Education News: June 26, 2009

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending June 26, 2009.

LA Board of Ed. Approves $1.6 Billion in Cuts Over the Next Three Years
(Los Angeles Times, June 24, 2009)  On Tuesday, the L.A. Unified Board of Education approved nearly $1.6 billion in cuts over the next three years.  The cuts will lead to layoffs and larger class sizes, and could eventually mean the elimination of all-day kindergarten and summer school.  Including the latest reductions, Los Angeles Unified School District officials have now reduced this year’s budget by $700 million (10%).  The cuts include about $132 million for the current fiscal year, which ends this month, and about $143 million for next year.  Officials approved taking money from teacher training, professional development and transportation, in an effort to preserve instruction.  In 2011-12, when federal education stimulus money is scheduled to run out, District officials project that they will have to cut an additional $844 million.  Teachers’ union officials have urged the district to use additional federal stimulus money this year, and to make sure that the funds don’t go to non-teaching staff.  Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines, however, thinks it would be irresponsible to spend all the funds now and that preserving school autonomy is important as it will minimize bureaucracy. 

NYC Principals’ Union Opposes Proposal to Eliminate Two Training Days
(New York Times, June 23, 2009)  One Tuesday, the New York City principals’ union denounced a proposal to eliminate two staff development days scheduled for the beginning of September.  The union claims that both teachers and principals need time to plan and set up classrooms before the students arrive for the first day of school. The proposal was part of a tentative agreement between the city and the teachers’ union, which is expected to save the city $2 billion over the next 20 years by rolling back pension benefits for new teachers.  Ernest A. Logan, president of the principals’ union, which is called the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, said that the start of the school year would be severely disrupted without the two days to prepare.   Additionally, many principals have already lined up and paid training consultants for those days.  According to Randi Weingarten, head of the United Federation of Teachers, New York City’s teachers union, teachers often complain about having to return to work before Labor Day.

Students Earn to Learn at Chicago School
(USA Today, June 21, 2009)  In Chicago’s dangerous, gang-filled West Austin neighborhood, Christopher Devron, a Jesuit priest, made it his mission to provide a school where students could feel safe and receive a quality education.  In doing so, he founded Christ the King Catholic High School, a school where students earn 75% of their tuition by working for one day a week at Chicago-area companies, and then sign their paychecks over to the school.  The school is part of a network of twenty-two schools established in inner-city neighborhoods across the country.  The school has received $19 million in donations that will go towards a new a newly designed building for students to move to in January, but it still requires an additional $14 million.  Chris Gardner, author of the best seller Pursuit of Happiness and one of the school’s biggest supporters, hired five students to work for his brokerage firm.  "If we don't invest in them, who will?" asks Gardner. "The cavalry is not coming."

Supreme Court Affirms Reimbursement for Special-Ed Students in Private School
(New York Times, June 22, 2009)  On Monday, the Supreme Court decided that parents of special-education students could seek reimbursement from the government for private school tuition, even if their child never received special-education services in public school.  While the decision will help many disabled students receive needed services, it will likely cost school districts millions of dollars.  The case before the court involved a learning-disabled student, identified only as T.A., who was found ineligible for special-education services at his public school.  Upon enrollment at a $5,200-a-month residential school, it was found that T.A. had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other disabilities.  Nationally, about 90,000 special-education students are in private schools, and most are referred by their public schools.  The main issue in the case was whether a 1997 amendment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (or IDEA) prohibited reimbursement for students who never received special-education services in public school.  In a vote of 6-3, however, the Supreme Court concluded that the parents deserve reimbursement “when a school district fails to provide a free and appropriate public education and the private school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child previously received special-education or related services through the public school.”  The dissenting judges cited that the amendment was designed to promote cooperation between school districts and families in order to design an individualized education plan that would be most beneficial to the student, and the high cost that will ensue.

Form for Federal Financial Aid Will be Overhauled in Attempt to Streamline
(Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 25, 2009)  The US Department of Education has announced that it will eliminate twenty-two questions and twenty Web screens from the online application form for federal student aid.  Additionally, the time a student used to have to wait to receive an estimate on the amount of aid he or she is eligible for will go from weeks to seconds.  The old format contained up to 153 questions, requiring information so obscure that applying was more difficult than filing income taxes.  The changes are intended to increase college enrollment by making it easier for students to get money who previously would give up due to the form’s difficulty.  In January, the process will become even easier when the Department of Education will be able to draw information directly from the IRS.  President Obama’s administration has also asked Congress to eliminate an additional twenty-six questions.

Inspiring Kindergarten Teacher Receives Recognition from Business Community
(San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 2009)  On Thursday, the Bay Area Business Roundtable recognized kindergarten teacher Kanikah LeMon of San Francisco by giving her its Spotlight Award.  The award recognizes those who contribute to the "economic health and vitality of Bay Area businesses and communities."  The Chronicle recently profiled LeMon and her class from the 1995-96 school year that she taught at Carver Elementary in San Francisco's downtrodden Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.  All but one of her students was African-American, and most came from low-income families.  Due to her seniority, LeMon could have chosen to work in a high-scoring school, but instead chose a troubled one, where she made a tremendous impact and started the kids off right.  As a result, despite statistics that showed that third of California's black youth quit school, twenty-two of Ms. LeMon’s 28 students from that year have graduated high school, and many are now in college.  The Roundtable is an Oakland based group of business and civic leaders concerned with economic improvement in underprivileged communities.

Is More PE Time The Answer to Child Obesity?
(USA Today, June 21, 2009)  Despite concerns about childhood obesity, the only states that require PE classes for all kids in kindergarten through 12th grade are Illinois and Massachusetts.  Even with the requirement, however, an estimated 20.7% of 10- to 17-year-olds in Illinois are obese, according to a 2007 survey released last month.  Many credit this to Illinois’ lack of a standardized PE curriculum, which means that what counts as physical activity can vary widely.  Additionally, the state doesn’t monitor schools to see if they are complying with the requirement, nor is there a penalty if they don’t.  According to the Center for Disease Control, an estimated 32% of American school children from ages 2 to 19 are overweight, 17% of who are obese.  Health experts recommend thirty minutes of physical education a day for elementary school students, and forty-five minutes for students in junior high or high school.  In a recent CDC study, however, less than 4% of elementary schools, less than 8% of middle schools and just over 2% of high schools required daily PE for all students for the entire school year.  Some educators blame No Child Left Behind for the lack of physical education, as it forces administrators to put as much time towards math and reading as possible in order to ensure success on state exams.