The following article appeared in the Daily Herald and on Students First. Hmmm how will this play out is the school district really trying to balance the budget or are they starting to board the threat train on the way to thefterendumville?
Dist. 214 cuts take their toll
4/21/2006
By Erin Holmes
Daily Herald
For weeks, it's been about the numbers. The amount that has to be cut. The amount that can be saved. The budget.
On Thursday night, backed up by dozens of his co-workers, Tom Wiedemann stepped to the microphone and gave the whole scenario a human face.
Wiedemann, a Buffalo Grove High graduate who's worked at the school for more than two decades, is one of nearly three dozen Northwest Suburban High School District 214 staff members who got notices of possible termination this week - part of an ongoing effort to trim nearly $3 million from the still-pending 2006-07 budget.
In his role, Wiedemann does locker room security, works as a physical education assistant, bellows from the stands at football games as the "Voice of the Bison," is licensed to repair high-tech equipment in the weight room - he was there the night that room was dedicated; he helped raise the cash - and has done a plethora of other things at the school.
He's not sure how all those jobs can be eliminated, he says, but, beyond that, "I'm part of the family," he says simply.
His words drew a standing ovation from others in the district's support staff union - clerical staff, tech assistants, security personnel and others - who pushed the board to rescind any planned staff cuts and find different savings.
"Without these quality workers, some of whom have been with the district for over 25 years, the quality of education will suffer at our schools," union President Bob Kramer said.
The nearly 30 support staff notices represent the latest wave of a district-wide cost-cutting that Superintendent David Schuler said will impact all categories of employees.
The board in March OK'd 13 teacher layoff notices; the custodial maintenance union is next up for consideration. The administrative staff also has shrunk its ranks, in part by choosing not to fill positions that will be vacated in June.
But there will not be a full 30 support staffers laid off, Schuler insisted, saying that sum really represents "three or four times" the actual number of positions that will be officially nixed.
He could not say how many spots truly will be eliminated. Kramer put that figure around 13; Schuler said it most likely would be between six and 13.
Language in the support staff contract calls for those with high seniority whose jobs are terminated to bump those with less seniority out of their slots.
Since that has the makings of a domino effect, anyone who could potentially be affected is handed a so-called pink slip -the reason, officials say, for the larger number of layoff notices.
Schuler said a "vast, vast majority" of those who got the notices still will have jobs next year - just not necessarily the positions they're holding now.
No matter how many people get offered jobs again, though, Kramer pointed out some roles still will be lost, asking, "Who's going to do all this work?"
Beyond that, there's the sad reality of the bumping process: It's not exactly a great feeling to know you've pushed someone else out of a job, employees say.
Weidemann should know.
With so many years under his belt, he's got top billing.
But "How does that make me feel?" he said. "Pretty crappy."
Kramer and others will meet today with district leaders to go over some contract language and discuss the situation.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
OF 100 CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL FRESHMEN,
The below story is yet another example of how the current public education is failing to educate the students of Illinois.
OF 100 CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL FRESHMEN,
SIX WILL GET A COLLEGE DEGREE
By Jodi S. Cohen and Darnell Little, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Tracy Dell'Angela contributed to this report
Published April 21, 2006
Of every 100 freshmen entering a Chicago public high school, only about six will earn a bachelor's degree by the time they're in their mid-20s, according to a first-of-its-kind study released Thursday by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.
The prospects are even worse for African-American and Latino male freshmen, who only have about a 3 percent chance of obtaining a bachelor's degree by the time they're 25.
The study, which tracked Chicago high school students who graduated in 1998 and 1999, also found that making it to college doesn't ensure success: Of the city public school students who went to a four-year college, only about 35 percent earned a bachelor's degree within six years, compared with 64 percent nationally.
Researchers say they're not exactly sure why Chicago schools alumni graduate from college in such low numbers, but that poor preparation during high school and too few resources at the college level contribute to the problem.
"Just focusing on getting kids to survive in high school isn't going to be enough," said study co-author Elaine Allensworth, a researcher at the consortium, a group that works closely with Chicago Public Schools. "This report raises a lot of issues that the colleges need to struggle with."
Schools chief Arne Duncan said the grim statistics in the report and the variation in college rates among city high schools are no surprise--they are what is driving massive private investment in high school reform.
"When students here are unprepared for college or the world of work, they are condemned to social failure," he said. "We're doing everything we can to dramatically change the high school experience for our teenagers."
Among other findings:
- Students who graduated from high school with a grade-point average below 3.0 were unlikely to graduate within six years, lacking the study skills that contribute to college success. Only about 16 percent of students with a high school GPA between 2.1 and 2.5 graduated during that time, compared with 63 percent of students who had a 3.6 GPA or better.
- African-American and Latino students from Chicago high schools have the lowest graduation rates--lower than the national average for those groups and lower than their white and Asian peers from Chicago. Just 22 percent of African-American males who began at a four-year college graduated within six years.
Chicago high school graduate Nigel Valentine, 26, is on the 10-year plan. He graduated from Kennedy High School in 1997. After getting an associate's degree from Daley College in 2003, he is now a junior at Northeastern Illinois University. He expects to graduate next year.
"Originally, I was hoping to be out in four or five years," said Valentine, who is studying criminal justice. He says he blames himself and a school system that didn't ensure college readiness. "It's all about preparation. The structure of the classes in high school and elementary school were not up to par."
The study also found varying degrees of success among colleges in graduating students from Chicago schools.
Of the Chicago students who start as full-time freshmen at Northeastern, only 11 percent graduate within six years.
Northeastern officials said the study is unfair to the university, which primarily serves non-traditional students, including many part-time students who take an average of 9 years to graduate. Many students are older, low-income and work while in school, said Provost Lawrence Frank.
But Frank said the study does point "to things we need to address," particularly improving the experience for freshmen. The university next fall will require that all freshmen take a small seminar class with a maximum of 24 students. Sophomores will receive more advising about course selection and major.
To be sure, there were limitations to the study. It only provided graduation rates for students who enrolled full time in a four-year college. It did not include students from alternative high schools or those eligible for special education. Researchers also did not have graduation data from every Illinois college, and DePaul University, Northern Illinois University and Robert Morris College were among those left out.
The researchers used data from the non-profit National Student Clearinghouse, a group that collects data from secondary school officials who want to track their graduates. More than 2,800 colleges participate.
Carole Snow, an executive associate provost at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said many students start college unprepared in math and writing.
The university recently opened a math learning center where students can get tutoring and work on study skills.
About 46 percent of UIC students, including Chicago public school graduates, complete college within six years.
Loyola University has one of the highest graduation rates for Chicago students. About 66 percent complete college within six years, nearly the same as the school average.
Loyola Vice Provost John Pelissero attributes that success to individualized student attention, including mandatory academic counseling. All freshmen also get a peer adviser.
The researchers said that the study could help high school guidance counselors better advise students about where to go to college.
"Our kids could be making better choices than going to U. of. I. Urbana," said co-author Melissa Roderick. "That is a very significant statement on that college, and they need to be paying attention to that."
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where some of Chicago's brightest students enroll, only 42 percent graduate within six years compared with 81 percent of all students, according to the study.
Robin Kaler, spokeswoman for the Urbana campus, disputed the consortium's numbers and said the graduation rate for Chicago students is nearly 65 percent.
"It is still not acceptable to us," said Kaler, who attributed the low number to a challenging environment at U. of. I. "We work hard to attract and identify students that we think can succeed. ... There is no way to predict perfectly who is going to have the most success and who isn't'"
She said the university has worked on improving student advising, with several colleges now requiring it. The advisers are supposed to not only monitor a student's academic progress, but also connect them with career-focused clubs and other services. The university also started a program last fall called "University 101," which is intended to teach students how to study, conduct research, and locate programs and services at the university.
That program came too late for Crystalynn Ortiz, 19, who started at the Urbana campus in fall 2004 after graduating from Prosser Career Academy in Chicago with a 4.5 GPA. She dropped out of U. of. I. after the first year, and now attends nearby Parkland Community College.
"I wasn't prepared to go to U. of. I. I got my first bad grades and then I wasn't motivated to do well," she said. "I felt really unprepared in study habits, how hard it was going to be here."
To view the rest of the story go to the Chicagotribune.com.
OF 100 CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL FRESHMEN,
SIX WILL GET A COLLEGE DEGREE
By Jodi S. Cohen and Darnell Little, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Tracy Dell'Angela contributed to this report
Published April 21, 2006
Of every 100 freshmen entering a Chicago public high school, only about six will earn a bachelor's degree by the time they're in their mid-20s, according to a first-of-its-kind study released Thursday by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.
The prospects are even worse for African-American and Latino male freshmen, who only have about a 3 percent chance of obtaining a bachelor's degree by the time they're 25.
The study, which tracked Chicago high school students who graduated in 1998 and 1999, also found that making it to college doesn't ensure success: Of the city public school students who went to a four-year college, only about 35 percent earned a bachelor's degree within six years, compared with 64 percent nationally.
Researchers say they're not exactly sure why Chicago schools alumni graduate from college in such low numbers, but that poor preparation during high school and too few resources at the college level contribute to the problem.
"Just focusing on getting kids to survive in high school isn't going to be enough," said study co-author Elaine Allensworth, a researcher at the consortium, a group that works closely with Chicago Public Schools. "This report raises a lot of issues that the colleges need to struggle with."
Schools chief Arne Duncan said the grim statistics in the report and the variation in college rates among city high schools are no surprise--they are what is driving massive private investment in high school reform.
"When students here are unprepared for college or the world of work, they are condemned to social failure," he said. "We're doing everything we can to dramatically change the high school experience for our teenagers."
Among other findings:
- Students who graduated from high school with a grade-point average below 3.0 were unlikely to graduate within six years, lacking the study skills that contribute to college success. Only about 16 percent of students with a high school GPA between 2.1 and 2.5 graduated during that time, compared with 63 percent of students who had a 3.6 GPA or better.
- African-American and Latino students from Chicago high schools have the lowest graduation rates--lower than the national average for those groups and lower than their white and Asian peers from Chicago. Just 22 percent of African-American males who began at a four-year college graduated within six years.
Chicago high school graduate Nigel Valentine, 26, is on the 10-year plan. He graduated from Kennedy High School in 1997. After getting an associate's degree from Daley College in 2003, he is now a junior at Northeastern Illinois University. He expects to graduate next year.
"Originally, I was hoping to be out in four or five years," said Valentine, who is studying criminal justice. He says he blames himself and a school system that didn't ensure college readiness. "It's all about preparation. The structure of the classes in high school and elementary school were not up to par."
The study also found varying degrees of success among colleges in graduating students from Chicago schools.
Of the Chicago students who start as full-time freshmen at Northeastern, only 11 percent graduate within six years.
Northeastern officials said the study is unfair to the university, which primarily serves non-traditional students, including many part-time students who take an average of 9 years to graduate. Many students are older, low-income and work while in school, said Provost Lawrence Frank.
But Frank said the study does point "to things we need to address," particularly improving the experience for freshmen. The university next fall will require that all freshmen take a small seminar class with a maximum of 24 students. Sophomores will receive more advising about course selection and major.
To be sure, there were limitations to the study. It only provided graduation rates for students who enrolled full time in a four-year college. It did not include students from alternative high schools or those eligible for special education. Researchers also did not have graduation data from every Illinois college, and DePaul University, Northern Illinois University and Robert Morris College were among those left out.
The researchers used data from the non-profit National Student Clearinghouse, a group that collects data from secondary school officials who want to track their graduates. More than 2,800 colleges participate.
Carole Snow, an executive associate provost at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said many students start college unprepared in math and writing.
The university recently opened a math learning center where students can get tutoring and work on study skills.
About 46 percent of UIC students, including Chicago public school graduates, complete college within six years.
Loyola University has one of the highest graduation rates for Chicago students. About 66 percent complete college within six years, nearly the same as the school average.
Loyola Vice Provost John Pelissero attributes that success to individualized student attention, including mandatory academic counseling. All freshmen also get a peer adviser.
The researchers said that the study could help high school guidance counselors better advise students about where to go to college.
"Our kids could be making better choices than going to U. of. I. Urbana," said co-author Melissa Roderick. "That is a very significant statement on that college, and they need to be paying attention to that."
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where some of Chicago's brightest students enroll, only 42 percent graduate within six years compared with 81 percent of all students, according to the study.
Robin Kaler, spokeswoman for the Urbana campus, disputed the consortium's numbers and said the graduation rate for Chicago students is nearly 65 percent.
"It is still not acceptable to us," said Kaler, who attributed the low number to a challenging environment at U. of. I. "We work hard to attract and identify students that we think can succeed. ... There is no way to predict perfectly who is going to have the most success and who isn't'"
She said the university has worked on improving student advising, with several colleges now requiring it. The advisers are supposed to not only monitor a student's academic progress, but also connect them with career-focused clubs and other services. The university also started a program last fall called "University 101," which is intended to teach students how to study, conduct research, and locate programs and services at the university.
That program came too late for Crystalynn Ortiz, 19, who started at the Urbana campus in fall 2004 after graduating from Prosser Career Academy in Chicago with a 4.5 GPA. She dropped out of U. of. I. after the first year, and now attends nearby Parkland Community College.
"I wasn't prepared to go to U. of. I. I got my first bad grades and then I wasn't motivated to do well," she said. "I felt really unprepared in study habits, how hard it was going to be here."
To view the rest of the story go to the Chicagotribune.com.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble
Below is my response to Diane Rado's story "Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble."
Dear Ms. Rado,
In your story below "Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble" Supt. Tenbusch states that "they are not making this up". If this school district was so poor why did they hand out raises to the teachers and administrators last fall right after they claimed poor in front of a Lake County judge? The answer pure and simple, is greed. These groups always put their pocketbooks ahead of the very children they are to teach. Funny how their pocketbooks books are more important than textbooks. I really wish you would ask the school boards more questions. Ask them why they give out such large raises or raises when the school is in "financial difficulty". The only ones to blame for this problem is the school board and administration. If they can't balance the budget find someone who is capable of balancing the budget and not on the backs of the students they are to protect and educate while not in parental care.
