March 9, 2008 - March 15, 2008 Archives

When you think of a teenage girl’s high school experience, do scenes from Disney’s High School Musical come to mind? Well, think again.

According to a new reality series that chronicles the experiences of 12 young women, high school isn’t characterized by snooty cheerleaders and cheesy songs, but instead pregnancy scares, anorexia, self-injury, and depression.

I can only cringe to think what deep, dark secrets will be exposed on “High School Confidential,” which debuts tonight at 10 p.m. EST on WEtv. The series was conceived by single mom Sharon Liese, says the Boston Herald. It takes place at her own daughter’s high school in Overland Park, Kan.

Parents and school officials may want to tune in to find out what’s really going on in the hallways of their facilities and in the minds of their female students. Many young women spend their high school careers establishing their identities, making these tumultuous four years their most vulnerable.

The series helps convey the importance of adequate counseling and increased education on the risks of drug use, drinking, and sexual behavior. And, it promises to be entertaining.

Stacey Hollenbeck, spring intern

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBG-pul6gOw&NR=1

WANTED: Seven high-energy middle school teachers for new charter school in Washington Heights, N.Y., near the Bronx. School will initially serve 120 mostly low-income and Hispanic students. Teachers will work a longer day and year than at most public schools and have bigger class sizes. Background in education not required, but knowledge of Latin a plus.

And did we mention salary? The new school, called the Equity Project, will pay you $125,000 -- that’s right, $125,000 -- plus a potential bonus based on school-wide performance.

Not surprisingly, according to a story in the New York Times school founder and principal Zeke M. Vanderhoek has received such a flood of responses that the school’s voice-mail message has begun urging applicants to use e-mail instead.

The school, said the Times, “will test one of the most fundamental questions in education: Whether significantly higher pay for teachers is the key to improving schools.”

The key? Well, I would guess that if every public school in America could pay its teachers $125,000 plus incentives --- which Vanderhoek plans to do by using city, state, and federal money, as well as grants – the vast majority would indeed improve, and some dramatically so: It’s a simple question of economics. And, while the prospect of universal six-figure salaries for teachers may seem remote for now, the mere mention of that kind of compensation could have a real impact in the debate over how best to “professionalize” the job. (One way: Show them the money.)

Of course, when “boutique” projects like this one succeed, it’s often because of their very uniqueness; they possess qualities that aren’t necessarily transferable to bigger systems. For example, to make ends meet, Vanderhoek plans to pay himself, and any principal who after him, less than his teachers. The school will have only one or two social workers for a school serving a disadvantaged population. The only electives will be music and Latin. And the story didn’t say anything about football.

Unrealistic? Maybe for now. But experiments like the Equity Project give us all something to think about.

Lawrence Hardy, Senior Editor

If you think you’re spending more and getting less these days, you’re right -- at least for school construction.

School districts spent almost $20.8 billion on new buildings, renovations, and additions last year, an $800 million increase over 2006. But that money resulted in fewer projects because the average square-foot costs increased about 6 percent.

Using numbers gathered by Market Data Retrieval, School Planning & Management magazine recently released its annual school construction report, which looks at both the national picture and trends in 12 regions across the country.

Overall, it found that 63 percent of the $20.8 billion was spent on new construction, 18 percent went for additions to existing structures, and 19 percent was used for renovations and retrofits for older buildings.

The percentage spent on new construction was the highest since 1979 -- shortly before the bulk of the baby boomer generation graduated and enrollments dropped. And those buildings still continue to be big, debunking the trend of smaller learning environments.

The analysis shows that the vast majority of money was spent in fast-growing southern and Southwestern states, and the region that includes New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

School construction spending has reached record levels this decade, but don’t expect to see more increases in coming years, though -- SPM expects total spending to drop below $20 billion this year, based on data for projects that are underway.

Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor

Here we go again: As the nation’s economy slows down, state policymakers are eyeing public education dollars as a means to balance shrinking state budgets—and, in doing so, they prepare to undermine the school reforms and rising student performance they demand of schools.

The clearest evidence of this short-sighted but all-too-common public policy phenomenon can be found in California, where not long ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was calling 2008 the "Year of Education." Indeed, in January, a state education panel proposed several exciting initiatives on performance pay for teachers, universal preschool, all-day kindergarden, and new data and accountability systems.

But a projected $14.5 billion state deficit over the next 18 months has left these grand ideas in tatters, and now Schwarzenegger wants to cut education funding by $4.8 billion.

If that happens, school systems will have to lay off teachers, boost class sizes, and cut back on successful initiatives to boost student performance. Equally disturbing, by the time the state eventually recovers fiscally, even those academic programs spared the budget axe will have been undermined by staff shortages, cuts in professional development, and staff turnover.

It's not that policymakers want to undermine the schools. They just aren't willing to pay the political cost to ensure a reliable funding source for education. Consider their eagerness to embrace politically popular "property tax relief" proposals, which ultimately shift responsibility for school funding to the state—and state sales taxes—but leave public education ever more sensitive to economic ups and downs.

That argument, indeed, was made to Georgia lawmakers in a recent report by the Massachusetts-based Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. But some lawmakers promptly reaffirmed their wish to cut property taxes at the insistence of constituents.

I don't need a crystal ball to forecast the future. A handful of far-sighted governors will do their best to shield public education funding, but their success will depend largely on whether the economy continues to slow or soon rebounds.

There also will be isolated talk of establishing a more dedicated funding stream for education, such as setting mandatory minimum budget limits to shield schools from future economic downturns.

That's a grand idea. But, of course, we're talking about politicians. Twenty years ago, California voters set just those minimum limits to stabilize school funding with passage of Proposition 98. But Gov. Schwarzenegger convinced state lawmakers to suspend the law during the last economic downturn—and he's proposing it again this year.

If such cuts occur—in California and elsewhere—what happens when schools invariably fail to meet annual yearly progress (AYP) goals? Will critics point the blame at state officials for shortchanging public education?

I bet you don't need a crystal ball, either.

Del Stover, Senior Editor

I’ve never considered myself to be a “gamer,” (an avid video game player for all you non-hip folks.) In fact, I’ve regarded the craze with bemusement and not a small amount of consternation. “What is this world coming to?,” I say to myself, in my best grumpy old man impersonation. Well, my attitude has changed somewhat.

It happened, innocently enough, during a recent family vacation. I was introduced to the latest interactive gaming system on the market. I bowled. I boxed. I played tennis. And the next day, I couldn’t raise my arm, which was surprising to someone who considers themselves fairly active.

These are the kinds of technologies that schools are beginning to take a serious look at and implement into their physical education programs, as I discovered and reported for the current issue of ASBJ. http://www.asbj.com/MainMenuCategory/Archive/2008/March/PhysTech.aspx

In fact, West Virginia is leading the trend, by including Dance, Dance Revolution, a sort of Simon-says of the feet, at every public school in the state. Make it fun, make it exciting, make it relevant, that’s been the mantra of many educators desperate to engage disconnected students--- and it seems inactive ones, too.

Of course, there’s some concern among the purists. People should learn to love or at least appreciate x for x sake, for goodness sake! I admit it. I sort of thought that way, too, especially as it relates to physical activity. Exercising may not always be the most exciting to do, but it should be a priority because it’s important to your health. Period. End of story.

Truth is, though, many need more of an incentive than that and if technology can jumpstart exercise, so be it. Stranger things have happened. I’m now considering guitar lessons, after a few hours as a Guitar Hero.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor