Whither Head Start?

Congressional lawmakers have spent a lot of tense hours of late debating the reauthorization of the premier program for low-income preschoolers and their families. Now as the final showdown approaches, it's still unclear whether Head Start, which has helped shape the development and growth of 18.5 million kids since 1965, will survive efforts to undercut its effectiveness.

Already the Administration has ordered up widescale testing of the program's four- and five-year-olds, even though the so-called No Child Left Behind law doesn't require such tests in public schools until third grade. Will the madness end?

The future is currently brighter in the Senate than in the House, where lawmakers passed a measure that begins turning Head Start over to the states; allows discrimination against Head Start staff on the basis of religion; prescribes unrealistic academic outcomes for participating kids; and leaves the program grossly underfunded. NEA has been fervidly lobbying for a more reasoned and nurturing approach--and the bill the Senate will debate in January gets close. It:

• keeps Head Start squarely in the hands of the federal government to ensure critical monitoring
• increases funding levels by $400 million
• requires the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to recommend what a reasonable academic outcome should be for a preschooler before requiring high-stakes assessments
• makes it clear that funding of Head Start centers would not be entirely linked to whatever NAS determines those academic outcomes should be.

One problem: the Senate measure fails to provide funding for professional development, even though Head Start teachers and aides will be required to earn certain academic degrees and certificates over the next several years.

As Congress gears up to square the competing bills, NEA urges members to contact their lawmakers to make sure Head Start remains a federal program, gets the funding that will allow it to serve all eligible kids (it only serves 60 percent), and stays immune to the kind of high-stakes testing fever already taxing the morale of public school educators everywhere. For more, visit www.nea.org/lac.

It Ain't Getting Cheaper

More than 25 state colleges or university systems increased their tuition by amounts between 10 and 20 percent, according to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. In addition, five raised tuition by 20 percent or more, four by 25 percent or more, and another four by 30 percent or more.

Four Ways to Revel in a Snow Day

(Or Other Such Gifts From Nature)

Say January and think hot chocolate, crackling fires, and?snow days! Well, okay, for some of us. If you live in a place where the white stuff rarely stops the show--or even appears--it's still not a bad idea to prepare for that unexpected day off. Here's what to do:

1. Follow the wisdom of the American grizzly and hibernate for a day. Unplug the phone, turn off the TV, make some hot chocolate (with a dash of peppermint schnapps), climb under a comforter, read that favorite book--or just snooze.
2. Oh, kids in the picture? If you've got snow, sledding is tops, but a rowdy snowball fight will do in a pinch. Catch snowflakes on your tongue. Make a snow angel. Build the biggest snowman (or woman) ever. Play snow football or snow volleyball, too; they're a great way to meet your neighbors and work off some, er, energy.
3. Teach your child, or somebody else's, how to make a gingerbread house. Take seven planks of gingerbread, assemble them into a house by sealing them together with cake icing in a tube. For decoration, use peppermints, gum drops, or mini candy canes. Your home smells great and the houses last for years--or maybe only a few minutes!
4. Hop a plane to Hawaii and go surfing.

Girls Rule (the Books)

Women and girls around the industrialized world moved up so fast academically during the 1990s that they're now ahead of boys and men, according to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a think tank on global social issues.

Females are now more likely to get college degrees in most OECD countries. Men still get more degrees only in Japan, Switzerland, and Turkey.

At the high school level, 15-year-old girls reported higher expectations for their future occupations than boys. Girls in fourth grade outperformed boys in reading in every country surveyed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

"Fifteen years ago, we were reporting that girls don't stay in school and don't go on to post-secondary education," said Barry McGaw, OECD's education director. "Look what they've done in 15 years."

--Urmila Subramanyam

Reluctant Hero

It was an educator's worst nightmare.

Photo: Mark Johnson

On an otherwise quiet Fall day, Mark Johnson, a physical education teacher at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. A ninth-grade student in his gym class allegedly had just used it to fatally shoot a fellow classmate and critically injure another.

Standing about five feet away, "he pointed it toward me," Johnson says, recalling the horrid moment last September. Other students watched, aghast. But Johnson, a big man with a booming voice, held up his right hand, sternly shouted, "No!" and like a child waiting for direction, 15-year-old John McLaughlin lowered his arm, emptied the remaining bullets, and dropped the weapon.

Johnson still describes his actions as instinctive, and not really heroic, but colleagues, parents, and community members say they still can't thank the 27-year-old teaching veteran and former football coach enough.

Johnson remains circumspect.

"He did a terrible thing at one point and he did do the responsible thing at one point," Johnson says of McLaughlin, who some students claim was teased because of his acne. "He had six more shells, so he could have fired six more times."

Johnson, who tried to save the student who died, says the tragedy was life-changing. But the community has grown closer, and his will to teach remains steadfast.