Schools across Illinois have a spending problem not a funding problem. They have a problem with greed not need. No matter how much money they get it is never enough. It does not take a grade school math teacher to figure out the TRS is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that is unsustainable and will bankrupt Illinois. Sadly the legislatures are bent on catering to these groups instead of the taxpayers and students of Illinois.
Cathy Peschke
CRAFT
Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble
By Diane Rado
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 20, 2006, 9:53 PM CDT
In a rare move, state education officials voted Thursday to intervene in the financial affairs of Winthrop Harbor School District 1 in Lake County, where budget problems are some of the most severe in the state.
The Illinois State Board of Education certified that the district is in "financial difficulty," a status that allows state monitoring and could lead to even stronger oversight down the road.
Such state involvement is highly unusual and has happened in only a handful of districts, state education officials said.
Winthrop Harbor Supt. James Tenbusch said he and a majority of board members support the state's intervention after four years of budget cuts, including eliminating staff and cutting $45,000 for textbooks.
The district's tattered textbooks, some held together by rubber bands, were featured in a Tribune story Sunday on old and worn schoolbooks across Illinois.
The state monitoring "serves notice to our community we are not making this up," Tenbusch said about the district's financial problems.
The district relies mostly on residential property for its tax collections and has low tax rates compared with neighboring districts, he said. Trying to make ends meet, the district has been borrowing heavily and running deficits in its operating funds.
Voters repeatedly have rejected tax increases, including the latest ballot measure in March, and the issue has divided the community.
Tenbusch on Thursday accused some tax-increase opponents of making false claims about how an increase would affect property owners, prompting concern by state board chairman Jesse Ruiz. The chairman asked state board attorneys to look into how the state could regulate organizations making false claims.
Such charges are not unique in the clash over school tax increases. Elsewhere in the state, opponents have claimed that ballot language is deceptive and fails to inform voters of the true cost of tax increases.
Winthrop Harbor now has to submit a financial plan to the state and agree to monitoring, including providing budget and other information at the state's request. If the district fails to follow the financial plan, the state can appoint a financial oversight panel.
Also Thursday, state school Supt. Randy Dunn said the state board is looking at ways to curb violence after incidents at Chicago high schools and news reports about when schools fall into the category of "persistently dangerous" as defined by federal law. The Tribune reported this month that not one school in Illinois meets the state's definition despite reports of gang fights, teacher assaults and other serious problems.
Dunn said after the board meeting that the state's definition of persistently dangerous may need to be "more robust," given that no schools are fitting the definition. A change would require approval by state lawmakers.
Dunn also reported Thursday that delivery of 11th grade state exams to high schools is proceeding "pretty well," following a debacle over the delivery of grade school tests this spring. There have been some delays in districts getting instruction booklets and student identification labels for the tests scheduled next week, but high schools have been receiving the exam booklets, Dunn said.
For the rest of the story go to the Chicagotribune.com.
Dear Ms. Rado,
In your story below "Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble" Supt. Tenbusch states that "they are not making this up". If this school district was so poor why did they hand out raises to the teachers and administrators last fall right after they claimed poor in front of a Lake County judge? The answer pure and simple, is greed. These groups always put their pocketbooks ahead of the very children they are to teach. Funny how their pocketbooks books are more important than textbooks. I really wish you would ask the school boards more questions. Ask them why they give out such large raises or raises when the school is in "financial difficulty". The only ones to blame for this problem is the school board and administration. If they can't balance the budget find someone who is capable of balancing the budget and not on the backs of the students they are to protect and educate while not in parental care.
Schools across Illinois have a spending problem not a funding problem. They have a problem with greed not need. No matter how much money they get it is never enough. It does not take a grade school math teacher to figure out the TRS is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that is unsustainable and will bankrupt Illinois. Sadly the legislatures are bent on catering to these groups instead of the taxpayers and students of Illinois.
Cathy Peschke
CRAFT
Winthrop Harbor schools in money trouble
By Diane Rado
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 20, 2006, 9:53 PM CDT
In a rare move, state education officials voted Thursday to intervene in the financial affairs of Winthrop Harbor School District 1 in Lake County, where budget problems are some of the most severe in the state.
The Illinois State Board of Education certified that the district is in "financial difficulty," a status that allows state monitoring and could lead to even stronger oversight down the road.
Such state involvement is highly unusual and has happened in only a handful of districts, state education officials said.
Winthrop Harbor Supt. James Tenbusch said he and a majority of board members support the state's intervention after four years of budget cuts, including eliminating staff and cutting $45,000 for textbooks.
The district's tattered textbooks, some held together by rubber bands, were featured in a Tribune story Sunday on old and worn schoolbooks across Illinois.
The state monitoring "serves notice to our community we are not making this up," Tenbusch said about the district's financial problems.
The district relies mostly on residential property for its tax collections and has low tax rates compared with neighboring districts, he said. Trying to make ends meet, the district has been borrowing heavily and running deficits in its operating funds.
Voters repeatedly have rejected tax increases, including the latest ballot measure in March, and the issue has divided the community.
Tenbusch on Thursday accused some tax-increase opponents of making false claims about how an increase would affect property owners, prompting concern by state board chairman Jesse Ruiz. The chairman asked state board attorneys to look into how the state could regulate organizations making false claims.
Such charges are not unique in the clash over school tax increases. Elsewhere in the state, opponents have claimed that ballot language is deceptive and fails to inform voters of the true cost of tax increases.
Winthrop Harbor now has to submit a financial plan to the state and agree to monitoring, including providing budget and other information at the state's request. If the district fails to follow the financial plan, the state can appoint a financial oversight panel.
Also Thursday, state school Supt. Randy Dunn said the state board is looking at ways to curb violence after incidents at Chicago high schools and news reports about when schools fall into the category of "persistently dangerous" as defined by federal law. The Tribune reported this month that not one school in Illinois meets the state's definition despite reports of gang fights, teacher assaults and other serious problems.
Dunn said after the board meeting that the state's definition of persistently dangerous may need to be "more robust," given that no schools are fitting the definition. A change would require approval by state lawmakers.
Dunn also reported Thursday that delivery of 11th grade state exams to high schools is proceeding "pretty well," following a debacle over the delivery of grade school tests this spring. There have been some delays in districts getting instruction booklets and student identification labels for the tests scheduled next week, but high schools have been receiving the exam booklets, Dunn said.
For the rest of the story go to the Chicagotribune.com.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Textbook sticker shock - Yet another explotation of our taxdollars and a group jumping on the public education gravy train.
The following story appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Textbook sticker shock
4/17/2006
By Diane Rado, Tribune staff reporter. Staff reporters Ana Beatriz Cholo and Darnell Little contributing.
Chicago Tribune
In Illinois, books that cost $600 online can be $800 at school as fees and markups drive up the prices
By the time Loryn Kogan got out of the New Trier Township High School Bookstore in August, the bill was nearly $800 for her two sons' textbooks--materials that are free to students in most states.
What disturbed the North Shore mother the most, however, was that she later found the same books at Amazon.com for nearly $200 less. She quickly bought the books online and returned the others to New Trier.
Kogan didn't know it, but the district contracts with a private company to run its bookstore and allows the firm to mark up new books by 20 percent over cost.
The contract is unusual because private booksellers usually are found on college campuses. But markups as high as 25 percent are not uncommon in some of Illinois' largest public school districts, a Tribune investigation has found.
High schools in the Oak Park and River Forest, Glenbard and Elmhurst school districts, among others, also mark up books sold to students, though they run their own bookstore operations.
According to state law, districts can charge extra to cover shipping and handling, but how those costs are defined is in question.
Districts say they can tack on the cost of salaries for staff involved in bookstore operations, saying that fits into the definition of "handling." But schools already collect local property taxes to pay salaries for school employees.
The law is "far from crystal clear" on the matter, said Jonathan Furr, general counsel of the Illinois State Board of Education.
In general, Illinois law seeks to control costs to ensure the best deals for students, he said.
"I certainly think the state board is going to have concerns about potential abuses in this area, and I think we would be interested in looking at the specific facts of these cases and reviewing whether or not those costs should be allowed," Furr said.
Illinois pays for public education mostly with local property taxes, rather than state dollars, and the $29.1 million state budget for textbooks has been flat to declining since 2000-01.
With most districts struggling with deficits and voters rejecting tax increases, nearly all districts rely on parents to buy their children's books or pay fees to offset book purchases.
Too few books, and they're old
Even with parents' help, however, districts are struggling with book shortages and texts that are outdated and worn, a Tribune investigation found in a survey of 50 districts of varying wealth and size across all regions.
Illinois collects more textbook revenue from parents than any other state, about $74 million in 2002-03, according to the most recent federal data. Twenty-eight states collect no textbook fees.
Updated figures from the Illinois State Board of Education show districts collecting $87 million from book fees or sales in 2004-05, three times more than the state provides for textbooks.
The figure is likely an underestimate because it excludes some districts, such as New Trier, where the private Follett Higher Education Group had sales of about $1.3 million, according to the district. Chicago Public Schools also did not report book revenue because individual schools collect their own fees.
Elmhurst District 205 did not report $548,186 from high school book sales because it was accounted for separately and excluded from state financial reports, said Patricia Palmere, assistant superintendent for finance. Students got $169,888 in credits for future purchases by selling books back, she said.
Districts typically have such buyback programs. They also waive book fees for impoverished students and offer installment plans so parents to spread out book payments.
Still, some parents are shocked by the price tag for attending a public high school.
Prices add up for parents
Laura Font paid $442.26 for her freshman son's books this year at Elmhurst's York Community High School; that didn't include other fees that pushed the bill to more than $500.
"When they totaled it up, I couldn't believe what it cost," said Font, a public school teacher in DuPage County. "If you have two or three high school students, you're talking about $1,500 to start school, and you haven't even bought shoes or clothes."
Not all parents pay that much. More than 500 districts, most of them Downstate, reported collecting $50 or less per student for textbooks on average in 2004-05, according to state figures.
Fees are steeper around Chicago, with about 70 districts, mostly in the six-county suburban area, collecting at least $100 per studenton average. A dozen districts reported at least $200 per student for textbooks, though some said their revenue included other fees unrelated to books. The Illinois Constitution states that education in public schools "shall be free," interpreted by courts to mean free classes and instruction--but not free books.
Elsewhere, education officials were surprised that Illinois charges for books. "That is illegal in California; textbooks have to be free," said Tom Adams, a top curriculum official at the California Department of Education.
Illinois educators said books tend to be replaced more often when districts charge parents rather than rely on state funds.
Cheryl Witham, chief financial officer in Oak Park and River Forest high school district, said she has worked outside of Illinois and has found that when fees weren't charged "over time, that curriculum became stale."
Districts defend markups
Her district marks up new books by 25 percent for shipping and handling, which she said can include bookstore employee salaries, based on the advice of the school district's attorney. Elmhurst District 205 has a 25 percent markup to cover overhead at its bookstore.
Glenbard High School District 87 in DuPage County has a 20 percent markup on new books, and Township High School District 113 in Lake County charges a 15 percent markup, plus shipping costs, on new books. District 113 officials said they don't exceed 15 percent because of a lawsuit in the late 1970s over unreasonable charges for books, and they cap book prices at $85, regardless of cost.
District officials stressed that their markups are over discounted prices they get from publishers, so students should still be able to get textbooks for less than retail prices.
But Kogan, of Wilmette, was able to find better prices on Amazon.com.
She said she bought mostly new books for her sons at New Trier, because used books get snapped up quickly and sometimes aren't available. She wanted to bring the books home before shopping online to make sure she could find exact matches.
Kogan found several better deals, she said, including a $63.49 advanced biology book on Amazon.com that cost her $98.95 used at New Trier.
Follett, which operates college bookstores around the nation, pays New Trier a $40,000 annual commission to operate on campus, said Donald Goers, the district's assistant superintendent for business.
After the Tribune began asking questions about the arrangement, Goers said it may be re-examined.
"We were trying to look for a novel approach" for bookstore operations, he said. "We do need to go back and re-evaluate to see if this is still the best way."
Textbook sticker shock
4/17/2006
By Diane Rado, Tribune staff reporter. Staff reporters Ana Beatriz Cholo and Darnell Little contributing.
Chicago Tribune
In Illinois, books that cost $600 online can be $800 at school as fees and markups drive up the prices
By the time Loryn Kogan got out of the New Trier Township High School Bookstore in August, the bill was nearly $800 for her two sons' textbooks--materials that are free to students in most states.
What disturbed the North Shore mother the most, however, was that she later found the same books at Amazon.com for nearly $200 less. She quickly bought the books online and returned the others to New Trier.
Kogan didn't know it, but the district contracts with a private company to run its bookstore and allows the firm to mark up new books by 20 percent over cost.
The contract is unusual because private booksellers usually are found on college campuses. But markups as high as 25 percent are not uncommon in some of Illinois' largest public school districts, a Tribune investigation has found.
High schools in the Oak Park and River Forest, Glenbard and Elmhurst school districts, among others, also mark up books sold to students, though they run their own bookstore operations.
According to state law, districts can charge extra to cover shipping and handling, but how those costs are defined is in question.
Districts say they can tack on the cost of salaries for staff involved in bookstore operations, saying that fits into the definition of "handling." But schools already collect local property taxes to pay salaries for school employees.
The law is "far from crystal clear" on the matter, said Jonathan Furr, general counsel of the Illinois State Board of Education.
In general, Illinois law seeks to control costs to ensure the best deals for students, he said.
"I certainly think the state board is going to have concerns about potential abuses in this area, and I think we would be interested in looking at the specific facts of these cases and reviewing whether or not those costs should be allowed," Furr said.
Illinois pays for public education mostly with local property taxes, rather than state dollars, and the $29.1 million state budget for textbooks has been flat to declining since 2000-01.
With most districts struggling with deficits and voters rejecting tax increases, nearly all districts rely on parents to buy their children's books or pay fees to offset book purchases.
Too few books, and they're old
Even with parents' help, however, districts are struggling with book shortages and texts that are outdated and worn, a Tribune investigation found in a survey of 50 districts of varying wealth and size across all regions.
Illinois collects more textbook revenue from parents than any other state, about $74 million in 2002-03, according to the most recent federal data. Twenty-eight states collect no textbook fees.
Updated figures from the Illinois State Board of Education show districts collecting $87 million from book fees or sales in 2004-05, three times more than the state provides for textbooks.
