Education Reporter
March 24, 2008
Your official newsletter of the Education Writers Association
<<On the Blackboard>>
Book your hotel now for EWA's National Seminar: The cutoff dateto reservehotel rooms at the Wyndham Chicago is Friday. Read what is on this year’s tentative annual meeting agenda. If you are a reporter and need a scholarship to cover costs, email Lori Crouch (lcrouch@ewa.org). This year’s theme is "Running in Place: Can We Overcome Mediocrity?" All sessions will be held at the Wyndham Chicago Hotel, 633 North St. Clair Street. Topics range from merit pay for teachers to what brain research says about boys and girls and how they learn. Higher ed topics range from college sports to the hidden cost of college to Iraq War veterans returning to college. Hands-on multi-media sessions will take place, as well as workshops on school district spending, investigative reporting and other issues. So, if you need a scholarship to attend the meeting contact Lori by March 26.
Sender Would Like To Recall This Message: These days education reporters can’t help but sigh whenever they see the U.S. Department of Education “recall” one of its emails. The succession of recalls has been bandied about on our listserv and was a subject of Alexander Russo’s blog. All kidding aside, reporters say they want to improve communication with the department and EWA’s public editor Linda Perlstein has agreed to help on that end.
Stories That Work by Linda Perlstein, EWA’s Public Editor
Little Students, Big Issue
You’re called a K-12 reporter, not a preK-12 reporter. Preschools may not be funded through the school systems you cover or held in its buildings. There are no clear accountability measures that help you evaluate them. So you may not think of pre-K education as part of your beat.
You’re in good company: It’s a topic that’s not very thoroughly covered in today’s media.
But preschool has a lot of momentum these days, in terms of policy attention and money. State funding for preschool rose 65 percent from 2002 to 2005, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. It’s an increase that dwarfs growth in K-12 funding. As the debate progresses in our country about who should go to pre-K, who should pay for it, and what it should look like, try to visit some classrooms and see for yourself. Some things to think about:
* Certainly the academics-vs-social skills debate is a compelling area to explore: whether four-year-olds should be receiving primarily cognitive and physical skills or primarily literacy and knowledge, or an equal balance of both. What’s being taught in the preschools you see? What are your state’s standards for pre-K, if any?
* Look at who’s going to preschool. Even in states and districts with “universal” access to preschool, not everybody chooses to send their children. See for yourself who is opting out, and why. Because they don’t know their options? Because they can’t find transportation? Because they want their kids at home? Just as important, look at how those children are spending their time while their peers are in school.
* What kind of access do new immigrants in your area have to preschool, and what do those schools look like? How about in rural areas? Is everyone who wants it really getting served, and how does the quality compare?
* Some states have moved to increase preschool access to three-year-olds. How do the needs and methods in those classes compare to what’s happening with four-year-olds?
* Pre-K today is a mishmash of programs run by public schools, private companies, private schools, churches (yes, sometimes even when state-funded), and Head Start. Visit different types of programs so you can compare the children’s experiences.
* With funding at stake, competition has increased for enrollment. What are preschools doing to recruit and retain students?
* Visit kindergarten classes, where you can talk to teachers and witness the differences, if any, between the children who attended pre-K and those who didn’t. Studies supporting pre-K emphasize the notion of “kindergarten readiness”; explain what that looks like.
* Pre-K expulsion rates have been shown in some cases to be higher than K-12. What do preschool behavior problems look like? Why are children getting expelled, and what is being done for them?
* Some states and schools require teachers to have bachelor’s degrees; others don’t. Can you discern differences in teacher quality among schools in your area?
* Where public schools offer pre-K, do those classes use the same methods and rules and structure as the rest of the building?
* Preschools in general are struggling to prove their effectiveness. How do schools in your area manage this, or not? Are there assessments for pre-K children, and what do they look like?
There are plenty of folks out there tracking the preschool issue. (Check the preschool link on EWA’s resources page make sure to check out the stories and links on the left of the page too!). As you report, keep in mind that nearly all organizations created around the preschool issue have a stance, pro or con (usually pro), though they can provide useful information. But the best information comes from stepping inside those rooms full of cute three- and four-year-olds, where you’ll walk into not only a growing national debate, but a whole lot of story ideas.
New Tools and Reports: Private School Rankings, Resources for English Language Learners
Paying Teachers: A Denver foundation says compensation in the city’s public school system is ‘ill-designed’ to recruit top teachers and retain veterans. Tony Lewis, executive director of the Donnell-Kay Foundation, who released the report with the Piton Foundation says, “The system is lopsided. It is great if you plan to stay with DPS your entire career and it is lackluster if you don’t.” Officials representing the school district say they are thinking carefully about how the system is structured and if teachers are getting the benefits they deserve. Read Rocky Mountain News reporter Nancy Mitchell’s article on teacher compensation.
Reforming NCLB: U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said the federal No Child Left Behind law labels too many schools as failing. As a result, some provisions of the law will be relaxed for 10 states to distinguish schools that are really missing the mark from schools that have lesser problems. Spellings announcement has received mixed reaction from teacher unions and education think tanks. See what Spellings had to say about the new changes.
Private College Rankings: The U.S. News and World Report has more competition in the rankings wars. Kiplinger Magazine has just released its rankings of the best private colleges and universities. Topping this year’s list is Swarthmore College (located outside of Philadelphia) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The magazine says students stand a better chance of paying less tuition at private colleges today as in-state tuition continues to rise at public institutions. Washington Monthly also puts out a rankings list.