"I still think schools are one of the safest places to send your kids," he says.

--Tiffany Mitchell

[Civic Lesson]

"Yeah, I Know Springfield!"

Most young Americans know the name of the new American Idol, and even the hometown of the cartoon Simpsons, but many don't know the name of the U.S. Speaker of the House or their state governor's party affiliation.

That's one of the more sobering findings in a national survey of youth ages 15-26 by the Representative Democracy in America Project, a civic education collaborative of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The study found that many youth aren't tuned into their civic responsibilities, lack knowledge of the U.S. political process, and are just plain unappreciative of American democracy.

The study affirms that civic education heightens youth interest in American government, but only 39 states require a civics class for high school graduation. And now such classes are being threatened by the emphasis on reading and math testing under the new federal education law.

"I challenge states to examine their civic education requirements to make sure their schools are turning out informed citizens who don't take for granted the freedom that America provides," says Utah House Speaker Martin Stephens, president of NCSL.

For a copy of the report, visit www.ncsl.org/public/trust/citizenship.pdf.

--T.M.

How Do I Flunk Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

If you tuned in last month, you discovered one reason why so many schools aren't making the grade under the new federal education law. (Review: The law required every state to set standards so high that at least 20 percent of students started out in schools that were substandard.) Now comes the answer to this brain twister: Why do so many states have more than 20 percent of their schools missing the mark--in many cases over 50 percent more?

Puzzling, yes, so take a deep breath.

The law applies the same academic standard to the entire student body in a school as it does to its various subgroups: low-income students, major racial/ethnic groups, English-language learners, and special education students. Each group has to meet the standard separately for reading and math. That could mean nine subgroups of students for each subject--that is, 18 chances to miss the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) mark. Miss for two years and get branded "in need of improvement."

Seem unfair? It's only half the story. At least 95 percent of students in each group has to show up and take the test on test day. For many schools, that makes 36 new opportunities to make the dreaded list.

States do have some flexibility. If a school has only a few students in any subgroup, the subgroup's scores don't have to be considered when determining whether or not the school makes AYP. That's in part because each state determines for itself how big those subgroup sizes will be. Not surprisingly, those numbers vary widely from state to state--which, of course, opens up yet another can of worms. But more on that next time.

Got Living Wage?

Photo: WEAC

Unfortunately, most education support professionals don't. But members of the Oshkosh Paraprofessional Education Association (OPEA) in Wisconsin are one step closer to getting the salaries they deserve. More than 70 OPEA members gathered in October to strategize about building a livable wage campaign, one of the first locals in Wisconsin to join the effort. But, in a state where the average ESP makes just $13,000 a year, other locals are not far behind. Local Associations in Stevens Point, Wausau, and Denmark are exploring the idea as well.

No Child Left Poor?

Bold objectives, firm timetables, and not too much fussing over how to get there. That about sums up the Administration's strategy for implementing the new federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

But is it reasonable? One high school teacher, Michal Lile of Indianapolis, Indiana, wonders. Lile recently challenged ESEA boosters "to cut the rates of joblessness, infant mortality, homelessness, poverty, crime, or child abuse to 0 percent by 2014"--the same year 100 percent of all public school students are required under the law to be proficient in reading and math. Can it be done, Lile asked in a letter to the Washington Post.

Hmmm. We wondered, too, but not to be unreasonable, we'd ask government officials to tackle just one of those scourges: child poverty. Turns out rates in the United States are higher than in any other wealthy nation--two or three times higher than in Western Europe. As the Administration itself would say, "No excuses!" Let's lift every child from poverty by 2014 and make sure it happens by setting mandates along a straight path to success.

Here's the math: the U.S. Census Bureau says 16.7 percent of American children were poor in 2002--almost exactly one out of six. To get to zero in 2014, we'll mandate a 1.4 percent reduction each year. Easy. But, ah, what penalties shall we impose on politicians if they don't make Adequate Yearly Progress?

You choose. Send your suggestions to ajehlen@nea.org.

Middle School: They Do Things Differently There

"Right before puberty, brain cells grow extra connections.... This growth...peaks at age eleven for girls and twelve for boys; the cells then fight it out for survival. The ones that are being used prevail. The rest will be shed."

--Not Much Just Chillin'

What a wonderful age for teaching. And so easy! Just offer the material and middle school students soak it up like eager little sponges.

We'll wait a moment for middle school teachers to pick themselves up off the floor. As Not Much Just Chillin' (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003) illustrates, the realities of middle school, like the children themselves, are in constant conflict: The wonderful opportunities for learning and living struggle with the hormonal awkwardness that makes learning--and life--so difficult.

Author Linda Perlstein spent a year documenting the lives of suburban middle schoolers--their conversations, thoughts, ambitions, hopes, fears, shopping habits, dating rituals, gossip, and rollercoaster emotions. What she discovered only affirms what middle school teachers have known all along. Pre-adolescent children are inhabitants of their own land, with their separate language, value systems, and courtship rituals.

