Welcome to the February 22, 2016, edition of the HML Post.  A service to the members of the Horace Mann League of the USA.
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For decades, under the influence of efficiency-minded policymakers the "wisdom" of reform has been as follows:
To solve serious school problems federal, state, and district policymakers take "good" ideas, find the right people to implement them faithfully on a small scale (e.g., pilots, "experimental" projects), and then, spread the results across a larger playing field to reach the largest number of students. Or scaling up, in policy-talk. That is how reform should be done.
That policy "wisdom"-so rational on its surface (often called a r esearch and development  strategy to jump-start innovation)-has dominated reform for the past half-century. The results, however, have been sometimes disappointing, and occasionally disastrous.  Unanticipated issues arose. Faulty implementation occurred.  Unexpected consequences popped up. Sufficient resources went unallocated. Educators lacked capacity. ( Read more.)

 by John Fager on the Huffington Post site.
A New York Times front page headline last Aug. 13, 2015 stated,
This grassroots rebellion is a response to the war on public education being waged by billionaire foundation heads, corporate CEOs, Wall Street hedge funders, and numerous politicians who support the corporate reform agenda and who like campaign contributions that come with it.
The opt out movement against high stakes standardized testing also includes a growing number of classroom teachers and is spreading across the country. Parents resorted to civil disobedience because they felt helpless to protect their children from the test prep and testing mania and from the damaging new Common Core State(not) national Standards.  ( Read more.)


In this commentary, authors discuss the Houston Independent School District's (HISD) highest-stakes use of its contracted value-added system (i.e., the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS)) to reform and improve student learning and achievement throughout the district's schools. Authors situate their discussion within a related report on the recent release of Houston Superintendent's own evaluation scores. Authors also situate their discussion within the evidence, as per the recent release of the state's large-scale standardized test scores. Authors assert that, perhaps, attaching high-stakes consequences to teachers' value-added output in Houston is not working as intended.
  Questioning Assumptions and Challenging Perceptions: Becoming an Effective Teacher in Urban Environments by Connie Schaefer, Meg White and Corine Meredith Brown on the Rowan and Littlefield site. (Dr. Schaefer is a member of the HML.)
 For a moment, consider " you don't know what you don't know".  What individuals know about urban schools is often based on assumptions and perceptions. It is important for individuals to examine these assumptions and perceptions of urban schools and the students who attend them. 
While many textbooks support how teachers should teach students in urban settings, this book asserts individuals can be effective teachers in these settings only if they first develop an understanding urban schools and the students who attend them. As readers progress through the chapters, they will realize  they don't know what they don't know.  
Within a framework of cognitive dissonance, readers will continuously examine and reexamine their personal beliefs and perceptions. Readers will also investigate new information and varied perspectives related to urban schools. When readers finish this book, they will be on their way to becoming effective teachers in urban environments.  (Read more.)


 on the Southern Education Foundation.
Low income students are now a majority of the schoolchildren attending the nation's public schools, according to this research bulletin. The latest data collected from the states by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), show that 51 percent of the students across the nation's public schools were low income in 2013.
In 40 of the 50 states, low income students comprised no less than 40 percent of all public school children. In 21 states, children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches were a majority of the students in 2013.
Most of the states with a majority of low income students are found in the South and the West. Thirteen of the 21 states with a majority of low income students in 2013 were located in the South, and six of the other 21 states were in the West.
Mississippi led the nation with the highest rate: ­71 percent, almost three out of every four public school children in Mississippi, were low-income. The nation's second highest rate was found in New Mexico, where 68 percent of all public school students were low income in 2013.  ( Read more.)


Sharing examples of stellar student work is a time-honored tradition for helping students understand how to improve, but new research suggests that, in some cases, it can turn off struggling students.
In a series of studies  published online this month in the journal Psychological Science, researchers Todd Rogers of Harvard University and Avi Feller of the University of California, Berkeley, found struggling young adult and adult students in an online course didn't get inspired by their classmates' excellent work-quite the opposite.
"One of the surprising, negative consequences of the approach is when students are exposed to truly exceptional work, they use it as a reference point and realize they are not capable of such exceptional quality.  ( Read more.)


Advancing Democratic Education: Would Horace Mann Tweet? by  Gene V Glass on the GeneVGlass site.  (Text of presentation by Dr. Glass at the HML Annual Meeting)
A democratically run public education system in America is under siege. It is being attacked by greedy, union-hating corporations and billionaire boys whose success in business has proven to them that their circle of competence knows no bounds. If we can find the answer to the question in our title, perhaps we will find the answer to the question "What can be done to restore democracy to public education in America?" But to begin to answer these questions, we have to start our inquiry some 30 years ago, when America's public schools were said to be in a state of crisis.  ( Read more .)


