Education News in Alabama

October 3, 2007 (archive)

By Sallie Owen

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1. SCHOOLS FOR A FLAT WORLD
• Highlights from Thomas Friedman's appearance at Auburn University
2. ALABAMA'S 'PHENOMENAL' PROGRESS IN READING
3. RESEARCH FINDING: COMMON THEMES IN SUCCESSFUL HIGH SCHOOL REFORMS
4. WHY TEACHERS LEAVE TEACHING & WHAT'S BEING DONE ABOUT IT
• Governor's Commission on Quality Teaching Update
5. THE POWER OF ONE DEMANDING CLASS
6. EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE
• Three more national Blue Ribbon schools
• Best of the Web
• Time for teachers to collaborate
7. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATE
• 2009 budget outlook darkens
8. WHAT'S UP @ A+

• National media coverage for ABPC
• Celebrating success

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1. SCHOOLS FOR A FLAT WORLD

When Thomas L. Friedman (three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of "The World is Flat") visited Alabama this week, he said several important things regarding public schools.

The core premise of his best-known book is that changes in technology and economics have leveled the global playing field so much that the world is effectively flat.

Here some highlights from his talk at Auburn University:

• The first thing parents can do is read to their children, so they "don't start school with a word and grammar and ideas deficit," he said.
• Children need a broad education that is strong in math and science and equally strong in the liberal arts. In the current economy, innovation and synthesis are supremely important. "You never know where that inspiration is coming from," Friedman said. Music, art and literature "are the rivers of inspiration, and we don't want them to dry up."
• The most important thing children can learn in school is how to learn. Our children will experience constant change throughout their lives, so they must come to love learning.
• Great teachers teach this love of learning. "The key for teachers is how to nurture those right-brain skills, especially the ability to synthesize," Friedman said.
• Cheap labor is not always the answer to these job shifts. If cheap labor were really the driving force, all the jobs would go to Haiti. The market seeks a skilled, educated workforce.
• The United States has historically been strong on innovation and entrepreneurship. In this 21st Century, the advantage is with the most open, most flexible society that "powers the imagination of its people the most" Friedman said. And America can flourish, he said, noting "never cede a century to a country that censors Google."

2. ALABAMA'S 'PHENOMENAL' PROGRESS IN READING

"Phenomenal" is how U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings described Alabama's progress on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. NAEP is the gold standard for measuring how well a state's schools are serving children.

In the latest results, Alabama's fourth-graders lead the nation in reading gains, and the Alabama Reading Initiative has won credit for the progress. Here's how Spellings summed up Alabama's efforts: "Combining proven methods of instruction with hard-working students and dedicated teachers has paid off with reading scores rising eight points in just two years. It's phenomenal!"

State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton explains the significance of this achievement in an opinion piece called "Doing what works" (http://snipurl.com/suptnaep).

3. RESEARCH FINDING:

COMMON THEMES IN SUCCESSFUL HIGH SCHOOL REFORMS

"Rethinking High School: Preparing Students for Success in College, Career, and Life" profiles five high school projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and shows what works to get diverse students ready for college.

Researchers noted five shared themes in these success stories:

• Helping kids see that college is an attainable goal.
• Strengthening academics and opening up access to rigorous classes.
• Ensuring a coherent curriculum from middle grades through high school.
• Providing extra support during the critical freshman year.
• Drawing out-of-school youth back into the classroom.

Download a PDF of the report from http://snipurl.com/rethinkhs.

4. WHY TEACHERS LEAVE TEACHING & WHAT'S BEING DONE ABOUT IT

In a national teacher shortage, it is important to understand the real reasons teachers leave the classroom.

Teachers who leave the profession said the following things were better in their current jobs than when they were in the classroom: workload, working conditions, advancement opportunities, resources, recognition/support, influence, prestige and salary, in that order. The only thing that was better when they were teaching was their benefits, all according to research by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (http://www.nctaf.org).

GOVERNOR'S COMMISSION ON QUALITY TEACHING UPDATE

The following items are emerging from the Governor's Commission on Quality Teaching for the Alabama State Board of Education to consider in an upcoming budget request:

• Add a second year of mentoring for new teachers.
• Conduct a Teaching and Learning Conditions Survey statewide.
• Establish three pilots of higher education and K-12 school systems to help develop tiered certification for teachers.
• Evaluate professional development.
• Increase the quantity and quality of new teachers for Alabama schools. 

Each item is designed to address specific reasons teachers leave the classroom. These proposals would cost $13 million, with $9.5 million of that dedicated to mentoring.

5. THE POWER OF ONE DEMANDING CLASS

Teenagers can detect phoniness in an instant, especially from adults or anything representing authority. Here's one mom's story of a bright, underachieving 14-year-old son who was just sliding through school (and life in general) until he ran into one demanding class. This mom said her son worked harder than he ever had and loved it.

Washington Post, "How a Virtual AP Course Changed Her Son," http://snipurl.com/powerofap

Advanced Placement courses prepare students for college-level exams given by a nationwide external entity. The exams hold students from many different schools to the same high standards, and it is nearly impossible for someone to "game the system."

A+ College Ready (http://www.aplusala.org/college-ready.asp ) is a new program of A+ that will expand Advanced Placement programs in Alabama, starting in Montgomery County and Jefferson County high schools.

6. EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE

• THREE MORE NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS: The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Blue Ribbons to three Alabama schools that are academically superior or make dramatic gains in student achievement. The Clark School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (Mobile County Schools) won for dramatic gains, and Grissom High School (Huntsville City Schools) and Forest Avenue Academic Magnet Elementary School (Montgomery County Schools) won for superior academic performance.
• BEST OF THE WEB: A Web portal for Alabama teachers won an honorable mention in the 2007 Best of the Web contest. Dr. Shannon Parks at the State Department of Education lead the development of Alabama Learning Exchange (http://www.alex.state.al.us), which is designed to collect countless resources for teachers to use with their students.
• TIME FOR TEACHERS TO COLLABORATE: Vestavia Hills High School is adjusting the class schedule to create time for teachers to work together on instruction.  http://snipurl.com/teacherlearning

7. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATE

2009 Budget Outlook Darkens

The economic slowdown is already pinching the state's education budget, which is supported primarily by sales and income taxes. The fund, which pays for K-12 public schools and two- and four-year colleges, boomed in 2005 and 2006, growing by 11.5 percent and 10.7 percent respectively.

• The state's fiscal year ended Sept. 30, and tax receipts for education are expected to be more than $100 million short of projections.
• There are two problems right away for the budget year that started Monday. First, the Legislature built this $6.7 budget using a projection of 8 percent growth. Recent calculations project growth closer to 5 percent. Second, the budget started off $100 million in the hole because of a reduced carryover from the year before.

"It's not the end of the world," State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton told the board. "There are going to be some tough decisions made, especially in the Legislature…. We can show that when you put money in K-12 education, you get your money's worth out of K-12 education."

That was the most significant item on the agenda when the Alabama State Board of Education met for a work session Sept. 27 at Muscle Shoals High School. All members were present except the governor and Ella Bell.

Just like seventh-grade science students around the state, board members extracted strands of DNA from strawberries. The lab is part of the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI). Along with AMSTI staff members, Dr. Neil Lamb from the Hudson Alpha Institute of Biotechnology in Huntsville assisted board members.

The board also heard a briefing on the Governor's Commission on Quality Teaching (see item 4 above).  Two of the roughly 25 high school students observing the board meeting stood when asked who wanted to be a teacher.

8. WHAT'S UP @ A+

NATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE FOR ABPC: When BusinessWeek magazine wanted to know how technology was being used to better prepare U.S. students to compete in the global economy, the magazine called Cathy Gassenheimer at the Alabama Best Practices Center. The result is "Back to School 2.0" (http://snipurl.com/1rqe4), which features success stories from schools in Alabama and around the country.

CELEBRATING SUCCESS: A Montgomery Advertiser editorial ("State's reading initiative scores big, (http://snipurl.com/aplusari) makes clear who deserves the credit for Alabama's achievement gains: our teachers. They are the ones who have learned new and more effective ways to teach reading, math, science and technology, and Alabama's children are the better for it. Professional development for teachers is part of the ARI's power, and A+ is proud to have a role in ARI's success.

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.

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