The figure is likely an underestimate because it excludes some districts, such as New Trier, where the private Follett Higher Education Group had sales of about $1.3 million, according to the district. Chicago Public Schools also did not report book revenue because individual schools collect their own fees.
Elmhurst District 205 did not report $548,186 from high school book sales because it was accounted for separately and excluded from state financial reports, said Patricia Palmere, assistant superintendent for finance. Students got $169,888 in credits for future purchases by selling books back, she said.
Districts typically have such buyback programs. They also waive book fees for impoverished students and offer installment plans so parents to spread out book payments.
Still, some parents are shocked by the price tag for attending a public high school.
Prices add up for parents
Laura Font paid $442.26 for her freshman son's books this year at Elmhurst's York Community High School; that didn't include other fees that pushed the bill to more than $500.
"When they totaled it up, I couldn't believe what it cost," said Font, a public school teacher in DuPage County. "If you have two or three high school students, you're talking about $1,500 to start school, and you haven't even bought shoes or clothes."
Not all parents pay that much. More than 500 districts, most of them Downstate, reported collecting $50 or less per student for textbooks on average in 2004-05, according to state figures.
Fees are steeper around Chicago, with about 70 districts, mostly in the six-county suburban area, collecting at least $100 per studenton average. A dozen districts reported at least $200 per student for textbooks, though some said their revenue included other fees unrelated to books. The Illinois Constitution states that education in public schools "shall be free," interpreted by courts to mean free classes and instruction--but not free books.
Elsewhere, education officials were surprised that Illinois charges for books. "That is illegal in California; textbooks have to be free," said Tom Adams, a top curriculum official at the California Department of Education.
Illinois educators said books tend to be replaced more often when districts charge parents rather than rely on state funds.
Cheryl Witham, chief financial officer in Oak Park and River Forest high school district, said she has worked outside of Illinois and has found that when fees weren't charged "over time, that curriculum became stale."
Districts defend markups
Her district marks up new books by 25 percent for shipping and handling, which she said can include bookstore employee salaries, based on the advice of the school district's attorney. Elmhurst District 205 has a 25 percent markup to cover overhead at its bookstore.
Glenbard High School District 87 in DuPage County has a 20 percent markup on new books, and Township High School District 113 in Lake County charges a 15 percent markup, plus shipping costs, on new books. District 113 officials said they don't exceed 15 percent because of a lawsuit in the late 1970s over unreasonable charges for books, and they cap book prices at $85, regardless of cost.
District officials stressed that their markups are over discounted prices they get from publishers, so students should still be able to get textbooks for less than retail prices.
But Kogan, of Wilmette, was able to find better prices on Amazon.com.
She said she bought mostly new books for her sons at New Trier, because used books get snapped up quickly and sometimes aren't available. She wanted to bring the books home before shopping online to make sure she could find exact matches.
Kogan found several better deals, she said, including a $63.49 advanced biology book on Amazon.com that cost her $98.95 used at New Trier.
Follett, which operates college bookstores around the nation, pays New Trier a $40,000 annual commission to operate on campus, said Donald Goers, the district's assistant superintendent for business.
After the Tribune began asking questions about the arrangement, Goers said it may be re-examined.
"We were trying to look for a novel approach" for bookstore operations, he said. "We do need to go back and re-evaluate to see if this is still the best way."
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Money won't improve schools
The following letter to the editor appeared in the Northwest Herald.
Money won't improve schools
[published on Mon, Apr 17, 2006]
Money won't improve schools
To the Editor:
Thirty years of experience has shown us that spending more money doesn't produce better schools.
The "it's for the kids" argument is losing its effectiveness, as most education referendums have failed in recent years.
Rather than promise what they can't deliver – better schools – the new strategy of the education establishment is to threaten to make schools worse if referendums don't pass. Threats of unnecessary cuts in extracurricular activities fill the news.
Rational people know that a public school system capable of decades of mediocrity certainly is capable of shortchanging students even further.
Because busy people don't have the time or energy to demand change, they give into threats.
Taxpayers continue to increase revenue to public schools at a rate that outpaces both inflation and enrollment growth.
But because of the Illinois public school finance culture, no increase in funding ever will be enough.
Very few certified public accountants, or people with master's degrees in business administration or serious private-sector business experience sit on school boards or serve as district chief financial officers.
The Illinois Constitution calls for an "efficient system of high quality."
Public schools lack the proper incentives to fulfill this mandate. We need school choice.
John Biver
Carpentersville
Money won't improve schools
[published on Mon, Apr 17, 2006]
Money won't improve schools
To the Editor:
Thirty years of experience has shown us that spending more money doesn't produce better schools.
The "it's for the kids" argument is losing its effectiveness, as most education referendums have failed in recent years.
Rather than promise what they can't deliver – better schools – the new strategy of the education establishment is to threaten to make schools worse if referendums don't pass. Threats of unnecessary cuts in extracurricular activities fill the news.
Rational people know that a public school system capable of decades of mediocrity certainly is capable of shortchanging students even further.
Because busy people don't have the time or energy to demand change, they give into threats.
Taxpayers continue to increase revenue to public schools at a rate that outpaces both inflation and enrollment growth.
But because of the Illinois public school finance culture, no increase in funding ever will be enough.
Very few certified public accountants, or people with master's degrees in business administration or serious private-sector business experience sit on school boards or serve as district chief financial officers.
The Illinois Constitution calls for an "efficient system of high quality."
Public schools lack the proper incentives to fulfill this mandate. We need school choice.
John Biver
Carpentersville
Monday, April 17, 2006
Money won't cure spenders
The following letter to the editor appeared in the Northwest Herald. To read this story in the Northwest Herald. Click on the title of the post.
Money won't cure spenders
[published on Mon, Apr 17, 2006]
Money won't cure spenders
To the Editor:
Dig deep; property tax bills are due in a few short weeks, and guess what? The new school taxes are retroactive to last year.
Surprised they raised your taxes for last year, too? They're going to skyrocket every year now.
The con men in your school district are laughing all the way to the bank.
Be sure to attend the next school board meeting; the agenda is "bigger raises for everyone" (and a super bonus with perks for the great administrator, too).
Does anyone think we've cured the education money problem? They've already planned the next referendum.
I really do feel sorry for our elderly; they've given everything, and now are forced to move because of education's taxing greed.
In a few short years, all the brainwashed students who celebrated this past election will realize that they can't afford a house or apartment, thanks to education insanity.
With 90 percent of your property tax going to education, how long before we have monthly property tax bills more than $1,000? Weekly?
It's a disgrace, criminal and has bankrupted the county, state and our future.
I do feel sorry for our schools. They are sick, and money won't cure them.
Bill Russin
Richmond
Money won't cure spenders
[published on Mon, Apr 17, 2006]
Money won't cure spenders
To the Editor:
Dig deep; property tax bills are due in a few short weeks, and guess what? The new school taxes are retroactive to last year.
Surprised they raised your taxes for last year, too? They're going to skyrocket every year now.
The con men in your school district are laughing all the way to the bank.
Be sure to attend the next school board meeting; the agenda is "bigger raises for everyone" (and a super bonus with perks for the great administrator, too).
Does anyone think we've cured the education money problem? They've already planned the next referendum.
I really do feel sorry for our elderly; they've given everything, and now are forced to move because of education's taxing greed.
In a few short years, all the brainwashed students who celebrated this past election will realize that they can't afford a house or apartment, thanks to education insanity.
With 90 percent of your property tax going to education, how long before we have monthly property tax bills more than $1,000? Weekly?
It's a disgrace, criminal and has bankrupted the county, state and our future.
I do feel sorry for our schools. They are sick, and money won't cure them.
Bill Russin
Richmond
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Dr. Phony Ph.D.
How many teachers or administrators purchased their degrees on-line in your district? The below story appeared in the Daily Southtown newspaper.
Dr. Phony Ph.D.
4/16/2006
By Kati Phillips
Daily Southtown
Special ed director had fake degrees
The director of one of the state's worst elementary school special education programs purchased her Ph.D. for about $250 from an Internet diploma mill specializing in metaphysical theology.
This is one of three apparently fake credentials on Judith Blakely's resume, the Daily Southtown has learned.
Blakely, who earns $75,000 a year as director of student services at Calumet Park School District 132, claims to be a 2000 graduate of the business ethics doctorate program at the American College of Metaphysical Theology, according to a copy of her resume obtained by the Southtown.
The suburban Minneapolis, Minn., outfit advertises a Ph.D. for a fee of $249 on its Web site, up from the $199 deal it offered when Blakely purchased hers.
The school has no campus, awards credit for "life experiences," and boasts most students graduate in 60 days.
Getting a Ph.D., according to the school's Web site, could mean increased salary, enhanced prestige and heightened credibility for recipients.
"Psychologically, the title 'Doctor' and the word 'healing' have a natural affinity in one's mind," it reads.
The Daily Southtown performed a background check on Blakely - turning up this fake degree and other false information - after reviewing state reports that outlined compliance problems within the Calumet Park School District 132 special education program, many of which predated her hire in 2003.
The Illinois State Board of Education is threatening to "nonrecognize" the district and withhold as much as $6.7 million this year and next if the issues are not corrected.
Blakely oversees $500,000 in grant money and the 1,300-student district's special education, bilingual and tutoring programs.
The ISBE has found that grant expenditures were not tracked, teachers were not certified in special education, and speech therapy and social work services were not provided to students.
When reached at the telephone number listed for her education consulting firm Thursday, Blakely declined to comment on the problems with the District 132 special education program on the advice of her lawyer, whom she declined to name.
Attempts to reach American College of Metaphysical Theology to verify Blakely's doctorate were unsuccessful.
A 1-800 number listed on the Web site rang to a woman who said she knew nothing about the college. The college did not respond to an e-mail request for verification.
Calumet Park School District 132 Supt. Doris Hope-Jackson, hired in 2004, was not surprised to hear Blakely had misrepresented her background.
Hope-Jackson said she had recommended the school board send Blakely for additional special education training because of ongoing problems in the program.
"I told (board president) Mr. Connor, I'm concerned. Things she should know, she doesn't know," Jackson said. "He said to let it go."
The phony Ph.D. is not the only fake degree on Blakely's resume, and Blakely did not respond to requests for information about the errors on her resume.
The Daily Southtown provided Blakely's maiden and married names, a partial Social Security number and partial birth date to other institutions she listed on her resume.
Two other degrees appear to be falsified.
Blakely claims she earned a "Master Online Teacher Certification" from the University of Illinois at Chicago, in 2003.
The title puzzled spokesman Bill Burton, who said that program did not exist. He checked variations of the title with university officials.
The university does not offer a master teaching certificate online nor does it offer a degree in online teaching, he said. And there was no record of a Judith Blakely Riggins attending the school in 2003 either, he said.
In addition, Blakely's resume lists two doctors of education degrees from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - one in higher education in 1998 and one in school leadership in 1993.
But spokesman Gariot Louima said Blakely received just one doctor of education degree in education leadership and that was in 1995.
Some educational experience listed on Blakely's resume checks out.
She did receive a master's degree from Governors State University in 2002. A spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Education confirmed Blakely holds elementary and early childhood certificates and both superintendent and general administrator endorsements. She also has approvals for learning behavior specialist and building administrator for special education, he said.
A Chicago State University spokeswoman did not return a call last week to confirm Blakely received a master's degree there in 1985 and a bachelor's degree in 1980, as stated on her resume.
Prior to being hired as the director of student services at District 132, she was a well-regarded head teacher at Worthridge School, which is part of the Eisenhower Cooperative.
She is an adjunct professor at City Colleges of Chicago and DeVry University and is the executive director of the Best Practices in Education Consulting Firm in Homewood.
BPE LLC was approved in 2003 by the state to provide continuing education and professional development units to teachers, a state spokesman said.
On Supt. Hope-Jackson's recommendation, the District 132 school board on a recent 4 to 3 vote did not renew Blakely's contract for next year.
Blakely has not returned to work at the district since the state issued an 11-page non-compliance report in March. She has missed more than 90 days of work due to vacation and illness.
To view the rest of the story go in the Daily Southtown click here.
Dr. Phony Ph.D.
4/16/2006
By Kati Phillips
Daily Southtown
Special ed director had fake degrees
The director of one of the state's worst elementary school special education programs purchased her Ph.D. for about $250 from an Internet diploma mill specializing in metaphysical theology.
This is one of three apparently fake credentials on Judith Blakely's resume, the Daily Southtown has learned.
Blakely, who earns $75,000 a year as director of student services at Calumet Park School District 132, claims to be a 2000 graduate of the business ethics doctorate program at the American College of Metaphysical Theology, according to a copy of her resume obtained by the Southtown.
The suburban Minneapolis, Minn., outfit advertises a Ph.D. for a fee of $249 on its Web site, up from the $199 deal it offered when Blakely purchased hers.
The school has no campus, awards credit for "life experiences," and boasts most students graduate in 60 days.
Getting a Ph.D., according to the school's Web site, could mean increased salary, enhanced prestige and heightened credibility for recipients.
"Psychologically, the title 'Doctor' and the word 'healing' have a natural affinity in one's mind," it reads.
The Daily Southtown performed a background check on Blakely - turning up this fake degree and other false information - after reviewing state reports that outlined compliance problems within the Calumet Park School District 132 special education program, many of which predated her hire in 2003.
The Illinois State Board of Education is threatening to "nonrecognize" the district and withhold as much as $6.7 million this year and next if the issues are not corrected.
Blakely oversees $500,000 in grant money and the 1,300-student district's special education, bilingual and tutoring programs.
The ISBE has found that grant expenditures were not tracked, teachers were not certified in special education, and speech therapy and social work services were not provided to students.
When reached at the telephone number listed for her education consulting firm Thursday, Blakely declined to comment on the problems with the District 132 special education program on the advice of her lawyer, whom she declined to name.
Attempts to reach American College of Metaphysical Theology to verify Blakely's doctorate were unsuccessful.
A 1-800 number listed on the Web site rang to a woman who said she knew nothing about the college. The college did not respond to an e-mail request for verification.
Calumet Park School District 132 Supt. Doris Hope-Jackson, hired in 2004, was not surprised to hear Blakely had misrepresented her background.
