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US Education Update Issue 18 – July 2003 Contents
Vocational and Higher Education
Upcoming
Events/Conferences Early Childhood Education: Head Start Reforms Head Start, the federally-funded programme established in the 1960s, serves almost one million disadvantaged pre-school children and their families. The programme is scheduled for reauthorisation this year and the current administration has taken a strong reform stance – with expected opposition. Traditionally, Head Start focuses on the social and emotional development of 3-5 year olds with an emphasis on good nutrition and health care. President Bush, following on from his No Child Left Behind legislation, seeks to expand the focus to more teaching of literacy and maths, saying “The new civil right in America is reading”. He is also introducing a level of accountability, which has not previously existed. In return for continuation of funding, Head Start programmes will be required to show, using simple evaluations, that their children have reached a certain understanding in reading and maths. Head Start teachers are also receiving additional training. So far, over 3,000 teachers have taken part in the Strategic Teacher Education Program (STEP) to learn a curriculum known as the Circle Program. These teachers are expected to train their colleagues – there are 50,000 Head Start teachers overall. Critics of this scheme would prefer to attract more qualified teachers with better pay. The reform measures have provoked criticism from Head Start officials who are against the emphasis on academics and accountability at a young age. There is also criticism of the administration’s plans to reform the funding stream by giving block grants to states rather then the current method of federal funding going straight to local partnerships. It is feared that, rather than increasing flexibility of spending by the states on Head Start, the funding may be siphoned to other areas. It is also proposed that Head Start will come under the joint auspices of the Department of Education and its current administrator, the Department of Health and Human Services, signaling the push in its academic focus. For more information,
visit the Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start information:
www2.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/hsb Laptop Initiative for Middle School Students in Maine The Maine Learning Technology Initiative was launched in September 2002. Maine became the first state to provide a laptop computer to each of its 17,000 7th Graders (13 year olds). Early indications are that the project is successful. A mid-year evaluation by the University of Southern Maine showed that the students were more engaged in their work, doing more homework and there was less bad behaviour (another report indicated decreased truancy). The risks associated with computer use, such as plagiarism, have been low. The Initiative is largely supported in the state with plans to expand the scheme to include 8th Graders in spite of a significant state budget shortfall. For more information: www.britishcouncil-usa.org/policy/edup/edupus15.html#11
– Background from a previous US Education Update (Source: Christian Science Monitor, 16/6/03) School vouchers programmes (publicly funded scholarships for low-income, high-achieving students enabling them to transfer to private, often religious, schools) continue to gain momentum. Colorado passed a pilot state-wide voucher bill in April (the first state since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that Cleveland’s voucher programme was not unconstitutional last July). Florida is the only other state which operates a voucher programme in more than one city. Texas has a similar bill in the works. Washington DC Mayor and DC’s school board President have recently reversed their stance and now support an experimental voucher programme in the nation’s capital. If passed, it would provide up to $7,500 each year to a low-income child to offset fees at a private school. Improving Parental Involvement in Schools The benefits of positive parental involvement in schools are widely accepted. According to the National Coalition for Parental Involvement in Education when families and schools work together: students do better in school and in life; parents become empowered; teacher morale improves; schools get better; and communities grow stronger (www.ncpie.org). Many states are now looking at ways of improving parental involvement with meaningful programmes integrated into the school’s community, especially in areas with high minority populations. The National Network of Partnership Schools, based at Johns Hopkins University, has developed a framework of six types of parental involvement which schools can use to help guide their efforts:
State Examples: Rhode Island
Parent Information Network (RIPIN) provides information, Organisations can apply for funding under the Parental Information and Resource Center (PIRC) programme administered by the Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) of the US Department of Education. Activities undertaken
by the RIPIN PIRC include the development and expansion of home-school
partnerships and the development of training programmes, Major objectives of the RIPIN PIRC include:
A school district in Maryland is actively recruiting parents to be involved in schools with an aggressive outreach programme aimed at recent immigrants. It has issued culturally-specific booklets explaining the functions of such topics as Parent Teacher Associations. In Virginia, one school district is holding monthly breakfast meeting with free babysitting and a school district in Delaware has instituted a series of monthly workshops for parents and caregivers known as the Parents Academy. The topics cover areas from preparing your child for school to getting your child ready for college. For more information: 18 Month Anniversary of No Child Left Behind The US Secretary of Education recently gave Congress an update on implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act to mark its 18 month anniversary. Every state, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, has submitted accountability plans which have been approved. The administration will now focus on “helping states place a highly qualified teacher in every classroom; expanding the opportunities for qualified students to receive tutoring and other supplemental services; and identifying schools in need of improvement and making sure they are getting the assistance they need to get back on track.” States have been praised for providing a plan at relatively short notice showing how they will meet the demands of the NCLB Act. However, some education specialists have noted examples of states having lowered their testing standards in an effort to avoid large numbers of their schools being labelled in need of improvement. Schools which do not improve over time also face federal financial