Education News in Alabama

January 17, 2007 (archive)

By Sallie Owen

'MOCKINGBIRD' PROVES RICH LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Students from Fairfield Preparatory and Mountain Brook high schools garnered national media attention when they teamed up for a stage production of Pulitzer-prize winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird."

When the Alabama State Board of Education hosted an encore performance last week in Montgomery, board members were highlighting diversity and arts education. (To read more, please visit http://snipurl.com/tkam1)

The joint project brought together students from an all-black school where three in five children qualify for free or reduced-price meals with students from a nearly all-white school where no one gets free or reduced-price meals. Together they performed Monroeville-native Harper Lee's tale of racial injustice told through they eyes of a tomboy named Scout.

The performance also epitomizes several characteristics of effective teaching and learning.

• The production is rooted in a friendship that developed between Patsy Howze, choral director at Fairfield High Preparatory School, and Pat Yates, drama teacher at Mountain Brook High School, after they met at an arts seminar. Learning by students benefits when teachers collaborate with teachers.
• Attorney Doug Jones, who successfully prosecuted two men for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and Alabama historian Wayne Flynt gave students insight into the history and context of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Students involved with the production learned about literature, drama, music and history in an interdisciplinary way. The real world seldom breaks down into the traditional academic subject headings of math, English and science.
• Research indicates that arts education is linked to stronger academic achievement and improved social development for students. To learn more, please visit http://snipurl.com/artsed.

RESEARCH FINDING:
STATE REFORMS PROMISING, BUT KIDS FACE LONG ODDS

Children growing up in 44 other states have a better chance of success in life than Alabama's young people, according to Quality Counts 2007. The national study (http://snipurl.com/qcounts, free access through 1/18/07) examines how education affects success throughout a lifetime using indicators relating to schools, family income and steady employment. Researchers did give Alabama positive marks for the reforms that have been undertaken to improve public schools. The biggest challenge looming — for policymakers in Alabama and most of the nation — is getting high school students ready for postsecondary study and the workplace.

Here's a sampling of recent Alabama news reports about Quality Counts:

• "Alabama's children face tougher road to success than most in U.S.," The Birmingham News http://snipurl.com/qcbnews
• "State found lacking in national education report," Opelika-Auburn News http://snipurl.com/qcoanews
• "Alabama education still falling short — for now," Daily Home http://snipurl.com/qcdhome

ACCESS EDWEEK FOR FREE

Read what education professionals do, for free. Full access to the Education Week newspaper's Web site, www.edweek.org, is available to everyone through Jan. 18.

BY THE NUMBERS:
NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS

• 5 most new NBCTs per school this year (tie -- Cullman City Primary and Cullman High schools)
• 21 new NBCTs in Birmingham City schools, the most of any system this year
• 49 public school systems with new NBCTs
• 119 public schools with new NBCTs
• 168 new National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in Alabama
• 1,097 total NBCTs in Alabama

National Board Certification, awarded by National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (www.nbpts.org), is a symbol of teaching excellence. While state licensing systems set entry-level standards for beginning teachers, this professional organization has established advanced standards for experienced teachers. The application process helps teachers shift their focus from "what have I taught?" to "what have children learned?"

A list of the state's new national board certified teachers is available at http://snipurl.com/al168. NBCTs become part of a network of the country's best teachers, with access to top-notch professional development so they can continue to learn and grow.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATE

The Alabama State Board of Education met in Montgomery Jan. 11. All members were present except David Byers.

The board honored Nelle Harper Lee, the reclusive author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," who attended a stage version of her classic story produced by two Birmingham-area high schools. Lee visited with cast members from Fairfield Preparatory and Mountain Brook high schools, which also received resolutions. See a photo at http://snipurl.com/tkam2.

State board members recognized a dozen schools that are pilot sites for the Alabama Black Belt Arts Education Initiative this year. Participating schools are South Highlands Middle, Bullock County; Southern Choctaw High, Choctaw County; Martin Middle, Dallas County; Demopolis High, Demopolis City; Akron Community School East, Hale County; Lowndes Middle, Lowndes County; George Washington Carver Elementary, Macon County; Amelia Love Johnson High, Marengo County; Uniontown Elementary, Perry County; Gordo Elementary, Pickens County; Byrd Elementary, Selma City; and Camden School of Arts and Technology, Wilcox County.

The board also started the multi-step process to adopt the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards recommended by the Governor's Commission on Quality Teaching. The resolution, which was approved unanimously, says that the standards will be "the official guide to professional conduct for public school teachers in Alabama."

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Joseph Morton said teacher preparation classes should reflect the changes by the fall.

Information about the Governor's Commission on Quality Teaching is available under the resources tab at http://www.aplusala.org.

RESEARCH FINDING:
STATE AYP STANDARDS TOO LOW

The Southern Regional Education Board found that in many southern states, more students scored proficient on state tests of science, math and reading than scored proficient on a nationwide test. The rigor of a given state's standards also varied across subjects and grade levels, researchers found.

The state standards examined are used to determine adequate yearly progress, or AYP, under the federal No Child Left Behind act.

SREB states were among the first in the nation to set comprehensive state standards for K-12 schools, but "getting those standards right and keeping them right may be the most important task facing public education today," asserts the report, Getting State Standards Right in the Early and Middle Grades, available at www.sreb.org.

WORTH REPEATING

"Adults — we are immigrants in this world."

—State Board of Education Member David Byers, describing the technology-rich world so familiar to students. Educators must do a better job of preparing young people for this reality, he said.

EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE

• Most of Alabama's 131 school systems are posting monthly financial reports on their Web sites, as required by a new law designed to further strengthen financial accountability for schools. The reports are sometimes called an "F-1-A." Montgomery County is posting more than one report at a time, which will allow citizens to compare finances over time. Schools should provide parents and taxpayers with information that is accurate, timely and easy-to-understand.
• The Christian Science Monitor headlined its profile of Alabama teacher Betsy Rogers (http://snipurl.com/brogers) "When a Teacher of the Year takes on a failing school." After being named the 2003 National Teacher of the Year, Rogers asked to go to Brighton School, the poorest school in the Jefferson County system. The school is making progress; Brighton made adequate yearly progress, or AYP, for the first time in 2006. Rogers says teacher quality makes all the difference.
• Want to compare how well students are doing at different schools or different systems? The State Department of Education has just released 2005-06 report cards, which compile all sorts of information about test scores, attendance, discipline and teacher qualifications. Visit http://snipurl.com/rptcrd to download PDF files for schools and systems. A report card for the whole state — plus a glossary — is available at www.alsde.edu. This is another instance where school leaders are making information available to the public.

MANY THANKS

The A+ Education Foundation thanks everyone who made financial contributions in 2006. Your gifts will help us continue improving teaching and learning across the state. Thank you for investing in Alabama's future.

If you would like to support this free newsletter and other programs of the A+ Education Foundation, please visit www.aplusala.org and click on the word "Donate" in the top right corner. If you would prefer to send a check, please make it payable to A+ Education Foundation and mail your gift to P.O. Box 4433, Montgomery, AL 36103.

A+ Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions are tax deductible.

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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.

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