The charter-school industry - consisting of schools that are funded partly by tax dollars but run independently - may be heading toward a bubble similar to that of the subprime-mortgage crisis, according to a study published by four education researchers.
The study, " Are charter schools the new subprime loans?" warns of several factors that appear to be edging the charter industry toward a bubble premeditated by the same factors that encouraged banks to start offering risky mortgage loans.
"Supporters of charter schools are using their popularity in black, urban communities to push for states to remove their charter cap restrictions and to allow multiple authorizers," one of the study's authors,  Preston C. Green III, told The Washington Post, where we first read about the study. " At the same time, private investors are lobbying states to change their rules to encourage charter school growth.  (Read more.)
Inside the fight against California's charter schools
 Maureen Magee on the Los Angeles Times site.
The growth of charter schools has jolted the landscape of public education in San Diego County. And despite efforts to limit the spread of these independently run schools, there's no sign of their expansion slowing down. 
The idea behind charter schools was that in exchange for freedom from portions of state and local education codes, charter schools are supposed to foster innovation and improve academic achievement. 
But the rise of corporate charters, independent-study programs and lawsuits over districts that approve charters to operate outside their boundaries - often for a financial incentive - has raised questions about whether charters require new checks and balances or even an outright ban.
"This is the end of our democracy if we don't have public schools - and I do not believe charter schools are public," said Nina Deerfield.  "We can't keep suing for every single infraction - we will spend the rest of our lives in court."
Making charters illegal in California may sound drastic, but it's not unprecedented. The Washington State Supreme Court  ruled last year that privately run charters are not public schools because their governance boards are appointed, not elected. Meanwhile, advocates and philanthropists are trying to preserve Washington's charters.  ( Read more.)

 
This study concludes that, compared to the average voter in Washington, an elite group of wealthy individuals, either directly through individual donations or indirectly through their affiliated philanthropic organizations, wielded disproportionate influence over the outcome of the charter school initiative in the state, thereby raising serious concerns about the democratic underpinnings of an education policy that impacts all of the children in Washington State. This study also concludes that elite individuals make use of local nonprofit organizations as a mechanism to advance their education policy agenda by funding those nonprofits through the philanthropic organizations affiliated with those same wealthy elites. In light of these conclusions, the authors recommend that a mechanism for more democratic accountability be developed relative to education policy campaigns, initiatives, and legislation.

Mooresville: How one school district defied the odds by Mark Edwards on the American Enterprise Institute site.
Mooresville, NC is probably not a household name among those outside of the education reform world. But it should be. What was once an underachieving district with a staggering racial achievement gap and poor graduation rates has been extraordinarily transformed. In just a few years, Superintendent Mark Edwards closed the achievement gap and his district now has the top graduation rate for African American students in the state of North Carolina. And he has used education technology to achieve success.
But you can't just plop a laptop in front of a student and expect a miracle. The Mooresville miracle can be repeated - so long as we learn the right lessons.    ( View video. )

Public education is becoming big business as bankers, hedge-fund managers and private-equity investors are entering what they consider to be an "emerging market." Diane Ravitch, a former assistant secretary of education, says the privatization of public education has to stop. She was an advocate school choice and charter schools, but after careful investigation, has changed her mind.  (View video.)


Delving into the black hole of the American school system: the classroom  by Jay Mathews on the Washington Post site.
The black hole of the American school system is the classroom. Researchers rarely describe and measure in a consistent or detailed way what is happening in those enclosures. It is usually expensive and time-consuming to get a representative sample.
That has long irked Larry Cuban, a former D.C. teacher and former Arlington County school superintendent who has become one of the nation's most original and persistent education scholars. He has tried to take readers into classrooms. He has shown how little effect the policy and curricular changes we argue about - "New Math," "New Social Studies" and computerized learning - appear to have had in those rooms full of desks, backpacks and children.  ( Read more.)
 

Damaging the Charter School Brand  by John Merrow on the Merrow Report site.
Charter schools and their networks desperately need a HALL OF SHAME.  What's more, the push to create it should be coming from the charter school community.
I have been observing what is called the 'charter school movement' from Day One, a historic meeting at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in 1988 that I moderated. Back then, the dream was that every district would open at least one 'chartered school,' where enrollment and employment would be voluntary and where new ideas could be field-tested.  Successes and failures would be shared, and the entire education system would benefit.
That naive optimism would be laughable if it were not for the harm that has befallen many students and the millions taken from public treasuries by some charter school operators (regardless of whether their schools are 'for-profit' or 'non-profit).  ( Read more.)