Hope-Jackson said she had recommended the school board send Blakely for additional special education training because of ongoing problems in the program.
"I told (board president) Mr. Connor, I'm concerned. Things she should know, she doesn't know," Jackson said. "He said to let it go."
The phony Ph.D. is not the only fake degree on Blakely's resume, and Blakely did not respond to requests for information about the errors on her resume.
The Daily Southtown provided Blakely's maiden and married names, a partial Social Security number and partial birth date to other institutions she listed on her resume.
Two other degrees appear to be falsified.
Blakely claims she earned a "Master Online Teacher Certification" from the University of Illinois at Chicago, in 2003.
The title puzzled spokesman Bill Burton, who said that program did not exist. He checked variations of the title with university officials.
The university does not offer a master teaching certificate online nor does it offer a degree in online teaching, he said. And there was no record of a Judith Blakely Riggins attending the school in 2003 either, he said.
In addition, Blakely's resume lists two doctors of education degrees from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - one in higher education in 1998 and one in school leadership in 1993.
But spokesman Gariot Louima said Blakely received just one doctor of education degree in education leadership and that was in 1995.
Some educational experience listed on Blakely's resume checks out.
She did receive a master's degree from Governors State University in 2002. A spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Education confirmed Blakely holds elementary and early childhood certificates and both superintendent and general administrator endorsements. She also has approvals for learning behavior specialist and building administrator for special education, he said.
A Chicago State University spokeswoman did not return a call last week to confirm Blakely received a master's degree there in 1985 and a bachelor's degree in 1980, as stated on her resume.
Prior to being hired as the director of student services at District 132, she was a well-regarded head teacher at Worthridge School, which is part of the Eisenhower Cooperative.
She is an adjunct professor at City Colleges of Chicago and DeVry University and is the executive director of the Best Practices in Education Consulting Firm in Homewood.
BPE LLC was approved in 2003 by the state to provide continuing education and professional development units to teachers, a state spokesman said.
On Supt. Hope-Jackson's recommendation, the District 132 school board on a recent 4 to 3 vote did not renew Blakely's contract for next year.
Blakely has not returned to work at the district since the state issued an 11-page non-compliance report in March. She has missed more than 90 days of work due to vacation and illness.
To view the rest of the story go in the Daily Southtown click here.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Those seeking tax increases will never have enough
Those seeking tax increases will never have enough
By Jim Peschke
They didn't even wait for the ink to dry on their property tax increases. Barely one week after browbeating homeowners into new taxes, Advance 300 joins Huntley's tax-n-spend crowd to demand even more of your money. The state, not the county collector, will do their dirty work this time.
The plan follows the same formula used to get your property taxes. A "citizens group" is being formed to provide the illusion that the plan is the result of community input. In reality, the plan has already been determined. I'll save residents the trouble of attending their meetings (Google "Delphi Technique") by explaining what they plan to do.
The plan, often called HB-750, is the work of Ralph Martire from the union-funded Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. It has many variations, but its central theme is to raise state taxes with a promise to reduce property taxes.
It is euphemistically called a "tax swap." In reality, the tax increases always outweigh the tax cuts, typically between four to eight billion dollars per year. Under this plan, the new taxes and education spending levels would be guaranteed by law. However, the property tax cuts are not.
Supporters of HB-750 spin eloquent yet flawed arguments as to why this is such a good idea, but cannot escape the simple reality that HB-750 represents an enormous tax increase with no accountability. District 300's recent tax increase will cost homeowners hundreds of millions. Where does it end? Will they ever be satisfied?!
BEST and Advance 300 had better hurry. Once residents feel the pain of their recent property tax increases, a state tax increase will become an even harder sell.
By Jim Peschke
They didn't even wait for the ink to dry on their property tax increases. Barely one week after browbeating homeowners into new taxes, Advance 300 joins Huntley's tax-n-spend crowd to demand even more of your money. The state, not the county collector, will do their dirty work this time.
The plan follows the same formula used to get your property taxes. A "citizens group" is being formed to provide the illusion that the plan is the result of community input. In reality, the plan has already been determined. I'll save residents the trouble of attending their meetings (Google "Delphi Technique") by explaining what they plan to do.
The plan, often called HB-750, is the work of Ralph Martire from the union-funded Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. It has many variations, but its central theme is to raise state taxes with a promise to reduce property taxes.
It is euphemistically called a "tax swap." In reality, the tax increases always outweigh the tax cuts, typically between four to eight billion dollars per year. Under this plan, the new taxes and education spending levels would be guaranteed by law. However, the property tax cuts are not.
Supporters of HB-750 spin eloquent yet flawed arguments as to why this is such a good idea, but cannot escape the simple reality that HB-750 represents an enormous tax increase with no accountability. District 300's recent tax increase will cost homeowners hundreds of millions. Where does it end? Will they ever be satisfied?!
BEST and Advance 300 had better hurry. Once residents feel the pain of their recent property tax increases, a state tax increase will become an even harder sell.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Laws for special interests groups by special interests groups.
The following article appeared in the Northwest Herald.
This is a perfect example of how special interests groups have boarded the public education gravy train. This legislation was initially proposed by of all people surprise surprise a legislator who is a dentist. It is time for Citizens for Reasonable And Fair Taxes (CRAFT) to propose a law that all students must purchase one CRAFT chocolate chip cookie each month for the teacher union price of 10 dollars each. CRAFT would make a killing. This law shows yet again how must legislation is to benefit special interests groups and not the children. This is yet again taking parental care out of parents hands in putting in the hands of special interests groups and the public education system.
Deadline for children's dental exam looms
[published on Fri, Apr 14, 2006]
By ELIZABETH SABRIO
esabrio@nwherald.com
If your child has not been to the dentist in the last 18 months, you may need to schedule an appointment before May 15.
Children in kindergarten, 2nd and 6th grades are required to have a dental exam by May 15 of their school year, or present proof that one will occur in the 60 days after that date, following an Illinois law that went into effect last summer. The exam may have been completed within 18 months prior to the May 15 deadline.
Children may qualify for a waiver from the requirement if their parents or guardians can demonstrate an undue burden or lack of access to the dentist.
Securing dental health at a young age is vital to secure overall health in the future, Illinois State Dental Society President Dr. Joseph Hagenbruch said.
"The back teeth, or molars, usually erupt during 2nd and 6th grades, allowing dentists the opportunity to apply dental sealants following the exam and helping to prevent future cavities," Hagenbruch said. "It is so important for kids to start seeing their dentist for regular checkups at an early age."
Though the state suggested withholding report cards as one consequence of missing the deadline, Woodstock School District 200 decided against that measure.
"It is not that much of a deterrent," District 200 lead nurse Barb Matlak said.
About two thirds of the children in Mary Endres Elementary, where Matlak works, have presented proof of dental exams, she said.
To help parents comply with the new law, District 200 sent out letters last spring with their registration packets, reminded parents about dental exam opportunities over the summer, and even brought a dentist into schools to perform exams with parent permission in February and March. They mailed more reminders to parents before spring break, Matlak said.
All parents also get a copy of the school handbook at the start of the school year, which includes info on immunization and other health deadlines, such as the new dental law, District 200 Director of Community Services Barbara Banker said. The information is also available on the district's Web site.
For the rest of the story go to Northwest Herald.
This is a perfect example of how special interests groups have boarded the public education gravy train. This legislation was initially proposed by of all people surprise surprise a legislator who is a dentist. It is time for Citizens for Reasonable And Fair Taxes (CRAFT) to propose a law that all students must purchase one CRAFT chocolate chip cookie each month for the teacher union price of 10 dollars each. CRAFT would make a killing. This law shows yet again how must legislation is to benefit special interests groups and not the children. This is yet again taking parental care out of parents hands in putting in the hands of special interests groups and the public education system.
Deadline for children's dental exam looms
[published on Fri, Apr 14, 2006]
By ELIZABETH SABRIO
esabrio@nwherald.com
If your child has not been to the dentist in the last 18 months, you may need to schedule an appointment before May 15.
Children in kindergarten, 2nd and 6th grades are required to have a dental exam by May 15 of their school year, or present proof that one will occur in the 60 days after that date, following an Illinois law that went into effect last summer. The exam may have been completed within 18 months prior to the May 15 deadline.
Children may qualify for a waiver from the requirement if their parents or guardians can demonstrate an undue burden or lack of access to the dentist.
Securing dental health at a young age is vital to secure overall health in the future, Illinois State Dental Society President Dr. Joseph Hagenbruch said.
"The back teeth, or molars, usually erupt during 2nd and 6th grades, allowing dentists the opportunity to apply dental sealants following the exam and helping to prevent future cavities," Hagenbruch said. "It is so important for kids to start seeing their dentist for regular checkups at an early age."
Though the state suggested withholding report cards as one consequence of missing the deadline, Woodstock School District 200 decided against that measure.
"It is not that much of a deterrent," District 200 lead nurse Barb Matlak said.
About two thirds of the children in Mary Endres Elementary, where Matlak works, have presented proof of dental exams, she said.
To help parents comply with the new law, District 200 sent out letters last spring with their registration packets, reminded parents about dental exam opportunities over the summer, and even brought a dentist into schools to perform exams with parent permission in February and March. They mailed more reminders to parents before spring break, Matlak said.
All parents also get a copy of the school handbook at the start of the school year, which includes info on immunization and other health deadlines, such as the new dental law, District 200 Director of Community Services Barbara Banker said. The information is also available on the district's Web site.
For the rest of the story go to Northwest Herald.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
President to rest of board: 'Keep quiet'
The following article appeared in the Daily Southtown and on the Student's First website on April 13th. We at CRAFT are glad to see the press covering this story. We have had complaints of this happening from taxpayers and board members in school districts across the state.
President to rest of board: 'Keep quiet'
4/13/2006 By Michael Drakulich Daily Southtown
Monday's meeting of the Orland District 135 school board erupted into a shouting match several times after the board president tried to prevent opposing board members from making comments.
Early in the meeting, board president John Paul admonished some board members for publicly embarrassing outgoing Supt. Linda Anast-May and hinted that they tried to hurt the district's chances of hiring a new superintendent.
So, he's not letting them talk. For Monday's meeting, Paul removed a section of the agenda that allowed for board member comments.
In his speech, Paul did not name any board member but his comments appeared to be aimed at Kathy Svabek and Suzanne Cachey, who've clashed with the board majority and at the March 9 meeting revealed that Cook County prosecutors had requested a copy of Anast-May's contract.
Because the state's attorney's request was made in October, Paul questioned the timing of Cachey and Svabek's comments, saying it nearly ruined the district's chances of attracting qualified candidates to replace Anast-May.
"Do you realize how close we came to blowing this? Do you realize how close we came, with all this garbage that was written about this district? The fact (is) that we could have ended up in a situation where we wouldn't have had any candidates to choose from. Thank God, we were lucky there," Paul said.
When they tried to speak, Paul repeatedly interrupted Cachey, Svabek and board member Tom Cunningham.
But Cunningham managed to voice some criticism of Paul, saying Paul had "sandbagged" other board member's attempts to rebut his comments and accusing Paul of often withholding information from board members.
"This is insane. Too many times I've come to the table here and not known a thing about what we're voting on," Cunningham said.
Cunningham, Svabek and Cachey all asked for the portion of the agenda allowing board member comments to be reinstated, but Paul refused, telling the three that "when you know how to use (it), we will put (it) back in."
Svabek said Tuesday that she was not surprised by Paul's attempts to prevent the three board members from speaking.
"Unfortunately, for the past year with him as president, it's been common practice," she said. "It (Monday) was one of the most sophomoric displays of bullying by a school board member I've seen."
The growing division within the District 135 board prompted former board member Priscilla Galgan to read a prepared statement Monday, saying she was disappointed by the board's recent behavior and urged members to start behaving better toward each other.
"The business of educating these children is the community's business and should be conducted in front of the community," Galgan said. "The board should give the community a voice. Your work should be transparent, professional and above reproach."
She thanked Cachey and Svabek for "attempting to keep the board's actions legal and public. They are working in the public's best interest while trying to do what's best for our children."
President to rest of board: 'Keep quiet'
4/13/2006 By Michael Drakulich Daily Southtown
Monday's meeting of the Orland District 135 school board erupted into a shouting match several times after the board president tried to prevent opposing board members from making comments.
Early in the meeting, board president John Paul admonished some board members for publicly embarrassing outgoing Supt. Linda Anast-May and hinted that they tried to hurt the district's chances of hiring a new superintendent.
So, he's not letting them talk. For Monday's meeting, Paul removed a section of the agenda that allowed for board member comments.
In his speech, Paul did not name any board member but his comments appeared to be aimed at Kathy Svabek and Suzanne Cachey, who've clashed with the board majority and at the March 9 meeting revealed that Cook County prosecutors had requested a copy of Anast-May's contract.
Because the state's attorney's request was made in October, Paul questioned the timing of Cachey and Svabek's comments, saying it nearly ruined the district's chances of attracting qualified candidates to replace Anast-May.
"Do you realize how close we came to blowing this? Do you realize how close we came, with all this garbage that was written about this district? The fact (is) that we could have ended up in a situation where we wouldn't have had any candidates to choose from. Thank God, we were lucky there," Paul said.
When they tried to speak, Paul repeatedly interrupted Cachey, Svabek and board member Tom Cunningham.
But Cunningham managed to voice some criticism of Paul, saying Paul had "sandbagged" other board member's attempts to rebut his comments and accusing Paul of often withholding information from board members.
"This is insane. Too many times I've come to the table here and not known a thing about what we're voting on," Cunningham said.
Cunningham, Svabek and Cachey all asked for the portion of the agenda allowing board member comments to be reinstated, but Paul refused, telling the three that "when you know how to use (it), we will put (it) back in."
Svabek said Tuesday that she was not surprised by Paul's attempts to prevent the three board members from speaking.
"Unfortunately, for the past year with him as president, it's been common practice," she said. "It (Monday) was one of the most sophomoric displays of bullying by a school board member I've seen."
The growing division within the District 135 board prompted former board member Priscilla Galgan to read a prepared statement Monday, saying she was disappointed by the board's recent behavior and urged members to start behaving better toward each other.