Spending Debate: With federal lawmakers going on a rampage about the rising cost of college tuition, Inside Higher Ed did an analysis on endowment spending of elite institutions. The publication says while many colleges are trying to discourage policy makers from contemplating a “one-size-fit- all effort to regulate endowments” it finds some potential vulnerabilities for higher ed institutions. Inside Higher Ed used the most recent annual endowment survey from NACUBO for its report.
New NCLB Tool: Scientific Evidence in Education Forums has some new resources to help educators work with English Language Learners. The new research evaluation group, which hopes to disseminate research to classroom teachers, has released a practice guide and website to support classroom teaching. Officials say the resources should help schools meet requirements of No Child Left Behind. Read this story by EWA member Betsy Hammond on what Oregon schools are doing to help non-native speakers achieve.
1/2 +1/2= Basic Math Skills: The National Advisory Council on Math released its long awaited report on how American students can be more competitive with other students in industrialized countries. The panel says American schools should develop a curriculum more coherent for elementary students, publishers should produce smaller textbooks and math courses need to be streamlined.
School Quality: The Center for Public Education joins a growing list of organizations offering web tools on measuring school quality. Good Measures for Good Schools provides users a chance to interpret data on student achievement, school staffing, state to state comparison and college readiness. The center links to sites such as NAEP and School Data Direct for national statistics.
Lost in Transition: A recent report finds ‘educational success’ is too narrowly defined as graduation from four-year colleges and should focus more on community colleges and job training. The Southern Regional Education Board says more collaboration is needed between secondary schools and community colleges. Also read SREB’s Redesigning the Ninth Grade Experience, a report aiming to reduce the high school dropout rate.
Events and Opportunities—Literary, Science and Math Seminars
The Pew Research Center Core Administration is looking for a communications associate. Interested applicants should a send resume and cover letter to April McWilliams, Human Resource Director, The Pew Research Center, 1615 L Street, NW Suite 700, Washington, D.C., 20036. Or you can fax information to 202-419-4339; careers@pewresearch.org.
Like Statistics? Attend presentations sponsored by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) at the American Educational Research Association annual conference March 24-28.
Calling all literary nonfiction aficionados! The North Texas-Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference is July 18-20 in Grapevine. The 4th annual conference will feature guest speakers such as Pulitzer Prize winning author N. Scott Momaday, National Book Award winner Bob Shacochis, and Forth Worth Star-Telegram narrative writer Tim Madigan.
The Hechinger Institute is sponsoring a seminar on Math and Science May 12-13 in Kansas City, Mo. Application deadline is April 4.
SREB will sponsor its 22nd annual high schools that work staff development conference July 9-12 in Nashville.
<<From the Beat>>
University of Michigan athletes steered to professor
Jim Carty, John Heuser, and Nathan Fenno
Ann Arbor News
Read thisfour-day Ann Arbor News series on the University of Michigan's academics and athletics program.
In L.A., his own wall of China
David Pierson
The Los Angeles Times
Zhao yan feng is a guest instructor teaching Chinese language at an urban Los Angeles high school. The Los Angeles Times chronicles his challenges working with American teenagers.
Hovering parents bully teachers
John-John Williams IV
The Baltimore Sun
Carroll County, Md. school officials told a grandmother to stop coming to her grandchild's class after she spent two weeks studying the teacher. A Baltimore County teacher recalls being threatened physically by a parent who happened to be a boxer. And in Howard County, overbearing parents are becoming such a concern that more than half the teachers surveyed say they have experienced "harassing behavior."
Autism still on rise in Oregon
Betsy Hammond
The Oregonian
More than 7,000 Oregon students have autism, triple the count 10 years ago and 11 percent higher than just a year ago. In many cases, educators say, schools lack the training, staffing and specialized programs to serve this group of students, who are being identified in growing numbers in every part of the state and across the nation.
UC panel seeks to drop extra SAT tests from admission requirements
Larry Gordon
Los Angeles Times
The University of California may offer some relief to test-weary applicants by shedding part of a 40-year-old requirement for freshman admission. And many high school students are saying amen to that.
U.S. Eases ‘No Child’ Law as Applied to Some States
Sam Dillon
New York Times
The Bush administration, acknowledging that the federal No Child Left Behind law is diagnosing too many public schools as failing, said that it would relax the law’s provisions for some states, allowing them to distinguish schools with a few problems from those that need major surgery.
UConn Bowl Trip: No Windfall
Grace E. Merritt
Hartford Courant
When the University of Connecticut football team went to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in December, the school received national TV exposure and a likely boost in its recruiting efforts. But by the time UConn paid its expenses — including the cost of flying 25 spouses to the game, buying each player a DVD camcorder, giving 13 employees bonuses and doling out tickets to an NBA game — it ended up with a profit of $25,266.
Please send your best stories and member news to Mesha Williams at publications@ewa.org.
**About us**
The Education Writers Association is the national professional organization of education reporters dedicated to improving education reporting to the public. Contact us by email at ewa@ewa.org, by phone at (202) 452-9830, by fax at (202) 452-9837 or by mail at
2122 P Street NW, Suite 201, Washington, DC, 20037
Our officers include: Richard Whitmire of USA Today, president; Kathy Baron, morning host/education reporter at northern California's KQED-FM (on leave), vice president/actives; Rodney Ferguson, executive vice president of Lipman Hearne Inc., vice president/associates; Kent Fischer, education reporter at the Dallas Morning News, secretary; Linda Lenz, publisher of Catalyst, immediate past president. Our board members include Dale Mezzacappa, former reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and now a Philadelphia-based freelance writer; Marie Groark, senior policy officer and spokeswoman for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Tanya Schevitz, higher education reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle; and John Merrow of Learning Matters Inc. Find contact information at our Web site, http://www.ewa.org.