As it happens, these are the years when children acutely need positive role models, family connectedness, and guidance. But, Perlstein points out, it's exactly the time when many parents back off, figuring their children are old enough to start caring for themselves and making decisions. Of course, the risks (flunking school, smoking, depression, experimenting with alcohol, drugs, and sex) are huge as the children struggle to figure out life and how to react to it.

The kids in Not Much Just Chillin' speak with a candor that will alternately shock, fascinate, and inform both parents and teachers. Of course, middle-school teachers could probably write their own travelogues, living and working as they do with the exotica of pre-adolescence year in and year out. The slang and fashions change, but the inhabitants remain as vulnerable and confused as ever.

Need a Mentor?
Check Your E-Mail!

What's a new teacher to do when she can't find a mentor in her school district? She taps one by clicking her e-mail, of course.

Education Minnesota's novel "e-mentoring" program makes it possible for new teachers and volunteer mentors to connect online. The mentors are all National Board Certified Teachers from across the state who've decided to "give back" by corresponding with rookie teachers in their content areas. Program administrators basically play matchmaker.

"It's a great opportunity, especially for small districts and for areas that may have only one new person in a department," says Lynette Wayne, a first-grade teacher and one of the e-mentors. "It's going to allow new teachers to build a relationship with someone else in their field in their state."

With budget cuts, many districts have hired fewer new teachers and eliminated traditional mentor programs, so many beginners no longer have access to an experienced teacher for help, says Sara Gjerdrum, manager of field services for Education Minnesota. E-mentoring provides the support to fill that gap, she says.

"We can reach into every district using our online community and using e-mail; however, we can't match people physically from different districts any other way," she says. "This also allows new teachers access to the experiences of a National Board Certified Teacher, which they wouldn't necessarily have in the traditional form of mentoring."

[ Nobody Ever Told Me ]

Home Run Hero

After completing a successful first year of teaching, I became head coach of a high school varsity softball program. From day one, all players had to earn their spots on the field. If a player made too many errors, I pulled him from the game to work on any weaknesses in throwing, catching, or fielding. Unfortunately, some parents didn't agree with my approach.

We had just beaten our school rival when a parent confronted me about my coaching strategy. At that same moment, another parent complimented me on the team's victory. The exchange escalated as the parents traded verbal assaults. I finally convinced them to walk away and cool off. Later, the umpire of our game told me the other umpires were buzzing about the way I had reclaimed the softball program for the school and built a solid new program. The moral of this story--don't give in to the way things used to be. You are the future, make it what you want.

--Ryan Dumkrieger
Secondary business teacher, Sioux City, Iowa

Getting 'Em Healthy

Photo: Ryan McVay

By now you've heard the news: Disturbing numbers of America's kids are suffering from obesity, and the list of attendant problems--diabetes, low academic achievement, tardiness, absenteeism, and low self esteem--just keeps getting longer.

So here's the question: Can schools already trying to make financial ends meet and answer the demand for testing also focus on making students healthy, too?

You bet, says Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, executive director of Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), a nonprofit coalition of 39 government agencies and organizations (including NEA) chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. In the year since it was launched at the groundbreaking Healthy Schools Summit, AFHK has been working with schools nationwide to better support sound nutrition and physical activity.

"Schools are the place where we can reach the vast majority of children," Moag-Stahlberg says. And because schools are nurturing environments, kids listen. Already some 2,000 members of AFHK have joined 51 state "teams" that are developing innovative ways to help schools make a difference.

Want to find out what your own state team is doing and join up? Visit AFHK's Web site at www.ActionForHealthyKids.org.

Homework:
A Hung Jury?

Could the common complaint of the heavy homework load be a myth?

No doubt different views have reigned through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, homework was seen as child labor and banned in some parts of the United States. It gradually became part of the fabric of education, but it seems never to escape controversy.

Today, a common argument holds that since the space race of the 1960s, the increased emphasis on academics in the United States has led to far too much of the stuff. In many communities, parents have protested what they see as an onerous workload for their kids.

But recently, two national studies--one from the Brookings Institute and one from the Rand Corporation--found that, on average, students spend less than one hour a day on homework, no more than students did 50 years ago.

Nevertheless, some parents still argue that the national averages hide pockets where workloads are excessive.

As the debate rages, it's perhaps a good time to review NEA's policy, which expresses healthy support for homework--but stresses the discretion of the individual teacher in determining how much homework is necessary and feasible.

Naps Begone!

"Hey, you five-year-olds, wake up! It's time to get ready for your test."

Photo: David Buffington

That's how the Sarasota, Florida, Herald-Tribune led its report on what may be the latest trend in kindergarten education: no naps. Turns out Alabama kindergartners have to take a standardized test this year, which means the golden time for 40 winks may well be endangered.