"The business of educating these children is the community's business and should be conducted in front of the community," Galgan said. "The board should give the community a voice. Your work should be transparent, professional and above reproach."
She thanked Cachey and Svabek for "attempting to keep the board's actions legal and public. They are working in the public's best interest while trying to do what's best for our children."
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Do teachers really want you to know what is happening in the classroom?
John Stossel sent out the following email.
Last week I wrote you to say that this week I would teach school.
Last month, 500 angry schoolteachers assembled outside my office. The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) was furious that "Stupid in America" suggested that some union teachers were lazy. Randi Weingarten, head of New York City's union, took the microphone and hollered, "Just teach for a week!" She said I could select from many schools. "We got high schools, we got elementary schools, we got junior high schools!"
I accepted. I even said I'd let the union pick the school. I thought I'd learn more about how difficult teaching is. Above all, it was a chance to get our cameras into schools--something the N.Y. bureaucracy had forbidden -- so we could show you what was really going on.
But like most of our dealings with the union, nothing was easy. It took weeks of phone calls to make any sort of progress. I suspect this will not surprise public-school parents.
Finally, the union picked a school: Beacon High. Unfortunately, it's not a typical public school--it's "special." Beacon doesn't have the full incentives or flexibility of a private school: It can't go out of business, and it is burdened by bureaucratic rules and a union contract. But Beacon offers a limited form of what the union opposes: school choice. As with a private school, you don't have to go there, and they don't have to take you. Applicants must submit portfolios, and if too few chose Beacon, it wouldn't be able to remain special. To remain what it is, it must compete.
Beacon students have taken field trips to France, South Africa, and tellingly, Venezuela and Cuba. Beacon has rooms filled with computers. Ninety percent of Beacon's students graduate, while the average graduation rate for New York City public schools is only 53 percent.
I guess they didn't want me to look at a normal public school.
But this is the school the UFT picked, and I was up for the challenge. Who knows what I might have learned by teaching?
My producers went to a meeting at the school. The union representative didn't come, so we were told no decisions could be made. Lots of people came to a second meeting at the school: four people from the union, one person from the city Department of Education, and administrators and teachers from Beacon. They decided I might teach history classes and "media studies," but they would have to talk to more people.
You would think my teaching had been my crazy idea.
I prepped for my history classes. We had more meetings. The school principal had me sit in on a class with a "superstar" teacher. It was supposed to a history class, but he seemed to teach "victimhood in racist America." On the class door he posted a New York Times column denouncing the president for spending too much money on war. Can we say "left-wing"?
Then there were more meetings. Finally, after I sent last week's e-mail, they canceled. They said that it might "set a precedent" that would open their doors to other reporters.
Too bad. Letting cameras into schools would be a good thing. Taxpayers might finally get to see how more than $200,000 per classroom of their money was being spent. Maybe that's not something the government school monopoly wants people to see.
Last week I wrote you to say that this week I would teach school.
Last month, 500 angry schoolteachers assembled outside my office. The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) was furious that "Stupid in America" suggested that some union teachers were lazy. Randi Weingarten, head of New York City's union, took the microphone and hollered, "Just teach for a week!" She said I could select from many schools. "We got high schools, we got elementary schools, we got junior high schools!"
I accepted. I even said I'd let the union pick the school. I thought I'd learn more about how difficult teaching is. Above all, it was a chance to get our cameras into schools--something the N.Y. bureaucracy had forbidden -- so we could show you what was really going on.
But like most of our dealings with the union, nothing was easy. It took weeks of phone calls to make any sort of progress. I suspect this will not surprise public-school parents.
Finally, the union picked a school: Beacon High. Unfortunately, it's not a typical public school--it's "special." Beacon doesn't have the full incentives or flexibility of a private school: It can't go out of business, and it is burdened by bureaucratic rules and a union contract. But Beacon offers a limited form of what the union opposes: school choice. As with a private school, you don't have to go there, and they don't have to take you. Applicants must submit portfolios, and if too few chose Beacon, it wouldn't be able to remain special. To remain what it is, it must compete.
Beacon students have taken field trips to France, South Africa, and tellingly, Venezuela and Cuba. Beacon has rooms filled with computers. Ninety percent of Beacon's students graduate, while the average graduation rate for New York City public schools is only 53 percent.
I guess they didn't want me to look at a normal public school.
But this is the school the UFT picked, and I was up for the challenge. Who knows what I might have learned by teaching?
My producers went to a meeting at the school. The union representative didn't come, so we were told no decisions could be made. Lots of people came to a second meeting at the school: four people from the union, one person from the city Department of Education, and administrators and teachers from Beacon. They decided I might teach history classes and "media studies," but they would have to talk to more people.
You would think my teaching had been my crazy idea.
I prepped for my history classes. We had more meetings. The school principal had me sit in on a class with a "superstar" teacher. It was supposed to a history class, but he seemed to teach "victimhood in racist America." On the class door he posted a New York Times column denouncing the president for spending too much money on war. Can we say "left-wing"?
Then there were more meetings. Finally, after I sent last week's e-mail, they canceled. They said that it might "set a precedent" that would open their doors to other reporters.
Too bad. Letting cameras into schools would be a good thing. Taxpayers might finally get to see how more than $200,000 per classroom of their money was being spent. Maybe that's not something the government school monopoly wants people to see.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
A response to Time magazine's "Dropout Nation"
Dear Time Magazine:
I am surprised at the shallowness of the analysis in your “Dropout Nation”
article in which you lay the blame for our high dropout rate on high schools and their students. The fact that a child can legally bolt for the first time at age 16 does not mean that his/her problems started in high school.
Our public schools have taught us to blame educational failure on the child. If Johnny can’t read and consequently has behavior problems, his school will more likely drug him and hire a remedial specialist than ask whether his regular classroom teacher might be inept. In keeping with this paradigm, our legislators propose to solve our dropout problem by penalizing dropouts or forcing them to “graduate” by making it illegal to drop out. No thought is given to the possibility that perhaps the problem isn’t with the children.
What if our elementary and middle schools are the true source of the failure? During the past century, the “progressive” education ideologues that control our teachers’ colleges have been training elementary school teachers to eliminate virtually every shred of useful curriculum content. Many elementary schools no longer teach the skills that a child needs in order to enjoyably read a book or write a coherent paper. Most of our teachers use inept reading instruction techniques and suffer an aversion to teaching handwriting, punctuation, grammar, arithmetic and other basics, rendering the typical elementary school graduate both functionally and mathematically illiterate. No wonder high school is a bore.
Our dropouts are probably mostly just tired of being in the company of adults who are wasting their time. Decades of unionization and “progressivism” have reduced most of our elementary and middle schools to nothing more than overrated day-care facilities, where achievement and excellence are not only unrewarded but often reviled. Why would any intelligent kid want to spend a few more years in such a place?
So here’s a suggestion: let’s ditch the system that fails to inspire scholarly aspirations in our children and replace it with a system of school choice, where mostly only competent schools and educators will survive. If we keep wringing our hands and leaving our kids in the schools we have now, things can only get worse.
David Ziffer
Batavia, IL
REFERENCES
1. Most elementary schools are inept at teaching reading: The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been reporting since 1992 that approximately 40% of our fourth-graders are “below basic” (i.e. functionally illiterate) and an additional 30% are “below proficient” (i.e. struggling) in reading, for a total failure rate of 70%. Please refer to National Center for Education Statistics.
Ninety percent of American children are in public schools. Proven curricula and methods were available and in widespread use until the dawn of the “progressive” era in the 1930s. Even better curricula are available today, but few schools use them read Project Follow Through, then return to the table of contents for the issue containing this article and read the rest of the publication.
1. “Progressive” aversion to basics: two excellent books on the progressives’ devastation of our schools are:
1. “Left Back” by Diane Ravitch:
2. “Ed School Follies”
by Rita Kramer:
1. Excellence reviled in our schools: the heroes honored by our teachers’ colleges are people who have made a name for themselves by convincing teachers that the conventional wisdoms held by most sensible people are, in fact wrong. Sadly, teachers seem to subscribe to these notions without question (perhaps it boosts their self-esteem to hold what they believe to be superior knowledge). The ideas are lunacy: Rewards are punishments. Teachers shouldn’t teach. Grades are “degrading.” If you think I’m making this up, visit the web site of one of our teachers’ favorite heroes, Alfie Kohn: and click on “topics.”
Yes, this is what your kids’ teachers probably actually believe.
I am surprised at the shallowness of the analysis in your “Dropout Nation”
article in which you lay the blame for our high dropout rate on high schools and their students. The fact that a child can legally bolt for the first time at age 16 does not mean that his/her problems started in high school.
Our public schools have taught us to blame educational failure on the child. If Johnny can’t read and consequently has behavior problems, his school will more likely drug him and hire a remedial specialist than ask whether his regular classroom teacher might be inept. In keeping with this paradigm, our legislators propose to solve our dropout problem by penalizing dropouts or forcing them to “graduate” by making it illegal to drop out. No thought is given to the possibility that perhaps the problem isn’t with the children.
What if our elementary and middle schools are the true source of the failure? During the past century, the “progressive” education ideologues that control our teachers’ colleges have been training elementary school teachers to eliminate virtually every shred of useful curriculum content. Many elementary schools no longer teach the skills that a child needs in order to enjoyably read a book or write a coherent paper. Most of our teachers use inept reading instruction techniques and suffer an aversion to teaching handwriting, punctuation, grammar, arithmetic and other basics, rendering the typical elementary school graduate both functionally and mathematically illiterate. No wonder high school is a bore.
Our dropouts are probably mostly just tired of being in the company of adults who are wasting their time. Decades of unionization and “progressivism” have reduced most of our elementary and middle schools to nothing more than overrated day-care facilities, where achievement and excellence are not only unrewarded but often reviled. Why would any intelligent kid want to spend a few more years in such a place?
So here’s a suggestion: let’s ditch the system that fails to inspire scholarly aspirations in our children and replace it with a system of school choice, where mostly only competent schools and educators will survive. If we keep wringing our hands and leaving our kids in the schools we have now, things can only get worse.
David Ziffer
Batavia, IL
REFERENCES
1. Most elementary schools are inept at teaching reading: The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been reporting since 1992 that approximately 40% of our fourth-graders are “below basic” (i.e. functionally illiterate) and an additional 30% are “below proficient” (i.e. struggling) in reading, for a total failure rate of 70%. Please refer to National Center for Education Statistics.
Ninety percent of American children are in public schools. Proven curricula and methods were available and in widespread use until the dawn of the “progressive” era in the 1930s. Even better curricula are available today, but few schools use them read Project Follow Through, then return to the table of contents for the issue containing this article and read the rest of the publication.
1. “Progressive” aversion to basics: two excellent books on the progressives’ devastation of our schools are:
1. “Left Back” by Diane Ravitch:
2. “Ed School Follies”
by Rita Kramer:
1. Excellence reviled in our schools: the heroes honored by our teachers’ colleges are people who have made a name for themselves by convincing teachers that the conventional wisdoms held by most sensible people are, in fact wrong. Sadly, teachers seem to subscribe to these notions without question (perhaps it boosts their self-esteem to hold what they believe to be superior knowledge). The ideas are lunacy: Rewards are punishments. Teachers shouldn’t teach. Grades are “degrading.” If you think I’m making this up, visit the web site of one of our teachers’ favorite heroes, Alfie Kohn: and click on “topics.”
Yes, this is what your kids’ teachers probably actually believe.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Reforming education - By Mitt Romney
This is a great piece by the Governor of Massachusetts that appeared in the Washington Times. Sent to us via email.
For more on Mitt Romney click here.
Reforming education
By Mitt Romney
April 10, 2006 - Washington Times OpEd
I was in high school when Sputnik happened. Russia's lead in space frightened us. It also woke us up. President Kennedy issued a call to boost science and math education, to produce more engineers. His vision: Put a man on the moon. America, as always, rose to the occasion.
One could argue that there have been quite a few Sputniks lately, but that we haven't noticed. Tom Friedman's flat world is tilting toward Asia, taking investment and jobs. Of 120 new chemical plants worldwide with over $1 billion in capital, 50 are planned for China, only one for the United States. Bill Gates says Microsoft's best new ideas are coming from his Asian team. And last year, America bought $160 billion more from China than China bought from us. America is still way ahead, but in the words of Will Rogers: "Even if you're on the right track, if you don't move, you'll get run over." It's time we get moving, starting with education. First, close the Excellence Gap. American 15-year-olds rank 24th out of 29 OECD countries in math literacy and 19th in science. Fifteen years ago, the United States and Asia produced about the same number of Ph.D.'s in math and physical science: 4,700 a year. Today, we graduate 4,400; Asia graduates 24,900. Second, close the Achievement Gap. Failing urban schools are a dead end for too many minority children. This is the civil rights issue of our generation.
How to close the education gaps? The teacher's unions have their answers: simply spend more money and hire more teachers for smaller classroom size. But the data show that those are not the answers at all. Massachusetts tests our kids regularly; when studentproficiencyis matched with classroom size and per-pupil spending, there is absolutely no relationship. In fact, the district with the highest per-pupil spending in our state -- almost $19,000 per student -- is in the bottom 10 percent of our state in student proficiency.
We found our education prescription by interviewing parents, teachers and principals, studying actual data, mining lessons from successful districts and charter schools, and digesting the recommendations from commissions and experts. Here are some of the real answers:
1) Make teaching a true profession. The 19th-century industrial labor-union model doesn't make sense for educating children. Teachers aren't manufacturing widgets. Better teachers should have better pay, advancement opportunities and mentoring responsibilities. Better pay should also accompany the most challenging assignments -- needed specialties like math and science, advanced placement skills and extra effort.
2) Let the leaders lead. Superintendents and principals must have authority to hire, deploy resources, assign mentors and training, and remove nonperformers. Seniority cannot trump the needs of our children.
3) Measure up. Over union objections, Massachusetts implemented standardized testing and a mandatory graduation exam. With measurement, we finally see our successes and failures and can take corrective action. Without measurement, we were blind.
4) Let freedom ring. When parents, teachers and kids are free to choose their school, everyone benefits. Charter schools free of union restraints and, yes, even home schools, teach lessons we can apply to improve standard public schools.
