ASBJ on bullying prevention
Posted Thursday, August 20, 2009
If you search Open Forum's "school board policy" archives, you'll find plenty of entries covering last year's legislative debate on bullying.
ASBSD opposed the legislation, which we felt was poorly worded and destined to have bullying prevention figured out in court rooms rather than board rooms and classrooms. As an organization, we ramped-up our awareness-building on bullying prevention in schools, which you can read about here.
In case you don't have a subscription to American School Board Journal, the magazine of the National School Boards Association, hurry and move over to ASBJ.com and check out their September cover story on bullying.
An excerpt:
Bullying prevention has changed from focusing on individual students and problems with curriculum units and once-a-year student assemblies. Efforts now hone in on the entire school district, with the adults' responses to bullying being the key to change.
“School leaders must be aware of the messages they send,” says author and school counselor Stan Davis.
All schools have an overt culture and a hidden one, says Davis, who works at the James A. Bean Elementary School in Sidney, Maine. “Kids are paying attention to the hidden one. They will see if we welcome new staff, and if we will listen to hate speech.” Students tell him that their classmates say, “That test is so gay.” When the adults don't address it, the curriculum and assemblies are wasted.
Adult responses to bullying and harassment, with consequences, show that teachers and staff are serious. The consequences don't have to be dire, like suspension or expulsion, but Davis says they must be consistent. Then students know the behavior is not acceptable, and the adults in the building are committed to stopping it.
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ACT scores: Let's take a look.
Posted Wednesday, August 19, 2009
South Dakota students once again scored above the national average on the ACT test. Scores didn't improve, but they held steady. Good news, for certain.
We frequently write congratulatory posts, but we're going to make a point with this one – especially while the data is so fresh and easily searchable.
Let's talk about education funding.
Some against devoting additional funding to K-12 education argue that money doesn't equal outcomes. Expenditures can't be related to student results, they say.
And, when opponents of increased funding make that argument, they often compare South Dakota, ranked among the lowest in per-student education expenditures, to Washington, D.C, which consistently has the highest per-student expenditures in the nation.
The point of the opponents' argument: South Dakota spends less while performing better on standardized tests. Which is true, in a way.
But, consider this. The chart below shows average ACT scores for sub-groups of students, broken down by ethnicity.
|
|
South Dakota |
D.C |
National |
|
All Students |
22.0 |
19.4 |
21.1 |
|
Caucasian |
22.4 |
26.2 |
22.2 |
|
African American |
17.3 |
15.7 |
16.9 |
|
American Indian |
17.6 |
16.6 |
18.9 |
|
Hispanic |
20.9 |
19.5 |
18.7 |
Though South Dakota compares well to the national average, and particularly to D.C., in the "All Students" category, taking apart the numbers shows a different trend.
Caucasian students in D.C. score better than their peers in South Dakota. Much better, actually.
Here's the difference. In South Dakota, Caucasian students, who traditionally fare better than the national average on standardized tests, represent about 84 percent of the student population. In D.C., African American students, who traditionally don't score well on standardized tests, make up about...84 percent of the student population.
Now, there's a lot to be said about achievement gaps, the need to close achievement gaps, and the high cost of educating students who live in poverty. But, the data just begs the question, if four out of every five students in South Dakota come from a sub-group that traditionally scores higher on standardized tests, then does it help create the impression that our students out-perform students in other states?
In the same line of thought: Are the majority of South Dakota students prepared to compete against college seeking students in other states?
There's no question South Dakota schools do a remarkable job with the resources provided. But, when we see statistics like this, it makes us wonder what our students could achieve if we adequately funded our schools.
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Race to the Top
Posted Tuesday, August 18, 2009
New Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been dubbed a "king maker" for the unprecedented levels of discretionary spending at his disposal thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
They call it the "Race to the Top" fund and it's funded to the tune of $4.35 billion.
For those who think of the federal education agency is regulatory and focused on compliance, Race to the Top marks ED's toe-dipping into offering carrots, rather than sticks, to spur reform. Duncan has been travelling the country, warning states against misappropriating stimulus funds, encouraging charter schools and dangling Race to the Top money as an incentive.
If you read ED's preliminary guidance, it becomes a little clearer what ED will be looking for when they approve the grants.
Thinks like common core standards, charter schools and performance pay are certainly going to be part of the discussion. Longitudinal data systems - testing that links student data over time - is also a priority.
According to the Associated Press, South Dakota Education Secretary Tom Oster says South Dakota will want to compete. With ED saying they will give priority to "comprehensive strategies," Open Forum wonders how far the state will move into these issues, which aren't really the topic of debate when session cranks up.
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Class is in session
Posted Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Open Forum is off it's summer hiatus and hitting the keyboard again. Let's see if we can't stir things up, share some discussions, and get this blog rolling in preparation for legislative session.
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