st Century Skills," http://www.abpc21.org/digitaldivide.html.
• KEY STEP: Strong school systems are connected to their community and create many opportunities for information to flow both ways. Dothan City Schools have organized about 20 forums to listen to parents, students and citizens. http://snipurl.com/dothancommunity
• GOOD CITIZENS: A class project at McAdory Elementary School in Jefferson County solved a safety problem on the school campus and, through Project Citizen, students traveled to Boston to learn about public policy. Their work is also an example of the power of project- or inquiry-based learning. http://snipurl.com/mcadory
• MORE TIME FOR LEARNING: Some students need extra time to learn, and Morgan County's credit recovery program will offer after-school classes at two high schools. Classes will be taught via ACCESS, the state's distance learning program. http://snipurl.com/creditrecovery

WHAT'S UP @ A+
We have lots to celebrate in the Alabama Best Practices Center family!

Fayetteville High School, which is sending four teachers to Microsoft's U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum, is an ABPC school.

The new www.abpc21.org site has garnered media attention for two other ABPC schools (not to mention Cathy Gassenheimer's opinion pieces (see beginning of newsletter)). Check out "Challenger plugs into the Web" at http://snipurl.com/challengerms and "Photography teacher leads way online" at http://snipurl.com/sppark.

Plus West Blocton Elementary in Bibb County, another ABPC school, is featured in a worldwide Microsoft Corp. newsletter that highlights success stories from the company's Partners in Learning grant program.

And then, several educators from the ABPC's 21st Century Learning Project are presenters for K12 Online Conference 2007 – an annual, free, global professional development event co-founded by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, an ABPC consultant.

WE NEED YOU
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation. You can give online or mail your check to P.O. Box 4433, Montgomery, AL 36103.

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The A+ Education Foundation, based in Montgomery, publishes Education News in Alabama twice a month. A+ is a nonprofit organization that advances policies, programs and initiatives in Alabama's K-12 education system that result in high achievement by every child.

Past editions can be found at www.aplusala.org/ednews/index.asp

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