A Momentary Lapse or Abusive Teaching? on the New York Times site.
In 2014, an assistant teacher at Success Academy Cobble Hill secretly filmed her colleague, Charlotte Dial, scolding one of her students after the young girl failed to answer a question correctly. The children's faces have been blurred and their names obscured to protect their privacy.  
In the video, a teacher at Success Academy Cobble Hill, Charlotte Dial, is trying to coach a first-grade girl through a math problem. But the girl isn't getting it - and Dial gets angry. With the whole class watching, she rips the girl's paper in half and sends her to the "calm down" chair.
"There's nothing that infuriates me more than when you don't do what's on your paper," Dial says loudly. "Somebody come up and show me how she should have got her answer." Then, to the girl: "Do not go back to your seat and show me one thing and then don't do it here. You're confusing everybody."
The video is undeniably upsetting. But the bigger question it raises is whether it happened to capture a teacher's worst moment, or whether it's indicative of a larger pattern.  (Additional comments by Diane Ravitch, click here.)

Inequalities in education outcomes such as test scores or degree attainment have been at the center of education policy debates for decades. Indeed, the first seminal national report on the state of U.S. education-the 1966 Coleman Report-examined some of these inequalities 50 years ago. Since then, researchers have examined performance gaps by income level and race or ethnicity in depth, as well as inequalities in educational attainment (degrees earned, etc.), employment opportunities, earnings, and even health status and overall well-being-all of which can be seen, partly, as long-lasting consequences of earlier education gaps.
This study seeks to broaden the debate by examining the education gaps that exist even before children enter formal schooling in kindergarten, and showing that the gaps extend to non cognitive skills, which are also critical for adulthood outcomes.  ( Read more.)

A recent report from the School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative (SEII) investigates the enrollment and achievement of students with special needs and English language learners (ELLs) in oversubscribed charter schools in Boston. Though it finds some interesting and positive patterns deserving of further study, the effects cannot be generalized to support  broad advocacy statements  such as, "special education and ELL students enrolled in charters perform better on math, English-language arts, science, and writing MCAS tests."
The SEII report considers an important research question about the enrollment and success of special education and ELL students in charter schools, and it claims to "debunk" the common perception that these students are underserved in charters. It concludes that Boston charters and Boston Public Schools enroll similar numbers of both special populations, and that charter attendance has a positive and statistically significant effect for those who enter Boston's charter school lottery and then enroll after being offered a seat. 
Julie F. Mead, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (HML Member) and Mark Weber, a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University, reviewed Special Education and English Language Learner Students in Boston Charter Schools.(Read more.)

What Parents Need to Know About Common Core and Other College- and Career-Ready Standards by Laurie Barron and Patti Kinney on the World Book Site.  (Dr. Barron is a member of the Board of Directors of the HML.)
The words "Common Core" have raised hopes, questions, blood pressures, enthusiasm, controversy, expectations, political discussions, fears, and even hairs on the backs of some people's necks! Parents and the general public are bombarded by a variety of voices and opinions about those two words and what they represent-or what the speakers think they represent. This book cuts through the myths and panic to offer parents a straightforward explanation of what standards-based education is all about; what the Common Core State Standards require of their children and their children's schools; and how new college- and career-ready standards affect their children's education.  ( Read more.)
 

The decline of free play time in favor of structured learning has resulted in never-seen-before sensory issues and emotional problems in young children.
Parents worry far too much about their preschoolers' academic performance. They sign kids up for reading enrichment activities, music lessons, dance classes, organized play dates, museum camp, and more, all in hopes of their children getting an upper hand when real school starts.
The problem, however, is that when little kids under the age of 7 spend so much time doing organized activities, it takes time away from the free play that is so desperately needed for developing other areas of their brain and wellbeing.  ( Read more.)

The biggest regret from a 41-year career in education reporting (and a lot more) by Valerie Strauss on the Washington Post site - featuring an interview by James Harvey.
John Merrow is an award-winning broadcast journalist who spent 41 years covering public education in the United States for PBS. He retired last year and retired from his Learning Matters production company (which was taken over by Education Week.) In the following piece, Merrow talks about his biggest regret of his career and some things he learned along the way. The interview was conducted by James Harvey, HML Board member and Executive Director of the National Superintendents Roundtable. He helped write the seminal 1983 report "A Nation at Risk" and is the author or co-author of four books and dozens of articles on education.  (Read more.)

Kyle Stokes on the KPCC site.  
Indentured: How the NCAA went from Protecting Student -Athletes to Exploiting Them by Will Leitch on the New York Times Book Review site.
The N.C.A.A., the nonprofit organization that once governed college athletics and now more closely resembles a sprawling sales team for high-end workout gear, was, like so many despots before it, meant to be a force for good. Its first executive director, a former sportswriter named Walter Byers, built the organization as a buffer against creeping capitalism and shady gambling interests - a way to protect ­student-athletes from the rampaging hordes of greed charging in from the sidelines. It was meant to be a place of purity.
But like most theoretical utopias, it has ended up doing more harm than good. As documented in Joe Nocera and Ben Strauss's new book, "Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA," it has lost its way so many times that it is now the organization from which players need protection. ( Read more.)
 
When Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in November 2008, I was grinding my way through the eighth grade, my final year at John F. Kennedy Middle School before I was to move up to high school. While I followed the election closely, the candidates' positions on education policy weren't of much interest to me. And at the time, I didn't give any thought to how my school experience could be different.
Among many progressives and liberals, there were flickers of hope that Obama's election signaled the prospect that his presidency would lead to the reversal of the No Child Left Behind Act and Bush-era policies. It sure seemed that way once he named Stanford professor and NCLB critic Linda Darling-Hammond to head his transition's education policy team.
 ( Read more.)

Sponsor a Professional Colleague for membership in the Horace Mann League.
Click here to download the "Sponsor a Colleague" form.
 
Starting the week off with a cartoon.  



A gift for your Community Leaders: On the Art of Teaching by Horace Mann. 
The book, On The Art of Teaching by Horace Mann has been presented to new teachers as a welcome gift by a number of schools district.  For orders of 50 or more, the district's name is printed on the front cover.

Ordering Information
Cost per copy: $12.50
Orders of 50 to 99: $11.00
Orders of 100 or more: $10.00
Send orders to:  (include name of district, P.O. #, and address)
The Horace Mann League of the USA
560 Rainier Lane
Port Ludlow, WA 98365
or   email:  Jack McKay
FAX (866) 389 0740
 

  
     The Horace Mann League  on the The Horace Mann league site
"School Performance in Context:  The Iceberg Effect"   by James Harvey, Gary Marx, Charles Fowler and Jack McKay.
To download the full or summary report,
Summary Report, Click here 
Full Report,  click here 
To view in an electronic magazine format,
Summary Report, click here.
Full Report, click here 

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A Few Political Cartoons for the Week


 


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Horace Mann Prints
 The 11 * 18 inch print is available for individual or bulk purchase.  Individual prints are $4.00.  Discount with orders of 50 or more.  
For additional information about this or other prints, please check here .
 
    
  
 
A Gift:   On the Art of Teaching   by Horace Mann
In 1840 Mann wrote On the Art of Teaching. Some of HML members present On the Art of Teaching to new teachers as part of their orientation program.  On the inside cover, some write a personal welcome message to the recipient.  Other HML members present the book to school board members and parental organizations as a token of appreciation for becoming involved in their schools.  The book cover can be designed with the organization's name.  For more information, contact the HML ( Jack McKay)
 
  
  
  
 
   
    


All the past issues of the HML Posts are available for review and search purposes.
 
Finally, 7 links that may be of interest to you.
Jack's Fishing Expedition in British Columbia - short video


 
The Horace Mann League of the USA Post
About Us
The Horace Mann League of the USA is an honorary society that promotes the ideals of Horace Mann by advocating for public education as the cornerstone of our democracy.

Officers:
President: Dr. Christine  Johns-Haines, Superintendent, Utica Community Schools, MI
President-elect: Dr. Martha Bruckner, Superintendent, Council Bluffs Community Schools, IA
Vice President: Dr. Eric King, Superintendent, (ret.) Muncie Public Schools, IN
Past President: Dr. Charles Fowler, Exec. Director, Suburban School Administrators, Exeter, HN

Directors:
Dr. Ruben Alejandro, Supt. of Schools, Weslaco, TX
Dr. Laurie Barron, Supt. of Schools, Evergreen School District, Kalispell , MT
Dr. Evelyn Blose-Holman, (ret.) Superintendent, Bay Shore Schools, NY
Mr. Jeffery Charbonneau, Science Coordinator, ESD 105 and Zillah HS, WA
Dr. Carol Choye, Instructor, (ret.) Superintendent, Scotch Plains Schools, NJ
Dr. Brent Clark, Executive Director, Illinois Assoc. of School Admin. IL
Dr. Ember Conley, Supt. of Schools, Park City, UT
Dr. Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford U. CA
Dr. James Harvey, Exec. Dir., Superintendents Roundtable, WA
Dr. Steven Ladd, Superintendent, (ret.) Elk Grove Unified School District, Elk Grove, CA 
Dr. Kevin Maxwell, CEO, Prince George's County Schools, Upper Marlboro, MD
Dr. Stan Olson, President, Silverback Learning, (former supt. of Boise Schools, ID)
Dr. Steven Webb, Supt. of Schools, Vancouver School District, WA

Executive Director:
Dr. Jack McKay, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 
560 Rainier Lane, Port Ludlow, WA 98365 (360) 821 9877
 
To become a member of the HML, click here to download an application.