A new report by LFA and Grunwald Associates, with support from AT&T, examines how parents perceive the value of mobile devices, how they see their children using mobiles, and what they think of the possibilities for mobile learning.
Educator Preparation
Blog Entries
In the week since the New York Times published a conversation on education philanthropy entitled How Many Billionaires Does It Take to Fix a School System, some high-profile bloggers have characterized the piece as an unintentionally sad commentary on the state of education funding. The transcript of a conversation among NYT Magazine editor Paul Tough and five education talking heads: Green Dot Charter School Founder Steve Barr, American Enterprise Institute education impresario Frederick Hess, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Venture Philanthropist Vanessa Kirsch and former Gates Foundation education head Tom Vander Ark.
To Diane Ravitch, the article confirms that the champions of corporate-style education reform have nothing but disdain for those "ordinary educators who toil in the classroom.... Only those untainted by actual direct experience of education have the insight to 'fix' the school system." ...
We hear a great deal about the United States' standings in international comparisons of students' academic performance, yet we hear relatively little about what the highest performing countries have done to ascend the rankings. Fortunately, Stanford professor and American Association for Colleges for Teacher Education Board member Linda Darling-Hammond has had a gander at both Finland and Singapore, two of the countries topping the international list.
The practices she finds there are not hard to grasp: Give teachers an excellent education on the government dollar (or Euro), guarantee them substantive, ongoing professional development, and promote ample time for collaboration with colleagues. ...
Success Stories
Story posted October 16, 2008; Results updated March 26, 2013
Results:
• A 17% turnover rate for teachers with fewer than five years of experience in 2011.*
• In 2011, the district outperformed state proficiency levels in all grades across all subjects.
Like many small rural school districts, the Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District in Western New York faces challenges in hiring and retaining teachers. Home to rural farms and small manufacturing facilities, the district serves a diverse population of about 2,500 low- to middle-income students. Many district teachers are nearing retirement, potentially exacerbating teacher retention woes. District leaders worried that high turnover rates would impede student learning. ...
Story posted April 18, 2012
Results:
- 2,400 more students met state academic standards in 2011 than did in 2005
- Nearly 91% of students met state proficiency standards in reading in 2011, up from 76 percent in 2005 (gains in math have been equally as dramatic)
School District 54 in Schaumburg, IL, always viewed itself as a great school district. Unfortunately, student achievement had remained stagnant for several years. Staff members were becoming increasingly frustrated and complained of low morale.
At the same time, the accountability movement exploded and achievement results became fully transparent to the entire community. Staff and parents now could see firsthand how a particular school was doing and began calling for change.
Guiding Light
After a great deal of research, we concluded that a district-wide implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) was the way for us to go. Several key strategies proved beneficial. ...
A Partnership of Expertise and Knowledge
Story posted September 17, 2008
Results:
• 78% teacher retention rate, up from 68% in 2001
• 96% teacher retention rate in Hard-To-Staff Schools last year
• Principals report that student achievement in classrooms with new teachers equals that in veteran teacher classrooms by the second and third benchmark testing periods each year
Hampton City Schools (HCS) in Hampton, VA, face challenges common to many districts around the nation. A combination of early retirement, low salaries, inadequate education funding, and concerns about teachers' quality of life makes recruiting and retaining teachers difficult. At the same time, rising student enrollment has increased demand for more teachers. The result? The number of teachers with zero years experience grows each year.
...
Maintaining Excellence during a Demographic Shift
Story posted June, 2008
Results:
• Proficiency level grew to 96% over a five-year period during which the school became economically and racially more diverse
• Out-of-school suspensions have dropped every year since the school began professional development on poverty issues
Kernodle Middle School opened in 2000 in a solidly upper middle class neighborhood with little diversity in the school population. About 85% of the students were white and less than 10% participated in the federal lunch program. In our state-mandated testing program over 90% of the students scored at proficient levels. There was no distinct achievement gap between our white and non-white students. ...
Pre-Kindergarten Program is Increasing Readiness
Story posted March, 2008
Results:
• 94% of students (including 23% with special needs) showed cognitive gains from ages 3 to 5, as measured by the Creative Curriculum Development Continuum
Harrison County Schools in Clarksburg, W.Va., was named the state's winner in the 2008 National Civic Star Award competition for its pre-kindergarten program, a collaborative effort designed to better prepare all the district's children for kindergarten.
The partnership includes the school district, Head Start, local child-care facilities and parents. Parents apply for their child's placement in their home school, at a child-care center or through Head Start. Children ages 3-5 with special needs are evaluated and placed in the program based on special education eligibility.
The goal is to prepare four-year-olds for success in kindergarten and to lay the foundation for life-long learning. ...
Story posted January, 2008. Results updated December 14, 2012.
*Results:
• Math performance in the district continues to improve, with 59% of 3rd graders scoring proficient or advanced in math in 2012, up from 52% in 2011 and up 4% from the state average. Performance in 7th grade math is also up.
• 42% of 7th graders scored proficient or advanced in reading/language arts in 2012, up from 40% in 2011 and 38% in 2010.
A 2000 report on the performance of elementary and middle schools in Tennessee presented Hamilton County with some sobering news: it was home to nine of the 20 lowest-performing schools in the state.
In response, local foundations and the Hamilton County Department of Education embarked on an effort to improve student literacy in the low-performing schools, all of which were located in poor, urban neighborhoods in Chattanooga. The focus of the effort: embedded professional development and the creation of strong leadership teams in the targeted schools. ...
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A VISION FOR GREAT SCHOOLS
On this website, educators, parents and policymakers from coast to coast are sharing what's already working in public schools--and sparking a national conversation about how to make it work for children in every school. Join the conversation!
