Education World news editor Diane Weaver Dunne explores the latest hot issues in the education environment today!

Senators Propose Bill to Fund Sick Schools Study
June 12, 2001

For the past week, Education World has taken an in-depth look at one of the hottest issues facing our nation's schools. Our five-part Sick School series details the causes and effects of sick schools, environmental justice issues, concerns about schools located on or near contaminated land, and how sick schools create a dilemma for school officials.

But there might be good news about sick schools on the horizon.

U.S. Senators Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) are co-sponsoring a bill to study sick schools. The bill has been introduced as an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESA). As part of that bill, a proposed $2 million study directs researchers to investigate how sick and dilapidated school buildings affect the health and learning of children who have attended or are attending the schools. If the study is approved, the National Academy of Sciences will conduct it.

The bill comes six years after the General Accounting Office found that half or more of the nation's schools have at least one environmental problem.

The proposed amendment directs researchers to first identify the physical characteristics of school buildings that contribute to injuries, infectious diseases, chronic health conditions (such as asthma, allergies, elevated levels of lead in the blood), mental health disorders, or cancer. The bill suggests researchers study the following characteristics, which might indicate an unhealthful school environment:

• contaminated property;
• poor indoor air quality;
• mold;
• ineffective ventilation, heating, or cooling systems;
• inadequate lighting;
• drinking water that does not meet health-based standards;
• infestations of rodents, insects, or other animals that may carry or cause diseases;
• dust or debris from crumbling structures or construction efforts;
• inappropriate use of pesticides, insecticides, chemicals, or cleaners;
• lead-based paint;
• asbestos;
• radon.

A key part of the study is for researchers to develop public health and environmental standards for constructing new public elementary and secondary school buildings, the remediation of existing public school buildings, and overall monitoring of public school building health, including cost estimates for the development and implementation of such standards.

AFT Report: Teacher Salaries Lag Behind Inflation
May 22, 2001

Although most teachers will tell you that they didn't choose teaching for the money, love for a particular profession doesn't pay the bills or attract new college graduates who have college loans to pay.

According to an American Federation of Teachers (AFT) research report, Survey & Analysis of Teacher Salary Trends, teacher salaries for the 1999-2000 school year failed to keep up with the rate of inflation. Teacher salaries increased about 3.2 percent, just under the 3.4 percent annual rate of inflation for that time period.

"The teacher shortage plaguing school districts nationwide will not abate unless salaries improve," says Sandra Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers, in a press release announcing the survey results. Some researchers anticipate the need to hire 2.2 million additional teachers over the next decade -- about 200,000 teachers annually.

"Better wages aren't the only way to retain and recruit teachers, but they sure make a difference," Feldman adds.

The AFT survey points out that teacher salaries lag behind those of other white-collar professionals, such as accountants and engineers. For example, an accountant can expect to earn an average of $52,323. The national average salary for a teacher is $41,820. That salary reflects an average of 16.1 years of experience at the chalkboard, according to the survey.

Salaries for beginning teachers also lag behind those of other recent college graduates. Computer science majors entering the field can expect to earn an average of $46,495. Education majors enter their profession at $27,989. Recent college graduates who find jobs this spring can expect to earn the following average salaries: engineers, $47,112; accountants, $37,688; sales or marketing professionals, $37,946; business administrators, $40,242; liberal arts majors, $36,201; chemists, $38,210; mathematicians or statisticians, $46,744; economists or finance majors, $41,102.

Congress Can't Legislate Attitudes
May 15, 2001

As I write this column, Congress continues to debate the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Our legislators face a daunting task. Their decisions to add funding and create new programs will make a difference in improving our nation's schools.

However, the keys to success are mostly about qualified -- and quality -- teachers and teacher, student, and parent attitudes, which are beyond the scope of Congress's power.

That is not to say that the role of Congress is not vital to the success of our nation's schools. It clearly is. For example, Congress can help school districts attract the best and brightest educators plus fund bonuses for teachers who meet high certification standards. But enthusiasm and creativity are not things Congress can legislate. Though Congress most likely will require states to devise annual testing plans as part of an accountability formula, all educators know that good teaching and high test scores aren't necessarily mutual.