The tests apparently evaluate kindergartners on naming and pronouncing the sounds of letters and are designed to take a minute. The Gadsden, Alabama, superintendent reportedly told the newspaper that the recommendation to stop kindergarten napping hailed from the state, but he later clarified to say it came from the "testing people." Whatever. The important point, says Rebecca White, spokesperson for State School Superintendent Ed Richardson, is that Alabama is definitely not anti-nap. And in any event, the tests are required under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Not quite so. The new law requires testing starting in grade three. But many districts are testing children early to see who's going to have trouble later.

Gadsden, though, seems flexible. Children who get sleepy get the special privilege of resting their heads on their desks.

Very Berry Burgers? Don't Laugh

Blueberries in hamburgers sounds about as normal as ice cream on omelets, but it may soon be the newest menu choice in school lunchrooms across the country. Al Bushway, a food scientist at the University of Maine, has discovered that adding blueberry puree or powder to chicken, turkey, or beef patties improves the taste of reheated meat, makes the burgers juicer, and increases the nutritional value. Even better are the potential health benefits, including helping memory, preventing cardiovascular disease, and fighting cancer.

This is not the first time fruit has been added to burgers--an earlier Michigan study tried cherries. In the last few years, a growing number of schools have been adding fruit and vegetables to meat products. Students in taste tests either say they can't taste the difference or that the burgers taste even better with the fruit puree. Bushway says the secret is to use very finely ground puree so that students chowing down on berry burgers can't taste the blueberry seeds.

It's not surprising, then, that blueberry burgers have been recommended for school lunch programs by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The antioxidants in blueberries may reduce the fat content of burgers, making them a tasty weapon in the fight against childhood obesity.

Taking the Middle Road

D. Falcon/Photolink

We don't need to tell you: Guns remain at the center of one the most polarizing and contentious public debates in America. But now, as a raft of gun safety measures wends through Congress and state legislatures, NEA members are weighing in unlike ever before to promote a common sense approach--one that respects the rights of lawful gun owners while protecting schools and communities from gun violence.

What's driving this middle-of-the-road activism? The facts, ma'am: 65 million Americans describe themselves as gun owners, and 48 percent live in a home with a gun. Yet, according to recent polls, 86 percent of Americans believe that while some gun rights exist, those rights come with bigtime safety responsibilities. Indeed, while many NEA members say they don't dispute lawful gun ownership for self-defense, hunting, sport shooting, and collection, they're adamant about safety. As Colorado Education Association Vice-President Jane Goff puts it, "The moderate approach touches everybody."

So what's at stake? In Congress, it's several bills, including initiatives that enforce existing gun laws, stop criminals at gun shows, fight illegal gun trafficking, continue the ban on 19 models of military style assault weapons, and improve the instant check system that identifies prohibited purchasers. With the guidance of NEA member resolutions, NEA has been lobbying hard for passage, as have members who are making their voices heard in their own states.

In Wisconsin, for example, paraprofessional Roxann Dalton is organizing friends and family to renew the national assault weapons ban, which expires September 2004. After losing her nephew in a neighborhood shooting incident in 2000, Dalton organized a letter-writing campaign to make her neighborhood safer, then turned her attention to Congress, which is set to vote on the ban in early 2004.

In Idaho, David Nelms, a middle school social studies teacher and an occasional hunter, says he's speaking out "to make it more difficult for those who would abuse the privilege to own a gun." Nelms, who holds a concealed weapons permit, says it's particularly important for politicians to hear the thousands of people like him who rarely see their moderate views reflected in a debate of extremes.

In Colorado, Goff, who was local president during the 1999 Columbine shootings, helped make state gun shows safer and is now rallying colleagues on the assault weapons ban.

And members elsewhere are scoring legislative coups. The New Jersey Education Association played a critical role in the passage of its state's Childproof Handgun Law last year. The first such law in the country, it requires all handguns sold in the state to be designed with safety features to prevent children and unauthorized users from injuring themselves or others. Last fall the Maryland State Teachers Association helped win overwhelming Congressional support for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act. Following the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings, members lobbied Congress to stem the flow of firearms to criminals and make 35 million missing records available to NICS.

NEA, meanwhile, made its own strides by helping successfully encourage responsibility by gun retailers. Now Wal-Mart and K-Mart, two of the nation's biggest gun sellers, have adopted "Don't Know, Don't Sell" gun sales policies. When store authorities can't determine whether would-be buyers are banned from owning a firearm, they won't sell it to them.

TAKE ACTION! Promote both gun safety and safe gun ownership. Ask your senator to renew the assault weapons ban and vote for legislation closing the gun show loophole. For more visit www.neahin.org/gunsafety.

--Mara Osman
NEA Health Information Network