penalties. Federal officials disagree with the assertion that the law encourages states to lower their standards in order to avoid sanctions. They say that there are enough checks in place to safeguard standards while allowing states some flexibility. (Source: New York Times, 22/5/03) Community Action Guide to Teacher Quality The Public Education Network has issued a guide which is designed to help communities better understand teachers and teaching, as well as the community’s role in achieving high-quality teaching. It is based on the experiences of eight local education funds (LEFs) (independent community-based advocacy organisations working to improve public schools and build citizen support for quality public education in low-income communities). The guide offers step-by-step procedures on the use of data to assess teacher quality, on ways to create school and community environments that support teacher quality, and on ways to engage the community in support of teacher quality. Read “A Community Action Guide to Teacher Quality” here www.publiceducation.org/tqguide.asp (Source: PEN Weekly Newsblast, 6/6/03) Vocational and Higher Education Supreme Court Rules on Affirmative Action On June 23, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld the prestigious University of Michigan’s use of race as a factor in determining admission to its graduate law school. However, in a 6-3 vote, the justices ruled that the University’s use of a point system favouring “under-represented minorities” for undergraduate admission is unconstitutional. It was viewed as tantamount to a quota system, which is not permissible under the Constitution. (For background to this story, see the previous US Education Update) The ruling will most affect competitive universities which struggle to achieve a diverse student body on campus. They must now ensure that their admissions policies relating to ethnic minorities cannot be construed as a quota system of any kind. One of the justices wrote that she expected that “25 years from now the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary…”. Some policymakers have replied that, unless more is done to tackle the widening achievement gap between white children and their minority peers at an early age, some form of affirmative action will be necessary for a long time. For more information: www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/06/20030623.html
– White House press release on Supreme Court’s rulings Update on Sevis: Tracking System for Overseas Students According to a report from the Inspector General of the US Department of Justice the central tracking system of overseas students, known as Sevis, is experiencing “significant deficiencies” in its implementation. Sevis (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) is a central database to which all accredited institutions must report the address, field of study, and attendance of all their overseas students and scholars (either by hand typing or linking from their own computer database). Although supported by most institutions, many have complained that the project was instituted before it was operational. The problems are primarily technical and institutions are now facing their busiest season as they try to adhere to the requirements of an additional one million records to be entered on Sevis before the August 1 deadline. Concerns over visa delays and chaos for students are being monitored by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. For background information, see previous US Education Update Progress of Workforce Investment Act Reauthorisation The House of Representatives passed the Workforce Reinvestment and Adult Education Act on May 8. The bill, which reauthorises the Workforce Investment Act, would combine currently separate funding streams, eliminate burdensome reporting requirements, and make significant changes to youth programmes. The American Association of Community Colleges will advocate for a greater emphasis on training as the Senate begins to consider WIA reauthorisation. Further information is available on the AACC websitewww.aacc.nche.edu Community College Leadership Initiative The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) $1.9 million to begin the development of a comprehensive national leadership development programme for the nation’s community colleges. The two-year planning grant, Leading Forward, will help address an anticipated 45% turnover of community college CEOs by 2007, with a particular emphasis on helping colleges transform leadership positions to meet the diverse needs of an evolving community college population. For more information, please see the AACC press release at: www.aacc.nche.edu Five UK college deputy principals will join their US counterparts at the Future Leaders Institute (FLI) - a 5-day programme, which will take place in Pittsburgh PA, 20-24 July 2003. Dr Craig Thomson, Principal of Glenrothes College in Scotland will also form part of the tutor team. This new initiative for potential college presidents (principals) will focus on the development of generic college leadership skills and knowledge and will cover such issues as:
The inclusion of UK participants in this first FLI is part of a collaborative venture between the British Council, AACC, the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA), Further Education National Training Organisation (FENTO) and the Association of Scottish Colleges (ASC). The FLI will provide a unique opportunity for potential college leaders in the UK and USA to work together and learn from each other. This collaboration has arisen in response to the need for effective leadership succession planning for colleges in both the UK and the USA and it is hoped that a more comprehensive programme of joint development between UK and US college leaders will emerge from this project. Participants in the program will be eligible to receive support from the Kellogg Foundation grant to the AACC and UK participants will also receive support from the British Council USA. Further information is available on the British Council USA website. November 17-21,
2003 The US Secretary of Education announced International Education Week 2003 “as a time to celebrate the diversity of America and the many different cultures, languages and traditions that make up our global community.” For general information about international education activities and programs at the US Department of Education, click here www.ed.gov/international.
Browse and Search the Archives Now you can browse through archived issues and at the British Council USA’s Education Policy section. If there are any topics you would like to see covered in future editions of the Update, please contact: alison.corbett@us.britishcouncil.org Education Research Officer Additional Contacts Judith.grant@worldnet.att.net;
judith.grant@dfes.gsi.gov.uk, Consultant to the British Embassy British Embassy, USA
website: www.britainUSA.com
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