5) Pull in the parents. Teachers tell us that the best predictor of student success is parental involvement. For our lowest-performing schools, I've proposed mandatory parental preparation courses. Over two days, parents learn about America's education culture, homework, school discipline, available after-school programs, what TV is harmful or helpful and so on. And for parents who don't speak English, help them understand why their child's English immersion in school is a key to a bright future.
6) Raise the bar. Our kids need to be pushed harder. Less about self-esteem; more about learning. I have proposed advanced math and science schools for the very brightest (the one we have is a huge success, but we need more); advanced placement in every high school, more teachers with serious science and math credentials, and laptop computers for every middle- and high-school student. We've also added science as a graduation exam requirement, in addition to math and English.
These ideas should sound familiar -- they turn up in virtually every unbiased look at education. The opposition comes from some teachers unions. They fight better pay for better teachers, principal authority, testing and standards, school choice and English immersion. With their focus on themselves and their members, they have failed to see how we have failed our children. But that will change as testing produces data and data debunks the myth that more and more spending is the answer.
A continuing failure to close the excellence and achievement gaps would have catastrophic consequences, for individual human lives left short of their potential, and for our nation. Students around the world are racing ahead of ours. If we don't move, we'll become the France of the 21st century, starting as a superpower and exiting as something far less. Education must be one of our first priorities, as it was when Sputnik was launched the last time. We succeeded before. We will do it again.
Mitt Romney is governor of Massachusetts.
For more on Mitt Romney click here.
Reforming education
By Mitt Romney
April 10, 2006 - Washington Times OpEd
I was in high school when Sputnik happened. Russia's lead in space frightened us. It also woke us up. President Kennedy issued a call to boost science and math education, to produce more engineers. His vision: Put a man on the moon. America, as always, rose to the occasion.
One could argue that there have been quite a few Sputniks lately, but that we haven't noticed. Tom Friedman's flat world is tilting toward Asia, taking investment and jobs. Of 120 new chemical plants worldwide with over $1 billion in capital, 50 are planned for China, only one for the United States. Bill Gates says Microsoft's best new ideas are coming from his Asian team. And last year, America bought $160 billion more from China than China bought from us. America is still way ahead, but in the words of Will Rogers: "Even if you're on the right track, if you don't move, you'll get run over." It's time we get moving, starting with education. First, close the Excellence Gap. American 15-year-olds rank 24th out of 29 OECD countries in math literacy and 19th in science. Fifteen years ago, the United States and Asia produced about the same number of Ph.D.'s in math and physical science: 4,700 a year. Today, we graduate 4,400; Asia graduates 24,900. Second, close the Achievement Gap. Failing urban schools are a dead end for too many minority children. This is the civil rights issue of our generation.
How to close the education gaps? The teacher's unions have their answers: simply spend more money and hire more teachers for smaller classroom size. But the data show that those are not the answers at all. Massachusetts tests our kids regularly; when studentproficiencyis matched with classroom size and per-pupil spending, there is absolutely no relationship. In fact, the district with the highest per-pupil spending in our state -- almost $19,000 per student -- is in the bottom 10 percent of our state in student proficiency.
We found our education prescription by interviewing parents, teachers and principals, studying actual data, mining lessons from successful districts and charter schools, and digesting the recommendations from commissions and experts. Here are some of the real answers:
1) Make teaching a true profession. The 19th-century industrial labor-union model doesn't make sense for educating children. Teachers aren't manufacturing widgets. Better teachers should have better pay, advancement opportunities and mentoring responsibilities. Better pay should also accompany the most challenging assignments -- needed specialties like math and science, advanced placement skills and extra effort.
2) Let the leaders lead. Superintendents and principals must have authority to hire, deploy resources, assign mentors and training, and remove nonperformers. Seniority cannot trump the needs of our children.
3) Measure up. Over union objections, Massachusetts implemented standardized testing and a mandatory graduation exam. With measurement, we finally see our successes and failures and can take corrective action. Without measurement, we were blind.
4) Let freedom ring. When parents, teachers and kids are free to choose their school, everyone benefits. Charter schools free of union restraints and, yes, even home schools, teach lessons we can apply to improve standard public schools.
5) Pull in the parents. Teachers tell us that the best predictor of student success is parental involvement. For our lowest-performing schools, I've proposed mandatory parental preparation courses. Over two days, parents learn about America's education culture, homework, school discipline, available after-school programs, what TV is harmful or helpful and so on. And for parents who don't speak English, help them understand why their child's English immersion in school is a key to a bright future.
6) Raise the bar. Our kids need to be pushed harder. Less about self-esteem; more about learning. I have proposed advanced math and science schools for the very brightest (the one we have is a huge success, but we need more); advanced placement in every high school, more teachers with serious science and math credentials, and laptop computers for every middle- and high-school student. We've also added science as a graduation exam requirement, in addition to math and English.
These ideas should sound familiar -- they turn up in virtually every unbiased look at education. The opposition comes from some teachers unions. They fight better pay for better teachers, principal authority, testing and standards, school choice and English immersion. With their focus on themselves and their members, they have failed to see how we have failed our children. But that will change as testing produces data and data debunks the myth that more and more spending is the answer.
A continuing failure to close the excellence and achievement gaps would have catastrophic consequences, for individual human lives left short of their potential, and for our nation. Students around the world are racing ahead of ours. If we don't move, we'll become the France of the 21st century, starting as a superpower and exiting as something far less. Education must be one of our first priorities, as it was when Sputnik was launched the last time. We succeeded before. We will do it again.
Mitt Romney is governor of Massachusetts.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Wall Street Journal-Courts Flunk the Civics Test
The following article was sent to us by our finance guy Pete Speer and appeared in the April 8th edition of the Wall Street Journal.
For a review and information to order Mr. Sandler and Mr. Schoenbrod book go to Amazon.com.
Wall Street Journal
Courts Flunk the Civics Test
By ROSS SANDLER and DAVID SCHOENBROD
April 8, 2006; Page A9
On March 23, a New York appellate court ordered the state legislature to provide an additional $4.7 billion for operating the New York City schools, plus another $9.2 billion for construction. These are immense sums, even in the Empire State. The advocacy group that brought the suit, Campaign for Fiscal Equity, declared the court's decision would "get real action" because the legislature must "come up with a solution now, right now." This was good spin, but it's not true.
Contrary to a widespread misconception, courts have no power to force a state legislature to appropriate money; nevertheless the ersatz order, coming as it did in the final days of the state's budget process, could tilt the legislators towards more spending. This is apparently what is happening in Albany, where, in a partial tip of their hats to the court, legislators authorized $11.2 billion in new debt to pay for school construction in New York City.
And what was pulled off in Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. v. New York seems to be part of a pattern. Last July in Kansas a similarly timed judicial decision prodded its state legislature to pony up a hefty increase in school funding. This year Texas is under a June 1 deadline to change the source of school funding. Before the scam spreads further, it's time to lay it bare.
In New York, the courts found that the government is violating a state constitutional clause that the legislature "shall provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free common schools, wherein all the children of the state may be educated." The Kansas case was to enforce a similar clause. That most children in New York City and elsewhere in the state are not getting much of an education is not the question. What to do about it is.
Plausible suggestions include freeing the schools from rigid union contracts and bureaucratic procedures that make it all but impossible to fire incompetent teachers, reward good ones and remove disruptive students from the classroom. Other potential solutions include more charter schools and vouchers. One strand of thinking relates school failure to cultural norms rather than lack of money. In New York City, spending per pupil is among the highest in the nation, $13,400, and the educational results among the worst. The plaintiffs chose, however, to focus on the solution -- more money -- that delights teacher union allies. The courts played along.
Most people assume that the legislature must cough up the cash because courts have the power of contempt, which allows them to punish those who disobey their orders. In the school case, however, the courts can't punish anyone. State legislators are not defendants in this case, and even if they were, they can't be punished because they are immune from suit. The state's treasury is immune because the court lacks authority to appropriate more funds and can't fine the state for the legislature's unwillingness to do so. The remaining defendants are officials, including Gov. George Pataki. They can't be held in contempt for failing to produce the money because they are powerless under the state constitution to spend money the legislature has not appropriated.
Longstanding impediments to coercing legislators and governors have never stopped courts from nullifying statutes that violate constitutional rights by, for example, segregating schools, or suppressing free speech. But courts rightly have a tougher time when they want to exercise the legislature's power of the purse.
There are, to be sure, cases where courts have indirectly pressured legislators to spend more. The leading one was in New Jersey, in 1976. After the state Supreme Court found that the state had violated a constitutional requirement that all school districts have equal per-pupil funding -- and the legislature failed to give more money to the poorer districts -- the court ordered state officials to close all the schools until the legislature equalized spending. Faced with that prospect the legislature passed an income tax to raise the extra money.
The New Jersey court argued that its job was to vindicate the constitutional right to equal spending and, if the legislature would not achieve that result by increasing spending, the court would get it done by reducing spending for everyone to zero. The argument has a certain cold logic, but it's a nonstarter in New York and Kansas, where the right being enforced is to a sound basic education.
If a New York court closed the schools, it would be the judges who violated the state constitutional right, by denying any education to all students. That would undercut the only leg the court has to stand on, the rule of law. Nonetheless, when the Kansas court raised the question of whether it should close the schools, the threat was enough to pry some money from the legislature.
New York's high court made a grave mistake when the judges transferred the power to decide what is a sound basic education from the legislators to themselves. Assuming it is too late to admit its error, the court should stick to issuing a declaratory judgment that the state does not deliver a constitutionally adequate education rather than ordering the legislature to do anything. This, as it happens, is precisely the position urged by both Gov. Pataki as defendant, and his counsel, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
The coercive force behind such a declaratory judgment would come from all those who want to improve the schools, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who demanded and got responsibility for the city's schools, and the voters of the state, for whom there is no more important issue.
When courts claim that they have power to make legislatures spend more to vindicate a constitutional right to basic education, they tamper with a basic tenet of our democracy -- no taxation without representation. Voters are entitled to hold political officials accountable for the taxes they levy, the money they spend, and the education they produce. When judges pretend that legislators are their marionettes, the legislators can escape accountability, but only if the voters are fooled. They shouldn't be.
Messrs. Sandler and Schoenbrod are professors at New York Law School and authors of "Democracy by Decree: What Happens When Courts Run Government" (Yale University Press, 2003).
For a review and information to order Mr. Sandler and Mr. Schoenbrod book go to Amazon.com.
Wall Street Journal
Courts Flunk the Civics Test
By ROSS SANDLER and DAVID SCHOENBROD
April 8, 2006; Page A9
On March 23, a New York appellate court ordered the state legislature to provide an additional $4.7 billion for operating the New York City schools, plus another $9.2 billion for construction. These are immense sums, even in the Empire State. The advocacy group that brought the suit, Campaign for Fiscal Equity, declared the court's decision would "get real action" because the legislature must "come up with a solution now, right now." This was good spin, but it's not true.
Contrary to a widespread misconception, courts have no power to force a state legislature to appropriate money; nevertheless the ersatz order, coming as it did in the final days of the state's budget process, could tilt the legislators towards more spending. This is apparently what is happening in Albany, where, in a partial tip of their hats to the court, legislators authorized $11.2 billion in new debt to pay for school construction in New York City.
And what was pulled off in Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Inc. v. New York seems to be part of a pattern. Last July in Kansas a similarly timed judicial decision prodded its state legislature to pony up a hefty increase in school funding. This year Texas is under a June 1 deadline to change the source of school funding. Before the scam spreads further, it's time to lay it bare.
In New York, the courts found that the government is violating a state constitutional clause that the legislature "shall provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free common schools, wherein all the children of the state may be educated." The Kansas case was to enforce a similar clause. That most children in New York City and elsewhere in the state are not getting much of an education is not the question. What to do about it is.
Plausible suggestions include freeing the schools from rigid union contracts and bureaucratic procedures that make it all but impossible to fire incompetent teachers, reward good ones and remove disruptive students from the classroom. Other potential solutions include more charter schools and vouchers. One strand of thinking relates school failure to cultural norms rather than lack of money. In New York City, spending per pupil is among the highest in the nation, $13,400, and the educational results among the worst. The plaintiffs chose, however, to focus on the solution -- more money -- that delights teacher union allies. The courts played along.
Most people assume that the legislature must cough up the cash because courts have the power of contempt, which allows them to punish those who disobey their orders. In the school case, however, the courts can't punish anyone. State legislators are not defendants in this case, and even if they were, they can't be punished because they are immune from suit. The state's treasury is immune because the court lacks authority to appropriate more funds and can't fine the state for the legislature's unwillingness to do so. The remaining defendants are officials, including Gov. George Pataki. They can't be held in contempt for failing to produce the money because they are powerless under the state constitution to spend money the legislature has not appropriated.
Longstanding impediments to coercing legislators and governors have never stopped courts from nullifying statutes that violate constitutional rights by, for example, segregating schools, or suppressing free speech. But courts rightly have a tougher time when they want to exercise the legislature's power of the purse.
There are, to be sure, cases where courts have indirectly pressured legislators to spend more. The leading one was in New Jersey, in 1976. After the state Supreme Court found that the state had violated a constitutional requirement that all school districts have equal per-pupil funding -- and the legislature failed to give more money to the poorer districts -- the court ordered state officials to close all the schools until the legislature equalized spending. Faced with that prospect the legislature passed an income tax to raise the extra money.
The New Jersey court argued that its job was to vindicate the constitutional right to equal spending and, if the legislature would not achieve that result by increasing spending, the court would get it done by reducing spending for everyone to zero. The argument has a certain cold logic, but it's a nonstarter in New York and Kansas, where the right being enforced is to a sound basic education.
If a New York court closed the schools, it would be the judges who violated the state constitutional right, by denying any education to all students. That would undercut the only leg the court has to stand on, the rule of law. Nonetheless, when the Kansas court raised the question of whether it should close the schools, the threat was enough to pry some money from the legislature.
New York's high court made a grave mistake when the judges transferred the power to decide what is a sound basic education from the legislators to themselves. Assuming it is too late to admit its error, the court should stick to issuing a declaratory judgment that the state does not deliver a constitutionally adequate education rather than ordering the legislature to do anything. This, as it happens, is precisely the position urged by both Gov. Pataki as defendant, and his counsel, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
The coercive force behind such a declaratory judgment would come from all those who want to improve the schools, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who demanded and got responsibility for the city's schools, and the voters of the state, for whom there is no more important issue.
