Daily News Roundup—July 15, 2010

EEP News

EEP Co-Chairs Joel I. Klein, Michael Lomax, and Janet Murguía penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal asserting that President Obama’s school reform policies should be a priority, and shouldn’t be sacrificed in any way by Congress. “Although it has received much less attention than health care and financial regulatory reform, this measure may ultimately be one of Mr. Obama's most profound and lasting achievements. In just one year, we've already seen more reforms proposed and enacted around the country than in the preceding decade.”  The full text can be found at the bottom of today’s RoundUp and on our website.

The Education Equality Project along with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the Democrats for Education Reform hosted a screening of “The Lottery” for Members of Congress and their staff in Washington D.C. last night, featuring EEP Co-Chair Michael Lomax, EEP Signatory and filmmaker Madeleine Sackler, and Success Charter Network founder and EEP Signatory Eva Moskowitz!

The Boston Globe reports that Colorado Senator (and EEP Signatory) Michael Bennet prepares for his upcoming Senate race, highlighting his years as superintendent of Denver’s public schools.

National

In anticipation of Senate discussions on the Edujobs bill, here’s a copy of the letter to Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Daniel Inouye from 14 senators urging the Senate to reverse Congressman Obey’s proposed cuts to key education reform efforts (Race to the Top, the Teacher Incentive Fund, and the Charter Schools Fund).

ASCD provides an interactive map called Status of State Adoption that highlights which states have adopted the Common Core Standards, and where they are in the process.  As of today, half of all states have approved Common Core Standards, with South Carolina joining the group today.

NPR reports that new teacher evaluation laws, which would tie teachers’ job security to how well their students do in class, are splitting teachers who think it will be good for the profession from those who believe it is an attack on the profession.

NPR also highlights former president of Teachers College at Columbia University Arthur Levine’s new book, which examines the American Dream through the lens of his childhood in the South Bronx.  The book is entitled Unequal Fortunes.

The Kansas City Star reports that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan tells NAACP delegates meeting in Kansas City for the group’s annual convention that “education is the civil rights issue of our generation.”

Education Next’s Michael Petrilli explains why 2010 is a banner year for the education documentary (with a bit from Education Reform Now executive director and EEP signatory, Van Schoales).

EdWeek reports that Melody Barnes, who works on K-12 issues at the White House, told reporters today that President Obama wants to see money to help save education jobs, but not at the expense of his education redesign priorities (e.g., Race to the Top).

EdWeek reports on a new study by the Center on Education Policy  showing that many school districts that used federal economic-stimulus funds to stave off layoffs this year, but could face a serious budget and layoff crisis when stimulus funds dry up.

Washington Post’s The Answer Sheet argues that we should take cues from how we evaluate relief pitchers in baseball to evaluate our teachers.

From the States

California

The LA Times released an editorial praising Common Core standards, and urging California to join the other 25 states that have already adopted the standards for education.

Massachusetts

The Boston Globe repots that prominent civil rights organizations have abruptly ended their partnership with the Boston public schools to create a new system to assign students to schools, concerned that the process is moving too slowly and has left out the public.

North Carolina

EdWeek reports that preliminary results released on Wednesday showed higher performance by Wake County students in elementary, middle and high school on state exams this past school year, with the racial achievement gap narrowing.  Wake County just recently voted to eliminate a diversity policy that helped to maintain socioeconomic balance in schools.

South Carolina

South Carolina is the 25^th state to adopt Common Core standards.  Check out the map here.

Public Schedule of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

The Week Ahead: Monday, July 12-Sunday, July 18

Monday, July 12

No public events scheduled.

Tuesday, July 13

Noon

The Secretary will read to local school children at the Department’s Let’s Read. Let’s Move. summer reading program. Washington Redskin and education activist Chris Draft will also participate. U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, July 14

11 a.m.

The Secretary will address the NAACP annual convention, Kansas City Convention Center, 301 W. 13th St., Kansas City, Mo.

Thursday, July 15

4:50 p.m.

The Secretary will address the College Board’s AP Annual Conference, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Friday, July 16

9:15 a.m.

The Secretary will address the CCSSO and SHEEO (Council of Chief State School Officers and State Higher Education Executive Officers) joint annual meeting, Graves Hotel, 601 1st Ave. North, Minneapolis, Minn.

Saturday, July 17

No public events scheduled.

Sunday, July 18

No public events scheduled.

OPINION
JULY 15, 2010
Obama's School Reforms Are a Priority
Congress shouldn't divert the funds the president needs to improve public education.

By JOEL I. KLEIN, MICHAEL LOMAX AND JANET MURGUíA
 
In the days following his inauguration, President Obama included a package of educational reforms in his stimulus bill that offered states financial incentives to make dramatic improvements in their education systems. About 10% of the $100 billion allocated for education was used to create competitive grants. States could only win them by drafting comprehensive and aggressive plans to, for example, adopt higher academic standards, turn around chronically low-performing schools, and redesign teacher evaluation and compensation systems.

Although it has received much less attention than health care and financial regulatory reform, this measure may ultimately be one of Mr. Obama's most profound and lasting achievements. In just one year, we've already seen more reforms proposed and enacted around the country than in the preceding decade.

Yet on July 1, with little warning, the House of Representatives watered down these reform efforts by approving an amendment to the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, proposed by Rep. David Obey (D., Wis.). It takes away $800 million that has already been committed to three critical parts of the president's education reform package—Race to the Top, the Teacher Incentive Fund, and the Charter Schools Program. This breaks a promise to the states, districts and schools that are doing the most important work in America. The funds are to be redirected to a $10 billion "Edujobs" bill to prevent teacher layoffs.
 
We fully support the goal of saving teachers' jobs, but this is not the way to do it. No one is more committed to high-quality public education than our teachers. But without reform, they will be trapped in a system that has long been frustrating their best efforts, and failing our children.

According to a 2009 Alliance for Excellent Education report, barely half of all African-American and Latino students graduate from high school today, compared to over three-quarters of their white counterparts. A study last year from McKinsey concludes that the average student eligible for free or reduced-fee lunch is approximately two years of learning behind the average student who doesn't need such assistance.
 
These numbers are simply not acceptable. We must recognize that our system of public education is broken, and has been for some time. While it is underserving all of our students, it is most starkly failing low-income and minority students—the very children who depend on it the most. Without reform, we will be consigning another generation to poor education and second-class life options.

It is precisely such problems Mr. Obama's reforms are meant to address.
 
Last month, more than three dozen states submitted substantial reform proposals to the federal government, in hopes of receiving the funding they will need to implement them. Unfortunately, if Mr. Obey's amendment is confirmed by the Senate, at least four states poised to enact reforms will lose their chance to secure the necessary funding.

States that have spent a year planning for major changes and are now likely to see their plans derailed include New York, Maryland, Louisiana, Illinois, Colorado and California. The promise of the last year will be lost, and the system will just keep sputtering along as it has been, year after dispiriting year.
 
A growing coalition of advocates for equity and excellence— including education and civil rights groups and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle—have united to oppose these cuts. Meanwhile, Mr. Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have offered to work with Mr. Obey to find other ways of funding the Edujobs bill.

But unless and until they find a solution together, the Senate should reject the Obey amendment. The choice it proposes—between a reformed educational system and preservation of teachers' jobs—is a fundamentally misguided one. Our students need and deserve both.
 
Mr. Klein is chancellor of New York City schools. Mr. Lomax is president and chief executive of the United Negro College Fund. Ms. Murguía is president and chief executive of the National Council of La Raza. They are co-chairs of the Board of the Education Equality Project.

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