Kids succeed for lots of reasons. At the schools I've visited where student success is evident, students' work was not done when the school bell rang at the end of the day. Successful schools repeatedly tell their students that achievement comes with hard work, perseverance, commitment, and dedication, which are not parts of any law. Rather, they are part of the school and classroom culture.

Teachers who truly care about their students' success and failure often go the extra mile to motivate them. Children know the difference between caring and indifference. Many children flourish when teachers recognize a particular teaching practice is not working for some or all of their students; those teachers find a better way to reach those students, a way that is supported by research findings.

Finally, Congress can't tell parents how to think. No laws require parents to value learning and achievement. Or diplomas. When parents don't care, their kids usually don't either.

Day-Care Study Not a Big Surprise
May 08, 2001

As an education reporter, I frequently talk with teachers and education experts about conditions in their classrooms. Consistently, in all parts of the country, they report that the number of behaviorally challenging children has steadily increased during the past two decades.

When I first read a summary of the National Institute of Children's Health and Development report on the effects of day care last month, I wasn't surprised. The longitudinal study, which included 1,300 children from ten different sites, shows that children's environment and the amount of time they spend in day care before entering kindergarten affect both behavior and skills.

Children who spent significant time watching TV scored lower on math tests, had smaller vocabularies, and had more behavior problems than children whose environments were more stimulating. Kids who watched less TV were also better able to get along with their peers.

Most media attention focused on the finding that the more time kids spent in day care, the more likely they were to be very assertive, defiant, and even disobedient. According to the study, such kids also tend to bully, fight with, or act mean to other children. Although the media attention on one aspect of the results might have overshadowed the study's other findings, the news about behavior does corroborate the experience of many veteran teachers. They often report that parents simply don't spend enough time with their preschoolers.

Do you think schools can mitigate the impact spending long hours in less-than-stimulating environments or in front of a TV has on young children? If so, how can educators and school systems help? Please e-mail your comments to ddunne@educationworld.com .

New Report Finds Bullying Pervasive
May 01, 2001

Last week a new report found that about one-third of our nation's students have been involved in some aspect of bullying, either as a bully, as the target of bullying, or both.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development sponsored the survey of 15,686 students in grades six to ten. The study's findings are based on self-reports from the children. They were published last week in the Journal of the American Medicine Association (April 25, 2001, issue). It is one of the most comprehensive studies about bullying to date.

The report is important because it not only emphasizes the prevalence of bullying but also provides some insight about bullies and those who are bullied.

Not surprisingly, both the bullied and the bully are troubled kids. Those who are bullied are easy targets because they generally have little peer support. They told researchers that they have a tougher time making friends and also have poorer relationships with their classmates compared with other students; they are also more likely to report feelings of loneliness.

Bullies have problems in and out of school as well with social isolation. They also report academic problems and are more likely to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol.

Based on the study's findings, there are far too many unhappy, lonely kids in our schools.

The battle against bullying will require more than teaching kids the Golden Rule, establishing consequences for bullying, and vigilantly monitoring locker rooms, stairwells, and lavatories. The authors of the study recommend that more research is needed to better understand and therefore help children involved in bullying.

Have you found ways to successfully deter bullying and help the kids who are their targets? I'd be interested in learning about your efforts. E-mail me at ddunne@educationworld.com.

Beyond Malapropisms and Comedy Bits -- Our President Gets an A in Crowd Pleasing
April 24, 2001

Often public figures become caricatures of themselves, perpetuated by the brunt of parodies and jokes told on late-night television. Last week, I had the opportunity to report on President George W. Bush's visit to Connecticut. It gave me insight beyond his famous malapropisms, mispronunciations, and all those comedy bits done at his expense.

For more about the president's speech, read the Education World article Bush Takes His Education Plan on the Road.