When courts claim that they have power to make legislatures spend more to vindicate a constitutional right to basic education, they tamper with a basic tenet of our democracy -- no taxation without representation. Voters are entitled to hold political officials accountable for the taxes they levy, the money they spend, and the education they produce. When judges pretend that legislators are their marionettes, the legislators can escape accountability, but only if the voters are fooled. They shouldn't be.
Messrs. Sandler and Schoenbrod are professors at New York Law School and authors of "Democracy by Decree: What Happens When Courts Run Government" (Yale University Press, 2003).
Friday, April 07, 2006
Taxpayers don't stand a chance
Chris Bailey eloquently states why we will see more referenda pass in the future. To view the complete article go to DailyHerald.com
Taxpayers don't stand a chance
Posted Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Even as many head to the polls to choose between their kids or their wallets, their medicine or their grandkids, police and firefighter unions are dreaming up new ways to take more of their money, too.
House Bill 1816 is the latest incarnation of the 20-20-20 retirement plan- the one that unnaturally inflated the salaries of teachers, superintendents and other public servants just before they retired, all but guaranteeing they'd make nearly as much for not working as they did for working. HB 1816 proposes a Deferred Retirement Option Plan for police officers and firefighters, but it truly is misnamed. A better name would be Daffy Optimum Pay Effect, that acronym also being a pretty spot-on view of how those at the public trough view taxpayers, often correctly.
Basically, the DROP plan would allow people to declare they are retired when they aren't. They begin collecting pension money at the time they make such a declaration, but they actually keep working at the same level of pay for up to five years. This is double-dipping risen to an art form. Though 20-20-20 was designed to clear out educational deadwood, DROPs are designed to hang onto valued employees who are eligible to retire. Given the physical nature of their jobs, one has to question the wisdom of extending physical careers like those of police officers and firefighters into therealm of higher disability and workers compensation claims. Even worse, DROPs often cost more, too. The formulas involve complex mathematical and actuarial tables, but if you are interested in learning the details, go to www.benefitsattorney.com or www.iml.org. Then multiply the thousands of dollarsextra times the number of firefighters and police officers in Illinois and you'll get the picture.
"For the collective good of Illinois taxpayers, it's a bad thing," said Elgin Assistant City Manager Sean Stegall, who is heading to Springfield next week with Mayor Ed Schock.Worse, Mary McKittrick, the legislative chairman for the Metro West Council of Governments, of which Elgin is a part, said in a memo to those governments that the proposal violates a promise made by fire unions in 2004. In exchange for an enhanced widow's pension that Stegall said cost Elgin $600,000, the equivalent of seven firefighters, the unions promised not to ask for any more pension enhancements until atleast 2008. They obviously couldn't wait to fleece us again. Given the current state of public pension funding in Illinois, considered among the worst in the nation, it's hard for the mentally sound person to grasp why anyone would propose an idea that would make it worse. That's simple. Police andfire unions want more, and they deliver votes.
"No more pension sweeteners" is the supposed mantra in Springfield these days, but that doesn't mean lawmakers wouldn't create the obligation for somebody else. Like the municipalities that employ these firefighters and police officers. That would solidify the votes of union members whilemaking somebody else pay, the ideal solution in politics.
Municipalities all over the state have been alerted to that possibility. Lawmakers would lose little sleep over the fact that most municipalities don't have the money to pay for it, either. Or that municipalities are funded by the very same taxpayers. You again. So get out that wallet, even if it means you'll no longer be able to afford to contribute to your own 401(k) retirement plan as a result. If you think anybody cares about you, forget it. You don't vote often enough to scare anybody. It was about a year ago that everybody, just everybody in the General Assembly felt the tax cap lawneeded more safeguards for taxpayers as a result of a Daily Herald series on the issue. There are still no new protections for taxpayers.Why? Because teachers unions and administration groups, those who benefit most directly from education fund tax hikes made bigger by the current law, have dug intheir heels. They vote, too. While taxpayers remain docile, awakening momentarily when theirreal estate tax bill arrives or there's a referendum at the polls. Too late, of course. Until they quit playing the DOPE, taxpayers really don't stand a chance.
- Chris Bailey is the Fox Valley Editorial Writer.You can reach her at cbailey@dailyherald.com or (847) 608-2729.
To view more of the great Chris Bailey's columns go to the Daily Herald.
Taxpayers don't stand a chance
Posted Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Even as many head to the polls to choose between their kids or their wallets, their medicine or their grandkids, police and firefighter unions are dreaming up new ways to take more of their money, too.
House Bill 1816 is the latest incarnation of the 20-20-20 retirement plan- the one that unnaturally inflated the salaries of teachers, superintendents and other public servants just before they retired, all but guaranteeing they'd make nearly as much for not working as they did for working. HB 1816 proposes a Deferred Retirement Option Plan for police officers and firefighters, but it truly is misnamed. A better name would be Daffy Optimum Pay Effect, that acronym also being a pretty spot-on view of how those at the public trough view taxpayers, often correctly.
Basically, the DROP plan would allow people to declare they are retired when they aren't. They begin collecting pension money at the time they make such a declaration, but they actually keep working at the same level of pay for up to five years. This is double-dipping risen to an art form. Though 20-20-20 was designed to clear out educational deadwood, DROPs are designed to hang onto valued employees who are eligible to retire. Given the physical nature of their jobs, one has to question the wisdom of extending physical careers like those of police officers and firefighters into therealm of higher disability and workers compensation claims. Even worse, DROPs often cost more, too. The formulas involve complex mathematical and actuarial tables, but if you are interested in learning the details, go to www.benefitsattorney.com or www.iml.org. Then multiply the thousands of dollarsextra times the number of firefighters and police officers in Illinois and you'll get the picture.
"For the collective good of Illinois taxpayers, it's a bad thing," said Elgin Assistant City Manager Sean Stegall, who is heading to Springfield next week with Mayor Ed Schock.Worse, Mary McKittrick, the legislative chairman for the Metro West Council of Governments, of which Elgin is a part, said in a memo to those governments that the proposal violates a promise made by fire unions in 2004. In exchange for an enhanced widow's pension that Stegall said cost Elgin $600,000, the equivalent of seven firefighters, the unions promised not to ask for any more pension enhancements until atleast 2008. They obviously couldn't wait to fleece us again. Given the current state of public pension funding in Illinois, considered among the worst in the nation, it's hard for the mentally sound person to grasp why anyone would propose an idea that would make it worse. That's simple. Police andfire unions want more, and they deliver votes.
"No more pension sweeteners" is the supposed mantra in Springfield these days, but that doesn't mean lawmakers wouldn't create the obligation for somebody else. Like the municipalities that employ these firefighters and police officers. That would solidify the votes of union members whilemaking somebody else pay, the ideal solution in politics.
Municipalities all over the state have been alerted to that possibility. Lawmakers would lose little sleep over the fact that most municipalities don't have the money to pay for it, either. Or that municipalities are funded by the very same taxpayers. You again. So get out that wallet, even if it means you'll no longer be able to afford to contribute to your own 401(k) retirement plan as a result. If you think anybody cares about you, forget it. You don't vote often enough to scare anybody. It was about a year ago that everybody, just everybody in the General Assembly felt the tax cap lawneeded more safeguards for taxpayers as a result of a Daily Herald series on the issue. There are still no new protections for taxpayers.Why? Because teachers unions and administration groups, those who benefit most directly from education fund tax hikes made bigger by the current law, have dug intheir heels. They vote, too. While taxpayers remain docile, awakening momentarily when theirreal estate tax bill arrives or there's a referendum at the polls. Too late, of course. Until they quit playing the DOPE, taxpayers really don't stand a chance.
- Chris Bailey is the Fox Valley Editorial Writer.You can reach her at cbailey@dailyherald.com or (847) 608-2729.
To view more of the great Chris Bailey's columns go to the Daily Herald.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Threats, threats and more threats
This past election we saw one of the greatest numbers of school referenda pass in recent history. On March 21st 66% of referenda passed statewide. Typically at least 60% fail statewide; sometimes as many as 80% fail. What was different about this election? The level of threats from the very people entrusted to protect and educate our children while not in parental care made the difference.
D-300 superintendent Arndt stated he did not use threats, that he was going to follow through with cutting programs and going to split shifts. Seems like he did not use a dictionary much when he earned his Ph.D. A threat is a threat whether you follow through or not. One definition of threat - "A statement of intention to inflict pain, injury, damage or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done."
D - 158 in Huntley took the lead in using threats to pass referenda.
Paid pro-referendum activist Cheryl Meyer contributed to these despicable acts to pass referenda in both D-158 and D-300. Schools network through school boards, associations, teacher unions and administrator associations. You can bet they well be sharing the idea of using threats to pass referenda. These same tactics will be used in November.
Referenda passed because of fear. Ordinary citizens are now afraid of their own government. This is the turning point for the Illinois public education system.
Our government run schools a.k.a. our public education system has now become even more powerful. Until the people are willing to stand up to our government run schools and the very people charged with educating and protecting our children, property and income taxes will continue to rise.
The level of waste and corruption in our government run schools will continue to rise. Government schools refuse to be accountable with our tax dollars or the education of our children. With every referenda and tax increases that passes, government school employees hold more power over our legislators in the form of lobbyist funds, campaign funds and threats to their legislative seats.
D-300 superintendent Arndt stated he did not use threats, that he was going to follow through with cutting programs and going to split shifts. Seems like he did not use a dictionary much when he earned his Ph.D. A threat is a threat whether you follow through or not. One definition of threat - "A statement of intention to inflict pain, injury, damage or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done."
D - 158 in Huntley took the lead in using threats to pass referenda.
Paid pro-referendum activist Cheryl Meyer contributed to these despicable acts to pass referenda in both D-158 and D-300. Schools network through school boards, associations, teacher unions and administrator associations. You can bet they well be sharing the idea of using threats to pass referenda. These same tactics will be used in November.
Referenda passed because of fear. Ordinary citizens are now afraid of their own government. This is the turning point for the Illinois public education system.
Our government run schools a.k.a. our public education system has now become even more powerful. Until the people are willing to stand up to our government run schools and the very people charged with educating and protecting our children, property and income taxes will continue to rise.
The level of waste and corruption in our government run schools will continue to rise. Government schools refuse to be accountable with our tax dollars or the education of our children. With every referenda and tax increases that passes, government school employees hold more power over our legislators in the form of lobbyist funds, campaign funds and threats to their legislative seats.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Texas takes up school "reform"
The following article appeared at Townhall.com. Below Mr. Murchison points out why real reform will not occur.
Just after Easter, the Texas Legislature convenes in special session to address -- yes, again -- the state of public education hereabouts.
Our lawmakers have their eyes specifically on the overhaul of school finance: a really, really good idea, inasmuch as the old finance system has been partly invalidated by the state Supreme Court! But that's only our latest venture into educational improvement.
We've been "reforming" the public schools for two decades -- ever since Ross Perot, in early messianic mode, wrote and partly dictated a plan meant to make schools more accountable and, therefore, successful. More recently, our lawmakers have played with school finance (the Robin Hood plan for transferring big bucks from "wealthy" districts to "poor" ones) and established statewide uniform testing.
Now, as I say, it's back to finance, with -- possibly -- some reform thrown in. A fall date for school board elections is one notion that keeps surfacing, the idea being to encourage more voter participation. Hardly radical stuff, when the impression grows that some radicalism of the right sort would find a welcoming audience.
A researcher for the Texas Public Policy Foundation says that "Approximately half of all students in ... (Texas) universities and colleges need remedial classes. Meanwhile, 35 percent of entry-level job applicants do not meet eighth-grade skill levels on a competency test administered by Texas Instruments ..." Last year's National Assessment of Education Progress found just 31 percent of Texas eighth-graders proficient in mathematics, and just 26 proficient in reading.
Ross Perot, call your office ...
It's hard to be glib -- and it's no fun -- in terms of the sorry state to which public education has fallen in the whole United States, of which even a state so grand as Texas is only one part.
What strikes me as the underlying problem is that public education is so, well, public.
That is to say, it's government-owned and government-run. This government stuff used to work, generally speaking. That was back before the chief commitment of government was to the servicing of short-term voter wants and demands. Government wasn't yet an instrument for the leveraging of social change and economic redistribution. It was likelier to give voters what they needed (roads, postal service, meat inspection, sanitation, education) than to pass out goodies and social uplift to organized blocs.
A student could fail in the old schools. He can fail in the new ones, also, except that government doesn't let it show. For one thing, knowledge and performance standards are generally lower than 30 years ago. (One day last year, I discovered that not a single student in one upper-level class I teach had ever heard of William Jennings Bryan.)
Because government social policy requires every student to succeed, government practically forbids you not to procure a high school degree. That's if you stay in school -- something huge numbers of students don't do. Likewise, government education policy forbids even the most awful schools to fail absolutely. The teacher unions wouldn't like it if dues-paying members lost their jobs.
As a remedy, government-funded vouchers for students who transfer to private schools make absolute sense. As a political expedient, no way. The education unions won't allow in public education the sort of accountability the free market enforces in commercial situations: i.e., succeed -- or go out of business.
Yes, back to the Capitol comes the lawmaking power of the mighty state of Texas. To make a few deft procedural adjustments, lower some taxes, raise other taxes, then -- all too likely -- adjourn, leaving the big questions unsorted: How can teaching and learning standards be raised across the board?
In these self-esteeming times of ours, can we learn to penalize failure as well as reward success? Can we get across to students, in breadth and detail, that which they need in order to function in the most challenging moral and economic environment ever known?
Can we even suggest the necessity of knowing the name of the presidential candidate who bade us not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold?
To view the rest of the story go to Townhall.com.
Just after Easter, the Texas Legislature convenes in special session to address -- yes, again -- the state of public education hereabouts.
Our lawmakers have their eyes specifically on the overhaul of school finance: a really, really good idea, inasmuch as the old finance system has been partly invalidated by the state Supreme Court! But that's only our latest venture into educational improvement.
