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Headlines
Association & Related News
NCTAF Holds Policy Briefing and Releases Report on Teacher Shortages
Education Newsbriefs
"The Top Priority: Great Teaching" (IA)
"Teacher Quality to Be Improved With IDs" (MD)
"State Leaders Think New Law Will Improve School, Student Performance" (MS)
"Area Schools Get Aid for Poor Students" (TN)
"Kaine Announces Learning Initiative Through iTunes" (VA)
"Proposed Title I Changes Ease Tutoring Rules"
Association & Related News
NCTAF Holds Policy Briefing and Releases Report on Teacher Shortages
By Paul Ferrari
The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) held a policy briefing on April 7 on the effects of the approaching wave of teacher retirements. The event focused on the fact that America will soon be facing a shortage of teachers–fifty-three percent of the nation’s teachers are baby boomers, states are about to lose more than half of their teaching workforce at those teachers retire.
This event marks the launch of NCTAF’s major campaign to build a 21st century education system and to create innovative solutions that lay the foundation for developing a 21st century education workforce. NCTAF presented new national polling data about how to continue to engage experienced teachers about to retire, develop learning teams to improve teacher quality, create new roles for today’s educators, and build new pathways into education for baby boomers eager to contribute the expertise and experience they have gained in the larger workforce. The survey data also addresses the reactions of teachers and principals to the concept of cross-generational learning teams.
Speakers at the event included Tom Carroll, president, NCTAF; Gene Wilhoit, executive director, CCSSO; Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers; Steve Paine, state superintendent of schools, West Virginia; Richard Ingersoll, professor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education; Elizabeth Foster, director of strategic initiatives, NCTAF.
For more information about the NCTAF’s work on cross generational learning teams and teacher demographics view their policy brief, Learning Teams: Creating What’s Next.
Education Newsbriefs
The Top Priority: Great Teaching
Des Moines Register (IA) (04/12/09)
Teachers are just one essential element in a successful education system, according to a wide variety of experts. Iowa Department of Education Director Judy Jeffrey notes, "We have to make sure we admit the very best candidates into our preparation programs. I think we are working on it, but at the same time there are extreme [teacher] shortages. We face a dilemma of needing people and wanting the very best and brightest. Could we do better? Yes, I think we could." Some experts say teacher-education programs should be more selective to ensure that candidates are "intellectually curious and engaging." Other changes for the Iowa public education system should include providing teachers with more time to collaborate, improving teacher evaluations to ensure teachers use student achievement to bolster instruction and curriculum, and increasing teacher salaries to make the profession more attractive to graduates.
Teacher Quality to Be Improved With IDs
WBALChannel.com (Baltimore) (04/09/09)
A bill passed by Maryland lawmakers will give public school teachers new identification numbers and create a statewide data system to improve teacher tracking by matching teachers to students by classroom and subject. The system aims to bolster teacher quality and ensure state compliance with federal education guidelines calling for better reporting of teacher and student data. According to State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nancy Grasmick, "As we know more about those teachers in particular circumstances--where they are placed to teach--we can help those teachers and give them more support."
State Leaders Think New Law Will Improve School, Student Performance
WLBT-TV 3 (Jackson, MS) (04/08/09) Kalahar, Jon
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour recently signed the Children First Act into law. Among other things, the bill will remove superintendents and school boards if schools are designated as "failing" for two consecutive years, and financial and academic progress data will be published each year by school districts. Additionally, it prevents students with grade point averages under 2.0 from participating in extracurricular activities. Mississippi Superintendent of Education Dr. Hank Bounds says, "I think the bottom line is we should see better performance overall at the school and district level. I've always learned that what gets measured gets done and now we're measuring in a very different way."
Area Schools Get Aid for Poor Students
Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) (04/09/09)
Additional Title 1 funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARAA), totaling $186 million, will be used by Tennessee school districts to extend day and year programs, provide intense parent training, and create intense year-long teacher training. Tennessee Education Commissioner Timothy Webb says, "We know these additional funds will help our school districts close the achievement gap and improve education for at-risk students, and we're excited that these dollars will allow schools to reach more students than ever before." School districts can apply for the funds through the education department's Web site. For more information on the ARRA funding, go here.
Kaine Announces Learning Initiative Through iTunes
WHSV-3 (Va) (04/07/09)
The Virginia Department of Education has rolled out the Virginia on iTunes U program to provide free access to educational content through Apple's iTunes Store. The department worked with Radford University, Blue Ridge Public Television, Thinkfinity, and other state and national organizations on iTunes U, which offers audio and video educational content to be downloaded onto iPod, iTouch, and iPhone devices. Additionally, Gov. Timothy Kaine recently announced the Learning Apps Development Challenge, calling for the development of innovative middle school math applications. All content submitted for inclusion in the program will be evaluated by the department based on quality, accuracy, and relevance. According to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Patricia Wright, "Mobile communication devices are an integral part of the lives of thousands of Virginia students. We can choose to ignore them or we can leverage them as powerful, personal learning devices." To learn more about Virginia's iTunes U, click here.
Proposed Title I Changes Ease Tutoring Rules
Education Week (04/08/09) Vol. 28, No. 28, P. 15; Gewertz, Catherine
In a recent letter to the state schools chiefs, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he would no longer require states to submit updated "accountability workbooks" and would waive the 14-day notification requirement school have to notify parents before the beginning of the school year that they can transfer students to another school, though the suspension will only be for the 2009-10 school year. Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), students failing to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years are eligible for transfers to other public schools. While Duncan says he supports the notification requirement, he believes that the states may be better able to comply if the notification was extended to 30 days. Finally, he intends to lift the bank on allowing underperforming school districts to serve as tutoring providers under NCLB.
Education Newsbriefs © Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC.
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