From the moment President George Bush walked onto the stage at Central Connecticut College, he was in control, clearly the master of schmoozing a crowd. He projected a friendly, casual personality, as approachable as the guy who lives next door. To emphasize that persona, he began his speech by telling the audience that he was asked whether the honorary degree in law just bestowed on him by the college would make him a lawyer. Even his choice of language perpetuated that regular-guy image: "I said, nope."

Next, Bush cajoled the dignitaries. After praising Connecticut's Republican governor, John Rowland, for marrying well and referring to Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.) as a classy, hometown girl, he went on to compliment Representative James Maloney (D-Conn.), the only Democrat to accompany the president, and Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), who did not attend.

Following an impassioned speech to sell his proposed budget, Bush walked into the audience to shake hands, again demonstrating his approachable manner.

Some reporters covering the event quipped that the crowd, made up mostly of Republican supporters, was reminiscent of last summer's Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. It wasn't a tough day on the job for the president.

Congresswoman Johnson, a seasoned politician, was bubbly when recounting her experience of traveling with the president in Air Force One, on the presidential helicopter, and then by limousine. Not jaded by the fact that she has personally met several presidents, she told the reporters, "Meeting any president is exciting."

Biggest Ed Budget Proposed: Cuts Senate Proposal in Half
April 17, 2001

Last week President George W. Bush kept good his campaign promise to focus on education. If Congress approves his proposed education budget, the U.S. Department of Education will receive a $2.5 billion raise at the program level, or a 5.9 percent increase over the department's current spending plan. In dollars, that's $44.5 billion more in discretionary spending.

Special education, Pell grants, Reading First state grants, and Title I grants were among the big winners in the president's proposed budget. Bush also proposed significant funding to improve teacher quality, to help states develop and implement annual reading and math tests for students in grades three through eight, and to establish a new Charter School Homestead Fund. For more information, read the Budget Summary.

Bush also kept another campaign promise: His spending plan will streamline the federal bureaucracy by combining several Department of Education programs and providing states with the flexibility to redirect funds for school renovation programs.

Few Democrats and Republicans disagree with Bush's goals to improve our nation's schools. However, there is disagreement about the amount of spending. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) stated the Bush budget shortchanges education. "President Bush's budget hurts children across the country by failing to invest adequately in their education," Kennedy said last week. Among the concerns of leading Democrats is the need for more federal funding for school modernization and federally legislated special education.

Negotiations over school vouchers aren't over, either. Bush made remarks at the White House Thursday that he is still hopeful Congress will approve vouchers. "I vigorously campaigned on this idea because I think it is right," Bush said. "And it's an idea that I remain strongly committed to. I don't believe the federal government should fund persistent failure."

What do you think about the Bush budget and his remarks? I welcome your comments to today's column. Send your reactions to me at ddunne@educationworld.com.

TIMMS 1999 Benchmark Study Highlights Effective Teaching Strategies
April 10, 2001

Last week the Third International Mathematics Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Benchmarking Achievement Reports were released. Thirty-eight countries participated in the study. Thirteen states and 14 U.S. school districts or consortia also took part as separate entities in the study. The good news: Some schools in the United States are able to compete with the best in the world, and most eighth graders scored significantly above the international average in mathematics and science. The bad news: Students in 18 other countries outperformed U.S. students, and a "world-class education is not available to all children" in the United States.

Naperville School District and the First in the World Consortium, both from Illinois, performed at very high levels in mathematics. In science, Naperville came in first, with First in the World Consortium, Michigan Invitational Group, and the Academy School District (Colorado) also ranking high.

According to the report, students in the top-achieving districts or consortia, such as Naperville and First in the World, had greater educational resources at home than did the low-achieving students. The low-achieving students were from urban districts and had fewer resources at home than did students in the top-achieving districts.

The study concludes that high achievement strongly correlates with how teachers teach, the teachers' level of expertise in the subject, and the level of community affluence.

The need for better recruitment and ongoing professional development is supported by the Glenn Commission report, Before It's Too Late, which was released last September. The commission called for $5 billion to fund several strategies to improve student achievement in science and math, including better pay, better working conditions, and better-prepared math and science teachers.