We've been "reforming" the public schools for two decades -- ever since Ross Perot, in early messianic mode, wrote and partly dictated a plan meant to make schools more accountable and, therefore, successful. More recently, our lawmakers have played with school finance (the Robin Hood plan for transferring big bucks from "wealthy" districts to "poor" ones) and established statewide uniform testing.
Now, as I say, it's back to finance, with -- possibly -- some reform thrown in. A fall date for school board elections is one notion that keeps surfacing, the idea being to encourage more voter participation. Hardly radical stuff, when the impression grows that some radicalism of the right sort would find a welcoming audience.
A researcher for the Texas Public Policy Foundation says that "Approximately half of all students in ... (Texas) universities and colleges need remedial classes. Meanwhile, 35 percent of entry-level job applicants do not meet eighth-grade skill levels on a competency test administered by Texas Instruments ..." Last year's National Assessment of Education Progress found just 31 percent of Texas eighth-graders proficient in mathematics, and just 26 proficient in reading.
Ross Perot, call your office ...
It's hard to be glib -- and it's no fun -- in terms of the sorry state to which public education has fallen in the whole United States, of which even a state so grand as Texas is only one part.
What strikes me as the underlying problem is that public education is so, well, public.
That is to say, it's government-owned and government-run. This government stuff used to work, generally speaking. That was back before the chief commitment of government was to the servicing of short-term voter wants and demands. Government wasn't yet an instrument for the leveraging of social change and economic redistribution. It was likelier to give voters what they needed (roads, postal service, meat inspection, sanitation, education) than to pass out goodies and social uplift to organized blocs.
A student could fail in the old schools. He can fail in the new ones, also, except that government doesn't let it show. For one thing, knowledge and performance standards are generally lower than 30 years ago. (One day last year, I discovered that not a single student in one upper-level class I teach had ever heard of William Jennings Bryan.)
Because government social policy requires every student to succeed, government practically forbids you not to procure a high school degree. That's if you stay in school -- something huge numbers of students don't do. Likewise, government education policy forbids even the most awful schools to fail absolutely. The teacher unions wouldn't like it if dues-paying members lost their jobs.
As a remedy, government-funded vouchers for students who transfer to private schools make absolute sense. As a political expedient, no way. The education unions won't allow in public education the sort of accountability the free market enforces in commercial situations: i.e., succeed -- or go out of business.
Yes, back to the Capitol comes the lawmaking power of the mighty state of Texas. To make a few deft procedural adjustments, lower some taxes, raise other taxes, then -- all too likely -- adjourn, leaving the big questions unsorted: How can teaching and learning standards be raised across the board?
In these self-esteeming times of ours, can we learn to penalize failure as well as reward success? Can we get across to students, in breadth and detail, that which they need in order to function in the most challenging moral and economic environment ever known?
Can we even suggest the necessity of knowing the name of the presidential candidate who bade us not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold?
To view the rest of the story go to Townhall.com.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
The news media
The following piece appeared at Townhall.com. Hat tip to our friend at Family Taxpayers Foundation for directing us to the article. This article reminded us of many of the staff writers at the Northwest Herald.
The news media
By Michael Barone
Apr 3, 2006
Let's say you were part of a group designing the news media from scratch. Someone says that it would be a good idea to have competing news media -- daily newspapers and weekly magazines, radio and television news programs. Sounds like a good start.
Someone else says that it would be a good idea to staff these news media with people who are literate and well-educated. Check. Then someone says let's have 90 percent of the people who work for these organizations be from one of the nation's two competitive political parties and 10 percent from the other.
Uh, you might find yourself saying, especially if you weren't sure that your party would get the 90 percent, maybe that's not such a good idea. But that's the news media we have today.
Surveys galore have shown that somewhere around 90 percent of the writers, editors and other personnel in the news media are Democrats and only about 10 percent are Republicans. We depend on the news media for information about government and politics, foreign affairs and war, public policy and demographic trends -- for a picture of the world around us. But the news comes from people 90 percent of whom are on one side of the political divide. Doesn't sound like an ideal situation.
Of course, a lot of people in the news business say it doesn't make any difference. I remember a conversation I had with a broadcast news executive many years ago.
"Doesn't the fact that 90 percent of your people are Democrats affect your work product?" I asked.
"Oh, no, no," he said. "Our people are professional. They have standards of objectivity and professionalism, so that their own views don't affect the news."
"So what you're saying," I said, "is that your work product would be identical if 90 percent of your people were Republicans."
He quickly replied, "No, then it would be biased."
I have been closely acquainted with newsroom cultures for more than 30 years, and I recognize the attitude. Only liberals can see the world clearly. Conservatives are prevented by their warped and ungenerous views from recognizing the world as it is.
The New York Times and The Washington Post have often hired as reporters writers who have worked on liberal publications like The New Republic, The Washington Monthly and The American Prospect -- and many of those writers have produced fine work. But they have never hired as reporters writers who have worked on conservative publications like National Review, The Weekly Standard and The American Spectator. News media executives like to brag about the diversity of their staffs, but there is precious little political diversity in most newsrooms.
And of course this affects the work product. Consider two stories in the New York Times last month. On March 8, the Times ran a long story about a woman from Biloxi, Miss., and her problems getting aid from the government after Hurricane Katrina. Turned out she wasn't from Biloxi, was not a Katrina victim and had been fraudulently obtaining government aid.
"For its profile, the Times did not conduct adequate interviews or public record checks to verify Ms. Fenton's account," the Times admitted in a correction on March 23.
On March 11, the Times ran a story about an Iraqi identified as the man in a famous photograph of the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Turned out he wasn't the man in the photo. On March 18, the Times ran another correction: "The Times should have been more persistent in seeking comment from the military."
Both of these too-good-to-check stories of course reflected badly on the Bush administration, which seems to be a requirement for getting your story in the Times these days. The relentlessly negative coverage of Iraq in most news outlets falls in the same category. Stories about American heroes, stories about soldiers building schools and water systems, stories about the successes of Iraqis -- you have to look awfully hard to find them in most news media today. What you do see is a determination to make Vietnam and Watergate happen again.
All of which brings to mind an old politician's comment on an idealistic young colleague: "He actually thinks this place is on the level." The good news is that many Americans have caught on. Newspaper circulation is down, and so is viewership of broadcast TV network news.
For the rest of the article go to Townhall.com.
The news media
By Michael Barone
Apr 3, 2006
Let's say you were part of a group designing the news media from scratch. Someone says that it would be a good idea to have competing news media -- daily newspapers and weekly magazines, radio and television news programs. Sounds like a good start.
Someone else says that it would be a good idea to staff these news media with people who are literate and well-educated. Check. Then someone says let's have 90 percent of the people who work for these organizations be from one of the nation's two competitive political parties and 10 percent from the other.
Uh, you might find yourself saying, especially if you weren't sure that your party would get the 90 percent, maybe that's not such a good idea. But that's the news media we have today.
Surveys galore have shown that somewhere around 90 percent of the writers, editors and other personnel in the news media are Democrats and only about 10 percent are Republicans. We depend on the news media for information about government and politics, foreign affairs and war, public policy and demographic trends -- for a picture of the world around us. But the news comes from people 90 percent of whom are on one side of the political divide. Doesn't sound like an ideal situation.
Of course, a lot of people in the news business say it doesn't make any difference. I remember a conversation I had with a broadcast news executive many years ago.
"Doesn't the fact that 90 percent of your people are Democrats affect your work product?" I asked.
"Oh, no, no," he said. "Our people are professional. They have standards of objectivity and professionalism, so that their own views don't affect the news."
"So what you're saying," I said, "is that your work product would be identical if 90 percent of your people were Republicans."
He quickly replied, "No, then it would be biased."
I have been closely acquainted with newsroom cultures for more than 30 years, and I recognize the attitude. Only liberals can see the world clearly. Conservatives are prevented by their warped and ungenerous views from recognizing the world as it is.
The New York Times and The Washington Post have often hired as reporters writers who have worked on liberal publications like The New Republic, The Washington Monthly and The American Prospect -- and many of those writers have produced fine work. But they have never hired as reporters writers who have worked on conservative publications like National Review, The Weekly Standard and The American Spectator. News media executives like to brag about the diversity of their staffs, but there is precious little political diversity in most newsrooms.
And of course this affects the work product. Consider two stories in the New York Times last month. On March 8, the Times ran a long story about a woman from Biloxi, Miss., and her problems getting aid from the government after Hurricane Katrina. Turned out she wasn't from Biloxi, was not a Katrina victim and had been fraudulently obtaining government aid.
"For its profile, the Times did not conduct adequate interviews or public record checks to verify Ms. Fenton's account," the Times admitted in a correction on March 23.
On March 11, the Times ran a story about an Iraqi identified as the man in a famous photograph of the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Turned out he wasn't the man in the photo. On March 18, the Times ran another correction: "The Times should have been more persistent in seeking comment from the military."
Both of these too-good-to-check stories of course reflected badly on the Bush administration, which seems to be a requirement for getting your story in the Times these days. The relentlessly negative coverage of Iraq in most news outlets falls in the same category. Stories about American heroes, stories about soldiers building schools and water systems, stories about the successes of Iraqis -- you have to look awfully hard to find them in most news media today. What you do see is a determination to make Vietnam and Watergate happen again.
All of which brings to mind an old politician's comment on an idealistic young colleague: "He actually thinks this place is on the level." The good news is that many Americans have caught on. Newspaper circulation is down, and so is viewership of broadcast TV network news.
For the rest of the article go to Townhall.com.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Cost of Remedial Education.
Our public schools a.k.a. our government schools continue to fail our students. Below is an excerpt from part of the The Cost of Remedial Education study done by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Although this study is about the Michigan government run school system. Public government run schools continue to fail students across the United States.
Other experts place the blame squarely at the door of the public schools. They argue that basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills are necessary for anyone who intends to function in society, not just those who are college bound. Janet Detloff, chair of the Math and Sciences Division at Wayne County Community College, is worth quoting at length:
The Detroit-area public schools are terrible. Most of the students who come to us not only lack math and English skills, but they lack basic academic skills. They have no idea what is expected of them at the college level. They don't know how to take notes. They don't read the assigned material. And many of them don't even come to class. How did they get through high school without these skills? Many of them were promoted for social reasons—they were getting too old; they had repeated the grade three times; they would otherwise fail-out. So they graduate without the skills they need to succeed, not only in academics, but in the workplace. Local employers often find the same problems with their employees that we are addressing here—truancy, lack of attention to detail, inability to complete tasks. I remember one student who called me complaining that she had received an 'F' in a course even though she had attended every day. She didn't understand that she actually had to master the basic course material. That was foreign to her.
To view the rest of the study go to Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Other experts place the blame squarely at the door of the public schools. They argue that basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills are necessary for anyone who intends to function in society, not just those who are college bound. Janet Detloff, chair of the Math and Sciences Division at Wayne County Community College, is worth quoting at length:
The Detroit-area public schools are terrible. Most of the students who come to us not only lack math and English skills, but they lack basic academic skills. They have no idea what is expected of them at the college level. They don't know how to take notes. They don't read the assigned material. And many of them don't even come to class. How did they get through high school without these skills? Many of them were promoted for social reasons—they were getting too old; they had repeated the grade three times; they would otherwise fail-out. So they graduate without the skills they need to succeed, not only in academics, but in the workplace. Local employers often find the same problems with their employees that we are addressing here—truancy, lack of attention to detail, inability to complete tasks. I remember one student who called me complaining that she had received an 'F' in a course even though she had attended every day. She didn't understand that she actually had to master the basic course material. That was foreign to her.
To view the rest of the study go to Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
D.C.'s Distinction: $16,344 Per Student, But Only 12% Read Proficiently
D.C.'s Distinction: $16,344 Per Student, But Only 12% Read Proficiently
Posted Mar 23, 2006
The District of Columbia spends far more money per student in its public elementary and secondary schools each year than the tuition costs at many private elementary schools, or even college-preparatory secondary schools. Yet, District 8th-graders ranked dead last in 2005 in national reading and math tests.
D.C.'s public elementary and secondary schools spent a total of $16,334 per student in the 2002-2003 school year, according to a Department of Education study. That compares to the $10,520 tuition at St. John's College High School, a District Catholic school that sends almost all its graduates to four-year colleges.
Last year, however, only 12% of 8th-graders in the District's public schools scored at grade-level proficiency or better in reading in the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress tests that were administered in the District and all 50 states. Only 7% of the District's public-school 8th-graders scored grade-level proficiency or better in math.
Not one U.S. state can boast that a majority of the 8th-graders in its public schools last year had achieved grade-level proficiency or better in either reading or math.
How much money did your state spend per pupil while failing to adequately educate in reading and math the majority of students in its public schools? The answers are in the chart below.
They eloquently make the case for school choice.
The state spending figures below are the total median expenditure per student as reported in "Revenues and Expenditures by Public School Districts: School Year 2002-03," published by the Department of Education in November 2005. The NAEP 8th-grade reading and math scores were published by the Department of Education in October 2005.
To view the rest of the article on Humun Events Online click here.
Posted Mar 23, 2006
The District of Columbia spends far more money per student in its public elementary and secondary schools each year than the tuition costs at many private elementary schools, or even college-preparatory secondary schools. Yet, District 8th-graders ranked dead last in 2005 in national reading and math tests.
D.C.'s public elementary and secondary schools spent a total of $16,334 per student in the 2002-2003 school year, according to a Department of Education study. That compares to the $10,520 tuition at St. John's College High School, a District Catholic school that sends almost all its graduates to four-year colleges.
Last year, however, only 12% of 8th-graders in the District's public schools scored at grade-level proficiency or better in reading in the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress tests that were administered in the District and all 50 states. Only 7% of the District's public-school 8th-graders scored grade-level proficiency or better in math.
Not one U.S. state can boast that a majority of the 8th-graders in its public schools last year had achieved grade-level proficiency or better in either reading or math.
How much money did your state spend per pupil while failing to adequately educate in reading and math the majority of students in its public schools? The answers are in the chart below.
They eloquently make the case for school choice.
The state spending figures below are the total median expenditure per student as reported in "Revenues and Expenditures by Public School Districts: School Year 2002-03," published by the Department of Education in November 2005. The NAEP 8th-grade reading and math scores were published by the Department of Education in October 2005.
To view the rest of the article on Humun Events Online click here.
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