The Glenn Commission and TIMMS reports explain what it takes for U.S. students to become top achievers. Are our nation's policymakers and taxpayers up to the task?

I welcome your comments to today's column. Send your reactions to me at ddunne@educationworld.com.

Researchers Say African American Males Over-Represented in Special Ed
April 3, 2001

The Harvard Civil Rights Project is calling for a complete reassessment of how children are evaluated for special education. Researchers say that minorities, particularly African American boys, are significantly over-represented in special education classrooms, according to the Harvard Civil Rights Project Conference on Minority Issues in Special Education held last November and presented at a congressional briefing in March.

Though poverty and other factors figure into the incidence of disability in all ethnic and racial groups, when researchers factor in socioeconomic characteristics, children of color are still identified for special education at significantly higher rates than their white classmates, researchers reported at the conference.

Researchers suggest that the process of identifying students for special education is flawed and not entirely based on scientific analysis and assessment. Rather, subjective variables, including school politics and cultural bias, influence identification. The quality of regular education and classroom management should be included in that evaluation, the report suggests. However, those factors often go unrecognized.

Whether systematic bias exists in the identification of minorities in special education in our nation's schools or genuinely higher rates of disabilities occur in certain ethnic and minority groups, the outcomes for minority students with disabilities are often dismal. Project officials anticipate outcomes will get worse with high-stakes tests increasingly part of graduation requirements. Minority students with disabilities fail those tests at high rates. Without a diploma, finding employment is tough. The 1999 unemployment rate for adult dropouts (25 years old and over) was nearly twice the rate of those with four years of high school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Is the identification process for special education objective, or can subjective factors might permit bias? Click here to share your thoughts.

Character Ed and Anti-Bullying Programs Remedies for School Violence
March 27th, 2001

Bullying -- once considered a rite of passage for schoolchildren -- is taking a hit as one of the primary causes of school violence. Criminal justice officials have been pointing to the role of bullying in some of our nation's school shootings as the kind of torment that can drive some kids to kill. News accounts of the most recent school shootings support the notion that bullying is more than harmless teasing.

Historically, kids have been expected to tolerate bullying; adults are not. Grown-ups have a different name for bullying; they call it assault, stalking, or harassment.

According to a study of school shooters by the Secret Service released last October, the motive in most attacks by students was revenge. Most of the school shooters said students had bullied and harassed them. The Secret Service advised schools to prevent such persecution by improving school climate, for example, by instituting no-bullying policies and monitoring places where bullying is most likely to occur.

Policymakers recognize the need to help schools combat bullying. In Colorado, a proposed law would require schools to set up policies against bullying in all school districts. In Massachusetts, more schools will be included in the state's bullying prevention program.

National policymakers also recognize the need to help schools. U.S. Senators Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) and Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) introduced a bill in late February called the Strong Character for Strong Schools Act. That act would triple funding for character education.

On March 13, Secretary of Education Roderick Paige presented President George W. Bush's education plan to the House Budget Committee. The plan includes funding for character education to be provided by faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs.

What do you think about those remedies? Click here to share your thoughts on an Education World message board.

Lawyers Association Opposes Zero-Tolerance Policies
March 20th, 2001

Delegates of the American Bar Association voted against schools' zero-tolerance disciplinary policies at its midyear meeting last month. The association is calling for a commonsense approach when disciplining students for misbehavior. Association members reason that zero-tolerance policies fail to take into account the circumstances of an offense or an accused student's history.

According to a written statement, although it opposes zero-tolerance policies, the ABA supports strong school policies against gun possession and agrees that schools should be safe places. However, in cases involving student misbehavior, the association recommends, school officials should exercise sound discretion and ensure the student due process when considering the individual student and the particular circumstances of the misconduct. The association also supports alternatives to expulsion and/or referral for prosecution -- alternatives that improve student behavior without making schools dangerous.

In light of the school shootings during the past decade -- the Columbine tragedy in particular -- zero-tolerance policies sound reasonable. Students are given clear consequences to school rules. People want their communities' schools to be safe, and no one wants his or her community to be infamous like Columbine -- remembered forever for all the wrong reasons.

However, sometimes what sounds great on paper isn't a sound practice in reality. Zero-tolerance school policies generally don't distinguish between the kindergartener who brings a butter knife to school and the 16-year-old who brings a semiautomatic weapon.

Based on the experience of attorneys who have represented students thrown out of school under zero-tolerance policies, the ABA is suggesting that schools take a second look at the policy.

John Wilson, the National Education Association's executive director, ran a progressive discipline program at a middle school. In an NEA Today Online interview, he stated: "I don't believe we should punish children by denying them an education. Suspending students into the streets is giving up. But you can have zero tolerance for discipline problems if what you suspend students into is an alternative program."

What do you think about the ABA recommendation? Click here to respond to our message board, or e-mail Diane Weaver Dunne at ddunne@educationworld.com.

Continued School Violence Requires Adults to Do Better
March 13th, 2001

For many kids, school is unpleasant. According to a report released last week, about 74 percent of children surveyed said bullying and teasing are big problems at their schools. Nearly half said that discrimination and disrespect are also a problem. Read the report: Talking With Kids About Tough Issues.

Most adults can look back at their school years and recall being teased. Most of us didn't kill because of it. But we live in a different society today. Many kids live in unstable homes and attend super-sized schools.

Children mirror our society. If kids continue to kill, then adults -- school staff, clergy, policymakers, and parents -- have the power and responsibility to do things differently.

It is too simplistic to blame only media that glorify violence or the lack of tougher gun laws. Parents need to be honest about whether they are too busy or too self-absorbed to parent their children. And schools and policymakers need to ask whether our schools are impersonal education factories that treat kids like products, not humans.

Failing Schools Need Federal Funds and Programs
February 20th, 2001

Paige's testimony came on the heels of the release of First Annual School Improvement Report: Executive Order on Actions for Turning Around Low-Performing Schools, a U.S. Department of Education report. The report is significant because it points out that most low-performing schools aren't getting extra help to turn themselves around.

The act of identifying a failing school -- largely through standardized tests -- is not enough to fix what's wrong. Simply knowing a leg is broken is not enough to heal it. State and school district officials -- the adults in charge of children's learning -- must not only identify low-performing schools but also help failing schools.

Although lots of research exists about the characteristics of effective schools, much less exists on how to make failing schools perform well. The report states that if states and school districts don't know how to turn around failing schools, then the buck needs to stop with the federal government. It is the federal government's charge -- and Paige's challenge -- to provide the programs and funds that will help turn failure into success.

Congress Funds National Professional Development Center
February 6th, 2001

This week, Dr. Paul Kimmelman convenes a panel of about a dozen professional development experts to begin designing and discussing the implementation of a national professional development center. "Our goal is to help school districts improve student achievement," Kimmelman told Education World. "The center will provide school districts assistance in identifying their professional development priorities. So many schools go from fad to fad, never really delivering a substantive professional development plan."

Congress agreed to fund the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) nearly $1 million to establish the center in response to a study that found that overall teaching practices changed very little as a result of professional development over a three-year period. The report, "Does Professional Development Change Teaching Practice?" was conducted by the American Institutes for Research. The institute tracked teaching practices before and after professional development activity over three years at 30 schools in ten districts in five states.

Kimmelman, recently retired superintendent of West Northfield School District No. 31 in Chicago and a member of the John Glenn Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, will head up the new professional development center. He knows firsthand how professional development can improve student achievement. He headed a 20-school district Chicago-area consortium that focused on teaching practices to improve student achievement in math and science.

The results were impressive. In May 1996, consortium students took the TIMSS. Only students in Singapore outperformed fourth and eighth graders in math. The eighth-grade students performed in the top category in science. The fourth-grade results were even higher. The students placed first in the world in science. Students in grade 12 also did well; only three other nations scored higher in both science and math.

Schools can get guidance from NCREL's Professional Development Toolkit, which is available free online. The toolkit offers a step-by-step guide to help schools implement strong professional development programs based on the programs recognized by the National Awards Program for Model Professional Development.